Yeonhuigung - quintessentially Joseon

As you may know, the founder of the Joseon dynasty wanted to build his new capital city in the Yeonhui-Sinchon area. King Taejo loved the place, but his teams wanted to go further afield, to a bigger site beyond Muaksan / Asan, in the nest guarded by Bugaksan / Inwangsan. Taejo eventually gave in, but built a palace for his father where he wished he could have created his own.

The name of the future 'new town' capital city remained until now: Sinchon means 'new village'. The name of the palace also survived, but more indirectly: Yeonhuigung (연희궁-延禧宮) gave its name to the neighborhood, now known as Yeonhui-dong, and later to Yonsei University - for the 'Yon' part ('Sei' came from 'Severance' hospital).

Yeonhuigung was said to be made for future kings, and people around here often joke that the tradition perdured into the next millenium, because 4 South Korean presidents lived in the area (CHOI Kyu-hah, Chun Doo-hwan, ROH Tae-woo, KIM Dae-jung). But when they ruled, Yeonhuigung was already gone for decades.

It's interesting to note how this palace shared his fate with the Joseon Dynasty: created by its founder, blessed by King Sejong The Great (Taejo's grandson renovated it during the second year of his rule), and disgraced by King Sejo's bloodline. Sejo was the man who destroyed Sejong's heritage and the nation's momentum (see "King Danjong and Korea's Curse"), and his descendant Yeonsangun, another one of Korea's worst rulers ever,  basically turned Yeonhuigung into one of his lust spaces. The palace didn't survive the Japanese occupation.

So where would be this palace nowadays? On Yonsei campus, not far from the soccer field where I use to play, around where they built that new exit on Songsan-ro (to pave the way for a pedestrian Yonsei-ro).

Inaugurated Yonsei's new sw gate on my bike after the game (4 goals, 6 assists). Felt like king of Zlatanistan. (20131023 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/393912711299342336)
NB: to reach "Ventouxsan" (see "A bump on the road (Ventoux-san)"), follow that bike to the right

Local authorities have only recently sold the land - at a very low price - to the university, which had been using it for decades. Maybe something could be done to mark more visibly - not too eyesorely visibly, if possible - the former location of such a royal landmark.


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Seoul LRT Projects Update (Part 1/2)

Here's the promised focus on the 10 Light Rail Transit lines proposed in the revised Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Master Plan*... Or at least the first half (I told you it would take time!):

• This post follows:
• a focus on the macro level of this master plan (the big picture, and Seoul's proposed 3 priority axes - see "If you ain't broke, fix it: Seoul, Welfare and Railways Deficits"), and
• a first glance at 7 projected LRT lines, a fortnight ago (see "Seoul Light Rapid Transit Back On Tracks").
• Today, we'll present the new full list of 10 lines supposed to be delivered during the next 10 years, introduce 3 more projects considered for a longer term, and study in detail 3 lines in this list of 10, which are interconnected (Seobu Line, Sillim Line, Nangok Line).
• The other 7 lines will be detailed in a further post
  UPDATE: here it is: "Seoul LRT Projects Update (Part 2/2)"

So. Again, overall, I strongly support the development of new railways across a metropolis that lags behind its global rivals in that most crucial field, and I'm happy to see major holes in the net fixed, but I want to be sure that the right priorities are set, particularly considering Seoul's limited financial resources, and the usual suspicions surrounding grand scale infrastructure projects popping up out of the blue a few months before mayoral elections.

And again, at the macro level, the master plan didn't lay out a clear strategic vision based on the existing situation and the challenges to come, which didn't help challenge the priorities, including at the micro level we're about to investigate now.

Are we missing something? And in case a trade-off were needed, which lines should be kept and which ones should be dumped? I wish I had all the answers and all the elements.

And remember: this is only Seoul's wishlist, n projects at various stages of maturity, not even a final proposal. Don't expect everything to happen.


The full (?) list of future LRT lines: from 7 to 10 (to 13?)


First, two maps (I told you, I love maps). I already showed you the first one, a "before-after" Seoul where each orange dot corresponds to a 10 min. walk around one railway station:

before and after the new lines - about this map, see previous post

The second map presents all the lines I'll list below:



Seoul map with the projected LRT lines: the initial 7 in black, the updated list of 10 in red, a 3 other projects in blue

Here's the revised list of ten LRT projects (starting with the initial list of 7, in black on the map / the last 3 - in italic, in red on the map - have just been added), with their projected daily traffic and length:

• 7 lines in the initial list (in black on the above map):
• Dongbuk Line (183,276 users - 13.3 km extended to 14.3)
• Seobu Line (163,754 users - 15.7 km extended to 19.5)
• Sillim Line (119,743 users - 8.9 km extended to 10)
• Myeonmok Line (91,472 users - 9 km)
• Mok-dong Line (89,587 users - 10.8 km)
• Nangok Line (54,247 users - 4.1 km)
• Ui-Sincheol Extension (30,227 users - 3.5 km)
• 3 new lines (in red on the above map):
• Wirye-Sinsa Line (168,784 users - 14.8 km)
• Subway Line 9 Extension (65,159 users - 3.8 km)
• Wirye (33,081 users - 5 km)

Seoul says 10,000 users are enough to make a line profitable (regardless of its configuration?). Note that for the moment, private investors have already shown interest in two lines: Seobu and Myeonmok.

