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)"

Yeongcheon Market saved, Tongin Market already bukchonized

Shall I start with the so-so good news or the not so good news (the good news being that there's no really bad news out there)?

The so-so good one? So be it: Yeongcheong Market has been officially recognized as a market by Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Spoiler: the other piece of news has something to do with another traditional market, Tongin Market.

I know, I know, most of you don't give a fart in a high wind and I fully understand that. But to me it's important, and If you're familiar with this excuse for a blog, you already know that I have a crush for Seoul's markets. Recently, I even mentioned these two in the same (gimbap-ddeokbokki) breath*.

So. What does the Yeongcheon Market recognition mean? This covered street is now a legal entity municipal authorities can deal with, and a priori that's good news: each member becomes stronger and forces can be pooled more easily, so this lively spot might resist more efficiently against potential redevelopments that could mean the end for one of the last remaining 'villages' in the area.

Note that the towers already planned at the Northern entrance (see "Wonjo Ddeokbokki - a.k.a. "Ddeoknimmun"") will be developped as scheduled, but the main entrance should be safe and that's essential for the future : Donuimun New Town will be erected on the other side of Euijuro**, and too many cute places will disappear in the process around Gyonam-dong.

Well. Yeongcheon Market is not exactly "cute". And even after recent improvements it's still a bit dirty. But it does have a soul. And the reason why I'm just so-so pleased by the news is that Yeongcheon Market might be too much 'sanitized' or 'gentrified' for my taste.

Of course local authorities have in mind the preservation of this small animated landmark, but they should be careful not to let it become a tourist trap.

Mind you: Tongin Market is not a tourist trap. But as I feared would happen*, its atmosphere is changing at an alarming pace. On the bright side, the place is cleaner, fresher, better lit with a high ceiling that lets daylight in, and there's much more joy and - yes - fun than ever before. Art students decorated each booth and regularly organize exhibitions (the other day about two sisters who own a shop there). Now there's even a market newspaper... Everybody is smiling, and you can still enjoy the great Hyoja Gimbap*** for only KRW 2,000 a roll (big, tasty bites with a 4 to 1 filling / rice ratio).

But.

If most members stayed, newcomers are not exactly in the same vein. They're good and nice people, and their food does look and smell great, but it's often more the kind of neat shops or eateries you'd find on a busy street. Tongin market is by no means turning into a mall of course, but it's becoming more a gallery than a market, or maybe more the Covent Garden kind of market. I don't see the old generations of merchants resist the sirens of a fat profit: more will sell as the area welcomes more tourists.

Hanoks are being restored around Tongin Market, and the first one that benefited from the renovation program sponsored by local authorities (following the protection of Seochon hanoks) lies precisely in the small vertical alley that joins Tongilsijang-gil in its middle. The feat is well advertised on the door, and the artisan from nearby Nuha-dong even made a wooden box to hold a pack of his business cards. In this alley, a few signs announce trades from another era ("ice" sold here, clothes fixed there...). I bet it won't be long until hanok stay guest houses take over.

I have a word for this : bukchonization.



Seoul Village 2011
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* see "Tongin market opens up to art : adaptation or yet another symptom of Seochon's "Bukchonization" ?"
** dang, I'm still not used to call this street "Tongil-ro". Tongil-ro used to start only from Eunpyeong-gu (the former frontier of Seoul city), and now it goes all the way to Seoul Station (see footnotes of "Culture Station Seoul 284").
*** Hyoja Gimbap (gimbap), Tongin Market, Tongin-dong, Jongno-gu. Tel +82.2.730.73.69

Tongin market opens up to art : adaptation or yet another symptom of Seochon's "Bukchonization" ?

I often talk about Seoul's traditional markets as key cultural assets : the souls of Seoul villages, but tormented souls, often on the verge of extinction, and surviving only thanks to a few ageing customers and struggling producers.

