Seoul Smart Life Week - What happens in Vegas stays in Seoul?

So taking more space at CES was not enough: Seoul wants to be a match with the World's leading consumer electronics show and launch 'Seoul Smart Life Week' later this year (Oct 7-9 in COEX).

Mayor OH Se-hoon announced the event at the 640 sqm Seoul Pavilion in Tech West Eureka Park, where 81 companies exhibited their solutions and gizmos (very strong biotech and A.I. verticals behind  Seoul Biohub and Seoul AI Hub). 18 of them claimed a CES Award, but the prize OH and Seoul Business Agency are after means even bigger bucks.

Well the first edition 'only' aims at 100 cities and 200,000 visitors, but it takes time to install a big show in a crowded calendar, and COEX can't host a Barnum the size of CES.

KINTEX would gladly oblige, but Korea's biggest exhibition venue is in Ilsan, Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, with limited hospitality capacity nearby. Seoul wants to become a global or at least an Asian leader, to put for good Tokyo, Hong Kong (and its half-yearly Electronics Fair), or Singapore (COMEX- ITSHOW-The Tech Show-Consumer Electronics Exhibition) behind. 

Seoul plans to change venues after the Jamsil Sports Complex is fully transformed into the Jamsil Sports MICE Complex, with a business hub connecting the COEX, SETEC, Hyundai Motors Global Business Center, Dominique Perrault's new Yeongdong-daero, and of course the Han River in this very vegassy vision mentioned in my recent focus (see 'Seoul waterways and urbanism - the full story'):

Seoul already hosts many tech-related events, but no top-of-mind brand emerges. At least, if it may not seem very original, 'smart life' sounds definitely more human-oriented than the old-tech-y 'electronics' or 'IT'. Unlike CES with the CTA, this new SSLW will not be led by an industry but by a local authority, with city pavilions rather than national spaces. To compete with Vegas, Seoul will not only need new hardware and software, but also the power hitters Korea Inc. sends to the national pavilion. And ultimately, Samsung LG, and Co. will have to be convinced to release buzzworthy novelties 3 months earlier than usual.

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We reject as false the choice between our welfare and our well being

Seoul city is about to sacrifice more of its ever shrinking 'green belt' areas.

This is by no means a new phenomenon. For instance, seven years ago, tens of millions of square meters of these protected lots were destroyed to build more homes, including some for low income families (see "Tighten your greenbelt").

But back then, 'New Town' models were still all the rage, Korea was not yet sitting on an oversupply of one million dwellings, and the population of Seoul was not shrinking.

Which, of course, is the case right now. And to add insult to injury, most of this will be done in the name of social housing. As if the only way to extend welfare was to destroy our environment. Worse: it contributes to real estate speculation across neighborhoods that were relatively spared until now.

Seoul just announced that 15,582㎡ of greenbelt land shall be dismantled around roads in Dobong-gu, Jungang-gu, Gangseo-gu, Gangnam-gu, and Seocho-gu.

Seoul and Korea to sacrifice 40 more of its greenbelt areas for social housing... while there's an oversupply of dwellings! Something is definitely rotten in Korea real estate - this shouldn't be about welfare vs well being and environment! (tweet to Mayor PARK Won-soon - 20171128 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/935712198495584258)

There is a shortage in social housing, but also an oversupply in housing. So instead of digging deeper into failed and costly urban models, wouldn't it be smarter to give incentives to landlords to increase the proportion of existing dwellings devoted to that purpose? Not in new ghettos, but across the city's neighborhoods?

It's also time to cure the country's addiction to building in new spots when so many neighborhoods and structures are falling apart. What happened to interesting initiatives to help struggling landlords do more or better? In "Seoul to tap into vacant homes pool", I already mentioned the potential of housing cooperatives, particularly for dense 'villa' neighborhoods, but it's hard to find a political will to shift away from old models*.

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* even if I'm not forgetting the promising 'human town' concept (see "OH Se-hoon launches the "Seoul Human Town" concept" or "Inhuman, all too human Seoul").

Yeongdong-daero Underground City, Korea (YUCK?)

Last March, KEPCO surpassed Hyundai Motor in market capitalization (KRW 37 tn vs 34). Ironically, since Hyundai's financial trouble have something to do with their purchase from KEPCO, in September 2014, of prime land along Yeongdong-daero, for a whopping USD 10 bn.

As you know (e.g. Yeongdongwon focus in last year's "Diagonal crossings, High Lines, and Business Verticals (how pedestrians and businesses remodel Seoul... and vice-versa)"), that site will host the group's future HQ - Hyundai Motor Global Business Center - at the core of a redesigned COEX-Jamsil business district that will stretch over both sides of Tancheon stream (Samseong-dong and Daechi-dong in Gangnam-gu, Jamsil-dong in Songpa-gu), and grow what is already a significant transportation hub into a gigantic one.

