Hoehyeon Apt, Chungjeong Apt, Dongdaemun Apt, Ogin Apt...

They are touchingly ugly, and sometimes dangerous, but we can't help loving them.

They? Seoul's venerable apartment blocks of the first generation, survivors from the sixties.

I just followed Robert Fouser's link to an article* on modern architectural heritage in Seoul, mentioning Dongdaemun Apt (Changsin-dong, Jongno-gu) and illustrated with a mugshot of my beloved "Hulk Building" (Chungjeong Apt, Chungjeongno, Seodaemun-gu). Immediately resurfaced vivid memories of the amazing Hoehyeon Apt (Hoehyeon-dong, Jung-gu) and of other more or less hidden gems.

Chungjeong Apt is certainly not hiding. You can't miss this cult green thing between Chungjeongno Station and K1 REIT Building, with its metal staircase hanging from its temple like a stray lock of dirty hair (what "Hulk" is hiding is the French Embassy, from which the tall trees emerge in the back):
 

Some of these old timers have been unplugged, most recently Ogin Apt (Ogin-dong, Jongno-gu), at the feet of Inwangsan. And I can't remember the name of that other block, next to the Hyatt, that was wiped out at about the same time as the former Japanese Governor General Building**, but I visited friends there at least once a week, and there were still the small signs preventing people from taking pictures from the windows (to spy Yongsan Garrison?)...

My all time fave remains Hoehyeon Apt, on the other side of Namsan. I even wrote a fiction about it. That place is simply bewitching, and if I were a photographer or a filmmaker I'd probably spend years haunting it. Before being eaten alive by it.

Straight from a cartoon by Miyazaki Hayao on antidepressants (or straight from a M.C. Escher nightmare), the derelict structure somehow manage to hang from Namsan, anchored by scrawny staircases themselves on the verge of collapse. At its inception a model for Korean collective housing, Hoehyeon Apt is an insult to today's standard of living, and was even declared hazardous a couple of years ago.

Hoehyeon Apartment at its brightest

 

Hoehyeon Apartment - Namsan side

 

Hopefully, the 'vintage' spirit that has been on Seoul air for a a decade has helped Seoulites reconsider these time capsules, a spectacular and shameful part of their heritage.

Seoul Village 2013
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* "서울서 가장 오래된 충정 아파트, 근현대 문화유산 '보류'" (thanks for the link!)
** then the National Museum of Korea. I'm glad both structures are gone now.

Kalguksu alley and Gamegol mandu (Namdaemun market)

Say you're at Hoehyeon Station and you want to enjoy a quick, power lunch in an animated place, but you don't have time to go through all the alleys of Namdaemun Market. I suggest a couple of mandu at Gamegol to tame your hunger, and an express full course in Kalguksu alley to fill you up.

Take the entrance at exit 6 and about twenty meters to your left, you'll see Gamegol's yellow sign. There's no place to sit inside but a busy team preparing the dumplings, check this video out :



Gamegol proposes two main varieties of dumplings for pick-up : meat and spicy. I like hot stuff but the latter doesn't have anything special. On the other hand, the meat mandu, always a classic, tastes just perfect. Their medium size makes them an ideal snack on the go : king mandu are usually big and inconvenient, a challenge when you're walking across a busy market. Furthermore, with a giant dumpling, not every bite has the right skin / filling mix, and the temperature can't be even all the way (even for I, ever the voracious wolf).

Now move back a few meters towards the market gate. To your right (same side as Gamegol), a kalguksu place signals the narrow entrance to Namdaemun's famous kalguksu alley (in Korean Namdaemun Kalguksu Golmok / 남대문칼국수골목).

Like in Gwangjang Market with gimbap (see "(Gimbap) Drug Wars in Gwangjang Market"), a me-too war is raging in this short covered corridor where a dozen mini restaurants propose basically all the same menu for the same price (around KRW 4,000).

That's good marketing : competitors don't fight on price or on quality because in the end all players would lose money, and they don't make much to start with. So all noodle soups have the same ingredients, which are transparently exposed for every visitor to see. The actual battle lies at the "seobiseu" level : the "service" goodies offered in the package (here a soup, there an extra naengmyeon...). Tenants bark at you from all directions to nail you on their table. Even when all stools are occupied and a second row of customers is waiting. It's part of the game.

I opted for the furthest afield to the left, Seoul Jib. They propose a choice between different dishes, but eventually you eat all of them : a full portion for the main one, three smaller yet significant portions for all others. I majored in bori bibimbap (barley), and enjoyed the kalguksu / soup / naengmyeon combo. They call themselves "Seoul House" but the cooks are from countryside Gyeongsangdo. Simple, delicious, fulfilling food for only 3 euros / 4 bucks (KRW 4,500) !