If many markets keep a vibrant atmosphere, some can be quite depressing. I remember Sanggye Central Market (Sanggye Jungang Shijang) during its last years : inside, an old, dark, and mostly empty space with a low ceiling and miserable stands - but in the streets around the building, still a vibrant village atmosphere. Now instead of the large low rise hall there's a massive I-Park, and the streets look at the same time cleaner but less lively.

Even some relatively big markets look grim. Take Inwang Market, for instance : located at a major crossroads (Hongje-dong, Seodaemun-gu) and serving a relatively large population, this factory looking concrete mass, next to the derelict Yujin Arcade and the ugly Naebu Expressway, is not exactly inviting. Of course, visiting it is always an intense experience for me, beyond the nice pictures and that small place where they cook delicious handmade noodles. But the traffic is not as good as it should be, and obviously everybody struggles to make ends meet. Many people would like to come more often, but the place almost acts as a repellent even to old timers, and some go to much further traditional markets because they are more fun. Money will be invested here, and Yugin Sanga be destroyed to make room for a multiservice complex, but will Hongje modernize the market or replace it with a soulless shopping center ? This choice will be essential for the very identity of a strategic hub.

I'm not in favor of aggressive therapy to maintain markets when there's no potential, but I don't think it is right to destroy the ones that are still successful. I already mentioned Yeongcheon Market* as a potential collateral damage of urban redevelopment (its Eastern end is threatened by future towers). The traffic is good, the location great, the quality of the products much better than in most markets, and the dimensions perfect : here's a small but sustainable traditional market that enlivens the area. The buildings and its direct surroundings are in poor shape, but with a limited investment, this animated covered path can become an attraction coupled with the visit of Independence Gate, without losing its soul. Why not preserve a small triangle of real Seoul right in front of the soon to be erected Dongnimmun New Town ?

Like Yeongcheon Market, Tongin Market is basically a narrow street** whose roof and shops have been upgraded over the past few years without really revolutionizing the area. Much smaller than Yeongchan, Tongin doesn't claim as many visitors, and there's not the same feeling of abundance, but there's no other traditional market miles around except Geumcheon Market, and losing it could undermine the city's dream of saving Seochon.

Full of life and small eateries and very close to Gyeonbokkung Station, Geumcheon Market, on Geumcheon Bridge street (Geumcheondari-gil / 금천다리길, the small Chebu-dong street parallel to Sajikno), is rather an open air commercial street than a formal market. Seoul should be very careful about that one too, but Tongin Market is a real market place with a roof at the center of the soon to be revived Seochon.

I've often mentioned Seoul's plans to resuscitate this historical hotspot West of the Gyeonbokgung by protecting hanoks (see "Stop The Hanok Genocide... And Stop Revival As Reenactment") or reopening an old stream (see "Baekundongcheon / Gwanghwamun-gil - A River Runs Through It"), as well as my worries about the risks of a "Bukchonization" for Seochon : on one hand you save a hanok cluster and create a popular touristic attraction full of cute boutiques, but on the other, this is not a real Seoul village anymore, just a gentrified area for wealthy people or guest houses, where daily life is not going on as normal. Hopefully, even if Seochon has evolved dramatically recently, it remains much better 'preserved' than Bukchon at the social level.

Tongin Market has a key role to play in the future at the heart of vernacular Seochon, particularly since Baekundongcheon renovation will not go all the way up along Jahamungil (the stream's original path), but take the diagonal across Tongin-dong and Chebu-dong instead, following a minor affluent, now the charming and winding street that leads to the small triangular plaza at the Western end of the market.

Can Tongin Market be saved ? It probably has to evolve, and I often imagined it, in a "boboization"**** scenario of Seochon's Western half, as some sort of a mini Camden market : small, vintage shops, but more indy than trendy. So I was not that much surprised to see the place opening up to amateur, arty installations.

It turns out that the Tongin Market Project is sponsored by local authorities as part of a much wider scheme : an article about it in today's Korea JoongAng Daily ("Traditional markets remade in public art project") actually triggered this post.

