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).

Gyeonggyojang back to Donuimun

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

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

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

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

Seoul Village 2010


* "Donuimun restoration and Sadaemun resurrection"