Jeong-dong forever

Thank you Chosun Ilbo for feeding this stroll-starved quarantined Seoulite with Jeong-dong news ("서울 貞洞이 확 바뀐다, 근대역사 숨쉬는 거리로" - Chosun Ilbo 20200407). So. Seoul intends to invest KRW 20 bn by 2022 into what is already one of the capital's most walkable neighborhoods. Basically, a lot of storytelling to connect the dots, plus a few new dots. 

Sidewalks and signs shall be improved along the 2,6 km scenic walk signaled on this map

But first, let me tell you another story about this neighborhood you think you know.

Jeong-dong basically draws a diagonal between two palaces: Deoksugung and Gyeonghuigung, and owes its name to Jeongneung, a royal tomb of the Joseon dynasty. Actually, it used to be also known as Jeongneung-dong.

Wait a minute. Indeed, Jeongneung is located in Jeongneung-dong, but that's in Seongbuk-gu, quite far away.

Blame King Sejong's father for that: King Taejeong was the one who, in 1408, moved the tomb to the opposite end of town, and even beyond the mountain, the city, and its fortress walls. Real estate-wise and  feng shui-wise, quite a downgrade. Why would Taejeong disgrace a royal tomb? Because it honored Queen Sindeok, the second wife of his grand dad, King Taejo, the founder of both the Josson dynasty and Seoul. And Taejeong's grandmother was Taejo's first wife, Queen Shinui. So even if Sindeok played a role in the capital's genesis, she had to get out of royal sight.

Now guess where Jeongneung was located, initially: in Today's British Embassy.

To me, this anecdote illustrates perfectly Jeong-dong's shift from its royal origins to its modern diplomatic tradition.

Of course, this is where Germany, Russia, the US, the UK, France, Italy, Belgium built their consulates at the end of the XIXth century. But if the Brits are still there (see 'Seoul-upon-Han and Yeongguk-dong'), and even if the Russian Legation tower was restored a dozen years ago, most of the rest is gone.

Seoul city intends to revamp Jeongdong Park, at the feet of the Russian Legation to have it themed after the area's rich diplomatic tradition, with a tribute to these lost buildings. Will more people come than today? For the moment, this quiet green patch remains backstage from Jeongdong-gil as well as from Saemunan-ro (accessible through a steep staircase). And Jeongdong-gil itself is already a pleasant, tree-lined stroll dotted with actual buildings full of history or culture: Jeongdong Theater, Sina Memorial Hall (Asiance HQs), Chung Dong First Methodist Church, surviving structures of Ewha Hakdang and Pai Chai Hakdang (Appenzeller Noble Memorial Museum), Jungmyeongjeon Hall...

What always struck me when I saw old pictures of Jeong-dong was the fact that it looked much hillier than today, and now I know why: there was indeed a hill, named after Hwangtohyeon, but it was erased during the occupation. Among the few new dots added to the plan, Seoul will create a small Hwangtohyeon square to commemorate a hill in front of the small police station at the Sejongno intersection.

Most citizens discovered this most central neighborhood when Deoksugung-gil was redesigned in 1998, marking the revival of downtown Seoul as a pedestrian friendly destination*. Another boost came with the 2002 World Cup, when millions gathered right next door on Sejongdaero around City Hall, and what would become the new Seoul Plaza. The SeMA, inaugurated in 1988, would also be renovated in 2002, and its garden at the roundabout remains a popular, Instagrammable spot. 2002 also happens to be the birth year of my beloved Seoul Museum of History at the other end of the neighborhood. More recently, the Seoul Biennales brought new magnets on each side of Jeong-dong: Donuimun Museum Village near Gyeonghuigung (2007), and Seoul HOUR (2019) near Deoksugung.

Of course there's much more than this SE-NW diagonal**. But until a few years ago, the Northeast section of Deoksugung-gil used to be closed to the public around Habib House, the US Ambassador's residence. Thanks to Mark Lippert and Grigsby his basset hound, this key axis opened up, completing at last Jeong-dong's anchoring to all neighboring areas.

Jeong-dong will remain future-proof if it keeps at the same time respecting its past and evolving.

Seoul Village 2020
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* see "Jeongdong-kill"

** Note that its Southeastern half used to be known as Sojeong-dong (close to the 'somun' - Seodomun), and its Northwestern half as Daejeong-dong (close to 'daemun' - Donuimun). About Seoul's Sadaemun and Sasomun, see my small video 'Drawing Sadaemun'

The Yongsan itch and the Sajik balm

One up, one down. Seoul speeds up for the redevelopment of Yongsan 4, and puts the brakes on Sajik 2.

We've known for a while* that the future Yongsan Park would be surrounded by high rise structures. After burning their fingers on the doomed Yongsan IBD project, authorities decided to offer their all-you-can-build gifts to speculators in smaller packages, wrapped in green. Here, at the Hangangdae-ro - Seobinggo-ro interesection (Hangangno-dong), a tentative 'Yongsan Parkway' serves as an environmental alibi for more 30-40+ towers:

In Jongno-gu, a far less popular - and far less tragical** - "drama" has also been running for years: the redevelopment of what I call Sajik Heights, the hilly neighborhood nested between Sajik-ro / Sajik Tunnel, Space Bon, and Gyeonghuigung. I've walked its alleyways countless times, and even wrote a short story about Kim Ki-chan meeting my fictional Kim Mudangnim there (the great photographer also used to live in Sajik-dong).

A pigeon, a hanok, a hilly alleyway, Inwangsan - Sajik Heights in 2009

For a decade, Sajik Heights has been preparing for the transformation, and Lotte Castle eventually won the right to build the New Town.

As far as 'urban continuity' goes, it looked consistent with the Gyeonghuigung Xii (Gyonam New Town) rising from the other side of the tunnel / hill / (now almost totally obliterated) fortress wall... 

But Seoul city seized a debate over modifications to stop the process***. Among the landmarks to be protected (let's hope in a less destructive way than nearby Dilkusha****), the 1906 house where Josephine Eaton Peel Campbell lived. I visited that place at the top of the hill, around the time it was used as an office by local residents. It seems to have never been used for the purpose the Campbell estate sold it, which was to promote the education of young girls, in the tradition of Campbell herself, the founder of Baehwa (girls' schools and women's university in Pirun-dong).

