Jeongdong-kill

Today, Korea Joongang Daily published more details on the "logic" behind the revolting U-turn made by Seoul and Jung-gu on what used to be a model urban improvement; the district decided to let tourist buses destroy the once scenic Jeongdong-gil:

"Asphalt mars palace walkway's scenic charm" (Korea Joongang Daily 20131127)

Seoul gives in to tourist buses, covers Jeongdong-gil with asphalt. Buses should have been banned instead twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/405471457003585536

Jeongdong-gil is the street crossing Jeong-dong between Sejongdae-ro and Saemunan-ro, or rather between Deoksugung and Donuimun - a neighborhood also very rich in history for foreign communities. 

The winding stretch along the palace walls accomodates only one narrow lane that leads to a small roundabout (Seoul Museum of Art's main branch, Jeongdong Cheil Church, path to the US Embassy's residence). The second leg goes both ways, and hosts among other theaters Nanta, a major venue. In the morning and in the evening, sessions often collide with drop-off / pick-up times for the local girls schools, most notably Ewha, provoking maddening traffic jams. On exam days, the video game reaches a new level, with herds of zombie girls crossing the street, their eyes glued to worn out textbooks.

And I'm not even counting the police buses lined in front of the palace: over the past few years, Daehanmun has become a demonstration hotspot, culminating in the Ssangyong Motors saga (200 cops guarding every night a few square meters to prevent further occupation).

Nanta is not even 100 m away from Saemunan-ro, the maximum one has to walk from either end of Jeongdong-gil is 450 m, and this is one of the most pleasant walks in the city.

From the start, buses should have been banned from this street and this roundabout, but you sometimes see six to ten of those waiting for their shows to end. Even before the latest changes made to the street (street stones removed, driveway widened by 50 cm), they already killed Jeongdong by their sole presence.

Jeongdong-gil rehabilitation in 1998 followed the destruction of the Japanese Government-General Building (1995-96), and preceded other spectacular changes in downtown Seoul (Insadong 2000, Seoul Plaza 2004, Cheonggyecheon 2005, Gwanghwamun Square 2009, Gwanghwamun 2010...). Each revival had marked a triumph of urbanism and pedestrians over the Car Almighty that had disgraced the capital over the XXth century... and now this.

Exposing an embarrassing lack of vision, Jung-gu and Seoul have surrendered to the tourist industry by destroying an acclaimed touristic asset instead of working on solutions that are sustainable for both.

I've already insisted on the importance of addressing bus issues in a city that's still not used to coping with millions of tourists. Some efforts have been made, for instance to prevent buses from running their engines when they're parked (generally for heating / cooling purposes), but little to alleviate traffic and to deal with growing lines.

Simply put: no tourist bus should be allowed to park outside of bus-only parking spaces, and instead of multiplying those downtown, more discreet (and preferably underground) lots should be created at a reasonable distance of the main tourist hubs. 

And since, as we speak, all buses come from South Korea (unlike in Paris, for instance, where the DMZ has little effect to block foreign fleets), they can all be equipped with tracking devices to monitor the traffic and control abuses. Typically, no tourist bus should be allowed in Seoul and particularly within "Sadaemun" (historic center) without a proper system.


Seoul Village 2013
Welcome to our Korean Errlines! Follow Seoul Village on Facebook and Twitter

Add this page to your favorites

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.


Seoul Village 2013
Welcome to our Korean Errlines! Follow Seoul Village on Facebook and Twitter

Add this page to your favorites

* 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.



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

* 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

Medical Tourism

These guys defying gravity look like they could be the next customers of the building they're cleaning.

But paradoxically, they risk much less than pedestrians walking at the feet of this Samsung Gangbuk Hospital : I've already mentioned this tricky crossroads where Donuimun will be restored*.

In a city remarkably equipped for physically challenged people, the direct surroundings of medical institutions can be surprisingly dangerous. Of course, you always have to be careful for customers walking in the hospital's PJs, sometimes even hundreds of yards away with their IV poles, but it's also a matter of accessibility, at times poor, or of parking lots that are not really accident-proof.

Each time I ride my bicycle to Yonsei University, I have to be extra careful when I pass in front of Dongseo Oriental Hospital. Not just because of the patients : traffic at the entrance is at best messy and generally dangerous.

Those exceptions shouldn't last too long in a city where medical tourism keeps booming, particularly in Gangnam-gu, which advertises massively about its state of the art infrastructures.

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

* "Donuimun Restoration and Sadaemun Resurrection" - I took this picture on my way to Gyeonggyojang (soon to reopen).

