Samseong Station

A Line 2 station located on Teheran-ro in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, at the center of the COEX and World Trade Center business district and the planned GTX-A interchange.

Samseong Station

Overview

Samseong Station is a station on Seoul Subway Line 2 (station number 219), located around 538 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. It is a first-generation Line 2 station that began operations on December 23, 1982, with the opening of the Line 2 section between Sports Complex and Gyodae. Its name derives from Samseong-dong, the administrative neighborhood, and is not directly related to the Samsung Group. Today, Samseong Station is a representative business, exhibition, and international conference hub in southeastern Seoul, with COEX, the Korea World Trade Center, and the Teheran-ro business district in its hinterland.

Main Details

Location and History

Samseong Station belongs to Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, and borders Samseong-ro to the east and Yeongdong-daero to the west. Until the 1970s, the area was an urban fringe of mixed rice paddies and fields, but in the late 1970s, Yeongdong development and the construction of Teheran-ro led to the formation of a large business district, fundamentally changing the urban structure. Line 2 broke ground in 1978 and opened in stages; the Sports Complex–Gyodae section including Samseong Station opened on December 23, 1982. Later, as the Korea World Trade Center and trade exhibition halls were built in the late 1980s, the area around the station grew into a bona fide international business center.

Station Structure and Use

Samseong Station operates with two side platforms and two tracks on two underground levels, and platform screen doors are installed. Exits are numbered 1 through 10; in particular, exits toward COEX and the World Trade Center are directly connected to the underground pedestrian network, concentrating large crowds during major exhibitions and events. Average daily boardings and alightings are around 90,000–100,000, making it one of the major stations in the upper ranks of Line 2. Adjacent stations are Seolleung (218) and Sports Complex (220), and within walking distance are Samseong Jungang and Bongeunsa stations on Line 9, effectively forming a broader metropolitan transfer living zone.

Surrounding Facilities

Around the station are clustered the COEX exhibition halls and convention hall, Starfield Library, COEX Aquarium, ASEM Tower, Trade Tower (54 stories above ground), Hyundai Department Store Trade Center Branch, Parnas Tower, and Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas. Bongeunsa Temple and residential and cultural facilities such as Samseong-dong I-PARK are also within walking distance, and along Teheran-ro are continuously arranged headquarters of major corporations, financial and IT companies, and startup offices. As a result, the Samseong Station area is considered a place of constant congestion, with commuter foot traffic overlapping with visitors drawn by exhibitions and convention events.

Transportation and Development Plans

Samseong Station was long a single-line station on Line 2, but it is being reorganized into a major transfer hub through the Yeongdong-daero underground space complex development project and the promotion of Great Train eXpress (GTX) lines. Under the International Exchange Complex District plan, the COEX area and the Yeongdong-daero underground are being developed in an integrated manner, and in this process Samseong Station is expected to expand its function into a complex transfer center combining walking, rail, and bus.

Latest Trends

As of 2024–2025, the biggest changes at Samseong Station are construction of the GTX-A Samseong Station stop and the full-scale launch of the Yeongdong-daero underground space complex development. GTX-A Samseong Station is being pursued with the goal of opening around 2028, and alongside this, plans for additional lines such as GTX-C and the Wirye–Sinsa Line to pass through or transfer at Samseong Station are under discussion. Traffic congestion and changes to pedestrian routes in the Teheran-ro and Yeongdong-daero area due to prolonged construction have emerged as major issues for local merchants and office workers. Meanwhile, COEX is pursuing expansion of exhibition infrastructure while also discussing relocation to Magok, and modernization of aging facilities around the World Trade Center and expansion of nighttime scenery and cultural content are continuing. Samseong Station is thus drawing attention as a key node of transportation and economy in southeastern Seoul, where large-scale development is concentrated.