They're back. Or at least 75 of them. The rest of the 297 Oegyujanggak volumes will arrive by the end of May 2011.
This is a major mediatic event (and not only for Asiana Airlines, who sponsored beyond the shipment the mugs of experts interviewed on the TV) : in 1866, following the massacre of French missionaries, French troops brought back home (or looted, if you prefer) royal books from the Joseon dynasty and the Oegyunjanggak library and Korean authorities have been asking for their return ever since they discovered that the treasure was still held in the Bibliotheque Nationale de France.
About twenty years ago, President Francois Mitterrand brought one volume on a permanent lease during his salesman trip to Korea (said Korea ended up with the TGV but not the rest of the books), and last year, Nicolas Sarkozy pledged to finish the job after the Seoul G20 Summit. This time, the lease is automatically renewable, and required a vote at the French national assembly (the transfer got many museums nervous).
The most valuable Korean book kept in France remains Jikji, recognized by the UNESCO as the world's first metal type (1377, decades before Gutenberg's Bible).
Seoul Village 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Saruga begins its metamorphosis
A major landmark in Yeonhui-dong, Saruga shopping center is a traditional source for imported goods, food and beverages, and a sure bet when you need fine fish for sushis... but as you roam countless booths packed with all kinds of goods, you often feel like in a time capsule stuck in the early nineties. And the building itself doesn't look very young.
This is about to change: by May 23rd, Saruga will have finished its renovation and judging by the scaffolding and the destruction of the annex near the parking lot, changes should be spectacular. New dwellings are also planned.
Actually, the whole area is experiencing intense renovations, with tens of houses being rebuilt or redesigned, and scores of new coffee shops or boutiques opening at every corner, turning a rather conservative neighborhood (e.g. former presidents CHUN Doo-whan and ROH Tae-woo, respectively North and South of Yeonhui Samgeori) into a more "bourgeois boheme" spot.
Let's see how Saruga adapts to its new environment, or why not, whether it decides to set the pace again.
--- UPDATE 20110610 ---
"Sahruga" no more, Saruga reopened today with a bigger and more upscale supermarket featuring bilingual signs everywhere, a mini food court, a cafe with terrace on the second floor (Angel-in-us instead of the old furniture shop), a Dunkin Donuts on the first floor, and shops with a direct access to the lateral and back street : only a small island of booths subsists, and large window panes fully integrate the building with its neighborhood (even if the second entrance on Yeonhuimat-ro disappeared).
Seoul Village 2011
This is about to change: by May 23rd, Saruga will have finished its renovation and judging by the scaffolding and the destruction of the annex near the parking lot, changes should be spectacular. New dwellings are also planned.
Actually, the whole area is experiencing intense renovations, with tens of houses being rebuilt or redesigned, and scores of new coffee shops or boutiques opening at every corner, turning a rather conservative neighborhood (e.g. former presidents CHUN Doo-whan and ROH Tae-woo, respectively North and South of Yeonhui Samgeori) into a more "bourgeois boheme" spot.
Let's see how Saruga adapts to its new environment, or why not, whether it decides to set the pace again.
--- UPDATE 20110610 ---"Sahruga" no more, Saruga reopened today with a bigger and more upscale supermarket featuring bilingual signs everywhere, a mini food court, a cafe with terrace on the second floor (Angel-in-us instead of the old furniture shop), a Dunkin Donuts on the first floor, and shops with a direct access to the lateral and back street : only a small island of booths subsists, and large window panes fully integrate the building with its neighborhood (even if the second entrance on Yeonhuimat-ro disappeared).
Seoul Village 2011
Re-engaging North Korea - A Four Party Talk
Very interesting conference yesterday at The Plaza Hotel* : "Responding to the Consolidation of Economic Cooperation between North Korea and China" was sponsored by the Korea Finance Corporation (KoFC, the State-run investment arm), and Maeil Business Newspaper (mbn).
For its 18th edition, this North Korea Policy Forum conference became an international seminar, with China, Japan, and the USA providing keynote speakers (bonus: an opening remark - in Korean - by US Ambassador Kathleen STEPHENS, ahead of Hillary CLINTON's visit later this week). Unfortunately, neither Russia (definitely below the radar regarding the issue), nor DPRK (for obvious reasons) were represented.
This Four Party Talk was followed by a captive audience (see exhibit B**), in spite of a very dense agenda (see full program below***) which didn't leave much time for Q&A nor discussions.
