On Korea's Jigsaw, Urban Footprint, and Urban Replanning

If you're a frequent flyer on my Korean errlines, you've had your fill of rants about recurring blunders in urban planning, the persistence of obsolete visions of urbanism, or (re)development equations that totally ignore plummeting demographics.

Well criticizing is easy. Urban harmony is like life or democracy: a very delicate, dynamic balance of power, a complex, evolutive system of checks and balances. No one will ever achieve perfection, and that's the beauty of it.

Besides, I see some glimmers of hope. Korea has eventually started worrying seriously about its shrinking population, seeking more inter-regional solidarity and cooperation, thinking about reviving ailing city centers in smarter ways... 

Korea is starting to realize that the real estate paradigm it's been addicted to for decades has become a Ponzi scheme, a sub-zero sum game where eventually everybody loses, even the wealthy ones who won't be able to resell their 'luxury condos' with a profit after paying much more for them than they would have for the most outrageous Manhattan penthouses.

Korea is starting to realize that it can't afford 'affordable housing' if that means building apartment blocks in greenbelt areas, that when a 'new town' succeeds somewhere, it means that somewhere else, an older town in depleting.

Korea is starting to realize that it can't keep adding new non-matching pieces to an ever growing jigsaw puzzle on an ever shrinking table, that these absurd urban footprint dynamics can't be sustained any longer.

The 5th Comprehensive National Territorial Plan, which covers the most critical 2020-2040 period, already mentions sustainability and other sound principles, but all is not set in marble and a lot has happened since it was released 5 years ago: rural desertification and fertility rate diminution accelerated dramatically, the GTX and other projects reshuffled whole decks... So a revised version is expected next year, for the 2026-2040 period.

Improving inter-regional solidarity and cooperation remains a key goal, particularly where they prove already challenging at the intra-regional level because of political divisions or fierce city rivalries. 

In addition to their autonomy, such special self-governing provinces as Jeollabuk-do or the recently upgraded 'Gangwon State' don't have to deal with special cities punching holes in their maps. In comparison, Gyeonggi-do must cope not only with giant neighbors nesting in its midst (Seoul and Incheon*), but also with a complex history of city creation explaining odd administrative shapes, or new towns stretching over different cities (e.g. Dongtan).

Granting a special status to a local government was generally done without much concern for the impacts around, which prevented all parties from reaching their full potential.

Wherever you stand on the fierce political fight over the creation of Sejong City (the left wanted to move the capital city to a new, central location to balance development across South Korea - the right refused to undermine Seoul and maintained part of the government there), you have to admit that from an urbanism point of view, things could have been done a bit better.

We're not talking Brasilia or Nusantara, a new capital erected far away from existing hubs: Sejong City seats right* next to the metropolitan city of Daejeon, South Korea's 5th largest cit, its central hub, and already the seat of several  central administrations, and right next to Cheongju, Chungcheongnam-do's capital.

Daejeon lies less than one hour away from Seoul via KTX but no, Sejong City must not enjoy express connectivity with the 'old' capital because then civil servants would commute instead of moving to Sejong**. And no, Daejeon's subway shouldn't come all the way to Sejong's vital parts. At its inception, it's almost as if Sejong City was designed as a local competitor instead of a national facilitator.

17 years after its creation, Sejong claims 400k souls, Daejeon remains around 1.5M, and Cheongju inched up from 650 to 720k. Common sense would have led to something more  rational, even simply two cities instead of three: the regional capital Cheongju and a-name-it-whatever-you-fancy-as-long-as-you-spare-local-susceptibilities national capital bis. If arranged harmoniously, I bet the latter would be today a thriving 2.5-3M strong metropolis.

Mind you, both Daejeon and Sejong are faring relatively well nowadays, but I'm not surprised to see the Sejong City - Daejeon - Chungnam - Chungbuk ensemble included in the potential revisions to Korea's 5th CNTP. Some consistency would clearly make the meta-region more competitive internationally - with the caveat that it wouldn't present an official one-stop front. 

Same with 'sudogwon', the capital region (Seoul-Incheon-Gyeonggi-do): unlike say the Ile de France region that encompasses Paris and its surroundings, it doesn't really exist as an official entity with representatives. It does make sense for the national government to be directly involved in an area representing half the nation's population and GDP, but the World's 4th metropolitan bloc can't fully leverage its potential. Of course, adding another administrative layer and the tensions that go with them, particularly with dwindling resources, may not necessarily be the panacea. Some even envision Daejeon + Sejong + Chungnam + Chungbuk as an 'ultra-wide megacity' - at least that would avoid the ego problem of who gets to be granted the regional capital status...