Yesterday, Seoul Metropolitan Government released more details about that part of the puzzle, an 'underground city' to be delivered by 2021:

• A big whale: 160,000 square meters under Yeongdong-daero (6 underground floors, 630 m long, 70 wide, 51 deep). Cost: KRW 1.169 tn
• A multimodal hub: subway (Samseong Station on Line 2, Bongeunsa on Line 9), bus (including the City Air Terminal), express railways (GTX-A Samseong-Dongtan, GTX-C Uijeongbu-Samseong-Gunpo, KTX Northeast extension), LRT (Wirye-Sinsa Line - see "Seoul LRT Projects Update (Part 2/2)"). Expected gains in commuting times to Dongtan and City Hall: from respectively 41 and 29 mn by car, to 20 and 5 mn by rail

Views presented last year

The hub will also include various culture and service facilities, and a shopping area complementing the COEX Mall. Pedestrians shall have a better time navigating a space until now devoted to Car Almighty.

With its countless traffic lanes, Yeondong-daero looks like a pre-Gwanghwamun-plaza Sejongno on steroids, and this project seems to consider a similar, tree-less, tip-of-the-iceberg central walkway. But it's not as if masses will roam the surface like downtown: distances are even greater, and most of the fun will remain indoor. As nice as Bongeunsa is, it doesn't rival with Jongno landmarks and Bugaksan.

Still, this transport hub certainly looks less nightmarish than Banpo's Express Bus Terminal, because the Yeongdong-daero / Teheran-ro intersection is far less messy, and because you don't have 'apateu' blocks the scale of say a Banpo Xi. One can also hope that the user experience will be better thought through, more seamless.

How much this will cannibalize business from COEX Mall or Lotte World remains to be seen. But it's already adding trouble to the old business center of Gangnamistan: vacancy rates are expected to keep growing in Gangnam Business District (around Gangnamdae-ro and Teheran-ro at Gangnam Station), even if Hyundai Motor is moving in the time to build its new extravaganza.
Common sense, demographic and economic trends tend to make us think that a success story here would mean a failure somewhere else. And this zero-sum game leaves us every year with more infrastructures to fill.

Let's hope that this 'underground city', which unlike many pharaonic projects does have a purpose, won't be the vast magma chamber of a supervolcano bubble, but at least a successful transport hub.


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New Town out, Redevelopment in, back to the Urban Jungle

Korean economy badly needs a boost, and the government opted for a quick fix with long lasting effects: in "the republic of apartments", easing apartment regulations always sounds like giving junkies one massive free shot (about this most typical Korean addiction, see for instance "The Republic Of Apartments", or "Inhuman, all too human Seoul").

This at a moment when the real estate market got a bit sounder, many empty apartments created by new town bubbles eventually finding tenants. And what to say of the recent easing of DTI (Debt To Income) and LTV (Loan To Value) ratios as household debt keeps skyrocketing (over 8% last year)... 

But this is less about supply and demand rationale than about giving work to construction conglomerates, and a boost to voters' morale. I don't have the details of the 30% of the 2,400 regulations that shall be dumped by 2017, but social welfare is unlikely to gain ground to short term profits. Typically, the proportion of apartments reserved for rentals in any given block will be reduced, and there will be fewer constraints on unit sizes. LH Corporation's key assets will be sold to private developers, who really seem to be the ones calling the shots here.

Not very P.C. for an administration supposed to fight speculation and defend the interest of the weakest citizens. Interestingly, the very day the set of measures were announced, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon met with Deputy PM Choi Kyung-hwan, a first meeting at such level since 2006, to discuss collaboration on infrastructures, including facilities along Hangang riverside, and a second cable car on Namsan*.

The best measure in the package is the end of what I call the 'greenfield new towns' (see "Wet eyes for wetlands and urban mirages"): instead of improving existing neighborhoods, authorities prefer to create artificial cities ex nihilo and extra muros because land is cheaper. Now hopefully, Korea shall significantly reduce the risk of urban nonsenses.

The most anticipated measure is the reduction of minimum age requirements by up to ten years for the reconstruction of apartment buildings, which means that the bed towns erected around the Olympics in the late eighties shall be replaced much earlier.
 

Korea to cut construction regulations: no more satellite New Town, but apartment redevelopment accelerated / Urbanism deregulation means that apartment blocks in Sanggye, Mokdong or Jamsil will be redeveloped much sooner - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/506611541722935296

This set of maps shows the chronology of the development of habitations in Seoul (before 1980, during the 80s, 90s, and noughties).

Among the 1987 projects that could be up for reconstruction in 2017: Sanggye-dong (Jugong 3 blocks), Gaepo-dong (Useong 3 blocks), Mok-dong (5 blocks), or Apgujeong-dong (Hyundai 3 blocks). I wouldn't be surprised if the upscale Apgujeong moved first, and made the most of these tailor-suited gifts. Nowon seems also ripe, and there's a shortage of big apartments in this former bed town gone middle class. Some apartment blocks will grow taller and more exclusive, others will struggle to find investors. 

What bugs me most is what will happen to the rest of Seoul. This remains a non-zero sum where even winners in the short term can lose in the long run. Giving free reins to private developers could help speculation return to LEE Myung-bak-era levels, and torpedo the nascent efforts to develop a more consistent and sustainable urban planning. 

The risks are well known, and the cases of urban failures across Seoul already well documented. This is the last opportunity to apply a sustainable vision for urbanism in Seoul, and certainly not the moment to let anyone do anything anywhere. 

Good or bad, the years that come will define Seoul's cityscape for good, and local authorities cannot wash their hands of the future of the capital and its citizens.

