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

YI Sang (1910-1937) and YUN Dong-ju (1917-1945), two of the greatest Korean poets of the last century, died at an early age in Japan after being jailed for crime of opinion. They never lived in a free country: YI was born the very day the annexation treaty was concluded, YUN died a few months before the liberation. YUN did get involved in the independence movement but anyway, being a Korean poet was already a crime of opinion since under the Japanese occupation, Korean culture itself was illegal.

Both used to live in Seochon, west of the Gyeongbokgung. And like the rest of the neighborhood, their long forsaken places are now back in favor:

. YI's hanok was until recently split between two street shops, but it has been restored by the National Trust for Cultural Heritage and Arumjigi, and hosted the "Conversations with Yi Sang" event in spring last year. The address is 18 Jahamun-ro 7-gil (formerly Tongin-dong 154-10, Jongno-gu). A temporary street name if I ever saw one. I bet this strategic diagonal street will be renamed, but not after YI Sang. To me, this is Baekundongcheon-gil, after the main Cheonggyecheon tributary (supposedly) about to be restored*.

. YUN's house (actually the house of his classmate, a novelist) is now a nondescript 'villa' about halfway along Ogin-dong's main axis, at 57 Ogin-gil, formerly Nusang-dong 9, Jongno-gu. Ogin-gil connects Tongin Market and the not sorely missed Ogin Apartment, and that's probably the way YUN went up Inwang mountain for the walks that inspired him. He must have often followed the path towards Bugaksan (under which the Jahamun Tunnel was dug half a century later**), because the spot renamed "Hill of the Poet Yun Dong-ju" ("윤동주 시인의 언덕") in 2009 is located much further, next to Changuimun, the North Gate of Seoul fortress. Making up for the lack of museum to honor the poet, a Yun Dong-ju Literature House has recently been inaugurated on this hill. It hosts a collection of artifacts as well as literary events:
Yun Dong-ju Literature House (윤동주 문학관):
3-100 Cheongun-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea (119 Changuimun-ro).
Tel: +82 2.765.0703.

Unfortunately, not all former residences of artists have been saved***, yet the trend is definitely positive. As Seochon reclaims its past glory and welcomes more and more tourists, cultural assets are a key differenciator compared to Bukchon. Note that the other side of the Gyeongbokgung is also promoting preservation: the home of painter GO Hui-dong (1886-1965) in Wonseo-dong was saved from destruction at the last moment, and for a long while you could see it rot between protective metal walls. The hanok is now illuminating the elbow of Changdeokgung-gil.

For centuries, the names of many Seochon neighborhoods have been resonating in Korean literature, and if I wouldn't want to see the whole place transformed into a city-museum or a theme park, I wish less prestigious landmarks were also included in the big picture. I'm thinking about the cult Daeo Bookstore (대오서점), a tiny Blue House that recently threatened to fold its last pages:

 

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* see "Baekundongcheon / Gwanghwamun-gil - A River Runs Through It".
** see "2 more tunnels up North"
*** not to mention a former empress (another Yun's place, see "The Empress's Last Bang").

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UPDATE 20120808: I added the 3 places on Seoul Village Map (reminder: the blue line follows Baekundongcheon's path):


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Yulgokno Tunnel

I took these two grainy pictures with my dumbphone, and didn't need Instagram to give them a sepia look: if GCS Int'l enjoy a fantastic view on downtown Seoul, and if they know how to host a seminar*, their windows need some washing.

That's what I call a minor room for improvement.

The problem is when 'improvement' takes too much room, like when the city renovates one of its most strategic boulevards, Yulgokno. Here I'm recycling the ugly sketch I drew for my focus on "Inwangsan's Great Wall and Seoul's Royal "T" Time":

Just to help you locate GCS HQs on Yulgokno, this is their Northern view, from Gwonnong-dong: a section of Changdeokgung (east of Donhwamun, the palace's main gate), Bugaksan in the distance (the mountain), and the hills of Wonseo-dong in-between (Bukchon area, close to Gahoe-dong in the sketch).

Now next slide, please:

Here's a Northeastern view with the four lanes of Yulgokno heading for Wonnam-dong Sageori. You can make out the small footbridge connecting Jongmyo (right) with Changgyeonggung-Changdeokgung Palaces (left), and the working site with its sign advertising the "improvement of Yulgokno in front of Changdeokgung".

From the start*, I applauded the project to reunite Jongmyo and Changdeokgung by covering a section of Yulgokno, but also wondered how the city would manage two more lanes of traffic, and if all impacts were carefully considered (cultural heritage, environment, bicycles, pedestrians...).

Judging by this shot, we're at the stage where asphalt gains over green: the old and peaceful woods of Jongmyo have already shrunk to make room for two more lanes, or at least to divert the traffic during the process.

The doubts remain: I wouldn't want this section of Yulgokno to become yet another dark tunnel, yet another repellent for humans and cyclists, yet another neighborhood sacrificed to Car Almighty. What would be the point of reconnecting North with South while disconnecting East from West?

So let's keep an eye on this one. And if needed, let's summon the ghosts of Sulla-gil. Anyway, they too are watching. Yes, that's Seo Sulla-gil, the street starting right at the working site's gate. And if you want to learn more about that haunted 'patrol way', meet "Jongmyo Ghosts".

