Seoul center stage

Earlier this month, Seoul became the world capital of art for a week with the conjunction of Seoul Art Week, KIAF + Frieze Seoul, Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism, Seoul Fashion Week, Crypto Art Seoul / Korea Blockchain Week, and a myriad of events, shows, and gallery openings.

(If you wonder what Mitch McConnell was doing on my Instagram timeline during Frieze Seoul 2023, I found this very realistic statue of him on sale at a discount price at Freeze D.C. 2023) Hopping from Hyoja-dong (Arumjigi) to Samseong-dong (Frieze-KIAF @ COEX) via Huam-dong (M+ and Doryun CHONG's homecoming, Whitestone's opening), Sinsa-dong (White Cube and LEE Jinju), Euljiro (Dan Archer and LG OLED at the DDP, Seongsu-dong (Beeple at The Gateway in S Factory), Songhyeon-dong (Kimchi and Chips' RE:WORLD), Taepyeongno (SBAU in Seoul HOUR)...

A lot of hype of course (boy did that crypto party remind me of internet extravaganza circa 2000), but also genuine gems and emotions. Good to see KIAF alive and kicking, many galleries coming from new horizons (even Accra), Doryun CHONG's emotional return to Seoul, or of course the themes of the (already!) fourth Seoul Biennale (waterways and mountains*, 2123 Seoul).

The return of visitors from China fueled the coopetition between Seoul and Hong Kong, and September here can counterbalance March madness there beyond the Frieze-Art Basel war. Interesting to see how Art Busan, now backed by web3 players, will fare / fair in early November with DEFINE (for DEsign and FINE arts in Seongsu-dong).

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* ICYMI: "Seoul waterways and urbanism - the full story"

Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2019 - Collective City (also resilient and walkable)

Seoul is infinitely more walkable and pedestrian friendly than a few decades ago, but during the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism, you can even hop from one World capital to the other* without leaving its center. For this second edition, two main venues have been added to the Biennale's horizontal axis, Seoul HOUR and the Seoul Museum of History joining the DDP, Sewoon Sangga, and Donuimun Museum Village.

Six months after the pre-biennale symposium and the Seoul HOUR inauguration (see "Seoul Hall of Urbanism and Architecture, Seoul Biennale 2019 Symposium"), the usual suspects showed up on opening day at Dongdaemun Design Plaza:

"Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism opening ceremony @ DDP Seoul.
Park Won-soon, Dominique Perrault, Seung Hyosang, Francisco Sanin" (@theseoulvillage - 20190907 - https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1170224195533279232)

The whole Barnum was supposed to move a few hours later to Donuimun Museum Village, but a last minute guest star crashed the party: because of Typhoon Lingling, all opening day festivities were eventually held in Zaha's landmark. Still, I decided to visit the Cities Exhibition on the same day, even as Lingling kept clearing her throat:

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#TyphoonLingling respecting speed limits at #DonuimunMuseumVillage (won't crash #SBAU's inaugural day) #SeoulBiennale #Donuimun

A post shared by Stephane MOT (@stephanemot) on Sep 7, 2019 at 12:54am PDT

I had a great time exploring the whole show without the crowd, and intended to finish with Ulaanbaatar, a city that moved me so much three years ago (see "Welcome to Ulaanbaatar Village"). Unfortunately, when I arrived, its 'ger' was being dismantled at the last moment: located on the main building's rooftop, it could have been blown away. If this precaution turned out to be unnecessary, it somehow hammered down even harder (without any nails) the core messages from a city facing tremendous challenges, but at the same time able to leverage the amazing flexibility of its architecture. This could well be the poster image of a resilient city:

"Ulanbaatar's ger at Seoul Biennale Cities Exhibition unfortunately had to be temporarily folded yesterday because of Typhoon Lingling. If the typhoon failed to deliver its expected punches, this episode illustrates at the same time the flexibility of Mongolia's iconic architecture marvel, and urbanism challenges faced by its sprawling capital.
#SBAU #DonuimunMuseumVillage #gerhub" (@stephanemot 20190908 - https://www.instagram.com/p/B2I17q3p6qi/)

Go enjoy the countless shows, conferences, and other events (including the parallel ones) across the capital, and don't forget to pass by Seoul Museum of History, with its excellent 'Collective Market City' exhibition highlighting the key role markets played in the city's evolution from its very beginning:

"Collective Market City exhibition at Seoul Museum Of History. SBAU Live Projects with Jang Youngchul, Tomaz Hipolito, Young Wookoh, 000간, Roh Kyung, Oh Jaewon, Bang Jeongin" (@stephanemot - 20190909 - https://www.instagram.com/p/B2MBHqYJYS0)

Hurry up - you only have a couple of weeks left to enjoy SBAU 2019 (until November 10):

