Business as usual

As usual in Seoul, real estate and urbanism are never far from the headlines, but let's skip topical stuff and limit to mere footnotes recent controversies (this Seoul city erection in front of Jongmyo*? that measure from the national government**?).

Let's talk shop. 

You see in with those 'for rent' signs, you measure it with the speed at which new stores tend to close: small businesses are really feeling the pinch***. Part of it is conjunctural - the Korean economy as a whole is struggling, and demographics don't bode well for the future. Part of it is structural - more than COVID, the labor reforms that preceded changed fundamentally the street experience for Seoulites: used to a city that never slept, they're now coping with last orders at 9 pm or restaurants closing for dinner altogether.

And of course, more and more Koreans are now ordering everything online. Not just these GenZ who don't cook and limit their IRL shopping experiences to retailtainment or browsing Seongsu-dong's pop-up streets like their parents did with fashion magazines. Yes, Seoul's last mile equation is not sustainable (and as much as I appreciate last minute, early morning, ultra fresh deliveries, I'm glad their social costs are being investigated), but the trend is global, and all cities have to adapt.

It's harder to adapt when the urban hardware is obsolete. 

You're less inclined to contribute to your neighborhood's vitality when 'proximity' shops and services are not so close and in Seoul, apartment blocks tend to cut citizens from their city.

In the old gen 'apateu' blocks, a building devoted to businesses was generally included near the main entrance, sometimes in secondary entrances. This 'open ring' was seldom complete, but everybody walked or drove by these shops every day, particularly since few parking spaces were underground. These businesses belonged to the community.

Some housing complexes are more blended with their surroundings, their edges consisting of mixed use buildings. Even if there's less often greenery to compensate****, pedestrians enjoy (functionally speaking) a better street experience from the outside (urban continuity, diversity...). On the other hand, the inside may seem more exclusive. 

By nature mixed use buildings, officetels usually include shops and services. But when those take too big a share residents can easily feel overwhelmed. Many exclusive, high rise projects with only a couple of buildings have a mall on the lower floors, a 'vertical buffer' that's de facto a separate building with a devoted parking to preserve the residents' quality of life. But then, since it takes anyway 10 mn to leave your luxurious apartment and reach an entrance that's far from everything, many prefer to take their car and shop elsewhere, and this vertical city can turn into a tale of two cities. 

Another tricky model is what I call the 'captive cluster'; very common in greenfield 'new towns' across the capital region and around major cities. In the middle (in best cases) or at the edge (too often) of a group of apateu blocks that can involve different developer brands, urban planners insert a low rise block of mixed use buildings with all the shops and services on the ground floor. Some can be relatively well done, making the best of what's left of a natural landscape (e.g. waterways), and you can almost enjoy a village atmosphere that changes from the dull tombstone collections around, particularly since each lot owner build their own. But too often these clusters fail because there are not enough candidates to open shop*****, or because they've been poorly designed. 

Instead of an open grid, some of these clusters (particularly recent ones) propose only one or two car entrances and force visitors into a full round along a conveyor belt before exiting. On purpose, like a journey in an Ikea store makes you browse the whole catalogue. Except people move by car because these new towns are humongous, and the streets and parking spaces are seldom as entertaining, well drawn, and planned. Sometimes, these clusters are even split into two independent halves that don't communicate directly. And this 'captiveness' is actually a sales argument to recruit new businesses... Needless to say, not very sustainable.

 

If Seoul's 'MOA Town' concept signaled an evolution from massive tabula rasa to partial redevelopment, allowing more diverse cityscapes and ecosystems (see "From Human Town to Gather Town"), the market remains dominated by big projects, New Towns that obliterate real cities. 

It's not its big blocks but its remaining villages that make Seoul special. If we neuter them, if we destroy diversity, city centers will die. If we do nothing they'll die out, even if a few local markets miraculously manage to thrive and warm up whole neighborhoods.