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* the Asia Institute seminar on North Korean nuclear power (see "NK and nukes: back to the (dolsot curling) stone age?")
**see "Jongno-gu renovation (continued)", following "Jongmyo-Changdeokgung reunited"

Wonseo-dong's Cheonggyecheon

The quitest side of Gahoe-dong, Wonseo-dong, is about 900 m long and 150 m wide, its Western half a hill covered with "villas" (mostly of the 2-3 story brick kind), and its Eastern half following Changdeokgung-gil, along the Western walls of the Changdeok palace.

Walking along Changdeokgung-gil can be an interesting experience. Starting from Yulgogno (or the palace's parking once you've visited Changgyeonggung), you quickly reach Bukchon-gil, with Yongsusan restaurant at the corner. You want to walk a little bit up that street to enjoy the view behind the walls, particularily at sunset, when the wooden side of Injeongjeon takes the most beautiful red-brown color.

The second section of Changdeokgung-gil displays more hanoks, two buddhist organisations (Eundeok Culture Center, Museum of Korean Buddhist Art), and a couple of small contemporary art galleries.

You then reach a more classic Seoul maeul with its small shops and services, and its non-descript buildings. Here, constructions occupy both sides of the street, but those hiding the palace wall will soon be destroyed. A small stream will be restored there. Nothing as spectacular as Cheonggyecheon but you can imagine how it may change dramatically the atmosphere, transforming this quiet place into a major tourist hub full of restaurants with terraces.

So you'd better enjoy the silence while it's there. Because at this stage of your walk, you cannot hear the city anymore, and the summer air feels much fresher and cleaner because of the mountain and the dense forest on the other side of the wall, next to Huwon (known as "Biwon" or "Secret Garden" during the Japanese occupation).

Further afield, you cross another street to your left, Changdeokgung 6-gil, and if you're riding a bike that's a mean slope, so we're just going to leave it for later.

Keep going straight ahead instead : the street doubles as you discover a more traditional maeul with a bigger proportion of hanoks. The biggest ones are owned by companies or associations, and one of them hosts the Institute of Korean Royal Cuisine. Uphill, the hybrid hulks of a Chaebol house and a center owned by furniture maker Hanssem (DBEW - Design Beyond East & West).

At the end of the street, where the wall turns left, lies a small stone staircase leading to a streamlet, where people used to wash their clothes. If you go down, you can see the other side of the walls through a metal grille : an untended prairie below Sinseonwonjeon. In the other direction : two dark holes probably heading, under the concrete, towards the future restored stream. In the water : some plastic trash and two small live crayfishs. Welcome to downtown Seoul.

Go back to the crossroads, where the traditional home of painter Go Hee-dong was saved from certain destruction after neighbors alerted the authorities. Seoul city purchased the site and started restoring the building... at its pace. This house may be empty, it has some history and character, plus an interesting location... in a word : some potential to serve as a cornerstone for the revitalization of this part of Gahoe-dong.

Too many hanoks have been destroyed or replaced by two-three-storey-"villas" between Gyeongbokgung and Changdeok-gung, causing a legitimate uproar and new regulations. Unfortunately, as too often the case, destructions accelerated as soon as rumors of regulations started circulating. But Seoul intends to turn back the clock and restore as many hanoks as possible, starting with a house on Gye-dong-gil now hosting the "Bukchon Traditional Culture Center".

It seems a little bit too late for Changdeokgung 6-gil : as you climb the alley, all you can see are ugly brick "villas". Untill you reach the highest point, where hanoks are back with a vengeance. You're about to enter Gye-dong, another rectangle-shaped dong between Wonseo-dong and Gahoe-dong, and along Gye-dong-gil, which will lead you all the way back to Anguk Station.

Over the past few years and even months, Gye-dong-gil has been changing dramatically. Or rather drama-cally, since it owes much of its recent international fame to the doomed drama "Winter Sonata". I'm not adding "doomed" as a tribute to a two-penny scenario, but as a reminder of the curse this televisual joke cast on Korean image, culture, and tourism (see the red blogule I spilled on "Bae Yong-june Airlines" a few years ago).

Whatever. A few scenes were shot at ChoongAng High School (JoongAng High School), which explains the two shops selling Hallyuwood artifacts, collectors and posters on both side of its entrance. History used to remember this site as the ground zero of the March 1st, 1919 movement, not the birthplace of a fake love story...

This shameless display of smiling plastic surgery wonders somehow sets the pace for the rest of Gye-dong-gil, a street progressively turning into a fly ribbon for Japanese tourists with its cosy, cute, and romantic cafes / gift / art and craft / flower / all of the above shops.

Miryang Son Mandu is neither cute nor 'bobo', nor even a hanok... but last time I passed by they were still making good dumplings, near the intersection with Bukchon-gil.

Hyundai Headquarters are definitely not a hanok. This tower marks the end of Gyedong-gil and of your stroll, unless you decide to either :
- stop at the Bukchon Traditional Culture Center, or
- follow the "hype" crew, heading westwards on Bukchon-gil for a restaurant in Gahoe-dong or Samcheong-dong, or
- stick to the few true "bourgeois-bohemes", who eventually decided to stay overnight in one of Gye-dong's five hanok guest houses

Take your pick.