Mosquito forecasts, Convenience Safe Havens, One-Stop Complaining, and The Ministry of Hilly Walks

On our menu today, this bibim of new policies planned for 2014 by Seoul Metropolitan Government's department of civil affairs:

1) "Active implementation of mosquito forecast system and disclosure of citizen guidance for each stage":

• This insect is much more than a nuisance: a vector of diseases that tend to gain ground as climate changes and international travels boom. Eradicated from South Korea in the late 70s, vivax malaria came back twenty years ago and remains relatively low, but on the other side of the DMZ, 16,000 cases were noted in 2011, and the DMZ itself is a safe haven for our buzzing foes. Monitoring all 'mosquito infested areas' seems impossible when any flower pot can become a nursery, and a vague grade should have an effect similar to UV forecasts: just an incentive to get extra protection on certain days. Made in China or not, smog is likely to kill many more people in the short term, and it deserves even closer monitoring (see "Air Pollution: New Measures, Please").

2) "Establish a Happy Plus Work Place":

• This is not about bringing happiness to the work place, but about a place to help those who suffer at work. Of course, tackling the causes would be more efficient than curing the consequences, but we truly are in a state of emergency. The center is located in Hawolgok 2-dong, Seongbuk-gu, not far from a new town where a wave of suicides caught many desperate people last year. If in many ways, working conditions have dramatically improved in Korea, a growing proportion of the population is under financial and social stress, and like in most developed nations, the middle class is confronted to the high levels of insecurity it was supposed to have overcome decades ago.

3) "Expand the No-Smoking Zone for restaurants by lowering the condition from above 150 sqm to above 100 sqm":

• Let's be clear: all restaurants should be smoke-free areas. And the 'separate smoking rooms' are not only porous but disgraceful for both smokers and non-smokers. Yes, Korea has done a great job reducing smoking rates, and Seoul has considerably promoted smoke-free zones, but second hand smoke remains pervasive (see "The Fight Against Passive Smoke Continues").

4) "Create female-safe apartments":

• Beyond this weird label is something more than a women's shelter program: insecure spots shall become welcoming homes, transforming whole neighborhoods into citizen-friendly areas.

5) "Operate 24-hour Convenience Stores as Safety Protection Houses":

• If you're not a Seoulite, you must start thinking this city is very dangerous, with swarms of killer mosquitoes and packs of rapists at every corner! Know that Seoul is very safe compared to other big cities, but of course crimes do happen, and adding a 'guardian angel' function to 600 CVS could make a difference. At least it adds sense at the village - local community level, and that's a more positive solution than selling guns to every citizen!

6) "Dongdaemun Design Plaza with 5 facilities: Art Hall, Museum, Business Center, Convenience Facility, Park":

• Since you already had a "Sneak peek inside Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Park", I won't play it again, Sam. This laundry list tells it all: confronted to reality, the initial '100% design' promise evolved into the now classic 'how are we gonna fill these empty spaces?' conundrum. So we line up the usual suspects: art, retail, business, leisure, and hope that someone in the audience will recognize a familiar mug.

7) "Development of Seoul Dulle-gil Trail":

• 35.2 km added to Seoul mountain trails, that's significant. And this time, instead of focusing on the venerable Seoul fortress holders (Bugaksan, Inwangsan, Namsan, Naksan...), the spotlights honor outer mountain rings: Suraksan and Buramsan (Nowon-gu), Gureungsan and Achasan (Gwangjin-gu, Jungnang-gu, Nowon-gu), Godeoksan and Iljasan (Gangdong-gu, Songpa-gu), and the Daemosan-Guryeongsan-Umyeosan (Gangnam-gu, Seocho-gu). There's always a subway or bus station nearby, surprising views from above, and interesting things to see and to eat in between. I have a special fondness for Buramsan, but again, I love all Seoul mountains... except the overwhelming "Budongsan" of course!

Starting from Northeast Seoul, the Buramsan-Suraksan Course...

... prolonged by Gureungsan-Achasan...

... then, across the Han River, Godeoksan and Iljasan,...

... and finally (?) Daemosan, Guryeongsan, and Umyeosan.

