Last Stand for 2013 and Gyonam-dong

Only a few hours left for 2013, and for the old Seoul neighborhoods sacrificed for Dongnimmun New Town  (see "In memoriam Samdong Samgeori, Gyonam-dong").

About 70% have been destroyed, but last time I checked - here on Christmas Eve -, my beloved "Samdong Samgeori" was still standing. That's the last hanok before the final stop on the yellow 'supermarket' building:



I took this other shaky video from the other end of the street, up Songwol-dong. Water was sprayed to prevent dust from flying around, but it didn't prevent me and Seoul from choking...



Okay...

... Enough grieving!

I wish you tons of love and happiness for 2014! That's all we need, and the best human ondol system:

Happy New Year! It will literally heat you up
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No cablecars in Bukhansan, please

The old Eunpyeong New Town cable car project that raised many critics from environmentalists in the late noughties has been revived yesterday by Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon as a cheap quick fix for recurrent traffic jams between the new town and downtown*. Traffic jams that (sorry for repeating always the same things) should have been avoided in the first place, and public transit solutions considered as core elements of the said new town (an obviousness for any urban planner except - it seems - in this part of the world).

I can't deny the fact that cable cars are cheaper than, say, a railway extension such as the one the same Mayor promised last summer in his initial Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Master Plan, a very ambitious wish list where the Sinbundang Line was supposed to be prolonged to Pyongchang-dong, the infinity and beyond (see "If you ain't broke, fix it: Seoul, Welfare and Railways Deficits). Cable cars are even cheaper than the already environment-unfriendly Eunpyeong-Seochon tunnel considered two years ago, a car-centric nonsense that triggered the following rant from this excuse for a blogger (see "2 more tunnels up North"):

"Eunpyeong-gu definitely needs more connections with the rest of the city, but the priority for a forward looking city should be to develop public transportation, and deter people from using their cars in already saturated areas. 
I mean come on : Seoul is digging tunnels #10 and #11, and not one of them has ever been for a subway or a railway! It's as if the mind frame was set on 1960s and 1970s instead of the new millenium: more people? build more roads, sell more cars! and don't bother with medium / long term consequences! 
This totally contradicts Seoul's efforts to develop tourism and international attractiveness: downtown is not supposed to become again an environmental nightmare and a communication failure."

But Seoul is not Santiago do Chile, where funicular railways made perfect sense to connect higher neighborhoods with the rest of the city. Here, cable cars would follow a roller coaster from ground level to ground level in an endless, preventable eyesore that would totally ruin Bukhansan (via Samgaksan, Bugaksan, Inwangsan), one of the capital's most valuable assets - not to mention, of course, Seoul fortress... and downtown Seoul as a whole, because this monster would go all the way from Gupabal Station to City Hall (either in a straight line of 9.6 km, or in a 11 km course that would pass over Tongil-ro via Yeonsinnae and Dongnimun)! All this to shrink to 20 mn a journey that takes 40-50 mn by car or 30-35 mn by subway!

And they have the gall to sell it as a potential tourist asset as great as the London Cable Car, an urban abomination only topped by the ArcelorMittal Orbit as the most embarrassing erection of the 2012 Olympics (in a city with a recent history already rich in urban disasters). 

Of course the view could be interesting from above, but that's what you'd see from under:

The Emirates Air Line, a.k.a. the London Cable Car, a low cost bridge over River Thames. Now picture that as you stroll around Sejongno, Seochon, or Jeong-dong... "touristic", isn't it?

Brits can do whatever they want over this part of the Thames, I won't let downtown Seoul welcome a new elevated wart, not even a decade after the restoration of Cheonggyecheon.

This project insults the city's past, present and future. Seoul can't fix Eunpyeong New Town's failure by making it even worse and more visible. 

So back to the drawing board, and I'm begging you, next time, please try to look for more sustainable ways.

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* see "서울시, 은평뉴타운~서울 도심 케이블카 건설 검토 논란" (Chosun Ilbo 20131118)

NO WAY! Park Won-soon considering cablecar connections between Eunpyeong new town and downtown Seoul! Save Bukhansan from this madness!
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In memoriam Samdong Samgeori, Gyonam-dong

I often say that you can't shake off Seoul any more than you can shake off death. And if there's a moment when both get at your throat out in the open, that's in the sad limbo of a ghost neighborhood about to be destroyed.

