Seoul Smart Life Week - What happens in Vegas stays in Seoul?

So taking more space at CES was not enough: Seoul wants to be a match with the World's leading consumer electronics show and launch 'Seoul Smart Life Week' later this year (Oct 7-9 in COEX).

Mayor OH Se-hoon announced the event at the 640 sqm Seoul Pavilion in Tech West Eureka Park, where 81 companies exhibited their solutions and gizmos (very strong biotech and A.I. verticals behind  Seoul Biohub and Seoul AI Hub). 18 of them claimed a CES Award, but the prize OH and Seoul Business Agency are after means even bigger bucks.

Well the first edition 'only' aims at 100 cities and 200,000 visitors, but it takes time to install a big show in a crowded calendar, and COEX can't host a Barnum the size of CES.

KINTEX would gladly oblige, but Korea's biggest exhibition venue is in Ilsan, Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, with limited hospitality capacity nearby. Seoul wants to become a global or at least an Asian leader, to put for good Tokyo, Hong Kong (and its half-yearly Electronics Fair), or Singapore (COMEX- ITSHOW-The Tech Show-Consumer Electronics Exhibition) behind. 

Seoul plans to change venues after the Jamsil Sports Complex is fully transformed into the Jamsil Sports MICE Complex, with a business hub connecting the COEX, SETEC, Hyundai Motors Global Business Center, Dominique Perrault's new Yeongdong-daero, and of course the Han River in this very vegassy vision mentioned in my recent focus (see 'Seoul waterways and urbanism - the full story'):

Seoul already hosts many tech-related events, but no top-of-mind brand emerges. At least, if it may not seem very original, 'smart life' sounds definitely more human-oriented than the old-tech-y 'electronics' or 'IT'. Unlike CES with the CTA, this new SSLW will not be led by an industry but by a local authority, with city pavilions rather than national spaces. To compete with Vegas, Seoul will not only need new hardware and software, but also the power hitters Korea Inc. sends to the national pavilion. And ultimately, Samsung LG, and Co. will have to be convinced to release buzzworthy novelties 3 months earlier than usual.

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Seoul center stage

Earlier this month, Seoul became the world capital of art for a week with the conjunction of Seoul Art Week, KIAF + Frieze Seoul, Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism, Seoul Fashion Week, Crypto Art Seoul / Korea Blockchain Week, and a myriad of events, shows, and gallery openings.

(If you wonder what Mitch McConnell was doing on my Instagram timeline during Frieze Seoul 2023, I found this very realistic statue of him on sale at a discount price at Freeze D.C. 2023) Hopping from Hyoja-dong (Arumjigi) to Samseong-dong (Frieze-KIAF @ COEX) via Huam-dong (M+ and Doryun CHONG's homecoming, Whitestone's opening), Sinsa-dong (White Cube and LEE Jinju), Euljiro (Dan Archer and LG OLED at the DDP, Seongsu-dong (Beeple at The Gateway in S Factory), Songhyeon-dong (Kimchi and Chips' RE:WORLD), Taepyeongno (SBAU in Seoul HOUR)...

A lot of hype of course (boy did that crypto party remind me of internet extravaganza circa 2000), but also genuine gems and emotions. Good to see KIAF alive and kicking, many galleries coming from new horizons (even Accra), Doryun CHONG's emotional return to Seoul, or of course the themes of the (already!) fourth Seoul Biennale (waterways and mountains*, 2123 Seoul).

The return of visitors from China fueled the coopetition between Seoul and Hong Kong, and September here can counterbalance March madness there beyond the Frieze-Art Basel war. Interesting to see how Art Busan, now backed by web3 players, will fare / fair in early November with DEFINE (for DEsign and FINE arts in Seongsu-dong).

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* ICYMI: "Seoul waterways and urbanism - the full story"

Seoul Innovation Park on steroids

We've already seen Eunpyeong-gu's former KCDC site mutate into a makers' hub*, a vibrant Nokbeon-dong neighborhood park, and a cultural crossroads** in an underprivileged part of Seoul. Now the city wants to turn this low rise oasis into its gazillionth high rise utopia.