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* e.g. Korea JoongAng Daily 20140902: "Apartments to be rebuilt sooner" and "Deputy prime minister, mayor talk cooperation"

Seoul's Big Data On Slow Motion

The densest traffic in Seoul? In front of Hongdae on Friday afternoons, according to the data crunched by Seoul (over 2013: 7.6 billion GPS records from part of the taxi fleet)*. It makes sense for a city where Hongdae, Cheonggyecheon, and Namdaemun see the slowest traffic on average, and where Friday is the slowest day (21.6 km/h), but makes me wonder if there's not a bias: in front of Hongik University Station, the right lane is very often blocked by cabs waiting for customers, with their GPS recording non-existing traffic jams... That said, let's cruise on.

Know that overall, Seoul posts a 26.4 km/h average speed: 18.7 km/h downtown (thank you Jung-gu!),  26.6 km/h in the rest of the city, and 59.9 km/h on expressways.

The following maps show averages at the district level, which is much less precise than a map of the main axis. It clearly penalizes tiny "red" Jung-gu: a significant share of its roads are perennial bottlenecks, while the much bigger Gangnam-gu compensates its notorious traffic jams with its vast quiet neighborhoods. At the geographical center of the capital, "Blue" Yongsan proves a rather efficient transportation hub. And if Seongbuk-gu comes as a surprise to you, remember that this district is home to almost half a million Seoulites, and that many Nowonites cross it every day, making circulation even more difficult between the Dongsomun-ro - Bukhansan scissors.

Average speeds per district / Weekdays on secondary roads

Weekdays / Weekend

If you want to follow in real time the traffic along Seoul's main axis, or watch live webcams along the way, visit SPATIC's website:

Seoul metropolitan Police Agency Traffic Information Center - spatic.go.kr

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* see "금요일 오후 홍대입구 가면 `거북이` 된다" (Seoul inews - 20140512)

From Sweet Home to Happy Housing

Remember Bogeumjari ("Sweet Home")? LEE Myung-bak's government decided to bite into Seoul's remaining green sanctuaries to build homes for the underpriviledged - behind the noble alibi, an environmental, urban, economic, and social nonsense (see "Tighten your greenbelt").

"Sweet Home", but Sour Greenbelt: welcome to Bogeumjari Gangnam

The PARK Geun-hye government tries another concept: Haengbok Jutaek ("Happy Housing"). The idea is to improve existing neighborhoods, promote social mixity, and - hopefully - develop a more sustainable story while building 10,000 new units to rent for households in the need.

How to find affordable land on more central areas? By covering railway tracks and reservoir facilities, for instance, like at Oryu-dong Station (Guro-gu), or Gajwa Station (Namgajwa-dong, Seodaemun-gu). It confirms recent declarations about covering railways across Seoul, something the DMC would badly need to improve the urban continuity with Susaek-dong and Eunpyeong-gu.

I don't know how if the "University Student Town" planned over Gajwa Station (Gyeongui Line) will replace or compete with a similar project in Hongje, also in Seodaemun, also targeting students from the 5 nearby universities (see "Along Hongjecheon, my way or the highway"):

Seodaemun University Student Town and other Happy Housing projects ("서대문엔 대학생 타운, 안산엔 외국인 센터 짓는다" - Chosun Ilbo 20130521)

Overall, 6 neighborhoods have been selected in Seoul*, plus one in Ansan, where the story will be about multicultural dialog (in Gojan-dong, Danwon-gu, with a focus on foreign workers). The final list will be confirmed in July, and authorizations signed by the end of the year. Other regions might follow.

Anyway, "Sweet Home" or "Happy Housing", it still doesn't look like a little house on the Seoul prairie...


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* the other 4 are in Garak-dong and Jamsil-dong in Songpa-gu, Gongneung-dong in Nowon-gu, and Mok-dong in Yangcheon-gu

Res2go (Seoul)

Hungry for tasty meat, tired of high end restaurants and ready for good junk, but not in your usual fast food joint? (hang on a sec, I'm drooling right now, just thinking about Burger King's garlic burger - there) How about fusion Japan-Korean-Californian at Res2go?

As the name hints, you can pick up your dose at Res2go, but the place is also very comfortable, particularly at their Itaewon branch, a perfect spot for a power brunch, with its large windows facing West (Noksapyeongdae-ro and Yongsan Army Base). The decor? Hypey / happy design, just retro enough: half sixties for the colors, half nineties for the typo (you know, the cute web sites which made you feel like clicking on every icon?). Pure marketing, of course, but much more comfortable and less aggressive than - say - Golden Arches & Co.

Teriyaki, yakisoba, great LA Galbi, all kinds of meats (beef, pork, chicken, combos, salads), in Californian portions. Taste-and-price-wise, a smarter choice than your usual chain of family restaurant.

Res2go Itaewon / 레스투고 (fusion Japan-Korean-Californian)
Itaewon branch: 559 Itaewon-2-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, ROK
Tel: +82.2.749.9297
Apgujeong branch: 636-9 Shinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, ROK
Tel: +82.2.6080.7543

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Photo: Res2go

Bien Etre (Seoul)

A priori:
- my idea of "bien-etre" ('well being' for us froggies) is certainly not the Dosandae-ro / Yeongdongdae-ro intersection, a pack of tangled highways where Yeongdong Bridge and Olympicdae-ro also meet.
- and when I think "top restaurant", the first image summoned into mind is not one single, tiny room with only 2 basic tables of four, the restrooms in the next building, at the feet of tall appartment blocks next to the above mentioned noodle mess*.

