Nanjido (Nan(lily) Ji(mushroom) Do(island)) (

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

: 난지도 蘭芝島) was an island on a branch of the Han River of

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. In the end of the 1970s, a dyke was constructed around the edge of Nanjido, and it became Seoul's official

dump site A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...

. Between 1978 and 1993, Nanjido's accumulation of garbage grew quickly, increasing to 3,000

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

loads of waste per day and eventually creating a

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

of refuse 98m high and occupying 2,715,900 square meters of land, thirty-four times larger than

The Great Pyramid of Giza The Great Pyramid of Giza is the biggest Egyptian pyramid and the tomb of Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Khufu. Built in the early 26th century BC during a period of around 27 years, the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. Currently, Korea has the biggest rate of per capita garbage production in the world (2.3 kg/person). Nanjido stopped being a waste dumpsite in 1993 when city officials realized that with Seoul's expansion, the site could no longer be designated as marginal. By that time, Nanjido had accumulated 91,972,000 cubic meters of garbage—the equivalent of continuous dumping by 13,000,000 8.5-ton trucks for 15 years. Nanjido might be world's tallest waste dumpsite. The garbage on Nanjido is no longer exposed. After closing it down, the city designated the site as an "ecology park" and began preparations to cover the mountain of garbage with trees. It is currently undergoing a land stabilization process that is expected to be completed by the year 2020. The walls were constructed deep into the ground to prevent the seepage of contaminated water into the Han River and streams.

Methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Eart ...

and other gases were channeled into wells to provide heating to the World Cup Stadium and the surrounding residential district. Now the whole area of 2.8 million square meters was transformed into five different theme parks, welcoming 9.8 million visitors every year. The five parks are equipped with conservation facilities for further revival of diversified ecological system.

References

External links

Seoul Worldcup ParkSeoul Metropolitan Government Hangang Project Headquarters
{{coord, 37, 34, 11, N, 126, 52, 50, E, source:jawiki_region:KR, display=title Environment of South Korea Mapo District Landfills Former islands of South Korea Islands of the Han River (Korea) Islands of Seoul