Unfortunately, I've experienced that draining and gloomy moment too often in too many parts of Seoul. I could even recycle for Gyonam what I wrote on these lines four years ago, about "Wangsimni Old Town":

• "Most buildings have been evacuated now. Some have already lost all window frames, exposing their skull with empty sockets staring at nothing. Large plastic drapes cover the first row to prevent people from trespassing or ghosts from leaving the area.
• Yet, I almost prefer that state of redevelopment to the previous one, when human beings roam lifeless streets, when only a few merchants remain open to get the most from compensation schemes, even if only a few customers dare pass by. That's the actual ghost town."

Still lying between Dongnimmun and Donuimun*, Gyonam-dong has reached these final stages of ghosttownhood, and over the past months, I never found the courage to venture beyond its main arteries (Gyeonggyojang-gil, Songwol-gil...). My heart ached enough just watching from a distance (Tongil-ro, the elevated road between Sajik and Geumwha tunnels...) the neighborhood progressively abandon life. And I couldn't bear imagining my favorite places after the evacuation.

You simply can't get used to this experience, and the feeling grows worse each time. Plus I had that special bond with Gyonam-dong, particularly since I used to live nearby, just on the other side of the fortress walls.

Then came the news that a few friends would visit what was left of Gyonam. Not scavengers looking for a thrill or a good shot, but fellow Seoul lovers who care for the soul of old neighborhoods. I probably would never have had the guts to come back otherwise.

Well I still felt nauseous most of the time, but I'm glad I joined. Grieving is much easier when you're not alone, and it's always better to come to the bedside one last time. If not for the soon to be departed, at least for your own comfort.

Except that when you visit a dying old friend in the hospital, you don't spend your time shooting pictures of his ravaged face. These series of empty sockets, suspended calendars, bleeding tiles**, or gutted hanoks are as absurd and obscene as deathmasks:





... but I had to let it all out. Not everything, of course, but at least big chunks of it - I'll probably have to regurgitate more bits somewhen, along more ill-written posts or fictions.

*

I'd already accumulated a lot of dark moments here. This urban annihilation process always takes many years, even after the final decision is made. Note that it also includes construction phases. I'm not referring to the park created a couple of years ago when they restored the fortress walls and the house of composer Hong Nan-pa: this section doesn't belong to the future Dongnimun New Town / Gyonam New Town. What I meant is that certain speculators seize the last opportunities to build bigger houses in order to get higher compensations, replacing for instance a hanok with a three story "villa" hosting several tenants.

Now it's sure: no hanok will be spared. And no architectural wonders among the few survivors: the dong office, the church, the Swiss Embassy (at least it's low-rise and has a few trees), and the only existing apartment block in the neighborhood.

The decision not to include the Dong-A Apartment in the New Town came very early: adding a relatively small piece of land divided among many owners would have too much changed the equation for the other residents. Of course, in a country addicted to big blocks, the value of traditional houses remains hard to fathom. Still, until the very end, I hoped something would be done to save a few hanok - why not the short stretch around the Dong-A, precisely? Or even better: one of these more charming alleyways... but no. Not even a fake hanok to ease the consciences of future tenants (see "Build a hanok and they will come - Marketing impostures and genuine slow urbanism").

Not one single element to honor Gyonam-dong's soul in the future New Town. You'll have to cross its boundaries to see the last echoes of lost eras: a few have been saved and more or less well enshrined (Hong Nan-pa's place in a garden, Gyeonggyojang*** in Samsung Gangbuk Hospital...), but most remain endangered species (Dilkusha****, Yeongcheon Market...). To get a decent salute, we'll have to wait a bit and wish for a Gyonam-dong exhibition at the Seoul Museum of History.

So Gyonam is almost dead, and its corpse will soon be totally discarded. The neighborhoods that used to compose it***** will only remain alive in our memories: Gyobuk-dong, Gyonam-dong, Haengchon-dong, Hongpa-dong, Pyeong-dong, Songwol-dong. And if the names survive, they'll tell a completely new story, where former residents will be projected in a new high rise utopia.