Meet the new and improved Seoul Innovation Park:

Quite a change from nowadays:

"Vegan Festival in Seoul Innovation Park, Eunpyeong-gu." (@theSeoulVillage 20170511- twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/866195549707358208)

Okay, all cars shall be parked underground instead of these traditional outdoor sprawls, plus there's also going to be this manicured 'Seoul UIC Campus' (University of Seoul Industry Cooperation), but that's not the same as a laid-back park full of happy families:

As you well know, I'm all for fixing the capital city's unbalances, and Northeast Seoul clearly deserves a boost. Besides, the city already owns this 110,000 sqm site, and it's next to a subway station (Bulgwang Station), close to the Yeonsinnae transport hub (Subway Lines 3 and 6, GTX-A - see "GTX, meet Sinbundang Line"). 

But not exactly there. And we've already seen this not so disruptive concept of futuristic, buzzword-friendly city within the city, with its iconic landmark tower - here, 60 more floors to be filled in a market already suffering from oversupply. Yet another empty alibi for yet another real estate nonsense (many 'apateu' have already risen nearby)? And of all models, why pick the COEX as a symbol of success? 

 

Needless to say, the grove with its old trees at the entrance, under which kids would play and seek fresh shelter in the Summer, is gone. From the outside, this could be any mall:

This time, it's different, they say. We go 'beyond zoning', we're truly mixing commercial, residential, and business. And this time, promise, we'll build and startups will come. SH Corporation will make sure a diversity of people build a genuine community, a 'Golden Village' where elderlies, newlyweds, single households share the same spaces with all facilities required in changing times.

Sincerely hope that flies but frankly, Seoul, you can do better.

"Seoul's project for Seoul Innovation Park (Nokbeon-dong, Eunpyeong-gu)? A coex-ish hub, very Oh Sehoon-ish urbanism:" (@theSeoulVillage 20221220 - https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1605025577102032896)

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* starting with Seoul Creative Lab and Hyebin's FabLab:

"Always nice to visit Seoul Innovation Park's FabLab! Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul." (@theSeoulVillage 20161207 - https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/806453941252673536)

** including, most recently, SEMA Storage in a former KCDC warehouse (see "Nine new museums in Seoul by 2023")

Yeongdong-daero Underground City, Korea (YUCK?)

Last March, KEPCO surpassed Hyundai Motor in market capitalization (KRW 37 tn vs 34). Ironically, since Hyundai's financial trouble have something to do with their purchase from KEPCO, in September 2014, of prime land along Yeongdong-daero, for a whopping USD 10 bn.

As you know (e.g. Yeongdongwon focus in last year's "Diagonal crossings, High Lines, and Business Verticals (how pedestrians and businesses remodel Seoul... and vice-versa)"), that site will host the group's future HQ - Hyundai Motor Global Business Center - at the core of a redesigned COEX-Jamsil business district that will stretch over both sides of Tancheon stream (Samseong-dong and Daechi-dong in Gangnam-gu, Jamsil-dong in Songpa-gu), and grow what is already a significant transportation hub into a gigantic one.

Yesterday, Seoul Metropolitan Government released more details about that part of the puzzle, an 'underground city' to be delivered by 2021:

• A big whale: 160,000 square meters under Yeongdong-daero (6 underground floors, 630 m long, 70 wide, 51 deep). Cost: KRW 1.169 tn
• A multimodal hub: subway (Samseong Station on Line 2, Bongeunsa on Line 9), bus (including the City Air Terminal), express railways (GTX-A Samseong-Dongtan, GTX-C Uijeongbu-Samseong-Gunpo, KTX Northeast extension), LRT (Wirye-Sinsa Line - see "Seoul LRT Projects Update (Part 2/2)"). Expected gains in commuting times to Dongtan and City Hall: from respectively 41 and 29 mn by car, to 20 and 5 mn by rail

Views presented last year

The hub will also include various culture and service facilities, and a shopping area complementing the COEX Mall. Pedestrians shall have a better time navigating a space until now devoted to Car Almighty.

With its countless traffic lanes, Yeondong-daero looks like a pre-Gwanghwamun-plaza Sejongno on steroids, and this project seems to consider a similar, tree-less, tip-of-the-iceberg central walkway. But it's not as if masses will roam the surface like downtown: distances are even greater, and most of the fun will remain indoor. As nice as Bongeunsa is, it doesn't rival with Jongno landmarks and Bugaksan.

Still, this transport hub certainly looks less nightmarish than Banpo's Express Bus Terminal, because the Yeongdong-daero / Teheran-ro intersection is far less messy, and because you don't have 'apateu' blocks the scale of say a Banpo Xi. One can also hope that the user experience will be better thought through, more seamless.