The debates promise to be complex and animated, but it's important to get every stakeholder involved, to identify all the impacts of each option, to learn from past mistakes, to minimize / optimize the urban footprint, to think urbanism beyond cities, towns, and other labels, wherever humans decided to settle or to build (be it a road, a remote factory, a farm, or even a field), and not to build for builders' sake.

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* If the cities are administratively continuous, there's no actual urban continuum... but then again, few cities in Korea excel at urban continuity.

** Likewise, I still can't stomach the fact that the railway from Seoul to Incheon Airport was deliberately delayed until a few years after inauguration because that would have hurt taxi businesses. Or that Songdo didn't have a subway from day one (hello? a ginormous polder built from scratch?). At least nowadays, if new big fat greenfield 'new towns' keep popping up, most of them include a railway connection.

GTXtension(s) - fast transit rather than mass commuting?

In case you missed it, three new projects of GTX (Great Train eXpress) lines were announced earlier this year. Since we're getting closer to the inauguration of the first section on March 30 (GTX-A from Suseo to Dongtan), but also to key elections on April 10, I'll spare you all the wonderful urban development pledges that have popped up from all sides (I guess merging Gimpo with Seoul was one of the most radical), and talk a bit more about these Great Train extensions and GTX-tensions.

By stretching ABC and adding DEF, the network reaches further North, South, West, and East, and draws a first ring around Seoul and across Gyeonggi-do (GTX-F):

If GTX clearly brings places closer together, dividing by 3 the time to join Suseo and Dongtan, and if it reaches relatively fast speeds (105 km/h in its inaugural section, with peaks at 180 km/h), the system is 'express' in the sense that it makes few stops. And so far, it has more or less managed to resist intense pressure to add intermediary stations, particularly within Seoul. 

Which makes the success of seamless multimodal transport hubs even more critical, and I'm not sure that will be the case from day one. 'Luckily', the traffic shall not be too massive, because as it is conceived now, GTX can't really handle mass commuting. 

Beyond the limited number of trains per hour, their shortness is an issue, and commuters may struggle to find a spot to hop in, particularly in intermediary stations. I've experienced rush hour on Paris region's RER, with its long, double-decker trains, and that's not always pleasant... We may not see scenes similar to Line 9 saturation on steroids, but expect at least significant frustration from a lot of people who were expecting GTX as the instant panacea.

GTX provides fast transit before mass transit, it shortens connections before coping with mass commuting, and that's already something big. Even if you won't commute to work there, simply knowing that you can go to Seoul very quickly for lunch, dinner, or on a weekend can make moving far away less alienating. 

These massive and costly extensions do add Gangwon-do (Chuncheon and Wonju) and Chungcheongnam-do (Cheonan) to the equation, but also risk of further widening the gaps between sudogwon (Seoul-Incheon-Gyeonggi) and the rest of Korea as well as within the capital region and within the capital itself. With its relatively cheap fees (KRW 3.2K + 250 per 5 km), GTX may even cannibalize such alternatives as KTX.

The choices of routes and stations is always debatable and many areas within and beyond Seoul will remain underserved, but I always welcome transversal approaches in transport, and cooperation within the capital region. Nowadays, Seoul is collaborating much closer with Gyeonggi-do, including for its Climate Card now, and a ring bringing Gyeonggi closer together and bypassing the capital altogether marks a significant step.

Somehow, GTX is forcing the emergenceof  the grand vision, the great debate that's always been lacking. The way this whole region keeps developing remains a litany of missed opportunities, particularly since most of this urban and transport development (or lack of) relied on new towns built from scratch. And you know how often I complain about so much urban planning without urbanism or planning.

Now we're hearing about covering the Gyeongin Expressway and the rift between the Eastern and Western sides of Dongtan new town, and both will cost a fortune, but the Seoul-Inchon axis dates from ages ago, and that rift should have been solved from Dongtan's very conception. As demographics plummet and finances shrink, Korea can't afford not to get it right from the beginning. 

This nation is so great at alphabets, it should contemplate beyond ABCDEF.

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Seoul summerscapes: death, taxes, and budongsan

I'd like to look back to a few urbanistic topics that animated this hot Summer in the city, but let me start with this most recent trip en province.

