From The Outside, KAL's "7 Star Hanok Hotel" Showcases Excellence in Freight

Remember Korean Air's "hanok hotel" project in  Songhyeon-dong(see "Korean Air Grounded : Seoul 7 Star Hotel Delayed")? Rather than traditional Korean architecture, the first aerial views bring to mind plane hangars ("Excellence in Freight"?), computer chips, old tape recorder keys, or maybe the kind of golden piano keys Liberace's diamond-laden fingers would love to strike:

Source "7성급 한옥호텔'이라더니…귀퉁이 영빈관이 '고작'"  (News1 - 20140417) via Naver

The architect KIM Won - who worked with the great KIM Swoo-geun at Space Group - went as far as wondering if this was truly the work of a renowned colleague (Mario Botta, who did the round part of the Leeum), and how this thing could pretend to be inspired by hanok.

Yes, if you look closely in the upper left corner, you do find a couple of hanoks, but they sound very much like the "Hanok Alibi" I wrote about last year in "Build a hanok and they will come - Marketing impostures and genuine slow urbanism":

twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/310299015470256128

And you can't even see them from the street the way you do for the Office of Royal Genealogy at the nearby MMCA Seoul*..., but that's consistent with a non-inclusive, resolutely exclusive 7-star concept that, otherwise and regardless of its degree of hanokness, seems optimized to leverage on intense foot traffic at a key touristic intersection, with a gallery facing Insadong. 

Note that unlike in Blingblingistan (a.k.a. Dubai), hotel classifications don't reach as far as 7 stars in Korea, but that's another story. At least - speaking of stories - this high-profile project remains low-rise...

... and at ground level for the moment, because the land has remained untouched so far. I took this view from across the street a couple of years ago...

November 2011

... and News1 published this close-up yesterday: 

Source "서울 호텔 이용률 78.9%, 공급과잉 우려"  (News1 - 20140416)

News1's shot was taken not far from where the gallery will be erected, at the bottom righ corner in the aerial view above. This angle prolongs the Insadong axis, and you can see the Folk Museum, Cheong Wa Dae, and Bugaksan in the background.

Note that this last picture illustrated an article about the mounting risk of hotel rooms oversupply in Seoul, a recurrent topic on my own "Korean errlines"**, and an issue raised yesterday by the CCEJ (Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice) during a meeting where the so-called 'hanok hotel' came under fire.

Intense lobbying eventually seems to be paying for KAL, and leveraging the government's recent deregulation frenzy, an obviously tailor-made reform took care last month of the law that had blocked the company for years (no hotels could be built near schools, and there's a couple of them just next door):

"Law changes to allow hotels near schools. Will #KoreanAir build its 'hanokized' 7-star near #Anguk?" (20140327)
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/449016361151242241

So if you want an aerial view from a hotel with hanok, I suggest the one I took a couple of days ago from the 23rd floor of The Shilla:

"#Jangchung Gymnasium in its #Colosseum stage (in the distance, #DDPSeoul, #Doota Tower)"
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/455589503902568448

Following a bottom right - top left diagonal:

• in the right corner: the hotel's Yeong Bing Gwan, a 1967 hanok used for weddings and receptions
• in the center: the old Jangchung Gymnasium, beheaded during its renovation, almost looks like Roma's Colosseo
• in the background: on the way to Doota Tower, the shining flank of the giant squid (the DDP - see "Sneak peek inside Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Park")

And of course, Wongudan's Hwanggungu Pavilion is still standing on Westin Chosun territory.

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* BTW if you fancy more animated aerial views of this block, re-watch "MMCA Seoul from above")
** along with the future magnets on each side of the Gyeongbokgung: this KAL hotel and the Four Seasons (see for instance "Four Seasons Seoul", "A 6 Star Hotel in Gwanghwamun?")

No cablecars in Bukhansan, please

The old Eunpyeong New Town cable car project that raised many critics from environmentalists in the late noughties has been revived yesterday by Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon as a cheap quick fix for recurrent traffic jams between the new town and downtown*. Traffic jams that (sorry for repeating always the same things) should have been avoided in the first place, and public transit solutions considered as core elements of the said new town (an obviousness for any urban planner except - it seems - in this part of the world).