SBAU 2019: seoulbiennale.org

Seoul Village 2019
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* yes, like last time, Pyongyang is there (this time at the Seoul Hall Of Urbanism and Architecture):

"North Korea meets South Korea at Seoul Biennale Pyongyang expo. Seoul Madang, Seoul HOUR. SBAU" (20190910 - https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1171319358485712896)

Seoul Hall of Urbanism and Architecture, Seoul Biennale 2019 Symposium

The day before Mayor PARK Won-soon cut the ribbon with a dozen VIPs (see below), the new Seoul Hall Of URbanism and Architecture hosted a pre-Seoul Biennale Symposium. A perfect occasion to roam the venue, to the notable exception of the exhibition spaces, and key connections to the neighborhood's underground system, which only opened for the official inauguration.

Yes, I'm talking about the 'Sejongdaero' project we followed from its earliest stages, back in 2015, where the old Japanese tax office used to stand:
. "Tear down that tax office" (20150506)
. "Sejongdaero" competition officially started' (20150727)
. "Sejong-daero winner announced" (20151012)

But before exploring this Seoul HOUR, how about a focus on the Biennale and its symposium?

 

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#RibbonCutting ceremony: #SeoulHOUR inauguration with #Seoul mayor #ParkWonsoon and #SeungHyosang. #SeoulHallOfUrbanismAndArchitecture #서울도시건축전시관 #architecture #urbanism

A post shared by Stephane MOT (@stephanemot) on Mar 27, 2019 at 11:09pm PDT

***

2019 Seoul Biennale and Pre-Biennale Symposium

If the first symposium, held at the Seoul Museum of History in October 2015, questioned even the principle of a biennale (why not a triennale?), this one went as far as presenting the material used to build the stands. A sharp contrast between an exploratory discussion two years before a first edition, and an operational briefing six months ahead of the second.

"#Seoul, #Barcelona, #Yokohama, #Shenzhen, #Medellin, #Berlin on stage of #SIBAU2015 Symposium " (20151027 - https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/658845140505653248)

A new tandem, LIM Jaeyong and Francisco SANIN, replaced PAI Hyungmin and Alejandro ZAERA-POLO at the heads of the bicephale biennale, knowing that, of course, SEUNG H. Sang remains close by, even if this time, he didn't take the mike (cameo apparitions on a few slides, though).

"#Seoul Biennale 2019 Symposium 20190327.
Between #Francisco Sanin and #Lim Jaeyong: #Cho Minsuk, #Armando Hashimoto, #Peter Wilson, #Noura Al Sayeh, #Chon Jaesun, #Alicia Lazzaroni... #Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism #architecture #urbanism #seoulhour" (20190412 - https://www.instagram.com/p/BwI7PM9JFsL/)

After 'Imminent Commons', Seoul went for the theme 'Collective City' (announced last December), around the same 4 main axes:

• Thematic exhibition (curator Beth Hugues): research and propositions around the 'collective city' notion, held in the DDP (Design Exhibition Hall, Design Pathway). Let's see what comes up from the various topics (typology, post-domestic city, mediation, heritage, infrastructures, ecology...).
• Cities exhibition (curators YIM Dongwoo, Rafael LUNA): I'm excited by the choice of Donuimun Museum Village and its Seoul Center for Architecture and Urbanism for the venue instead of the DDP, where the first edition took place. Mind you, that was a terrific exhibition, and they managed to make it not look like a fair, in spite of the site, but Sinmunno provides the perfect - if challenging - backdrop for a genuine global village, with actual alleyways. Dongwoo already researched innovative mapping axes for the 80 cities.
• Global studio (curator CHOE Sanki): note the semantic shift from the 'international studios' of the first edition (curated by John HONG, who presented his return on experience). All events shall be concentrated around Seun Sangga (Sewoon Plaza, Sewoon Hall).
• Live Projects (curator JANG Young-chul): articulated around the concept of market, very relevant in the context of a collective city, particularly since, as JANG reminded us, the '시' in '도시' (city) means 'market'. Two venues: Seun Sangga (Sewoon Plaza, Daelim Sangga), and the Seoul Museum of History.