What made this conference really exciting were the differences in appreciation of a definitely complex and tricky situation. And at this game, US players spoke their minds out quite freely, even if some Koreans expressed very clearly their concerns to "Mr China" a.k.a. Professor Zhu Feng, absolutely brilliant in his good cop routine : what engagement ? we're not engaged to North Korea, just good neighbors tired of your family affairs - yes, KIM Jong-il is a bad guy and a headache for us as well, but he's your brother, and brothers don't kill each other - yes, these days, our Chinese government is rather conservative, and is pervasively locking key entry points across North Korea, but the colonization of NK by China is a ludicrous conspiration theory - yes, we're doing every day more business here, but as Pr KIM Chul noticed, our entrepreneurs are so much struggling with their local partners that most are curbing their enthusiasm...
Of course, no one mentioned the Northeast Project of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences : this was about business, with politics clearly off-limits. As if PRC-DPRK relations were apolitical. As if policies had nothing to do with politics...
Anyway, I had fun and would very much like to attend the next edition - maybe in a different order (first the historical background, then the trends, and finally the various scenarii / recos), and in a different format (e.g. three panelists max for each topic ? a lunch between two power sessions instead of a dinner after a marathon ?).
By then, chances are many more fundamental changes will have happened. If not the end of North Korea, at least a re-engagement by the South, and potentially a summit (consider the past year : Cheonan sinking and Yeonpyeong-do shelling, KIM Jong-un's promotions, Middle East uprisings, NK reviving its nuke program, Japan spicing North East Asia nuclear nightmares with a new flavor, or the day before the conference a mini-crisis over Mt Gumgang tours...).
If you're familiar with this excuse for a blog, you already know my opinion on North Korea**** :
1) Technically, the North Korean regime is already dead. It only relied on ideology and propaganda, the first lost its substance and the second its efficiency in the eyes of a growing proportion of the population. A little bit like in Iran, ailing and corrupt leaders progressively outsource the power to brutal military forces. At this stage, masses remain overwhelmed and change remains driven by State leaders, but popular rebellions are getting bolder every year, and 450,000 North Koreans have now a mobile phone (reaching far beyond the first nomenklatura circles).
2) The statu quo, or what I called the "Juche line" is not an option - change is coming. For the official end, my base case scenario evolved over time : until the late nineties I believed in an "Albania scenario" (brutal collapse, masses fleeing the country, cult of personality victims abused by con people and more or less religious cults...), but spectacular initiatives from China followed by the highly controversial Northeast Project led me to believe in the more subtle, progressive, and pervasive "Hanschluss scenario". A scenario confirmed by the ambitious developments announced over the following 2-3 years for North East China (on schedule, as we saw yesterday during the conference) : once again, whatever the motives and whatever North Korean leaders do, they also result in artificially relocating the epicenter of Koreanity on Chinese soil, and more physically than intense revisionism about Korean history (ie Goguryo). A scenario sealed by LEE Myung-bak in 2007 : South Korea's disengagement precipitated further the North towards China, leaving no dovish alternative.
3) Of course, China doesn't need to politically integrate North Korea as another province : an unofficial vassal status easy does it, and the process seems very well engaged. Reminder : the Cheonan aggression was about internal affairs, but not between both Koreas. KIM Jong-il had first to reassess his friendship with the army, and second to get some leverage ahead of the "negociations" with the PRC. Chaperoned by CHANG Sung-taek, KIM Jong-un got the nod from Beijing : KJI's brother in law later developped a parallel FDI tool, more China-friendly than the official one. He also lost a rival in a convenient car accident... No need to read fortune cookies to understand that more high ranking officials will join the collaborators to push their luck. With the Yeonpyeong island shelling, Junior assessed his own friendship with the army (nevermind those darn binoculars). Father and son completed the pledge of allegiance with a familial pilgrimage in China, where Grand Dad KIM Il-sung himself got his education, an other way of accepting the only filiation that counts : NK's Motherland is China.
4) The Great Hanschluss is not completed yet. Both China and South Korea are also experiencing ideology crisis at home between conservatism, progressivism, and agnostic pragmatism / reform. South Korea and North Korea share more common ground than survivors of a lost era. They still share an identity and a destiny. And this is not about rejecting China, but about embracing themselves.