I've been advocating pragmatic approaches to revive decaying city centers. They all involve bringing back inhabitants, even if that means designing exceptions to the rules, for example by allowing mixed uses in low rise business areas, or small scale revamps that involve shared facilities or obligations (e.g. elevators, parking spaces). Some may be implemented, stay tuned.

Seoul Village 2025
Welcome to our Korean Errlines! Follow Seoul Village on Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, Substack, and X/Twitter, follow me on Instagram.
Download 'Seoul VillageS', the free ebook.

* ICYMI Seoul city decided to replace Sewoon Sangga with a park between Jongmyo and Namsan, but also to 'compensate' by allowing much taller buildings in the vicinity, which of course doesn't fit preservation or UNESCO Heritage guidelines:

 

Adieu #SewoonSangga. #Seoul to replace #KimSwoogeun landmark with a park between #Jongmyo & #Namsan. But bdg heights raised to 71.9m on #Jongro (+16.9) & 141.9m on #Cheonggyecheon (+43.2). Will #UNESCO accept? #세운상가 #urbanism (20251104 SeoulVillage on X)

** ICYMI the government extended Seoul's speculative zone from the 3 usual districts (Gangnam, Songpa, Seocho) to the whole city, which resulted in a freeze in transactions (except in the 3 districts that became relatively more attractive), and a hike in rental costs. Like previous reforms, the aim seems to be crushing further the middle class and making first purchases impossible (the guy in charge of the reforms was driven by his idea that first time homeowners tended to vote more conservative)....

*** Big players are not spared, but if HomePlus will yet again change hands (Carrefour, HomeEver, Tesco... WhatEver?), its financial trouble have a lot to do with MBK Partners' disastrous management.

**** Wangsimni New Town's Majang-ro 19-gil sets a better example with dense trees on both sides,  

***** yes, these new towns also include new schools, so it's not just dwellings that are in oversupply nationwide
 

Seun Sangga back on the (road)map

Last August, I didn't feel very optimistic about Seun Sangga's regeneration plans. KIM Swoo-geun's cruise liner of a landmark didn't look like a priority for Seoul authorities, who seemed to focus exclusively on the more controversial Seoul Station 7017 project*.

The competition for Seun Sangga had been won a few weeks earlier by a local team (Architect KIM Taek-bin, Pr. CHANG Yong Soon from Hongik University, Pr. LEE Sang-koo from Gyeonggi University) with a 'Modern Vernacular' concept that included boxes along the deck, and a slope on the Jongmyo side.

After many discussions with local citizens and stakeholders, the city modified a few things, and announced late last month that the 2017 timeline would be respected.

Seun Sangga "reestablished" by 2017: Seoul confirms timeline (20160130 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/693369251080638464)

Regardless of the project selected, this will be a tricky process, and a challenge not only for urban planners but for Seoul Housing to preserve social diversity. This beloved neighborhood will probably not remain the same, but let's hope that its core dynamics will survive.

And let's see how this 3D map of the Seun Sangga area (probably the work of one of the competitors) evolves.

Love it. A giant 3d SeunSangga neighborhood map at Seoul FabLab (20160106 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/684614335654572032)

The map's hanging on the walls of Seoul FabLab, a paradise for young 'makers', and I can't dream of a better symbol for this unique ecosystem and its future.

• See all posts related to Seun Sangga, including "Revamping Seun Sangga - If Possible Without Vampirizing The Area"
• Check out Seoul FabLab: fablab-seoul.org

Seoul Village 2016
Welcome to our Korean Errlines! Follow Seoul Village on Facebook and Twitter

Add this page to your favorites

* In "Seoul Station 7017: Forget 2017?":

"Personally, I wouldn't have bet on this very risky SS7017 as my main option for a landmark. For instance, solving the Seun Sangga conundrum was also very tricky (starting with safety issues), but much more important for Seoul's balance and urban regeneration.
Still time to reassess priorities, I guess." 