I can't deny the fact that cable cars are cheaper than, say, a railway extension such as the one the same Mayor promised last summer in his initial Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Master Plan, a very ambitious wish list where the Sinbundang Line was supposed to be prolonged to Pyongchang-dong, the infinity and beyond (see "If you ain't broke, fix it: Seoul, Welfare and Railways Deficits). Cable cars are even cheaper than the already environment-unfriendly Eunpyeong-Seochon tunnel considered two years ago, a car-centric nonsense that triggered the following rant from this excuse for a blogger (see "2 more tunnels up North"):

"Eunpyeong-gu definitely needs more connections with the rest of the city, but the priority for a forward looking city should be to develop public transportation, and deter people from using their cars in already saturated areas. 
I mean come on : Seoul is digging tunnels #10 and #11, and not one of them has ever been for a subway or a railway! It's as if the mind frame was set on 1960s and 1970s instead of the new millenium: more people? build more roads, sell more cars! and don't bother with medium / long term consequences! 
This totally contradicts Seoul's efforts to develop tourism and international attractiveness: downtown is not supposed to become again an environmental nightmare and a communication failure."

But Seoul is not Santiago do Chile, where funicular railways made perfect sense to connect higher neighborhoods with the rest of the city. Here, cable cars would follow a roller coaster from ground level to ground level in an endless, preventable eyesore that would totally ruin Bukhansan (via Samgaksan, Bugaksan, Inwangsan), one of the capital's most valuable assets - not to mention, of course, Seoul fortress... and downtown Seoul as a whole, because this monster would go all the way from Gupabal Station to City Hall (either in a straight line of 9.6 km, or in a 11 km course that would pass over Tongil-ro via Yeonsinnae and Dongnimun)! All this to shrink to 20 mn a journey that takes 40-50 mn by car or 30-35 mn by subway!

And they have the gall to sell it as a potential tourist asset as great as the London Cable Car, an urban abomination only topped by the ArcelorMittal Orbit as the most embarrassing erection of the 2012 Olympics (in a city with a recent history already rich in urban disasters). 

Of course the view could be interesting from above, but that's what you'd see from under:

The Emirates Air Line, a.k.a. the London Cable Car, a low cost bridge over River Thames. Now picture that as you stroll around Sejongno, Seochon, or Jeong-dong... "touristic", isn't it?

Brits can do whatever they want over this part of the Thames, I won't let downtown Seoul welcome a new elevated wart, not even a decade after the restoration of Cheonggyecheon.

This project insults the city's past, present and future. Seoul can't fix Eunpyeong New Town's failure by making it even worse and more visible. 

So back to the drawing board, and I'm begging you, next time, please try to look for more sustainable ways.

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* see "서울시, 은평뉴타운~서울 도심 케이블카 건설 검토 논란" (Chosun Ilbo 20131118)

NO WAY! Park Won-soon considering cablecar connections between Eunpyeong new town and downtown Seoul! Save Bukhansan from this madness!
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/402245416474800128

MMCA Seoul from above

The recently rebranded National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea unveiled this video of the MMCA Seoul branch to be inaugurated this November (see "MOCA goes MMCA - Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art"):




I like the vivid rendering of the neighborhood:

• starting northwards, along Samcheong-ro: to the left the Gyeongbokgung, to the right Sogyeok-dong galleries and the new museum, with in the distance Bugaksan

• the virtual camera turns to the right and the former DSC's main building, which shed its white coating to bare its red bricks - and still those wonderful semicircular staircases I caught by night under last month's Supermoon:



"Supermoon" over the future #MMCASeoul
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/348434489560686593

Very spectacular from the inside as well. I took this picture during the 2009 ASYAAF (NB: don't forget: this year's edition is back to Culture Station Seoul 284 - until August 18 for the second part)



• about halfway into the video, we're slowing down before the next building, to enjoy the now cleared view on the large hanok in the background.