*

During that lovely Chuseok break in Chungcheongnam-do, we crossed a 'silver neighborhood'. I'd never seen the sign, but the very existence of the label tells a lot. That non-descript suburb felt neither like the kind of ghost towns you see in rural areas, nor like a retirement community, but like a city where people under 70 happen to be absent. At least, in the countryside, you could notice younger generations visiting their gramps for the holidays to help them at what was left of their farms:

Many families farming for Chuseok in Korea countryside: young guns visiting old timers who can barely walk (20160915 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/776275471017218048)

In aging Japan, localities are merging, and to fill millions of empty buildings, signs advertise free rentals, where owners will even pay your utility bills. Korea is also feeling the demographic pinch: many schools are closing, and a few universities shall follow... but still, you can see a lot of apartment blocks under construction in non-booming second to third tier cities, and often in their most rural settings, where land is cheaper. Even if developers manage to sell them today, buyers will have a tougher time doing so in the future.

Yet nowhere is the real estate oversupply more evident than in the capital region: Sudogwon is overshooting by 34.6% with 226,000 apartments too many by 2019, or 46.8% of the nationwide excess*. Significantly, SH changed its name from Seoul Housing Corporation to Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation, confirming a shift from constructing to animating:

SH (Seoul Housing) to be rebranded 서울주택도시공사 from Sept. 1, as focus shifts to urban regeneration (20160830 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/770514127366127616)

But the building phase is not over yet, and in this less than zero game, places like Yongin struggle more and sooner than others:

As expected, Yongin among the losers in Korea's real estate oversupply (20160829 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/770110604992536577) - "After building boom, South Korea girds for housing glut" (Reuters)

At the same time, and as usual, key demographics are protected by local authorities. The only way to help Apgujeong elites sell their overly expensive flats with a profit is to make exceptions to construction rules (e.g. allow very high rise redevelopments and / or reduce the land to be offered for public use), and that's exactly the gifts Seoul mayors made. Both OH Se-hoon and PARK Won-soon, in spite of their pledges to rebalance Seoul's rich and poor neighborhoods, and to stop this urban nonsense...

Seoul mayors Oh and Park both secured Apgujeong elite votes - "Apgujeong real estate hot once again" KJD (20160723 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/756651911223259136)

Of course, the city prefers to communicate about its urban regeneration projects (see "Urban Regeneration: 27 Projects For Seoul"), and the mayor is still going full throttle with his signature Seoul Station 7017. This Summer, the concept has been showcased on Seoul Plaza (as announced by Winy Maas last Spring in Seoul), and featured in CNN's Sustainable Cities special. Judging by how fast the site evolves each time I pass by the neighborhood, 'SS7017' seems on path for a delivery on time for the elections. But its success will also be measured by the positive impacts on all affected neighborhoods - more tasks ahead for the 'grassroot' activists who worked on defusing tensions ahead of the project!

Blue sky over Seoul Square and yes, Seoul Station 7017 #ss7017 #seoul (20160827 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/769446349276262400)

Seoul mayors love to boast about their legacies, and I already drew parallels between the last three,  LEE Myung-bak, OH Se-hoon, and PARK Won-soon (most recently in "Pour ré-enfanter Séoul : trois maires et quelques impairs"). But none had as big an impact as KIM Hyeon-ok (1966-1970), and the best exhibition in Seoul this Summer was arguably** the one devoted to the city's first 'bulldozer mayor' at the Seoul Museum of History:

Seoul's first 'bulldozer mayor' Kim Hyeon-ok (previously Busan mayor) resigned after the collapse of the Changjeon-dong apt (20160810 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/763295834112831488)

Note that the SMH also added Inhyeon-dong to its fantastic collection of Seoul neighborhood monographies, which is not far from KIM Swoo-geun's Seun Sangga, one of KIM Hyeon-ok's iconic projects.

Following Pil-dong's Yesultong festival in May, Jung-gu was definitely an underlying theme for me this Summer. And I enjoyed walking through what was left of KIM Ki-chan's Jungnim-dong with fellow urbanist Valerie Gelezeau, finishing in Yeomcheon Bridge's shoe alley.

I love this house in Jungnim-dong. Too bad it is bound for destruction (20160720 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/755704708577103872)

Speaking of KIM Ki-chan: I learned only last month that two great Seoul photographers had passed away in May: HONG Soon-tai and KIM Han-yong (who donated his collections to the Seoul Museum of History in 2013, leading to a nice exhibition soon afterwards).