Revamping Seun Sangga - If Possible Without Vampirizing The Area

Seoul city presented yesterday* more details about the revamping of Seun Sangga I recently mentioned in a focus on Seoul urban revitalization projects (see the 'reviving neighborhood' section of "Diagonal crossings, High Lines, and Business Verticals (how pedestrians and businesses remodel Seoul... and vice-versa)").

Spared from total destruction in 2009, when only its Northernmost section (facing Jongmyo) was cut to build the Seun Greenway Park**, Kim Swoo-geun's liner shall undergo two waves of renovation by 2016:

• The Northern half first between Jong-ro and Eulji-ro: the Seun Sangga building proper (Jongno 3-ga, Jongno 4-ga, Jangsa-dong), and on the other side of Cheonggyecheon, Cheonggye Sangga and Daelim Sangga (Sallim-dong, Euljiro 4-ga)
• Then the Southern half, between Eulji-ro and Toegye-ro (Euljiro 4-ga, Inhyeondong 2-ga, Chungmuro 4-ga)

The most spectacular modification is the prolongation of the cruise ship's upper deck all along the bar, meaning new structures over the streets, including here over Cheonggyecheon:

I understand the logic, restoring the original bridge with a continuous promenade very much like the Seoul Skyway (that's the latest name of Seoul Station 7017 Project - see "Seoul Station Elevated Park (Seoul Station Project 7017? The Seoul Vine?) - An Update", and the 7 consortia selected on seoul.go.kr/story2015/skyway).

But this elevated walkway's a bit bulky. Do we have to sacrifice street levels all the time? And of all places, over Cheonggyecheon, the symbol of the removal of massive elevated structures?

I'm less interested in this crystallization of Kim Swoo-geun's bar than in its integration in a revitalized urbanscape. The project pays, as it should, a lot of importance to the building's sides... even if, of course, that is just an alibi to relaunch the profitable redevelopment of the low-rise maze surrounding Seun Sangga. 

Well. I neither expected nor wanted that area to be totally preserved, because it is neither sustainable, nor safe (industrial pollution, poor fire protection...).

And I'm okay with the principle of docking the ship to its neighborhood with much lighter footbridges. Yet in this rendering, it looks as if Seun Sangga will be flanked by two canal-less Songdo Canal Walk:

Hardly better than the New York High Line at Chelsea Market, where I was the other day:

I believe there is room for improvement from this project. For instance, I would ban cars from the lower level, and ask for a mandatory 'slope' in the future adjacent buildings, for example through terraced buildings, thus preventing the creation of dark 'canyons' similar to Cheonggyecheon before its renovation:

The slopes would also contrast with the Seun Sangga's verticality, highlighting the landmark instead of mirroring it, but flattening it at the same time to reduce its towering effect.

Good to know the New Town-ish project of the mid noughties has been dumped. I didn't want the neighborhood to be just filled with new towers, like what's happening around Sejongno. We already lost Pimatgol's alleyways, now we must keep some of the charm of this messy maze. It will certainly make the promenade more enjoyable.

And if we could avoid another giant leap for the gentrification of Jongno-gu...



Seoul Village 2015
Welcome to our Korean Errlines! Follow Seoul Village on Facebook and Twitter

Add this page to your favorites

* see on YouTube "세운상가 재생계획 기자설명회":  
** see "No cars on Gwanghwamun Square for New Year's Day"

Gwanghwamun, Donhwamun, and the Tale of two Royal Roads

Seoul is about to renovate the two streets leading to its main royal gates: Sejong-daero (Gwanghwamun, Gyeongbokgung's gate) and Donhwamun-ro (Donhwamun, Changdeokgung's gate). Needless to say, these are key locations, and authorities have to make sure that they do it right, and that to start with, there is a consistent and sustainable vision for Seoul's future.

