SNU is constructing a sidewalk around the campus using eco-friendly sidewalk blocks for the first time in 30 years.

SNU removed sidewalk blocks around the campus in 1980s when the democratic movement peaked because students used to break up the sidewalks and throw pieces at riot police. The sidewalk blocks were replaced with concrete.

The university’s decision indicates the changing interest of students who often attended turbulent political rallies in the 1970s and ‘80s.

Called ``Eco-Campus,’’ and begun in 2003, the project is expected to transform the campus into an eco-friendly area. Chung Un-chan, SNU president, said that ecology is becoming a life-and-death matter, not just a matter of pleasure.

The 2.5 billion won project has been under construction since July and involves paving the 1.2-kilometer street connecting the College of Business Administration to a central library with eco-friendly materials, as well as the planting of trees.

However, the so-called ``Acropolis’’ in front of the central library, which had been the venue for many of the student protests of the past, will not be renovated and remain as a tribute to democratic movement of the 1980s.

Kim Jin-kyun, professor in the department of architecture at SNU, said that the project developed because the campus had suffered from the absence of an ecological policy.

``The Acropolis was originally included in the project, but we changed the plan after collecting the opinions about its symbolic meaning,’’ he said.

The campuses and the streets around many universities, including Yonsei University and Korea University in Seoul, are still covered with cement or asphalt and concrete to thwart students using broken blocks.

SNU plans to spend 2.5 billion won to construct a second eco-friendly sidewalk in another part of the campus from December to June. 

Sep. 15, 2005
SNU PR Office