South Korean Park Welcomes Dramatic Staircase Akin To A Walkable Rollercoaster

Is that a brand-new, 230-foot-tall roller coaster situated in South Korea’s Hwanho Park in Pohang?

Surprisingly, despite its twist and turns, the SpaceWalk is actually an incredible staircase sculpture by German artists Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth. That’s right—the largest contemporary public artwork ever installed in the nation is a looping walkable “rollercoaster” in the sky.

According to Colossal, the monument is made from galvanized and stainless steel on a cement base, with rows of LED lights added to make it appear even more ethereal, a subtle nod to its references to local mythology. 

“At night, in particular, the brightly-illuminated walkway appears like a sigil drawn in the sky, appearing to represent different things depending on where one is standing,” explained Mutter and Genth. 

Upon entering the central staircase, visitors can choose between a gentle walkway with a view of Yeongil Bay and a steeper slope that leads through a helix. As its name attests, SpaceWalk aims to make residents feel as though they’re exiting a spaceship and experiencing the weightlessness of the cosmos.

“More literally, SpaceWalk can be understood to mean ‘a walk through space,’” said the artists. 

The Korea Herald noted that, while up on the 333-meter-long (1,090-foot-long) curved steel sculpture, visitors can take in the sights of the nearby Pohang steel mill, Young Bay, and Youngildae Beach, with the views very much worth the gander to the top. 

Not to mention, the monument has been built to withstand the toughest of conditions, even earthquakes up to a magnitude of 6.5.

317 tons of steel were used to construct it, and 250 pedestrians are allowed to be on its beams at the same time.

Take a more detailed look at the picturesque sculpture below.

[via Colossal and Korea Herald, images via Heike Mutter & Ulrich Genth]