SeMA's saemaeuldeul

SeMA's latest branch was inaugurated on March 12 in Siheung-dong, Geumcheon-gu. Between an elementary school, big apateu blocks, the huge district office and its namesake subway station, this long, low rise structure designed by KIM Chan-joong sits in a small park and dons a headband reflecting light like a screen, probably an echo to its dedication to new media art.

The new ship is docked to its neighborhood through an anchor outdoor installation (Yaloo's Shininho Landing), and an inaugural exhibition ('Mneme topos') honoring its own construction. Nothing revolutionary or pretentious; visitors are even entertained with fun signage from the parking lot to various outdoor spots. The idea seems to make families and newbies comfortable, contemporary art accessible to everyone. 

Seo-Seoul Museum of Art fills a cultural gap in southwest Seoul, and somehow combines Siheung-dong's nature dimension with Doksan-dong's industrial culture. Going to Geumnarae Central Park with the kids or to the district office for some administrative stuff? You can seize the opportunity and take a short cultural break. 

#SeoSeoulMuseumofArt in #Geumcheongu, #Seoul.#culture #architecture pic.twitter.com/DsmrQsiSbu

— Seoul Village 🇺🇦 (@theseoulvillage) April 24, 2026

Previously, SeMA only had one site south of the Hangang, in Gwanak-gu: the Nam-Seoul Museum of Art inaugurated in September 2004 in the former Belgian Consulate building relocated to Namhyeon-dong 21 years earlier.

Before Seo-Seoul, SeMA's last inauguration (in May 2025) was at the diagonal opposite in Chang-dong, Dobong-gu. A sliced dark cube - or should I say a camera obscura? - The Photography Seoul Museum of Art is a more daunting beast, with an edgier inaugural program featuring familiar names, but also experimental artists I'd never knew graced the Park Chung-hee era.

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As it opens, step by step, new Seoul villages to art, SeMA welcomes as always visitors for free. In case you missed any, here are the other venues:

• Seosomun Main Building: SeMA's Main Branch is located in Seosomun-dong, Jung-gu, in the original Supreme Court (built in 1928). Inaugurated in 1988, it moved in 2002 from Sinmunno-2-ga, Jongno-gu, within Gyeonghuigung grounds (now the site of the Seoul Museum of History).
  
  
• Buk-Seoul Museum of Art: inaugurated in September 2013 in Junggye-dong, Nowon-gu, SeMA's second biggest branch filled a regional void and often proposes interesting exhibitions
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Also:
• Archives, Seoul Museum of Art (inaugurated in April 2023 on the main axis of Pyeongchang-dong, Jongno-gu).
•  SeMA Storage (inaugurated in 2016 in the former Innovation Park in Nokbeon-dong, Eunpyeong-gu )
• SeMA Bunker (inaugurated in October 2017 under the Yeouido park and former runway - in Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu)
• Nanji Residency SeMA  (in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu)
• Paik Ground (formerly Nam Jun Paik memorial house, inaugurated on March 10, 2017 in Changsin-dong, Jeongno-gu)

Seoul Village 2026
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Seoul Old Towns or New Human Towns? New City Hall or Tsunamheat Wave?

In the classic New Town model, you annihilate a whole neighborhood, and you replace it with a block of aseptic tombstone buildings. In the "Human Town" concept*, you promote a more sustainable redevelopment which preserves the structure (buildings and streets), improves the infrastructure (streets and parkings in particular), adds community services, and plants a few CCTVs (This is Korea: Hyeong is watching you).

As expected, PARK Won-soon decided to prolong OH Se-hoon's project for lack of an alternative in the short term**, but politically, he had to rebrand it. So goodbye "Human Town", here comes the "Old Town" concept.

If the name does celebrate the end of the New Town model, it may sound a bit confusing since we're talking about dwellings often built in the 1980s and even later... and rather the quick-and-dirty way: in general, a 'dandok jutaek' (단독주택 / single family house) is transformed into a 'villa' (imagine a no-frill 3-story condo, not the lavish Bill Gates mansion), or worse, a 'one-room' farm (generally a cheap rabbit hutch for poor students).


But who cares about appellations? The important thing is to save urban systems before it's too late: speculation makes it much easier to build from scratch a "Greenfield New Town" in the countryside than to invest in downtown renovation***. Urbanism is never a zero-sum game, particularly considering Korean demographics, and "build it and they'll come" often means "build it and they'll leave a place that deserves some attention as well". Take Incheon, for instance: Songdo can work, and even Cheongna can make it, but downtown Incheon has been totally discarded, and if you use public transportations it often takes less time to reach Seoul than to go from one neighborhood to another within the old town.