8) "All new Seoul tourism homepage":

• "Sights & Fun", "Food", "Shopping", "Korean Wave Tourism", "Medical Tourism"... "following consumer's priorities" is nice, but we must also develop the spectrum, promote cultural diversity, make Seoulites and visitors want to crave for more, discover by themselves, venture beyond mainstream (and please, beyond Hallyu fads - see "Heralding cultural diversity: a stronger and more sustainable Korean wave (1st Congress - WAHS)"). NB: VisitSeoul.go.kr is not active yet (still VisitSeoul.net)

 9) "Development of Sinchon Public Transportation District":

• Time for an update about this Yonsei-ro experience (e.g. "Yonsei-ro the first street in Seoul to ban cars in its transportation mix", followed by "Seobu Line confirmed as Seoul's LRT top priority"). The new and improved street was actually re-inaugurated in late December, with a festive Christmas market. The changes seem positive at the local level, and the traffic around the neighborhood less congested than I expected, even if Seongsan-ro and Sinchon-ro remain often saturated. Note that Yonsei University's main gate is less a jam now that two side gates have been opened.

 10) "Operation of integrated management system for civil complaints / suggestions":

• One-stop complaining / suggestion box soon a reality in a city that usually scores well on e-government issues. And remember that Seoul Global Center gathers the feed back of foreign residents in many different languages.

Seoul Village 2014
Welcome to our Korean Errlines! Follow Seoul Village on Facebook and Twitter

Add this page to your favorites
.

Nowon confirmed as Seoul's northeast hub

PARK Won-soon recycled yet another project of the OH Se-hoon administration: turning Nowon into Seoul's northeastern hub. The old concept received a boost last month, when the government accepted to lower the share of expenses to be paid by local authorities from 40 to 25%.

Which means two things:
- the extension of Subway Line 4 from Danggogae to Namyangju, first announced in 2007, will be delivered. I had little doubt about that: it was the soundest and most profitable project among the four laid out two years ago (see "Spectacular extensions of Seoul Subway Lines 4-5-6-7 ?" - April 2010, followed by "Seoul subway updates : gos, no-gos, maybes" - January 2011)
- the heart of Nowon, around Nowon Station itself, will be beefed up as scheduled, but instead of the major air terminal initially planned (see my "Nowon-gu" focus of June 2007), a gigantic complex shall rise, with 40+ storey apartment towers, hotels, and a commercial and convention center aiming at rivaling the COEX Mall

After that, Nowon-gu will finally discard its image of bed town, and extend its already strong influence over Gyeonggi-do neighbors: after Jangam new town (Uijeongbu, Line 7), Namyangju new towns (Line 4) are more likely to feel anchored to this hub within Seoul city limits than to their own local administration. 

For Nowon's future commercial hub, the location has long be selected: Dobong Driver's License test grounds and Seoul Metro train depot occupy three quarters of a huge block next to Nowon Station, and both have been expected to move for years. Four important roads surrounding this massive area:
- East: Dongil-ro, northeast Seoul's backbone, between Nowon and Madeul Stations (Line 7).
- South: Sanggye-ro, between Jungnangcheon and Nowon Station (with subway Line 4 overground)
- West: Dongbu Expressway, along Jungnangcheon
- North: Nowon-ro, in front of Jungang Apt Block 10 and Nowon High School, leading to Sanggye Bridge and Dobong-gu.

The extension of Line 4 also confirms Nowon Station as Northeast Seoul's brightest spot:
- To the West, Dobong Station (Lines 1 and 4) will be even more distanced. Yes, the Uijeongbu axis is bound to grow stronger, and the future Suyu LRT won't be that far, but if Seoul reaches further northwards, it will be through Line 7. For the people living in Jangam new town, even from the other side of Seoul Ring Expressway (# 100), Nowon Station feels already much closer than downtown Uijeongbu.
- Along Line 7, Nowon's closest rival lies far down south, at the intersection with Line 2: Konkuk University Station has been completely revived by the Starcity - Emart complex. Gunja (intersection with Line 5) has some potential, and Taereung may go up should Line 6 be prolonged, but catching up with Nowon won't be that easy.
- The old but vital Line 4 vertical already connects Seoul with southern Gyeonggi-do, carrying people from 5 cities (Siheung, Ansan, Gunpo, Anyang, and Gwacheon) straight into 9 of the capital's 25 districts (Seocho, Dongjak, Yongsan, Jung, Jongno, Seongbuk, Gangbuk, Dobong, Nowon). But if Nowon was the last frontier new town back in the late 1980s, it is now becoming the entry point to Seoul for a new generation of new towns, this time from northeast Gyeonggi-do.