How much this will cannibalize business from COEX Mall or Lotte World remains to be seen. But it's already adding trouble to the old business center of Gangnamistan: vacancy rates are expected to keep growing in Gangnam Business District (around Gangnamdae-ro and Teheran-ro at Gangnam Station), even if Hyundai Motor is moving in the time to build its new extravaganza.
Common sense, demographic and economic trends tend to make us think that a success story here would mean a failure somewhere else. And this zero-sum game leaves us every year with more infrastructures to fill.

Let's hope that this 'underground city', which unlike many pharaonic projects does have a purpose, won't be the vast magma chamber of a supervolcano bubble, but at least a successful transport hub.


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Seoul International Book Fair

Organized by the Korean Publishers Association, the 17th Seoul International Book Fair will start next week at the COEX, featuring over 570 companies from 23 countries, and sub-exhibitions on the Tripitaka Koreana (for its 1000th anniversary*), Korean writers of 100 years ago, pop-up books, e-books (e-Square)...

Korean literature suffers from a destructive educational system that makes reading a luxury for young minds, which explains the success or more 'operational' genres. But the country enjoys a strong tradition in poetry, and some talents are claiming international recognition (see Shin Kyung-sook's "Please Look After Mom").


And who knows ? Korea could even become a destination for foreign authors : after a recent lecture at Seoul Art Space Yeonhui, 2008 Nobel Prize for Literature JMG Le Clezio Reasons seriously considers staying in that writers residence for a future project.

SIBF - 2011 Seoul International Book Fair
When: June 15-19, 2011 (first day only for pros)
Where: COEX, 159 Samseong-dong, Seoul, KOR 135-731 (Hall A and B)
More details: sibf.or.kr

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* see "Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon" and last year's "International Archival Culture Exhibition"

---
20110610 UPDATE

Also : UN/LIMITED EDITION VOL.3, a fair devoted to independent publishing, is organised at PLATOON KUNSTHALLE (Nonhyeon-dong 97-22, Gangnam-gu), Friday, June 17 at 1:00pm - June 18 at 11:00pm). And "this year, the program will dig deeper into the creative network surrounding this culture including films, talks and music."
unlimited-edition.org

Seoul from above : 40 years of archives soon available

Next year, Seoul Metropolitan Government will open its satellite databases (1971-2010) : all citizens will have access to forty years of archives and see how each area evolved over time.

The scale is 1/5,000, the best resolution available these days on paper : I often use an excellent Saehan Map / Blue Map of 2004 Seoul featuring maps on left pages and satellite views on right pages. Expecting every year in vain an updated version...

This online database is exactly what I've been dreaming of for years, but only had once the opportunity to experience "IRL", during last year's excellent exhibition "A Retrospective : Kim Ki-chan and the World of Alleys" : in a display, you could observe a whole charming Seoul village being progressively obliterated and replaced by soulless apartment blocks.

As a teaser, authorities proposed this not so spectacular sample of Ttukseom (top) and COEX (bottom) areas :


I can't wait to browse through those tens of thousands of satellite pictures.

Meanwhile, I'll keep roaming Seoul villages at ground level.

Seoul Village 2011

---UPDATES 2011-2012---
The website (in Korean only): aerogis.seoul.go.kr

Yangmiok (Seoul)

Looking for five star tripes ? Head for Yangmiok, maybe the best gopchang in town. Or maybe I should write "daechang" because their speciality, beyond lamb, is large intestine.

Not very glamorous I know, but as a French citizen in Seoul, I'm often longing for a perfectly grilled AAAAA andouillette, and grilled tripes are the best alternative to that. Back home I wasn't a great fan since we Frogs prefer our tripes wet and soaked in sauce (for instance a la mode de Caen)... not my cup of tea*. In Korea, charcoal grill is the main option and at Yangmiok's, you can have a beef-lamb combo and alternate between really greasy parts and drier ones, and they taste so delicious you don't realize your own stomach is full until you've surpassed its limits.

Not very poetic I now, but this is not about poetry, even if at this stage, one should consider gopchang as art.

As far as the veggie alibi goes, you've got a very nice tofu/herb banchan, salad, and a quite decent ugeoji (우거지) doenjang jjigae which you can sit on the grill to make it boil on charcoal.

And on a lighter note, you finish with the finest nurungji (누룽지) I ever tasted. That's the simple scorched rice in boiling water.


YANGMIOK (restaurant)
Uljiro branch: 161 Euljiro 3-ga, Jung-gu, SEOUL, KOREA
Tel +82.2.2275.8838
COEX branch: 153-55, Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, SEOUL, KOREA
Tel +82.2.565.8836


Seoul Village 2011

* attn my English friends: that's a figure of speech - I wouldn't dare comparing your national beverage to such a vulgar dish.