• we then start taking off slowly to appreciate the renovations and extensions, the gardens and green rooftops, and a well located terrasse at the corner with Bukchon-ro 5-gil

• before fading away to make room for the MMCA logo, the whole block is visible (Yulgok-ro to the South, Gamgodang-gil to the East, Samcheong-ro to the West, Bukchon-ro 5-gil to the North)

I won't say that I'm thrilled by the architecture, which reminds me a bit of my old ESSEC Campus (vintage 1973) before its renovation, but this project does mark an improvement for the neighborhood. At least if you compare it to the past (a low-rise open space replacing the gated Defense Security Command), or to Yongsan's criminal NMK (yes I love the National Museum of Korea, but from the outside doesn't it look like a ceausescuesque cinder block?).

Anyway, we shall judge MMCA Seoul from the inside, with all its hidden levels and services, and of course fully populated with collections, exhibitions, and humans.

I can't wait!


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Yulgokno Tunnel

I took these two grainy pictures with my dumbphone, and didn't need Instagram to give them a sepia look: if GCS Int'l enjoy a fantastic view on downtown Seoul, and if they know how to host a seminar*, their windows need some washing.

That's what I call a minor room for improvement.

The problem is when 'improvement' takes too much room, like when the city renovates one of its most strategic boulevards, Yulgokno. Here I'm recycling the ugly sketch I drew for my focus on "Inwangsan's Great Wall and Seoul's Royal "T" Time":

Just to help you locate GCS HQs on Yulgokno, this is their Northern view, from Gwonnong-dong: a section of Changdeokgung (east of Donhwamun, the palace's main gate), Bugaksan in the distance (the mountain), and the hills of Wonseo-dong in-between (Bukchon area, close to Gahoe-dong in the sketch).

Now next slide, please:

Here's a Northeastern view with the four lanes of Yulgokno heading for Wonnam-dong Sageori. You can make out the small footbridge connecting Jongmyo (right) with Changgyeonggung-Changdeokgung Palaces (left), and the working site with its sign advertising the "improvement of Yulgokno in front of Changdeokgung".

From the start*, I applauded the project to reunite Jongmyo and Changdeokgung by covering a section of Yulgokno, but also wondered how the city would manage two more lanes of traffic, and if all impacts were carefully considered (cultural heritage, environment, bicycles, pedestrians...).

Judging by this shot, we're at the stage where asphalt gains over green: the old and peaceful woods of Jongmyo have already shrunk to make room for two more lanes, or at least to divert the traffic during the process.

The doubts remain: I wouldn't want this section of Yulgokno to become yet another dark tunnel, yet another repellent for humans and cyclists, yet another neighborhood sacrificed to Car Almighty. What would be the point of reconnecting North with South while disconnecting East from West?

So let's keep an eye on this one. And if needed, let's summon the ghosts of Sulla-gil. Anyway, they too are watching. Yes, that's Seo Sulla-gil, the street starting right at the working site's gate. And if you want to learn more about that haunted 'patrol way', meet "Jongmyo Ghosts".

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* the Asia Institute seminar on North Korean nuclear power (see "NK and nukes: back to the (dolsot curling) stone age?")
**see "Jongno-gu renovation (continued)", following "Jongmyo-Changdeokgung reunited"

Neighborhood watch

Did you know that Yeonhui-dong area was seriously considered by Jeoson dynasty founders for their new capital (nowadays Seoul)? They eventually chose Bugaksan instead of Ansan because the place could be defended more easily, but Sinchon owes its name (new village) to that period, and King Sejong loved the place so much he built a palace for his father. Unfortunately, nothing remains of it and no one knows where Yeonhuigung was precisely erected. I guess somewhere along what is now Yeonhui-ro, not far from Yeonhuimat-gil, where a streamlet used to flow a few decades ago: according to feng shui, you had to have a 'ying' mountain behind you, and a 'yang' river below.

Anyway. It was then said that some day, kings would live here. And it turns out that two former presidents have a residence in Yeonhui-dong (Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo), and that former president Kim Dae-jung used to live just a few blocks away, in Donggyo-dong (and to shop at Saruga, then the country's first supermarket). Note that Chun and Roh share ROK army backgrounds, and that land was granted to high ranking officers in the area following the Korean War: fierce combats raged in Yeonhui-dong around Hill 104, a strategic position, and a gateway to the Capital.

