East Village (Seoul)

If you want Korean cuisine with a modern twist, you can try Itaewon's "East Village".


East Village means the Hannam side of Itaewon, and a lower-to-mid-east Manhattan touch. And indeed, I was at the same time the only non-Korean customer this Saturday evening, and feeling more in NYC than in Seoul.


In this part of main street Itaewon, you're neither in the Western "traditionnally international" end, nor in the Eastern "newly Gangnamized" end (which definitely feels "Californian" to me). The restaurant is located a little before Cheil building when you come from the West, and in this more urban and less pretentious buffer zone, you'd almost expect to see front stoops along the sidewalk. Typically, there's a fun-looking place named "Hulk" where they serve simple Korean food in a basement, a perfect spot for non-chaebol local youth to get their invigorating fix.


I guess East Village is targeting more demanding palates - and thicker wallets - who are tired of alternating between fine Western restaurants and prestigious hanjeongsik tables. There is a need for modern high end Korean cuisine, and different ways to achieve this ambition. Where "The Gaon" pushed traditional Korean cuisine to perfection, "East Village" tries to instil new flavors or seasonings in the classics without denaturating them.


Of course, the chef (a different Kwon than the Ed operating further eastwards at "The Spice"), doesn't always succeed in surprising us, and the main bemol would be the end of the meal: by no means a "dragon head, snake tail" experience, but the last dish and the dessert were not up to what came before. The mandu soup and green tea ice cream were good, but not to die for, and save for one caramelized walnut, not very very original.


But by the time you reach that part you've already been satisfied, starting with a Hanwoo tartare in an endive leaf, fresh takes at Noryangjin's fishes of the day, or a Damyang style ddeok galbi.


I'm happy to see this kind of ambition in a Korean restaurant, and even happier to see Korean patrons embrace it.


East Village (restaurant)
736-9 Hannam-dong (214-1 Itaewon-ro), Yongsan-gu, Seoul, ROK
Tel +82.2.790.7782


Seoul Village 2012
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UPDATE 20120806 (card)

3 subway lines projects revived ?

Private developers keep lobbying in favor of three subway projects that could be delivered by 2017.

POSCO Engineering & Construction wants to revive the old project of backbone between the capital's Northern and Southern centers : this 11.47 km line between Gyeongbokgung Station (Line 3) and Gangnam Station (Line 2) would pass by Gwanghwamun Station (Line 5), City Hall (Lines 1 and 2), Sinhannam Station, Nonhyeon Station (Line 7), and Sinbanpo Station (Line 9). The line would not connect with Line 6 even if, judging by the map, I would pass not far from Hangangjin Station. I guess they plan to dig much deeper under Namsan : the Sinhannam Station is down the valley, closer to Hannam Bridge and Hannam New Town. It doesn't look connected with Hannam Station (Jungang Line).

We've already mentioned* the second project. Led by Doosan Construction, it would link Yongsan with Gangnam (7.49 km), and ultimately the new Bundang Line (Sinbundang line, 18.5 km : Gangnam, Yangjae, Poi, Cheonggye, Pangyo, Jeongja). The stations would be Yongsan (Lines 1 and 4), Ichon / National Museum, Dongbingo, Sinsa (Line 3), Nonhyeon (Line 7), Sinnonhyeon (line 9), and Gangnam. But should the other project fly, a connection could be made at Sinhannam, and the connection at Sinsa could be dropped.

The third project ? Posco's Plan B would combine the Gangnam-Sinhannam section of the first project with a Gwanghwamun - Yongsan line (8 stations overall).

All projects have in common a relatively low number of new stations. The idea is more to connect major existing hubs. A Gyeongbokgung-Gangnam-Bundang axis would probably become Seoul's biggest vertical backbone, saving time but also sucking traffic from other lines, which are not operated by the same companies : Korail manages lines 1 to 4, Seoul Metro lines 5 to 8, Veolia Transport line 9. Neeless to say, promoters of the Sinbundang line, Bundang, Pangyo, or Hannam landowners, not to mention Samsung, headquartered at Gangnam Station, would love to prolong it towards the other side of Han river and the city center, mirroring the Bundang Line prolongation from Seollung towards Seongdong-gu, further to the East.

I hope these projects are not in the balance with actual priorities : all the Seoul neighborhoods that remain out of the grid. But should this Gyeongbokgung-Gangnam be built, I'd rather go for a fourth project :
- The Gyeongbokgung-Gwanghwamun-City hall axis is very relevant and actually follows the country's most defining line : Sejongdaero. Furthermore, downtown's grid lacks a vertical line West of Line 3 (which also connects lines 1 to 5 within 3 consecutive stations : Jongno-3-ga, Uljiro-3-ga, Chungmuro). So I'd keep this vital section.
- From City Hall, I would not try to reach Yongsan Station. I know the Yongsan IBD project needs to be better interfaced with the rest of the city, but if a new subway line were to cross the river, it'd better fill some gaps in the network rather than double existing lines.
- A new vertical line South of Namsan between Lines 3 and 4 makes perfect sense. But if you want to reach Gangnam, connections must be made with all the lines you cross on the way : Jungang Line (at Hannam / Sinhannam), Line 3 (at Sinsa), and Line 6.
- Preferably, new stations should be added in the process. But promoters are selling shorter connections between Gangnam and Downtown, and each stop adds an average 2 mn (not to mention significant increases in CAPEX and OPEX). My minimum scenario (straight line) : City Hall/Hangangjin/Hannam. My maximum scenario (curve) : City Hall / Huam-dong / Noksapyeong / Yongsan Park (now Yongsan Army Base, which is bound to move after 2017) / Dongbingo-dong or Bogwang-dong / Hannam.