KIAF, Busan Biennale, and Gwangju Biennale

Every other year, contemporary art hunters hop across Korea. Among other stops, a trio of now established events :


KIAF 2010 : after really claiming international recognition in 2008, the Korea International Art Fair pushes harder into the global stage. Names ? I could mention Damien HIRST because Britannia is ruling this year and this show has a lot to do with hype and money, but since art is involved, I picked this "Untitled" by Jean-Michel BASQUIAT.
- what : 5,000 works exhibited, 1,500 artists, 193 galleries from 16 countries (guest country UK with 15 galleries, Japan 16, Germany 13...), special exhibition "Creative Present: Korea Media Art"...
- when : 2010/09/09-13 (vernissage Sept 8th)
- where : 1F Hall A&B, COEX, Seoul
- more : kiaf.org


2010 Busan Biennale : more compact than the previous edition, this biennale isn't as much a pan-Asian mecca as the PIFF for the movie industry.
- what : theme "Living in Evolution", Special Exhibition "Now, Asian Art". Artistic director Azumaya Takashi. 75 artists, 135 works.
- when : 2010/09/11-11/20
- where : Busan Museum of Art, Busan Yacht Center, Gwangalli Beach, Busan Cultural Center, Busan City Hall... (main exhibition and side events)
- more : busanbiennale.org



8th Gwangju Biennale : A mix of new commissions and older works is supposed to give a temporary museum touch to this emotional edition themed after Ko Un's poem "Maninbo" ("10,000 Lives"), itself a tribute to the 1980 Gwangju uprising. 30 years after the massacre, visitors will meet completely different faces in a completely different environment.
- what : theme "10,000 Lives", 134 works stretching over the last century. Curated by young artistic director Massimiliano Gioni.
- when : 2010/09/03-11/07
- where : Gwangju Biennale Hall, Gwangju Museum of Art, Gwangju Folk Museum
- more : gb.or.kr


Seoul Village 2010

Seoul Global Business Support Center

The Seoul Global Center recently opened its Seoul Global Business Support Center, a business gateway in a business hub (see "Find a name for SGC's new business center in COEX").

Beyond the COEX, a major exhibition / transport / trade / commercial center, Gangnam-gu boasts over 2,000 Foreign businesses, big and small. This new gateway, which also hosts 3 Foreign start-ups in an original incubation system, reaches for all Foreign businesspeople interested in Seoul, following the founding principles of the SGC : one-stop, free of charge services to help people enjoy a fuller life, but also to get their constant feedback on what could be done to improve business and daily life in the capital city.

Entrepreneurs can contact the center for free consultations, but also to get to know each other, share, suggest, create future opportunities.

Seoul Village 2010

Seoul Global Business Support Center :
How to get there : take the escalator up leading from Hall A on the first floor of the COEX to the second floor. The center is located at the east end of the Trade Mart (towards the east gate of COEX) on the 2nd floor of the COEX.

Business Hours : Monday to Friday 09:00~18:00
Contacts :
. Director of the Center - Tel: 02-6001-7243 tk277@sbs.seoul.kr
. Consultations in English - Tel: 02-6001-7242 youngmi@sba.seoul.kr
. Consultations in Chinese - Tel: 02-6001-7241 barammeri@sba.seoul.kr
. Consultations in Japanese - Tel: 02-6001-7240 jina0850@sba.seoul.kr
. Website : global.seoul.go.kr/bizsupport
. Seoul Global Center : global.seoul.go.kr

"Be The Reds", But Not Too Red ?

I was maybe a bit too optimistic when I rolled out the "Red carpet for the World Cup" a couple of weeks ago : since then, the North Korean team has probably lost a few supporters in South Korea (and beyond), and Seoul Plaza might not turn out to be the most popular venue.

Following a clash with SK Telecom and other sponsors of downtown World Cup venues, The Red Devils, Korean national team's main supporter group* and a key ingredient to successful World Cup events, decided to focus on only one site : Samseong-dong in Gangnam-gu. Sponsors wanted to regulate the songs (both the timing and content), supporters freedom of speech and independence from sponsors. Ironically, several songs are associated with other sponsors, and the 2002 "Korea Team Fighting" slogan was at the beginning an ad for KTF, SKT's direct competitor. One of the outcomes of this clash could be the creation of a rival group of supporters.