Mercifully, this project is heralding proximity between the population and market shop owners, not turning the place into some pretentious art gallery. But change is definitely on the way.

I guess in the future most markets will have lost their original purpose, sometimes reclaiming it for an event. A market is both a meeting space and a meeting time, not necessarily permanent. Paris is sponsoring local markets so that every neighborhood can enjoy a traditional market once or twice a week on the street, and I guess that's what's coming for Seoul as well.

As for the buildings themselves, their souls, or life in Seoul villages, that's another story.

Seoul Village 2011
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* and its excellent ddeokbokki "Wonjo Ddeokbokki - a.k.a. "Ddeoknimmun" (Seoul)"
** Tonginshijang-gil, between Pilundae-gil and Jahamun-gil (now Jahamundae-ro). A strategic part of vernacular Seochon, along with the Ogin-gil diagonal.
*** don't underestimate the place, though. For instance, that's where you'll find the best kimbab in Seochon.
**** "bobo" standing for the "bourgeois bohemians" sociostyle defined by David Brooks a decade ago.

Seochon, Sejong Village, or what ?

Now officially protected from reckless redevelopment, Seochon area is preparing for its cultural rebirth. All the ingredients are there, but a marketing battle seems to be brewing over the brand. How to name the place ?

"Seochon" echoes the village West of the Gyeongbokgung, an axis we've already discussed and a waterway about to be reopened. There could be some confusion with Seocheon-gun in Chungnam, and some confusion with Bukchon : Seo means West and Buk North, but "cheon" means stream and "chon" village.

Like Gahoe-dong on the other side of the royal palace, it would be unfair to pick a dong name out of the hat : the 600 hanoks are scattered across a dozen neighborhoods, each one with its own characteristics (Naeja-dong, Chebu-dong, Nuha-dong, Nusang-dong, Pilun-dong, Ogin-dong, Tongin-dong, Hyoja-dong, Changsang-dong, Tongui-dong...).

I often refer to the area as "Chebu-dong" because that's the central dong, but that's wrong. Technically, most neighborhoods belong to the two "administrative dongs" of Sajik-dong and Hyoja-dong, the former being maybe more suitable since it's associated with a major royal site (Sajik-dan), and a clear destination West of the Gyeongbokgung. Hyoja-dong touches the palace walls, and is more associated with the North and the presidential palace (even if Cheong Wa Dae belongs to Sejongno-dong and the administrative dong of Cheongun-dong).

Recently, some residents have been pushing a "Sejong Maeul / Sejong Village" label, probably because King Sejong was born there : a plate commemorates the location of the hut where the great man was delivered, following the tradition depicted at the nearby National Palace Museum of Korea. But I'm not sure the commoditization of the Sejong brand is such a good idea : this "Sejong Village" sounds like an annex to Sejongno, not a place with its own identity.

Since the whole area grew along the branches of the soon to be reborn stream, why not stick to Seochon ?

Seoul Village 2011

see other Seochon related posts, including "Stop The Hanok Genocide... And Stop Revival As Reenactment" and "Baekundongcheon / Gwanghwamun-gil - A River Runs Through It"

Insadong - Bukchon seamless for pedestrians

We're regularly stressing the growing importance of the Northern side of Anguk area as a tourist destination opposite Insadong : already a major cluster of art galleries on the way to Samcheong-dong and Bukchon area), it will host a key museum (the MOCA's Seoul branch), and a 7 star hotel is even considered*.

Yet the connection is not so seamless for pedestrians : the crossing between Insadong-gil and the police station is unconvenient and as saturated as Omotesanto on week-ends. Furthermore, more lanes will be created because of the Yulgokno tunnel**. Nowadays, most tourists head South towards Insadong, but the traffic is becoming more balanced and that trend is bound to be confirmed in the future.