Residents are now wondering what's best for them, particularly after witnessing what happened in the vicinity: Gyonam? newtonized. Seochon? bukchonized. So what for Sajikistan?

Whatever happens in the future, something of the old neighborhood shall survive. Or evolve. 

Anyway, it would be nice to see something decent next to a potential UNESCO Heritage site (Yeol still working hard on the Sajik-dan revival*****).

Seoul Village 2016
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* see for instance "Yongsan park - fake forests and real estates" (Feb. 2011)
** if a person died in Yongsan, no casualties for the only tragedy I witnessed when I lived in Sajik-dong, a hanok fire back in 2009.
*** "사직2구역 재개발 추진 7년…110년 된 캠벨 사택 어쩌나" (JoongAng Ilbo 20160413)
**** less forsaken than 5 year ago (see "Sajik Heights and micro-hanokization"), the building seems to have undergone serious change in the name of 'preservation' 
***** rites have been performed for a long while, and the restoration helped as well (see "Sajik-dan enshrined, Naeja-dong revived ?")

SeMA Nowon: better than Gauguin

Never say never again: one year ago, the Seoul Museum of Art announced that it would distance itself from big shows with big international names (see "SeMA to block blockbusters"), but 2012 ended with the Tim Burton extravaganza (talk about big fish), and yesterday*, The  Korea JoongAng Daily detailed SeMA's plans for the year to come, starring a major Paul Gauguin exhibition to be held June-September 2013 in Seosomun branch (talk about a summer blockbuster).

It's great, particularly for a large public who never had the occasion to see really significant works from an artist I love, but I was much more interested in updates regarding the future SeMA North Branch in Nowon-gu.

I always wondered what would come out of this site, still hidden by tall fences last time I passed by, last month. That's a very good location, between Junggye and Hagye stations, surrounded by massive apartment blocks and just in front of a key commercial hotspot: Outlet 2001 +, HomePlus (formerly HomEver, formerly Carrefour Junggye), the second one after Nowon Station, on the other side of Danghyeoncheon. Perfect to reach for new visitors, and to boost Northeast Seoul's cultural life. 

SeMA North Branch (SeMA Nowon? SeMA Junggye?) will be inaugurated in July 2013, and officials quoted in the article mentioned "crafts, design, and architecture" and "public art" as the main "verticals" for the new venue. We also received the confirmation that the Main Branch (SeMA Seosomun) would propose more international magnets. It is very important to couple each event with a more local one: I sincerely hope many visitors to the Tim Burton show stopped by the wonderful exhition of Seoul pictures on the ground floor (see "A thousand villages, a thousand memories - Seoul Photo Festival 2012"). Bonus: that expo was free. But of course, that's not the reason why I visited the Seoul photo festival expo three times, sharing twice very emotional moments with fellow visitors I'd never met before, but who had personal stories with certain pictures or photographers.

The potential repositioning of SeMA Nam Seoul (South Branch, near Sadang) is not very clear, but I guess the editorial line will remain focused on more intimate exhibitions.

What about SeMA Gyeonghuigung, that big space in the most prestigious of all locations, but an empty shell most of the time?

My dream would be a SeMA KIM Ki-chan, a living museum devoted to photography, built around the collection of Seoul's - and probably Korea's - all time greatest photographer, the man who captured the soul of the city, of its people, of its alleyways. Furthermore, Kim Ki-chan grew up just hectometers away from the site, in Sajik-dong.

That would be great: permanent collections of great Korean photographers, temporary exhibitions, and as tribute to the people of Seoul KIM Ki-chan revealed for generations to see in their daily lives, a large space devoted to photos taken by anonym citizens.

At a time when human relations grow virtual, at a time when the whole city is captured thousands of time a day by its citizens and visitors for the whole world to see on social networks, Seoul has a duty to get real and to make something of all its fantastic cultural assets.

Seoul Village 2013
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* "Gauguin exhibition set for Seoul museum" (KJD 2013/01/23)

New homes, old stories for Seoul mayor

A couple of weeks after the inauguration of the new city hall*, local authorities announced that Mayor PARK Won-soon would move in March 2013 from his residence in Hyehwa-dong (which had to be abandoned because of the renovation of Seoul fortress**) to a controversial place in Bukchon: a hanok built during the Japanese occupation by relatives of an infamous collaborator. Even if it later belonged to BAEK In-je, the founder of Baek Hospital, some people contested the Mayor's decision.

Today, Korea JoongAng Daily publishes an interesting focus on this two-story hanok, its past and future ("An old, unusual hanok gets a new life"), where we also learn that PARK will eventually move in later than scheduled, next September.

Personally, I have no objection to that move, provided the whole story is properly taught. I'm glad Seoul's top officer will welcome hosts in Jongno-gu's second largest hanok, a rare display of Korean traditional architecture. And after all, wasn't the old City Hall itself - now a library - built by the Japanese?

Furthermore, if you take any luxury hanok built for a Korean VIP during that period and particularly in this neighborhood, chances are the owner was palling around with the occupants anyway. I keep that in mind each time I pass by Bukchon's most touristic hotspot.

Following a "gentlemen's agreement", the Japanese occupants would generally live south of Cheonggyecheon, except of course for the government, or the land claimed over Gyeonghuigung in Shinmunro area. And unsurprisingly, "literary" Seochon was a bit more rebel than Bukchon, an enclave of power between Changdeokgung and Gyeongbokgung***.

I recently mentioned a similar controversy about the name of a palace changed under Japanese rule ("Deoksugung or Gyeongungung?"), and I think the best way to prepare the future is to be as transparent as possible about the past, and to reveal both sides of the coin. If you should boycott all places with a troubled past, most world capitals would be empty.

Some day, spotlights will focus on what happened after the occupation, which ill-gotten assets finished in which hands under which conditions. I'm not sure everybody's ready for that level of transparency.

Seoul Village 2013
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* see previous posts about this landmark, and "Seoul Tsunami City Hall, The Other Korean Wave"
** completion was previously expected by 2014 ("Seoul Fortress Walls (re)completed by 2014"), but now it's by 2015 

**** see "Seochon's Dead Poets Society (YI Sang, YUN Dong-gu)"

100 years of Koreans in Japan

My "Korea-Japan" Friday was supposed to be quieter, highlighted by this visit to the Seoul Museum of History on the inaugural day of the exhibition about Koreans in Japan, and the bronze medal game between both countries at the Olympics.

