MMCA Seoul from above

The recently rebranded National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea unveiled this video of the MMCA Seoul branch to be inaugurated this November (see "MOCA goes MMCA - Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art"):




I like the vivid rendering of the neighborhood:

• starting northwards, along Samcheong-ro: to the left the Gyeongbokgung, to the right Sogyeok-dong galleries and the new museum, with in the distance Bugaksan

• the virtual camera turns to the right and the former DSC's main building, which shed its white coating to bare its red bricks - and still those wonderful semicircular staircases I caught by night under last month's Supermoon:



"Supermoon" over the future #MMCASeoul
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/348434489560686593

Very spectacular from the inside as well. I took this picture during the 2009 ASYAAF (NB: don't forget: this year's edition is back to Culture Station Seoul 284 - until August 18 for the second part)



• about halfway into the video, we're slowing down before the next building, to enjoy the now cleared view on the large hanok in the background.

• we then start taking off slowly to appreciate the renovations and extensions, the gardens and green rooftops, and a well located terrasse at the corner with Bukchon-ro 5-gil

• before fading away to make room for the MMCA logo, the whole block is visible (Yulgok-ro to the South, Gamgodang-gil to the East, Samcheong-ro to the West, Bukchon-ro 5-gil to the North)

I won't say that I'm thrilled by the architecture, which reminds me a bit of my old ESSEC Campus (vintage 1973) before its renovation, but this project does mark an improvement for the neighborhood. At least if you compare it to the past (a low-rise open space replacing the gated Defense Security Command), or to Yongsan's criminal NMK (yes I love the National Museum of Korea, but from the outside doesn't it look like a ceausescuesque cinder block?).

Anyway, we shall judge MMCA Seoul from the inside, with all its hidden levels and services, and of course fully populated with collections, exhibitions, and humans.

I can't wait!


Seoul Village 2013
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Chataigne - A Table Bis (Seoul)

20 years ago, driving across Samcheong-dong by night meant following a dark road dotted with only a few lights - a quiet neighborhood with just a couple of shops and restaurants (rather close to the Gyeongbokgung), and maybe a mom and pop store before the last stretch to the tunnel. I won't say Samcheongdong-gil has turned into Las Veghanok's Strip but the change is radical: neons, shops and fancy eateries...

... And now this. Haechi, Seoul City's mascot, painted on US-style fire hydrants. I know Japanese tourists love the area but is this Gahoe-dong or Kawaii-dong?

That's it for my hypocrite Rant of the Day.

Because as you may know, even if I often criticize the extinction of friendly neighborhood Korean restaurants, I happen to enjoy some ov'em "fancy eateries".

Take Palpan-dong, for instance. That's a neighborhood just off main street, before the Prime Minister's residence when you come from downtown. Palpan-gil recently followed the boboization of Samcheong-dong, and is now lined with small fashion boutiques and cafes, preferably with a Frenchoid name. It all started with a tiny restaurant called 'A Table'. The owners opened 'A Table Bis' just around the corner, a bistrot which makes us Frogs feel just like home, in some nice little provincial restaurant (pommes de terre Sarladaise would be even better with the confit de canard, but that's probably because I've got too strong ties with Perigord Noir...).

This small alley has been hosting a second French restaurant for quite a while: facing the two-storey 'A Table Bis', 'Chataigne' proposes a more upscale menu (table d'hote) in a cute re-hanokized house seating no more than 12 people*. A well serviced place, but no pretensions, and a very kind Chef, who masters fine emulsions and sauces (delicious yam and snails). Merging dishes #3 and 4 (before today's main dishes: rainbow trout or ribeye) could make an even stronger statement, but that's not the positioning. What you enjoy is a soothing moment at a reasonable price.

Chataigne / 샤테뉴 (restaurant)
130-3 Palpan-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, ROK
Tel: +82.2.736.5385

A Table Bis (restaurant)
100-2 Palpan-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, ROK
Tel: +82.2.736.1049

Seoul Village 2012 - more tables here
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* an army on Bien Etre's scale (see "Bien Etre (Seoul)")

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

Insadong - Bukchon seamless for pedestrians

We're regularly stressing the growing importance of the Northern side of Anguk area as a tourist destination opposite Insadong : already a major cluster of art galleries on the way to Samcheong-dong and Bukchon area), it will host a key museum (the MOCA's Seoul branch), and a 7 star hotel is even considered*.