Seoul Village 2011
* now it's simply "The Plaza", to mark the difference with the Seoul Plaza in front. That was my first visit there since the renovation (see "Seoul Plaza Hotel joins the renovation frenzy"). If the outer shell didn't change spectacularly, the inside looks much classier: an Italian designer added a European boutique hotel flavor.
** including yours truly (exhibit B: Paris, Texas alias Stephane and Steven - photo by KIM Jae-hun, Maeil Business Newspaper - "北·中 교류, 일방적 원조서 시장원리로 전환") :
*** Full program:
- Opening remarks : RYU Jae-han (President, KoFC), CHANG Dae-hwan (CEO, Maeil Business Newspaper), Kathleen STEPHENS (US Ambassador to South Korea)
- Panel One ("East Asian Regional Cooperation and North Korea-China Relations" and "China's Approach to North Korea: National Interests and Strategy") :
. moderator : HONG Yang-ho (former Vice-Minister of Unification)
. presenters : Matsuno SHUJI (Ritsumeikan University), John Delury (Yonsei University), Zhu Feng (Beijing University)
. panelists : LEE Chan-woo (Tokyo International University - NB: the first to entertain the audience with maps), Edward REED (from The Asia Foundation - NB : only had time to phrase the key questions, but it was worth the trip), LEE Hui-ok (Sungkyunkwan University), KIM Heung-kyu (Sungshin Women's University), KIM Yong-hyun (Dongguk University)
- Panel Two ("The Present and Future of Economic Cooperation Between North Korea and China" and "China's Growing Influence on North Korea and How South Korea Should Respond") :
. moderator : LEE Sang-man (Chairman, the Steering Committee for the North Korea Policy Forum)
. presenters : YOON Seung-hyun (Yanbian University, NEA Research Institute), Scott SNYDER (Center for US-Korea Policy), PARK Gun-il (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)
. panelists : OH Seung-ryul (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies - NB: the first to mention the obvious limits of official statistics, which capture only part of exchanges between DPRK and PRC), KIM Chul (Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences), CHEONG Seong-chang (Sejong Institute), CHU Suk-yong (KoFC - Ministry of Unification), KIM Se-hyung (Chief Editor, Maeil Business Newspaper)
**** see previous posts on NK, and in particular the focus on the "Great Hanschluss" ("Great Wall of China - Anschlussing Korea (continued)" - also on blogules in English "a greater wall of china - bonus, korea inside (the great hanschluss)" and in French "La Grande Muraille de Chine à l'assaut de la Corée (l'ultime Hanschluss)")
For its 18th edition, this North Korea Policy Forum conference became an international seminar, with China, Japan, and the USA providing keynote speakers (bonus: an opening remark - in Korean - by US Ambassador Kathleen STEPHENS, ahead of Hillary CLINTON's visit later this week). Unfortunately, neither Russia (definitely below the radar regarding the issue), nor DPRK (for obvious reasons) were represented.
This Four Party Talk was followed by a captive audience (see exhibit B**), in spite of a very dense agenda (see full program below***) which didn't leave much time for Q&A nor discussions.
What made this conference really exciting were the differences in appreciation of a definitely complex and tricky situation. And at this game, US players spoke their minds out quite freely, even if some Koreans expressed very clearly their concerns to "Mr China" a.k.a. Professor Zhu Feng, absolutely brilliant in his good cop routine : what engagement ? we're not engaged to North Korea, just good neighbors tired of your family affairs - yes, KIM Jong-il is a bad guy and a headache for us as well, but he's your brother, and brothers don't kill each other - yes, these days, our Chinese government is rather conservative, and is pervasively locking key entry points across North Korea, but the colonization of NK by China is a ludicrous conspiration theory - yes, we're doing every day more business here, but as Pr KIM Chul noticed, our entrepreneurs are so much struggling with their local partners that most are curbing their enthusiasm...
Of course, no one mentioned the Northeast Project of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences : this was about business, with politics clearly off-limits. As if PRC-DPRK relations were apolitical. As if policies had nothing to do with politics...
Anyway, I had fun and would very much like to attend the next edition - maybe in a different order (first the historical background, then the trends, and finally the various scenarii / recos), and in a different format (e.g. three panelists max for each topic ? a lunch between two power sessions instead of a dinner after a marathon ?).
