Mayor Park to ground control

Seoul Mayor PARK Won-soon was found dead right after midnight last night in what appears to be a suicide triggered by accusations of sexual assaults. His body was found with the help of police dogs in a park near Sukjeongmun, in the Seongbuk-gu where he resided. The city of Seoul will hold mayoral funerals, and he shall rest in peace on Monday.

Suicide is always a tragedy, and I feel sorry for PARK, but I feel even more sorry for victims who won't get justice, since his death means all cases are now dropped. So it's up to the medias to investigate, or to the victims to come forward if they find enough courage to do so without the full framework of justice.
 
As all mayors, PARK leaves a mixed legacy, and as I did with his predecessors / as I will try to do with his successors, I didn't spare him with praise or criticism. If I welcomed PARK's late conversion to urbanism, and focus on urban regeneration, I disliked his doubletalk in favor of wealthy speculators and neighborhoods (not only in Gangnam and Yongsan), or his recent u-turn to reprioritize high-rise approaches. As I pointed out in the past, where Seoul mayors tend to boast 'hardware' realizations (Cheonggyecheon for LEE Myung-bak, Gwanghwamun Square for OH Se-hoon, Seoullo 7017 for PARK Won-soon), their main achievements may be on a more 'software' side: dedicated bus lanes for LEE, rebalancing budgets from wealthy areas to (re)vitalize the deprived ones for OH, and opening the big data flows for PARK (a sharing approach he prolonged during this coronavirus pandemic).

When I heard that Seoul mayor was missing, as the drama unfolded live on TV, as the rumor mill started to grind, I wondered like everyone what was happening. PARK Won-soon flying away for a scandal, that didn't surprise me at all. But PARK Won-soon perpetrating sordid sex abuses, or committing suicide, I would never have expected that.

While guessing which scandal he was trying to escape, I imagined all potential threads including the wildest conspiracy theories, from another Yonsei story (following the scandal surrounding his son, the prime estate sold by the city to the university for a song...) to a brush with Seoul underworld (suspiciously, seedy businesses were twice overly protected during the pandemic). Yet I would never have pictured him as a sexual predator. As for his disappearance, until the end I thought he planned a Houdini escape, his trek to the mountain a red herring cleverly mirroring ROH Moo-hyun's last moments. I truly believed that PARK Won-soon was too imbued with himself to kill himself. I was totally wrong, and that made me think again about what I thought I knew of the man.

The first time I remember meeting him was in 2009, with other members of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission when they were digging in directions that - to say the least - didn't always make ultra-conservatives very happy. The voices of victims were rising after decades of silence, and not long afterwards, LEE Myung-bak would torpedo the institution, derailing dynamics badly needed for Korea to start its healing. PARK looked focused and a bit shy, probably because the discussions were in English. Anyway, very different from the flamboyant Mayor I'd meet years later in many occasions (of course I don't think he'd remember well this guy among all the faces he came across).

This populist got a lucky break in politics when OH Se-hoon shot himself in the foot, but he was great at campaining, building support from the youth, and making top down initiatives look as if they popped up from citizens.

I remember a man who obviously could not bear not being likable, not looking young (he eventually fixed those recurring complaints about receding hair). Even his irrepressible presidential ambitions, never tamed by mediocre national polls, could become touching, pathetic.

More accessible than his predecessor (a different kind of narcissist), PARK was a genial host, particularly warm with journalists, media, and bloggers. Obsessed with photo ops to the point he created a mock office in city hall, this PR junkie was regularly mocked at by the way he called camera crews ahead of his 'spontaneous', 'selfless' shows. He could be quite direct about what he expected from you (your vote, your public praise), but didn't retaliate if you didn't play the game. Well this kind of games at least... I may be speculating again, but we know insecure narcissists have dark sides.

For sure, if PARK Won-soon often defended very noble causes, he can't and shouldn't be compared to ROH Moo-hyun.

His fall rather echoes that of AHN Hee-jung, and yesterday I couldn't help but remember the 2017 images of MOON Jae-in, PARK Won-soon, and AHN Hee-jung on that Gwanghwamun podium on victory night.

PARK's scandal happens at the very moment MOON is lambasted for sending AHN, for the funerals of his mother, flowers paid with taxpayers money; at the very moment the icon who for decades composed the soundtrack of Korea's democratic movements, AHN Chi-hwan, releases 'Irony', a song criticizing harshly self-proclaimed progressives who have turned not only into conservatives for their own power, but into existential threats to the democracy they are supposed to have fought for as activists (thinking of you, CHO Kuk, YOON Mee-hyang, and even you, at the very top).

We all have our greatnesses, weaknesses, and contradictions, but there are lines not to cross, particularly when you hold power. Even if it ends up with yet another suicide, yet more impunity for sexual abuses, may this tragedy help Korean politicians be less tempted to fail as humans.

