Pohang Space Walk
ArtistHeike Mutter, Ulrich Genth
Completion dateNovember 18, 2021 (2021-11-18)
MediumStainless Steel
Dimensions25 m × 57 m × 60 m (82 ft × 187 ft × 200 ft)
Weight317 metric tons
LocationPohang
Coordinates36°03′54″N 129°23′25″E / 36.0650954°N 129.3903043°E / 36.0650954; 129.3903043
OwnerCity of Pohang
WebsiteOfficial webpage/site only: spacewalk.or.kr

Pohang Space Walk (Korean: 포항 스페이스워크) is a walkable structure in South Korea. On April 1, 2019, Pohang City and POSCO, a South Korean steel company, started a project to increase the popularity of Hwanho Park in Pohang by building a steel structure, which was designed by German designers Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth. The sculpture, first titled "Cloud" and later renamed "Space Walk", would have a soft opening on November 18, 2021 and would have an opening ceremony to the general public on the next day. Starting from November 20 the same year, the structure became available for use for the general public on 10am-4pm on weekdays and 10am-5pm on weekends.

Pohang Space Walk contains 333 meters of stainless steel track and is 60 meters wide, 57 meters long and 25 meters high and is constructed over an area of 4,925 square meters. It can also withstand earthquakes measuring at least 6.5 on the Richter scale, and up to 250 people can use the structure at any given time. Genth had named this sculpture "Space Walk" to emulate an experience of "swimming in space above the clouds", and the sculpture was lighted and curved to represent the "city of light and steel" that Pohang was. Furthermore, the sculpture also represents challenging oneself to reach the unreachable utopia one step at a time.

17 days after opening, Pohang Space Walk had 41,723 visitors in total, and an average of 2,450 people visited it per day. By December 20, 2023, 76,724 people have visited Pohang Space Walk, with 2,000 people on average on weekdays and 5,000 on average on weekends. Over one million people visited the structure in 2022, and over two million visited in 2023. It has also received recognition in a list of 100 places to be visited at night and as South Korea's "2023 Star of Tourism" in surveys conducted by the Korea Tourism Organization and the Korean Ministry of Recreation.

History

On April 1, 2019, a memorandum of understanding contract was signed between Pohang City and POSCO, a South Korean steel company, to increase the popularity of Hwanho Park, a tourist attraction in Pohang. According to said contract, POSCO would construct the steel parts for the construction of the structure and would donate the structure to Pohang City.[1] 11.7 billion Korean won was spent while constructing this sculpture.[2]

The sculpture was designed by German designers Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth, who have toured Pohang three times and used inspirations from the various places they visited[3] as well as have consulted with citizens and experts.[4] Genth had previously designed Tiger and Turtle – Magic Mountain, a similar interactive structure in Duisburg, Germany.[1] The sculpture was designed to be South Korea's first interactive structure, according to Pohang City's mayor Lee Kang-deok.[4] Citizen feedback was also requested and incorporated during the design of this sculpture as well.[5]

On October 5, 2021, Lee and Genth would conduct a preliminary inspection of the structure.[1] Pohang Space Walk would later be included within a larger effort to recover Pohang's economy after the COVID-19 pandemic through tourism.[6][7] Pohang Space Walk would have a soft opening ceremony on November 18, 2021,[3] when it was finished constructing.[8] It was held at Hwanho Park, and 70 or so people including Lee, Genth and POSCO chairman Choi Jeong-woo attended the ceremony.[3] The sculpture would hold an opening ceremony for the general public as well as POSCO employees on November 19, 2021. The opening ceremony featured a variety of events such as calligraphy, music and photoshoots.[5] On December 21, 2021, POSCO would officially donate the structure to Pohang City.[9]

Features

Pohang Space Walk contains 333 meters in total of steel track using 317 tons of POSCO-produced stainless steel, due to its construction near an ocean area.[3] The 333 meters of track are supposed to represent "Steel", "Science" and "Sea" - the 3 "S"'s of Pohang.[10] It is 60 meters wide, 57 meters long and 25 meters high. It is constructed over an area of 4,925 square meters. To meet legal requirements, the structure could withstand an earthquake which measures at least 6.5 on the Richter scale, and up to 250 people can use the structure at any given time. Six guards protect the sculpture every day, and the sculpture was open starting from a trial period starting at November 20, 2021 until the end of the year from 10am-4pm on weekdays and 10am-5pm on weekends and federal holidays.[3] From the highest point of the structure, visitors can view Yeongildae Beach as well as high rise apartments.[11]

Genth named the sculpture "Space Walk" as he wished to make visitors experience "swimming in space above the clouds".[4] However, the sculpture was originally going to be titled "Cloud".[8] The sculpture is still called "Cloud" by some locals.[12] Genth has stated that he intended the sculpture to represent the "city of light and steel" that Pohang was by creating a lighted, curved steel structure.[3] The sculpture is also supposed to represent challenging oneself to try to reach utopia one step at a time even if one cannot.[5] The diverging tracks that return in the end represent the union of art and people, businesses and citizens, and POSCO and Pohang City.[13]

