From The Outside, KAL's "7 Star Hanok Hotel" Showcases Excellence in Freight

Remember Korean Air's "hanok hotel" project in  Songhyeon-dong(see "Korean Air Grounded : Seoul 7 Star Hotel Delayed")? Rather than traditional Korean architecture, the first aerial views bring to mind plane hangars ("Excellence in Freight"?), computer chips, old tape recorder keys, or maybe the kind of golden piano keys Liberace's diamond-laden fingers would love to strike:

Source "7성급 한옥호텔'이라더니…귀퉁이 영빈관이 '고작'"  (News1 - 20140417) via Naver

The architect KIM Won - who worked with the great KIM Swoo-geun at Space Group - went as far as wondering if this was truly the work of a renowned colleague (Mario Botta, who did the round part of the Leeum), and how this thing could pretend to be inspired by hanok.

Yes, if you look closely in the upper left corner, you do find a couple of hanoks, but they sound very much like the "Hanok Alibi" I wrote about last year in "Build a hanok and they will come - Marketing impostures and genuine slow urbanism":

twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/310299015470256128

And you can't even see them from the street the way you do for the Office of Royal Genealogy at the nearby MMCA Seoul*..., but that's consistent with a non-inclusive, resolutely exclusive 7-star concept that, otherwise and regardless of its degree of hanokness, seems optimized to leverage on intense foot traffic at a key touristic intersection, with a gallery facing Insadong. 

Note that unlike in Blingblingistan (a.k.a. Dubai), hotel classifications don't reach as far as 7 stars in Korea, but that's another story. At least - speaking of stories - this high-profile project remains low-rise...

... and at ground level for the moment, because the land has remained untouched so far. I took this view from across the street a couple of years ago...

November 2011

... and News1 published this close-up yesterday: 

Source "서울 호텔 이용률 78.9%, 공급과잉 우려"  (News1 - 20140416)

News1's shot was taken not far from where the gallery will be erected, at the bottom righ corner in the aerial view above. This angle prolongs the Insadong axis, and you can see the Folk Museum, Cheong Wa Dae, and Bugaksan in the background.

Note that this last picture illustrated an article about the mounting risk of hotel rooms oversupply in Seoul, a recurrent topic on my own "Korean errlines"**, and an issue raised yesterday by the CCEJ (Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice) during a meeting where the so-called 'hanok hotel' came under fire.

Intense lobbying eventually seems to be paying for KAL, and leveraging the government's recent deregulation frenzy, an obviously tailor-made reform took care last month of the law that had blocked the company for years (no hotels could be built near schools, and there's a couple of them just next door):

"Law changes to allow hotels near schools. Will #KoreanAir build its 'hanokized' 7-star near #Anguk?" (20140327)
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/449016361151242241

So if you want an aerial view from a hotel with hanok, I suggest the one I took a couple of days ago from the 23rd floor of The Shilla:

"#Jangchung Gymnasium in its #Colosseum stage (in the distance, #DDPSeoul, #Doota Tower)"
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/455589503902568448

Following a bottom right - top left diagonal:

• in the right corner: the hotel's Yeong Bing Gwan, a 1967 hanok used for weddings and receptions
• in the center: the old Jangchung Gymnasium, beheaded during its renovation, almost looks like Roma's Colosseo
• in the background: on the way to Doota Tower, the shining flank of the giant squid (the DDP - see "Sneak peek inside Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Park")

And of course, Wongudan's Hwanggungu Pavilion is still standing on Westin Chosun territory.

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* BTW if you fancy more animated aerial views of this block, re-watch "MMCA Seoul from above")
** along with the future magnets on each side of the Gyeongbokgung: this KAL hotel and the Four Seasons (see for instance "Four Seasons Seoul", "A 6 Star Hotel in Gwanghwamun?")

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).

Seoul Village 2011

Rem Koolhaas on Seoul and Prada Transformer (CNN)

Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas was recently Interviewed on CNN Talk Asia in front of his Prada Transformer, an advertocultural event which has at least the advantage to make more people visit Gyeonghuigung. Most Gangnam hypists won't even notice the presence of the royal palace, but many Seoulites will (re)discover the area and who knows, some may even pay a visit to Seoul Museum of History next door (and paying a visit doesn't cost much : you can enjoy many exhibitions for free or just a few hundred wons).

Koolhaas chose the location with taste : Joseon rulers themselves picked a perfect spot with Inwangsan in the background. Note that for his Seoul National University Museum of Art, the Pritzker Prize winner already enjoyed good vibes from Gwanaksan. But if the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art offers an interesting view from Itaewon heights, there's not enough room around the Samsung Child Education & Culture Center Koolhaas designed to appreciate it from a distance. Both buildings are less striking than this Transformer anyway.

What you have here is basically a tetrahedron with one circular face, its metallic structure poking under a light white skin. Not as light as the contents though : an alibi to justify the design and architectural bravado, and to leave some room for the sponsor. Cranes turn the pyramid in various positions, each one hosting a specific event.

The 3 parts of the interview :

Part 1 - "Living differently" (around 1'40" - 2' into the video, the construction of Transformer, with Inwangsan and Gwanghwamun Space Bon in the background)


Part 2 - "Staying relevant"


Part 3 - "Seoul Man" (SNU Museum of Art...) :



Seoul Village 2009

see also OMA's website : oma.eu (Office for Metropolitan Architecture founded by Rem Koolhaas)

Gustav Klimt at Seoul Arts Center - Pompidou at SeMA

Ten years ago, "major" exhibitions in Seoul featuring big names from the past would propose a couple of works by the Great Master submerged by flocks of side dishes from relatively unknown and distant relatives.

