Urban Continuity - Susaek-Sangam project back on tracks (and over DMC Station tracks)

Seoul and Korail signed a MOU* to redevelop over 172,000 sqm now covered with tracks and railway installations, most notably Changdong Train Depot (65,000 sqm) in Nowon-gu**, and the DMC Station area (over 30,000 sqm), for which an operator should be selected by the end of the year.

I already stressed the importance of doing the right thing for the most crucial Susaek-Sangam connection in Mapo-gu (e.g. in "A solution to the Great DMC-Susaek Rift?" in the 3rd part of my 2013 focus on Songdo and the DMC ("Songdo, DMC: sequence is of the essence (Part III)").

The project will cover 27,000 sqm at Susaek Station + 3,500 sqm for DMC Station itself:

The latest rendering shows more green and openings than the one suggested in 2013, which reminded me of the Great Slab of Paris La Defense:

To ensure an even greater urban continuity between Susaek-dong and Sangam-dong / DMC, pedestrians should be able to cross Susaek-ro to the North as seamlessly as Seongam-ro to the South, and through this more porous ensemble.

This key railway hub (AREX Airport Express, Subway Line 6, Gyeongui Line train) should merge with its surroundings horizontally, unlike the initial, vertical, aerotropolis vision. Remember the old plans featuring a landmark tower, where international businessmen would only see Incheon Airport and the DMC during their trip to Korea? Even commuters should feel invited to reach beyond the hub, deep into Susaek and Sangam.

And ideally, the tracks could be covered further to the West and to the East, prolonging the
"Gyeongui Line Forest Trail - An Urban Lifeline" now in full bloom around Yeonnam-dong for its first operational summer.

(at Yeonnam-dong by day) Gyeongui Line forest trail got greener
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/625207215603879936

(at Yeonnam-dong by night) Gyeongui Line forest trail by night now. Good to see so many citizens adopt it, even picnic on the lawn
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/625274339781246976

Over the two years following that focus on the trail, my long gone "Busan Corner"*** has again changed at least twice. It just became a jewelry shop - how's that for gentrification?

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* see for instance "서울 수색역세권 본격 개발한다…'DMC역 구역'부터 시작" (Yonhap 20150727)
** among the 27 key redevelopments confirmed last spring (see "Diagonal crossings, High Lines, and Business Verticals (how pedestrians and businesses remodel Seoul... and vice-versa)" followed by "Urban Regeneration: 27 Projects For Seoul")
*** "Busan Corner on Taxi-daero"

China Dependence

If XI Jinping doesn't eat himself to death, he'll be leading China well into the next decade. And as he hosted the APEC meeting, he already tried to pose as a new breed of World leader, some kind of a super-blob absorbing every disturbance:
- Airpocalypse? Suspended for the occasion. It came back with a vengeance afterwards, and Seoul got a mean whiff of it for Suneung.
- Democracy? Distant umbrella clicking sounds muffled by thick red padded walls. Even the World's supposedly ultimate Democratic leader came bruised up (a red-painted America for Obama's last Midterm Elections).
- TPP? Sorry to hear about your China-free Trans-Pacific Partnership struggle. Here's our China-led Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP). And Vladimir? I'm not forgetting our Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, we'll invite Modi and India soon. Meanwhile, here's another big contract for you...
- Shinzo Abe? The Imperial Japan revivalist thought their handshake would mark a diplomatic victory for him, Xi turned it into a public humiliation (a red face as visible as the dot on the flag for Abe, once again shaming the nation).

Meanwhile, South Korea and Park Geun-hye confirmed their honeymoon with China and Xi Jinping by concluding their FTA deal, a few days after the official launch of clearinghouse services by China’s Bank of Communications branch in Seoul (November 6).

I need a pull

We got a deal

Do you think Vlad the Impaler is coming our way?

Asia Pacific leaders beamed down to the size of blue cells.