Anyway, World Cup broadcasters SBS accepted the Red Devils' terms, to the risk of inviting more partisans of freedom of speech. And since the venue, in front of Bongeunsa, has become a converging point for demonstrations against LEE's conservative government, political recuperation seemed inevitable. As expected, candlestick vigil organizers instantly called for combo events, like 'come to our demo at 7 PM, enjoy the game at 8'... and shortly after that, Red Devils whistled them offside, like 'true supporters come for football, please don't mix this event with politics'.

I suggest a red card to all players : organizers, sponsors, supporters, broadcasters, and demonstrators.

Seoul Village 2010

* that's the South Korean national team. It always struck me as funny how this nickname for North Korean 'commies' in 1960s ROK propaganda became a symbol of 2000s ROK.

International Archival Culture Exhibition

I almost missed this poorly advertised exhibition but luckily enough passed by the COEX today and saw the billboards : "International Archival Culture Exhibition" with the UNESCO label, that sounded interesting.

Yet I didn't expect to see a genuine Gutenberg bible from Germany, Nelson Mendela's arrest warrant from South Africa, Chopin manuscripts from Poland, Tripitaka Koreana plaques or pages from Joseonwangjosillok, Seungjeongwon Ilgi, Donguibogam or Uigwe from Korea... and many other items listed in UNESCO Memory of the World. The exhibition also includes presentations of national archives from 19 countries, and a comprehensive Korean hall mixing history with popular culture (music, movies, TV, comic books, political posters...).

A small BtoB sub-expo features international specialists representing the usual archiving industries (scanning, filing, storage...), the National Library of Korea and its "Dibrary", but also Kyobo and its ambitions in the ebook ecosystem, and even a booth devoted to the Millennial Anniversary of one of Korea's most outstanding cultural assets, the Tripitaka Koreana (1011-2011)**. The ultimate Buddhist tripitaka will be celebrated for 45 days*** through a festival organized by its host temple Haeinsa and regional administrations (Gyeongsangnam-do, Hapcheon-gun).

I guess the main virtue of the event / party will be to raise awareness in Korea and abroad. Once more : surrounded by beautiful Gayasan, Haein temple and its Janggyeong Panjeon are definitely worth the visit, but check ahead if the treasure has been reopened to the public**.


Seoul Village 2010

* IACE 2010 (COEX - June 1-6th, 2010)
** see "Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon"
*** between 09.23 and 11.06, 2011 - website : tripitaka2011.com

Find a name for SGC's new business center at COEX

A brand new "Seoul Global Business Support Center" will be inaugurated next month in Gangnam (COEX*). International residents will be able to consult for daily life as well as business issues, like in the other "Seoul Global Village Centers" run by the Seoul Global Center across the capital (see links and addresses below**), but this one will strongly focus on business. Gangnam already hosts the Yeoksam Global Village Center in Yeoksam-dong.

"Seoul Global Business Support Center" is only a tentative name, and until March 26, everyone is invited to suggest a name. The winner will receive a gift certificate, see all details in the public naming contest form.

So good luck to you, and long life to this new center, which is bound to receive a lot of visitors, prolonging the city's fantastic efforts to serve its international residents.

Seoul Village 2010

* COEX 1st Floor, 159-1, Samsung-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
** More about SGC in "Invest in Seoul, Seoul is already investing in you". Reminder : as of today, Seoul Global Center's existing global village centers are :
- in GANGNAM-GU (YEOKSAM) : Yeoksam Global Village Center in 5F Yeoksam1 Residence Center, 829-20, Yeoksam 1-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
- in MAPO-GU (YEONNAM) : Yeonnam Global Village Center in 3rd floor, Suseong bld., 198-31 Dongkyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul.
- in SEOCHO-GU (SEORAE VILLAGE) : Seorae Global Village Center in 90-12 Banpo 4-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul.
- in SEONGBUK-GU : Seongbuk Global Village Center in 246, Seongbuk-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul.
- in YEONGDEUNGPO-GU : Yeongdeungpo Multicultural Village Center in 2nd floor, Standard Chartered First Bank Korea, 710-10, Daerim 3-Dong, Yeongdeungpo-Gu, Seoul.
- in YONGSAN-GU (ICHON-DONG) : Ichon Global Village Center in 304 Hangang Shopping Center, 300-27 Ichon 1-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul 140-854
- in YONGSAN-GU (ITAEWON-HANNAM) : Itaewon-Hannam Global Village Center in 5F Hannam Bldg., 737-37 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul 140-893.