The UOS has completed a greening operation at the main entrance area of the school, with road work performed from October 23 to 30. The project was to maintain green zones and to form a green corridor throughout the school, thus developing an eco-friendly campus environment.

According to Seok-hwan Yoon, Officer of the Facilities Division, most areas of Seoul city and the UOS are covered with an impermeable surface. This makes all rainwater run into drains increasing the throughput and causing urban flooding. On the other hand, because rainwater does not have a chance to soak into the ground, it is very hard that the city has a stable water table, which may result it an urban desert. Seoul city is, therefore, trying to change impermeable pavements into permeable ones, and so is the UOS. The greening of the main entrance is part of a larger project to make an ecological axis penetrating the school from Baebong Mountain on the back side, thus connecting the eco-project for the mountain to the urban ground area.

In addition to the environmental effect of the project, it improves the order of pedestrian traffic. As the roadside is bordered with trees, pedestrians naturally walk along the road rather than jump over trees and jaywalk.

And, of course, greening improves scenery. The trees planted during this operation are of the species Viburnum dilatatum, a deciduous tree that bears tiny red fruit during fall and winter. Yoon said that the selection was made with advice from professors in the Department of Landscape Architecture. He added that the intention of planting deciduous trees instead of evergreens is to enhance the sentiments of the people as the seasons change. With this greening project, the UOS has made progress toward an eco-campus.

By Shin-ho Ahn