63 Building
63 Building is a skyscraper on Yeouido (island) in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul in South Korea. Despite its name, it actually has 66 floors – 63 floors above ground and 3 floors underground. Construction started in February 1980, and was completed in May 1985. At that time, the name of the building was “Daehanlife 63 Building”, but the name of this has changed to “63 City.” It was the highest building in Asia at the moment of being built. It is now the 5th highest building in even Korea – the highest building in Korea is Northeast Asia Trade Tower in Incheon. But from now on, 63 Building is known as the most famous landmark in Korea.
| 63 Building(63 City) | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Location | Yeongdeungpo-gu |
| Country | South Korea |
| Construction started | Feb, 1980 |
| Completed | May, 1985 |
| Height | |
| Top floor | 249 m |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 66 |
| Design and construction | |
| Other designers | Harry D Som and Helen W Som, principals, Som & Associates, San Francisco, CA |
Before it was built, South Korea was in the period of development. Therefore, it was decided to build the highest building in Asia to beat Sunshine 60 in Tokyo, Japan. There were also no buildings which were higher than 31 floors in South Korea. The process of building was chosen very fast.
63 building is actually a building for Hanhwa Group but it also has some cultural areas for visitors. Except for the top 3 floors, visitors can enjoy all of the building. There is an aquarium named “63 Sea World”, IMAX theater, and observatory with museum named “63 Sky-art.” There are also many areas like food courts and restaurants.
63 Sea World was opened at July 27th, 1985, and has over 400 species and 20,000 marine lives in there. It also has a coelcanth and oarfish. The theater in 63 Building is the first IMAX theater in Korea. The “63 Buffet Pavilion” is known as one of the greatest restaurants in Seoul.
There are six elevators which were made by Mitsubishi in 63 Building, and their speed is about 540 meters per minute. It is the fastest elevator in Korea. For subway, there are two stations, Noryangjin station in Line 1 and Line 9.
63 Building Media
Topped-out 63 Building photographed in June 1984.
A view of Yeouido island in Seoul.
63 building was photographed in 2007.
At sunrise, the 63 Building begins to glow.
For twenty minutes at sunrise, the eastern side of the building is blindingly bright.
Other websites
- Official English-language website Archived 2013-04-04 at the Wayback Machine