By then, chances are many more fundamental changes will have happened. If not the end of North Korea, at least a re-engagement by the South, and potentially a summit (consider the past year : Cheonan sinking and Yeonpyeong-do shelling, KIM Jong-un's promotions, Middle East uprisings, NK reviving its nuke program, Japan spicing North East Asia nuclear nightmares with a new flavor, or the day before the conference a mini-crisis over Mt Gumgang tours...).
If you're familiar with this excuse for a blog, you already know my opinion on North Korea**** :
1) Technically, the North Korean regime is already dead. It only relied on ideology and propaganda, the first lost its substance and the second its efficiency in the eyes of a growing proportion of the population. A little bit like in Iran, ailing and corrupt leaders progressively outsource the power to brutal military forces. At this stage, masses remain overwhelmed and change remains driven by State leaders, but popular rebellions are getting bolder every year, and 450,000 North Koreans have now a mobile phone (reaching far beyond the first nomenklatura circles).
2) The statu quo, or what I called the "Juche line" is not an option - change is coming. For the official end, my base case scenario evolved over time : until the late nineties I believed in an "Albania scenario" (brutal collapse, masses fleeing the country, cult of personality victims abused by con people and more or less religious cults...), but spectacular initiatives from China followed by the highly controversial Northeast Project led me to believe in the more subtle, progressive, and pervasive "Hanschluss scenario". A scenario confirmed by the ambitious developments announced over the following 2-3 years for North East China (on schedule, as we saw yesterday during the conference) : once again, whatever the motives and whatever North Korean leaders do, they also result in artificially relocating the epicenter of Koreanity on Chinese soil, and more physically than intense revisionism about Korean history (ie Goguryo). A scenario sealed by LEE Myung-bak in 2007 : South Korea's disengagement precipitated further the North towards China, leaving no dovish alternative.
3) Of course, China doesn't need to politically integrate North Korea as another province : an unofficial vassal status easy does it, and the process seems very well engaged. Reminder : the Cheonan aggression was about internal affairs, but not between both Koreas. KIM Jong-il had first to reassess his friendship with the army, and second to get some leverage ahead of the "negociations" with the PRC. Chaperoned by CHANG Sung-taek, KIM Jong-un got the nod from Beijing : KJI's brother in law later developped a parallel FDI tool, more China-friendly than the official one. He also lost a rival in a convenient car accident... No need to read fortune cookies to understand that more high ranking officials will join the collaborators to push their luck. With the Yeonpyeong island shelling, Junior assessed his own friendship with the army (nevermind those darn binoculars). Father and son completed the pledge of allegiance with a familial pilgrimage in China, where Grand Dad KIM Il-sung himself got his education, an other way of accepting the only filiation that counts : NK's Motherland is China.
4) The Great Hanschluss is not completed yet. Both China and South Korea are also experiencing ideology crisis at home between conservatism, progressivism, and agnostic pragmatism / reform. South Korea and North Korea share more common ground than survivors of a lost era. They still share an identity and a destiny. And this is not about rejecting China, but about embracing themselves.
Seoul Village 2011
* now it's simply "The Plaza", to mark the difference with the Seoul Plaza in front. That was my first visit there since the renovation (see "Seoul Plaza Hotel joins the renovation frenzy"). If the outer shell didn't change spectacularly, the inside looks much classier: an Italian designer added a European boutique hotel flavor.