Seoul Fortress Walls (re)completed by 2014

Seoul confirmed that the restoration of its 18.6 km fortress (see "Donuimun Restoration and Sadaemun Resurrection") would be finished in 2014, and that it would keep pushing for the inscription of this most defining cultural asset on the UNESCO Heritage list.

Of course, the monument itself cannot be fully rebuilt since whole sections are now occupied by roads or (often private) buildings. The idea is to fake seamlessness for pedestrians by building overpasses mimicking the walls, where possible. That's what I expected for Donuimun, but it is now planned around Sungnyemun / Namdaemun and Heunginjimun / Dongdaemun, and I wouldn't be surprised to see another overpass at Hyehwamun. In other sections, the walls shall be more symbolically materialized on the ground.

Let's hope these overpasses will be delicately built... and not serve as alibis to remove pedestrian crossings in key traffic hubs.

Jongno-gu officials have recently started promoting full circle hikes along the wall, and here's their estimation of the distances for pedestrians between each monument. I'll follow their order to drop a few updates about the fortress, starting from Dongdaemun* :

- Heunginjimun (Dongdaemun) to Jangchung Gymnasium (장충체육관, near Dongguk University Station) via Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Gwanghuimun : 1.695 km / 1 hour. Three sections of the wall are missing : on both sides of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza Park, and after the Gwanghuimun Park.

- Jangchung Gymnasium to Sungnyemun (Namdaemun) via Namsan, N Seoul Tower : 4.617 km / 3 hours. Most of Namsan is covered but three sections are missing, the longest in the final stretch, the small hill hosting the Namsan Public Library. Both sides of Sungnyemun are also disconnected from the wall.

- Sungnyemun (Namdaemun) to Donuimun (Seodaemun), or rather Samsung Gangbuk Hospital : 1.4 km / 50 mn. This is the most damaged section : only a short stretch of wall remains along Sogongno (Sogong-dong). Donuimun itself must be completely rebuilt.

- Donuimun (Seodaemun) to Jongno Culture and Sports Center (Gwanghwamun Art Hall) : 800 m / 25 mn. The wall has been partly restored at the top of the hill separating Gyeonghuigung from what will become Gyeonam New Town (now known as Donhuimun New Town). There, near Hong Nan-pa's house (now a small cute museum), a public garden was inaugurated. And as we saw earlier, the triangle of hanok restaurants between the hospital and Gyeonghuigung will be replaced by another public garden, and the wall shall be prolonged with an overpass to the gate, the key missing gate but not for long anymore. At the other end, a group of "villas" prevents the connection with the main section of the wall, which starts above Sajik Tunnel and goes all the way to Seongbuk-dong.

- Jongno Culture and Sports Center (Gwanghwamun Art Hall) to Changuimun (Buksomun, better known as Jahamun) : 3.1 km / 2 hours. This Inwangsan stretch may be my favorite one : I sat countless times on a rock to enjoy one of the best views over Seoul (see the 2009 focus "Inwangsan's Great Wall and Seoul's Royal "T" Time"), and not only after a stop at the center's swimming pool !

- Changuimun (Buksomun / Jahamun) to Sukjeongmun (Bukdaemun) : 2 km / 90 mn. This Buam-dong / Seongbuk-dong section includes a Bukhansan summit (344.2 m).

- Sukjeongmun (Bukdaemun) to Waryong Park : 1.5 km / 25 mn. Jongno-gu suggests to reach Samcheonggak from Bukdaemun (400m Northwards / 15 mn), or Samcheong Park from Malbawi Information Center (600 m Southwards / 20 mn, the center being on the way, 200 m after Bukdaemun, on the other side of Samcheong Tunnel).

- Waryong Park to Hyehwamun (Dongsomun) : 1.215 km / 30 mn. The final Heyhwa-dong stretch of the wall doesn't exist anymore. Only a few meters subsist before the Hyehwa Gate, which towers over Dongsomunno and could be typically linked to the next section, just across the street, with an overpass.

- Hyehwamun (Dongsomun) to Heunginjimun (Dongdaemun) : 2.3 km / 1 hour. Another pleasant journey along Naksan. We now know that the new park at the Dongdaemun end of this mountain will be connected to the gate.


Seoul Village 2011

* about the names of the gates (daemun and somun), see the focus "Donuimun Restoration and Sadaemun Resurrection"

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

Seoul Village 2011

* 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".

Gyeonggyojang back to Donuimun

It's always a bit strange, when I go see a doctor at the Samsung Gangbuk Hospital, to know the reception desk used to be the home of Kim Gu, head of Korea's provisional government, between the 1945 independence and his assassination in 1949, in that very same building, renamed Gyeonggyojang ("Capital Bridge Mansion") as a tribute to that period.

