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"
Monday, April 25, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Hi Seoul Festival 2011
Now focused on non verbal performing arts, the Hi Seoul Festival proposes 6 days of animation : "The Gestures of Spring (Calling for Spring)", between May 5 and 10. The venues ? Yeouido Hangang Park and downtown's main squares : Seoul Plaza, Cheonggye Plaza, and Gwanghwamun Square.Among the main events, a World Street Theater Parade on Seoul Square (May 5 at noon), the Cheonggyecheon Festival, installations, and special shows.
Check the official website for the program and updates : english.hiseoulfest.orgSeoul Village 2011
Seochon, Sejong Village, or what ?
Now officially protected from reckless redevelopment, Seochon area is preparing for its cultural rebirth. All the ingredients are there, but a marketing battle seems to be brewing over the brand. How to name the place ?
"Seochon" echoes the village West of the Gyeongbokgung, an axis we've already discussed and a waterway about to be reopened. There could be some confusion with Seocheon-gun in Chungnam, and some confusion with Bukchon : Seo means West and Buk North, but "cheon" means stream and "chon" village.
Like Gahoe-dong on the other side of the royal palace, it would be unfair to pick a dong name out of the hat : the 600 hanoks are scattered across a dozen neighborhoods, each one with its own characteristics (Naeja-dong, Chebu-dong, Nuha-dong, Nusang-dong, Pilun-dong, Ogin-dong, Tongin-dong, Hyoja-dong, Changsang-dong, Tongui-dong...).
I often refer to the area as "Chebu-dong" because that's the central dong, but that's wrong. Technically, most neighborhoods belong to the two "administrative dongs" of Sajik-dong and Hyoja-dong, the former being maybe more suitable since it's associated with a major royal site (Sajik-dan), and a clear destination West of the Gyeongbokgung. Hyoja-dong touches the palace walls, and is more associated with the North and the presidential palace (even if Cheong Wa Dae belongs to Sejongno-dong and the administrative dong of Cheongun-dong).
Recently, some residents have been pushing a "Sejong Maeul / Sejong Village" label, probably because King Sejong was born there : a plate commemorates the location of the hut where the great man was delivered, following the tradition depicted at the nearby National Palace Museum of Korea. But I'm not sure the commoditization of the Sejong brand is such a good idea : this "Sejong Village" sounds like an annex to Sejongno, not a place with its own identity.
Since the whole area grew along the branches of the soon to be reborn stream, why not stick to Seochon ?
Seoul Village 2011
see other Seochon related posts, including "Stop The Hanok Genocide... And Stop Revival As Reenactment" and "Baekundongcheon / Gwanghwamun-gil - A River Runs Through It"
"Seochon" echoes the village West of the Gyeongbokgung, an axis we've already discussed and a waterway about to be reopened. There could be some confusion with Seocheon-gun in Chungnam, and some confusion with Bukchon : Seo means West and Buk North, but "cheon" means stream and "chon" village.
Like Gahoe-dong on the other side of the royal palace, it would be unfair to pick a dong name out of the hat : the 600 hanoks are scattered across a dozen neighborhoods, each one with its own characteristics (Naeja-dong, Chebu-dong, Nuha-dong, Nusang-dong, Pilun-dong, Ogin-dong, Tongin-dong, Hyoja-dong, Changsang-dong, Tongui-dong...).
I often refer to the area as "Chebu-dong" because that's the central dong, but that's wrong. Technically, most neighborhoods belong to the two "administrative dongs" of Sajik-dong and Hyoja-dong, the former being maybe more suitable since it's associated with a major royal site (Sajik-dan), and a clear destination West of the Gyeongbokgung. Hyoja-dong touches the palace walls, and is more associated with the North and the presidential palace (even if Cheong Wa Dae belongs to Sejongno-dong and the administrative dong of Cheongun-dong).
Recently, some residents have been pushing a "Sejong Maeul / Sejong Village" label, probably because King Sejong was born there : a plate commemorates the location of the hut where the great man was delivered, following the tradition depicted at the nearby National Palace Museum of Korea. But I'm not sure the commoditization of the Sejong brand is such a good idea : this "Sejong Village" sounds like an annex to Sejongno, not a place with its own identity.
Since the whole area grew along the branches of the soon to be reborn stream, why not stick to Seochon ?