These days, Roh Tae-woo is very ill and Chun Doo-hwan seldom leaves home. As is the custom for former presidents, their residences are heavily guarded, and you can tell when a big fish is visiting by the insigna of the people waiting outside. Guards have to live in the vicinity, and a whistleblower recently revealed that the crew in charge of protecting Chun used, free of charge, a building within the Seoul Art Space Yeonhui* domain (next to his residence), and that the contract would expire on April 30th.

Last year, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon received a welcomed last minute boost for his election when a scandal broke out regarding the future personal protection of President Lee Myung-bak (suspicious land acquisitions for his retirement place and security facilities). In this even bigger election year, chances are he won't renew a contract that ensures for free, in the most charming public residence for writers, the protection of a former dictator.

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*see "Seoul Art Space Yeonhui"

---
UPDATE 20120208

As expected, Seoul Metropolitan Government won't renew the contract: "Chun's security detail to be booted off city land" (in today's Korea JoongAng Daily)

Jongno-gu renovation (continued)

Seoul is a permanent working site and even downtown, countless buildings are under construction. Some positive work is also under way for the preservation of Jongno heritages and even if I've been watching them every day it's hard to keep track of everything. A few updates :

- Gwanghwamun : after spreading its wings (lateral walls) over the past few weeks, the gate has just grown feathers (splendid dark tiles) and shedding duvet (the multicolor silhouette of Gwanghwamun was removed from the metal structure covering the renovation site). Inauguration day is definitely approaching, and I'm quite excited : I was glad to see the old Japanese government building disappear, and I can't wait to see the royal Sejongno-Gwanghwamun-Bugaksan-Bukansan perspective fully restored.

- To the East - Yulgokno tunnel (see "Jongmyo-Changdeokgung reunited") : here is what the 275 m long structure will look like around Donhwamun - Wonnam-dong. Constructors are being selected until September, work will start in October, and inauguration is scheduled for EOY 2012. As I mentioned before, I very much like the ideas of reconnecting Changdeok palace with Jongmyo, and of burying traffic underground, but the cultural alibi doesn't excuse the 50% increase in traffic (from 4 to 6 lanes, even if - or so do I hope at least - two are reserved for buses and public transportation). Traffic must be diverted from downtown instead of increased, and what Seoul needs is an underground circular bypass to aleviate traffic (ie beween East, Northeast, West, Northwest, without passing by city center). Furthermore, this is not a tunnel but a hill built over a road, with the risk of pulling further apart two neighborhoods.

- To the West - sidewalk renovations West of Gwanghwamun towards Sajik-dan (see "Sajik-dan enshrined, Naeja-dong revived ?") are well advanced now on both sides of Sajikno, and the Gyeongbokgung Station exits far more welcoming. Note that Seoul is getting serious about the look of its streets : you've already noticed the nice grey booths for street vendors, and the elegant black signs mentioning touristic landmarks. Jongno-gu voted stricter guidelines for outdoor advertising, particularly on commercial buildings. This revolution will not happen overnight, but change seems on the way.

- To the South : Junghakcheon restoration (see "Pimatgol, a streamlet runs through it") is advancing as well in a post-war landscape : many buildings have been removed around Gwanghwamun Square and Jongro, most lately on Doryeom-dong-gil, where I wouldn't be surprised to see archeologists find interesting vestiges under the rubbles from very ugly commercial buildings from the late 60s - early 70s. The atmosphere is really strange, particularly in Cheongjin-dong (former Pimatgol and future KT headquarters). On Shinmunro, two new pedestrian crossings have been created. One goes from the Seoul Museum of History to the new building about to be completed next to Citibank. Between both buildings, the Russian Legation (previously hidden by nondescript horrors) is now clearly visible to all visitors to the museum or to Gyeonghui Palace. The other pedestrian crossing is next to the Gangbuk Samsung Hospital, surprisingly close to the existing crossing joining Jeongdong... but not that surprising if you remember that other renovation project : Donuimun gate should be reconstructed precisely between both pedestrian crossings (see "Donuimun restoration and Sadaemun resurrection")... so I guess construction could be starting pretty soon.Seoul Village 2010

2 more tunnels up North

If you look at a map, you can't help but notice how Bukhansan cuts in two the Northern part of Seoul. The need to rethink the whole transportation system is becoming everyday more obvious, with a double boom in the Nortwestern (ie Eunpyeong New Town) and Northeastern (ie Uijeongbu / Nowon-gu / Mia-Gireum New Town...) halves.