Then the news came that President Lee would make a surprise visit to Dokdo, spoiling the mood to say the least*.

But nothing could ruin the first bearable day following the meanest heatwave in decades**, and I enjoyed the stroll along Gyeonghuigung-gil, with a quick hello to my old neighbor, the Korea Football Association building, dressed as usual for the event...

... and at the other end of the street, the museum and its old-map-of-Seoul-slash-fountain in full swing.

What I didn't expect was the massive crowd inside. Turns out I arrived right on time for an inauguration I suspected would have happened in the morning. There goes the ribbon, with the help of Dr KANG Hong-bin, the brilliant director of this museum, KANG Duk-sang, the curator of Tokyo's "History Museum of Japanese Koreans" (재일한인역사자료관) and an ethnic Korean himself, and CHUNG Jae-jeong, President of the Northeast Asian History Foundation:

There are two parts in this exhibition: a focus on the daily lives of Koreans and ethnic Koreans in the archipelago, and KANG Duk-sang's collection of nishiki-e prints. At the same time glorifying imperialism and fueling racism towards Koreans, these colorful pictures contributed, at the end of the XIXth century, to the official propaganda that paved the way for the colonization of Korea by Japan. There are even card games and board games. Textbook propaganda... and we're not even talking about textbooks!

Except for the exotic touch of the prints, I notice many similarities with colonialist materials from the same period in Europe. But the "other" doesn't look that different on the pictures. You do see a cartoon of a crying Korean tiger, but in this collection at least, not the equivalent to the outrageous racist caricatures that persisted late into the XXth century (more or less intentionally, like with Herge's highly controversial "Tintin au Congo", for instance).

The thing is that, like all humans but even more so, Korean and Japanese people are brothers. And it's hard to justify racist propaganda within the family. So the authorities resorted to techniques very similar to WWII antisemitic propaganda, for example a police briefing about how to tell "Joseon" people from "authentic" Japanese people. But with very few physical details - the hair, maybe? And a lot of behavioral traits, like the Confucian marks of respect to an elder citizen. And if you read between the lines, the same jealousy and self-hatred leaking from the racist speech. At one point, police officers are warned they may be tempted to believe Koreans look noble because of the way they walk. And there's the poem of a Japanese citizen, who doesn't understand why a policeman asks him to repeat a silly sentence, until he realizes that's a way of spotting a Korean accent.

I can say "Japanese citizen" because even now, Koreans and ethnic Koreans cannot get the Japanese nationality. Either they keep the Korean nationality, or they drop it for a special status that turns them into apatride oddities. The exhibition tells the story of generations going through daily discriminations and humiliations, even when they want to embrace Japan as their only country. When a brilliant person was exceptionally proposed to take the Japanese nationality in order to become a judge, and even if he had always dreamt of becoming a judge and of being recognized in the Japanese society, he had to refuse because it meant the very negation of his ideal of justice.

A few ethnic Koreans do succeed every now and then, and the compulsory fingerprinting is just a bit less humiliating than it used to be. And of course, in spite of the sick ping pong game between Fareastern hatemongers, the 1923 madness is not likely to happen anytime soon (following an earthquake, racist rumors accused Koreans of adding to the destruction, leading to the mass murder of 6,000 innocent "Joseon" in broad daylight).

But fundamentally, nothing changes, racism remains institutionalized, and this exhibition cannot identify any glimmer of hope for the future of hundreds of thousands of Koreans in a home that refuses to embrace them... at the official level at least: little progress would have been made without the contribution of responsible Japanese citizens, and I was happy to see a significant proportion of Japanese people among the visitors.

As you browse through these sad testimonies and lists of avoidable tragedies, as you try to overcome negative emotions - extremism feeds upon that feeling of helpless anger -, you can't help but think about the way today's Korea is sometimes dealing with its own growing population of foreigners, particularly migrant workers. Will Korean media help the audience appreciate the mirror effect? 

Once again: yes, Japan must apologize, yes, Japan must change, but Korea cannot at the same time ask for change and refuse to face and fix its own failures.

Seoul Museum of History
"100 years of Koreans in Japan"
55 Saemunan-ro (Sinmun-ro-2-ga), Jongno-gu, Seoul 110.062
Tel: Dasan 120
Website: museum.seoul.kr
(ADDENDUM 20120814: I forgot to mention the projection of movies related to the exhibition - fiction and documentaries, check the website for the program. that's only between Aug. 11 and Aug. 17)


Seoul Village 2012
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* see "Worst followers"

** up to 3108 degrees Celsius, the temperature at which smartphones get dumbstruck:

SeMA to block blockbusters

Seoul's blockbuster exhibition frenzy* may cool down a few notches. As we saw over the past few years, Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Klimt, Rodin, Warhol, or Chagall came to town in unprecedented waves, while at the other end of the spectrum, younger generations got a pretty nice share of spotlight**. Unsurprisingly, confirmed Korean artists didn't receive the attention they deserved, so the new head of the Seoul Museum of Art wants to switch to a more balanced diet*** (NB: I promise, that's it for my f***g ***s today).

Even if it doesn’t look as impressive as the massive Seoul Art Center complex in Seocho-gu, SeMA does have a lot of space to fill, but it's split between different venues. Until now, the editorial line looked (a little bit) like this:

• for power hitters: the main building in Jung-gu (former Supreme Court HQ in Seosomun). Bonus: print and TV ads, plus bright flag advertising banners all along Deoksugung-gil.
• for minor league players: a small yet cute Nam Seoul annex in Gwanak-gu (the former Belgian Embassy in Namhyeon-dong). Bonus: subliminal pop-ups on SeMA’s website.
• for little league toddlers: an architectural mess at the entrance of Gyeonghuigung (picture the roof of Munich Olympiastadion next to a royal palace – Prada Transformer did a much better job for the contrast). Bonus: the place seems to open only between 2.37 and 3.45 AM on certain holidays every leap year (of course I’m exaggerating: I remember among other successes a recent Seoul Photo Festival)
• Note that SeMA also acts as an incubator for promising artists in Mapo-gu (Nanji Art Space in Sangam-dong, in the Seoul Art Space spirit)

Significantly, these days, SeMA stars Yann Arthus Bertrand in yet another photo expo milking his Earth from Above series and Home movie ("It's my home"). Seosomun building also hosts a less advertized show about "Korean Abstract Painting - 10 Perspectives", and chances are I won't go all the way down South to see the most original program ("Where's my friend's home?" almost seems tailored for the Seoul Museum of History).