Typical of the Western-Japanese architecture from the occupation years, Gyeonggyojang was built in 1936 by a flamboyant Korean collaborator who offered it to the national hero as a smart flip-flop cover-up. It later became private property and now belongs to Samsung Insurance, who agreed to empty it and return it to the public.

The transformation into a museum (located in 108-1, Pyeong-dong, Jongno-gu) will finish next year but on August 15th, a limited number of selected visitors will be allowed to explore it for the national anniversary.

This old new landmark will provide a perfect purpose of visit on this side of Donuimun : as we saw earlier*, the gate will be restored where it was, precisely in front of this hospital, and I hope Samsung will seize the opportunity to make the complex a bit less overwhelming.

Seoul Village 2010


* "Donuimun restoration and Sadaemun resurrection"

Jongno-gu renovation (continued)

Seoul is a permanent working site and even downtown, countless buildings are under construction. Some positive work is also under way for the preservation of Jongno heritages and even if I've been watching them every day it's hard to keep track of everything. A few updates :

- Gwanghwamun : after spreading its wings (lateral walls) over the past few weeks, the gate has just grown feathers (splendid dark tiles) and shedding duvet (the multicolor silhouette of Gwanghwamun was removed from the metal structure covering the renovation site). Inauguration day is definitely approaching, and I'm quite excited : I was glad to see the old Japanese government building disappear, and I can't wait to see the royal Sejongno-Gwanghwamun-Bugaksan-Bukansan perspective fully restored.

- To the East - Yulgokno tunnel (see "Jongmyo-Changdeokgung reunited") : here is what the 275 m long structure will look like around Donhwamun - Wonnam-dong. Constructors are being selected until September, work will start in October, and inauguration is scheduled for EOY 2012. As I mentioned before, I very much like the ideas of reconnecting Changdeok palace with Jongmyo, and of burying traffic underground, but the cultural alibi doesn't excuse the 50% increase in traffic (from 4 to 6 lanes, even if - or so do I hope at least - two are reserved for buses and public transportation). Traffic must be diverted from downtown instead of increased, and what Seoul needs is an underground circular bypass to aleviate traffic (ie beween East, Northeast, West, Northwest, without passing by city center). Furthermore, this is not a tunnel but a hill built over a road, with the risk of pulling further apart two neighborhoods.

- To the West - sidewalk renovations West of Gwanghwamun towards Sajik-dan (see "Sajik-dan enshrined, Naeja-dong revived ?") are well advanced now on both sides of Sajikno, and the Gyeongbokgung Station exits far more welcoming. Note that Seoul is getting serious about the look of its streets : you've already noticed the nice grey booths for street vendors, and the elegant black signs mentioning touristic landmarks. Jongno-gu voted stricter guidelines for outdoor advertising, particularly on commercial buildings. This revolution will not happen overnight, but change seems on the way.

- To the South : Junghakcheon restoration (see "Pimatgol, a streamlet runs through it") is advancing as well in a post-war landscape : many buildings have been removed around Gwanghwamun Square and Jongro, most lately on Doryeom-dong-gil, where I wouldn't be surprised to see archeologists find interesting vestiges under the rubbles from very ugly commercial buildings from the late 60s - early 70s. The atmosphere is really strange, particularly in Cheongjin-dong (former Pimatgol and future KT headquarters). On Shinmunro, two new pedestrian crossings have been created. One goes from the Seoul Museum of History to the new building about to be completed next to Citibank. Between both buildings, the Russian Legation (previously hidden by nondescript horrors) is now clearly visible to all visitors to the museum or to Gyeonghui Palace. The other pedestrian crossing is next to the Gangbuk Samsung Hospital, surprisingly close to the existing crossing joining Jeongdong... but not that surprising if you remember that other renovation project : Donuimun gate should be reconstructed precisely between both pedestrian crossings (see "Donuimun restoration and Sadaemun resurrection")... so I guess construction could be starting pretty soon.Seoul Village 2010

Donuimun Restoration and Sadaemun Resurrection

Today, Seoul announced the restoration of Donuimun in its original design and location by 2013, along with the prolongation of the fortress walls, and the intention of claiming a new UNESCO World Heritage label for resuscitating the initial frame of Hanyang, the city's original name.

The image I have of Donuimun (also known as Seodaemun - the Great Western Gate), is the desolation at Jeong-dong Sagori : an abrupt slope at the feet of a concrete monster (Samsung Gangbuk Hospital), a dangerous crossroads for pedestrians and bikers (probably meant to feed the above mentioned monster), and a sober glass / wood post-it decor signaling the place where one of Seoul's four main gates used to stand. Victim to Japanese forces in 1915 as part of a comprehensive destruction plan (city walls, palaces, gates, symbols of power and independence had to be removed), but also as part of a more constructive scheme (new tram lines), Donuimun had been shamelessly overlooked during more recent redevelopment projects.