If you remember the survey recently led by the Asan Institute on "South Korean Attitudes on China" (20140703) and "South Korean Attitudes on the Korea-US Alliance and Northeast Asia" (20140424), Koreans seem to consider their growing dependence on China as ineluctable, and they don't feel so comfortable about it.

But Koreans are not so comfortable with their economic situation and gloomy demographics either, and many are ready to make a quick buck, whatever the long term consequences. 

Jeju illustrates perfectly the double-edged sword of Korea's growing dependence on China. Local authorities opened Pandora's box in February 2010 by offering F-2 visas to anyone who invests at least KRW 500 m in real estate, and the Chinese jumped in. Mind you: not just as political risk management tools or evasion tactics. As of June 2014, they owned 5.92 million sqm of land worth KRW 580.7 bn, up from 20,000 sqm worth KRW 0.4 bn in 2009. Over the same period, US citizens gained only 4% more land, and Japanese citizens even lost 2% of their total.*

This year, Jeju will welcome over 5M visitors from China. But beyond the construction of hotels and resorts, China doesn't boost local jobs or consumption**. And at this pace, the island could become a Costa del Sol - style environmental + real estate mess. Local authorities are starting to realize the unsoundness of the equation, but Korea opens other regions to similar schemes, to the risk of creating bubbles, and of sucking much needed steam out of nearby projects that are already struggling.

Otherwise, for places like Songdo, bringing China in the equation helps fill existing towers. And speaking of Incheon: look how the city revived its Chinese heritage over the past decades, from one extreme (a community below the radar) to another (a brand new, colorful Chinatown).

In Seoul, Yeonnam-dong (the southern half of Yeonhui-dong until it joined Mapo-gu) enjoys a long history with China too, and it still shows in the architecture, even if you have to dig deeper and deeper to find one of these 'fusion hanok':

Yeonnam-dong hanok tended to have higher ceilings. Fusion architecture for people from Taiwan. (@theseoulvillage 20140815) - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/500156842874380288

Restaurant-wise, there are still a few great Chinese institutions in the neighborhood, but for how long? If flocks of Chinese tourists have recently started pouring in, that's to visit the new duty free shops operated by their compatriots in closed touristic circuits that obviously generate a lot of business, but not much for the local economy. Seoulites won't keep coming if they see Yeonnam-dong's charming streets packed with jay-parked tourist buses. Next thing you know, these closed circuits will include big buffets that will further degrade the neighborhood.

Don't get me wrong: of course China is a chance for Korea at all levels, I'm really happy to see two countries I love develop friendly and fruitful relations, and that's perfectly normal that a big chunk of China's touristic bonanza ends up in Chinese hands. 

I'm just worried about the pace and reach of change, and its impacts on Korea's economy, society, and politics.

Not because China's influence is bad in itself, but because massive and rapid changes could trigger anti-Chinese reactions which could not only damage the relations between both nations, but the multicultural fabric of Korea itself.

Likewise, when I mention political issues, that's not only at the national level (typically: okay for outsourcing part of  North Korea control, not okay to subscribe to the Northeast Project's 'Hanschluss' agenda): who and what will certain local authorities ultimately run for?

We're probably not at that stage yet, but I believe that Korean leaders should keep these risks in mind to work on a sustainable partnership. And that since this partnership cannot be balanced, to strengthen other partnerships in parallel.

*

See also:

• all posts related to China.
• my piece "Is Korea really the younger, smarter brother of China?" (The Korea Herald - 20111127)

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* "Chinese snap up real estate on Jeju" (Korea JoongAng Daily - 20141103), "Surge in Chinese investors in South Korea’s Jeju Island since 2009 may be to secure residency" (South China Morning Post - 20140903), "Chinese investment is taking over Jeju Island" (The Hankyoreh - 20141004)
** "Chinese Investment in Jeju Not Bringing Consumption, Employment to Region" (Business Korea - 20140829)

Yeonnam-dong, a new Human Town or a new Old Town, but mercifully not that old New Town

I found rather comical recent articles presenting Yeonnam-dong's rehabilitation as a success for PARK Won-soon vision*: Yeonnam was the pilot neighborhood at the core of the Human Town vision, a voter-friendly project ignited by PARK's predecessor ahead of the 2010 mayoral elections (actually, the first sentence in my post "OH Se-hoon launches the "Seoul Human Town" concept" was "the campaign for Seoul City Hall is definitely on"). This following the LRT episode where PARK, already running for a second term next year, revived OH's subway projects years after criticizing them as pork barrel**... Of course, PARK didn't write these articles, but I had to smile.