Typically, the new boss, who only took over a few days ago, wants to make more room for Korean artists in their 40s and 50s, and why not, to push beyond walls, towards the charming walkway of Deoksugung-gil (the museum gardens were already used as a stage in recent expos, and a couple of years ago, a trio of bronze sculptures featured at KIAF 2008 has been permanently installed across the entrance, by the palace walls).

It would take a Paik Nam-june to bring the same crowds as the blockbusters of the Noughties, but I don’t think that’s the aim of the game anymore. It’s not about flash events featuring big brands, but about brand building for art itself: now people must come even when there isn't a big name. Museum executives used to outsource the organization to a well connected producer: they will now have to do their jobs, and to contribute to a vast pedagogy effort that must also involve the media and school systems.

If SeMA already contributed a lot to the democratization of modern and contemporary art in Seoul, it cannot fulfill all its missions and fill all its venues with blockbusters occulting the rest (which also includes such recurrent events as the Media Art Biennale or the Print Biennal). So it can leave classic blockbusters to say the SAC, and devote more energy to more ambitious programs and to permanent collections... even if, of course, it cannot build as extensive a collection as the MOCA's (SeMA does propose a decent exhibition of its New acquisitions every year, though).

Speaking of the National Museum Of Contemporary Art: here too, a new chief has just been named this very week. Among the big challenges: preparing the inauguration of the "UUL National Art Museum" next year (reminder: the former Defense Security Command in Sogyeok-dong, a future landmark).

This period of fine tuning in normal considering the boom of the past years, as Seoul caught up with fellow world capitals in cultural infrastructures. As a younger player, it can learn from past mistakes. For instance, as a Parisian, it's interesting to see how long it took for the Musee d'Art Moderne to adapt to the new 'competitive environment' following the success of Centre George Pompidou.

To be continued.

Seoul Village 2012
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*"Gustav Klimt at Seoul Arts Center - Pompidou at SeMA"

** see for instance the ASYAAF series

**"SeMA to shift away from 'blockbuster' exhibitions" (Korea JoongAng Daily 20120206)

Seoul Photography Festival, Marc Chagall, 40 years of Gangnam

Still raging until the end of January, the 2010 Seoul Photography Festival consists of free photo exhibitions around the thema "Returning Seoul to Seoul" :
- at the SeMa Gyeonghuigung Palace Annex : a new eye on the capital ("Seoul: above ground and underground"), plus a collection of books about photography ("Between the Books")
- at the SeMa Nam Seoul Annex : everyday life of Seoulites across generations and key moments ("Remember the Life")


For Seoul and photo lovers, the Gyeonghuigung expo should be coupled with a stop at the Seoul Museum of History : after Jongno and probably before Itaewon, this institution proposes an interesting focus on Gangnam then and now.


And if you want to pass by, beyond its annexes, the SeMa itself, you can also get a ticket for the colorful Chagall exhibition, which reminds me of one I saw a couple of years ago in Paris' Musee d'Art Moderne.

2010 Seoul Photo Festival
20101220 - 20110131
SeMA Gyeonghuigung, SeMA Nam Seoul
website: seoulphotography.com



"40years of Gangnam, Exponential Growth"
("강남 40년 : '영동'에서 '강남'으로")
Seoul Museum of History
20101229-20110227
website: museum.seoul.kr


Chagall : Magician of Color
20101203-0327
Seoul Museum of Art
websites: seoulmoa.seoul.go.kr, chagallseoul.com


Seoul Village 2011

Let It Snow

I took this small video last Monday, under a bright sun in Gyeonghuigung, downtown Seoul, from the playground right behind the palace :

Unfortunately, the soundtrack is provided by Haemil, the green glass building coming right after the palace in this amateur 360 panorama (then there's an old villa, Space Bon in the background, and we're back to the woods on the hill separating Sajik-dong from Gyonam-dong).

Chung Mong-joon's think tank recently moved into their new headquarters and as you can hear, the big air-con blocks that spoiled our game* are working fine. As you can see, they eventually decided not to replace the wall, completing the "illusion" that they own the place... to the risk of causing incidents : particularily with this snow, visitors to the palace cannot see the deep gap in front of them (what to say about kids playing nearby...).

Anyway, nothing could ruin this beautiful day, nor the magic of Seoul under the snow. Sounds carry differently too. Yesterday morning, I heard the rooster from my window.

Seoul Village 2010


* see "Haemil construction, continued (game interrupted)"

NB: from now on we'll refer to the building as the ASAN Institute HQ instead of Haemil HQ. The AIPS / ASAN Institute for Policy Studies was named after Chung Ju-yung's nickname and hometown (Mr Chung's father founded the Hyundai Group).

Haemil construction, continued (game interrupted)

Today, I visited Mr Chung Mong-joon's new parking lot. Except it was not a parking lot but a public park where people use to jog, play, enjoy the view on the Gyeonghuigung Palace, and breathe fresh air from the woods. Particularly on week-ends.

On previous saturdays, we sometimes had a tough time breathing : toxic exhausts from his future think tank headquarter's working site* invaded the whole area, irritating our eyes and throats, and I seriously worried about the life expectancy of people manipulating this stuff (definitely too aggressive to be just paint), all day long, and without any special protection.

This morning, we had to wait for over one hour to play, and our game was suddenly interrupted when the huge crane folded, using the dead center of the sports field in the process.

Beyond the crane, which itself covered well over 100 square meters, the central field was also dotted with one big truck and two smaller ones, plus at least two personal cars which had nothing to do up here. At one moment, an old man passed by, jotting down on his notebook one or two license plate numbers. Long after he departed, a small water truck joined the party, but was kind enough to park off the field : after all, we had decided to play on the remaining third of the field without waiting for about 30 huge air con systems to be lifted from the ground to the working site... trying not to think about what would happen if one of these blocks fell down on us.