11 neighborhoods have been selected to experiment the "new" concept, and authorities try to add cultural dimension when the context allows it, for instance:
. In Dobong-dong (Dobong-gu): the 43,000 square meter block (around 280 beonji) lies between Dobongsan Station and the mountain with its national park, so it will follow a 'mixed tourism and residential' theme.
. In Daerim-dong (Yeongdeungpo-gu): the 40,000 sqm block is located in a neighborhood with a significant Chinese minority (around 1027 beonji, near Daerim Station and Daerimcheon), and Seoul city decided to focus on the 'multicultural residence' dimension.


Among the other locations:
. Siheung-3-dong, in the southwestern corner of Geumcheon-gu, next to Gwangmyeon, and Ansan):  a low-rise pocket near relatively recent bed towns, at the feet of Hoamsan, a western branch of Gwanaksan.
. Eungam-dong, Eunpyeong-gu: a New Town recently popped up in the neighborhood, unfortunately against Bukhansan.
This administration seems to be pushing harder than their predecessors. I hope not too hard: you wouldn't want forsaken residential neighborhoods to become kitsch theme parks.


Now there are a couple of projects I think OH Se-hoon pushed too hard. Today, I won't mention the embarrassing floating islands again (oops, I just did), but Yoo Kerl's new Seoul City Hall.

Ever since I saw the model four years ago I've raised more than a few doubts about the design of this "tsunami". I don't mean the concept in general (I wanted Seoul to keep elements from the old building, and to open up the place as a keystone and crossing point), but the design of the fakely organic shell, which I found not only obsolete and disgraceful (even more now that the final coating is visible), but even offensive: coming up with this, 3-4 years after the big Asian tsunami... Note that someone did even worse later: a twin project in Yongsan reminiscent of 9/11, with some kind of an explosion / cloud connecting both buildings in their midsections.

I didn't quite believe in the 'environmental-friendly' pitch either. To me, it was a bit like with the glass pyramid in the Louvres museum: the most important part of the renovation was the new system underground, but everybody focused on the tip of the iceberg, this small triangle. And everybody was criticizing architect I. M. Pei because the modern structure was denaturing the old palace, but I was more worried about the greenhouse effect and the heat visitors would feel inside.

I would have bet a buck on some similar fate for the new Seoul plaza land(water)mark. Look at what happened to Yongsan-gu Office! A perfect example of architectural extravaganza designed for a Korean local administration at the peak of the bubble years, this abomination becomes an oven as soon as the sun strikes.

Well this morning, I'm eating my hat on that one. The Chosun Daily revealed that one month ahead of the inauguration and without air conditionning, the building was 6 degrees cooler than outside (31 vs 37 Celsius). There's a green wall inside, and the outer shell has three layers, including a special glass: very thick and coated with a special metal film, it blocks four times more infrared rays. The wave structure creates a natural air cycle, and the hottest parts escape from the building, near the top (see this "Architectural Redigest" graph in their link****).

Salt please.

Seoul Village 2012
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* "OH Se-hoon launches the "Seoul Human Town" concept"
** see last part of my 2011 essay on urbanism in Seoul, "Inhuman, all too human Seoul" - the essay itself is in French "Seoul: inhumaine, trop humaine"). That part is titled 'De la New Town à l'Human Town, le retour en grâce des villages' ('From New Towns to Human Towns, villages are back in good favors')
*** see the 'About New Towns and the laws of gravitation' part of "Wet eyes for wetlands and urban mirages" **** "내달 입주하는 서울시 새청사… 에어컨 안 켜고 온도 측정해보니… 유리찜통인 줄 알았는데 바깥보다 6도 낮았다"

Spectacular extensions of Seoul Subway Lines 4-5-6-7 ?

Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi-do signed series of agreements to pursue the dream of a common "Gyeongin Megacity" : together, they already claim 25 million citizens and a considerable portion of Korean economy, but they are eager for more. More visitors, more businesses, and more infrastructures.

Rapid transit solutions, such as underground driveways and the GTX / Great Train eXpress, are under way to make most parts of the megacity accessible within one hour. Korea's first train line already linked Incheon (then Jemulpo) with Seoul* : Gyeongin Line (경인선) was built in 1899.

The extension of Seoul subway beyond city limits is another major project. Of course, all regional networks are already connected, but lines 4 to 7 would grow considerably :

. Line 4 : 17 km extension from Dangogae to Jinjeop-eup, a major New Town in Namyangju - note that Dangogae itself is to become the center of Sanggye New Town. As planned, the subway car depot shall move from Sanggye-dong, along with the Dobong Driving Center, giving way for the long expected establishment of Nowon Station area as Seoul's Northeastern hub (see 2006 focus on Nowon-gu). To me, this project will fly because all parties, and particularly Nowon-gu and Namyangju, are dying to see it happen.