I presume Seoul HOUR shall also serve as a venue, if not a hub. Anyway, Sadaemun's Jong-ro - Saemunan-ro horizontal remains the biennale's urban backbone. And if you forgot what I'm referring to, I shalt forgive thee, but here's the animated map:





If I'm looking forward this second biennale (September 7 - November 10), this symposium was already worth attending, with stimulating presentations, moments and chats. Special mentions to:

• Jae-sung CHON's ode to the collective mess (he had me from the start by mentioning Kowloon Walled City and Seoul markets), and his fake news journal to project the reader in the future... that's my vision of urbanism, where you shouldn't sanitize everything, but leave room for organisms to evolve, grow, mutate by themselves. 
• Peter Ferretto's respect for China's threatened wonders (beautiful project in Gao Bu, Hunan). 
• CHO Minsuk's updates on Danginri and Bamseom, the rooftop theater of his Seoul Cinematheque. 
• Alicia Lazzaroni's 'vulnerability as a design' 
• KIM So-young's 'negociated city' 
• Erik L'Heureux's lyricism about HCMC's forgotten gems. He saw no connections to Seoul, but I couldn't stop thinking about my dear "Hoehyeon Apt, Chungjeong Apt, Dongdaemun Apt, Ogin Apt..." 
• John HONG reclaiming preservation as radical, 'Citizen Jane'-style, and LIM Jaeyong musing 'but if it's us vs them, who are we, who are they?'

On the eve of its inauguration, at the new #Seoul Hall Of Urbanism And Architecture for the Pre-Biennale Symposium
Workshop featuring (left to right): #Peter Tagiuri #Alicia Lazzaroni #Klaas Kresse #Kim Soy-oung #Patrick Weber #John Hong #Choe Sanki #Erik L'Heureux #Chon Jaesung #Peter Ferretto #Rafael Luna #Yim Dongwoo
#Seoul Biennale #Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism #서울도시건축프리비엔날레 #SBAU
#서울도시건축전시관 #seoulhour (SeoulVillage Facebook page - 20190327)

***

Seoul Hall of Urbanism and Architecture


So we now know how this 'Seoul Chronicle' works, and what its purpose is. From the beginning, I liked the minimalist approach with a focus on connectivity over and underground, the new building subliming surrounding structures: Deoksugung walls, the Seoul Anglican Cathedral, and even the less gracious Seoul Metropolitan Council, whose campanile almost ends up making sense. 

You can reach Seoul HOUR's rooftop from all sides, and face the stream of Sejongdaero as if from a non-scary diving board, with the bulging side of Seoul City Hall in front of you, Gwanghwamun to your left, and Seoul Plaza to your right. If you return to street level, you can also enjoy a panoramic view while sipping a cup of - what else* - coffee.

"Of course, #SeoulHOUR also has a cafe (ground level), and a rooftop view on #Seoul City Hall and #Seoul Anglican Cathedral (just-above-ground-level rooftop) #서울도시건축전시관 #Seoul Hall Of Urbanism And Architecture" (201903 https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1110894852370161664)

Now in this kind of iceberg structures, you need to dive well below the surface, through 3 underground levels with relatively low ceilings, except in strategic places, and of course for 'VIUM Hall', the huge parallepiped going through all four levels. Frankly, the first impression of this main exhibition space is a bit disappointing: you can reach it directly through a central, monumental staircase that feels somehow like a Seoul subway entrance (yes, as advertised, Seoul HOUR is connected to the Sejongno underground network, which means among others City Hall, and the subway). Furthermore, halfway down, your first glance at the inaugural exhibition (about Vienna public housing) is from above, which makes it look smaller and weaker behind its scaffoldings. Video projections on the wall to your right don't quite make for the big dark void in front of you. I understand the architectural logic to prolong Deoksugung's walls, but from this angle, this corner is really too dark, and not exactly awe inspiring.

But that can be fixed easily; a towering exhibit, or why not an ethereal SUH Do-ho fabric house?

To truly appreciate the hall's volume, this is the best angle, facing lighter structures, the glass connections to the other floors and exhibition spaces, the window towards the street:

"#Seoul HOUR Inauguration with #Seoul mayor #Park Won-soon:" (20190328 https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1111134424853184514)

Here are the 4 inaugural exhibitions: 

• 'Vienna Model - the past, present, and future of public housing', with a resolutely no-frills museography
• 'The social role of architecture' (starting with Seoullo 7017, just to make the mayor happy, I presume)
• 'An-other Seoul', with a 3D map of the capital city reminiscent of the bigger one at the Seoul Museum of History, and an interesting scenario: what if, instead of reducing every year greenbelt areas (see "Land mining Seoul"), urban planners made better use of the sites related to infrastructure, which represent almost two thirds of Seoul's total surfce?
• 'Documenting the city', curated by LEE Sang-koo, with a focus on familiar lost villages (Sinwol-dong, Sanggye-dong, Geoyeo-dong).