3 other LRT projects (in blue on the above map) shall be considered 5 years from now, provided the conditions change favorably:

• The now famous Sillim Line extension into Seoul National University, for which SNU would pay 50% of the construction (don't buy your KRW 1,400 tickets to SNU too soon!)

• A further Subway Line 9 extension: from Godeok-Gangil District 1 to Gangil-dong, Gangdong-gu on the other side of the circular expressway 100, in the westernmost section of Seoul, right before Hanam. Reminder: back in 2010, Subway Line 5 was the one supposed to be prolonged to Hanam (see "Spectacular extensions of Seoul Subway Lines 4-5-6-7 ?")

• A Hwagok-Hongdae Line that, judging by the sketches, would start from Hongik University Station, cross the DMC along Worldcupbuk-ro, take the Gayang Bridge across the Han river, and follow Hwagok-ro to Hwagok Station (Hawgok-dong, Gangseo-gu), joining subway lines 2, 6, 9, and 5 in the process. It would add a precious vertical link within Southwest Seoul (nothing outside of the Subway Line 2 ring), and bring the western halves of the city closer together (not to mention the DMC and Magok District). While Seoul is at it, why not consider a more ambitious second ring? Expensive, I know, but always keep an eye on the big picture

• Note that Seoul also mentions a potential Subway Line 6 extension, maybe the one projected in 2010 (see "Spectacular extensions of Seoul Subway Lines 4-5-6-7 ?")

Now back to this list of 10. I'll start with the longest, the one that fills the biggest hole in Seoul's railway network, and the one I mentioned yesterday (see "Yonsei-ro the first street in Seoul to ban cars in its transportation mix"): Seobu Line. But I cannot do that without mentioning two shorter lines that are connected to it: Sillim and Nangok.


A 3-Tailed Dragon or the Seobu / University Line all the way?

• If you see the proposed network, 3 new vertical LRT lines are connected to each other, like a 3-Tailed Dragon:
• Seobu Line - The longest and most structural project: a vertical through Western Seoul (thus the name) that to the North fills the biggest hole in the network (around Eunpyeong-Seodaemun), and to the South cuts halfway between the too distant verticals of lines 2 and 4 (Dongjak-gu, Gwanak-gu). Between the two stretches, Seobu Line crosses Mapo-gu and doubles the horizontal line 9 through the saturated Yeouido hub. In previous plans, the line stopped halfway between Yeouido and Seoul National University Station.
• Sillim Line - A vertical between Yeouido and Sillim-dong, but more to the west (closer to Line 2, at the Yeongdeungpo-gu / Dongjak-gu border), and reaching deeper to the south, to east-Sillim-dong (Sinwon-dong, Seowon-dong, Seorim-dong, Sillim-dong)
•  Nangok Line - Around its middle (Boramae Park Station), where the Sillim Line becomes a diagonal, this vertical heads straigth to the south and west-Sillim-dong (Jowon-dong, Miseong-dong, Nangok-dong, Nanyang-dong)

• Frankly, I don't believe in a "3-Tail LRT Dragon" scenario where all 3 lines (Seobu, Sillim, Nangok) get the nod. Among the possible scenarii:
• If your priority is to reach SNU (that's a joke), you don't need a Sillim Line, and all you have to do is to add one "Inside SNU" station after Seoul National University Station via Gwanak-ro.
• If you want to keep only one project, and if you consider that the Sillim Line vertical is less central than Seobu to fill the Line 2 - Line 4 gap, you can keep the Seobu Line all the way to Guam station, finish with the last 3 stations of the Sillim Line to serve Sillim-dong (plus SNU if you insist!) and, to draw a straighter line between both segments, to replace Seoul National Station with Bongcheon Station, and Euncheon Samgeori station with, say, a station at the intersection of Euncheon-ro and Yangmyeong-ro.
• If you can only afford two lines, you can keep the modified Seobu Line I just described, and a combination of Sillim and Nangok (Yeouido-Boramae Park-Nanyang)

Seobu Line (approximative) list of stations

Seobu Line shall run from Saejeol Station in Eunpyeong-gu to Seoul National University Station in Gwanak-gu (in previous plans, it stopped at Jangseungbaegi Station):

