00:00 Intro
00:32 Seoullo 7017: A Different Place at Night
01:31 Cockroach Infestation: Is Cat Food to Blame?
02:53 Why Is Eradication So Difficult?
04:18 Protecting the Landmark
Seoullo 7017, a park transformed from an old overpass right in front of Seoul Station, has become a popular urban walking destination. It is also known among foreign tourists as a spot for night views. However, what has become more famous than the night view lately is none other than cockroaches. A video posted on social media by a foreign tourist, showing a swarm of cockroaches crawling over a bench, has shocked many online. I visited Seoullo 7017 myself to see what is going on.
1. Seoullo 7017: A Different Place at Night
This is what it looks like during the day. You could see people resting peacefully under the shade of trees. I also visited at night, when cockroaches are active in search of food. As it reached the early morning hours when fewer people were around, cockroaches were still crawling out from various places at the site.
[Lee Min-young & Choi Jun-seo / Gangseo-gu, Seoul: We were talking about it today. This bridge is crawling with cockroaches. You wouldn't expect to find them here, since it's high up and on a bridge.]
The cockroaches that have taken over Seoullo 7017 are known as Japanese cockroaches, a type of house-infesting species. Experts say climate change is the most likely cause.
[Senior Researcher, Korea Pest Control Association: When we look at why this happened all of a sudden, temperature is likely the number one factor. More broadly, it would be climate conditions. Rising temperatures make it easier for them to overwinter and increase their survival rate. Do they have the potential to thrive outdoors like this? The basic condition is overwintering, and this is a species capable of that.]
2. Cockroach Infestation: Is Cat Food to Blame?
However, rumors have been circulating online that the cockroaches are gathering because of cat food scattered throughout Seoullo. The Seoul Metropolitan Government states that it is not cat food. Since it is an overpass, there are no cats, and therefore, so-called cat moms who feed cats do not operate there, they explained. However, they believe the food is being left to feed pigeons, and Seoullo security guards are patrolling, cleaning, and conducting awareness campaigns. Perhaps because of this, I did not see any visible signs of what looked like pet food on the night of June 24, when I visited. Still, if any food is scattered on the walking path, it could affect the reproduction of cockroaches.
[Senior Researcher, Korea Pest Control Association: It does help them. But it is difficult to see this as the sole reason. If basic climate conditions are met and some food is provided, it acts as a positive factor that increases their survival and reproductive rates, but you cannot say this is the only cause.]
However, cockroaches are omnivores that can even eat wood. Since they need protein sources to reproduce, food scattered on the road could aid their proliferation. In addition to pet food, food scraps dropped by people while walking could also sufficiently contribute to the appearance of cockroaches.
3. Why Is Eradication So Difficult?
Immediately after the controversy over the cockroach infestation, the Seoul Metropolitan Government began pest control operations.
[Management Team Leader, Seoullo 7017 Management Office: We conducted the first self-disinfection by the Jung-gu Public Health Center on June 15, and a professional company came to diagnose the cause on June 16. The professional company carried out the first round of pest control on June 18.]
When I visited Seoullo 7017, it had already been a week since the two rounds of pest control were completed. Does it not show immediate effects after one or two rounds? The Seoul Metropolitan Government explained, "The effects are continuing to appear," and "Since the population continues to increase in summer when temperatures and humidity rise, we are currently working to reduce the number of individuals." However, experts say it will be difficult for the cockroaches to disappear completely.
[Dahuk, YouTuber specializing in insects and reptiles: If they carry out (pest control) very aggressively, I think the population will decrease significantly, but the moment that control stops, it will increase again. I don't think there will ever be a time in the future where we won't see cockroaches at all.]
[Senior Researcher, Korea Pest Control Association: I think a space that is open and freely used by people is the most difficult to manage. These species even have the ability to defend themselves against natural enemies. If ants attack, they have the ability to defend themselves by secreting substances from their bodies. That is the reason they have survived.]
4. Protecting the Landmark
Seoullo 7017, which marks its 10th year of operation this year, is a landmark visited by over 6 million citizens and tourists annually. As a space used by many people, hygiene management is an important task, as cockroaches can carry various germs while moving between sewers and drainage facilities. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it plans to conduct pest control once a month until October, both by professional companies and local public health centers, to reduce the population before they overwinter. Although the management budget for Seoullo 7017 has been cut by nearly half since it was switched to a direct management system by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in 2022, the city explained that this pest control "is being carried out within the existing budget because it is not at a level that requires a separate additional budget." With experts diagnosing that it is difficult to completely eliminate the cockroaches, the task ahead is how to manage the landmark so that citizens can visit it with peace of mind.
Reported by Jeong Jiyeon | Produced by Shin Heesook | Video by Kim Sang-yoon | Video Editing by Jang Yu-jin | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
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