When we thought we would recover the left third of the field, another personal car arrived and made sure the right wing shrunk even more. And when the trucks cleared the area, the crane stopped the game.

Before deciding to play in spite of this mechanical ballet, we had plenty of time to admire the soon to be completed building. As we saw before, it could be an interesting landmark under less controvertial circumstances. Who knows ? After his election, Chung may decide to offer the site to the city, exposing his personal art collection or presidential library...

Last week, workers removed the old and ugly concrete wall separating Haemil grounds from royal grounds, and I hope they will make something nice, more respectful of the surroundings. They wouldn't dare leaving it like that, out in the open, confirming the impression that the Royal Palace and the park behind are just Haemil's backyard**.

But there seems to be something like a moat around the new castle, which now boasts a staircase leading down towards the palace... I wouldn't be surprised to see at least one gate for the future monarch to visit his dependencies...

... and why not, on saturday and sunday mornings, watch some game of parking - football.

Seoul Village 2009

* see previous episodes :
"Haemil - a Think-Tank or only a Tank ?",
"Chung Mong-joon keeps rising...",
and "Mayor OH Se-hoon answers"

Donuimun Restoration and Sadaemun Resurrection

Today, Seoul announced the restoration of Donuimun in its original design and location by 2013, along with the prolongation of the fortress walls, and the intention of claiming a new UNESCO World Heritage label for resuscitating the initial frame of Hanyang, the city's original name.

The image I have of Donuimun (also known as Seodaemun - the Great Western Gate), is the desolation at Jeong-dong Sagori : an abrupt slope at the feet of a concrete monster (Samsung Gangbuk Hospital), a dangerous crossroads for pedestrians and bikers (probably meant to feed the above mentioned monster), and a sober glass / wood post-it decor signaling the place where one of Seoul's four main gates used to stand. Victim to Japanese forces in 1915 as part of a comprehensive destruction plan (city walls, palaces, gates, symbols of power and independence had to be removed), but also as part of a more constructive scheme (new tram lines), Donuimun had been shamelessly overlooked during more recent redevelopment projects.

Yet, I was confident this forsaken area would be revived in a very near future :
- If the gate is gone, Jeong-dong Sagori remains a focal point where Jongno-gu, Jung-gu, and Seodaemun-gu meet. Nowadays, the pleasant walk along Deoksugung-gil (a successful restoration if I ever saw one) comes to an abrupt end, ruining the connection with Gyeonghuigung.
- According to Donuimun New Town (a.k.a. Gyonam New Town) master plan, the triangle between the hospital and Gyeonghuigung's entrance will be transformed into a park (reminder: in the meanwhile, there's still time to enjoy the good restaurants still standing !).
- At last, the overpass joining Saemunan-gil and Seosomun-ro will be removed. Good riddance.
- Seoul wants to restore the city's original fortress walls, and a significant portion has already been completed uphill along Songwol-gil (with a small park in Songwol-dong, above the Swiss Embassy).

Seoul decided to restore Donuimun in its exact location, regardless of the intense traffic, and it's almost a matter of pride : the prestigious gate was destroyed to widen the road and install railway tracks ? it will be reconstructed as it was originally designed, like it or not. The result should be quite impressive, and the area can really look gorgeous if Samsung has a soul (and a few billions to spare) and revamps its hospital more elegantly (burying it could be a solution). I guess cars and buses will probably have to pass under the gate one way or another, without bumping into Seodaemun Station. And I do hope pedestrians can cross seamlessly along the walls without waiting for traffic lights.

Let's recapitulate the score for Seoul's fabled "Sadaemun" (Four Great Gates) : by 2013, the city will have completed a grand slam in the major league (the gates meant for the VIPs, all completed during the first year of construction of the fortress wall, in 1396) :

• Sungnyemun ("respect", Southern Great Gate or Namdaemun) is still under reconstruction following last year’s tragic arson (see "Namdaemonium"). Final touch : 2012.
• Heunginjimun ("wisdom", Eastern Great Gate or Dongdaemun) has already finished its restoration and will soon recover part of its wings : on one side the Naksan section of the fortress (Ewha Woman's University Dongdaemun Hospital has just been destroyed to make space for a park), on the other the future microsection planned for Dongdaemun Design Plaza. Dongdaemun's time to shine should be next year, to celebrate Seoul Capital of Design (see "Buldozing Seoul again - Dongdaemun Design Plaza, New City Hall").
• Sukjeongmun ("humility", Northern Great Gate or Bukdaemun) was closed not long after its completion because it was supposed to allow bad vibes into the city. Japanese occupants destroyed the edifice along with the wall and Donuimun, but under what was left of popular and royal pressure, they couldn't get rid of Namdaemun and Dongdaemun. Sukjeongmun's rebirth in 2006 didn't raise many eyebrows but marked the start of the whole project. The following year, the path to Bukhansan was reopened to the public for the first time since Park's assassination attempt by a North Korean commando in 1968 (see "Inwangsan's Great Wall and Seoul's Royal "T" Time").
• Donuimun ("loyalty", Western Great Gate of Seodaemun) completes the diamond circuit in 2013.

The less notorious "Sasomun" (Four Lesser Gates), the minor league gates, remain in outfield :

• Souimun ("justice" – Seosomun) used to lie between Seodaemun and Namdaemun, so it should theoretically be the South Western gate. But like the other two it belonged to the Western wall of the fortress, and the SW corner was actually Sungnyemun. Seosomun has a terrible reputation because this is the gate through which criminals were banned… or executed. That's also where the “sayuksin” were beheaded (see "King Danjong and Korea's Curse"), and early Christians martyred. And that's also the way to Seodaemun Prison.
• Gwanghuimun ("bright light" – Sugumun) : at the SE corner of the walls, on the other side of Namsan along which the Southern section of the wall is running. I guess this is the "bright light" at the end of the tunnel : this rather cute gate, now part of a small park near Sindang, was the portal through which corpses left the city. Brrrr
• Hyehwamun ("wisdom" – Dongseomun) : NE corner of the walls, on the other side of Naksan. An important entry point to Hanyang from the North.
• Changuimun ("fairness" – known as Jahamun) : NW corner of the walls, between Bugaksan and Inwangsan. Still standing after all these years, even if it had to be reconstructed during the 18th century, following a Japanese invasion.