But a posteriori: Bien-Etre fully deserves its name, and it's much more than just a top restaurant.

To start with, I don't mind sharing a tiny room with a Cordon Bleu chef when he's cooking. PARK Min-jae worked with Pierre Gagnaire and ran Le Carre in Apgujeong-dong. Here, the Master is not in some distant kitchen, ruling over an army of assistants: he's preparing every single amuse bouche for you, as if if were for a close relative, and you can experience the finest meal with the full show on the plate (and the palate), but sans the boring decorum that usually comes with it. The ultimate table d'hote for a happy few, a festival from the entrees to the souffle**. Every bite makes some Bien to your Etre.

In Paris, the 'neo-bistro' trend also puts food first under the motto small is beautiful, but this is probably the World's Plus Petit Grand Restaurant.

Needless to say, you have to book in advance for this not so hidden gem (Bien-Etre's reputation already crossed many borders).

Bien Etre / 비앙 에트르 (restaurant)
130 Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, ROK
Tel: +82.2.543.3288

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* I know it sounds a little bit too Dickensian for such an expensive neighborhood (Cheongdam-dong), but come on, there are nicer surroundings in Seoul. And I'm the biased, "Gangbuk" kind of Seoulite (make that "Gangcheon", for 'north of Seoul's original waterway, Cheonggyecheon').
** a la vanille, le souffle. Perfect taste, temperature, and texture. I loved it. But if you want me to melt down, cook me a good souffle au fromage.

Six lanes of traffic

If you want to open a shop in Seoul, the three most expensive places per square meter are Myeongdong, Hongdae, and Daehangno. And if you consider neighborhoods with the highest total value for commercial space, you get the same trio, followed by Gangnam Station (Cheongdam-dong / Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu), Sillim-dong (Gwanak-gu), and Geondae (Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu).

Perennial leader Myeong-dong became a shopping mecca under the Japanese occupation, leveraging massive foot traffic between old and new commercial or financial centers (Namdaemun, Chungmuro, Uljiro...), at the feet of the cathedral. That's where the first neon signs were displayed in Korea, where the National Theater was inaugurated in the mid thirties (it reopened a couple of years ago as Myeongdong Theater), and where students have met for generations, now joined by tourists from all horizons.

Gangnam Station is of course a much more recent hotspot. But not the 'hot' kind of hotspot, even if it is close to key neighborhoods. To start with, the name is some kind of a drag: many images come to you when you hear Apgujeong-dong, Cheongdam-dong, Nonhyeon-dong, or Sinsa-dong,but when you hear Gangnam Station, you don't even see an old-style train stationon - just a subway entrance by a highway intersection. This busy business hub has yet to develop its own soul, an identity beyond a crossroads that happen to be where the Hannam Bridge axis meets Line 2. Yes, that's also where buildings grew taller before the rest of Teheran-ro (except for the COEX), and where the first major netcos gave birth to Teheran Valley. But the first real landmark (Kukkiwon doesn't count) is very recent... and I don't know if the new Samsung headquarters can give more purpose to the area: architecturally, the place could have used more "roundness" and openness. In a nutshell: Gangnam Yeok? a good place for business.

All other members of this Top 6 are university areas, with Hongdae leading the pack, stronger than ever. The brand has gained international recognition, but commercial space is becoming prohibitive for smaller fishes, and they're sometimes driven away to nearby dongs by big franchises. Those guys tend to make all popular areas look the same, and that's not what you want for a trendsetting hotspot boasting the ultimate indie spirit. But as long as Hongik University stays here, the fabled Hongdae spirit shall survive. And traffic is not bound to slow down: Hongdae Ipgu is now connected to both airports via the AREX, new infrastructures will bring Sinchon even closer, and the whole area will get a boost from the downtown-Yongsan-Yeouido-DMC business ring.

Daehangno survived even after Seoul National University moved to the other side of the Han river. Better: the move triggered a revolution that turned the historic birthplace of Korean university* into a cultural hotspot, aspiring venues from yet another university neighborhood, Sinchon. From Sinchon to Daehangno to Hongdae...

... Next stop: Geondae? Probably not. The place probably went up in the rankings following the construction of the Star City complex, just south of the university (not in Mojin-dong but in Jayang-dong). A major real estate operation... and the perfect occasion to fill a void for shoppers in Eastern Seoul.

I'd like to finish with Sillim-dong. Neither for its prestige (as the gateway to Seoul National University, with a strong major in law studies), nor for its less glamour, night birds side of the coin (Nokdu-geori): I have a special affection for the place because of its natural landscape, or rather what's left of it. Take out all those ugly constructions and just keep Dorimcheon serpenting peacefully between the small hills at the foot of Gwanaksan, and potentially you've got one of the city's most charming sceneries. Of course, it's probably too late to save this gem: the stream is already covered with concrete, and the future Shillim New Town already destroyed Wonsi-gil... OK time for me to get off my high horse.

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* That was long before SNU - a relative newcomer -, Sungkyunkwan a.k.a. Taehak (a charming place to visit).

