Yeongdeungpo District

Yeongdeungpo District () is an administrative district in southwest Seoul, South Korea. Although the origin of the name is uncertain, the first two syllables are thought to be from "''yeongdeung''" (靈登) or "divine ascent", a shamanic rite. The third syllable is "''po''", representing the bank of a river (浦), referring to the district's position on the Han River. The 2006 population was 408,819.

There are 22 administrative "dong" and 34 legal "dong". Yeouido-dong is the largest in area and takes up about 34% of the land. The total area is (2004), making up 4% of Seoul's land. The annual budget is approximately 2 billion won.

Yeongdeungpo District has been heavily developed as an office, commercial, and residential district. Yeouido Dong is home to DLI 63 Building, the highest office building in South Korea and currently the 3rd tallest building in the country. The National Assembly Building is located in Yeouido-dong. Other organisations, such as the Financial Union of Korea are also based in Yeongdeungpo. There are also mass-media corporations in the area, including; Kookmin Newspaper Corporation; Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation and Korean Broadcasting System.

History

The earliest historical references to Yeongdeungpo were in the 1870s when it was considered to be the main port used in the defence of the city of Seoul.

The opening of the Gyeongin Line in 1899 and the Gyeongbu Line 1905, the County Office of Siheung-gun was relocated to Yeongdeungpo and area became a major hub for transportation and commerce.

Except for Yeouido and Yanghwa-dong, Yeongdeungpo belonged to old Siheung County. In 1936, Yeongdeungpo (except for today's Daerim-dong) was annexed to Gyeongseong (today's Seoul). In 1949, some parts of Siheung County were ceded to Yeongdeungpo District of Seoul. These sections are today's Guro-dong, Sindorim-dong, Daerim-dong and Sindaebang-dong.
It is one of the sub-centers of Seoul, and the Seoul Metropolitan Subway Line 1 passes. Among the areas south of the Han River in present-day Seoul, it was the first (1936) to be incorporated into Seoul.

January 1, 1963, Some areas of Bucheon County were combined to Yeongdeungpo District as below.

Also, many parts of Siheung County were merged into this district at the same time.

During the post-Korean War industrialization period the district's economy and population grew dramatically and as a result sections of the district were broken up to form new districts – Gwanak-gu being established in 1973, Gangseo-gu in 1977, and Guro-gu in 1980.

Administration

Administrative divisions

Yeongdeungpo District is divided into the following "''dong''"s.
* Dangsan-dong (Hangul: 당산동; Hanja: 堂山洞) (divided into Dangsan 1 and 2-dong)
* Daerim-dong (Hangul: 대림동; Hanja: 大林洞) (divided into Daerim 1, 2, and 3-dong)
* Dorim-dong (Hangul: 도림동; Hanja: 林洞) (Dorim 1 and 2-dong were combined in September 2008)
* Mullae-dong (Hangul: 문래동; Hanja: 文來洞) (divided into Mullae 1 and 2-dong)
* Singil-dong (Hangul: 신길동; Hanja: 新吉洞) (divided into Singil 1 to 7-dong)
* Yangpyeong-dong (Hangul: 양평동; Hanja: 楊洞) (divided into Yangpyeong 1 and 2-dong)
** Yanghwa-dong (Hangeul: 양화동; Hanja: 楊花洞)
* Yeongdeungpo-dong (Hangul: 영등포동; Hanja: 永登浦洞) (divided into Yeongdeungpo-dong and Yeongdeungpobon-dong (Hangeul: 영등포본동; Hanja: 永登浦本洞))
* Yeouido-dong (Hangul: 여의도동; Hanja: 汝矣島洞)

Local government

Yeongdeungpo District office (영등포구청) is located immediately adjacent to Yeongdeungpo District office station on Seoul Metro Line 2.

Economy

For several decades, Yeouido in Yeongdeungpo district has been considered the financial center of Seoul. This reputation was stimulated by the relocation of the Korean main bourse, the Korea Exchange (KRX), from Myeongdong to Yeouido in 1979. Among the 291 head offices of financial institutions located in Seoul, 93 are based in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo. Notably, 42 out of 68 asset management companies and 8 out of 11 futures companies have their head offices in Yeouido. These include Mirae Asset Group, Korea Life Insurance, KDB, Korea Investment Holdings and many more. Korea Exchange was originally located in Yeouido, but it moved to Busan in 2009. Korea Financial Investment Association is still based in Yeouido. The Korea Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) are also based in Yeouido.
Despite its popularity with Korean financial institutions, Yeouido has proved less popular with foreign entities who tend to prefer the Jongno district.

Other notable companies based in Yeongdeungpo include Lotte Confectionery, Hanjin Shipping, LG Corp., and Keoyang Shipping are headquartered in Yeouido-dong in Yeongdeungpo District.

Historically, Yeongdeungpo district has been dominated by the manufacturing industry and remnants of this are clearly visible around the district with small workshops and larger factories located next to modern developments, especially in Mullae-dong.

Landmarks and attractions

Times Square

Times Square is a large shopping mall located closed to Yeongdeungpo station and connected to an adjoining Shinsegae department store which in turns is connected to Yeongdeungpo station. It is one of Seoul's largest shopping malls, featuring the CGV Starium, the world's largest permanent 35 mm cinema screen. Construction of Times Square started in 2006 on the site of a former Kyungbang plant in Yeongdeungpo, and lasted for three years. The construction cost a total of 600 billion won. On September 16, 2009, the mall officially opened, welcoming an average of 210,000 people per day.

Yeouido

Yeouido is home to many of Korea's tallest skyscrapers. One of the oldest and most well-known is the 63 Building, located on the eastern side of Yeouido. It was opened in 1985 to coincide with the Seoul Olympics in 1988 and intended to demonstrate Korea's economic success. The building is tall and was the tallest building in the country until 2003. The 60th floor houses the world's highest art gallery while the 63rd floor contains an observation deck known as the 63 Golden Tower. The 58th and 59th floors both feature restaurants. The lower floors house an indoor shopping mall with approximately 90 stores, an IMAX theater, and a large aquarium. A convention center and banquet hall are also housed within the building.

Also within Yeouido is the International Finance Center (IFC). The IFC was opened in 2012 and includes the office towers, Conrad Hotel and the IFC Mall. The IFC mall hosts a large number of shops including major international brands. The center of the mall includes a large atrium with glass pavilion which extends above ground level.http://www.ifcmallseoul.com/eng/jsp/about/amenity.jsp The mall itself occupies four floors below ground.

Parc1 tower is the newest development in Yeouido with its primary feature being the 334 tall main tower. The development features 2 main office towers, a Fairmont Hotel (due to open in 2021) and a Hyundai Department Store (due to open in 2020 but pushed back to 2021). Hyundai have indicated that they will open an Amazon Go store with the department store, one of the first outside the US.

Yeouido is also home to the Korean National Assembly Building which opened in 1975. South Korea's unicameral legislature meets within the building and numerous of buildings and institutions associated with the assembly are located nearby.

The Korean Broadcasting System(KBS) New Wing Open Hall is located in Yeouido-dong. It is the broadcast and recording centre of many KBS programmes with a studio audience, namely the live weekly music show ''