"Just a few files to sort before Christmas, and we're back to you! (with @wonsoonpark in #Seoul City Hall)

" (20131224 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/415405587891884032)

"Good!" (20131224 - PWS's answer, from his former Twitter account - @wonsoonpark)

Seoul Village 2020
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Seoul Fortress Walls (re)completed by 2014

Seoul confirmed that the restoration of its 18.6 km fortress (see "Donuimun Restoration and Sadaemun Resurrection") would be finished in 2014, and that it would keep pushing for the inscription of this most defining cultural asset on the UNESCO Heritage list.

Of course, the monument itself cannot be fully rebuilt since whole sections are now occupied by roads or (often private) buildings. The idea is to fake seamlessness for pedestrians by building overpasses mimicking the walls, where possible. That's what I expected for Donuimun, but it is now planned around Sungnyemun / Namdaemun and Heunginjimun / Dongdaemun, and I wouldn't be surprised to see another overpass at Hyehwamun. In other sections, the walls shall be more symbolically materialized on the ground.

Let's hope these overpasses will be delicately built... and not serve as alibis to remove pedestrian crossings in key traffic hubs.

Jongno-gu officials have recently started promoting full circle hikes along the wall, and here's their estimation of the distances for pedestrians between each monument. I'll follow their order to drop a few updates about the fortress, starting from Dongdaemun* :

- Heunginjimun (Dongdaemun) to Jangchung Gymnasium (장충체육관, near Dongguk University Station) via Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Gwanghuimun : 1.695 km / 1 hour. Three sections of the wall are missing : on both sides of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza Park, and after the Gwanghuimun Park.

- Jangchung Gymnasium to Sungnyemun (Namdaemun) via Namsan, N Seoul Tower : 4.617 km / 3 hours. Most of Namsan is covered but three sections are missing, the longest in the final stretch, the small hill hosting the Namsan Public Library. Both sides of Sungnyemun are also disconnected from the wall.

- Sungnyemun (Namdaemun) to Donuimun (Seodaemun), or rather Samsung Gangbuk Hospital : 1.4 km / 50 mn. This is the most damaged section : only a short stretch of wall remains along Sogongno (Sogong-dong). Donuimun itself must be completely rebuilt.

- Donuimun (Seodaemun) to Jongno Culture and Sports Center (Gwanghwamun Art Hall) : 800 m / 25 mn. The wall has been partly restored at the top of the hill separating Gyeonghuigung from what will become Gyeonam New Town (now known as Donhuimun New Town). There, near Hong Nan-pa's house (now a small cute museum), a public garden was inaugurated. And as we saw earlier, the triangle of hanok restaurants between the hospital and Gyeonghuigung will be replaced by another public garden, and the wall shall be prolonged with an overpass to the gate, the key missing gate but not for long anymore. At the other end, a group of "villas" prevents the connection with the main section of the wall, which starts above Sajik Tunnel and goes all the way to Seongbuk-dong.

- Jongno Culture and Sports Center (Gwanghwamun Art Hall) to Changuimun (Buksomun, better known as Jahamun) : 3.1 km / 2 hours. This Inwangsan stretch may be my favorite one : I sat countless times on a rock to enjoy one of the best views over Seoul (see the 2009 focus "Inwangsan's Great Wall and Seoul's Royal "T" Time"), and not only after a stop at the center's swimming pool !

- Changuimun (Buksomun / Jahamun) to Sukjeongmun (Bukdaemun) : 2 km / 90 mn. This Buam-dong / Seongbuk-dong section includes a Bukhansan summit (344.2 m).

- Sukjeongmun (Bukdaemun) to Waryong Park : 1.5 km / 25 mn. Jongno-gu suggests to reach Samcheonggak from Bukdaemun (400m Northwards / 15 mn), or Samcheong Park from Malbawi Information Center (600 m Southwards / 20 mn, the center being on the way, 200 m after Bukdaemun, on the other side of Samcheong Tunnel).

- Waryong Park to Hyehwamun (Dongsomun) : 1.215 km / 30 mn. The final Heyhwa-dong stretch of the wall doesn't exist anymore. Only a few meters subsist before the Hyehwa Gate, which towers over Dongsomunno and could be typically linked to the next section, just across the street, with an overpass.

- Hyehwamun (Dongsomun) to Heunginjimun (Dongdaemun) : 2.3 km / 1 hour. Another pleasant journey along Naksan. We now know that the new park at the Dongdaemun end of this mountain will be connected to the gate.


Seoul Village 2011

* about the names of the gates (daemun and somun), see the focus "Donuimun Restoration and Sadaemun Resurrection"

Donuimun Restoration and Sadaemun Resurrection

Today, Seoul announced the restoration of Donuimun in its original design and location by 2013, along with the prolongation of the fortress walls, and the intention of claiming a new UNESCO World Heritage label for resuscitating the initial frame of Hanyang, the city's original name.