Impact

17 days after opening, Pohang Space Walk had 41,723 visitors in total, and an average of 2,450 people visited it per day.[14] By December 20, 2023, 76,724 people have visited Pohang Space Walk, with 2,000 people on average on weekdays and 5,000 on average on weekends.[9] Over one million people visited the structure in 2022, and over two million visited in 2023.[15] In 2023, Pohang Space Walk was listed in a list of 100 places to be experienced at night in South Korea,[16] and was chosen to be South Korea's "2023 Star of Tourism" in a survey conducted by the Korea Tourism Organization and the Korean Ministry of Recreation.[17]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 박, 영재 (2021-10-05). "이강덕 포항시장, 환호공원 명소화 공사 현장 점검 나서" [Pohang mayor Lee Kang-Deok checks construction field at Hwanho Park for operation of making park more famous]. 브레이크뉴스. Archived from the original on 2021-10-05. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  2. ↑ 김, 대호 (2021-11-14). "포항 새 랜드마크된 '스페이스 워크'…국내 첫 체험형 조형물" [New Landmark in Pohang "Space Walk"... First Experiential Structure in South Korea]. 매일신문 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2023-12-26. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 손, 대성 (2021-11-18). "길이 333ｍ 국내 최대 체험형 철 조형물 포항에 들어서" [Inside the 333m-long experiential structure built of steel in Pohang, the largest in South Korea]. 연합뉴스 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2023-12-26. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  4. 1 2 3 경국, 장 (2021-10-05). "포항시, 환호공원에 국내 최초 체험형 조형물 조성 순조" [Pohang City to erect first experiential structure in South Korea at Hwanho Park]. 종합일간지 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2023-12-26. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  5. 1 2 3 박, 영재 (2021-11-19). "포항제철소, 시민들과 함께하는 스페이스 워크 Open Day 행사 '성료'" [Pohang Steel Company's Space Walk ceremony with citizens concluded]. 브레이크뉴스. Archived from the original on 2023-12-28. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  6. ↑ 배, 달형 (2021-11-16). "포항시, '특별한 관광' 통한 경제 회복 나서" [Pohang City to recover economy through tourism]. 신아일보 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2023-12-26. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  7. ↑ 곽, 성일 (2021-11-22). "포항지역 경기 4년만에 뚜렷한 회복세" [Pohang area to recover economy in 4 years]. 경북일보 - 굿데이 굿뉴스 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2023-12-26. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  8. 1 2 손, 대성 (2021-11-15). "포항 체험형 상징 조형물 '스페이스 워크' 18일 준공" [Experiential structure in Pohang, "Space Walk", to finish construction by 18th]. 연합뉴스 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2023-12-26. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  9. 1 2 장, 경국 (2021-12-21). "포항시, 포스코의 상생·화합 상징, '스페이스 워크' 기부채납 받았다" [A symbol of cooperation between Pohang City and POSCO: "Space Walk" donated]. 종합일간지 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2023-12-27. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  10. ↑ 김, 병덕. "'빛과 철'로 빚은 포스코 도전정신… 시민과 하나되다 [국내 최대 체험형 조형물 '스페이스워크']" [Built with "Light and Steel" with POSCO's spirit... to be one with the citizens [Largest experiential structure in South Korea: Space Walk]]. Naver News (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2023-12-26. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  11. ↑ 게, 재일 (2021-12-05). "환호공원의 구름 길을 걷다" [To walk the streets of clouds at Hwanho Park]. 경북매일 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2023-12-27. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  12. ↑ 주, 진희 (2021-11-19). "포스코, 체험형 조형물 '스페이스워크' 완공···"국내 최대 규모"" [POSCO finishes experiential strucure "Space Walk" - "largest scale structure nationally"]. 서울파이낸스 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2023-12-26. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  13. ↑ 오, 주섭 (2021-11-28). "포항 환호공원 '스페이스 워크' 핫 플레이스 등극" [Hwanho Park's "Space Walk" is trending]. 더팩트 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2023-12-26. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  14. ↑ 김, 정혜 (2021-12-08). "'9초에 한 명씩 밟았다' 포항 스페이스 워크 인기" ["One person stepped every 9 seconds" Pohang Space Walk becomes popular]. 한국일보 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2023-12-27. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  15. ↑ 강, 진구 (2023-12-24). "포항시, 올해 10대 뉴스 발표…신성장 돌파구 마련 자평" [Pohang City announces this year’s top 10 news…Self-evaluation of new growth breakthrough]. NEWSIS (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2023-12-27. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  16. ↑ 이, 영균 (2023-11-08). "포항시 '대한민국 밤밤곡곡 100선' 3곳 선정" [3 places from Pohang City selected as part of list of 100 attractions to visit at night in South Korea]. 세계일보 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2023-12-28. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  17. ↑ 손, 대성 (2023-12-13). "경주 대릉원-포항 스페이스워크 '한국 관광의 별'로 빛났다" [Gyeongju Daereungwon and Pohang Space Walk selected as ‘star of Korean tourism’]. 연합뉴스 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2023-12-27. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
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