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.

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

Agony and Ecstasy - Pinault collection in Seoul

What a cultural year for France in Korea ! We've seen French musea send key works to Seoul and Daejeon (respectively Musee d'Orsay and Musee d'Art Moderne de Saint-Etienne*), the nation return Oegyujanggak books to their homeland**, and now our top private collector display some of his goods to the Korean public.

Francois Pinault is quite a figure in France, and his rivalry with fellow billionaire Bernard Arnault considerably added to the legend. Both are tough predators and acute businessmen who transformed their fathers companies into global conglomerates, and they've often been fighting on the same turf, starting on the internet with Kertel and Libertysurf, before the masstige carnage between PPR-Gucci and LVMH. But they are diametrically different characters : while the short and rough Pinault claims his earthy roots, cultivates a powerful network of fellow Bretons, and often attends the games of his Rennes Football Club ("his" at the affectionate as well as financial levels), the tall, polished, and distant Arnault positions himself in quasi-royalry circles and points out the piano as its main hobby.

Their rivalry has shifted into the art arena. And if Arnault had more opportunities in his youth, Pinault started his collection much earlier, gaining a strong reputation in contemporary art circles. France totally lost face when he dropped his project in Boulogne Billancourt : initially, his foundation was to land on Ile Seguin, the site of Renault's historic factory on the Seine river (a dramatic landmark signed Tadao Ando), but local authorities erred... and a once in a lifetime opportunity popped up in Venice, where the billionaire snatched Palazzo Grassi before taking over Punta della Dogana (re-enter Ando), dwarfing the Biennale di Venezia from across the Canal Grande. LVMH eventually opted for Bois de Boulogne and serial museum designer Franck Gehry.

After being converted to contemporary art, Pinault became as passionate as Pompidou. The magnate is not just letting his staff signing checks and piling up names in wharehouses the Citizen Kane way*** : he is involved in every purchase, befriending artists, following their progresses... and of course contributing to their own successes (BTW : there is no accounting for taste but personally, I would rather pick Bourgeois, Bacon, and Kiefer than Warhol, Koons, and Twombly).

For the first time, parts of Pinault's treasures are exposed in Seoul : at SongEun ArtSpace until November 19. "Agony and Ecstasy", the classic thanatos / eros thema, is served by the usual bling bling suspects : Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Takashi Murakami, and Cindy Sherman. Why SongEun ArtSpace ? Maybe Pinault felt some sympathy for the late founder Yoo Sung Yeon, an art lover who made his fortune in less glamorous industries.

You want more contemporary art from France ? 80 Jean-Michel Othoniel works will be exhibited at galerie Plateau starting this Thursday. First of its kind, this comprehensive retrospective is also organized by Centre Pompidou, with the benediction of The Institut Francais de Coree du Sud, another eminent resident of this Sungnyemun neighborhood (OK, the IFC is comfy, the Cafe des Arts yummy, and Sungnyemun about to reopen as a fantastic landmark, but I surely miss the old Centre Culturel Francais next to Gyeongbokgung !).

I remember Othoniel's monumental glass necklace, but the artist has obviously investigated many different media, sometimes at a more intimate level. To the point lust is supposed to be dripping from "My Way". If the former Rodin Gallery permanently hosts one of the Gates of Hell, I guess Othoniel aims at inferno's second circle.

"Agony and Ecstasy" - Francois Pinault collection
2011/09/03-11/19
SongEun ArtSpace
Cheongdam-dong 118-2, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea 135-100
Tel +82.2.3448.0100
songeunartspace.org

"My Way" - Jean-Michel Othoniel
2011/09/08-11/27
Galerie Pleateau
Samsung Life Insurance Building 1F, Taepyeongno-2-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, Korea 100-716
Fax +82.2.2259.7799
plateau.or.kr

Institut Francais de Coree du Sud
Woori Building 18F, 10 Bongnae-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, Korea 100-161
Tel +82.2.317.8500
france.or.kr

Seoul Village 2011
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* see "Musee d'Orsay in Seoul", "http://seoulvillage.blogspot.com/2011/05/monet-to-warhol-saint-etienne-daejeon.html"...
** see "Oegyujanggak books returned"
*** or more Isabella Stewart Gardner than Henry Clay Frick, to compare Pinault with turn of the (other) century opulent collectors

In memoriam OH Se-hoon

As Yogi said, it ain't over till it's over. But figures don't look that good for Seoul Mayor OH Se-hoon.

For this doomed school meal referendum*, he needs not only a 50+% majority, but a turnout stronger than 33.3%. Polls confirm a majority of Seoulites agree with him but we're in the middle of the summer and the opposition party called for a boycott of the referendum...

Unsurprisingly, the 33.3% target seems very very unlikely. At 4 PM, participation reached only 19.6% compared to 44.5% for last year's mayoral elections, and 24.2% for the last local elections in April (Jung-gu Commissioner). Final participation for the first ballot was 53.9% (poll stations closed at 6 PM), and 31.4% for the second (open until 8 PM, like today). Worse, the gap is widening between the August 24 and the April 27 ballots : +0.5 at 8 AM, -0.7 at 11 AM, -3.0 at 2 PM, and now -4.6 at 4 PM... The 33.3% target is not even reached yet in GNP strongholds : Seocho-gu and Gangnam-gu barely cross the 25% threshold with respectively 27.6% and 26.9%. A score between 25 and 30% would be honorable but unsufficient.