Anyway, whether you call it "Human Town" or "Old Town" (as the metropolitan government rebranded it last year to mark a disruption with the "New Town" model - see "Seoul Old Towns or New Human Towns? New City Hall or Tsunamheat Wave?"***), the concept had to be given a chance. In case you skipped the Human Town beat, here are a few bits from my 3-year-old post:

"(...) an alternative to Seoul's tragic base case scenario : instead of letting a whole neighborhood grow old and derelict until it's ripe for redevelopment, then destroy everything, and finally plant a big "apateu" block, the idea is to improve a neighborhood, make it a better place for everyone, with a special care for young couples and silver heads... core targets in OH's 2010 campaign. (...)

"Seoul Human Town" intends to combine the best of both worlds :

- from apartment blocks : joint management, economies of scale, maintenance, security, parking space, (some) green areas, a playground, consistence and sustainability

- from your friendly neighborhood : low-rise architecture, the human touch, the sense of belonging, the memory, the soul, the identity of Seoul villages.

- bonus : community services, senior and daycare centers. Ultimately, many parts of the city shall enjoy facilities more adapted to their population densities, but previously unaffordable (...).

Don't imagine a complete renovation, more a rehabilitation of the environment : the idea is to let the area breathe, to get rid of one building here and there, to convert another one into a community center, to make room for pavements and plants, to add lights and CCTVs, to bury those cable / electricity snake nests hanging up between buildings (...)".

Again, the before/after rendering
Low-rise, low-key, but still high electoral stakes

I put a marker at the center of Yeonnam-dong Human Town on Seoul Village map - that's at the Gyeongui Line fork (at the beginning of the "Gyeongui Line Forest Trail - An Urban Lifeline"), north of Donggyo-ro:


View Seoul Village in a larger map

Now the most important: is it working?

I often ride my bike in the neighborhood on my way between Yeonhui and Hongdae, and the urban change is not very spectacular at the macro level - except of course for the new forest trail, which also contribute to the village atmosphere, and to drawing shop and cafe customers from the outside. Still, you can tell that this neighborhood has evolved into a much more open life space and community thanks to the small scale changes at the street level (e.g. fewer walls, more walkways and green areas, fewer visible electric lines...) as well as well as thanks to the new community services (which also translate in more open or shared spaces).

Residents are feeling optimistic for the future, and not only regarding the value of their properties (the usual barometer in Seoul-upon-Han, I'm afraid). Rents are up, and maybe the fact that Hongdae's spike in retail rents pushed many small entrepreneurs further from the commercial center doesn't explain everything.


Yeonnam-dong does look and feel more like a village...

... and anyway, so much better than this "old New Town" project!

Phew! This "well being" apocalypse was canceled

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* e.g. "박원순式 재개발 1호 ‘마포 연남동’… 주거정비 마무리" (Asia Economy - 20130925), "'박원순표 재개발' 저층주거지 정비 마친 연남동 일대" (Financial News - 20131004)
** see "If you ain't broke, fix it: Seoul, Welfare and Railways Deficits" (20130801)
*** again, have also a peek at my essay "Inhuman, all too human Seoul" - "Seoul: inhumaine, trop humaine" (2011-2012), and its final section: "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")

Gyeongui Line Forest Trail - An Urban Lifeline

Recent news confirmed my hopes and fears regarding the new park stretching along Gyeongui Line (see "Busan Corner on Taxi-daero").