** including yours truly (exhibit B: Paris, Texas alias Stephane and Steven - photo by KIM Jae-hun, Maeil Business Newspaper - "北·中 교류, 일방적 원조서 시장원리로 전환") :
*** Full program:
- Opening remarks : RYU Jae-han (President, KoFC), CHANG Dae-hwan (CEO, Maeil Business Newspaper), Kathleen STEPHENS (US Ambassador to South Korea)
- Panel One ("East Asian Regional Cooperation and North Korea-China Relations" and "China's Approach to North Korea: National Interests and Strategy") :
. moderator : HONG Yang-ho (former Vice-Minister of Unification)
. presenters : Matsuno SHUJI (Ritsumeikan University), John Delury (Yonsei University), Zhu Feng (Beijing University)
. panelists : LEE Chan-woo (Tokyo International University - NB: the first to entertain the audience with maps), Edward REED (from The Asia Foundation - NB : only had time to phrase the key questions, but it was worth the trip), LEE Hui-ok (Sungkyunkwan University), KIM Heung-kyu (Sungshin Women's University), KIM Yong-hyun (Dongguk University)
- Panel Two ("The Present and Future of Economic Cooperation Between North Korea and China" and "China's Growing Influence on North Korea and How South Korea Should Respond") :
. moderator : LEE Sang-man (Chairman, the Steering Committee for the North Korea Policy Forum)
. presenters : YOON Seung-hyun (Yanbian University, NEA Research Institute), Scott SNYDER (Center for US-Korea Policy), PARK Gun-il (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)
. panelists : OH Seung-ryul (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies - NB: the first to mention the obvious limits of official statistics, which capture only part of exchanges between DPRK and PRC), KIM Chul (Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences), CHEONG Seong-chang (Sejong Institute), CHU Suk-yong (KoFC - Ministry of Unification), KIM Se-hyung (Chief Editor, Maeil Business Newspaper)
**** see previous posts on NK, and in particular the focus on the "Great Hanschluss" ("Great Wall of China - Anschlussing Korea (continued)" - also on blogules in English "a greater wall of china - bonus, korea inside (the great hanschluss)" and in French "La Grande Muraille de Chine à l'assaut de la Corée (l'ultime Hanschluss)")
Eric Kayser
July 14th, 2010, the French Embassy. All eyes converge towards Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the FMI and a favorite for 2012 presidential elections.
Not mine : I've already seen DSK at the same place 18 years ago, but it's the first time for Eric Kayser products to make a public appearance in Korea, and they taste absolutely delicious. If some bakers can be good in tradition or innovation, this one scores pretty well on both.
Bastille Day teasing was followed by the inauguration of the first branch in Yeouido (63City B1), and the brand is spreading like butter on a fresh from the oven baguette : The Plaza downtown, Lotte Department Store Cheongnyangni, and soon a restaurant in Samcheong-dong, plus the Galleria Centercity in Cheonan.
Kayser contributes to a spectacular boom in French bakeries (see recently Guillaume or Paul), but let's not forget local competition : Patisserie B just started making very nice Opera cakes.
Eric Kayser Korea
The Plaza (02.310.7500)
63City Yeouido (02.789.5687)
Lotte Dept Store Cheongnyangni (02.3707.1976)
Galleria Centercity, Cheonan (041.410.9779)
Seoul Village 2011
Not mine : I've already seen DSK at the same place 18 years ago, but it's the first time for Eric Kayser products to make a public appearance in Korea, and they taste absolutely delicious. If some bakers can be good in tradition or innovation, this one scores pretty well on both.
Bastille Day teasing was followed by the inauguration of the first branch in Yeouido (63City B1), and the brand is spreading like butter on a fresh from the oven baguette : The Plaza downtown, Lotte Department Store Cheongnyangni, and soon a restaurant in Samcheong-dong, plus the Galleria Centercity in Cheonan.
Kayser contributes to a spectacular boom in French bakeries (see recently Guillaume or Paul), but let's not forget local competition : Patisserie B just started making very nice Opera cakes.
Eric Kayser Korea
The Plaza (02.310.7500)
63City Yeouido (02.789.5687)
Lotte Dept Store Cheongnyangni (02.3707.1976)
Galleria Centercity, Cheonan (041.410.9779)
Seoul Village 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Seoul Friendship Fair 2011
My favorite Seoul festival* is back. Seoul Friendship Fair will just like last year be held around Seoul Plaza and Mugyodong-gil, at the feet of the new City Hall.
By the way, that building looks scarier than ever : from the beginning, this towering steel and glass wave reminded me of a tsunami about to crash over Seoul Plaza, but these days, without its final touches, the new exoskeleton structure around the old carcass from the Japanese era looks like a gigantic eagle claw. Yet, just like for Gwanghwamun Square, I'm rather confident : beyond the look, it's mostly about reopening a crucial area to pedestrians, and if Seoul City Hall used to be a hurdle for traffic, it has a great potential as a vital hub once it cracks open like say the Sony Center in Berlin. I'm anxious to see the final result and often have a peek at the working site (the other day, I could enjoy a dramatic view from above, at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club).
But enough chit-chat about architectural projects, let's talk about food.
Yes, the friendship fair is about bringing Korean and Foreign communities together, discovering new cultures, listening to music, or attending dance shows from all over the world, but to me it's mostly about food and roaming all day long from booth to booth to try the most exotic specialities. And for certain cuisines which don't even boast a restaurant in Seoul, the dishes can be of the genuinely home made variety (sometimes even served by the ambassador himself).