• Saejeol Station (Subway Line 6) in Sinsa-dong, Eunpyeong-gu: where Gajwa-ro, a major diagonal axis in Seodaemun, crosses Bulgwangcheon
• Chungamgo Samgeori in Eungam-dong, Eunpyeong-gu (Baengnyeongsa: in front of Choongam High School, at a strategic fork betweeen Gajwa-ro and Baengnyeongsan-ro, which borders the recently erected Eungam New Town. After that, the line continues along Gajwa-ro and turns right at Geobukgol-ro, where it reaches the next station.
• Myeongji University in Namgajwa-dong, Seodaemun-gu: the first major university on this line (Myeongjidae), with another new new town, Gajwa New Town. Another right angle but to the left this time: the line follows Jeungga-ro, crosses Hongjecheon to reach the center of Yeonhui-dong.
• Yeonhui in Yeonhui-dong, Seodaemun-gu: at Yeonhui Samgeori (intersection between Jeungga-ro and Yeonhui-ro), near Yeonhui Elementary School. The line takes Yeonhui-ro to the right, then Seongsan-ro to the left.
• Yonsei University in Sinchon-dong and Changcheon-dong, Seodaemun-gu: at the main gate of the university, in front of Yonsei-ro. About the impacts between this station and the next one (and my wish to see a connection with the Sinchon Station of the Gyeongui Line), read "Yonsei-ro the first street in Seoul to ban cars in its transportation mix".
• Sinchon Station (Subway Line 2) in Changcheon-dong, Seodaemun-gu and Nogosan-dong, Mapo-gu. University-wise, that's very close to the entrance of Seogang University, and one station away from Hongdae and Ehwa. Note that we just passed 4 new stations since Line 6: if you look back to the "before-after" map, that fills the "white" triangle in Northwest Seoul.
• Gwangheungchang Station (Subway Line 6) in Seogang-dong, Mapo-gu: we've been following Seogang-ro from Sinchon Rotary, and will continue straight across the Han river to Yeouido under the Seogang Bridge, where the avenue becomes Gukhoe-daero.
• Seogang Bridge Southern End (Seogangdaegyonamdan Sageori) in Yeoui-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu: at the intersection of Gukhoe-daero and Yeouiseo-ro. Instead of continuing straight and joining National Assembly Station, the Seobu Line takes Bokeum-gil to the left to draw a parallel to Subway Line 9, both lines cutting Yeouido in 3 almost equal slices.
• MBC (Munhabangsong ap - Potential connection to Sillim Line?) in Yeoui-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu: on the other side of the park, we're now on Gukjegeumyung-ro, at the intersection with Yeouinaru-ro, exactly halfway between Yeouinaru and Yeouido stations (Subway Line 5), less than 400 m on each direction on . It would be completely stupid not to make a direct connection with Yeouido Station, which is also on Subway Line 9: a simple corridor would do. But there is also a potential connection with the future Sillim Line (LRT), in case both are built. Note that 3 years ago, no connection was planned and that was quite a shock.
• Yeouido St.Mary's Hospital in Yeoui-dong, Yeoui-gu: at the Catholic University of Korea hospital, where Gukjegeumyung-ro meets Yeouidong-ro.
• Noryangjin Station (Subway Lines 1, 9) in Noryangjin-dong, Dongjak-gu: beyond the old fish market, a significant transportation hub, even if Seoul city has sidelined Noryangjin New Town. The line heads south, following Jangseungbaegi-ro, drawing a vertical line halfway between Subway Line 2 and Subway Line 4.
• Jangseungbaegi Station (Subway Line 7) in Sangdo-dong, Dongjak-gu: typically, line 7 runs for 7 stations between line 2 and line 4 without meeting any other line, and Jangseungbaegi is the one in the middle.
  THIS IS WHERE SEOBU LINE STOPPED IN PREVIOUS PLANS.
• Sinsangdo in Sangdo-dong, Dongjak-gu: that's the intersection of Jangseungbaegi-ro and Yangnyeong-ro, which the Seobu line will follow after that.
• Guam in Bongcheon-dong, Gwanak-gu: more precisely at the intersection of Euncheon-dong, and Seonghyeon-dong, an area densely populated, on the other side of the Yangnyeong Tunnel. The line then takes Euncheon-ro to the left.
• Euncheon Samgeori in Bongcheon-dong, Gwanak-gu: at the intersection of Euncheon-ro and Gwanak-ro (between Seonghyeon-dong, Jungang-dong, and Haengun-dong). The line takes Gwanak-ro to the right.
• Seoul National University Station (Subway Line 2) in Bongcheon-dong, Gwanak-gu: on the stretch of 6 stations between Daerim and Sadang, Bongcheon Station would have been more central.