In a diagonal parallel to the Gyeongcheon Line (railway for Chuncheon), the 14.5 km extension from Danggogae will create three stations in the city of Namyangju: Byeollae (Byeollae-dong), Onam (Onam-eup), and Jinjeop (Jinjeop-eup). All three correspond to new towns, not to mention (see reminder) today's terminal itself, Danggogae Station, at the center of the future Sanggye New Town. I bet many inhabitants may feel more like in an extension of Nowon-gu than in a new Namyangju neighborhood: there's no direct railway connection to Namyangju city hall in Geumgok-dong, and Nowon Station with its city hall and attractions is just 1 to 4 stations away.

Sanggye, Danggogae, and Byeollae all lie along Deongneung-ro, an axis already very congested by traffic jams. The only road cutting through Buramsam (in its middle) became an important entry point into northeastern Seoul when the Seoul Ring Expressway was completed: located halfway between Uijeongbu I.C. and Guri I.C., Byeollae I.C. instantly relieved the saturated Toegyewon I.C. gateway. But the road was not dimensioned for that traffic, and turned into a bottleneck.

Construction for the subway shall start in 2015 and end in 2019, but expect more hiccups on the way, starting with the feasibility studies planned during 2013, after the elections.

To be continued.

Seoul Village 2012
Welcome to our Korean Errlines! Follow Seoul Village on Facebook and Twitter

Junggye's "Baeksa Village" shall survive

Here's one of my favorite Seoul villages. If you take a Nowon-gu map, it's easily recognizable as the only area with a crooked shape in an ocean of neat appartment blocks. That's actually how I spotted it for the first time, and I wasn't disapointed by the place, one of Seoul's last typical "moon villages" ("달동네") with a soul of its own and an almost rural lifestyle. I took this picture* of kids playing there exactly seven years ago, and I remember the red peppers drying up on the streets, or the old people inviting us for a chat on their mat at a fork in the road.

Located on the Western slopes of Buramsan, "백사 마을" (Baeksa Maeul or Baeksa Village) doesn't owe its name to the fact that it hosts the 104-san beonji of Junggye-bun-dong (also spelled "baeksa"), but to a legendary "white snake" ("baeksa"). And "White Snake Village"'s serpentine main "street" leads you to the edge of a forest that didn't exist back in 1967, when the area first drew the attention of the media (and when Park Chung-hee's reforestation program hadn't turned Seoul's bald red hills into green lungs yet).

Last time I visited the place back in 2004, there were already talks of redevelopment. You could see many "budongsan" opening shop at the feet of the village, and in those new town crazy years, I wouldn't have bet any buck on a survival for this forsaken place.

Baeksa Maeul again made the (local) headlines not so long ago, when LH Corporation's new town plans were made public. Not very original, but at least we were spared the usual tombstone giants.



Today, the village makes national headlines because all plans have been dropped (in financial turmoil, LH has cancelled many programs over the past year), and local authorities have opted for a softer "remodelling" that partially preserves the shape, the streets, and hopefully the spirit of this very cute place. Among other sources, I recommend this KBS video ("마지막 달동네 ‘백사마을’, 마을 한켠에 보존") where you can enjoy many different views on Baeksa Village, including films from 1967 :


I'm really happy. Not only because White Snake Village has a chance to survive without losing its soul, but because all this noise shall boost preservation for the other few surviving gems and moon villages still clinging to the city's mountain slopes.

More likely, speculators will rush here and there to snatch cheap land and build big mansions before local authorities manage to secure the areas. Not far from there in Sanggye, I could see that happen in Danggogae's former slums years ago.

Seoul Village 2011
NEW : follow Seoul Village on Facebook and Twitter

* you've seen this picture in "Junggye Maeul" (June 2007), as well as, among other "Seoul crumbs", in dragedies.

---
UPDATE 20110906 : added a snapshot from the KBS video showing the village before/after remodelling.