The city boasts many other gates ("mun"), but they mark the entrance to palaces or altars. The most famous of these gates remains Gwanghwamun, more than ever the star at the center of the show.
Seoul Village 2009

Mayor OH Se-hoon answers

I recently e-mailed the office of Seoul Mayor OH Se-hoon about Haemil's headquarters (CHUNG Mong-joon's think tank / bunker, still under construction right behind the Gyeonghui Palace*), candidly wondering if all the short and long term consequences - cultural as well as political - had fully been taken into account.

This very kind answer came this morning :

Answers from the Seoul Metropolitan Government to Stephane MOT

Dear Stephane MOT

Thank you for your special love to Seoul.

As you know, Seoul has been doing various projects in order to rejuvenate the 600-year-old tradition and identity of Seoul, such as Seoul Walls, and Gyeonghuigung. Some buildings of Gyeunghuigung, which was lost during the Japanese occupation including Sungjeongjeon, Taeryeongjeon, Jajeongjeon, and Hangerang were successfully restored. However, the ground of Gyeonghuigung, Historical Site No. 271 failed to escape the wide-ranging abuse inflicted on the buildings and lands being sold. As a result, the area around the cultural site belong to private ownders.

While we understand that we must recover the old territory of Gyeonghuigung, there are too many obstacles so the Cultural Properties Administration, after a series of deliberations and discussions, notified a standard to change the area around the ground of Gyeonghuigung on Feb. 18, 2008.

According to the notification, the Thinktank building will be in the 2-1 Section on the East of the ground of Gyeonghuigung, where a building with up to 3 stories (12m) will be allowed to stand. A cultural asset agency has surveyed the site for the building, and the Cultural Properties Administration received the exploration results and allowed the construction project.

We’d like to express our deep appreciation for your love to the tradition and history of Seoul, and your precious proposal to protect the ground of the royal building. But please be informed and understand that we cannot infringe the right of private property beyond certain limit due to a cultural asset.

My best wish for your health, prosperity, and happiness.

Best regards,

Oh Se-hoon
Mayor of Seoul

So the decision to "change the area" came "after a series of deliberations and discussions", and the Cultural Properties Administration (now The Cultural Heritage Administration) gave the nod to the project after "a cultural asset agency (...) surveyed the site"**.

In other words : the zoning law was changed to make this construction possible, but neither institution (Seoul, CHA) can be blamed, sorry if we cannot infringe the right of private ambition beyond certain limit.

So be it then... but I'm really curious to see how people will react to Haemil's bold, political statement.

It surely can't be compared with say the Louvres pyramid, at the time a very controversial architectural project, but central to a monument's comprehensive overhaul by the public administration.

Once again, I’m glad that Seoul is growing new architectural landmarks, and this one, in a different context, could be alright (for all I know, it may even be celebrated next year, during the Seoul 2010 Design Capital festivities). But under the circumstances, this project definitely looks like bad PR for everyone.

I hope next projects around cultural assets will receive extra care.

My best wish for your health, prosperity, and happiness as well.

Seoul Village 2009


* see "CHUNG Mong-joon keeps rising...", following "Haemil - A Think Tank or only a tank ?"

** they probably found something interesting during the survey because there was a lot of time between the ground breaking and the actual digging. The big crane on palace grounds didn't raise many objections either.

Chung Mong-joon keeps rising...

I still don't get it.

Haemil future headquarters just reached their "ground floor"*, and they look every bit as massive as I feared they would (see "Haemil - a think tank or only a tank ?").

Come on. This is absurd. Almost comical.

From the outside, it looks like those villas built by careless owners optimizing every square centimeter of land they own, not caring if neighbors will face a wall fifty centimeters from their windows. The new building deliberately mocks at all the rules set to prevent abuses : it's bigger than the previous construction, taller than its neighbors, and in one of Seoul's supposedly most protected areas ! On royal grounds claimed by the Japanese during the occupation...

The irony of it is that it will host a think tank meant to boost the image of a future presidential candidate taking infinite precaution to soften his reputation.

I have no doubt he will enjoy a royal view from the upper floors and the roof... but at best, Haemil Headquarters will look like a massive and odd extension to the royal palace, and at worst, the royal palace will look like a small annex to Haemil.

Obviously, Chung Mong-joon's advisors don't have a clue about what they're doing. I can hear them say : "we can still gain some square meters, make it even bigger, it will pass don't worry, I know such and such and we'll get the authorization"... well they obviously won, but at what cost ?

What is the message here ? My ego is bigger than historic sites ? I'm used to getting the best for myself, even if it's not the best for my country, even if it's over the limits, I'm above the rules and I don't care about the consequences... ? this is the way I think and act, would you please vote for me as your next president ?...


Someone seems to care. Someone who, somehow, thinks within this "think tank". Enough to understand that this may be not so good for the image of a future president. This person obtained that the publicity around the construction be minimized : people working there refuse to talk about it, there is no mention of Haemil nor of the purpose of the building on the site (first time I asked they said it would be a "library"), and I know when there's a press conference at nearby KFA because that's the only moment when they stop working. Otherwise, they're busy every day until after dark. As if this genius thought he could go away with it. "No one stopped us during the construction, now it's too late ! What's done can't be undone."

What that great thinker doesn't seem to understand is that completing construction without any reaction doesn't solve anything. To the contrary, it makes things worse : the mess is bound to hit the fan, and the later it does, the uglier.

We are not talking about some "folie" built in a discreet Hyoja-dong alleyway, but about a landmark which will be as visible as the big advertisings behind Namdaemun gate, which in their times stirred so many controversies (all pictures of Sungnyemun featured the logo of an international express mail service provider in the background).

Every visitor to Gyeonghuigung (and more and more people discover this central spot these days) will wonder : who dared build this big thing right behind the palace in 2009 ? and who on Earth let that happen ?

Chung Mong-joon just became the Grand National Party's new leader, opening a boulevard for himself towards the next presidential elections**. Good for him, but he should also take care of that other urban development before it's too late.

My guess : he may need a bulldozer...

... Speaking of which : Lee Myung-bak, who wants the constitution to allow second terms for presidents, introduced a new contender by naming Seoul National University Professor Chung Un-chan his next Prime Minister.

Just in case ?