Jongno-gu just decided to tackle the issue :
- prolongation of Insadong car-free axis : the diagonal will continue North of Yulgokno along Gyoyuk-gil (the narrow street bordered with schools) until Bukchon-gil (ArSonje corner). The street itself will be repaved on both sides to reinforce continuity
- connection of this axis with Samcheongdong-gil (Bukchon-gil's section West of ArSonje crossroads).
- creation of a new crosswalk at Yulgokno between Insadong and Gyoyuk-gil

Step by step, the heart of Seoul is definitely becoming more pedestrian friendly.

Seoul Village 2010

* see "http://seoulvillage.blogspot.com/2010/02/moca-defense-security-command-continued.html" and "Korean Air Grounded : Seoul 7 Star Hotel Delayed"
** see "Jongno-gu renovation - continued"

Seoul Open Night

The second edition* of Seoul Open Night will rage on August 21, 2010 between noon and midnight :



This "nuit blanche" proposes 200 events in galleries, theaters, streets scattered across Insa-dong, Jeong-dong, Daehangno, Bukchon, and Hongdae, including JUMP and NANTA. A 10,000 pass is available on the SON blog (cafe.naver.com/seoulopennight). Not in English yet...

Seoul Village 2010

* see 2009 edition

Pimatgol - a streamlet runs through it

On my way to Kyobo Bookstore (scavenging for bargains : the institution will close on April 1st for renovation (see "Kyobo Bookstore V2"), I observed the new construction site just across the main entrance, where the book center usually displays books on promotion outdoors.

Workers were building a stone sidewalk including what appears to be the future bed of Junghakcheon (중학천), the streamlet which used to run towards Cheonggyecheon* along the Eastern side of Gyeongbokgung and this very street, named after it : Junghakcheon-gil (in Cheongjin-dong, parallel to Sejongno and behind Kyobo Building, KT Art Hall, the US Embassy...).

The restored streamlet will reach Jongno Fire Station up the street, next to Jongno-gu Office and 340 m from Cheonggyecheon. But that's only the first step of the project, which will follow Samcheongdong-gil, the street bordering the Gyeongbokgung and leading so Seongbuk-dong :
. A second section of 1,020 m will connect the fire station to Jeongdok Public Library, or rather the intersection with Bukchon-gil, which also happens to be the entrance of the old Defense Security Command, now an art museum. Note that the library itself is not on this street bordering the Gyeongbokgung but in Hwa-dong, opposite Artsonje Center.
. A third section (1,040 m) will go from there to the end of Samcheongdong-gil. Actually, Junghakcheon was also known as Samcheongdongcheon (삼청동천).

In the first section or at least at this stage of construction, the renovation seems to be focusing more on "history / prestige" than on "wellbeing / ecosystem" : the waterway's bed is made of stone and in a straight line, not with rocks and plants** and following a curvy path.

Again, this is only the beginning, but we can already make out a small bridge which could be the future entrance of a Pimatgol 2.0, even if the bridge looks closer to main street (Jongro) than the old Pimatgol entrance (most recently signaled by a rotten wooden post and various bodily fluids). Anyway, right now, this bridge is a bridge to nowhere or rather a bridge to a vast wasteland : Pimatgol's last houses and restaurants have finally been erased (my bindaetteok place lasted much more than expected***).

Seoul Village 2010
see also "Baekundongcheon / Gwanghwamun-gil - A River Runs Through It"

* Reminder : technically, Junghakcheon connects with Baekundongcheon (백운동천) to create Cheonggyecheon. Next comes Namsandongcheon (남산동천), from the South and Namsan. The three waterways are either under restoration or about to be reopened.
** while I'm at it, when you see people pick up herbs along Seoul riversides, tell them not to eat them : many varieties can be used in traditional recipes, but those collected in such areas have been proven totally unfit for consumption and utterly "unwell being".
*** see "Welcome to Pimatgol"

Stop The Hanok Genocide... And Stop Revival As Reenactment

Every day, I see hanoks being either destroyed, replaced with nondescript three story "villas" or, at best, "restored" in such a way that except for the roof, you cannot tell there used to be a Korean traditional house under the tasteless decor.