*

In the case of Sejong-daero, the idea is to attach Gwanghwamun Square to the Western side, which somehow means a return to the initial plan of a wider area in front of the Sejong Cultural Center. The main motivation seems to be money: the massive foot traffic on the square would generate much more revenue there. Why not indeed? Let's see what it means when you consider the two most likely scenarii:

• If the plaza is extended westwards: 6 lanes of traffic will disappear, and I'm perfectly okay with that, but only if all impacts are taken into account, and I'm not sure that's the case. To be consistent, Seoul authorities must have a clear strategy to reduce car traffic downtown - like most major cities. Unfortunately, several projects (e.g. from Jahamun to the Yulgok Tunnel) seem bound to generate more bottlenecks in a near future.

• If a new plaza is built to the west instead of the central one: we are back to square(!) one and a huge highway in the middle of the city - 12 lanes of traffic! It would destroy not only Seoul's most valuable perspective (Sejongdaero-Gwanghwamun-Gyeongbokgung-Bugaksan-Bukhansan), but also Seoul's most vital pedestrian connector downtown (see links at the end of this post).

(addendum 20141025) Rendering of the project where the Gwanghwamun Plaza is moved westwards, recreating the central highway that used to ruin downtown Seoul (source "광화문광장, 세종문화회관 쪽으로 이전 추진" (Hankyoreh 20140930). A total urban disaster, but maybe the actual aim of the game is to prevent demonstrations, the only case where it would make sense (much easier to close the area with much fewer troops).

I'm against the plan to move Gwanghwamun Plaza next to Sejong Center: makes more money, but destroys royal perspective + cars rule again - 20141011 twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/520781390309126144

*

In the case of Donhwamun-ro, the idea is to boost tourism in a major but under-exploited historic neighborhood. A couple of years ago, I applauded the planned destruction of the two gas stations that faced the gate, but also shared concerns about the impacts of the Yulgok Tunnel on area. In this case, I'm at the same time glad that, at long last, the Changdeokgung-Jongmyo axis is considered as a key asset, and very much worried about how the whole project could backfire if handled carelessly: this is typically one of these time capsules you want to deal with carefully. How to revive the area without 'bukchonizing' it, without creating an artificial touristic hotspot and worse, a short-lived speculation heaven?

This area has already significantly evolved over the past decade. Here are the neighborhoods directly concerned:

• At the center, covering Donhwamun-ro itself: Waryong-dong and Myo-dong (the former also includes large sections of the palace, and even a part of Jongmyo - otherwise mostly in the Hunjeong-dong sphere). 
• To the north: Wonseo-dong and the Palace
• To the west, towards Unhyeongung and Insa-dong: Unni-dong, Nagwon-dong, Donui-dong, and the already endangered Ikseon-dong.
• To the east, towards Jongmyo: Gwonnon-dong, Bongik-dong
• To the south: Jongno-3-ga and Cheonggyecheon

Let's see this new project* in details:

• Where the gas stations used to be, an exhibition hall for traditional culture and a Gugak Arts Center will be constructed, creating a hanokish triangle with the gate. How to feed these cultural venues without depriving existing structures remains to be seen, but it's clearly a much more UNESCO-friendly scenery than the love motels behind.
  
• The 600 m stretch between Donhwamun and Cheonggyecheon will be "reconstructed", and I'm afraid this street could lose its vintage charm. This is a perfectly proportioned street lined with old trees, so please don't try to 'reconstruct' it. You wouldn't want to ruin everything the Jogyesa-way (its streetside now a sanitized disneyland), or even the Jeongdong-gil-way (see the "Jeongdong-kill" asphalt mess). On the positive side, Donhwamun-ro could become pedestrian, like Yonsei-ro**. 

Seoul should remember that it put the restoration of its fortress on hold because the UNESCO didn't think that it hadn't been done properly until then... the priority here is to secure the area from speculative alterations.

Joseon Seoul: in today's KJD, more on the restoraion of Donhwamun Royal Road - 20141023 twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/525086786767179776

Bonus: it would be nice to avoid the usual touristic fakes. I'm shivering just thinking about yet another embarrassing costumed reenactment. You know, after the changing of the guards at Deoksugung or Gyeongbokgung, something like 'watch the King perform his royal walk along the royal road'?

