Detail

`The capital city of Seoul, the population of which stood at no more than one million at the time of the nations` liberation in 1945, has grown to a grandiose city with a population of about 5,500,000 in proportion to the rapid economic development and the expansion of national power as a whole. As time passes by, however, the traffic congestion and difficulties in Seoul continue to become from bad to worse, and the construction of subways is direly required to make the capital city a better place to live and work in. After a long period of preparatory survey and planning through the mobilization of all the wisdom and techniques of the nation, the Seoul city government is scheduled to start the construction of Subway No. 1 on April 12. The construction of Subway No. 1 one of the five high-speed electric railways being planned by the city government, is most urgently called for. It starts from south of Seoul railway Station and extends as far as to Chongnyangni Railway Station via the City Hall Plaza, Chongno and Shinsol-dong. Its total length would be 9.5 kilometers - 8.6 kilometer - long subway and 0.9 kilometers above the ground. It will have a total of nine underground stations. Construction of the subway system will be carried out at 12 different work districts at the cost of 26,000,000,000 Won (one U.S. dollar is equivalent to approximately 300 Won), and is slated for completion by the end of 1973 for operation early in the following year. Ground will be broken first at five separate work districts for the construction of the first underground railway. When completed, electric trains running on the subway will be able to carry an estimated 600,000 commuters a day, thus saving us a lot of time and traffic expenses. Furthermore, the subway system would contribute a great deal to the alleviation of traffic pollution as well as to the regional development of the outskirts of the capital city. Praying for the further development and growth of an advancing Seoul, the Ministry of Communications is issuing a commemorative postage stamp on this occasion of embarking on the construction of the first underground railway in the capital city.`