Cheonggyecheon alleyways, Seoul 1971. Sad to learn that Hong Soon-tai passed away this year (20160820 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/766890115922735104)

... and so did Kim Han-yong. Here, Daeheung-dong alleyways, Mapo-gu, Seoul (20160820 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/766892185912389632)

Sorry for the tone of this post, but such is predictable Seoul: death, taxes, and 'budongsan'...

We've reached the point when seeing a few old trees spared makes our day. So bravo to Seongbuk-dong residents for stopping the massacre halfway along Seongbuk-ro:

Seongbuk-dong residents protest the removal of old platanus trees along Seongbuk-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul (20160816 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/765452146443558912)

*

I couldn't finish these moody lines about vanishing neighborhoods without yet another Gyonam-dong update. As I explained recently to students surveying the area, this was not my favorite Seoul village, and not even a full village at that, but Gyonam-dong didn't deserve that death. And this shouldn't have happened in 2014 Seoul.

I will spare you the heavy slides, and just post one picture and two videos.

The picture is from a tweet (like most illustrations in this piece) about the end of the 'Sinmunno Triangle' between Pyeong-dong and Gyeonghuigung:

The curtain falls for Pyeong-dong, where Seoul dumped its urban recreation museum project - Gyonam-dong (20160810 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/763340100361039872)

The first video is a selection of tweets (timelinelapse?) from 2012 to 2016, about the destruction of Gyonam-dong and the rise of Donuimun New Town (Gyeonghuigung Xii apartments):



The second video is a view from the new staircase built at the top of the new town. You can only see a tiny bit of Seodaemun across Tongil-ro, and of Inwangsan in the distance:




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* see this tweet related to "Real estate market braces for oversupply" (KJD 20160815)
** after LEE Jung-seob at MMCA Deoksugung of course!

Captivating Lee Jung-seob exhibition in MMCA Deoksugung, Seoul (20160806 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/761763045584404480)

A postcard from LEE Ungno's Hongseong

From his Hongseong birthplace, LEE Ungno enjoyed a view on two mountains he revered: he nicknamed the tall and rocky one 'father', and the gentler one 'mother'.

Unlike Cezanne's Montagne Sainte Victoire, these mountains don't appear recurrently his work, but the artist did draw them from memory in his prison cell, and certainly countless times in his mind during his exile in France. LEE died without seeing them again.

One more reason to enjoy the appeasing 'appasan' on a lovely August day, during the visit of the Goam Lee Ungno Birthplace Museum:

LEE Ungno's 'appasan'

The artist's home

Inaugurated in 2011, the museum itself blends in the landscape, and its earthen faces provide a unique natural air con system; even the outer walls exposed to a hot summer sun felt surprisingly cool.

twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/636767305016279040

If, by contrast, it feels a bit austere inside, that's on purpose: the architect, JOH Sung-yong, kept in mind the artist's deprivation of freedom. Indeed, I could at the same time better focus on the collections, and better appreciate the landscape from well thought out openings.

Exposure time (with the architect, on Facebook)

Both cursed and gifted in many ways, Lee ventured into both figurative and abstract territories, using a great diversity of media with a sincere and sensitive authority. Of course, the biggest collection of his works is in the Daejeon museum. I'm jotting down below both addresses, plus the references for "이응노의 집, 이야기", a great book about the story of this special place in Hongseong:

• Goam Lee Ungno Birthplace Museum: 386-1 Junggye-ri, Hongbuk-myeon, Hongseong-gun, Chungcheongnam-do. Tel: (041) 630.9232
• Ungno Lee Museum of Art (architect: Laurent Beaudouin): 157, Dunsan-daero, Seo-gu, Daejeon. Tel: (042) 611.9821

"이응노의 집, 이야기" (이응노/수류산방중심/2012): Suryusanbang's book is available on Interpark.

*

PS: if Hongseong has become the capital of Chungcheongnam-do, it remains a small provincial city with its traditional market (and great hanoo restaurants), and even an old style smithy.

To start with, the short trip from Seoul put us in the right mood; a laid back, time capsule of a train (Saemaeul) dropped us in a welcoming Chungnam landscape:

My last journey in a Saemaeul train was 23 years ago. This stewardess wasn't probably even born yet.