That's okay if you want to entertain duty-free shoppers on Incheon Airport's Airstar Avenue, but don't you think Changdeokgung and Jongmyo deserve something better?

*

See also:

• All posts related to Gwanghwamun, Donhwamun, or Yulgok-ro
• "Yulgokno Tunnel" (2012)
• "Gwanghwamun inauguration" (2010)
• "Changdeokgung : from station to station to ashes to ashes" (2010)
• "Jongno-gu renovation (continued)" (2010)
• "Gwanghwamun Plaza - The Aftermath" (2009)
• "Inwangsan's Great Wall and Seoul's Royal "T" Time" (2009)
• "Gwanghwamun Square" (2008)
• ...

Seoul Village 2014
Welcome to our Korean Errlines! Follow Seoul Village on Facebook and Twitter

Add this page to your favorites


* "Royal road in Seoul will be restored" (Korea JoongAng Daily 2014/10/23)
** see "Yonsei-ro the first street in Seoul to ban cars in its transportation mix"

---UPDATE 20141025---
I added an illustration of the future Gwanghwamun Plaza, which clearly shows the return to a central highway.

Namdaesunrise, Seoul Friendship Fair 2013, and other spring classics

To me, this week-end marks the true beginning of Spring in Seoul.

Yes, we've had lovely days so far in 2013, but at times, it felt like February never stopped, and nowadays, I feel glad to inhale fresh lilac instead of toxic nanoparticles or lethal macropoliticles*. Furthermore, I've been bracing for two events:

• the reopening of Sungnyemun to the public (Sunday), five long years after "Namdaemonium". I bet the signboard will be more carefully finished than that of Gwanghwamun a couple of years ago...
• the reopening of international food stalls for my favorite festival, Seoul Friendship Fair (Saturday and Sunday). As usual**, I'll shamelessly come for the food, but there's a lot to see around City Hall: Seoul Plaza, Mugyo-dong, Cheonggyecheon - check out the program and international performances: seoulfriendshipfair.org.

Caught in the Seoul traffic with Sungnyemun. That's not a k-pop star: she's much cuter, has better conversation pic.twitter.com/J1n5wC6LKk - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/329023620355596289

If you're in town Sunday, there's also the Jongmyo Jerye and a collection of events around Children's Day. KMA announces 20 celcius and sun for both days. So everything is set, including Admiral Yi and King Sejong, who took their yearly shower yesterday:

Also met Yi Sun-sin on the way. He was about to take his yearly shower on Gwanghwamun Square. #jongno #seoul pic.twitter.com/ZKlUqV0aTa - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/329034058321506305

Enjoy Seoul to the fullest!

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

Add this page to your favorites

* see for instance "Air Pollution: New Measures, Please" and "Dear Japan, Please Say No To Abeignomics"
** see "Seoul Friendship Fair 2012, Global Seoul Mates", "Seoul Friendship Fair 2011", "Seoul Friendship Fair" 2010)

Yulgokno Tunnel

I took these two grainy pictures with my dumbphone, and didn't need Instagram to give them a sepia look: if GCS Int'l enjoy a fantastic view on downtown Seoul, and if they know how to host a seminar*, their windows need some washing.

That's what I call a minor room for improvement.

The problem is when 'improvement' takes too much room, like when the city renovates one of its most strategic boulevards, Yulgokno. Here I'm recycling the ugly sketch I drew for my focus on "Inwangsan's Great Wall and Seoul's Royal "T" Time":

Just to help you locate GCS HQs on Yulgokno, this is their Northern view, from Gwonnong-dong: a section of Changdeokgung (east of Donhwamun, the palace's main gate), Bugaksan in the distance (the mountain), and the hills of Wonseo-dong in-between (Bukchon area, close to Gahoe-dong in the sketch).