"#Sneak peek at #Seoul HOUR (#Seoul Hall of URbanism And Architecture) one day before its inauguration, for #Seoul Biennale Symposium. Expo on #public housing in #Vienna, #Seoul #3d map (reminiscent of #Seoul Museum of History)... #서울도시건축전시관" (20190327 https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1110892328120508416)

Seoul Village 2019
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* for instance City Hall in 2012 ("Seoul Tsunami City Hall, The Other Korean Wave"), the DDP in 2013 (see "Sneak peek inside Dongdaemun Design Plaza & Park")
** see "500 m, 80%, 100% urban crappuccino"

#Ribbon Cutting ceremony: #Seoul HOUR inauguration with #Seoul mayor #Park Won-soon and #Seung Hyo-sang.#Seoul Hall Of Urbanism And Architecture #서울도시건축전시관 pic.twitter.com/Mme0XEkU4a

— Seoul Village (@theseoulvillage) March 28, 2019

Sejong-daero winner announced

For the site of the former IRS branch between the Anglican Cathedral and City Hall (see '"Sejongdaero" competition officially started'), Seoul opted for an American team, Terminal 7 Architects.

Their concept, 'Seoul Chronicle', keeps it simple, with a lawn discretely revealing the existence of underground levels - the piece de resistance in last July's brief. Gone from the surface are the pilars of a building that anyway didn't deserve any memorial. The actual stars become the Deoksugung walls and trees, the Cathedral, and passers-by.

So what has been swept under this new green blanket? 3 underground levels of whatever fits in, and more interestingly a vast space that could become a popular venue with its vertical garden and its spectacular urban slice exposing bare layers of Hanyang / Seoul.

As is often the case in this most central neighborhood, more artifacts are likely to be unearthed across the site during the work.

Overall, a rather minimalist approach that comes as a relief compared to "Seoul Tsunami City Hall, The Other Korean Wave" on the other side of Taepyeongno / Sejong-daero. Let's hope local authorities don't plan colorful LED dialogues between both landmarks: there's already enough cuttlefish chatting at night across the capital (City Hall, N-Tower, SMPA...).

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"Sejongdaero" competition officially started

Seoul officially launched the competition for the 'Sejongdaero' site. Not for the Gwanghwamun Square section* in Jongno-gu, but in Jung-gu, around the IRS annex destroyed earlier this year (see "Tear down that tax office").

Elements of the old IRS annex on Taepyeongno-1-ga are still visible: the contours of the building, and a few columns that may survive as a reminder (often the case in Korea since the Cheonggyecheon restoration).

Architects have less than two months to submit basic designs for the core (1,088 ㎡, 1,600.0㎡ underground), as part of a master plan covering 2,500.0㎡ underground, particularly towards City Hall (for the moment connected to the other side of Sejong-daero - and the city council - through a rather primitive pedestrian tunnel), and - I hope - the subway. 

All submission details are on sejongdaero.org (only in Korean - for the moment?):

Fill the blanks, and the new tooth gap in the middle of Sejong-daero

Speaking of official websites for competitions recently completed: note that seuncitywalk.com has been closed, and that ss7017.org is still raging. Seoul city doesn't communicate around the Seunsangga regeneration project, which has the potential to revive great forsaken parts of the old city center, but keeps selling Seoul Station 7017** as hard as possible, including through massive advertising on site.

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* reminder: the 'highway' shall not be restored, as initially feared (see "Gwanghwamun, Donhwamun, and the Tale of two Royal Roads"). FYI that stretch used to be called Sejongno, Taepyeongno for the Southern part of Sejong-daero (the names of the 'dong' survived).
** see "Seoul Station 7017 blooms into Seoul Arboretum"

Tear down that tax office

Seoul will destroy a 87 year old building as part of the 70th anniversary of the Liberation. It doesn't seem to be a major asset of the colonial heritage, and hosted the Namdaemun annex of the national tax services - an administration that moved to Sejong City a while ago. A section shall remain as a 'memorial wall'. Seoul citizens, among which a little bit more than 9% were born before the Liberation, are invited to share their own take at 'My Liberation'.

Tearing down a place associated with the Japanese rule and the IRS is likely to appeal to primal instincts among some voters, and that's certainly not the spirit of revenge we want Korea to display for this minefield of an anniversary, unless the aim is to further alienate the public opinion in Japan, and fuel Shinzo Abe's imposture.

That said, this section of Sejong-daero (between Sejong-daero 19 and 21-gil) could look a lot better without it: everybody on the boulevard will enjoy the view on "Seoul-upon-Han and Yeongguk-dong", and not just the occasional (sorry James) rare glimpse at the Anglican Cathedral.

On this view, you can see from left to right the trees lining the Deoksugung, the Cathedral, the old building to be destroyed, the Seoul Metropolitan Council (and its tower), and the side of the Koreana Hotel. Across the street: City Hall, old and new.

As far as former Empires are concerned, the United Kingdom may lose even more than Japan: the end of ye olde quiet days, plus a direct view on the ugliest side of "Seoul Tsunami City Hall, The Other Korean Wave".

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NB: in 1995, for the 50th anniversary of the Liberation, the Japanese Government Building destroying the Bukhansan-Gyeongbokgung-Gwanghwamun perspective was taken down. This tax office somehow obliterates the view to the Deoksugung.