Two more tunnels will be dug into Bukhansan by 2013, but they look like quick fixes likely to worsen the situation. And there doesn't seem to be any long term vision, any big picture.

Basically, I often compare Bukhansan with an ocean consisting of 3 parts :

=> the main green body : Bukhansan mountain itself, mostly inhabited except for the national park and temples. Seoul claims only the Southwestern half of this block, the rest being split between Uijeongbu, Yangju, and Goyang.

=> Pyeongchang-dong "island" : a valley essentially connected with the rest of the city via artificial tunnels, serpentine paths in the mountains, and the Hongjaecheon streamlet (along Segeomjeong-gil, towards Seodaemun-gu). Actually, the "sea" of Bukhan mountain stops at the Northern shore of this island : mount Bugak claims East and South, and mount Inwang closes the circle (Inwangsan Strait ?). Two "peninsulas" almost reach this island : Seongbuk-dong and Hongeun-dong, respectively from the East and from the West.

=> elsewhere, "Bukhansan ocean shores" are by no means straight lines. They also include smaller "presque-isles" (such as Ui-dong in Dobong-gu). Bukhansan buttresses push further southwards, adding complexity to the landscape (ie the Ansan "lake" beyond Inwangsan to the West, Naksan to the East).

No subway line crosses this ocean. There is an old railway running just North of the mountain in Yangju (Seoul suburban line - 서울교외선 - was built in the early 60s), but nothing until you reach Subway line 3, over 15 km below. Yeongchang inhabitants rely only on unprotected bus lines for public transportation.

Namsan also needs some fixing but there, the equation looks much more simple : considerably smaller, but also more central after Hanyang grew into Seoul (absorbing Yongsan in the process), that mountain is relatively well covered and criscrossed by several tunnels providing direct connections with the South of Han river (via Hannam Bridge, Banpo Bridge...). In 2000-2001, Subway line 6 filled a major gap in the city map by wrapping the Southern side of the mountain.

Over the past 40 years, the only strategy for Bukhansan area has been digging tunnels for cars :

- First came the Sajik Tunnel, in May 1967. Seoul's first tunnel ever prolonged the Royal T* towards Seodaemun and solved part of the Inwangsan problem. It was upgraded in 1980, one year after the completion of Geumhwa Tunnel. Cutting through mount Ansan, that one prolonged the road to Yonsei University.

- Samcheong Tunnel was completed in December 1970, connecting Samcheong-dong (Jongno-gu) with Seongbuk-dong (then Dongdaemun-gu, now Seongbuk-gu). But it must have been the other way round : the elite living in Seongbuk-dong heights obviously needed a shortcut to join downtown and the center of power without passing by Hyehwa rotary.

- A few months later (August 1971), the much longer Bugak Tunnel connected Pyeongchang island / valley with Jeongneung-dong, Seongbuk-gu. On the other side of this tunnel upgraded in December 1991, Segeomjeong-gil, Pyeonchang-dong's main road, becomes Jeongneung-gil, which leads to the main N/S axis East of Bukhansan : Dongsomunno, named Miaro here and Dobongno upper to the North.

- In December 1980, Gugi Tunnel completed Bukhansan's first East-West axis as it made the junction between Eunpyeong-gu (Bulgwang-dong) and "Pyeongchang island" (Gugi-dong) : now Jiheungno road goes all the way from the same Segeomjeong-gil to Dongilro, the biggest road West of Bukhansan, which becomes Euijuro as it nears city center.

- In August 1986, Jahamun Tunnel doubled the link between the island and downtown, this time West of the Gyeongbokgung, between Cheongun-dong and Buam-dong and next to the old gate. Pyeongchang island appears now more clearly as a part of Jongno-gu. But even if it's much bigger than Samcheongdong-gil, Jahamun-gil is already pouring too much traffic into Gwanghwamun Station area... and one of the new tunnels will bring even more cars there...