Now next slide, please:

Here's a Northeastern view with the four lanes of Yulgokno heading for Wonnam-dong Sageori. You can make out the small footbridge connecting Jongmyo (right) with Changgyeonggung-Changdeokgung Palaces (left), and the working site with its sign advertising the "improvement of Yulgokno in front of Changdeokgung".

From the start*, I applauded the project to reunite Jongmyo and Changdeokgung by covering a section of Yulgokno, but also wondered how the city would manage two more lanes of traffic, and if all impacts were carefully considered (cultural heritage, environment, bicycles, pedestrians...).

Judging by this shot, we're at the stage where asphalt gains over green: the old and peaceful woods of Jongmyo have already shrunk to make room for two more lanes, or at least to divert the traffic during the process.

The doubts remain: I wouldn't want this section of Yulgokno to become yet another dark tunnel, yet another repellent for humans and cyclists, yet another neighborhood sacrificed to Car Almighty. What would be the point of reconnecting North with South while disconnecting East from West?

So let's keep an eye on this one. And if needed, let's summon the ghosts of Sulla-gil. Anyway, they too are watching. Yes, that's Seo Sulla-gil, the street starting right at the working site's gate. And if you want to learn more about that haunted 'patrol way', meet "Jongmyo Ghosts".

Seoul Village 2012
NEW : follow Seoul Village on Facebook and Twitter

* the Asia Institute seminar on North Korean nuclear power (see "NK and nukes: back to the (dolsot curling) stone age?")
**see "Jongno-gu renovation (continued)", following "Jongmyo-Changdeokgung reunited"

Jongno Elegy

Browsing the small "Jongno Elegy" exhibition at the Seoul Museum of History was a rather upsetting experience. I felt like a time traveler visiting in year 2509 an exhibition about 2009 Jongno, watching pictures of buildings I used to pass by every day, artifacts from shops I used to roam, and even sitting in a reconstituted Pimatgol restaurant where I dined last year, complete with the graffitis on the walls.

At this stage of redevelopment, not all the places depicted here have even been destroyed yet, but it's as if they were already. The older generations are already used to seeing echoes of such earlier ghosts as the Hanshin Department Store, but they had more time to adjust : It really feels like I pressed the fast forward button and was frustrated of the last gasps of old Jongno.

But as the Museum honors Jongro, the street, it reaches much further back in time, across the capital's 600 years. A cut exposing layers of soil near Jongmyo adds some perspective : paving being a very recent phenomenon, even one century can be translated into a meter high layer of various debris.

You are invited to try the gear of a delivery man, lifting the heavy wood-and-metal structure on your shoulders in the "commoner" version of the more traditional Jongno photo op (you as a Joseon yangban / king / queen).

Elegies are about mourning the dead. This is also about contemplating the process of dying.

Next stop ? Itaewon. Judging by "semu", the museum's magazine, I wouldn't be surprised to see an exhibition about it in the coming years.

Jongno Elegy (exhibition)
20100813 ~ 20101003
Special Exhibition Hall, Seoul Museum of History
Tel : Dasan 120

Seoul Village 2010

Changdeokgung : from station to station to ashes to ashes

The other day*, I was not fully convinced by the final project of tunnel between Jongmyo and Changdeokgung : once more, priority was given to cars over public transports, pedestrians and bicycles. And instead of bringing two areas closer, it's as if a new mountain were erected to pull them further apart...

But yesterday, I was pleased to learn that, on the Western side of the tunnel, both gas stations facing Donhwamun (Changdeok Palace main gate) would be removed : until then, only one of the two (I didn't know which one - in Gwanhun-dong / West) or Unni-dong / East) was planned for destruction.

I already voiced my outrage to see the main entrance to a UNESCO World Heritage, Changdeokgung, be disgraced by those gas stations, but I was confident change would come : Jongno-gu intends to extend Insadong tourist area towards Jongmyo, reviving Donhwamun-gil and Sulla-gil on the way. And indeed, the place has dramatically evolved over the past few years, not always for the better : anticipating conservation laws, many Hanok owners replaced their traditional houses with modern structures more fit (to their eyes only of course) for business, ruining the atmosphere.

