Busan Corner on Taxi-daero

Each time I ride my bicycle from Yeonhui-dong to Hongdae, I follow the same Yeonhuimat-ro / Donggyo-ro line. And each time, I make a couple of mental notes along the way: I must come back for this and that eatery, I haven't visited them in a long time.


The first section is called Yeonhui's street of flavors (Yeonhuimat-ro, formerly Yeonhuimat-gil) for a reason: people come from far away for the food, even for a dish as simple as Yeonhui-dong Kalguksu.


The second section is far less inviting: basically an apartment block (Imgwang Apartment) stuck between two disgracious elevated infrastructures (Seongsan-ro and the Gyeongui Line). But even there you can find a couple of restaurants.


The next stretch is a paradise for authentic Chinese cuisine lovers (see for instance Hong Bok or Ha Ha). That's also where you'll find the very Chinese-friendly Yeonhui-Yeonnam Global Village (Seoul Global Center).


Further afield, Donggyo-ro shifts by 45 degree from Southwest to South, until it reaches the new park. I knicknamed that 100% restaurant section "Taxi-daero" because both sides of the street are always fully packed with diagonally parked cabs (a good sign if you believe in Word Of Mouthwatering, that Great Tradition among Taxi Drivers).


Soon after the park, Donggyo-ro meets with Yeonnam-ro and takes you to Hongik University Station and Seogyo-dong, drawing a big smile north of Yanghwa-ro (there again, countless places to take a snack, including Charles Sutbul Gimbap).


I've already mentioned this new park, a potential game-changer for a neighborhood that badly needed one. Bonus: the best configuration possible for cafes and terraces. They only reopened the section between Donggyo-ro and Yanghwa-ro, but right now, this 30 meter wide band covering the AREX looks very promising, even if Mapo-gu didn't invest a lot in the trees, rather rachitic. Speculators have started raiding the spot a couple of years ago, and many buildings have already being remodeled. I sincerely hope they won't let them grow taller than 2-3 levels because that would totally ruin the area, as is already the case for the section North of Donggyo-ro (on this picture, along Kolon Apartment):

I'm also worried about Taxi-daero because if this neighborhood becomes too successful, more shops shall move from Hongdae, and I wouldn't want the place to look like yet another Garosu-gil.

What I fear most is the disparition of unspectacular landmarks that make this place so special and particularly Busan Corner, a delicious and cute eatery ideally located at the Southernmost end of Taxi-daero, with a view on the garden, or rather on this catwalk for anorexic plants. The owner is a very kind lady from Busan, who cooks simple and delicious local snacks (부산먹거리) for a song:


Bibim dangmyeon (비빔당면)

Homemade odeng soup (수제오뎅탕)

Busan Gimbap (부산김밥)

Busan Corner  / 부산코너 (snacks)
At the corner of Donggyo-ro and AREX park, Mapo-gu
Tel +82.322.9242

Seoul Village 2012
NEW : follow Seoul Village on Facebook and Twitter


* Note that the garden will continue on the other side of Yanghwa-ro, but for the moment that's just a barricaded working site from which only the new AREX exit emerge. When they connected the Incheon-Gimpo Airport line to Hongdae station they changed the numbering system for all subway exits, and I once sent by mistake a friend to that no man's land - not the best first impression for Hongik University area.

Hongdae snacks - THE Guksu, Kongbul, Maroon 51, Gilmotongi Chili Cha Cha Fingerfood Bar...

Riding a bike in Hongik University area is always fun and a perfect opportunity to taste various bits of cheap but original food along the way.

Hongdae is a little bit like Itaewon : a neighborhood progressively evolving into a series of very distinct areas, each one with its own character. Very much like Haebangchon grew an identity of its own, Seogyo-dong developped distinct villages and tribes.

The center remains a typical university area full of youngsters : that's the intersection between Seogyo-ro (the W/E street leading to Hongdae's main gate) and the winding street called Geotgosipeun geori to the North (걷고싶은 거리, the tree dotted "Pedestrian Street" or "I like to walk street" in the local lingo / on the konglish signs) and Juchajang geori to the South (주차장길, the grungier "Parking Street", which actually begins as 어울마당길 or "global gathering road").

Both sides deserving their names, I opted for the North and sat by a window at Kongbul's. The name of the restaurant mixes kongnamul with bulgogi : I had the hot and spicy samgyeopsal variety - nothing revolutionary but you get the expected bang for just a few bucks.

