Any Thais who happened to lose a shoe or two while visiting South Korea might be able to find them again in a 17-metre-tall art installation unveiled outside Seoul Station on Saturday.

“Shoes Tree” is made of more than 30,000 well-worn shoes and, since its unveiling coincided with the opening of Seoullo 7017 – the city’s first roadway- turned-pedestrian park – it’s probably intended to get people walking.

Modelled after New York’s much-admired High Line park, a re-purposed railway, Seoul’s strolling park stretches for about a kilometre and links to surrounding areas, including Seoul Station and Namdaemun Market.

“Shoes Tree” at the centre of Seoullo 7017 was designed and installed by environmental artist Hwang Ji-hae. Flower seeds have been planted inside each shoe.

Environmental artist Hwang Jihae’s “Shoes Tree” is a towering art installation made of used footwear. Photo/The Korea Herald

“We invited Hwang to install it here to demonstrate the meaning of ‘urban restoration’,” says Choi Kwang-bin of the city’s gardening department. (Yes, Seoul has a gardening department.) “Both ‘Shoes Tree’ and Seoullo 7017 are given new life with new meaning, reborn as creative upcycled art and a unique park, respectively.”

Hwang made his tree out of shoes to pay tribute to historic Yeomcheon-gyo, a street long famous for its purveyors of handmade shoes, which is right behind Seoullo 7017.

Seoullo 7017, begun four years ago, makes use of the disused overpass of a highway that once connected western and central Seoul. Citizens wanted the overpass removed after it was classified as dangerous in 2006.

The “70” in the new parkway’s name refers to 1970, when the Seoul Station flyover was constructed, while the “17” alludes to the number of walkways connected to it, as well as this year.

“Shoes Tree” will be in place through May 29. Residents were able to hang their own shoes and drawings of flowers on the installation when it was unveiled on Saturday.

Other events involving citizen participation will continue at Seoullo 7017 until June 18.