Don't worry, this is not another post about subway line extensions (even I grew tired of them!), but about the forest trail planted over the southern branch of the Gyeongui Line, the 107-year-old railway that used to connect Seoul with Pyongyang. Seoul city just announced that the 6.3 km-long linear park between Hongjecheon and Munbae-dong would be completed by the end of 2014.




Overall, 6.3 km via Hongdae, Seogang, Gongdeok, and Hyochang stations

Nowadays, what you see in the unfinished sections often looks a bit like this...

... but ultimately, we shall see this thin "coulee verte" from above:

• Here, we're at the beginning of the park, where the Gyeongui Line splits in two (after Gajwa Station): aboveground along Seongsan-ro towards Seoul Station, underground along Yeonnam-ro towards Yongsan Station. You can clearly see at the top of the picture the elevated Naebu Expressway covering Hongjecheon (about that, see "Along Hongjecheon, my way or the highway"), and the hills of Yeonhui-dong's Gungdong Park. The park cuts through Yeonnam-dong, with Gyeongseong school to the left:

Gyeongui Line forest trail at Yeonnam-dong

• Now we're at the other end of the park, or rather the head of the dragon ("yong"), in Yongsan-gu. Actually, the street that passes between two apartment blocks on the bottom right of this picture separates Mapo-gu from Yongsan-gu. The main avenue bordering the park is now Baekbom-ro, here between Gongdeok and Hyochang stations. Note that Gyeongui Line's Hyochang and Yongsan stations will also open next year.

Some sections of the park have already been inaugurated, but it takes time for the vegetation to grow, and there are not many places to seat in the shade. So the 1.310 m-long initial stretch (Yeonnam-Hongdae) is not very crowded during daytime. Lined with cherry trees, the 630 m-long section between Sogang and Gongdok stations, not far from Sogang University, looks more welcoming and decorated for the moment... but 'sullae-gil' style (expect a lot of signs and storytelling).

For the moment, the most exciting parts may be around Wau Bridge / Wausan / Donggyo-dong / Changjeon-dong, precisely because they have not been fully 'edited' yet. Don't get there if you're the Cheongdam-dong kind of Seoulite.

• Once you've passed the airport line exits, you can enjoy some really creative graffitis along the fences (unfortunately, also less enjoyable and creative tags on private homes):

Walls have eyes too. #Graffiti near #Hongdae, #Seoul
pic.twitter.com/MmPfp1MNPM - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/347677211379261441

• On the other side of Wau Bridge lies a very unique Hongdae neighborhood. Of course it's evolving very quickly, but not as quickly as the rest of Hongdae: here, time seems more suspended. Like in Kim Jin-hwan's cult bakery, where you must not expect bread to be available every time you pass by. Like in these tiny houses, in front of which old timers wash their baechu for the gimchi. Like in this lost field, by the small street that crosses the path of the Gyeongui Line, where Seoul city grows the flowers that will decorate less forsaken neighborhood:

The #Gyeongui line near #Hongdae. Here, flowers are grown for the rest of #Seoul
pic.twitter.com/95E2AkeViY - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/347676715432161281

What will it look like one year, two years from now? Probably sanitized, gentrified. Hopefully more open to other neighborhoods, and full of life, kids, and bicycles. I come there on bicycle, but both sides are hilly and that's not very convenient. On the other hand and as you can see, the path of the covered line is very flat, so once the trail is opened, people can join from far away, breeze from one neighborhood to the other. Life will completely change for people who are used to live in the middle of nowhere. 

If my wishes have been fulfilled, so have my fears of seeing more soulful parts of Seoul disappear. As expected, my Busan Corner is closed, and my "Taxi-daero" is already starting to morph into something different. I'm mourning that beautiful Chinese restaurant on Baekbom-ro, next to Hyochang Park Station; an exceptional building, and an architectural heritage that would have added something very special to the trail...

