Seochon's Dead Poets Society (YI Sang, YUN Dong-gu)

YI Sang (1910-1937) and YUN Dong-ju (1917-1945), two of the greatest Korean poets of the last century, died at an early age in Japan after being jailed for crime of opinion. They never lived in a free country: YI was born the very day the annexation treaty was concluded, YUN died a few months before the liberation. YUN did get involved in the independence movement but anyway, being a Korean poet was already a crime of opinion since under the Japanese occupation, Korean culture itself was illegal.

Both used to live in Seochon, west of the Gyeongbokgung. And like the rest of the neighborhood, their long forsaken places are now back in favor:

. YI's hanok was until recently split between two street shops, but it has been restored by the National Trust for Cultural Heritage and Arumjigi, and hosted the "Conversations with Yi Sang" event in spring last year. The address is 18 Jahamun-ro 7-gil (formerly Tongin-dong 154-10, Jongno-gu). A temporary street name if I ever saw one. I bet this strategic diagonal street will be renamed, but not after YI Sang. To me, this is Baekundongcheon-gil, after the main Cheonggyecheon tributary (supposedly) about to be restored*.

. YUN's house (actually the house of his classmate, a novelist) is now a nondescript 'villa' about halfway along Ogin-dong's main axis, at 57 Ogin-gil, formerly Nusang-dong 9, Jongno-gu. Ogin-gil connects Tongin Market and the not sorely missed Ogin Apartment, and that's probably the way YUN went up Inwang mountain for the walks that inspired him. He must have often followed the path towards Bugaksan (under which the Jahamun Tunnel was dug half a century later**), because the spot renamed "Hill of the Poet Yun Dong-ju" ("윤동주 시인의 언덕") in 2009 is located much further, next to Changuimun, the North Gate of Seoul fortress. Making up for the lack of museum to honor the poet, a Yun Dong-ju Literature House has recently been inaugurated on this hill. It hosts a collection of artifacts as well as literary events:
Yun Dong-ju Literature House (윤동주 문학관):
3-100 Cheongun-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea (119 Changuimun-ro).
Tel: +82 2.765.0703.

Unfortunately, not all former residences of artists have been saved***, yet the trend is definitely positive. As Seochon reclaims its past glory and welcomes more and more tourists, cultural assets are a key differenciator compared to Bukchon. Note that the other side of the Gyeongbokgung is also promoting preservation: the home of painter GO Hui-dong (1886-1965) in Wonseo-dong was saved from destruction at the last moment, and for a long while you could see it rot between protective metal walls. The hanok is now illuminating the elbow of Changdeokgung-gil.

For centuries, the names of many Seochon neighborhoods have been resonating in Korean literature, and if I wouldn't want to see the whole place transformed into a city-museum or a theme park, I wish less prestigious landmarks were also included in the big picture. I'm thinking about the cult Daeo Bookstore (대오서점), a tiny Blue House that recently threatened to fold its last pages:

 

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* see "Baekundongcheon / Gwanghwamun-gil - A River Runs Through It".
** see "2 more tunnels up North"
*** not to mention a former empress (another Yun's place, see "The Empress's Last Bang").

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UPDATE 20120808: I added the 3 places on Seoul Village Map (reminder: the blue line follows Baekundongcheon's path):


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Yeongcheon Market saved, Tongin Market already bukchonized

Shall I start with the so-so good news or the not so good news (the good news being that there's no really bad news out there)?

The so-so good one? So be it: Yeongcheong Market has been officially recognized as a market by Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Spoiler: the other piece of news has something to do with another traditional market, Tongin Market.

I know, I know, most of you don't give a fart in a high wind and I fully understand that. But to me it's important, and If you're familiar with this excuse for a blog, you already know that I have a crush for Seoul's markets. Recently, I even mentioned these two in the same (gimbap-ddeokbokki) breath*.

So. What does the Yeongcheon Market recognition mean? This covered street is now a legal entity municipal authorities can deal with, and a priori that's good news: each member becomes stronger and forces can be pooled more easily, so this lively spot might resist more efficiently against potential redevelopments that could mean the end for one of the last remaining 'villages' in the area.