'Once upon a time in the West': Hongseong Station. No bad guys in dusters to wait for us (I forgot my Bronson harmonica anyway).

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K-Pope mania hits Seoul, Jongno-style

So Pope Francis landed in South Korea, welcomed by the traditional gun salute from the North...

Stalin asked 'The Pope! How many divisions has he got?" North Korea's suggested answer: Pope Francis is worth 5 rockets
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/499808764644429825

... and in the advertised set of wheels - only in a darker color than expected:

(July 28) In Seoul, Pope Francis' Soul will be white. And branded Kia.
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/493663654928474113
(August 14) Pope Francis' Soul is greyer than scheduled
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/499735563646169090

The Pope's program comprises at least 10 stations, from the Blue House today to Myeongdong Cathedral on August 18, with an Assumption mass in Daejeon World Cup Stadium tomorrow, and a mass for the beatification of Korea's 124 martyrs on Gwanghwamun Square the 16th, which requires extra security around Sejongno:

(@pearswick: Korean police to build huge wall inside Seoul for Pope visit - only those registered can enter)
Meet Seoul's inner fortress wall: the one erected downtown for Pope Francis' visit
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/495858701853396992

But everything seems ready for the big day:

Gwanghwamun more than ever a cross-road - Seoul's ready for Pope Francis' visit
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/499567502276300800

Even I am not taking any chances:

Do something, quick! I don't want to be stuck to 666 followers when Pope Francis visits
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/499432267295375361
(PS: thanks to the kind tweeters who lifted me away from that Number of the Beast - even if I won't be saved that easily)

The Pope will also visit several sites in Chungcheongnam-do: Solmoe Shrine in Dangjin, Haemi castle and shrine in Seosan. A stop at the martyr shrine in Seosomun Park is also planned. BTW here's the winning project in a recent competition for this historic site:

Speaking of Seosomun and Catholicism: just off Gwanghwamun, the Seoul Museum of History proposes an exhibition until October 31 on Seoul's East and West small gates (Seosomun and Dongsomun), and the - to say the least - not always festive history of Korean catholicism:

Kim Dae-geon, Korea's first Catholic priest. Among Saenamteo martyrs to be blessed by Pope Francis
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/499376326625595393

More tweets about Pope Francis


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Beyond Lost Compasses and New Compassions

"Last cig", a shot I took
a couple of years ago
in Nowon-gu

Last year I was saddened by statistics showing that more and more elderlies died alone in Seoul and today*, Korea JoongAng Daily reported touching stories of senior citizens who, even if they were not lonely, were either too weak or senile and eventually found dead in rice paddies not far from their villages. This article on the boom in missing reports for seniors (+30% last year) shows how the phenomenon has become a priority in certain communities, particularly in Korea's top 5 "super-aged" localities (in Chungcheongnam-do: Nonsan, Buyeo-gun, Geumsan-gun, Cheongyang-gun - in Jeollanam-do: Goheung-gun).

If Korea is ageing at an alarming pace**, impacts are particularly felt in rural areas with dwindling populations, but not only in the most remote places where last generations of farmers survive in dire conditions. Small communities and villages simply cannot cope. On one end schools are closing, and on the other there are no infrastructure for the eldelies. 

Ageing society is already a challenge in Seoul, but the capital city can leverage all its assets to get prepared. It's not only a matter of hardware or infrastructures: for instance, middle school students are trained to understand the handicaps of old age through simulations involving heavy suits, wheelchairs, altered environments... Senior citizens are tested very regularly in senior welfare centers or even in the subway:

Across rural Korea, solutions will have to be smart, and network-based, there again at the human as well as at the technological level: location based services can be developped, but scarce resources and energies will also have to be pooled and shared, beyond families and local communities.

It's not just a matter of welfare: Korea must be reunited at all levels, and its senior citizens have a major role to play in the future.


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* "In aging society, more elderly reported missing" (Korea JoongAng Daily 20130115 - yes, again the KJD, following last week's "New homes, old stories for Seoul mayor")
** see previous posts related to demographics in Korea, including the old "The Incredible Shrinking Korea"

About handovers and hangovers

Collateral damage of the Cheonan tragedy : Korea postponed the hand over of operational control of its military affairs from US to homegrown boys with toys. In a scene worthy of Kubrick's Dr Strangelove, the top general in charge happened to be drunk at the worst moment (remember that Clinton ad about the 3 A.M. phone call ?).