Today*, the JoongAng Ilbo put a terrifying figure on the genocide : of the 20,000 hanoks which managed to survive until 2005 in Seoul, only 14,000 would still be standing now.

The article focuses on two Jongno-gu areas where hanok clusters are being protected : Ikseon-dong (around Unhyeongung) and Chebu-dong (West of Gyeongbokgung). As a Sajik-dong resident, I know both well and if I agree with inhabitants when they say that living in a hanok has its share of discomforts**, the bottomline is that many are bitter because real estate speculation has been terminated.

For instance, in June 2008, a major 68,000 m² redevelopment project was scrapped by the city in Chebu-dong / Seochon : all hanoks would have been destroyed, and 12-story-buildings erected in this low rise area.

Mayor OH Se-hoon has been trying to stop the hanok hemorrhage since he came into office, and wants to extend to 20 the number of protected areas across the Capital city. A global rule on hanoks would also be necessary without any delay.

Because the two main reasons for the acceleration of the genocide were pro-speculation policies, but also the fear of anti-speculation policies :
- when LEE Myung-bak was the Mayor, he unleashed redevelopment projects to the point that every single area in Seoul is now speculative
- speculators have been anticipating tougher regulations from OH Se-hoon, destroying hanoks before new laws passed, even if they didn't have any plans to build : many empty spots are now used as parking lots to make some money before construction.

Seoul city sponsors hanok renovations following traditional techniques, but doesn't want all hanok clusters to become as artificial as Bukchon-dong : enough tourist shops and guest houses, actual Seoulites must really live there. In their city, not in a museum city.

Revival goes far beyond reenactment.

Seoul Village 2009


* "The debate over hanok heating up" (JoongAng Ilbo 20091110)
** ie you simply cannot compare to new apartment standards, and privacy can be an issue.

see other Seochon related posts, including "Baekundongcheon / Gwanghwamun-gil - A River Runs Through It"

Seoul Open Night

Imagine Paris experiencing at the same time its Nuit Blanche, Paris Plage, and the Fête de la Musique. That would be Seoul this Saturday, August 22nd :

- "Seoul Plage" (1st edition) is a private and rather feeble attempt to copy the Parisian event (itself a copy of a concept created by the city of Saint Quentin) on one segment of Hangang riverside. So let's forget about it.

- The "Fête de la Musique" would be the Seoul Fringe Festival (12th edition, until August 29th). I'll get back to that later.

- And the equivalent to "Nuit Blanche" is "Seoul Open Night". The said "night" doesn't stretch as far as it does in Paris but it starts at 2 pm and, for the second edition, its limits have been pushed from 10 pm to midnight, which makes the label much more relevant... The concept is basically the same : the city opens its museums and galleries during one special night when many cultural events take place, casting a new light on an art capital.

To go from one Seoul Open Night spot to another, I won't be riding a Seoul Velib', but my own Korean bike.

Seoul Open Night will last from 2 pm to 12 pm on Saturday the 22nd, 2009 across 6 locations, but the program may change due to yesterday's tragic news : following Kim Dae-jung's death, the general mood is not set on partying mode...

Here are a few of the many events initially planned * :

- Seoul Plaza : free "opening" ceremony between 7 and 8 pm featuring Major OH Se-hoon and singer LEE Seung-hwan. I guess that would be the place to pay a formal tribute to DJ (I'm not talking about the Disk Jockey).

- Hongdae : Seoul Open Night will spice up the Seoul Fringe Festival, a free market will be held at the usual spot (Hongdae Playground) between 7 and 12 pm, street performances, indie concerts... A KRW 10,000 Unlimited Cultural Pass includes entrance to 12 live clubs and theaters.

- Daehangno : the usual hotspots, and a free concert at Marronnier Park (8 to 9 pm).

- Jeong-dong : various events around the Deoksugung (concert) and along Deoksugung-gil (including meetings with Nanta performers). All key museums and parks will be opened until midnight.

