Yeongdong-daero Underground City, Korea (YUCK?)

Last March, KEPCO surpassed Hyundai Motor in market capitalization (KRW 37 tn vs 34). Ironically, since Hyundai's financial trouble have something to do with their purchase from KEPCO, in September 2014, of prime land along Yeongdong-daero, for a whopping USD 10 bn.

As you know (e.g. Yeongdongwon focus in last year's "Diagonal crossings, High Lines, and Business Verticals (how pedestrians and businesses remodel Seoul... and vice-versa)"), that site will host the group's future HQ - Hyundai Motor Global Business Center - at the core of a redesigned COEX-Jamsil business district that will stretch over both sides of Tancheon stream (Samseong-dong and Daechi-dong in Gangnam-gu, Jamsil-dong in Songpa-gu), and grow what is already a significant transportation hub into a gigantic one.

Yesterday, Seoul Metropolitan Government released more details about that part of the puzzle, an 'underground city' to be delivered by 2021:

• A big whale: 160,000 square meters under Yeongdong-daero (6 underground floors, 630 m long, 70 wide, 51 deep). Cost: KRW 1.169 tn
• A multimodal hub: subway (Samseong Station on Line 2, Bongeunsa on Line 9), bus (including the City Air Terminal), express railways (GTX-A Samseong-Dongtan, GTX-C Uijeongbu-Samseong-Gunpo, KTX Northeast extension), LRT (Wirye-Sinsa Line - see "Seoul LRT Projects Update (Part 2/2)"). Expected gains in commuting times to Dongtan and City Hall: from respectively 41 and 29 mn by car, to 20 and 5 mn by rail

Views presented last year

The hub will also include various culture and service facilities, and a shopping area complementing the COEX Mall. Pedestrians shall have a better time navigating a space until now devoted to Car Almighty.

With its countless traffic lanes, Yeondong-daero looks like a pre-Gwanghwamun-plaza Sejongno on steroids, and this project seems to consider a similar, tree-less, tip-of-the-iceberg central walkway. But it's not as if masses will roam the surface like downtown: distances are even greater, and most of the fun will remain indoor. As nice as Bongeunsa is, it doesn't rival with Jongno landmarks and Bugaksan.

Still, this transport hub certainly looks less nightmarish than Banpo's Express Bus Terminal, because the Yeongdong-daero / Teheran-ro intersection is far less messy, and because you don't have 'apateu' blocks the scale of say a Banpo Xi. One can also hope that the user experience will be better thought through, more seamless.

How much this will cannibalize business from COEX Mall or Lotte World remains to be seen. But it's already adding trouble to the old business center of Gangnamistan: vacancy rates are expected to keep growing in Gangnam Business District (around Gangnamdae-ro and Teheran-ro at Gangnam Station), even if Hyundai Motor is moving in the time to build its new extravaganza.
Common sense, demographic and economic trends tend to make us think that a success story here would mean a failure somewhere else. And this zero-sum game leaves us every year with more infrastructures to fill.

Let's hope that this 'underground city', which unlike many pharaonic projects does have a purpose, won't be the vast magma chamber of a supervolcano bubble, but at least a successful transport hub.


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Yeon Deung Hoe (Lotus Lantern Festival)

A traditional festival season highlight (literally), the Lotus Lantern Festival is now clearly advertised in original version, as "Yeon Deung Hoe" (연등회), and that's a good thing.

This year again, part of the events will be held in Bongeunsa (Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu) to alleviate foot traffic at Jogyesa (Gyeonji-dong, Jongno-gu).

Yes, I like Seoul by night (here, Jogyesa in 2008)

The festival will run between May 10 and May 17 and as usual*, you can check the program on the offical website (llf.or.kr). Note in particular the following dates:
. Saturday 11th for the lantern parade between Dongdaemun and Jogyesa, along Jong-ro (19:00-21:30)
. Friday 17th for Buddha's birthday (events across the nation)


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* see previous years: "Seoul Lantern Festival" (2012), "Seoul Lotus Lantern Festival" (2011), "Lotus Lantern Festival" (2010), "King Danjong and Korea's Curse" (2009), "Festival Season(s)" (2008)

Seoul International Book Fair

Organized by the Korean Publishers Association, the 17th Seoul International Book Fair will start next week at the COEX, featuring over 570 companies from 23 countries, and sub-exhibitions on the Tripitaka Koreana (for its 1000th anniversary*), Korean writers of 100 years ago, pop-up books, e-books (e-Square)...

Korean literature suffers from a destructive educational system that makes reading a luxury for young minds, which explains the success or more 'operational' genres. But the country enjoys a strong tradition in poetry, and some talents are claiming international recognition (see Shin Kyung-sook's "Please Look After Mom").


And who knows ? Korea could even become a destination for foreign authors : after a recent lecture at Seoul Art Space Yeonhui, 2008 Nobel Prize for Literature JMG Le Clezio Reasons seriously considers staying in that writers residence for a future project.

