A rendering image of the underground garden under Jonggak Station in central Seoul, which will use sunlight / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government



By Lee Suh-yoon



Seoul, a city better known for its skyscrapers, is reinventing underground spaces by bringing in sunlight. An underground garden filled with natural light will be set up at Jonggak Station, subway line 1, in downtown Seoul by October, the city government announced on Tuesday.



Natural light will be channeled into the space through eight light-collecting dishes poking out of the garden on posts set up at Jongno Tower Square, located right above it. The collected light will be redirected underground along the tube by a system of mirrors. As the tubes will be transparent, people will be able to see how the mirrors send light underground from the square.



A special ceiling composed of anodized aluminum panels will help reflect and disperse this light through the garden. LED light fixtures will substitute sunlight at night or on rainy days.



This natural lighting will sustain the plants that will cover around one-sixth of the underground space. The city is considering planting species that grow well in the shade as well as fruit trees which require ample sunlight.





A rendering image of light-collecting devices that will be set up above the underground garden at Jonggak Station / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government