So it's decided now : the two gas stations will be destroyed in 2012, and the following year two new buildings will be inaugurated : a Royal Life History Digital Gallery (궁중생활사 디지털전시관), and a Traditional Art Hall (돈화문 국악예술당), likely to lure many tourists this side of Yulgokno. I hope the architecture will be more responsible and sustainable than recent tourist traps but anyway, it'll beat oil spills.

Seoul Village 2010

* see "Jongno-gu renovation - continued"

Tour de Korea

Last stage* for the 2010 "Tour de Corée" : tomorrow in Seoul, starting with a 5.1 km parade between Olympic Park and Mongchontoseong Station (between 9:50 and 9:59 AM).

A 49.2 km race will follow, with a finish planned at 11:04 at Sejongno Sageori, where the barnum shall pass 8 mn earlier for a loop around Gyeongbokgung and Jongmyo via Cheonghwadae, Samcheong-dong, and Jongro. Don't even think about driving your car in the area : come by subway and enjoy the show.

For the 10th edition, this finish on Sejongno mirrors Tour de France finishes on the Champs Elysees (even if in Paris, there's much more than one loop). Last year's winner came from Switzerland (Roger Beuchat).
Seoul Village 2010

* 10 stages overall :
- Jeju (177 km + 1 km parade)
- Gangjin-Yeosu (138.6 km + 4)
- Yeosu-Gunsan (219 km + 6)
- Gunsan-Dangjin (149.7 km + 1.4)
- Dangjin-Cheongju (162.2 km + 9.7)
- Cheongju-Gumi (198 km + 7.5)
- Gumi-Yeongju (144 km + 9.9)
- Yeongju-Yangyang (225.2 km + 9.5)
- Yangyang-Chuncheon (145.5 km + 9)
- Seoul (49.2 km + 5.1)

Jongmyo ghosts

A warm mid-may afternoon in Jongmyo. Just a few visitors, but nowhere to be seen in this deserted Jeongjeon (the main ceremonial hall).

A slight breeze, the intense smell of snowbell tree flowers, and only natural sounds : birds (magpies, sparrows, and today even a blue jay), wind in the old and tall trees that mask the city beyond. From here, the corner of your eye can only notice the brown tip of Boryung building emerging timidly from the biomass, now fully active.

Much smaller and less "urban" than its Northern neighbor Changdeokgung, devoted to the dead (Joseon royal shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage), Jongmyo provides a perfect spot for meditation.
There's even a quiet library with 20 seats (square mats on the floor), in a small hanok. Like most traditional houses in this part of the World, this one offers a broadband connection to the web. No one there today, except the clerk. From a hole torn through the paper window, I can see three adjumas sitting on the lawn, picking up the bad weeds.

I expected to meet a few elderlies, but as usual they are all outside in Jongmyo Citizens' Park, chatting or playing Xiangqi (Chinese chess) under phantom cigarette clouds. Their mass looks compact from a distance, and many lips are moving, but you can't hear those ghosts as you walk through the crowd. Just chess pieces clacking on boards.

You can follow Jongmyo's Western wall up to a recently created small triangular garden, Yulgokno, and Donhwamun... but beware : Seosulla-gil (서순라 길) is haunted.

"West Patrol Way" owes its name to the policemen who walked along it. All houses used to turn their backs on this cemetery wall, and residents would only leave their garbage there. Nearby Myo-dong owes its name to the same Myo (묘) you find in Jongmyo (종묘) : it means "grave", and by metonymy "cemetery". But the only two dongs covering Seosulla-gil are Bongik-dong (South) and Gwonnong-dong (North).

Bongik-dong remains a messy pack of cheap old restaurants feeding (upon ?) Jongmyo's chess playing ghosts.

Gwonnong-dong keeps proceeding on the way to gentrification, workshops giving way to brand new, two-story- private houses, galleries or shops opening themselves to Seosulla-gil, betting on the Donhwamun-ro extension of Insadong all the way to this charming winding road with its trees, its wall, and its phantoms.