Sillim Line (approximative) list of stations

Sillim Line shall run from Yeouido to Nanhyang-dong:

• MBC (Projected station - Seobu Line) in Yeoui-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu: see above
• Saetgang Station (Subway Line 9) in Yeoui-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu: where the line used to start before someone realized it would be interesting to connect the line with Seobu. The line takes Yeouidaebang-ro, towards South-Southwest.
• Daebang Station (Subway Line 1) in Daebang-dong, Dongjak-gu: at the intersection with Noryangjin-ro.
• Seongnam Middle & High School in Singil-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu and Daebang-dong, Dongjak-gu
• Boramae Station (Subway Line 7) in Singil-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu and Daebang-dong, Dongjak-gu
• Boramae Park (LRT Nangok Line?) in Sindaebang-dong, Dongjak-gu: at the park and hospital. That's where Nangok Line is supposed to start. The Sillim Line heads to the East along Bongcheon-ro.
• Danggok Sageori in Boramae-dong and Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu: the intersection with Sillim-ro, which the line will take towards South
• Sillim Station (Subway Line 2) in Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu: the Sillim line will reach for the serpentine Dorimcheon
• Dorimcheon in Seowon-dong and Seorim-dong, Gwanak-gu: near the second Sillim Bridge.
• Sillim-ro near Sinseong Elementary School in Seorim-dong and Daehak-dong, Gwanak-gu: back to Sillim-ro, heading in the direction of SNU. On the other side of Dorimcheon starts Hoam-ro, along which Sillim New Town is under construction. Hoam-ro leads to Nangok-ro and Nanhyang-dong, where the Nangok Line ends. A potential Sillim Loop Line?
• Seoul National University main gate in Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu: main gate, at the intersection with Gwanak-ro.

Nangok Line (approximative) list of stations

Nangok Line shall run from Boramae Park to Nanyang-dong:

• Boramae Park (LRT Sillim Line?) in Sindaebang-dong, Dongjak-gu: see above
• Sindaebang Station (Subway Line 2) in Sindaebang-dong, Dongjak-gu and Sinsa-dong, Gwanak-gu: the line follows Nangok-ro
• Nangok Sageori in Miseong-dong, Gwanak-gu: intersection with Munseong-ro
• Nangok-dong in Nangok-dong, Gwanak-gu: the heart of a small valley of Gwanaksan.
• Nanhyang-dong in Gwanak-gu: a cluster of apartments, and if you continue, Huam-ro, Sillim New Town (see above) 

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* see "'서울 어디서나 도시철도 10분' - 철도 중심시대가 열립니다" (seoul.go.kr 20130725)

Yonsei-ro the first street in Seoul to ban cars in its transportation mix

The project has been in the air for more than a year but it's now official: Yonsei-ro, the street connecting Yonsei University with Sinchon Station, will be the first one in Seoul to ban private cars.

Only bicycles and small public buses will be allowed (not to mention of course emergency vehicles). Taxis will only be allowed between midnight and 4 A.M. Two time slots are opened for business purposes like deliveries (10-11 AM, 3-4 PM), but some adaptations are already considered, and that could turn quickly messy if no clear rules are applied. In any case, the speed limit is reduced to 30 km/h.
 
Some roadwork is planned, in particular to alleviate the usual bottlenecks along Seongsan-ro (for instance, you can tell a V.I.P. has died when there's a huge queue in front of Severance Hospital). And at the southern end of Yonsei-ro, the traffic coming from the Southeast (Baekbeom-ro) will now be able to turn directly to the left towards Seogang Bridge (Seogang-ro) at Sinchon Rotary.

Of course, congestions shall diminish even more spectacularly thanks to the newly resurrected Seobu Line (see "Seoul Light Rapid Transit Back On Tracks" and a focus I was supposed to finish Tuesday on new railway projects - coming up soon!). Reminder: the future line between Eunpyeong-gu and Gwanak-gu will pass by Sinchon Station and create a new station right in front of the university.
 
So good news for pedestrians, cyclists, and more good news for a neighborhood that badly needed some a couple of years ago (see "Sinchon reloaded - Sinchon Global Zone"**). Again, the success of a neighborhood relies a lot on the relevance of its transportation system, and if this Yonsei-ro project will probably require some fine tuning, it marks, combined with the new subway line, a move in the right direction.

Now that Sinchon seems to be regaining momentum, one can envision a more balanced dialog with Hongdae area. 


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* "버스, 자전거만 통행 가능합니다" (Seoul.go.kr 20130801)
** where I also suggested to connect the two "Sinchon Station" (Subway Line 2 and Gyeongui Line), which were less than 500 m apart. This new Yonsei University Station will be twice closer to the train station...