Yet, I was confident this forsaken area would be revived in a very near future :
- If the gate is gone, Jeong-dong Sagori remains a focal point where Jongno-gu, Jung-gu, and Seodaemun-gu meet. Nowadays, the pleasant walk along Deoksugung-gil (a successful restoration if I ever saw one) comes to an abrupt end, ruining the connection with Gyeonghuigung.
- According to Donuimun New Town (a.k.a. Gyonam New Town) master plan, the triangle between the hospital and Gyeonghuigung's entrance will be transformed into a park (reminder: in the meanwhile, there's still time to enjoy the good restaurants still standing !).
- At last, the overpass joining Saemunan-gil and Seosomun-ro will be removed. Good riddance.
- Seoul wants to restore the city's original fortress walls, and a significant portion has already been completed uphill along Songwol-gil (with a small park in Songwol-dong, above the Swiss Embassy).

Seoul decided to restore Donuimun in its exact location, regardless of the intense traffic, and it's almost a matter of pride : the prestigious gate was destroyed to widen the road and install railway tracks ? it will be reconstructed as it was originally designed, like it or not. The result should be quite impressive, and the area can really look gorgeous if Samsung has a soul (and a few billions to spare) and revamps its hospital more elegantly (burying it could be a solution). I guess cars and buses will probably have to pass under the gate one way or another, without bumping into Seodaemun Station. And I do hope pedestrians can cross seamlessly along the walls without waiting for traffic lights.

Let's recapitulate the score for Seoul's fabled "Sadaemun" (Four Great Gates) : by 2013, the city will have completed a grand slam in the major league (the gates meant for the VIPs, all completed during the first year of construction of the fortress wall, in 1396) :

• Sungnyemun ("respect", Southern Great Gate or Namdaemun) is still under reconstruction following last year’s tragic arson (see "Namdaemonium"). Final touch : 2012.
• Heunginjimun ("wisdom", Eastern Great Gate or Dongdaemun) has already finished its restoration and will soon recover part of its wings : on one side the Naksan section of the fortress (Ewha Woman's University Dongdaemun Hospital has just been destroyed to make space for a park), on the other the future microsection planned for Dongdaemun Design Plaza. Dongdaemun's time to shine should be next year, to celebrate Seoul Capital of Design (see "Buldozing Seoul again - Dongdaemun Design Plaza, New City Hall").
• Sukjeongmun ("humility", Northern Great Gate or Bukdaemun) was closed not long after its completion because it was supposed to allow bad vibes into the city. Japanese occupants destroyed the edifice along with the wall and Donuimun, but under what was left of popular and royal pressure, they couldn't get rid of Namdaemun and Dongdaemun. Sukjeongmun's rebirth in 2006 didn't raise many eyebrows but marked the start of the whole project. The following year, the path to Bukhansan was reopened to the public for the first time since Park's assassination attempt by a North Korean commando in 1968 (see "Inwangsan's Great Wall and Seoul's Royal "T" Time").
• Donuimun ("loyalty", Western Great Gate of Seodaemun) completes the diamond circuit in 2013.

The less notorious "Sasomun" (Four Lesser Gates), the minor league gates, remain in outfield :

• Souimun ("justice" – Seosomun) used to lie between Seodaemun and Namdaemun, so it should theoretically be the South Western gate. But like the other two it belonged to the Western wall of the fortress, and the SW corner was actually Sungnyemun. Seosomun has a terrible reputation because this is the gate through which criminals were banned… or executed. That's also where the “sayuksin” were beheaded (see "King Danjong and Korea's Curse"), and early Christians martyred. And that's also the way to Seodaemun Prison.
• Gwanghuimun ("bright light" – Sugumun) : at the SE corner of the walls, on the other side of Namsan along which the Southern section of the wall is running. I guess this is the "bright light" at the end of the tunnel : this rather cute gate, now part of a small park near Sindang, was the portal through which corpses left the city. Brrrr
• Hyehwamun ("wisdom" – Dongseomun) : NE corner of the walls, on the other side of Naksan. An important entry point to Hanyang from the North.
• Changuimun ("fairness" – known as Jahamun) : NW corner of the walls, between Bugaksan and Inwangsan. Still standing after all these years, even if it had to be reconstructed during the 18th century, following a Japanese invasion.

The city boasts many other gates ("mun"), but they mark the entrance to palaces or altars. The most famous of these gates remains Gwanghwamun, more than ever the star at the center of the show.
Seoul Village 2009