Yet the connection is not so seamless for pedestrians : the crossing between Insadong-gil and the police station is unconvenient and as saturated as Omotesanto on week-ends. Furthermore, more lanes will be created because of the Yulgokno tunnel**. Nowadays, most tourists head South towards Insadong, but the traffic is becoming more balanced and that trend is bound to be confirmed in the future.

Jongno-gu just decided to tackle the issue :
- prolongation of Insadong car-free axis : the diagonal will continue North of Yulgokno along Gyoyuk-gil (the narrow street bordered with schools) until Bukchon-gil (ArSonje corner). The street itself will be repaved on both sides to reinforce continuity
- connection of this axis with Samcheongdong-gil (Bukchon-gil's section West of ArSonje crossroads).
- creation of a new crosswalk at Yulgokno between Insadong and Gyoyuk-gil

Step by step, the heart of Seoul is definitely becoming more pedestrian friendly.

Seoul Village 2010

* see "http://seoulvillage.blogspot.com/2010/02/moca-defense-security-command-continued.html" and "Korean Air Grounded : Seoul 7 Star Hotel Delayed"
** see "Jongno-gu renovation - continued"

congdu (Seoul)

This restaurant used to be in Samcheong-dong but moved to Shinmunro, the market for upscale modern Korean food ("neo Korean cuisine" in congdu's own words) being probably bigger with all those big company headquarters around.

"congdu" means bean, so I was not surprised to get a refreshing cup of makgeolli with black bean and red ginseng, followed by an equally cool white bean gazpacho delicately enhanced with white ginseng. The summer program consists of 3 colorful* set menus with a Jeju flavor : many ingredients come from the Southern island, like those black pig feet cooked for 36 hours and served with (what else) beans, and the terrace room (view on the back of the museum, a quiet garden rearranged last year) hosts a temporary photo exhibition about a Jeju-do less sunny than usual but all the more beautiful.

By the way, you're in a museum, and one I'm visiting quite often, and not only because I live almost next door. So why not enjoy the collections before or after a nice tofu steak ? But call them first : the other day, I tried to combine a dinner at congdu with the "1950 Seoul - 6.25 60th Anniversary Special Exhibition" and its sidekick ("A portrait of London", a photo exhibition co-organized with the Museum of London), but the central information desk was not aware that the whole restaurant had been reserved for the evening.

Don't expect this kind of mistake from congdu's staff : the service is really fine and adds to the very pleasant experience.

congdu f&c / congdu food & cuisine (restaurant)
Seoul Museum of History 1F, 50 Saemunan-gil, 2-1 Shinmunro-2-ga, Jongno-gu, Seoul, ROK 110-230
Tel +82.2.722.7002

Seoul Village 2010

* the dishes as well as the menus (green, orange, and white)

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)

Pimatgol - a streamlet runs through it

On my way to Kyobo Bookstore (scavenging for bargains : the institution will close on April 1st for renovation (see "Kyobo Bookstore V2"), I observed the new construction site just across the main entrance, where the book center usually displays books on promotion outdoors.

Workers were building a stone sidewalk including what appears to be the future bed of Junghakcheon (중학천), the streamlet which used to run towards Cheonggyecheon* along the Eastern side of Gyeongbokgung and this very street, named after it : Junghakcheon-gil (in Cheongjin-dong, parallel to Sejongno and behind Kyobo Building, KT Art Hall, the US Embassy...).

The restored streamlet will reach Jongno Fire Station up the street, next to Jongno-gu Office and 340 m from Cheonggyecheon. But that's only the first step of the project, which will follow Samcheongdong-gil, the street bordering the Gyeongbokgung and leading so Seongbuk-dong :
. A second section of 1,020 m will connect the fire station to Jeongdok Public Library, or rather the intersection with Bukchon-gil, which also happens to be the entrance of the old Defense Security Command, now an art museum. Note that the library itself is not on this street bordering the Gyeongbokgung but in Hwa-dong, opposite Artsonje Center.
. A third section (1,040 m) will go from there to the end of Samcheongdong-gil. Actually, Junghakcheon was also known as Samcheongdongcheon (삼청동천).