CHUN Doo-hwan for the record

The other day, my dictator neighbor received a visit from prosecutors who, beyond his Yeonhui-dong house, raided several homes and companies belonging to his relatives. CHUN Doo-hwan was said to be relaxed and polite while they searched his house. For show, he did leave them a little bit more petty cash than usual for their pain (provided they can link him to the over two hundred artworks collected, including some from famous painters such as Park Soo-keun), but nothing close to the KRW 167.5 bn he still owes to the nation.

I'm surprised to learn that prosecutors were surprised to find his safe empty*:

• Arguably Korea's most hated politician (NB: no small feat, particularly across the aisle these days), CHUN had probably been tipped off thanks to his pervasive network. Judging by his impunity and the frequent visits of V.I.P.s to his place, the man still knows how to pull the strings - if not call the shots (no sick pun intended for the victims of the Gwangju Massacre).
• But you don't need to be a crime genius to know something was coming: lawmakers had just voted an extension of the search for his illegal funds in time (until 2020), and in reach (to the relatives). Even if several members of CHUN's family are now under interdiction to leave the national territory, many suspect that significant slush funds have already traveled to friendlier destinations.





Among Monday tweets: "This time, media don't come to #Yeonhuidong to shoot a drama. Prosecutors raid my neighbor dictator #ChunDoohwan" (http://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/357023321507889153) / "Reminder: #ChunDoohwan got not only a "Get out of jail free" card, but his hands deep into the Community Chest" (http://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/357044770637492226)

Anyway, Korea needs to recover more than the money still owed by its former strongman**, and even more than the undisclosed total of additional public or private assets rumored to have been offered to his friends.

Korea must recover its credibility as a democracy where justice is not only independent, but respected. Where being a top politician or a top businessman shouldn't mean being granted an unlimited supply of "get out of jail free cards".

I'm not a supporter of death penalty, and I'm glad CHUN's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. I also understand some of the reasons why KIM Yong-sam and KIM Dae-jung pardoned him, but still, putting him out of jail sent a very wrong message to the nation and to the world, and every episode of the saga that followed confirmed the nuisance**.  Now I hope that this time, the record is set right, and that all culprits pay, including in terms of prison time.

Now I guess I've made my point: I'm not exactly a fan of this convicted criminal.

But since CHUN Doo-hwan's record must be set straight, I'd like to mention a lesser known part of his legacy. He banned private tutoring and hagwon the way dictators do (the ugly way, leveraging on coercion and squealers), but towards the end of his rule, students could reach top universities on a merit basis unseen ever since.

I don't know if this can explain a boom in successful independent entrepreneurs one decade later. I don't know the backgrounds of people like the founders of Naver, NCSoft, or Daum (LEE Hae-jin, KIM Tae-jin, or LEE Jae-woong, respectively SNU, SNU, Yonsei U), and I know that anyway, the internet boom offered a unique opportunity for non-chaebol players to emerge in brand new arenas, just one click away from endusers.

But maybe, in his own wicked way, the dictator ironically*** helped rise to the top some of the university leaders who accelerated his fall. Who knows?

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* "Prosecutors Find Empty Safe in Ex-President's House" (Chosun Daily 20130718)
** see previous raids, or last year's episode of "Neighborhood watch"
*** irony: Chung used to be basically Park Geun-hye's bodyguard, and in charge of the security of the predecessor he removed from power

From Sweet Home to Happy Housing

Remember Bogeumjari ("Sweet Home")? LEE Myung-bak's government decided to bite into Seoul's remaining green sanctuaries to build homes for the underpriviledged - behind the noble alibi, an environmental, urban, economic, and social nonsense (see "Tighten your greenbelt").

"Sweet Home", but Sour Greenbelt: welcome to Bogeumjari Gangnam

The PARK Geun-hye government tries another concept: Haengbok Jutaek ("Happy Housing"). The idea is to improve existing neighborhoods, promote social mixity, and - hopefully - develop a more sustainable story while building 10,000 new units to rent for households in the need.

How to find affordable land on more central areas? By covering railway tracks and reservoir facilities, for instance, like at Oryu-dong Station (Guro-gu), or Gajwa Station (Namgajwa-dong, Seodaemun-gu). It confirms recent declarations about covering railways across Seoul, something the DMC would badly need to improve the urban continuity with Susaek-dong and Eunpyeong-gu.

I don't know how if the "University Student Town" planned over Gajwa Station (Gyeongui Line) will replace or compete with a similar project in Hongje, also in Seodaemun, also targeting students from the 5 nearby universities (see "Along Hongjecheon, my way or the highway"):

Seodaemun University Student Town and other Happy Housing projects ("서대문엔 대학생 타운, 안산엔 외국인 센터 짓는다" - Chosun Ilbo 20130521)

Overall, 6 neighborhoods have been selected in Seoul*, plus one in Ansan, where the story will be about multicultural dialog (in Gojan-dong, Danwon-gu, with a focus on foreign workers). The final list will be confirmed in July, and authorizations signed by the end of the year. Other regions might follow.