OH put his job in the balance, and confirmed he wouldn't run for the Presidential elections next year. The man reminds me of ROH Moo-hyun : basically a good person and a potential great president, but not the kind of predators that can rule over Korean politicians.

Miracles can happen, but time is running late.

And whatever happens, OH will bee a free man tonight.

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--- UPDATE 18:00 : participation "jumped" to 22.1%, Seocho and Gangnam now claim 30%+... and with office workers flocking to the polls, is a surprise like last year's last minute victory still possible ? ---

--- UPDATE 20:40 : final score ? Honorable (25.5%) but too low. If OH made some mistakes and compromises, he put Seoul on the world map and on the right track. I wish him well, and I hope for Seoul his successor can keep the same positive trend. ---

* see previous episodes, including "Seoul free school lunch referendum (continued)"

Climate Change in Korea

After a two day break, monsoon is back. But the monsoon season is supposed to be over, and those record breaking downpours that are drowning Korea and killing dozens raise again the issue of climate change.

In this country, everything moves 빨리 빨리. Even the weather. Korea has already experienced dramatic changes over the past 100 years : average temperatures have gained 1.8 degrees celcius, winters are 2 to 3 weeks shorter and summers 2 to 3 weeks longer, Jeju-do has become a semi-tropical island, and extreme years have multiplied since 1991.

Over the past 20 years, I did experience extreme episodes firsthand, mostly typhoons or flash floods transforming streets into rapids*, or the staircases of a downtown subway station into mini-Niagara falls. But I never saw the Hangang completely frozen, except on pictures from the 50s. And I've had my share of fantastic years with mild winters and pleasant summers.

We already knew Korea was at some kind of frontier, and thus more likely to major changes : if Vladivostock is not far away, its harbor is often caught in ice during the winter, unlike those of the whole peninsula (even if the North, more mountainous, usually faces tougher winters than the South). That's one of the reasons why the federation invested in the Rajin-Sonbong Economic Special Zone in North Korea (Rason / Raseon logistic hub).

Ironically, as they pressed for more food relief, Pyeongyang propagandists forged just a few days ago a photo showing floods that didn't exist... Photoshop doesn't seem that necessary now. Images from the South are also hard to believe, but they are unfortunately true : the tragic landslides in Chuncheon or Umyeongsan**, cars crushed or drowned like toys...

Water's power of destruction showed no mercy for such wealthy areas as Daechi-dong (Gangnam-gu) or Bangbae-dong (Seocho-gu), but miraculously spared Seoul's fragile "moon villages" (generally close to mountain tops). Among the Umyeong-dong victims of the landslide, the wife of Shinsegae's chairman died in her own cellar. And another mudslide hit Ihwajang, the former home of President Syngman Rhee in Hyehwa-dong. Mobile networks went down at the heart of Gangnam, home to the new Samsung HQs and Teheran-ro start ups.

The powers that be have all been humbled and forced to reconsider their scenarii, up to the plans they had updated last year. Seoul and Korea will adapt once more, and one can hope today's tragedies will foster positive changes in urbanism and environment.

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* like last Chuseok (see "Chusoaked"), or my wet dog moment in 2008 (see "open air pool")
** Seoul Arts Center was hit, but Cezanne & co ("Musee d'Orsay in Seoul") are safe, but there too, many people died.

A Dream Bridge to nowhere?

According to DongA Ilbo ("Building a landmark pedestrian bridge" - 20110720), Seoul authorities want to link Apgujeong with Seoul Forest via a new pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the Han river.

Seongsu-dong (Seongdong-gu) and Apgujeong-dong (Gangnam-gu) are already connected through the Seongsu Bridge, but this doomed structure (it collapsed in 1994) was rebuilt at a time when humans and bicycles were not priorities. Hangang riversides have since grown parks and bike lanes, and prolonging the Jungnangcheon riversides to the South makes sense... but the operation looks like yet another gift from City Hall to Gangnam speculators.

Apgujeong marked the triumph of the 'apateu' model: the Park Chung-hee government partly sponsored the moving of part of the country's elite to the newly erected apartment blocks fourty years ago, and all of a sudden the general public, unaware of the trick, reconsidered apartment blocks as a symbol of success. Before, people saw them as soulless dwellings for the masses. The trick also radically changed the image of Gangnam, a land recently claimed over rice paddies that Gangbuk elites despised. After that, all 'nouveaux riches' started to migrate South, and all Seoulites to embrace the 'apateu' system.

Even now, Apgujeong-dong remains the epitome of Gangnam bling. Commoners, who already found it hard to swallow that these blocks had more or less privatized the accesses to Hangang riversides, reacted vehemently when the city authorized the replacement of this old generation of apartments with 50-story-high blocks (the only way owners could expect fat profits from the sale of their already bubble-blown properties). Now this: a KRW 100 bn bridge financed 50% by the city and 50% by the same local residents?