Note that the towers already planned at the Northern entrance (see "Wonjo Ddeokbokki - a.k.a. "Ddeoknimmun"") will be developped as scheduled, but the main entrance should be safe and that's essential for the future : Donuimun New Town will be erected on the other side of Euijuro**, and too many cute places will disappear in the process around Gyonam-dong.

Well. Yeongcheon Market is not exactly "cute". And even after recent improvements it's still a bit dirty. But it does have a soul. And the reason why I'm just so-so pleased by the news is that Yeongcheon Market might be too much 'sanitized' or 'gentrified' for my taste.

Of course local authorities have in mind the preservation of this small animated landmark, but they should be careful not to let it become a tourist trap.

Mind you: Tongin Market is not a tourist trap. But as I feared would happen*, its atmosphere is changing at an alarming pace. On the bright side, the place is cleaner, fresher, better lit with a high ceiling that lets daylight in, and there's much more joy and - yes - fun than ever before. Art students decorated each booth and regularly organize exhibitions (the other day about two sisters who own a shop there). Now there's even a market newspaper... Everybody is smiling, and you can still enjoy the great Hyoja Gimbap*** for only KRW 2,000 a roll (big, tasty bites with a 4 to 1 filling / rice ratio).

But.

If most members stayed, newcomers are not exactly in the same vein. They're good and nice people, and their food does look and smell great, but it's often more the kind of neat shops or eateries you'd find on a busy street. Tongin market is by no means turning into a mall of course, but it's becoming more a gallery than a market, or maybe more the Covent Garden kind of market. I don't see the old generations of merchants resist the sirens of a fat profit: more will sell as the area welcomes more tourists.

Hanoks are being restored around Tongin Market, and the first one that benefited from the renovation program sponsored by local authorities (following the protection of Seochon hanoks) lies precisely in the small vertical alley that joins Tongilsijang-gil in its middle. The feat is well advertised on the door, and the artisan from nearby Nuha-dong even made a wooden box to hold a pack of his business cards. In this alley, a few signs announce trades from another era ("ice" sold here, clothes fixed there...). I bet it won't be long until hanok stay guest houses take over.

I have a word for this : bukchonization.



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* see "Tongin market opens up to art : adaptation or yet another symptom of Seochon's "Bukchonization" ?"
** dang, I'm still not used to call this street "Tongil-ro". Tongil-ro used to start only from Eunpyeong-gu (the former frontier of Seoul city), and now it goes all the way to Seoul Station (see footnotes of "Culture Station Seoul 284").
*** Hyoja Gimbap (gimbap), Tongin Market, Tongin-dong, Jongno-gu. Tel +82.2.730.73.69

Tongin market opens up to art : adaptation or yet another symptom of Seochon's "Bukchonization" ?

I often talk about Seoul's traditional markets as key cultural assets : the souls of Seoul villages, but tormented souls, often on the verge of extinction, and surviving only thanks to a few ageing customers and struggling producers.

If many markets keep a vibrant atmosphere, some can be quite depressing. I remember Sanggye Central Market (Sanggye Jungang Shijang) during its last years : inside, an old, dark, and mostly empty space with a low ceiling and miserable stands - but in the streets around the building, still a vibrant village atmosphere. Now instead of the large low rise hall there's a massive I-Park, and the streets look at the same time cleaner but less lively.

Even some relatively big markets look grim. Take Inwang Market, for instance : located at a major crossroads (Hongje-dong, Seodaemun-gu) and serving a relatively large population, this factory looking concrete mass, next to the derelict Yujin Arcade and the ugly Naebu Expressway, is not exactly inviting. Of course, visiting it is always an intense experience for me, beyond the nice pictures and that small place where they cook delicious handmade noodles. But the traffic is not as good as it should be, and obviously everybody struggles to make ends meet. Many people would like to come more often, but the place almost acts as a repellent even to old timers, and some go to much further traditional markets because they are more fun. Money will be invested here, and Yugin Sanga be destroyed to make room for a multiservice complex, but will Hongje modernize the market or replace it with a soulless shopping center ? This choice will be essential for the very identity of a strategic hub.