But don't get me wrong. Above all else, Seoul is reclaiming wastelands and barren areas for the enjoyment of all its citizens, and that's fantastic. Just like for Cheonggyecheon or Gwanghwamun Plaza, planners won't get it right from day one, and they'll have to fix bugs that could have been avoided in the first place, but Seoulites will come to love a place they didn't know existed.

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Busan Corner on Taxi-daero

Each time I ride my bicycle from Yeonhui-dong to Hongdae, I follow the same Yeonhuimat-ro / Donggyo-ro line. And each time, I make a couple of mental notes along the way: I must come back for this and that eatery, I haven't visited them in a long time.


The first section is called Yeonhui's street of flavors (Yeonhuimat-ro, formerly Yeonhuimat-gil) for a reason: people come from far away for the food, even for a dish as simple as Yeonhui-dong Kalguksu.


The second section is far less inviting: basically an apartment block (Imgwang Apartment) stuck between two disgracious elevated infrastructures (Seongsan-ro and the Gyeongui Line). But even there you can find a couple of restaurants.


The next stretch is a paradise for authentic Chinese cuisine lovers (see for instance Hong Bok or Ha Ha). That's also where you'll find the very Chinese-friendly Yeonhui-Yeonnam Global Village (Seoul Global Center).


Further afield, Donggyo-ro shifts by 45 degree from Southwest to South, until it reaches the new park. I knicknamed that 100% restaurant section "Taxi-daero" because both sides of the street are always fully packed with diagonally parked cabs (a good sign if you believe in Word Of Mouthwatering, that Great Tradition among Taxi Drivers).


Soon after the park, Donggyo-ro meets with Yeonnam-ro and takes you to Hongik University Station and Seogyo-dong, drawing a big smile north of Yanghwa-ro (there again, countless places to take a snack, including Charles Sutbul Gimbap).


I've already mentioned this new park, a potential game-changer for a neighborhood that badly needed one. Bonus: the best configuration possible for cafes and terraces. They only reopened the section between Donggyo-ro and Yanghwa-ro, but right now, this 30 meter wide band covering the AREX looks very promising, even if Mapo-gu didn't invest a lot in the trees, rather rachitic. Speculators have started raiding the spot a couple of years ago, and many buildings have already being remodeled. I sincerely hope they won't let them grow taller than 2-3 levels because that would totally ruin the area, as is already the case for the section North of Donggyo-ro (on this picture, along Kolon Apartment):

I'm also worried about Taxi-daero because if this neighborhood becomes too successful, more shops shall move from Hongdae, and I wouldn't want the place to look like yet another Garosu-gil.

What I fear most is the disparition of unspectacular landmarks that make this place so special and particularly Busan Corner, a delicious and cute eatery ideally located at the Southernmost end of Taxi-daero, with a view on the garden, or rather on this catwalk for anorexic plants. The owner is a very kind lady from Busan, who cooks simple and delicious local snacks (부산먹거리) for a song:


Bibim dangmyeon (비빔당면)

Homemade odeng soup (수제오뎅탕)

Busan Gimbap (부산김밥)

Busan Corner  / 부산코너 (snacks)
At the corner of Donggyo-ro and AREX park, Mapo-gu
Tel +82.322.9242

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* Note that the garden will continue on the other side of Yanghwa-ro, but for the moment that's just a barricaded working site from which only the new AREX exit emerge. When they connected the Incheon-Gimpo Airport line to Hongdae station they changed the numbering system for all subway exits, and I once sent by mistake a friend to that no man's land - not the best first impression for Hongik University area.

Hong Bok (Seoul)

The Yeonhui-dong (my "Yummy-dong"!) - Yeonnam-dong area is full of authentic and affordable Chinese restaurants, each one with its own flavors and specialities. Like some of its neighbors (e.g. "Ha Ha") Hong Bok serves authentic food from Northeastern China.

Today, we tried lamb skewers, fish mandu, and hwang mandu from Shandong and Jilin provinces.

