Seoullo 7017 is an old overpass right in front of Seoul Station that was transformed into a park, becoming a popular walking spot in the heart of the city. It is also known among foreign tourists as a prime spot to enjoy night views. However, these days, what has become more famous than the night view is none other than cockroaches. This is a video posted on social media by a foreign tourist. As the video of cockroaches crawling all over a bench spread online, many people were shocked. To see what was happening, I visited Seoullo 7017 myself. This is what it looks like during the day. People could be seen resting peacefully under the shade of the trees. I also visited at night, when cockroaches are active in search of food. In the early morning hours, when there were few people around, cockroaches were still seen crawling out from various spots.[Lee Min-young and Choi Jun-seo / Gangseo-gu, Seoul: "We talked about it today. That this bridge is crawling with cockroaches. You'd think there wouldn't be any cockroaches here, since it's high up and on a bridge."]

The cockroaches occupying Seoullo 7017 are house cockroaches, commonly known as "Japanese cockroaches." Experts say climate change is the most likely cause. However, rumors have also spread online. Some suggest that cockroaches are gathering because of "cat food" scattered throughout Seoullo. The Seoul Metropolitan Government denies that it is cat food. They explained that because it is an elevated overpass, there are no cats, and therefore no so-called "cat moms" (people who feed stray cats) are active there. Instead, they believe the food was scattered to feed pigeons. Consequently, Seoullo security guards are patrolling, cleaning, and conducting public awareness campaigns. Perhaps because of this, nothing resembling animal feed was visible on the night of June 24, when I visited. However, any food scattered on the walkway could certainly affect the breeding of cockroaches.

However, cockroaches are omnivorous and can even eat wood. Since they also need a protein source to reproduce, feed scattered on the streets can aid their proliferation. In addition to animal feed, food dropped by people while walking could also easily contribute to the cockroach infestation.
Immediately after the controversy over the cockroach infestation arose, the Seoul Metropolitan Government naturally began pest control operations.

[Management Team Leader, Seoullo Management Office: "On June 15, the Jung-gu Public Health Center conducted the first round of self-pest control. On June 16, a professional pest control company came to diagnose the cause. On June 18, the professional company carried out the first round of pest control."]

When I visited Seoullo 7017, a week had already passed since the completion of the two pest control operations. Does the effect not show immediately after just one or two rounds? The Seoul Metropolitan Government explained, "The effects are continuously showing," adding, "Since the population continues to increase in the summer when temperatures and humidity rise, we are currently working to reduce their numbers." However, experts say it will be difficult for the cockroaches to disappear completely.

[Daheuk / Insect and reptile YouTuber: "If they do pest control really aggressively, I think the population will decrease significantly. However, the moment that disinfection stops, the numbers will increase again. I don't think there will ever be a time in the future when we don't see cockroaches at all."]
Seoullo 7017, marking its 10th year since opening this year, is a landmark visited by more than 6 million citizens and tourists annually. As it is a space used by many people, hygiene management is also a crucial task, especially since cockroaches can carry various bacteria as they move between sewers and drainage facilities. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced plans to conduct pest control operations once a month until this coming October, with both professional companies and local public health centers participating, to reduce the population before they overwinter. Although the management budget for Seoullo 7017 was cut by nearly half after transitioning to direct management by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in 2022, the city explained that the current pest control "is being carried out within the existing budget as it does not require a separate additional budget." With experts diagnosing that it is difficult to completely eradicate cockroaches, how to manage this Seoul landmark so that citizens can visit with peace of mind has become a future challenge.