Right now, gentrification doesn't seem that obvious : trash keep piling up against the wall, the path doesn't smell of snowbell tree flowers, and more often than not, you will come across one or two hirsute winos.

Keep your distance : to spare your nostrils, but also to show some respect for Jongmyo's third millenium ghosts.

Welcome to Pimatgol

This will probably be my last snack in the old Pimatgol. A nakji bindaetteok on a wooden bench in a poorly lit joint covered in graffiti. This stretch of the alley will not be closed before a few weeks, but most doors are closed and the mood is already depressing enough. Actually, I'm only paying a last tribute to this site before having a real lunch in one of the restaurants already relocated, a few sanitized blocks away.

This thin path marks the start of Pimatgol, just opposite Kyobo Bookstore's main entrance. The rotten corny wooden sign is here to prove it and as usual, its feet are littered with puke and junk. To the left, the blue three story hulk of Burger King has already been closed. To the right, large felt panes and posters mapping new locations of local businesses cover the empty eyes of the buildings giving on Jongro.

Pi-ma-gol, literally "avoid-horse-alley", was a back alley parallel to Jongro where commoners would walk freely all the way to Jongmyo, without meeting V.I.P.s riding their horses on high street (passers-by would then have to step aside and take a big bow). The place grew into a lively maze of paths full of eateries.

Pimatgol is progressively being replaced with high rise buildings. Towering over the crossroads between Jongro and Jongno-gu-cheong-gil, the street leading to the Gu Office (an area also under complete renovation), Le Meilleur managed to attract a few big names - early bird catches the worm! -, and even built an arcade with a wooden Pimatgol sign on both ends... but it hosts gift shops and cafes, pushing old restaurants backstage. Furthermore, this officetel atmosphere cannot be compared with the joyful mess of yore.

Take Cheongjinok, for instance. I don't think their haejangguk tastes any different here, but I simply don't feel like entering their new non-descript lair. Part of the fun was to enjoy the place, where old timers and white collars would cohabit like Cosa Nostra dons and wannabes in a traditional Napolitan trattoria.

Le Meilleur Jongno Town can easily be spotted thanks to a most amazing bronze sculpture at its feet. I can't describe this lad rodeoing on a horse in front of a giant coin... probably one of the most vulgar in a city that hosts more than its share of similar pseudo-artistic monstruosities.

To be fair, it does shine, and doesn't stink the way the old Pimatgol could (a more literal way). The buildings about to be destroyed are on the verge of collapsing and only a few hanoks survived in a sea of quick-and-dirty constructions. But that place had a soul.

The new section opposite the Kyobo will set the tone for decades to come. I'm bracing myself for Le Pire, but who knows... ?

Jongmyo - Changdeokgung reunited

Jongmyo visitors can join the Changdeok palace (or vice versa) through a small bridge over a busy 4-lane road separating both UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Jongno-gu.

That miserable road, a long stretch between two beautiful places, offers little to see except the canopy, long grey walls, and intense traffic.

Two more lanes will be added, probably for public transportation (buses are often jammed there), but all traffic shall go underground : at last, both monuments will be reunited in a strong vertical and cultural green line.

Beyond Jongro and prolonging this new perspective between Bukhansan and Namsan, and forming a cross with the recently restored Cheonggyecheon, public gardens will replace the Sewoon shopping center (세운상가), a long and narrow rectangular monstruosity built in 1968.

A few blocks westwards, another urban nightmare, the Nagwon shopping center (낙원상가), will disappear and liberate Samil-ro and the way between the Unhyeongung and Tapgol Park (Pagoda Park).

At the macro level, the Insadong - Gwonnong-dong - Jongno-3-ga triangle is definitely changing for the better. But at the micro level, local authorities are unfortunately not doing anything to prevent whole packs of hanoks from being destroyed, or non descript three story buildings from being erected.

That's the difference between good initiatives and a great vision.