Seoul Village 2009

ADDENDUM 20090924

The construction of the last floor started today... oh my oh my oh my it's even bigger than I feared.

* as expected, the first "basement" is at the same level as the ground floor of the building next door.
** Oh Se-hoon officially wants to serve a second term as Mayor of Seoul

Rem Koolhaas on Seoul and Prada Transformer (CNN)

Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas was recently Interviewed on CNN Talk Asia in front of his Prada Transformer, an advertocultural event which has at least the advantage to make more people visit Gyeonghuigung. Most Gangnam hypists won't even notice the presence of the royal palace, but many Seoulites will (re)discover the area and who knows, some may even pay a visit to Seoul Museum of History next door (and paying a visit doesn't cost much : you can enjoy many exhibitions for free or just a few hundred wons).

Koolhaas chose the location with taste : Joseon rulers themselves picked a perfect spot with Inwangsan in the background. Note that for his Seoul National University Museum of Art, the Pritzker Prize winner already enjoyed good vibes from Gwanaksan. But if the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art offers an interesting view from Itaewon heights, there's not enough room around the Samsung Child Education & Culture Center Koolhaas designed to appreciate it from a distance. Both buildings are less striking than this Transformer anyway.

What you have here is basically a tetrahedron with one circular face, its metallic structure poking under a light white skin. Not as light as the contents though : an alibi to justify the design and architectural bravado, and to leave some room for the sponsor. Cranes turn the pyramid in various positions, each one hosting a specific event.

The 3 parts of the interview :

Part 1 - "Living differently" (around 1'40" - 2' into the video, the construction of Transformer, with Inwangsan and Gwanghwamun Space Bon in the background)


Part 2 - "Staying relevant"


Part 3 - "Seoul Man" (SNU Museum of Art...) :



Seoul Village 2009

see also OMA's website : oma.eu (Office for Metropolitan Architecture founded by Rem Koolhaas)

Bukcheongol (Seoul)

To be honest, this is not my favorite place for gopchang* (small tripes and intestines), but it's the closest to home : on Gyeonghuigung 1-gil, very close to Saemunan-gil, among the first houses giving on the newly rearranged plaza in front of the Seoul Museum of History.

Not memorable, including for the atmosphere, but perfect when I need a quick fix of gopchang jeongol (stew 곱창전골) or gopchang gui (grilled 곱창구이). About 20k wons for two. Among other "massive" classics on their menu : budae jjigae.


1-151 Shinmunro 2-ga, Jongno-gu, SEOUL, ROK 110-062
Bukcheongol / 북천골 (restaurant)
Tel: +82.2.720.3550

* for gopchang gui, there's that one about to be destroyed in Wangshimni New Town, plus that minuscule shanty marvel lost in my memory not far from Dehangno

Hi Seoul Festival 2009 - and beyond

When ? From May 2nd to May 10th
Where ? Five Royal Palaces, Seoul Plaza, Cheonggyecheon
What ? Concerts, exhibitions, food, performances
Questions ? HiSeoulFest.org

Among the good points for this edition :
- popular success : Seoulites of all Gus and nationalities, international tourists... a festive festival (even if interrupted by candle-light activists)
- organization (communication, information, staff...),
- better balance between major sites (ie Gyeonghuigung at last well exploited)
- international food festival (yum)
- weather...

Yet, there's still room for improvement :

* program : culturally less dense than previous editions. The Imperial exhibition in Deoksugung is almost embarrassing..., and Prada Transformer sums it up : a big void space inflated with hype. The event, already dilluted from once a year to once a season, suffered from the global crisis (only two editions for 2009 : Spring and Winter).

* f&b : visitors are invited to salivate at an exhibition on Korean food (Gyeonghuigung), but cannot taste any ! only refreshments available : permanent soda / coffee machines. you don't want palaces to be littered with used cups and napkins, but you must prepare something special. The international food festival is absolutely perfect, but lasts only one day.

* concept : some ingredients and key assets, but it looks as if the city struggles every season to market an event which needs to get its message clear and focus. "Spring", "May Palace", "Global Seoul"... many keywords splashed over billboards, many stimuli and operations, but the big picture remains blurred.


=> It's time to rebalance the festival, take some of the burden off the city's shoulders, and empower Seoul's citizens. After all, this used to be Seoul's Citizen Day. And beyond the city and its people, third parties must also gain visibility. Not just tourists but partners and special guests. You need a stronger concept because co-branding and partnerships can bloom only under a strong Seoul Festival umbrella.

=> Twice a year, Spring and Winter. One could prefer spring and autumn, the best seasons, when the city displays its marvels and gives its best shot for the World to see, but this is about the reality of a city and Seoul can be very cold. And furthermore, unlike in Paris, Seoul winters are very lively because Seoulites know how to cope with it and have great fun in spite of it.

=> The Soul of Seoul, at its very heart : the ancient city and its palaces host the party, but all gus play their part, and each district has a spot around Seoul Plaza, which then fully deserves its name. This is where Seoul meets, unites, shares. In all its diversity.

=> The city should focus on one question : what makes this Seoul Festival a special event everybody is waiting for months in advance ? It could be that special moment of the year when every citizen feels he or she really owns the heart of the city, when some rules change, when what uses to be closed is opened. The SFAC (Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture) obviously follows the right path, but could give more space to "citizen generated contents", beyond Cheonggyecheon. For instance, Seoulites could hold their own festival on a Sejongno closed to traffic : schools as well as individuals would expose their talents (stages for music, poetry, or dance, screens displaying movies and pictures...), and partners partly sponsor a selection of street as well as fine food...

Sabal (Seoul)

The administrative area of Sajik-dong covers West of Sejongno all the way to the fortress (Gyonam-dong on the other side of the hill), and includes 12 smaller neighborhoods or "court dongs"*.

The two "majors" being culture and parks (Gyeonghuigung, Sajik Park, Seoul Museum of History, Sejong Art Center, art galeries, Inwangsan...), and administrations (central government, metropolitan police, offices and officetels...), there is a large offer of restaurants and cafes, all thriving on officeworkers but some batting steady over the average on weekends.