The image I have of Donuimun (also known as Seodaemun - the Great Western Gate), is the desolation at Jeong-dong Sagori : an abrupt slope at the feet of a concrete monster (Samsung Gangbuk Hospital), a dangerous crossroads for pedestrians and bikers (probably meant to feed the above mentioned monster), and a sober glass / wood post-it decor signaling the place where one of Seoul's four main gates used to stand. Victim to Japanese forces in 1915 as part of a comprehensive destruction plan (city walls, palaces, gates, symbols of power and independence had to be removed), but also as part of a more constructive scheme (new tram lines), Donuimun had been shamelessly overlooked during more recent redevelopment projects.

Yet, I was confident this forsaken area would be revived in a very near future :
- If the gate is gone, Jeong-dong Sagori remains a focal point where Jongno-gu, Jung-gu, and Seodaemun-gu meet. Nowadays, the pleasant walk along Deoksugung-gil (a successful restoration if I ever saw one) comes to an abrupt end, ruining the connection with Gyeonghuigung.
- According to Donuimun New Town (a.k.a. Gyonam New Town) master plan, the triangle between the hospital and Gyeonghuigung's entrance will be transformed into a park (reminder: in the meanwhile, there's still time to enjoy the good restaurants still standing !).
- At last, the overpass joining Saemunan-gil and Seosomun-ro will be removed. Good riddance.
- Seoul wants to restore the city's original fortress walls, and a significant portion has already been completed uphill along Songwol-gil (with a small park in Songwol-dong, above the Swiss Embassy).

Seoul decided to restore Donuimun in its exact location, regardless of the intense traffic, and it's almost a matter of pride : the prestigious gate was destroyed to widen the road and install railway tracks ? it will be reconstructed as it was originally designed, like it or not. The result should be quite impressive, and the area can really look gorgeous if Samsung has a soul (and a few billions to spare) and revamps its hospital more elegantly (burying it could be a solution). I guess cars and buses will probably have to pass under the gate one way or another, without bumping into Seodaemun Station. And I do hope pedestrians can cross seamlessly along the walls without waiting for traffic lights.

Let's recapitulate the score for Seoul's fabled "Sadaemun" (Four Great Gates) : by 2013, the city will have completed a grand slam in the major league (the gates meant for the VIPs, all completed during the first year of construction of the fortress wall, in 1396) :

• Sungnyemun ("respect", Southern Great Gate or Namdaemun) is still under reconstruction following last year’s tragic arson (see "Namdaemonium"). Final touch : 2012.
• Heunginjimun ("wisdom", Eastern Great Gate or Dongdaemun) has already finished its restoration and will soon recover part of its wings : on one side the Naksan section of the fortress (Ewha Woman's University Dongdaemun Hospital has just been destroyed to make space for a park), on the other the future microsection planned for Dongdaemun Design Plaza. Dongdaemun's time to shine should be next year, to celebrate Seoul Capital of Design (see "Buldozing Seoul again - Dongdaemun Design Plaza, New City Hall").
• Sukjeongmun ("humility", Northern Great Gate or Bukdaemun) was closed not long after its completion because it was supposed to allow bad vibes into the city. Japanese occupants destroyed the edifice along with the wall and Donuimun, but under what was left of popular and royal pressure, they couldn't get rid of Namdaemun and Dongdaemun. Sukjeongmun's rebirth in 2006 didn't raise many eyebrows but marked the start of the whole project. The following year, the path to Bukhansan was reopened to the public for the first time since Park's assassination attempt by a North Korean commando in 1968 (see "Inwangsan's Great Wall and Seoul's Royal "T" Time").
• Donuimun ("loyalty", Western Great Gate of Seodaemun) completes the diamond circuit in 2013.

The less notorious "Sasomun" (Four Lesser Gates), the minor league gates, remain in outfield :

• Souimun ("justice" – Seosomun) used to lie between Seodaemun and Namdaemun, so it should theoretically be the South Western gate. But like the other two it belonged to the Western wall of the fortress, and the SW corner was actually Sungnyemun. Seosomun has a terrible reputation because this is the gate through which criminals were banned… or executed. That's also where the “sayuksin” were beheaded (see "King Danjong and Korea's Curse"), and early Christians martyred. And that's also the way to Seodaemun Prison.
• Gwanghuimun ("bright light" – Sugumun) : at the SE corner of the walls, on the other side of Namsan along which the Southern section of the wall is running. I guess this is the "bright light" at the end of the tunnel : this rather cute gate, now part of a small park near Sindang, was the portal through which corpses left the city. Brrrr
• Hyehwamun ("wisdom" – Dongseomun) : NE corner of the walls, on the other side of Naksan. An important entry point to Hanyang from the North.
• Changuimun ("fairness" – known as Jahamun) : NW corner of the walls, between Bugaksan and Inwangsan. Still standing after all these years, even if it had to be reconstructed during the 18th century, following a Japanese invasion.

The city boasts many other gates ("mun"), but they mark the entrance to palaces or altars. The most famous of these gates remains Gwanghwamun, more than ever the star at the center of the show.
Seoul Village 2009