- Bukchon : most galleries open until midnight free of charge (there's a 10,000 Cultural Pass including admission to 12 paid museums and galleries in the area). At Jaedong Elementary School crossroad, a Bukchon Traditional Street Performance and Food Feast will be held between 7 and 11 pm.

- Insa-dong : most galleries open until midnight free of charge, many performances are held, and Ssamziegil visitors can enjoy a free traditional craftwork training.

Not all events are free, and some even require bookings (ie architectural tours highlighting key city landmarks). So check the program of Seoul Open Night on Seoul city website or directly on the SON website (cafe.naver.com/seoulopennight).

Seoul Village 2009

Rossini (Seoul)

Jongno-gu, Jae-dong, Seoul, ROK
Rossini (Italian restaurant)
Tel : +82.2.766.8771

You like Italian food, but Italian Italian. Neither "supersize-me" American Italian, nor "dripping kalguksu" Korean Italian. You like your pasta al dente, to feel some respect for ingredients. You want the closest thing to the real thing. And you are ready to pay for it.

This side of the Hangang, Rossini provides a quiet, not too trendy answer. Both central and remote, just a few blocks away from Anguk Station and from the hyper areas nearby (this is Gahoe-ro, but south of Bukchon-gil - right across the Constitutional Court).

Over several years I tried quite a few soups, pasta, lasagna, primi e secondi piatti, and deserts. I'd say that if they were a hitter, they'd bat a steady .300, but very steady : never below .295 and never over .305. Many hits, many runs, never a strike out... but only a few dingers, and never over the fence.


see other restaurants in Seoul and Korea.

Cheonjin Poja (Seoul)

One of my favorite spots in Samcheong-dong ? Cheonjin Poja (천진포자 - or Tianjin Baozi / 天津包子).

Receipes may come from Tianjin, the founder came from Taiwan decades ago. Since she couldn't find any decent dumplings in Seoul she decided to make a job out of it.

The result is both good and cheap, which explains the success : an annex opened just meters away from the original place, and you often have to wait to get one of the happy few seats. But you never have to wait for too long : it doesn't take that much time to wolf down their treats.

The menu goes from 3 to 5,000 wons and includes 5 categories : noodles (chow mein, chow bing), fried flower bread, and dumplings : in soup (mandu guk), with meat (pork mandu), or with veggies (an amazing half open leek / buchu mandu).

Reaching this Shangri-la is quite easy. Take Gyoyuk-gil at Anguk Station (exit 3), that's the small street facing Ujeongguk-ro. You pass the schools and a few eateries and that's it, to your left, just before ArtSonje Center and Bukchon-gil.

Cheonjin Poja / 천진포자 (restaurant)
127 Sogyeok-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, ROK
Tel : +82.2.739.6086

SM / Seoul Village 2008

see other restaurants in Seoul and Korea.

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.

Miryang Son Mandu (Seoul)

In spite of the multiplication of art galleries, cafes and trendy shops, Gahoe-dong has not been totally Cheongdam-dongized yet. But it's definitely following similar patterns. Even if slightly more the Frisco than the L.A. way...

Nearby Gye-dong is also turning into a hot spot, but with a different flavor. Tourists have been fancying Bukchon area's traditional houses for some time, and the local administration intends to push further its architectural integrity. Newly built Hanoks pop up every year and it does make a difference.

Yes, you'll find this dumpling restaurant in a recent, non-descript, 3-4-story building. But its five or six tables are full of kind people and covered with delicious handmade mandu / manduguk. And it doesn't feel like you're in downtown Seoul ; rather in a quiet city far away from the Capital. I don't know whether that felling will last or not, but this restaurant would better not turn into yet another artificial tea house.

Miryang Son Mandu (밀양손만두)
Jaedong-gil, Gye-dong, Jongno-gu
(on the main street leading to the Joongang school - across the Jongno soccer association)
Tel : +82.2.744.3272

SM 2008

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