It's good, it's fun, and it's a fantastic opportunity to see how international Seoul has become**.
You don't want to miss this.
Seoul Friendship Fair 2011 ("Meeting and sharing of the world, and unity")
Organizers : Seoul Metropolitan Government
Date: May 7 and 8, 2011 (Saturday - Sunday)
Location : downtown around Seoul Plaza and Mugyodong-gil.
Seoul Village 2011
* "Friendship Fair"
** see also "In 2050, almost 10% of Korea's population will not be Korean" - note that Yonhap disclosed two statistics today that confirm the trend : elderly citizens in Seoul reach 1 M, foreigners living in Seoul after marrying a Korean spouse 41,000.
-----
ADDENDUM 20110501 - SFF website and map
More details and updates about the events on the official website : seoulfriendshipfair.org.
By the way, that building looks scarier than ever : from the beginning, this towering steel and glass wave reminded me of a tsunami about to crash over Seoul Plaza, but these days, without its final touches, the new exoskeleton structure around the old carcass from the Japanese era looks like a gigantic eagle claw. Yet, just like for Gwanghwamun Square, I'm rather confident : beyond the look, it's mostly about reopening a crucial area to pedestrians, and if Seoul City Hall used to be a hurdle for traffic, it has a great potential as a vital hub once it cracks open like say the Sony Center in Berlin. I'm anxious to see the final result and often have a peek at the working site (the other day, I could enjoy a dramatic view from above, at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club).
But enough chit-chat about architectural projects, let's talk about food.
Yes, the friendship fair is about bringing Korean and Foreign communities together, discovering new cultures, listening to music, or attending dance shows from all over the world, but to me it's mostly about food and roaming all day long from booth to booth to try the most exotic specialities. And for certain cuisines which don't even boast a restaurant in Seoul, the dishes can be of the genuinely home made variety (sometimes even served by the ambassador himself).
It's good, it's fun, and it's a fantastic opportunity to see how international Seoul has become**.
You don't want to miss this.
Seoul Friendship Fair 2011 ("Meeting and sharing of the world, and unity")
Organizers : Seoul Metropolitan Government
Date: May 7 and 8, 2011 (Saturday - Sunday)
Location : downtown around Seoul Plaza and Mugyodong-gil.
Seoul Village 2011
* "Friendship Fair"
** see also "In 2050, almost 10% of Korea's population will not be Korean" - note that Yonhap disclosed two statistics today that confirm the trend : elderly citizens in Seoul reach 1 M, foreigners living in Seoul after marrying a Korean spouse 41,000.
-----
ADDENDUM 20110501 - SFF website and map
More details and updates about the events on the official website : seoulfriendshipfair.org.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
A rice paddy on Gwanghwamun Square ?
Undeterred by the first official radioactive rain on the Korean capital (nothing serious according to the authorities*), Jongno-gu's Mayor proposed to install rice paddies at Gwanghwamun Square.
Enough to harvest significant volumes of rice, but more certainly enough to boost the Mayor's well-being-tree-hugging profile. Nothing new under the sun : a couple of years ago, French farmers would install a fake wheat field on Paris' Champs Elysees. And every year, wine is made from the city's last grape vines in Montmartre. Furthermore, Jongno-gu has already "produced" some rice in pots along Sajikno (was it last year or the one before ?), but the water didn't remain clean very long.
Just for the beauty of it, why not ? It sure beats the usual kitschy flower beds, and photographers will love it.
Not to mention mosquitoes, of course.
Seoul Village 2011
* Not my idea of an energy drink either : drinking 2 liters of it every day for one year would be equivalent to 40% of an X-ray.
Enough to harvest significant volumes of rice, but more certainly enough to boost the Mayor's well-being-tree-hugging profile. Nothing new under the sun : a couple of years ago, French farmers would install a fake wheat field on Paris' Champs Elysees. And every year, wine is made from the city's last grape vines in Montmartre. Furthermore, Jongno-gu has already "produced" some rice in pots along Sajikno (was it last year or the one before ?), but the water didn't remain clean very long.
Just for the beauty of it, why not ? It sure beats the usual kitschy flower beds, and photographers will love it.
Not to mention mosquitoes, of course.
Seoul Village 2011
* Not my idea of an energy drink either : drinking 2 liters of it every day for one year would be equivalent to 40% of an X-ray.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
DMC at full throttle - Songdo from Sim City to Sin City ?
