Gyeongui Line Forest Trail - An Urban Lifeline

Recent news confirmed my hopes and fears regarding the new park stretching along Gyeongui Line (see "Busan Corner on Taxi-daero").

Don't worry, this is not another post about subway line extensions (even I grew tired of them!), but about the forest trail planted over the southern branch of the Gyeongui Line, the 107-year-old railway that used to connect Seoul with Pyongyang. Seoul city just announced that the 6.3 km-long linear park between Hongjecheon and Munbae-dong would be completed by the end of 2014.




Overall, 6.3 km via Hongdae, Seogang, Gongdeok, and Hyochang stations

Nowadays, what you see in the unfinished sections often looks a bit like this...

... but ultimately, we shall see this thin "coulee verte" from above:

• Here, we're at the beginning of the park, where the Gyeongui Line splits in two (after Gajwa Station): aboveground along Seongsan-ro towards Seoul Station, underground along Yeonnam-ro towards Yongsan Station. You can clearly see at the top of the picture the elevated Naebu Expressway covering Hongjecheon (about that, see "Along Hongjecheon, my way or the highway"), and the hills of Yeonhui-dong's Gungdong Park. The park cuts through Yeonnam-dong, with Gyeongseong school to the left:

Gyeongui Line forest trail at Yeonnam-dong

• Now we're at the other end of the park, or rather the head of the dragon ("yong"), in Yongsan-gu. Actually, the street that passes between two apartment blocks on the bottom right of this picture separates Mapo-gu from Yongsan-gu. The main avenue bordering the park is now Baekbom-ro, here between Gongdeok and Hyochang stations. Note that Gyeongui Line's Hyochang and Yongsan stations will also open next year.

Some sections of the park have already been inaugurated, but it takes time for the vegetation to grow, and there are not many places to seat in the shade. So the 1.310 m-long initial stretch (Yeonnam-Hongdae) is not very crowded during daytime. Lined with cherry trees, the 630 m-long section between Sogang and Gongdok stations, not far from Sogang University, looks more welcoming and decorated for the moment... but 'sullae-gil' style (expect a lot of signs and storytelling).

For the moment, the most exciting parts may be around Wau Bridge / Wausan / Donggyo-dong / Changjeon-dong, precisely because they have not been fully 'edited' yet. Don't get there if you're the Cheongdam-dong kind of Seoulite.

• Once you've passed the airport line exits, you can enjoy some really creative graffitis along the fences (unfortunately, also less enjoyable and creative tags on private homes):

Walls have eyes too. #Graffiti near #Hongdae, #Seoul
pic.twitter.com/MmPfp1MNPM - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/347677211379261441

• On the other side of Wau Bridge lies a very unique Hongdae neighborhood. Of course it's evolving very quickly, but not as quickly as the rest of Hongdae: here, time seems more suspended. Like in Kim Jin-hwan's cult bakery, where you must not expect bread to be available every time you pass by. Like in these tiny houses, in front of which old timers wash their baechu for the gimchi. Like in this lost field, by the small street that crosses the path of the Gyeongui Line, where Seoul city grows the flowers that will decorate less forsaken neighborhood:

The #Gyeongui line near #Hongdae. Here, flowers are grown for the rest of #Seoul
pic.twitter.com/95E2AkeViY - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/347676715432161281

What will it look like one year, two years from now? Probably sanitized, gentrified. Hopefully more open to other neighborhoods, and full of life, kids, and bicycles. I come there on bicycle, but both sides are hilly and that's not very convenient. On the other hand and as you can see, the path of the covered line is very flat, so once the trail is opened, people can join from far away, breeze from one neighborhood to the other. Life will completely change for people who are used to live in the middle of nowhere. 

If my wishes have been fulfilled, so have my fears of seeing more soulful parts of Seoul disappear. As expected, my Busan Corner is closed, and my "Taxi-daero" is already starting to morph into something different. I'm mourning that beautiful Chinese restaurant on Baekbom-ro, next to Hyochang Park Station; an exceptional building, and an architectural heritage that would have added something very special to the trail...

But don't get me wrong. Above all else, Seoul is reclaiming wastelands and barren areas for the enjoyment of all its citizens, and that's fantastic. Just like for Cheonggyecheon or Gwanghwamun Plaza, planners won't get it right from day one, and they'll have to fix bugs that could have been avoided in the first place, but Seoulites will come to love a place they didn't know existed.

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

Add this page to your favorites

Sungwoo Barbershop, Malli-dong Market

Nice surprise this morning in the Korea JoongAng Daily : an article* about Seoul's cutest barbershop, Sungwoo Iyongwon.

I can't help but take a few pictures each time I pass by this incredible building : a two century old house with a stone stoop and wooden frames that obviously invite drafts in more than it keeps them out. The structure always seems on the verge of collapsing but in a smiling way, not menacing at all.
This is typically the kind of landmarks that ought to be protected but may soon disappear. A massive redevelopment is under way on this hilly area behind Seoul Station, and I visited Seogye-dong / Cheongpa-dong several times before the evacuation. Towards the end, only a few workshops with illegal foreign workers subsided before moving to another cheap destination, the sound of their sewing machines breaking the grey silence. Always this weird feeling of walking through a ghost town.

Even if Sungwoo barbershop is on the other side of this hill's thin backbone, Manlishijang-gil**, it doesn't mean that it will be spared : it's already surrounded by modern "villas", and very close to a street which I'm afraid shall be enlarged sooner or later, particularly near Manli Market, where it draws a charming curve.

Here, at the top of the triangle drawn between Seoul Station, Gongdeok Station and Samgakji Station, three gus converge : Mapo-gu to the West, Jung-gu to the North, and Yongsan-gu to the South. The full name of the market is Manli-dong Market, but it lies in Yongsan-gu and Manli-dong in Mapo-gu (on the other side of Manlijae-gil - which I guess must now be named Manlijaero). The barbershop itself may sit in a Mapo-gu enclave that includes part of the street.

Privately owned, Manli-dong Market will soon be destroyed and replaced - if it's not already been done ; I haven't been there for over a year. That's a rather depressing and ugly two level concrete bar, but from the second floor you have a very picturesque view on this lively street with ajumas chatting and preparing vegetables and once again, the curve and slope of the street create a unique setting. On the other side of the building, you still can (could ?) see a few hanoks, including a quite big one with fine wooden carvings, but also with a roof in very poor shape.

I'm glad a national newspaper decided to publish a focus on this foresaken place and on the people who keep it alive. Sungwoo's hairdresser is already 62, and he can't save this small Seoul village all by himself.

Seoul Village 2011

* "A barbershop that's a cut above the rest"
** The first time I passed by Sungwoo Iyongsil, I came all the way down Manlishijang-gil from Hyochang Park, a destination by itself with Kim Gu / Baekbeom's tomb or Hyochang Stadium (Hyochang Park Station - Line 6).