As you can see, this short alley is relatively quiet but still busy long after rush hour (video taken around 14:15 PM):



Gamegol son wangmandu / 가메골 손 왕만두 (mandu)
Namdaemun Market - Tel +82.2.755.2569
Seoul Jib / 서울집 (kalguksu)
Namdaemun Market kalguksu alley

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No Parking

Yesterday, Korea's National Police Agency made the headlines for the wrong reasons :
- first, it was named the most corrupt central administration (with a score of 7.48/10, the best possible score being 10)
- second, it wants to allow free parking in all cities on Sundays and holidays in all roads except in "absolutely banned areas"* (crossroads, bus stops...).

Someone should tell them people are gathering in Copenhagen these days, trying to find ways of curbing the use of private cars, that all major cities including Seoul pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, that all major tourist destinations want to substitute cars with public transportation. Actually, parking fees have increased recently to deter people from using their car in the city !

Meanwhile, the police has "opened" 55 areas to parking in July 2009, the number reached 470 in October and may explode in the near future should this urban management heresy continue.

The measure is popular because citizens complain about the lack of parking spaces. But that's not the correct answer : there is a lack of solutions, alternatives and connectivity. Instead of inviting more cars on the streets, Korean cities should invest in peripheral underground parkings connected with public transportation hubs. And like in Paris, most areas should have a public underground parking serving both the local community and visitors. In that city, street parking spots are being suppressed, replaced with Velib' bike racks, bike lanes and trams. There is a lack of concertation and much can be said about the way things are being done, but at least they're trying something.

Of course, the streets of Paris are more suitable for pedestrians, who can easily hop from one place to another. But Seoul has very much improved the pedestrian experience recently, suppressing overpasses, redesigning streets, adding pedestrian crossings... take Hoehyeon Sagori, for instance : as we saw recently ("Ranju Ramien"), this crossroads which used to be only reserved to cars has been completely adapted to pedestrians, who now walk seamlessly and pleasantly between Shinsegae and Myeongdong. The shopping experience is changing as well. By the way : why is Myeong-dong so popular ? Because you don't see any cars, and shoppers own the street. They don't have to take a car to go from one shop to another.

While I'm at it : Seoul is considering a special parking for tourist coaches near Gyeongbokgung and that's a good thing to remove them from the streets, but new regulations should be implemented so that buses and coaches are, like in other capitals, fined when they park with their motors on (ie for air con or heating purposes). Of course, such parkings should have a place for bus drivers to rest comfortably instead of becoming a nuisance.

Once again, focusing on "parking problems" in Seoul will only lead to wrong answers : we should be working more comprehensively on making life better and simpler for everyone, and sound decisions will follow.

Seoul Village 2009



* "More free parking in cities being considered" (JoongAng Ilbo 20091210)

Ranju Ramien (Seoul)

Yes, your Honor, I came for a snack and eventually had a 5 p.m. dinner. But in my defense :

1. An excellent location, particularly after the removal of Hoehyeon Overpass (one more key downtown area claimed by pedestrians) : almost at the crossroad (Hoehyeon Sagori), opposite Shinsegae, on the way to Myeongdong and the Post headquarters.

2. Good food from a Chinese chef : knife-cut noodles (도삭면 - between sujebi and thick, large, uneven tagliatelle) in a soup (seafood, spicy...), gimchi boribap, bossam, buchu mandu, kalguksu...

3. Kind prices and super-kind service.

Do I feel guilty ? No, your Honor. Who would under such circumstances ?

Will I pledge never to commit this crime again ? Not recidivating would be a crime, your Honor.

Seoul Village 2009

Ranju Ramien / 란주라미엔 (restaurant)
1F, 25-9 Chungmuro-1ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, ROK
Tel : +82.779.4800

Hoehyeon-dong overpass passed away

Another overpass is being removed in Seoul. As scheduled, the Hoehyeon Sagori concrete structure will disappear, liberating the view on Namsan Tower from the North.

This crossroads is often saturated : it cuts Toegyero at the exit of Namsan's 3rd Tunnel towards City Hall, right in front of Shinsegae, between Myeongdong and Namdaemun market.

The area is getting more residential, with 3 housing complexes nearing delivery : a SK Leaders View opposite the Department Store, a Lotte Castle behind Woori Bank building, and a Ssangyong Platinum next to LG CNS (Ssangyong is also growing an office building on the other side of that tower).

I won't say I'll miss the old Hoehyeon-dong, except for that quiet place guarded by a gigantic gingko tree. The crossroad area may become human friendlier, provided pedestrians are offered better and safer paths above ground. Under it, there's always that old shopping area if you're into corny paintings, vintage LPs, or stamp collections.

Without this overpass, more people may notice the proximity with the mountain in an otherwise green-free area. To make the invitation even more obvious, a small funicular was opened a few months ago, connecting the street with Namsan cable cars, higher on the hill.

I'm afraid it will take bigger investments in public transportation to compensate for the overpass and the flocks of new residents.

I think it would make sense to establish future connections with Yongsan-gu, particularly towards poorly served but soon to be redevelopped Huam-dong.