No MP was allegedly wasted during the vote on Sejong City, but the parliament nonetheless sunk LEE Myung-bak's revision plan 164 to 105 (6 abstentions, zero wicket, no overtime). Retrospectively, it appears that the President perfectly manipulated that hot potato :
- in front of History, LEE did the right thing : declaring that ROH Moo-hyun's project of relocating the capital city was not only populist but wrong for the country and had to be aborted, even if that meant contradicting his own campaign pledges to go according to the initial plan*
- in front of Chungnam voters, LEE did the right thing : propose a sustainable alternative, with the contribution of wealthy backers*
- and as a shrewd politician, LEE did the right thing : using the Sejong City controversy as the ideal scapegoat following his party's electoral debacle, playing Pontius Pilate and letting the parliament curb the dog, torpedoing his Prime Minister (CHUNG Un-chan, a Sejong City opponent but also a potential presidential candidate for the opposition before this mess), destroying fellow party members who voted against the revised plan (history will remember that picture of Park Geun-hye checking NO on her computer screen, that moment when personal ambition killed her political future)... and pursuing his own insanely pharaonic pet follies (ie the even more controversial Four Rivers Project).

Of course, local elections shouldn't decide for the fate of a National Capital, and a nationwide referendum would make more sense. Furthermore, the concept was already ruled as non constitutional by the Supreme Court, and seriously edulcorated : only the PM and half of the ministries would move, actually splitting the Central Government in two and its efficiency in countless ways.

Of course, it ain't over till it's over. As they emerged from their "victory" hangover, Chungcheongnam-do voters realized their mistake and demanded the B Plan to be implemented as well because it was economically much more sustainable : big companies, who would have invested billions in that Utopia 2.0, are now freed from their engagements and courted by all other local administrations.

An embarrassment for Korea, the potato is uglier and hotter than ever, and will land on the next president's lap.

Both the military and capital handovers are supposed to happen in 2015, but I wouldn't bet a buck on either of them. More hangovers ? Now that's a sure bet.

Seoul Village 2010


* see "Sejong City and the beauty of lameduckhood" and all posts related to Sejong City.

UNESCO World Conference on Arts Education in Seoul, 7 more candidates for the World Heritage List

You've seen the banners downtown, and on the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism : between May 25 and 28, 2010, Seoul hosts the 2nd World Conference on Arts Education*. UNESCO Director-General Irina Georgieva arrived ahead of the conference, right after the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, to discuss all fields of cooperation between her organization and Korea, beyond the topics raised this week by experts from 190 countries and the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures.

The occasion, maybe, to talk about recent submissions on the tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage. We've seen how active Korea is in that field, and in 2010, the country submitted no fewer than 7 new properties :

=> 2 submissions for ancient mountain fortresses ("sanseong") :

. Namhansanseong in Gwangju (Gyeonggi-do)

. Chungcheongbuk-do Ancient Mountain Fortresses : Samnyeonsanseong (Boeun-gun), Sangdangsanseong (Cheongju), Chungjusanseong (Chungju), Deokjusanseong (Jecheon), Ondalsanseong (Danyang), Jangmisanseong (Chungju), and Mireuksanseong (Geosan).

=> 2 submissions in favor of the Baekje heritage, encompassing city-level clusters, very much like Gyeongju (and once more honoring Korea's great funeral tradition) :

. Gongju and Buyeo Historic Sites : Baekje heritage in Gongju-si and Buyeo-gun, Chungcheongnam-do.

. Iksan Historic Areas : remains and royal tombs of an old Baekje capital in the Wanggung-myeon and Ungpo-myeon area.

=> 1 'prehistoric' submission :

. Bangudae Petroglyphs (Daegokcheon Stream Petroglyphs) in Daegok-ri, Ulsan. Entering the prestigious list could accelerate the process of protection for these priceless prehistoric relics, whose very existence is threatened by a dam. Korea managed to put its dolmens in the list, but is still waiting for its fossilized dinosaurs.

=> 2 'nature / environment' submissions :

. Southwestern Coast Tidal Flats : probably ignited by the 2008 RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands held in Korea, and the realization that Korean coastal wetlands and their habitats are endangered, this submission focuses on Jeolla-do sites (Gochang-gun and Buan-gun in Jeollabuk-do, Suncheon, Boseong-gun, Muan-gun, Sinan-gun in Jeollanam-do). The Louisiana oil spill tragedy may help the cause. And the listing would be a perfect answer to the Saemangum / Ariul mess.