Gyonam is almost dead, but during these final days, life goes on: birds, cats, unkempt trees and flowers, the odd humans (last residents, squatters, old friends...).

*

I said goodbye to some of my favorite parts of the neighborhood, and of course to "Samdong Samgeori", where the street forms a cute "bell curve" (urban planners would call it 'Gaussian', but we're in Jongno, and that should ring a bell). I call it Samdong Samgeori because it's at the intersection of Gyonam-dong, Hongpa-dong, and Songwol-dong.

I spent hours there, just to enjoy the place and its atmosphere, sometimes from up the street, watching people and bikes pass by. In the late afternoon, when the light hit the tiled red and yellow buildings around the central hanok cluster, the colors would explose, and the area grow even more mystical.

For this last visit, the barber shop sign was still hanging, but the bikes long gone. We could see the place from above, and marvel at the amazing pattern drawn by merging hanok roofs.

Like the last character of some dying language.


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* see "Donuimun Restoration and Sadaemun Resurrection" (2009/10)
** see towards the end of the video, the hanok roof tiles bleeding their clay (about this architectural detail, see "Am I My Hanok's Keeper? Peter E. Bartholomew's Defense and Illustration of Korean Architecture")
*** see "Gyeonggyojang back to Donuimun"
**** see "Sajik Heights and micro-hanokization"
***** see "Jongno-gu dongs". Yes, Haengchon-dong stretches far beyond the New Town limits, but I haven't seen many hanok on the other side of Sajik-ro.

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.



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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

Sajik Heights and micro-hanokization

My previous post* reminds me I forgot to mention an interesting development over Sajik Tunnel : this new hanok overlooking the traffic.



I waited to have the photo opportunity as a car passenger to show the impact from Sajikno. Of course, what strikes you first is the very ugly Yangeuimun Church, a towering white monster under wraps these days (maybe to transform into a towering colorful monster). The red bar to its right is the Korea Social Science Data Archive (KOSSDA or 한국 사회과학자료원). Further to the right is the Jongno Culture and Sports Center, where I used to go swimming twice a week or so**. And to reach this place from Gwanghwamun Space Bon, I had to pass in front of that hanok spot so I know pretty well every inch along the way.

I could write stories about the alleyway leading up to what I call Sajik Heights from Sajikno, the pawprints left by a dog on the rough concrete staircase, the passage over Sajik Tunnel (now covered with a deck), and the poor white dog who broke my heart each time I passed by her tiny place : either leashed or in her small cage, the poor bitch ruled over a 10 square feet staircase (she managed to get babies once but didn't keep them for long).

Now about this new hanok. There's a bigger one behind, and the owner used to grow an amazing variety veggetables in front of his place, including where this small new extension stands, by the ruins of a house partly serving as a parking lot.

This is a truly minor change, and there are many other hanoks nearby, and more than a few nice "jutaek" on the way to Sajik-dan and Seochon, but this tiny detail could have a lot of significance for the local urban landscape because of its visibility for outsiders at a key location.

I'm not talking about something very spectacular like the restoration of a whole traditional village, but about a small protuberance that catches the corner of your eye and suddenly connects you to a neighborhood, help you reconcile with your city. So many places disappeared over the years, and particularly along major avenues, that it's hard to get a notion of what's been lost without venturing deeper into vernacular Seoul. But from time to time, hope shyly shows its head.

Of course, preserving existing landmarks remains preferable to artificially creating new ones. And right on the other side of the tunnel (in Haengchon-dong, 1-88 beonji), there's an amazing jewel on the verge of collapse : not far from a magnificent gingko tree, this 1923 red brick house is not abandoned but - to say the least - poorly tended. Named Dilkusha ('my heart is happy' in Hindi), it used to be the residence of Albert Taylor, the press correspondant who was jailed for 6 months in Seodaemun Prison - at the 2009 exhibition "Three Foreigners' Reminiscence of Seoul" at Seoul Museum of History two years ago, they mentioned how his wife Mary could see him, from their house, walk the prisoners walk.

At the time of its construction, the view over the valley must have been breathtaking but now, villas almost completely occult it. I hope it can be saved the way a smaller red brick landmark was, just one block away : it is now a mini-museum at the corner of the park recently created at the top of the future Gyonam / Dongnimmun New Town.

