Seoul subway to receive first new map in 40 years

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced a new design for the city's subway map, which will roll out to stations in late January.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government shared the city's new map design, in English, on Monday. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

Seoul’s notoriously complicated subway map will receive its first new design in 40 years.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced the final design for the capital’s revamped subway map on Monday after conducting a public hearing with experts and residents in September. The current map has maintained its layout since the 1980s, with only stations being added over time.

The new layout is simpler and clearer, according to the city government, with subway line No. 2 depicted as a circle at the center of the map. Subway line No. 2 is Seoul's only circle line.

The design will be based on the so-called octolinear layout, first implemented by London Underground's map in 1933. The government says it will reduce the time it takes to find a station by as much as 55 percent and that which it takes to navigate a transfer route by up to 69 percent.

The government has also adjusted each subway line's shade to help colorblind commuters easily parse the map.

“For most colorblind people, it is hard to differentiate colors with similar shades, especially at transfer stations that have similar colors of subway lines intersecting,” said a 33-year-old man with red-green colorblindness who participated in the city's testing of the new layout.

“The new map is easier to understand, as colors of subway lines are more differentiable and are classified into patterns.”

The updated map will show which subway lines are accessible at each transfer station.

For instance, two circles in different colors will depict Samgakji Station, as subway lines No. 4 and 6 both pass through it. The current map only demarcates such transfer points with circles that are slightly bigger than those of other stations, which often confuses passengers.

The new map also uses thicker lines and more vivid colors for the main subway lines from No. 1 to 9, distinguishing them from transit lines such as light rails. It also includes geographical features such as the Han River and the sea.

The latest map will first appear digitally on the screen doors of Yeouido Station in western Seoul starting in late January. The map, displayed on organic light-emitting diode screens, will be offered in multiple languages to accommodate tourists.

“The newly announced map is easier to understand for all people, including foreigners and the colorblind,” said Choi In-kyu, an official in charge of design policy for the Seoul city government. “We hope the new map, applied with global standards, will contribute to making Seoul become one of the top five cities globally and boost tourism."

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]