Nowadays, Seoulites can enjoy simultaneously major collections with consistant editorial lines from the Pompidou Center at the SeMA and from Gustav Klimt at the Seoul Arts Center*. They can and they do : in spite of their relatively high entrance fees the shows are drawing masses of visitors not necessarily used to this kind of entertainment.

Seoul has definitely become an international art hub well beyond its national treasures and its traditional position on the contemporary art scene, leveraging on new landmarks (National Museum, Leeum**...), but also on stronger ties with fellow Asian countries (ie always something stimulating to discover at the National Museum in Yongsan), as well as with new European partners (ie for the Monet exhibition a couple of years ago, Pompidou and Vienna today).

I bump into Klimt every now and then, and each time from a closer range. Now we've met in my three favorite cities : in NYC a quarter of a century ago ("Vienna 1900: Art, Architecture & Design" - MOMA 1986), Vienna was the star, in Paris more recently ("Vienne 1900" - Grand Palais 2005), the focus was on four artists (Klimt, Schiele, Moser, and Kokoschka), but today in Seoul, Gustav rules the show.

"Gustav Klimt in Korea 2009" justifies its name : the artist is there, drawing a stimulating map of his own life and mind, displaying a collection of beautiful portraits, meeting a new public hungry for change in another young century.

I still prefer Egon Schiele, and still wonder how far he would have gone if the Spanish Flu didn't claim him that early... But that's another story.

Seoul, as a young and promising art center, is also threatened by a global menace, and already feeling the pinch of the crisis (galleries are struggling, auctions slumping, and I'm not sure the next KIAF will be as great as the 2008 edition). But it shall overcome, because this city has embraced art for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer.

I haven't made up mind mind on the "better or worse" dimension of Rem Koolhaas' shapeshifting of an installation under construction on the Gyeonghuigung's lawn. It keeps evolving each time I look through my windows. First came the massive blocks, then those giant pivoting steel PlayStation buttons, and now this screen covering the exhibition space until its inauguration (April 25th)... But as far as the "richer or poorer" dimension is concerned, the name could be a clue : when a "Prada Transformer" is coming to town, you know the era of art hype is not totally over.


* hurry up for Pompom :
. "Centre Georges Pompidou Exhibition "Heaven for Artists""(Seoul Museum of Art - 20081222 - 20090322)
. "Gustav Klimt in Korea 2009" - SAC / Hangaram Art Museum (20090202-0515)
** see my blogule (French version) : "Leeum ad vitam aeternam"

KIAF 2008

After China (2002), Japan (2003), Korea (2004), Germany (2005), France (2006), and Spain (2007), the Korea International Art Fair welcomes Switzerland as its star country : 19 galleries, a Swiss Modern Art Exhibition, and a "What You Get Is What You Want" special exhibition for emerging Swiss talents (none of the 9 young artists selected for KIAF Finds Hidden Treasure comes from the guest country).

But KIAF 2009 goes beyond the partnership between the Gallery Association of Korea and Art Galleries Switzerland (AGS) : 20 countries are represented, and 102 of the 218 galleries are foreign. Korea boasts 116 galleries, Europe 65 (Germany 27), Asia 29 (16 from Japan), Americas 7 (USA 5), and Australia 1. Overall, about 1,500 artists and 6,000 works exhibited.

OK. Enough figures. Except maybe the entrance fee : KRW 15,000. Expensive, but the show is worth it.

I was positively impressed by the quality of the selection, much more exciting than what you could find in - say - a FIAC a couple of years ago. Of course, Chinese artists remain quite popular, and Japanese pop art as well (ie Yoshitomo Nara), but there was a definitely European / auteur flavor, and not just because of the guest country. And a refreshing variety.

Pros seemed to be touching wood : in spite of the economic downturn, the contemporary art bubble remains, and this show appears to be a success so let's enjoy it, you never know how things will fare next year...

Korea enjoys a powerful contemporary art ecosystem along the whole chain from creative design schools to wealthy art lovers, galleries hubs across the capital city, Gyeonggi-do and many other regions, regional exhibitions and fairs with an international reach, new landmarks (ie Leeum)... and as the Korean won takes the plunge, foreign buyers can shop at bargain prices.

But offer is exceeding demand, and quantity often comes before quality, the shell before the pearl. Like in Paju : I remember visiting Heyri Art Village in its maiden year, and it looked more like an architectural contest for hipsters than a genuine artistic proposition. Still, Korea has a knack for forcing success in this field.

Like everywhere else, many galleries will fold, though. Or devote more space to their cafes and boutiques to make ends meet. Young talents will face tougher times to reach their publics, but there's still the ASYAAF...

KIAF plays an important role to position the country globally, and this edition surely confirms Korea as a major player. KIAF 2009 will be an interesting test. Unless another art bubble inflates by then, matching 2008 will be difficult. And each exhibitor will be tempted to take little risk. But some may remember that uncertain times tend to spur creativity and the hunger for it.

Seoul Village 2008


KIAF 2008 / Korea International Art Fair
Guest Country-Switzerland
September 19-23, 2008
Pacific Hall and Indian Hall, COEX, World Trade Center
Samsung-dong, Seoul, ROK 135-731

Visitors can also enjoy synergies with Busan Biennale (until november).