. Jeollanam-do Salterns in Yeonggwang-gun (I guess the group of salters at the end of Yeomsam-myeon peninsula), and Sinan-gun (there's a big cluster on the islands of Bigeumdo and Dochodo). Beyond the sites, the submission focuses on the local techniques.

5 other sites remain on South Korea's tentative list, to which 6 North Korean candidates could be added, all submitted in 2000 (Goguryo Tombs remain NK's only assets listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List).


Seoul Village 2010

* see UNESCO website and the Korean website (artsedu2010.kr)

Anheung's Foggy Dew

Woke up at five this morning. To the familiar sound of the surf.

Water almost reached the top of the concrete pier, at the feet of the wooden stairs leading to our small bungalow. A high tide day ? Good for seafood : shellfish are supposed to give more meat.

The time to enjoy a peaceful walk around the lake of Chollipo Arboretum and to wolf down a decent breakfast, sun has risen enough to timidly caress the small island facing us, a certain Dalkseom, according to the map. "Chicken Island"... Did they rescue a Rob-hen-son Crusoe on that goosebump over the West Sea ?

I can't see any chicken, but I can ear a few seagulls. They too are awake and eager to share the news.

Now small fishing boats are coming and going, one at a time, from and to the small port of Cheollipo. Not much of a rush hour, but horns are honking nonetheless in the distance.

Gotta go.

To the local fish market. Roughly in the same direction as the boats, only by car.

This time, we didn't come for bird watching nor for Taean Haean National Park. The arboretum ? A nice alibi. We just wanted to enjoy Taean-gun on a weekday, off season, when locals can be a little bit more themselves and a little bit less tourist attractions.

It's a short trip to Anheung - maybe thirty kilometers - but a magical mystery (mist-ery ?) tour through the early morning fog : first road 32 through Sowon-myeon, and then road 603 across Geumheung-myeon peninsula, all the way to Sinjindo and Sinjindo-ri, the village around Anheung Port.

The road is even foggier than yesterday. At times, you can't see further than fifteen meters. Almost no traffic, and only a few lost souls emerge from the grey wetness : the ghost of an old farmer, a woman waiting for her bus in a scene worthy of Hayao Myazaki's "Spirited Away", a middle-aged man in an impeccable office suit, standing by the road and staring at nothing. Probably just beamed straight from the twilight zone (I got the explanation later)...

Parts of the scenery strangely remind me of Belgium in late winter, when the fog rules over patches of bare frozen land - here, the mirrors of unplanted rice paddies. I smile at the parallel, bringing up the mental picture of Seoulites harvesting witloof down Gyeongbokgung Station.

If we don't know when the auctions start, we do have a few clues : they depend on the arrival of the boats, and considering the tide and the traffic this morning on Chollipo bay, it should be about time. As we pass Anheungseong fortress and reach the small harbor, frenzied seagulls give us the ultimate clue : the boats have recently arrived. Indeed, the delivery of the day lies under the main hall. All items have already been packed for the auctions and outside, freshly gutted fish are being laid on drying nets for other buyers.

This is by no means a big harbor nor a big catch, but like all the ones I've witnessed in Korean fish markets, this auction reflects proficiency. Two animators face a perfect line of bidders : equipped with a head mike, the announcer reads a brief description of each lot, before letting the "screamer" do his gig. In French, the main animator is called "le crieur" or "the screamer", and this Korean guy perfectly honors the profession thanks to a powerful, steady note that only stops when a bidder wins. This time, the hallucination is auditive : it very much sounded like a muezzin's call to prayer (memo to myself : when you start seeing minarets and endives in Chungnam, go back to sleep).

I position myself in line with the bidders for a picture. Suddenly, one of them swiftly opens his jacket, gesturing not so discreetely as if he were pocketing back his wallet. A bribery attempt ? No : another one does exactly the same. This is just the official signal to up the bid.

In less than three minutes, they've finished the main dish. Shellfish will go even quicklier, before they move to the small crates and their delicate arrangements. The auctions finished, the ballet can start, orchestrated by buyers waving impatiently, their cellphones already overheating.

As we leave, customers are arriving for the open market.