Anyway, "Sweet Home" or "Happy Housing", it still doesn't look like a little house on the Seoul prairie...


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* the other 4 are in Garak-dong and Jamsil-dong in Songpa-gu, Gongneung-dong in Nowon-gu, and Mok-dong in Yangcheon-gu

Hoehyeon Apt, Chungjeong Apt, Dongdaemun Apt, Ogin Apt...

They are touchingly ugly, and sometimes dangerous, but we can't help loving them.

They? Seoul's venerable apartment blocks of the first generation, survivors from the sixties.

I just followed Robert Fouser's link to an article* on modern architectural heritage in Seoul, mentioning Dongdaemun Apt (Changsin-dong, Jongno-gu) and illustrated with a mugshot of my beloved "Hulk Building" (Chungjeong Apt, Chungjeongno, Seodaemun-gu). Immediately resurfaced vivid memories of the amazing Hoehyeon Apt (Hoehyeon-dong, Jung-gu) and of other more or less hidden gems.

Chungjeong Apt is certainly not hiding. You can't miss this cult green thing between Chungjeongno Station and K1 REIT Building, with its metal staircase hanging from its temple like a stray lock of dirty hair (what "Hulk" is hiding is the French Embassy, from which the tall trees emerge in the back):
 

Some of these old timers have been unplugged, most recently Ogin Apt (Ogin-dong, Jongno-gu), at the feet of Inwangsan. And I can't remember the name of that other block, next to the Hyatt, that was wiped out at about the same time as the former Japanese Governor General Building**, but I visited friends there at least once a week, and there were still the small signs preventing people from taking pictures from the windows (to spy Yongsan Garrison?)...

My all time fave remains Hoehyeon Apt, on the other side of Namsan. I even wrote a fiction about it. That place is simply bewitching, and if I were a photographer or a filmmaker I'd probably spend years haunting it. Before being eaten alive by it.

Straight from a cartoon by Miyazaki Hayao on antidepressants (or straight from a M.C. Escher nightmare), the derelict structure somehow manage to hang from Namsan, anchored by scrawny staircases themselves on the verge of collapse. At its inception a model for Korean collective housing, Hoehyeon Apt is an insult to today's standard of living, and was even declared hazardous a couple of years ago.

Hoehyeon Apartment at its brightest

 

Hoehyeon Apartment - Namsan side

 

Hopefully, the 'vintage' spirit that has been on Seoul air for a a decade has helped Seoulites reconsider these time capsules, a spectacular and shameful part of their heritage.

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* "서울서 가장 오래된 충정 아파트, 근현대 문화유산 '보류'" (thanks for the link!)
** then the National Museum of Korea. I'm glad both structures are gone now.

Along Hongjecheon, my way or the highway

If Hongjecheon has been renovated a couple of years ago, this lovely stream remains disfigured by one of Seoul's most infamous elevated highways, the Naebu Expressway, here clearly visible behind Yujin Sanga and Inwang market:

I'm afraid Naebu won't be removed anytime soon: inaugurated in 1995, this "inner ring" is a vital rapid transit axis for cars across "gangbuk" Seoul (north of the Han river):

In a city sacrificed on the altar of real estate speculation, building over a waterway turned out to be the cheapest and fastest way to solve chronic traffic congestion, but the costliest in terms of environmental and urban impacts. Seoul's projects being on hold for the "U Smartway" underground expressways as well as for new subway lines in the area, we might have to wait for decades before the Cheonggyecheon scenario is reproduced here. And that's a shame, because Hongjecheon is dotted with absolutely charming sites. But to enjoy them, you have to use your imagination, and to mentally photoshop all this concrete out of your sight.

***

First, the big picture: Hongjecheon crosses Jongno-gu, Seodaemun-gu, and Mapo-gu, drawing a NE-SW diagonal (horizontal on this schema) from Bukhansan to the Han River:

1) Jongno-gu (a 4+ km ride along Pyeongchang-dong, Sinyeong-dong, and Hongji-dong):

Here, the young streamlet has been almost completely obliterated, and only short segments emerge on both sides of Segeomjeong-ro, Pyeongchang-dong's main road, at the bottom of the valley between Seodaemun-gu (West) and Songbuk-gu (East).

Right before the Segeomjeong-ro - Jahamun-ro crossroads, Hongjecheon draws an absolutely ravishing curve, with a small village at its tip. Unfortunately, redevelopment has already spoiled an area which would, in any other city, have remained a very picturesque neighborhood.