. Line 5 : 11 km extension from Sangil-dong to Hasangok-dong in Hanam. That's beyond Circular Highway 100 at the Hanam InterChange with Highway 35, which also leads to Paldang Bridge (consistent with the recent extension of Hangang bike road). I guess this line would follow road 43, a densily populated axis. To me, all this depends on the merger project** between Hanam, Seongnam, and Gwangju. Hanam cruelly lacks a subway line, but decisions could take time.

. Line 6 : 6 km extension from Sinnae to Donong-dong in Namyangju, another New Town (Buyeong e-Dreamtown). And that's also beyond Highway 100, at Guri InterChange. This one could also fly, but there's already the Jungang Line (train), and the express train to Chuncheon will soon be inaugurated. I would rather recommend a vertical line across Guri and Namyangju, for instance from Sinnae to Uijeongbu, parallel to Circular 100.

. Line 7 : 33 km extension from Jangam to Pocheon, up North. Line 7 was already a quite long one (it almost reaches Bucheon), but this would open new horizons for Northeastern Gyeonggi-do and beyond. Clearly, the region wants to put this area on the map, to correct geographic imbalances in economic development... but who would support the investment ?

Stay tuned until the next announcements.

Anyway, I'm not keeping track of all new subway projects : that would be a full time job.

Seoul Village 2010

* actually at the beginning Noryangjin (thus the fish market), which back then didn't belong to Seoul but Siheung
** see "Gwangju completes Seongnam-Hanam merger"

Tighten your greenbelt

The Ministry of Land, Transport, and Maritime Affairs delisted five more greenbelt areas in Southern Seoul totalling 21.16 million square meters to make room for urban development, including 87,000 "Bogeumjari" ("Sweet Home") apartments for low income families to be delivered in 2014.

"Sweet Home" means low cost for the owners (long term projects between 15% and 50% below market price), but dear price for the environment.

Last year, two bogeumjari series had already claimed 17 million square meters of protected land in Seoul and neighboring Gyeonggi-do cities :

* 8.06 M sqm for 39,000 apartments (announced in May 2009)
. in Seoul : Segok-dong in Gangnam-gu, Umyeon-dong in Seocho-gu. The opportunity to boost mixity in two wealthy "gus", but both areas are separated from the center by mountains.
. in Goyang : Wonheung-dong in Deogyang-gu. A promising area which will open a new subway station on Line 3 between Samsong and Wondang. Both stations were indeed insanely far away from each other.
. in Hanam : Misa-dong. That's along the Han river, there's a boat race infrastructure in the middle of the dong.

* 8.89 M sqm for 40,505 apartments (announced in October 2009)
. in Seoul : Segok again, and Naegok-dong, next to Segok but in Seocho-gu
. in Bucheon : Okgil-dong, at the frontier with Guro-gu
. in Guri (West) : Galmae-dong, an important entry point to Taereung
. in Namyangju (West) : Jingeon-eup, further afield following the train line.

The new series announced yesterday cover 5 areas, with a focus on the Seoul-Incheon axis and a major New Town in Gwangmyeon :
. in Seoul : 676,000 sqm (4,500 apts including 4,300 bogeumjari) in Hang-dong, Guro-gu. That's between Okgil-dong (see above) and Onsu Station, the very important junction between subway Line 7 and the Seoul-Incheon train.
. in Gwangmyeon and Siheung : 17.367 M square meters (95,000 apts including 69,000 bogeumjari). close to the previous cluster, a gigantic new town is planned, ideally positioned to serve both the Capital city (Gwangmyeon borders Guro-gu and Geumcheon-gu, industrial areas) and it's main international entry point (Incheon, its airport, its harbor). The small number of apartments covers only the public project, not private developments.
. in Incheon : 840,000 sqm (6,000 apts / 4,300 bogeumjari) in Guwol-dong, Namdong-gu. Surrounded by highways 100, 120, and 50, this area is not well served by public transportations, but this might change : I think the Government considers a bed town equidistant from old (harbor) and new (Songdo) centers.
. in Hanam : 1.708 M sqm (12,000 apts / 8,400 bogeumjari) in Gamil-dong. Let's hope Seoul Subway Line 9 will continue this way... even if Songpa-gu / Gangdong-gu residents keep lobbying for a different scenario : a SW/NW parallel to lines 5 and 8.
. in Seongnam : 569,000 sqm (3,800 apts / 2,700 bogeumjari) in Godeung-dong, Sujeong-gu, North of Pangyo InterChange.

More supply, then, with the usual promise to bring down the prices. Unlikely if the discount is only 15%, and if the new houses are only meant as a receptacle for victims of redevelopments in more demanded areas, featuring the standard "apateu" model that disfigured Korea over the past 40 years.

One thing is sure : the Government keeps tightening Seoul's greenbelt, and something will have to be done to make for the loss.

Seoul Village 2010