Seoul Village 2011
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* see "Yongsan-Gangnam-Bundang subway completed in 2017"

The Spice (Seoul)

This is Itaewon street, but on the "Northern Garosugil" / "Hannam-dong" / "Hangangjin" half. Twenty years ago, Yukong would be the last stop before Hannam Bridge but now and under the SK brand, the gas station lies in the middle of a tree lined street filled with the kind of restaurants and boutiques you would rather find in Cheongdam-dong (no coincidence there: same money).

Here, all remaining nondescript buildings are progressively replaced with four storey shops and more original facades. Mercifully, newcomers don't seem to grow any higher, which allows some urban consistency in the area (for the mother of all large scale design failures, look further Westwards : the IP Boutique Hotel, a.k.a. Mondrian meets Joe The Plumber).

Anyway. Today, four slots were under (re)construction, including one right opposite The Spice (the blue dot on the map, Itaewon street the vertical in the middle), and next to a garden itself under renovation, at the feet of the Yongsan International School of Seoul. The funny clover-shaped landmark building North of the restaurant hosts Passion5, a very pleasant place to get a gelato, a French Kouign-amann, a festive cake, or some macaron (there's also a restaurant upstairs, but Passion5 l'Atelier's menu doesn't look as stimulating as l'Atelier de Joel Robuchon's). On the other side of The Spice (South on the map) : Kyotofu, fresh from NYC... I've got stuck into worse neighborhoods around lunchtime.

You may be wondering when I'll start writing about The Spice itself - I guess that would be now. I could start with the food, but the menu changes tomorrow (along with the chef, an Australian). So I'll talk quality-price ratio : Haute cuisine from KRW 35-42,000, anyone ? Not in the three-Michelin-star league, but a very nice moment nonetheless, some research about taste, and genuine respect for the ingredients even in the details (I don't think I ever tasted as fresh a tapenade - as if a Southeastern France wind gently slapped me in the face).

I felt very much like after a stop at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Market in Paris : simply and happily satisfied. Owner Edward Kwon (Kwon Young-min) is said to have worked with the Alsatian chef, and maybe his restaurant's name echoes Spice Market, also by Vongerichten. But whatever has been said about Kwon's distorted bio and taste for hype, I enjoyed what he proposed today, and this quiet moment.

The Spice (restaurant)
729-45 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, SEOUL, Korea
Tel +82.2.749.2596

Passion5 (ice creams, bakery, patisserie)
729-74 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, SEOUL, Korea
Tel +82.2.2071.9505

Kyotofu (dessert bar)
682-1 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, SEOUL, Korea
Tel +82.2.749.1488

Seoul Village 2011

Gangnam rule bended

A couple of years ago in Seoul, two thirds of rich dwellings (over 10 eok or KRW 1 bn) were located in Gangnam-gu. This proportion has now fallen below one fourth.

The main reason is the multiplication of new high end apartment complexes in other districts, and the relative deflation of the Gangnam property bubble. So long for the sometimes insane Gangnam exception.

But many rich Gangnamians (Gangnamites ?) have also migrated to other places, with a revival of Gangbuk and historically wealthy neighborhoods like Yongsan. The town house dream is drawing legions back to traditional residential areas, sometimes through expensive redevelopments (ie Seongbuk Gate Hills in Seongbuk-dong, Hannam The Hill in Hannam-dong...), more often through progressive gentrification.

More hype restaurants and selective retailers are opening or planned North of the river, and it's striking to see the young Korean elite roam East Itaewon-dong on week ends - more schizophrenic than ever, the neighborhood remains an international hub in its Western half -, with a Northern Garosu-gil under way. The cultural revolution started a few years ago with the Leeum, but as far as actual culture is concerned, Jongno-gu remains the bourgeois boheme mecca (ie Samcheong-dong, Seochon).

Seoul Village 2011

Chusoaked

Typhoon Fanapi poured up to 10 cm of rain per hour over Seoul on Chuseok day (261 mm overall, a record for September), causing major damage in Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi-do. More than 10,000 homes (including the 70 year old Seoul Mayor residence in Hyehwa-dong, which was to be relocated anyway*), were damaged by this unusually late monsoon.

If you were there, you probably witnessed spectacular scenes on the streets : streams forming here and there, geysers breaking pavements apart, meter-wide holes cutting traffic on major roads, cascades springing from doorsteps, cars stuck into newborn ponds...

Should Seoul organize olympic games again, Gwanghwamun Lake would make a perfect spot for rowing events. And as I carefully drove across the two feet deep Yonsei Stream, I was surprised not to see any kayakist enjoy the moment (during a similar event in France, I did come across one on a main street).

This typhoon wraps up an extremely humid summer, and whoever the culprit (global warming, the Three Gorges Dam, La Nina, the cashmere industry in Mongolia, Lee Harvey Oswald, all of the above), Korea will have to adapt. Among other things to be redesigned : parts of the sewage and drainage systems, certain road curves, and a few dangerous spots, such as the tunnel connecting Sangamno with Gangbyeon Expressway, where some drivers even drowned in previous flash flood episodes.

Seoul Village 2010

* a new residence is under construction in Hannam-dong, this one is supposed to be transformed into a Seoul Global Business Center for small- and medium-sized enterprises.