In the first section or at least at this stage of construction, the renovation seems to be focusing more on "history / prestige" than on "wellbeing / ecosystem" : the waterway's bed is made of stone and in a straight line, not with rocks and plants** and following a curvy path.

Again, this is only the beginning, but we can already make out a small bridge which could be the future entrance of a Pimatgol 2.0, even if the bridge looks closer to main street (Jongro) than the old Pimatgol entrance (most recently signaled by a rotten wooden post and various bodily fluids). Anyway, right now, this bridge is a bridge to nowhere or rather a bridge to a vast wasteland : Pimatgol's last houses and restaurants have finally been erased (my bindaetteok place lasted much more than expected***).

Seoul Village 2010
see also "Baekundongcheon / Gwanghwamun-gil - A River Runs Through It"

* Reminder : technically, Junghakcheon connects with Baekundongcheon (백운동천) to create Cheonggyecheon. Next comes Namsandongcheon (남산동천), from the South and Namsan. The three waterways are either under restoration or about to be reopened.
** while I'm at it, when you see people pick up herbs along Seoul riversides, tell them not to eat them : many varieties can be used in traditional recipes, but those collected in such areas have been proven totally unfit for consumption and utterly "unwell being".
*** see "Welcome to Pimatgol"

MOCA @ Defense Security Command, continued

As we saw earlier, the National Museum of Contemporary Art will open a new branch in Sogyeok-dong. And I was pleased to read today* that the DSC would not be obliterated : all five finalists to the architectural contest will respect an old building which proved its relevance for contemporary art (see ASYAAF 2009 last summer or the Shinhotan exhibition last autumn).

It's hard to judge by the pictures published in the JoongAng Daily, but each project seem to have its way of transforming the Defense Security Command complex (ie under one vast but thin slab for Lee Pil-hoon, scattered in colorful bars for Shin Chun-gyu...**), and all are gaining new volumes under the ground. Finalists will improve their submissions until the final decision in May and the result shouldn't be too intimidating, nor as massive as the National Museum in Yongsan. Mercifully, the jury rejected Frank Gehry - style soulless extravaganzzas (this guy basically runs a nice computer program to compensate the lack of vision of his clients), and that leaves room for sustainable creativity.

This project is significant from a cultural as well as an urban point of view : it will redefine the dialog between the Gyeongbokgung and the other side of Samcheongdong-gil, already a major art gallery cluster, but must also benefit the whole area around Anguk Station : Samcheong-dong restaurants to the North, Gahoe-dong alleys to the West, Insadong to the South... Art lovers will spend whole days zapping from early Joseon to late Lee Myung-bak periods by foot or on a bicycle.

Seoul Village 2010

* "New museum accentuates cultural hot spot" (JoongAng Daily 20100209)
** the other finalists : Jeong Ill-kyo, Kim Dong-hoon, Mihn Hyun-jun.

Seongbuk-dong Maemil Sujebi Nurungjibaeksuk (Seoul)

Frankly, this big, modern, two storey building evokes more a factory than a restaurant and more often than not, looks too packed with people. I don't know how many times I sneered at it but today I eventually decided to give it a try.

And I'm glad I did.

As the name clearly explains, the speciality is buckwheat (Maemil / 매밀) dough flakes in soup (sujebi / 수제비), and the location is Seongbuk-dong.

You can't ignore the place if you follow Seongbuk-dong-gil (that's the main road) all the way : the strategic fork where you either take off or land depending on where you're coming from (respectively East from Dongsomun-ro, or West from the Samcheon Tunnel and Samcheonggak).

In this very spot, at the feet of the Seoul version of Beverly Hills with its packs of residences for diplomats, a small park was recently created to celebrate peace between Seongbuk-gu, its sister cities, and all countries boasting a diplomat residence in the gu. As a result, they planted more flag poles than trees.