The Southwestern part of Hongdae (near Hapjeong Station, the rectangle square drawn by Picasso Street, Parking Street, Donkmak-gil, and Yanghwaro) is definitely quieter and more residential, even if private residences progressively turn into smart offices, shops and cafes. As spring temperatures rise to the level of a decent European summer, you don't really feel in Seoul.

Even the Korean classics are revisited. For instance, "THE Guksu" ("the noodles") proposes for only KRW 4,000 a very refreshing bibim guksu with a lemony flavor and fried bits that crack under your palate. And at Gilmotongi Chili Cha Cha, a self proclamed "Fingerfood Bar" that could pass for any tteokbokki place, you can have for the same price the trio of croquettes of your choice (KRW 1,700 apiece), and I strongly recommend their basil cream croquette - like a melting risotto in a fried shell.

Gilmotongi Chili Chacha has one mini terrasse seating two, from which you can observe the local fauna. The corner of Seollae-1-gil and Noeul-gil feels like a mix of bobo Bastille and vintage Camden.

Streets are much narrower on the other side of Parking Street, a denser cluster of eateries. We parked our bikes against the fences of Maroon 51's fake lawn, a small green triangle at a fork in the road. They are still in trial period and preparing for the official opening in June 2011 : their bulgogi-rice-egg combo probably needs to develop more character, but I really liked their beef and onion sandwich.

Kongbul
Seogyo-dong 345-2, Mapo-gu, Seoul, ROK
Tel +82.2.322.3545

THE Guksu / 더 국수 (noodle bar)
Seogyo-dong 395-7, Mapo-gu, Seoul, ROK 121-840
(New format : Yanghwa-ro 12-gil 26 (Seogyo-dong))
Tel +82.2.323.4776

Gilmotongi Chili Chacha / 길모통이 칠리차차
Seogyo-dong 400-11, Mapo-gu, Seoul, ROK
(New format : Yanghwa-ro 6-gil 79 (Seogyo-dong))
Tel +82.2.322.8405

Maroon 51
Seogyo-dong 409-14, Mapo-gu, Seoul, ROK
(New format : Wausan-ro 15-gil 34 (Seogyo-dong))
Tel +82.70.8682.5151


Seoul Village
NEW : follow Seoul Village on Facebook and Twitter

Seoul Rooftops Go Green

Planting gardens on terraces and rooftops is definitely in the air, even in Korea.

Anyone can do some gardening but if you want to do things correctly, that's quite an investment. For instance, various technical layers are needed to collect and recycle water, or to prevent infiltrations. But that's definitely worth the effort : city can devote more space for nature, even at an artificial stage, and owners can significantly reduce charges in Winter and Summer - roofgardens provide natural isolation and air conditioning, and even help regulate urban microclimats.

Seen from above, Seoul boasts beautiful mountains and much more parks than it used to, including at the micro level (the multiplication of neighborhood gongwons being even more important than one Seoul Forest). But the proportion of green remain uneven and insufficient compared to asphalt and concrete. And as we recently saw, greenbelt areas are regularly mutilated by the Government for redevelopments.

Yet, at the rooftop level, change is coming :
- some do it because it's good for the image : green rooftops are becoming a 'well being' / 'ecofriendly' sales argument (ie The Gatehills town houses in Songbuk-dong). In Shinmunro, the ASAN Institute is at last timidly planting on its roof, which was perfectly prepared for the purpose.
- some do it because it's good for business : Ssamziegil set the pace a couple of years ago, and new constructions start adding mid-air gardens to dense urban jungles, using them as magnets to outdoor cafes (ie NOON Square in Myeong-dong).
- some do it on a large scale, for instance burying train tracks under a new park in Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, or covering Garak Wholesale Market in Songpa-gu with a a 131 acre 'ecodome' (the second project is really spectacular for anyone who ever visited that place full of life but also full of dust - see picture, courtesy Samoo Architects & Engineers).

Seoul Metropolitan Government recently announced it would invest KRW 11 bn to build 52,000 sqm of rooftop gardens by the end of the year, covering between 70 and 100% of the costs for public properties, and 50% for private properties (122 buildings in total). Of course, that's good for the upcoming elections, but that's consistent with previous operations (ie neighborhood parks, Dongdaemun Design Plaza), and for a noble cause. "Sacrificing" a house for a public garden is always better, but cannot be done as easily as increasing the market share of green on rooftops.

And of course, any citizen with a few square meters can make a difference. Many across the world are seizing the opportunity to grow their own veggies or even become beekeepers. A good way of spreading the buzz.

Seoul Village 2010