Seoul's Tapgol Park sees end as Korea's iconic senior playground after janggi ban

Visitors rest at Palgak Pavilion in Tapgol Park in central Seoul, Friday. Korea Times photo by Lee Hae-rin

Kim, 80, traveled every day from his residence in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province to come to Tapgol Park in central Seoul by subway to play janggi, a traditional Korean strategy game similar to chess, with his friends. Now he has "nowhere to go."

"I feel completely lost. It’s absurd that playing janggi has been banned overnight," he said.

Ahn, 75-year-old based in western Seoul, offers a similar perspective: "We elders have nowhere to go and we are not welcome anywhere anymore. Playing janggi and having lunch here was my only joy, and in an instant, that joy is gone," he said.

Their voices mark the end of an era in Tapgol Park, the oldest modern park in Korea and an enduring symbol of both resistance and refuge. On July 31, Seoul’s Jongno District Office installed signs banning all entertainment activities within Tapgol Park, including janggi and baduk (go), as well as smoking, consuming alcohol, posting signs and vending.

"Tapgol Park is a historic site in which the spirit of the March 1 Independence Movement lives on," the signs read, warning violators of potential jail time or fines under the Cultural Heritage Protection Law.

A banner in Tapgol Park announces a ban on games, smoking, drinking, and peddling as part of Jongno District’s efforts to preserve this historic site and maintain public order, Aug. 26. Yonhap

For decades, Tapgol Park was one of the city's most popular gathering places for older adults.

Established in 1897 on the remains of the 15th-century Wongak Buddhist Temple, Tapgol Park has served as a centerpiece for assembly throughout modern history. The Proclamation of Independence was first read out at the park on March 1, 1919, igniting nation-wide demonstrations against Japanese rule grounds. During the 1980s and 1990s, it served as a platform for protests as the country democratized.

However, in the shadow of rapid modernization, the park — recently depicted as a venue for homeless people in Netflix’s “Squid Game” — gradually became a gathering point for marginalized older people.

After the 1997 Asian financial crisis, many older adults flooded the park, drawn by nearby soup kitchens and its proximity to multiple subway lines. With limited financial means, Korea’s elders found Tapgol Park an accessible, cost-free sanctuary, with the park sometimes seeing as many as 2,000 to 3,000 visitors a day. Playing janggi or baduk offered not only entertainment, but social bonds and a sense of belonging, helping them counter loneliness and isolation.

Children give flowers to older adults during a Parents' Day celebration held at Tapgol Park in Seoul in this file photo from May 8, 1993. Korea Times file

However, Tapgol Park also harbored a growing undercurrent of disorder in recent years.

Police statistics show crimes and complaints in the area have surged. In 2021, 763 police calls were made near the park’s north gate, and by 2024, the number had soared to 1,470. These calls were mostly about public drinking, disorderly conduct, noise, vandalism, urination and occasionally, violence, including a case this summer where an individual with a knife threatened park visitors.

The disruptions gradually wore down local residents. "Some days, the noise and fights made it impossible to walk by," Lee, 29, who works nearby said. "Only now that they left, I finally see how beautiful the park is."

Yun, 33, a neighborhood resident, also appreciated the new peace. "I used to avoid the park, especially at night, even if it meant taking a longer route, because I feared confrontation with the janggi crowd or drunk people."

Two months after the ban, reported incidents to police dropped 37 percent compared with the previous year. However, the park’s character as a social hub has unraveled and some question whether exclusion was the right answer.

"We don’t ban all young people from their gatherings in Hongdae and Seongsu just because some act out," Choi, a 36-year-old passerby, said, "We could have found a better solution than simply shutting the elderly out."

Streets around Tapgol Park in Seoul are crowded with people playing janggi and baduk in this file photo from Jan. 11, 2023. Korea Times photo by Lee Han-ho

Some older people now visit the Seoul Senior Welfare Center’s janggi and baduk room — an indoor facility that can house around 100 players and located about 500 meters away from Tapgol Park. However, entry requires registration and many complain about being unwelcome or missing the fresh breeze and freedom of being outdoors.

Now an officially "hyper-aged" society with people over the age of 65 making up over 20 percent of the population, Korea faces mounting challenges in maintaining social well-being among older adults. The country’s elderly poverty rate stood at 38.2 percent in 2023, more than 2.5 times higher than the OECD average of 14.2 percent.

Studies from the Korean Institute for Health and Social Affairs repeatedly show that social gaming and group recreation are vital to the health of older adults, protecting against isolation, depression and cognitive decline.

Baekseok University professor Choi Young-min viewed the janggi ban as "too hasty," saying that despite the need for public safety, "simply removing janggi and baduk boards is not a real solution."

"It’s like taking toys away from children because they fight over them," the professor added, "With so few leisure options for seniors, this measure could be excessive. Offering healthy alternatives in the park would help reduce isolation and improve safety."