Korea News in the 2000s: The World Cup Generation's Seoul

Ride a blue bus in Seoul today, tap your card to switch to the subway, stroll along Cheonggyecheon and then flop onto the lawn outside City Hall — and you’ve essentially spent the day inside the 2000s. Fresh out of the Asian financial crisis, Korea used that decade to open a new airport and a high-speed railway, host a World Cup and redraw its city center. Here is one headline story for each year, and where you can still see its traces today.

🗓️ Korea's headline news by year, 2000–2009, and what's left of it today

How did Korea open up to the world in 2000–2002?

2000 — The first inter-Korean summit and a Nobel Peace Prize

From June 13 to 15, President Kim Dae-jung met North Korea’s leader in Pyongyang for the first inter-Korean summit since the division, and the two leaders signed what became known as the June 15th Joint Declaration. On October 13, the Norwegian Nobel Committee named him the Peace Prize laureate for his work for democracy and human rights and for reconciliation with North Korea. It was the first Nobel Prize ever awarded to a Korean.

In Seoul today: The Kim Dae-jung Library in Donggyo-dong, near Hongik University Station, has an exhibition on his life and material on the Nobel Prize. It opens on weekday daytimes only.

📍 Open in Naver Map

2001 — Incheon Airport opens and Korea “graduates” from the IMF

On March 29, Incheon International Airport opened, taking over the capital region’s international flights from Gimpo. Then on August 23, Korea paid back the last of the US$19.5 billion it had borrowed from the IMF during the financial crisis — well ahead of the original May 2004 deadline. Koreans still call this moment IMF joreop, “graduating from the IMF.”

In Seoul today: For most travelers, this is the very first scene of the trip. According to Newsis, the airport handled about 74.07 million international passengers in 2025. For getting into the city, see Incheon Airport to Seoul, compared.

2002 — A World Cup semifinal and the Red Devils

At the Korea–Japan World Cup (May 31–June 30), Korea beat Spain on penalties in Gwangju on June 22 to reach the semifinals, then lost 0–1 to Germany in the semifinal at Seoul World Cup Stadium on June 25 and finished fourth. Red T-shirted fans known as the Bulgeun Angma (Red Devils) and the geori eungwon (street cheering) outside City Hall became everyday words that summer.

In Seoul today: Seoul World Cup Stadium (66,704 seats) runs a Seoul Facilities Corporation stadium tour (about 1 hour, ₩1,000 for adults), bookable only through the Seoul Public Service Reservation system.

📍 Open in Naver Map

The intersection in front of City Hall where the street cheering took place became a lawn square in May 2004: Seoul Plaza.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Why did Seoul's subway, buses and stream change in 2003–2005?

2003 — The Daegu subway fire

On the morning of February 18, an arson attack started a fire at Jungangno Station on Daegu Metro Line 1 that killed 192 people and injured 151. It remains the deadliest railway disaster in Korean history, and standards for the interior materials of subway cars were tightened sharply afterward. Koreans also call it the 2·18 disaster.

In Seoul today: This is why subway seats are bare stainless steel with no cushions. Starting in 2004, Seoul replaced the interiors of 1,564 cars on Lines 5–8 with non-combustible materials. The memorial is the tower at Daegu Citizens’ Safety Theme Park at the foot of Palgongsan in Daegu, where a memorial service is held every February 18.

2004 — KTX, color-coded buses, an impeachment motion and the 40-hour week

On April 1, the KTX opened, cutting Seoul to Busan to two hours and 40-some minutes. On July 1, Seoul’s buses were reorganized into trunk, branch, wide-area and circulation routes. The same day brought an integrated fare system — a base fare of ₩800 for the first 10 km, then only the extra distance when you transfer on a transit card — and sales of the T-money card began.

On March 12, the National Assembly passed a motion to impeach President Roh Moo-hyun, with 193 of its 271 members voting in favor; on May 14, the Constitutional Court dismissed it. From July, the 40-hour workweek took effect at workplaces with 1,000 or more employees, and the ju-5-il-je (five-day workweek) began to spread.

In Seoul today: Carry on with the T-money card guide, the history of Seoul transit fares and KTX and SRT day trips.

2005 — Cheonggyecheon flows again

Work that began in July 2003 with the demolition of an elevated highway was finished, and Cheonggyecheon opened on October 1. The restored stretch is 5.84 km long and crossed by 22 bridges. Seoul estimated that cumulative visitors reached about 330 million by 2025.

In Seoul today: Just start at Cheonggye Plaza and walk east (Cheonggyecheon walk and bridges). The Cheonggyecheon Museum in Majang-dong is open Tuesday–Sunday, 09:00–18:00, and is free.

📍 Open in Naver Map

2006–2009: From the Sungnyemun fire to Kim Yuna

2006 — Ban Ki-moon heads the UN, Sungnyemun opens up

On October 13, the UN General Assembly elected Ban Ki-moon, then Korea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as the eighth Secretary-General; he served for ten years from January 2007. The same year in Seoul, a plaza was built on the south side of Sungnyemun, which had been stranded like an island in the middle of the road — and for the first time in about 70 years, people could walk right up to the gate.

2007 — The Taean oil spill and 1.23 million volunteers

On December 7, off Manripo in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, the tanker Hebei Spirit collided with a marine crane barge fleet and spilled 12,547 kl of crude oil. According to Taean County figures reported by Aju Business Daily, 1.23 million volunteers came to wipe oil off the beaches in the depths of winter, and their records were inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register in 2022. The traces lie outside Seoul, at the Oil Spill Recovery Memorial Hall in Cheollipo, Taean (free, closed Mondays).

2008 — The Sungnyemun fire, candlelight rallies and the financial crisis

On the night of February 10, an arsonist set fire to Sungnyemun and its upper pavilion burned down completely. The lower story and the stone base survived, and restoration was completed in May 2013. According to Weekly Kyunghyang, the first chotbul jiphoe (candlelight rally) against US beef imports was held at Cheonggye Plaza on May 2, and the rallies continued into the summer. In the autumn, amid the global financial crisis, Korea and the United States signed a US$30 billion currency swap on October 30, Money Today reported.

In Seoul today: Sungnyemun is free and closed on Mondays. Pair it with Namdaemun Market food, heritage site rules, and for Korea’s culture of the public square, Korean political parties and protests.

📍 Open in Naver Map

2009 — Two former presidents pass away, Kim Yuna, Gwanghwamun Square

Former president Roh Moo-hyun passed away on May 23, and a national funeral was held. Former president Kim Dae-jung passed away on August 18, and on August 23 his funeral ceremony in front of the National Assembly became the first state funeral in 30 years. Earlier, on March 28 (local time) at the World Championships in Los Angeles, Kim Yuna won with a total of 207.71 points — the first woman to break 200 in ladies’ singles — and the nickname Pigyeo Yeowang (Queen of Figure Skating) stuck for good. In the autumn, H1N1 swine flu spread; according to Munhwa Ilbo, about 760,000 people were infected in Korea and 263 died.

In Seoul today: On August 1, Gwanghwamun Square opened right down the middle of Sejong-daero, and the statue of King Sejong went up the same year.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Can you see the 2000s landmarks on foot in one day?

Yes — half a day is plenty. Just follow Sejong-daero from south to north.