SIBF - 2011 Seoul International Book Fair
When: June 15-19, 2011 (first day only for pros)
Where: COEX, 159 Samseong-dong, Seoul, KOR 135-731 (Hall A and B)
More details: sibf.or.kr

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* see "Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon" and last year's "International Archival Culture Exhibition"

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20110610 UPDATE

Also : UN/LIMITED EDITION VOL.3, a fair devoted to independent publishing, is organised at PLATOON KUNSTHALLE (Nonhyeon-dong 97-22, Gangnam-gu), Friday, June 17 at 1:00pm - June 18 at 11:00pm). And "this year, the program will dig deeper into the creative network surrounding this culture including films, talks and music."
unlimited-edition.org

Seoul Lotus Lantern Festival

The season of festivals is in full swing, and a photo-op favorite about to bloom : this year, the Lantern Festival will stretch between May 6th and Buddha's Birthday (May 10th), and the always spectacular lantern parade conveniently set for Saturday evening (May 7th between 7 and 9:30 pm).

Follow the parade from Dongdaemun to Jogyesa, and enjoy the temple's festive atmosphere after dark, with all the lanterns lit, unless you decide to stay around Jonggak for the dances and illuminations (9:30-11:00). I guess organizers cannot cope with too big a crowd at the main temple. That must be the reason why, this year, the festival reaches South with an exhibition of traditional lanterns at Bongeunsa (the Samseong-dong temple)... and why organizers are looking for foreign monitors to help cope with a crowd more and more international every year.

For the full schedule, check as usual the Yeongdeunghoe website (llf.or.kr) :



Seoul Village 2011

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20110504 UPDATE

From today's Korea JoongAng Daily ("An ocean of light honors Buddha"), interesting statistics confirming the international trend : last year, 30% of all visitors were non-Koreans. Half a million visitors are expected for the 2011 edition.

Yangmiok (Seoul)

Looking for five star tripes ? Head for Yangmiok, maybe the best gopchang in town. Or maybe I should write "daechang" because their speciality, beyond lamb, is large intestine.

Not very glamorous I know, but as a French citizen in Seoul, I'm often longing for a perfectly grilled AAAAA andouillette, and grilled tripes are the best alternative to that. Back home I wasn't a great fan since we Frogs prefer our tripes wet and soaked in sauce (for instance a la mode de Caen)... not my cup of tea*. In Korea, charcoal grill is the main option and at Yangmiok's, you can have a beef-lamb combo and alternate between really greasy parts and drier ones, and they taste so delicious you don't realize your own stomach is full until you've surpassed its limits.

Not very poetic I now, but this is not about poetry, even if at this stage, one should consider gopchang as art.

As far as the veggie alibi goes, you've got a very nice tofu/herb banchan, salad, and a quite decent ugeoji (우거지) doenjang jjigae which you can sit on the grill to make it boil on charcoal.

And on a lighter note, you finish with the finest nurungji (누룽지) I ever tasted. That's the simple scorched rice in boiling water.


YANGMIOK (restaurant)
Uljiro branch: 161 Euljiro 3-ga, Jung-gu, SEOUL, KOREA
Tel +82.2.2275.8838
COEX branch: 153-55, Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, SEOUL, KOREA
Tel +82.2.565.8836


Seoul Village 2011

* attn my English friends: that's a figure of speech - I wouldn't dare comparing your national beverage to such a vulgar dish.

"Be The Reds", But Not Too Red ?

I was maybe a bit too optimistic when I rolled out the "Red carpet for the World Cup" a couple of weeks ago : since then, the North Korean team has probably lost a few supporters in South Korea (and beyond), and Seoul Plaza might not turn out to be the most popular venue.

Following a clash with SK Telecom and other sponsors of downtown World Cup venues, The Red Devils, Korean national team's main supporter group* and a key ingredient to successful World Cup events, decided to focus on only one site : Samseong-dong in Gangnam-gu. Sponsors wanted to regulate the songs (both the timing and content), supporters freedom of speech and independence from sponsors. Ironically, several songs are associated with other sponsors, and the 2002 "Korea Team Fighting" slogan was at the beginning an ad for KTF, SKT's direct competitor. One of the outcomes of this clash could be the creation of a rival group of supporters.

Anyway, World Cup broadcasters SBS accepted the Red Devils' terms, to the risk of inviting more partisans of freedom of speech. And since the venue, in front of Bongeunsa, has become a converging point for demonstrations against LEE's conservative government, political recuperation seemed inevitable. As expected, candlestick vigil organizers instantly called for combo events, like 'come to our demo at 7 PM, enjoy the game at 8'... and shortly after that, Red Devils whistled them offside, like 'true supporters come for football, please don't mix this event with politics'.

I suggest a red card to all players : organizers, sponsors, supporters, broadcasters, and demonstrators.

Seoul Village 2010

* that's the South Korean national team. It always struck me as funny how this nickname for North Korean 'commies' in 1960s ROK propaganda became a symbol of 2000s ROK.