I don't see this "Dream Bridge" being built, unless there's a radical change in Apgujeong-dong redevelopment plans:
- covering Olympic Expressway
- opening the new and improved waterfront to bikes and pedestrians from all sides
- public infrastructures and mixed use of land instead of a high end residential ghetto

More likely, Seoul will find a compromise and ask for big concessions from land owners if they want to grow higher than 30 stories.

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3 subway lines projects revived ?

Private developers keep lobbying in favor of three subway projects that could be delivered by 2017.

POSCO Engineering & Construction wants to revive the old project of backbone between the capital's Northern and Southern centers : this 11.47 km line between Gyeongbokgung Station (Line 3) and Gangnam Station (Line 2) would pass by Gwanghwamun Station (Line 5), City Hall (Lines 1 and 2), Sinhannam Station, Nonhyeon Station (Line 7), and Sinbanpo Station (Line 9). The line would not connect with Line 6 even if, judging by the map, I would pass not far from Hangangjin Station. I guess they plan to dig much deeper under Namsan : the Sinhannam Station is down the valley, closer to Hannam Bridge and Hannam New Town. It doesn't look connected with Hannam Station (Jungang Line).

We've already mentioned* the second project. Led by Doosan Construction, it would link Yongsan with Gangnam (7.49 km), and ultimately the new Bundang Line (Sinbundang line, 18.5 km : Gangnam, Yangjae, Poi, Cheonggye, Pangyo, Jeongja). The stations would be Yongsan (Lines 1 and 4), Ichon / National Museum, Dongbingo, Sinsa (Line 3), Nonhyeon (Line 7), Sinnonhyeon (line 9), and Gangnam. But should the other project fly, a connection could be made at Sinhannam, and the connection at Sinsa could be dropped.

The third project ? Posco's Plan B would combine the Gangnam-Sinhannam section of the first project with a Gwanghwamun - Yongsan line (8 stations overall).

All projects have in common a relatively low number of new stations. The idea is more to connect major existing hubs. A Gyeongbokgung-Gangnam-Bundang axis would probably become Seoul's biggest vertical backbone, saving time but also sucking traffic from other lines, which are not operated by the same companies : Korail manages lines 1 to 4, Seoul Metro lines 5 to 8, Veolia Transport line 9. Neeless to say, promoters of the Sinbundang line, Bundang, Pangyo, or Hannam landowners, not to mention Samsung, headquartered at Gangnam Station, would love to prolong it towards the other side of Han river and the city center, mirroring the Bundang Line prolongation from Seollung towards Seongdong-gu, further to the East.

I hope these projects are not in the balance with actual priorities : all the Seoul neighborhoods that remain out of the grid. But should this Gyeongbokgung-Gangnam be built, I'd rather go for a fourth project :
- The Gyeongbokgung-Gwanghwamun-City hall axis is very relevant and actually follows the country's most defining line : Sejongdaero. Furthermore, downtown's grid lacks a vertical line West of Line 3 (which also connects lines 1 to 5 within 3 consecutive stations : Jongno-3-ga, Uljiro-3-ga, Chungmuro). So I'd keep this vital section.
- From City Hall, I would not try to reach Yongsan Station. I know the Yongsan IBD project needs to be better interfaced with the rest of the city, but if a new subway line were to cross the river, it'd better fill some gaps in the network rather than double existing lines.
- A new vertical line South of Namsan between Lines 3 and 4 makes perfect sense. But if you want to reach Gangnam, connections must be made with all the lines you cross on the way : Jungang Line (at Hannam / Sinhannam), Line 3 (at Sinsa), and Line 6.
- Preferably, new stations should be added in the process. But promoters are selling shorter connections between Gangnam and Downtown, and each stop adds an average 2 mn (not to mention significant increases in CAPEX and OPEX). My minimum scenario (straight line) : City Hall/Hangangjin/Hannam. My maximum scenario (curve) : City Hall / Huam-dong / Noksapyeong / Yongsan Park (now Yongsan Army Base, which is bound to move after 2017) / Dongbingo-dong or Bogwang-dong / Hannam.

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* see "Yongsan-Gangnam-Bundang subway completed in 2017"

Seoul International Book Fair

Organized by the Korean Publishers Association, the 17th Seoul International Book Fair will start next week at the COEX, featuring over 570 companies from 23 countries, and sub-exhibitions on the Tripitaka Koreana (for its 1000th anniversary*), Korean writers of 100 years ago, pop-up books, e-books (e-Square)...

Korean literature suffers from a destructive educational system that makes reading a luxury for young minds, which explains the success or more 'operational' genres. But the country enjoys a strong tradition in poetry, and some talents are claiming international recognition (see Shin Kyung-sook's "Please Look After Mom").


And who knows ? Korea could even become a destination for foreign authors : after a recent lecture at Seoul Art Space Yeonhui, 2008 Nobel Prize for Literature JMG Le Clezio Reasons seriously considers staying in that writers residence for a future project.

SIBF - 2011 Seoul International Book Fair
When: June 15-19, 2011 (first day only for pros)
Where: COEX, 159 Samseong-dong, Seoul, KOR 135-731 (Hall A and B)
More details: sibf.or.kr

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* see "Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon" and last year's "International Archival Culture Exhibition"

---
20110610 UPDATE

Also : UN/LIMITED EDITION VOL.3, a fair devoted to independent publishing, is organised at PLATOON KUNSTHALLE (Nonhyeon-dong 97-22, Gangnam-gu), Friday, June 17 at 1:00pm - June 18 at 11:00pm). And "this year, the program will dig deeper into the creative network surrounding this culture including films, talks and music."
unlimited-edition.org

Seoul Global Business Networking Event 2011

Last October, the first Seoul Global Business Networking Event drew crowds to Jongno-gu (see "SGBSC + KBC : small business & big party"). On June 17, Gangnam will be the spot to meet and to update each other for business networkers.