We also owe Taylor the fantastic panorama exhibited on the museum's ground floor (curators had the brilliant idea to match this 90 year old marvel with a contemporary view of downtown Seoul).

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* "Junggye's "Baeksa Village" shall survive"
** or picknicking higher on Inwangsan (follow the trail on "Inwangsan's Great Wall and Seoul's Royal "T" Time")

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.

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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.

Seoul, to rise again / Enrique Stanko Vraz's visit to Seoul in 1901

There's always some interesting exhibition at the Seoul Museum of History, and quite often two, like nowadays (hurry up if you want to see both : one of them finishes this Sunday)*.

If you're sick and tired of seeing always the same pictures of the late Joseon dynasty, you'll love those taken by Czech photographer Vraz during his three week visit at the turn of last century : abandoned palaces and lively streets, "new" panoramas on well known streets and landmarks (Jongno, Namdaemunno, Maporo, Donhwamun...), and people of all ages looking back at the camera, straight into our IIIrd millenium eyes...

We had the pleasure to watch the exhibition with a group of Seoulites in their at least nineties, most of them pushed in wheelchairs by enthusiastic organizers who read the captions for them... and were corrected anytime they made a mistake about a place they couldn't remember as well as their passengers. Of course, when these elderlies were kids, Donuimun was still standing after all those centuries**, and Dongnimmun a todler monument about their age (the Independence Gate was erected in 1897).

On the same ground floor, "Seoul, to rise again" focuses on the 1957-1963*** years that rocked the ROK, when the capital city boomed, and regimes changed (from RHEE Syng-man to PARK Chung-hee). Pictures and films capture the effervescence, the political, social, economical, and urban changes in black and white, plus all the variations of grey.

"Enrique Stanko Vraz's visit to Seoul in 1901 / Soul roku 1901 objektivem E. St. Vraze" (20110414-0612)
"Seoul, to rise again" (20110309-0424)
Seoul Museum of History
Tel (Dasan hotline) : 120

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* make that three with the mini expo on Seoul design assets including the U-Smartway project (see focus)
** Note that Donuimun also will rise again (see "Donuimun Restoration and Sadaemun Resurrection").
*** and not 1961-1970, like in the volume 4 of the Seoul in Pictures series, also titled "Seoul, to rise again".

Inwangsan's Great Wall and Seoul's Royal "T" Time

Seoul mountains represent a unique feature for a major metropolis. Even from downtown, you can enjoy great daylong walks across picturesque sceneries.

If you think traditional paintings of royal palaces look too stylized to be true, just take a two-hour hike up Mount Inwang (Inwangsan) and along its fortress walls, and enjoy the best view over Seochon, the Gyeongbokgung, Cheong Wa Dae, the city center and Namsan. As you rise, parts of Gangnam and such landmarks as the COEX or the 63 Tower join the party in a memorable panorama.


Let's zoom out for a minute or two. I've been following very closely the dramatic changes under way in the heart of Seoul and particularily around its main axis Sejongno. If you consider the "T" leading to the Gyeongbok Palace, the upper bar doesn't look as nice as it should since both sides lead to ancient royal shrines. But change is coming.

The Eastern part, Yulgokno, can leverage on major assets : the Anguk hub linking two touristic areas (Insadong and Gahoe / Bukchon, both expanding), and soon to be re-connected UNESCO World Heritage twins (see "Jongmyo-Changdeokgung reunited"). Much has already been done and who knows, some day, Seoul city shall also decide to remove the two miserable gas stations guarding the beautiful entrance of the Changdeok Palace...

The Western bar of the "T" draws much fewer tourists, but hides different kind of treasures. Sajikno leads to Seodaemun and Dongnimmun, but both lie on the other side of the Sajik Tunnel. And synergies between Sajik Park and Gyeonghuigung are limited until a much needed Northern entrance to the Gyeonghui Park is opened*...

On the other hand, today's shortest way (cutting through Shinmun-ro 2 Ga - the double street called Gyeonghuigung-gil) is full of art galleries, nice cafes and fine restaurants, and it will drop you at the feet of the Seoul Museum of Art... Speaking of which : Tongui-dong is welcoming a growing number of art galleries and decent eateries. Seochon is not Sogyeok-dong yet, but at last there is some echo this side of the Gyeongbokgung walls...