As I took a seat in the factory, looking through the window at this colorful installation, I almost heard the unmistakable clik of a tourist trap when it snaps shut on your spine. To cheer myself up, I decided that at least the food couldn't be terrible : maemil / buckwheat specialities are a commodity nowadays, and don't require much effort.

Neither did the decoration of the place, obviously - I guess the bulk of CAPEX, beyond land, went into the gigantic neon sign outside...

Almost without stopping, a chain worker moves 3 side dishes (banchan / 반찬) from a rolling cart to the table : gimchi, ggakdugi (깍두기 - that's radish gimchi), and white mul gimchi (물김치 - that's water gimchi). Each one is OK, but the red and white combo adds to the weird impression of being cast in a Jacques Tati movie.

Enter the maemil bindaetteok (매밀 빈대떡).

Now this is good. Plus you can use each portion to wrap young shots with a touch of chogochujang (초고추장) sauce.

I try both maemil sujebis versions : in wild sesame broth and with clams. Both deliciously rustic, but with a deeper and more original twist for the wild sesame.

I have to come back for dinner, and try their piece de resistance : a yummy combo featuring chicken soaked in guess what.

Seoul Village 2009

Seongbuk-dong Maemil Sujebi Nurungjibaeksuk / 성북동 메밀 수제비 누룽지백숙 (restaurant)
281-1 Seongbuk-2-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, ROK
Tel : +82.2.764.0707

ASYAAF 2009

The Chosun Ilbo and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism 2009 Asian Students and Young Artists Art Festival at the old Defense Security Command building on Samcheong-dong-gil, in front of the Gyeongbokgung's Folk Village.

The building itself is plays a major part in the success of the operation : tiny bare rooms, dark corridors, post-apocalyptic staircases... you feel like you're going from one vault to another, trapped in some kind of a prison where contemporary art ghosts walks free. Along with an army of friendly and helpful green humanoids called SAM (Student Art Managers).

The 2008 edition at Seoul Station was titled "When we first met" and these days, "We Meet The Future". In very deed, you will meet with 777 young talents from Korea, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan. Of course, many works still look amateurish... but this definitely beats most galleries from the neighborhood, and more than a few would fare pretty well at the KIAF (coming up this september at the COEX).

I won't tell names of artists I liked because - full disclosure here - I laid a few red dots during my visit. Works are for sale, and at a reasonable price. So you can support young artists not only by admiring their productions in this unique context.


ASYAAF 20092009.07.29 - 08.23
Defense Security Command, Old Building
165 Sogyeok-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, ROK
Tel: +82.2.724.5337
asyaaf.chosun.com

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ADDENDUM 20090812

I just came back from the exhibition. I didn't want to miss the second installation : a second set of Korean artists (and some foreigners) is exposed, and it was worth the visit (more emotions... and more red dots - I'm looking forward to meeting with the creators).

Cheonjin Poja (Seoul)

One of my favorite spots in Samcheong-dong ? Cheonjin Poja (천진포자 - or Tianjin Baozi / 天津包子).

Receipes may come from Tianjin, the founder came from Taiwan decades ago. Since she couldn't find any decent dumplings in Seoul she decided to make a job out of it.

The result is both good and cheap, which explains the success : an annex opened just meters away from the original place, and you often have to wait to get one of the happy few seats. But you never have to wait for too long : it doesn't take that much time to wolf down their treats.

The menu goes from 3 to 5,000 wons and includes 5 categories : noodles (chow mein, chow bing), fried flower bread, and dumplings : in soup (mandu guk), with meat (pork mandu), or with veggies (an amazing half open leek / buchu mandu).

Reaching this Shangri-la is quite easy. Take Gyoyuk-gil at Anguk Station (exit 3), that's the small street facing Ujeongguk-ro. You pass the schools and a few eateries and that's it, to your left, just before ArtSonje Center and Bukchon-gil.

Cheonjin Poja / 천진포자 (restaurant)
127 Sogyeok-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, ROK
Tel : +82.2.739.6086

SM / Seoul Village 2008

see other restaurants in Seoul and Korea.