Speaking of which, the organizers themselves keep rocking pretty well :
- the Seoul Global Center prepares for September a second global business support center in Yeouido, after the first SGBSC (COEX - Gangnam) - and of course its future HQ for next year (see ""Global cluster building" in Seorin-dong"). Furthermore, certified alumnis of the SGC Business Start Up School (BSS) can now benefit from the Seoul City SME Promotion Fund to obtain official credit guaranteees from Seoul Metropolitan Government (ask SGC business services - SGBSC for further details).
- KBC is now claiming almost 1300 members, including a growing number of Europe- based people considering their first networking event.

What : Seoul Global Business Networking Event - "An Evening for International Entrepreneurship"Who : hosted by the SGBSC & KBC
. Seoul Global Business Support Center (SGBSC) : global.seoul.go.kr/bizsupport. Korea Business Central (KBC) : koreabusinesscentral.comWhen : June 17, 2011 from 6pm to 10pm
Where : The Be-Hive Gallery & Business Venue
(Cheongdam-dong 78-5, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 135-100 / 02-3446-3713 / artbehive.com)
More details, how to register : to be announced soon on (KBC's event page)

Seoul Village 2011


* SGC : global.seoul.go.kr

---
UPDATE 201105

Event logo (see above), and registration link : http://www.koreabusinesscentral.com/page/registration-form-for-the

Gangnam rule bended

A couple of years ago in Seoul, two thirds of rich dwellings (over 10 eok or KRW 1 bn) were located in Gangnam-gu. This proportion has now fallen below one fourth.

The main reason is the multiplication of new high end apartment complexes in other districts, and the relative deflation of the Gangnam property bubble. So long for the sometimes insane Gangnam exception.

But many rich Gangnamians (Gangnamites ?) have also migrated to other places, with a revival of Gangbuk and historically wealthy neighborhoods like Yongsan. The town house dream is drawing legions back to traditional residential areas, sometimes through expensive redevelopments (ie Seongbuk Gate Hills in Seongbuk-dong, Hannam The Hill in Hannam-dong...), more often through progressive gentrification.

More hype restaurants and selective retailers are opening or planned North of the river, and it's striking to see the young Korean elite roam East Itaewon-dong on week ends - more schizophrenic than ever, the neighborhood remains an international hub in its Western half -, with a Northern Garosu-gil under way. The cultural revolution started a few years ago with the Leeum, but as far as actual culture is concerned, Jongno-gu remains the bourgeois boheme mecca (ie Samcheong-dong, Seochon).

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Yangmiok (Seoul)

Looking for five star tripes ? Head for Yangmiok, maybe the best gopchang in town. Or maybe I should write "daechang" because their speciality, beyond lamb, is large intestine.

Not very glamorous I know, but as a French citizen in Seoul, I'm often longing for a perfectly grilled AAAAA andouillette, and grilled tripes are the best alternative to that. Back home I wasn't a great fan since we Frogs prefer our tripes wet and soaked in sauce (for instance a la mode de Caen)... not my cup of tea*. In Korea, charcoal grill is the main option and at Yangmiok's, you can have a beef-lamb combo and alternate between really greasy parts and drier ones, and they taste so delicious you don't realize your own stomach is full until you've surpassed its limits.

Not very poetic I now, but this is not about poetry, even if at this stage, one should consider gopchang as art.

As far as the veggie alibi goes, you've got a very nice tofu/herb banchan, salad, and a quite decent ugeoji (우거지) doenjang jjigae which you can sit on the grill to make it boil on charcoal.

And on a lighter note, you finish with the finest nurungji (누룽지) I ever tasted. That's the simple scorched rice in boiling water.


YANGMIOK (restaurant)
Uljiro branch: 161 Euljiro 3-ga, Jung-gu, SEOUL, KOREA
Tel +82.2.2275.8838
COEX branch: 153-55, Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, SEOUL, KOREA
Tel +82.2.565.8836


Seoul Village 2011

* attn my English friends: that's a figure of speech - I wouldn't dare comparing your national beverage to such a vulgar dish.

Saint Patrick’s Festival Seoul

Hooleying, gaelic football, music, dance, beer, and a sea of green ? That's La Fheile Padraig, aka Saint Patrick Day, or the annual celebration of the patron saint of Ireland, every March 17.

The 11th Saint Patrick’s Festival in Seoul waited for today (March 19) because it's a Saturday, thousands of people will join, and the night can be long.

Kick off at 11:30 in Insadong - closing time 5 PM, but holleys will be held later at JR Bar for Itaewon and Dublin Terrace for Gangnam.

Check the schedule for Insadong and Gangnam on the Irish Association of Korea's website (iak.co.kr) : http://www.iak.co.kr/event/event.php?vm=vie&idx=75.

Spraoi a bheith agat !

Seoul Village 2011