The Gyeonghuigungoe Achim complex stands where Naeja-dong-gil and Jusigyeong-gil meet, across the Seoul Metropolitan Police Headquarters. Its apartment / officetel mix is more residential than Byeoksan Gwanghwamun Sidae or Ssangyeong Platinium (to the East), but less than Space Bon (to the West), so not all its restaurants are deserted on weekends.

"Sabal" and "Market" share the same owners, and both propose an alternative and often innovative take at basics using fresh ingredients : rice for Market and noodles for Sabal.

I have a preference for the latter. Sabal proposes different styles of noodles (janchi guksu - veggies, seafood, gimchi...), with a great variety of tastes and dishes. By "dishes" I mean that not two bowls look the same, which echoes the name of the restaurant (사발 = "bowl").

Rice comes in big portions at Market, so if you want to try both, you'd better go for a massive lunch at Market, and enjoy more refined flavors and a cosier atmosphere for dinner at Sabal.

Sabal / 사발 (restaurant)
Gyeonghuigung Achim ("King's Garden") block #3, 1F (142),
72 beonji, Naesu-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, ROK
Tel +82.2.720.4845

Market / 마켓 (restaurant)
same address
Tel +82.2.720.8211

Seoul Village 2008

* see Jongno-gu dongs

see also other restaurants in Seoul and Korea..

Haemil - a Think-Tank or only a Tank ?

Now that I know what's growing up right next to Gyeonghuigung and for which purpose, I understand how such a massive building could get an authorization just meters away from a supposedly protected cultural heritage.

Picture this : overlooking the beautiful roof of the palace, a big green glass building covering 6 levels.

To be fair, 3 of the said levels are basements... but that's according to the builders : actually, the first basement is above ground so 4 levels will rise above the ground. Worse : the new building will not only be higher than its neighbors (claiming a unique view on the interior of the palace), but also cover much more space than the previous constructions (confirmed by satellite pictures)... which is theoretically impossible if you respect local real estate regulations.

Considering the very strict construction rules in Shinmunro area*, Mayor Oh Se-hoon's repeated pledges to protect downtown Seoul, and the official public ambition to regain the parts of the Gyeonghuigung claimed by colons during the Japanese occupation, such a monster should never have be allowed on the very grounds of the palace.

I guess there was some debate, or even archeological findings, because the ground remained bare for months (small Caterpillars came and went, and that was all). But if they happened, those debates were not made public. And the project was OKayed by Seoul City.

So this green hulk will be built.

Its purpose ? Hosting Chung Mong-joon's think-tank, Haemil.

I don't know if this green tank will think, and I don't know if the 30 or so experts meeting there will come up with a new vision for Korea... but for sure they won't have to come all the way up the building to enjoy a beautiful vision on Korean heritage !

Alright, other architectural atrocities have been committed in the area, but the Seoul Museum of History and the Seoul Museum of Art Annex (SeMa GyeongHuiGung) are not that close to the palace itself, and they belong to the public.

The Haemil Research Institute owes its name to an old expression translated by "the clean, blue sky after a heavy rain shower'' or "serenity after the rain". This shouldn't be misunderstood as a tribute to his founder's legendary hot temper, but as an ambition to find sensible solutions to today's political and financial tempests.

As a matter of fact, Chung Mong-joon plans to become the next Korean President in 2012. And Oh Se-hoon, who seems to be waiting for the next wave (2017) after a second term at the helm of Seoul, probably doesn't want to interfere...

Chung could also target the presidency of FIFA... in which case building a second launching pad in the same area as the KFA headquarters make perfect sense.

I sincerely wish him and Haemil the best, but I also wish their rising were not that literal.


* particularly here, in the middle of a thin band with the most restrictive rules according to official maps (category one).

Gustav Klimt at Seoul Arts Center - Pompidou at SeMA

Ten years ago, "major" exhibitions in Seoul featuring big names from the past would propose a couple of works by the Great Master submerged by flocks of side dishes from relatively unknown and distant relatives.

Nowadays, Seoulites can enjoy simultaneously major collections with consistant editorial lines from the Pompidou Center at the SeMA and from Gustav Klimt at the Seoul Arts Center*. They can and they do : in spite of their relatively high entrance fees the shows are drawing masses of visitors not necessarily used to this kind of entertainment.

Seoul has definitely become an international art hub well beyond its national treasures and its traditional position on the contemporary art scene, leveraging on new landmarks (National Museum, Leeum**...), but also on stronger ties with fellow Asian countries (ie always something stimulating to discover at the National Museum in Yongsan), as well as with new European partners (ie for the Monet exhibition a couple of years ago, Pompidou and Vienna today).

I bump into Klimt every now and then, and each time from a closer range. Now we've met in my three favorite cities : in NYC a quarter of a century ago ("Vienna 1900: Art, Architecture & Design" - MOMA 1986), Vienna was the star, in Paris more recently ("Vienne 1900" - Grand Palais 2005), the focus was on four artists (Klimt, Schiele, Moser, and Kokoschka), but today in Seoul, Gustav rules the show.

"Gustav Klimt in Korea 2009" justifies its name : the artist is there, drawing a stimulating map of his own life and mind, displaying a collection of beautiful portraits, meeting a new public hungry for change in another young century.

I still prefer Egon Schiele, and still wonder how far he would have gone if the Spanish Flu didn't claim him that early... But that's another story.

Seoul, as a young and promising art center, is also threatened by a global menace, and already feeling the pinch of the crisis (galleries are struggling, auctions slumping, and I'm not sure the next KIAF will be as great as the 2008 edition). But it shall overcome, because this city has embraced art for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer.

I haven't made up mind mind on the "better or worse" dimension of Rem Koolhaas' shapeshifting of an installation under construction on the Gyeonghuigung's lawn. It keeps evolving each time I look through my windows. First came the massive blocks, then those giant pivoting steel PlayStation buttons, and now this screen covering the exhibition space until its inauguration (April 25th)... But as far as the "richer or poorer" dimension is concerned, the name could be a clue : when a "Prada Transformer" is coming to town, you know the era of art hype is not totally over.


* hurry up for Pompom :
. "Centre Georges Pompidou Exhibition "Heaven for Artists""(Seoul Museum of Art - 20081222 - 20090322)
. "Gustav Klimt in Korea 2009" - SAC / Hangaram Art Museum (20090202-0515)
** see my blogule (French version) : "Leeum ad vitam aeternam"