Fish mandu? a true delicacy, boiled to perfection. Hwang mandu (pork) being filled with big chunks, each ingredient comes with a bang.

Lamb skewers taste terrific, and not too strong for Korean palates (many locals have a poor memory of lamb following a doomed promotion ages ago, and the smell of this meat can be an issue). Marinated, seasoned with herbs, and served with paprika, the dish makes you travel even further than across the Yellow Sea. Central Asia, maybe?

Don't be afraid to order the set of 14 skewers: each one is not bigger than a tiny finger, and they're fun to BBQ at your table. We started to line them like rows of table football players, but the tenants told us to hold them in packs because it's as efficient, and much less tedious to turn them in bulk. See the small dents on each corner of the stove? You use them to push the meat to the end of the sticks.

Hong Bok is on Seongmisan-ro (formerly Dongjin Market street), the first street between Donggyo-ro and Yeonhui-ro South of the railway.

Hong Bok (restaurant)
224-41 Yeonnam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, ROK
(new address: Mapo-gu, Seongmisan-ro 189)
Tel +82.2.323.1698

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Ha Ha (Seoul)

"Ha Ha" ? Funny name for a restaurant, but I guess pigs don't share the joke since this place specialized in Shandong cuisine serves, among other delicacies, their ears, brains, and guts (all in the same sauce and cucumber mix). Also on the menu : great hwang and tong mandus (황만두 and 통만두), light galettes (총유병), a mix of buchu and gaebul (부추 개불 볶음)...

For non-initiates : buchu means garlic chives, and if you've been to a fish market you've probably noticed gaebul (pink spoon worm) swarming in water buckets.

With its no frills decor, Ha Ha remains one of the last typical small Chinese restaurants, and one of the more numerous two storey houses in this section of Donggyo-ro lined with platanus trees. With the right weather and mood, it almost looks like a lost part of old Shanghai or Paris XIIIe Chinatown, and I hope they won't let high rise buildings ruin the magic.

If eating spoon worms or pig brains is your idea of magic, that is.

HA HA / 하하/ 哈哈
Yeonnam-dong 229-12 (Donggyo-ro), Mapo-gu, Seoul, ROK
Tel +822.337.0211

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OH Se-hoon launches the "Seoul Human Town" concept

The campaign for Seoul City Hall is definitely on : Mayor OH Se-hoon just revealed his latest urban concept, which at the same time synthetizes earlier proposals into one marketable package... and doesn't leave much room for rival HAN Myeong-sook to position herself*.

Full disclosure here : I don't know much about the programs of other candidates, but I strongly support OH for a second term. Even if he did a few mistakes during his first mandate, he literally saved Seoul from itself, limiting the impact of speculation at the most crucial moment, initiating key projects, and most importantly, proposing an ambitious yet sustainable long term vision for the capital. He is by far the best mayor I've had over my 20 years in Seoul, and I'm anxious to see him push even harder in the years to come.

His predecessor LEE Myung-bak did accomplish very important programs, and beyond his much advertised projects of Cheonggyecheon and Seoul Forest, I praise the way he revolutionized public transit by creating dedicated bus lanes. But "Bulldozer" also fueled speculation to the point not one single part of the city was spared (always a weak spot for his base of haves and have mores).

With his "Seoul Human Town" ("서울휴먼타운") concept, OH Se-hoon is precisely proposing an alternative to Seoul's tragic base case scenario : instead of letting a whole neighborhood grow old and derelict until it's ripe for redevelopment, then destroy everything, and finally plant a big "apateu" block, the idea is to improve a neighborhood, make it a better place for everyone, with a special care for young couples and silver heads... core targets in OH's 2010 campaign**.