Gracefully, the stream then circles the hill crowned by Hongjimun, Seoul fortress's northern gate, while nesting at its feet the pavillion that gave its name to the road, Segeomjeong. But all you see is the big crossroads, where Jahamun-ro stops, at the entrance of Sangmyung University. Starting at Gyeongbokgung Station, the road that splits Seochon in its middle was widened when the Jahamun Tunnel was pierced, and prolonged here, where it looks more like the beginning of a highway.

A hundred meters further to the west, you leave Jongno for Seodaemun. 

2) Seodaemun-gu (a 6+km ride along Hongje-dong, Hongeun-dong, Namgajwa-dong, and Yeonhui-dong):

But you have yet to leave the Pyeongchang valley, and for that, Hongjecheon carved a glorious V-shaped gateway between Bukhansan and Inwangsan, and humans added a cute hamlet. But rushing through this natural bottleneck, the new and improved Segeomjeong-ro destroys all harmony at ground level, and Naebu Expressway takes care of the mountain, suddenly springing out of its Hongjimun Tunnel to expose its obscene mass over your head. To add insult to injury, the six "dong" of Yuwon Hana Apartment complex have been erected right on this spot. I wish I took pictures of this place before the concrete hit the fan...

You have now reached the northernmost part of another valley surrounded by a complex mountain system featuring Inwangsan, Bukhansan, Baekryeonsan, Yeonhuisan and Ansan. Here, separating Hongeun-dong and Hongje-dong, Hongjecheon draws another curve, this time much wider and heading north, as if to contemplate the scenery before dashing towards the Han river. If Naebu Expressway mercifully spared this curve (to gain a few costly hectometers), a couple of appartement blocks have been sprayed over the landscape. There used to be more than a few hanoks in the area, but I don't think many survived.

Soon after the loop, Naebu rides Hongjecheon's back again. Worse: the stream is fully covered by an older concrete monster, Yujin Sanga (유진상가). The long shopping arcade - or rather the Inwang Market it also hides - marks a strategic crossroads: here, Segeomjeong-ro becomes Yeonhui-ro and meets Tongil-ro, northeast Seoul's historic backbone.

You're in Hongje Station neighborhood, an urban question mark subject to countless renovation projects. Four years ago, there was a plan to build 50 story towers and a silver center there, and last time I mentioned this spot, it was to wonder about the future of Inwang Market ("Tongin market opens up to art : adaptation or yet another symptom of Seochon's "Bukchonization"?"). Seodaemun-gu just announced 500 residences for students (one site near the subway station, another in front of the Grand Hilton): there are more than a dozen universities nearby, and it could complete a Sinchon-Hongdae-Hongje triangle.

Anyway, I don't hear much about the stream in any renovation project. As if it didn't exist. And it precisely happens to be one of the few historic, cultural, and natural threads planners can leverage in the area.

Hongjecheon becomes more tourist-friendly when it meets Moraenae-ro: a fake waterfall and a promenade have been arranged in the last curve before the straight line to Hangang, and sport facilities regularly dot the usual bike lanes along the banks. It can't get much kitschier, but it works, and it reconciles whole neigborhoods with the old waterway.

Great risks and opportunities rise with Gajwa New Town / Gajaeul New Town growing up on the northern side (Namgajwa-dong / Moraenae-ro), and the smaller redevelopments planned on the southern side (Yeonhui-dong / Hongjecheon-ro). Again, this area "is expecting redeveloppement like Ellen Ripley her baby alien", and I'm not sure such eateries as Moraeae Seollongtang or Yeonhuigol Gumteo will survive.

Let's hope Seodaemun-gu and Seoul Metropolitan Government will not allow towers to be erected along the stream the way it did almost everywhere else, clogging the city even more instead of leveraging some of its most precious assets. To the contrary, it's a unique opportunity to improve urban and daily life harmony, and the pedestrian and cultural experience along Hongjecheon.

As you follow the current, you walk under the bridges of Hongyeongyo (at Yeonhui-ro), Hongyeon2gyo (at Gajwa-ro), and Hongnamgyo (at Jungga-ro), before reaching another major concrete and steel mess around Sacheongyo, where Hongjaecheon and Naebu Ringways cross a major road (Seongsan-ro/Susaek-ro), and a major railway (the Gyeonghui Line*). At this disgraceful frontier between Seodaemun-gu and Mapo-gu, the stream is a victim among others of urbanism gone wrong.

3) Mapo-gu (a 2+km ride along Yeonnam-dong, Seongsan-dong, Sangam-dong, and Mangwon-dong):

The final stretch now. Before merging with the Han River, Hongjecheon flows east-southeastwards in a sunken straight line, even more overwhelmed by road infrastructures. From above, people riding their bikes or using the free exercise machines almost look like inmates in a high security facility.