The past few months have seen dramatic changes along Sajikno. Just last month, a derelict pedestrian overpass connecting both sides of Naeja-dong has been removed, and soon, a crossing shall dramatically shorten the walking distance between Gyeongbokgung Station and Sajik Park... which is itself undergoing a spectacular lifting : exit the giant concrete platform, enter a new gentle slope towards Inwangsan-gil and the mountain.

Marked by Hongsalmun (홍살문), the gate of Sajik-dan (사직단), Sajik Park itself may not look very spectacular right know, but it does hold a special significance (as fundamental as Jongmyo and Gyeongbokgung for the King) and host many cultural events, most notably the traditional rites at Sajik-dan and Ye-dan. The small squares where almost shamanic rites were performed in favor of food and agriculture stretch peacefully without really leaving ground. And neither Hwanghakjeong (archery pavillion) nor Tangun Shrine (devoted to the mythical founder of the nation), both behind the park, open their gates every day to the public.


ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER

Just meters away from the shrine, the hulk of Jongno-gu's Cultural and Sports Center can help locate the beginning of the Inwangsan fortress walls. Considering the clearing being prepared just across the street, I guess a more specific building shall welcome hikers and tourists in a not too distant future.

For the moment, the most convenient landmark is this shanty drugstore one block away from the Cultural Center.

Behold, You Who Cometh to Ascend the Great Wall : as I write these lines (this may change soon), this ruin happens to be your last chance to purchase a snack or a bottle of water, and the Center your last opportunity to empty your bladder indoor. On the way up, no facilities can be found except a few trashcans, and a couple of army sentry boxes.

Note that you are entering a formerly restricted area overlooking the Blue House and sensitive bases. The Inwangsan park was closed after the 1968 assassination attempt of Park Chung-hee by a North Korean commando, and reopened in 1993. Taking pictures of Cheong Wa Dae, littering the place, or firing a missile on the Government's HQ are stricly forbidden.

The first portion of the ascension remains a civilian area, and is turning into a pleasant neighborhood park, with a small wooden platform overlooking the city. Here, the XVth century wall separates Sajik-dong from Muak-dong. It goes all the way up to the summit, and its restoration is now almost completed ; higher up, you can see a temporary rail running along it, probably to carry the heavy concrete stones.

This part was restored earlier, and the Gu is now focusing on making the place an ideal place for families to rest or picnic. Gardeners are cleaning the bushes, planting new trees, and removing most weeds or detritus. Unfortunately, the authorities, felt compelled to add the usual gym equipments, and I'm afraid I know where they plan to install them : the small wooden platform may become a large concrete terrace, ruining the charm of one of the cutest spots.

These days all trees are blooming, and later in the year, you can pick apricots while strolling. But March-April has its advantages, particularily since the view isn't blocked by vegetation.

I was surprised to see many families with very young children go all the way up, which includes a vertiginous walk on a rock at the top, and the second section of the ascension, marked by a grilled gate leading to a narrow and steep staircase (the only unpleasant part of the journey, and it doesn't last long).

The third section leads to the granite top of the hill, along the serpentine wall and a not too demanding slope. To the left, the view improves from apartment buildings to Inwangsa, and then to a pine forest. To the right, Bukhansan's majesty becomes clearer as the vegetation grows thicker. Behind you, Seoul keeps revealing itself step by step.

From the rock, next to an army barack, you can see Gangnam even behind Namsan (274.5 m high, compared to 338.2 for Inwangsan). This is the intersection of Muak-dong to the South, Hongje-4-dong to the West and Nusang-dong to the East. It could be the perfect spot to finish the ascension but then, just on the other side of the rock, you discover the fourth section : a welcoming clear path leading to the round dome of Bukhansan.

The beauty of this hike that at each station, you can either enjoy the view and call it a beautiful day, or venture one step beyond.

Seoul Village

* the Southern flank of the park is getting ready for Gyonam New Town : the block of small restaurants separating the Gangbuk Samsung Hospital and the Gyeonghuigung entrance will be replaced by a public garden, which has already been partly opened along the newly restored wall.