Beyond politics, "Seoul Human Town" does seem a smart and simple solution to improve quality of life in many residential areas which have grown into congested zones packed with low-rise houses and "villas" (of course, not even one hanok to salvage). Don't expect any tree in those narrow and dark streets. People don't stay out at night - not necessarily because they feel insecure, but because there's no point walking there, nowhere to sit. When I visit this kind of neighborhoods I often have this confused feeling of hopelessness. This isn't the poor, shanty, dickensian Seoul, but if there's life, it's contained behind closed doors and windows. Typically, there's no business, except maybe for one miserable laundry shop. Small groceries are disappearing one by one, and the last survivors expose a few bottles, toilet paper rolls, or ramyeon packs on depressingly dusty shelves...

OK I guess you get the point : something definitely has to be done. And something better than the all too successful "apateu" concept, which generally doesn't score much higher on the "human" scale.

"Seoul Human Town" intends to combine the best of both worlds :
- from apartment blocks : joint management, economies of scale, maintenance, security, parking space, (some) green areas, a playground, consistence and sustainability
- from your friendly neighborhood : low-rise architecture, the human touch, the sense of belonging, the memory, the soul, the identity of Seoul villages.
- bonus : community services, senior and daycare centers. Ultimately, many parts of the city shall enjoy facilities more adapted to their population densities, but previously unaffordable.

The system also aims at preventing Seoul from becoming a hi-rise-only nightmare : after decades of redevelopment, low-rise still cover 20% of the land but 56% of households already live in apartment complexes.

Nice fairytale, uh ? But we're not talking about turning pumpkins into coaches with a magic wand : just helping people like their own neighborhood. Don't imagine a complete renovation, more a rehabilitation of the environment : the idea is to let the area breathe, to get rid of one building here and there, to convert another one into a community center, to make room for pavements and plants, to add lights and CCTVs, to bury those cable / electricity snake nests hanging up between buildings... Here were the two before / after examples exhibited earlier today*** :



Some will flinch at the CCTVs and the watchman (other imports from apartment complexes), but the watchman is first of all a human being, a part of the community, who helps visitors as well as residents.

That's the "Type 2" model of Seoul Human Towns, designed for single-family housing areas. More comprehensive redevelopments are planned for multi-family housing areas, in the 100,000 square meter range (Type 1), but that one is not a really new concept, and it rather looks like a "mini-new town" with low-rise buildings :



"Seoul Human Town" will first be implemented for 300 families in 3 pilot neighborhoods : Seongbuk-dong (Seongbuk-gu), Insu-dong (Gangbuk-gu), and Amsa-dong (Gangdong-gu), respectively 45,781, 43,475, and 31,043 sqm. Other sites : around 239-1 Yeonnam-dong and 93-104 Sangsu-dong (both in Mapo-gu), and around 38-148 Yongmun-dong in Yongsan-gu.

Back to "Type 2" then. Can it fly ? And how about the money ?

Seoul city will provide support at the organizational and financial levels : it's also a way or allocating existing ressources a more efficient way. Authorities won't force people to move or abandon their houses if they don't want to, but they will coerce developpers into reserving, inside each new complex, a few apartments for those who accept expropriation. It can work, but the whole system is based on concertation and most owners are hooked on the usual redevelopment dream, so a lot of patience and pedagogy will be needed.

Hopefully, OH Se-hoon already paved the way by implementing a clear framework for renovations, remodelings, and redevelopments : if most initiatives remain private, the city is now involved from the earliest stage, and many safeguards have been created to fight against rampant embezzlement and corruption.

Anyway it's worth trying. There will be deceptions, but also new ideas that will benefit the whole community. And at the end of the day, more Seoulites will learn to associate urbanism with common sense.
Seoul Village 2010

* see "the mayoral race is on"
** Seoul Mayor focuses his attention on key moments in life which, to say the least, are not being well tackled in Korea, such as having kids and raising them, or growing older : typically, the country lacks infrastructures to sit babies for working couples, its education system has grown into an unfair and prohibitive monster, and its aging population can't always enjoy a full life after retirement.
*** "서울시, 신개념 저층주거지 ‘서울휴먼타운’ 조성"