- A second West-East axis was built in 1999, this time without any stop in Pyeongchang : the Naebu Expressway (내부순환고속도로) simply crosses this area from Hongeun-dong, Seodaemun-gu to Jeongneung-dong, right below the Bugak Tunnel exit. Most of the journey is in Hongjimun Tunnel and Jeongneung Tunnel, with just, between them, a short outdoor section overlooking the Hongjaecheon streamlet in Pyeongchang-dong (no exit, no entry).

- Sapaesan Tunnel was inaugurated in December 2007 with the Uijeongbu-Songchu / Ilsan section of the Seoul Ring Expressway (서울외곽순환고속도로, also known as Expressway 100 or Seoul Beltway). This 4 km long hole in the Northest part of Bukhansan (not even in Seoul city) was postponed after fierce resistance from local monks who wanted to preserve the soul of the mountain.

So what we have right now is basically a square covering one tenth of Seoul superficies but totally void of subway, and drawn by 4 axis facing saturation :

- North : while Segeomjeong-gil, Pyeongchang's main street, tends to look like a highway in Greater L.A., Naebu Expressway commutes flocks of cars across Seoul very much like the infamous Cheonggyecheon elevated highway used to... but at least it's hiding most of the time in this area.
- West : Dongilro-Uijuro is totally clogged now that Eunpyeong New Town massively welcomes its inhabitants.
- East : similar verdict for Dongsomunno after the completion of Mia-Gireum New Town.
- South : Yulgokno is almost constantly blocked, Sajikno starts "enjoying" the Eunpyeong effect, and each crossroad screams for traffic saturation (Anguk Station, Gyeongbokgung Station, Samcheong-dong-gil, Wonnam-dong Sagori, Ihwa Sagori).

Now here are the two newcomers, to be inaugurated on December 2013 :

=> Pyeongchang Tunnel : 4 lanes, 2.32 km. Toll : KRW 1,000.
Between the main Pyeongchang's main crossroad, Shinyong-dong Samgori (which should then become Sagori), and Seongbuk-dong-gil, the main street leading to Dongseomunno at Hansung University Station (Subway line 4). It somehow prolongs Gogi Tunnel and will prevent Pyeongchang inhabitants from being disturbed by Northwesterners who just want to go Southeast. But overall, more traffic will land on Dongsomunno.

=> Eunpyeongsae-gil : 4 lanes, 5.72 km. Toll : KRW 1,100.
Northwest to Southeast between Dongilro in Eunpyeong-gu (about halfway between Gubapal and Yeongsinnae stations - Subway line 3) and Jahamun-gil... more traffic ahead for Jahamun Tunnel ! Bonus, two interchanges : Yeonsin IC at Yeonsinno, and Bulgwang IC near Bulgwang Station (Lines 3 and 6). Here, the main motivation seems to relieve traffic from saturated Dongilro. Only the Ministry of Environment opposes these environmental unfriendly projects. Otherwise, nobody cares if it exports the mess in a National Park and a supposedly protected area.

Eunpyeong-gu definitely needs more connections with the rest of the city, but the priority for a forward looking city should be to develop public transportation, and deter people from using their cars in already saturated areas.

I mean come on : Seoul is digging tunnels #10 and #11, and not one of them has ever been for a subway or a railway ! It's as if the mind frame was set on 1960s and 1970s instead of the new millenium : more people ? build more roads, sell more cars ! and don't bother with medium / long term consequences !

This totally contradicts Seoul's efforts to develop tourism and international attractiveness : downtown is not supposed to become again an environmental nightmare and a communication failure.

New technologies make tunnelling much easier and cheaper : multiply subway lines and bury the cars ! Build underground beltways, get rid of commuting traffic clogging and polluting without any reason the city center**, destroy those ugly elevated highways ! Gangnam (not the gu but the Southern half of Seoul) is building an underground expressway system. How about Gangbuk ? How about a new, sustainable masterplan for public transportation ?

Can anyone please stop this nonsense ?

Seoul Village 2009

* see "Inwangsan's Great Wall and Seoul's Royal "T" Time"
** I don't think the future tunnel under royal palaces (see "Jongmyo - Changdeokgung reunited") is considered as something else as an underground section of Yulgokno but typically, it could become one of many entry or exit points for a new inner ring.