Remember our parallel between Seoul Digital Media City and Incheon's Songdo International Business District* ? Both project have been advancing since, with Songdo building everything from scratch, and the DMC enjoying many transfers from other districts.
Even for education : the Japan School in Seoul moved from Gangnam-gu to the DMC in Mapo-gu, while of Chadwick International School in Songdo was a creation. To be fair, Songdo also benefited from a major transfer with Yonsei Songdo Global Academic Complex (SGAC), and the DMC has already created many original landmarks as well.
Once again, the Songdo project is much bigger and complex to fill, even after signing such majors as Samsung (ie recently for a biopharmaceutical unit). The local press made a fuss about the recent visit of Vegas casino operators, and Grand Korea Leisure, who operate 7 Luck Casino in Seoul, are considering Jeju or Songdo for a second spot... A new Macau much closer to Shanghai and Beijing ?
Meanwhile, leveraging on Seoul Metropolitan Government's determination to create an international multimedia cluster**, the DMC recently received the confirmation from seven major multimedia groups, including JoongAng, back to the broadcasting arena with growing ambitions. Of course, JoongAng Broadcasting Corporation (JoongAng Media Network) already operated Cartoon Network, J Golf, or Q Channel, but the group lost its leadership after the Tongyang Broadcasting Company breakup (note the new entertainment channel brand, jTBC, as an echo to the pre-1980s). The group also purchased CINUS theaters via Isplus (Ilgan Sports).
Korea's biggest media group already moved to the DMC a long time ago : CJ E&M (CJ Entertainment & Media, formerly O Media Holdings) now regroups all the chaebol's media assets, creating a major in music (Mnet, CJ E&M Music.Live, FNC Music, Good Concert, Jisan Valley Rock Festival, Global Gathering...), movies (CJ Entertainment, CGV...), media (CJ Media, On Media, OCN, chCGV, Story On, tvN, OnStyle, NGC Korea, XTM, Olive, CJ O Shopping, CJ Internet...), and games (CJ E&M Games, BiCore, Netmarble...).
Yet the competition is not just national anymore. And there too, Seoul and Incheon are definitely putting more chips on the table...
Seoul Village 2011
* "Seoul Digital Media City Tour"
** see more recently "DMC aims at Tinseltown - welcome to Hallyuwood !".
Even for education : the Japan School in Seoul moved from Gangnam-gu to the DMC in Mapo-gu, while of Chadwick International School in Songdo was a creation. To be fair, Songdo also benefited from a major transfer with Yonsei Songdo Global Academic Complex (SGAC), and the DMC has already created many original landmarks as well.
Once again, the Songdo project is much bigger and complex to fill, even after signing such majors as Samsung (ie recently for a biopharmaceutical unit). The local press made a fuss about the recent visit of Vegas casino operators, and Grand Korea Leisure, who operate 7 Luck Casino in Seoul, are considering Jeju or Songdo for a second spot... A new Macau much closer to Shanghai and Beijing ?
Meanwhile, leveraging on Seoul Metropolitan Government's determination to create an international multimedia cluster**, the DMC recently received the confirmation from seven major multimedia groups, including JoongAng, back to the broadcasting arena with growing ambitions. Of course, JoongAng Broadcasting Corporation (JoongAng Media Network) already operated Cartoon Network, J Golf, or Q Channel, but the group lost its leadership after the Tongyang Broadcasting Company breakup (note the new entertainment channel brand, jTBC, as an echo to the pre-1980s). The group also purchased CINUS theaters via Isplus (Ilgan Sports).
Korea's biggest media group already moved to the DMC a long time ago : CJ E&M (CJ Entertainment & Media, formerly O Media Holdings) now regroups all the chaebol's media assets, creating a major in music (Mnet, CJ E&M Music.Live, FNC Music, Good Concert, Jisan Valley Rock Festival, Global Gathering...), movies (CJ Entertainment, CGV...), media (CJ Media, On Media, OCN, chCGV, Story On, tvN, OnStyle, NGC Korea, XTM, Olive, CJ O Shopping, CJ Internet...), and games (CJ E&M Games, BiCore, Netmarble...).
Yet the competition is not just national anymore. And there too, Seoul and Incheon are definitely putting more chips on the table...
Seoul Village 2011
* "Seoul Digital Media City Tour"
** see more recently "DMC aims at Tinseltown - welcome to Hallyuwood !".
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