Between Mapo-gu City Hall and Seoul World Cup Stadium, just a few hundred meters before Hangang, the stream receives a last minute boost from Bulgwancheon, a lucky rival who saw no elevated highway ride piggyback along its path... Which, of course, doesn't mean urban planners will spare it.

Anyway. In a final concrete spaghetti extravaganza, Naebu Ringway and Seongsan-ro also rush towards the river, splitting into thinner elevated tentacles plungeing towards the riveside highways, or even reaching across the Hangang, as Seongsan-ro turns into Seongsan Bridge.

The general impression? Cars and roads everywhere, the negation of a city, the negation of its citizens, the negation of its natural landscape.

***

I would like to show two films in parallel: the journey we've just made along Hongjecheon, then and now, before and after the urban massacre.

My point is not that everything was better in the past (not always true), but that we must work on a better future. Maybe these two films could help trigger a third, animated one: a collaborative effort showing what could be reasonably done to right some of the wrongest wrongs.


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* which by the way will be extended all the way to Gongdeok (inauguration by the end of this year).

A bump on the road (Ventoux-san)

Saying that Seoul is hilly is a bit like saying that Chicago is windy, but it doesn't show as much as it used to: over the past decades, the city has been carpeted with high rise "apateu" blocks, and hungry caterpilars have bitten off most hilltops.

In many cases, new roads simply cut through the highest hills that used to separate villages nesting on each flank. Picture a hot metal bar lowered on a butter mound: it doesn't cost as much as a tunnel, but leaves disgracious concrete walls on both sides of the road - barren Gaussian curves where the city ceases to exist. Sometimes a bridge connects the former halves of a same neighborhood but only the few people living on the very top use them, and you have to go down at least 500 m on either direction to find a pedestrian crosswalk and risk your life through six lanes of traffic. Final score? Cars 1-0 Humans.

Down in the valleys, you often see much smaller versions of these Gaussian curves (or, on a more poetic note, the bowl hat version of the snake that swallowed an elephant in Saint Exupery's "Le Petit Prince"). And these big bumps on the road can be really annoying when you're a pedestrian: you're on the sidewalk at street level, and suddenly you have to go up and downhill while the road remains flat. For no reason, except of course to reach the few houses remaining at that old street level, as pictured here:



But don't imagine that the guy on the bottom left of this drawing can reach the door on the bottom right without passing by the guy on the top of the hill. That would be too easy. Most of the time, local planners considered that one sidewalk was enough. After all, for many of them, cars seem to be the most important beings in the city.

Every week-end, I ride my bicycle to Yonsei University where I play soccer... or rather a sport that vaguely ressembles soccer when I'm on a good day. From Yeonhui-dong, I have no choice but to use the Northern sidewalk along Seongsan-ro. And if I survive the dangerous entrance to Dongseo Oriental Hospital (see "medical tourism"), I have to face not one but two of those bumps before reaching the stadium.

The second bump is no biggie (even if elder citizens would not agree with the statement): its highest point must reach about 2.5 m over street level. Furthermore, the elevation makes possible the connection between a minor tributary and main street, and fluidifies both foot and car traffic. But the first bump... that mean, steep, 75 m long nightmare shouldn't even exist anymore.

The houses that used to top the hill have merged into a big building which can only be reached from a back street, and the whole thing was elevated even higher, protected by a plain wall without any opening. So basically, to get from the door to the bottom left to the door to the bottom right, you have to go up a very abrupt and absurd hill that leads to nowhere:



If I've climbed much steeper slopes in Seoul, this one makes me very very angry. Granted, it gives me a perfect alibi for my poor performance later at Yonsei, but I'm sure everybody in the area would love to see it disappear.

Of course, the obvious thing to do would be to get rid of the hill altogether and to prolong the mansion's walls to street level. That wouldn't cost much, and would change the lives of many citizens.

So last year, when I saw a group of workers studying the hill, I thought that, at long last, change was coming.

All they did was to put a metal handrail along the mansion wall.

Yes they can.

I'm sure Seodaemun citizens felt offended and said something because a few months later, more workers came. That's it, I thought, they're really going to fix it.

They erected a staircase on both sides of the hill. More concrete, yeah!

And to sign their masterpiece, they've just put a brand new layer of asphalt. A cherry on an unedible cake.

Here's the new and improved mess, complete with its railing, staircases, and asphalt:

How much for these three brilliant interventions? For the same price, I bet they could have sliced at least half of the monster, and that would have made a lot more difference.

I can't wait for the next touch: a marquee to protect sweating bikers from the baking sun during their ascent of Seoul's Mont Ventoux?

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