I'm not in favor of aggressive therapy to maintain markets when there's no potential, but I don't think it is right to destroy the ones that are still successful. I already mentioned Yeongcheon Market* as a potential collateral damage of urban redevelopment (its Eastern end is threatened by future towers). The traffic is good, the location great, the quality of the products much better than in most markets, and the dimensions perfect : here's a small but sustainable traditional market that enlivens the area. The buildings and its direct surroundings are in poor shape, but with a limited investment, this animated covered path can become an attraction coupled with the visit of Independence Gate, without losing its soul. Why not preserve a small triangle of real Seoul right in front of the soon to be erected Dongnimmun New Town ?

Like Yeongcheon Market, Tongin Market is basically a narrow street** whose roof and shops have been upgraded over the past few years without really revolutionizing the area. Much smaller than Yeongchan, Tongin doesn't claim as many visitors, and there's not the same feeling of abundance, but there's no other traditional market miles around except Geumcheon Market, and losing it could undermine the city's dream of saving Seochon.

Full of life and small eateries and very close to Gyeonbokkung Station, Geumcheon Market, on Geumcheon Bridge street (Geumcheondari-gil / 금천다리길, the small Chebu-dong street parallel to Sajikno), is rather an open air commercial street than a formal market. Seoul should be very careful about that one too, but Tongin Market is a real market place with a roof at the center of the soon to be revived Seochon.

I've often mentioned Seoul's plans to resuscitate this historical hotspot West of the Gyeonbokgung by protecting hanoks (see "Stop The Hanok Genocide... And Stop Revival As Reenactment") or reopening an old stream (see "Baekundongcheon / Gwanghwamun-gil - A River Runs Through It"), as well as my worries about the risks of a "Bukchonization" for Seochon : on one hand you save a hanok cluster and create a popular touristic attraction full of cute boutiques, but on the other, this is not a real Seoul village anymore, just a gentrified area for wealthy people or guest houses, where daily life is not going on as normal. Hopefully, even if Seochon has evolved dramatically recently, it remains much better 'preserved' than Bukchon at the social level.

Tongin Market has a key role to play in the future at the heart of vernacular Seochon, particularly since Baekundongcheon renovation will not go all the way up along Jahamungil (the stream's original path), but take the diagonal across Tongin-dong and Chebu-dong instead, following a minor affluent, now the charming and winding street that leads to the small triangular plaza at the Western end of the market.

Can Tongin Market be saved ? It probably has to evolve, and I often imagined it, in a "boboization"**** scenario of Seochon's Western half, as some sort of a mini Camden market : small, vintage shops, but more indy than trendy. So I was not that much surprised to see the place opening up to amateur, arty installations.

It turns out that the Tongin Market Project is sponsored by local authorities as part of a much wider scheme : an article about it in today's Korea JoongAng Daily ("Traditional markets remade in public art project") actually triggered this post.

Mercifully, this project is heralding proximity between the population and market shop owners, not turning the place into some pretentious art gallery. But change is definitely on the way.

I guess in the future most markets will have lost their original purpose, sometimes reclaiming it for an event. A market is both a meeting space and a meeting time, not necessarily permanent. Paris is sponsoring local markets so that every neighborhood can enjoy a traditional market once or twice a week on the street, and I guess that's what's coming for Seoul as well.

As for the buildings themselves, their souls, or life in Seoul villages, that's another story.

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* and its excellent ddeokbokki "Wonjo Ddeokbokki - a.k.a. "Ddeoknimmun" (Seoul)"
** Tonginshijang-gil, between Pilundae-gil and Jahamun-gil (now Jahamundae-ro). A strategic part of vernacular Seochon, along with the Ogin-gil diagonal.
*** don't underestimate the place, though. For instance, that's where you'll find the best kimbab in Seochon.
**** "bobo" standing for the "bourgeois bohemians" sociostyle defined by David Brooks a decade ago.