Even if the fog has abated in most portions on the way back, we're still granted a few detours into the twilight zone. Between two layers of mist, we're welcomed by supporters of a politician : the man I saw earlier, with the nice suit and necktie, is now delivering a vibrant speech from a colorful podium facing an empty street. All dressed in the same blue uniform, his cheerleaders bow as we pass. I'm used to the ceremonium at every crossroads during election campaigns but not in the middle of nowhere.

We'll meet many rival factions in busier surroundings : as we browse Seosan Dongbu Market for our 11 o'clock lunch.

Seoul Village 2010

Hyeongjae Sikdang (Seosan)

Back to Seosan Dongbu Market. After the seafood restaurant* and the visit to the fish market, I'm longing for a variety of tastes.

As we walk, I notice two adjumas feasting on an impressive round metal tray : a spicy soup surrounded by a dozen colorful banjan. Much more inspiring than the usual 'dosirak' merchants are delivered on a market. I dare salute them and say it looks really good. Instantly, the older lady stands up and, to my utter embarrassment, walks me to the restaurant.

Hopefully, it's only twenty meters away. The kind merchant / customer / referrer leaves us with an old couple. The small eatery lies at a corner where you can enjoy the view on both a sunny market street and a lively indoor market alley, but while the tenants prepare the fabled plate for our table, we're all watching the Cheonan press conference, a mix between the International Criminal Tribunal and the Nuremberg trial, in absentia KIM Jong-ilis.

We're now in praesentia of our dubu al dang (hot fish egg soup with tofu), surrounded by a classic but delicious jury : clear cabbage broth with shellfish, grilled fish, kongnamul, ketnip, ojingo, fresh algae... simple and tasty food, fresh ingredients, even the rice is excellent.

The unanimous verdict : guilty of first degree yumminess.

Hyeongjae Sikdang / 형재 식당 (restaurant)
Dongbu Market
Seosan, ROK, Chungcheongnam-do
Tel +82 (041) 665.3776

Seoul Village 2010

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* "Seohaean Haemul Mat Jib"
** "Anheung foggy dew"

Seohaean Haemul Mat Jib (Seosan)

Ideally located at the center of the almost peninsula of Northwestern Chungcheongnam-do, Seosan hosts a fairly large and very lively market with a balanced diet of meat, fish, fruits and veggetables. Thanks to the city's rational plan, Dongbu Market is very accessible from the main road, and there are many parkings on both sides.

For seafood, I tried the biggest provider : "West Coast Seafood Restaurant" (서해안 해물맛집) overlooks the main hall from the second floor. Not in a daring mood, I also tried their flavor of the month, jjukumi shabu-shabu - bokkeum (쭈꾸미 샤브샤브 - 볶음).

Since they weren't many jjukumi left, they threw in a couple of nakji (bigger octopus). Alive. I cruelly watched them break dance in their glass domed jjimjilbang, but tenants are even more cruel : with this large transparent lid, they offer you some sick kind of a 3D TV show. You finish the sauce with a traditional bokkeumbap seasoned with gim (dried laver).

Not as exotic a recipe as the "shabeu-shabeu" marketing gimmick said, and not as spicy as Woojeong Nakji, but mean enough, and you can appreciate all the ingredients.

Seohaean Haemul Mat Jib / 서해안 해물맛집 (restaurant)
Dongbu Market Sinchukgeonmul 2F, Seosan, ROK, Chungcheongnam-do
Tel +82 (041) 665.5466


Seoul Village 2010

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Sejong City and the beauty of lameduckhood

For most observers, the future of Korea's next capital, Sejong Special Autonomous City, has never looked bright. And when LEE Myung-bak hired, as his new Prime Minister, a fierce oponent to the project, common sense was bound to win over utopia (see "Sejong City").

Chances were CHUNG Un-chan would take all the burden for the change of plans, the President simply accepting his recommendations. Politics as usual.

But no. The Bulldozer, in this bluntest style, did what few politicians dare do in public, and even fewer on prime time TV : he said yes, I agreed with the project, but only to get the votes from Chungcheongnam-do people. Sorry, but now I must do what's good for the country and pull the plug.

Needless to say Chungcheongnam-do voters are not pleased by this honesty. They will have to do with a B Plan yet to be determined.

Sejong City will exist, probably refocused on education and research, and Seoul will remain the capital of South Korea.

Such is the beauty of lameduckhood in Korea : a President serves only one term and is not politically binded. His party ? A one shot disposable vehicule he dumps into deep seas as soon as the satellite has reached its orbit.


Seoul Village 2009