Seoul Village 2011
see other Seochon related posts, including "Stop The Hanok Genocide... And Stop Revival As Reenactment" and "Baekundongcheon / Gwanghwamun-gil - A River Runs Through It"
Seoul, to rise again / Enrique Stanko Vraz's visit to Seoul in 1901
There's always some interesting exhibition at the Seoul Museum of History, and quite often two, like nowadays (hurry up if you want to see both : one of them finishes this Sunday)*.
If you're sick and tired of seeing always the same pictures of the late Joseon dynasty, you'll love those taken by Czech photographer Vraz during his three week visit at the turn of last century : abandoned palaces and lively streets, "new" panoramas on well known streets and landmarks (Jongno, Namdaemunno, Maporo, Donhwamun...), and people of all ages looking back at the camera, straight into our IIIrd millenium eyes...
We had the pleasure to watch the exhibition with a group of Seoulites in their at least nineties, most of them pushed in wheelchairs by enthusiastic organizers who read the captions for them... and were corrected anytime they made a mistake about a place they couldn't remember as well as their passengers. Of course, when these elderlies were kids, Donuimun was still standing after all those centuries**, and Dongnimmun a todler monument about their age (the Independence Gate was erected in 1897).
On the same ground floor, "Seoul, to rise again" focuses on the 1957-1963*** years that rocked the ROK, when the capital city boomed, and regimes changed (from RHEE Syng-man to PARK Chung-hee). Pictures and films capture the effervescence, the political, social, economical, and urban changes in black and white, plus all the variations of grey.
Seoul Village 2011
* make that three with the mini expo on Seoul design assets including the U-Smartway project (see focus)
** Note that Donuimun also will rise again (see "Donuimun Restoration and Sadaemun Resurrection").
*** and not 1961-1970, like in the volume 4 of the Seoul in Pictures series, also titled "Seoul, to rise again".
If you're sick and tired of seeing always the same pictures of the late Joseon dynasty, you'll love those taken by Czech photographer Vraz during his three week visit at the turn of last century : abandoned palaces and lively streets, "new" panoramas on well known streets and landmarks (Jongno, Namdaemunno, Maporo, Donhwamun...), and people of all ages looking back at the camera, straight into our IIIrd millenium eyes...
We had the pleasure to watch the exhibition with a group of Seoulites in their at least nineties, most of them pushed in wheelchairs by enthusiastic organizers who read the captions for them... and were corrected anytime they made a mistake about a place they couldn't remember as well as their passengers. Of course, when these elderlies were kids, Donuimun was still standing after all those centuries**, and Dongnimmun a todler monument about their age (the Independence Gate was erected in 1897).
On the same ground floor, "Seoul, to rise again" focuses on the 1957-1963*** years that rocked the ROK, when the capital city boomed, and regimes changed (from RHEE Syng-man to PARK Chung-hee). Pictures and films capture the effervescence, the political, social, economical, and urban changes in black and white, plus all the variations of grey.
"Enrique Stanko Vraz's visit to Seoul in 1901 / Soul roku 1901 objektivem E. St. Vraze" (20110414-0612)
"Seoul, to rise again" (20110309-0424)
Seoul Museum of History
Tel (Dasan hotline) : 120
Seoul Village 2011
* make that three with the mini expo on Seoul design assets including the U-Smartway project (see focus)
** Note that Donuimun also will rise again (see "Donuimun Restoration and Sadaemun Resurrection").
*** and not 1961-1970, like in the volume 4 of the Seoul in Pictures series, also titled "Seoul, to rise again".
Sanchaehyang (Seoul)
More changes happening where Gyeonghuigung-gil forms an elbow :
- Metro newspaper successfully split its mediterranean villa in two, opening the Eastern wall to the street in an original take at the iron frame / stone wall classic... unfortunately to make room for yet another coffee and dessert shop (Ato), and to move the office into its brand new wing, a mini replica of high rise glass building that totally ruins the whole area
- if the old Namuga ineun jib house lost most of its charm following its renovation (as we mentioned before, the restaurant itself moved right next door), the new tenant is more than OK as far as food is concerned.
Self proclaimed 더덕집 or "deodeokjib" / deodeok house, Sanghaehyang is specialized in that bellflower root* to the point their menu sounds like a Monty Python standard when you replace all 더덕s with the word SPAM. All preparations are available, including in special beef dishes or full course menus.
For instance, 더덕온반 ("deodeokonban") is perfect for a light but soothing lunch : it mixes a hot broth with some sort of chicken bibimbap, and of course the flavor of the month.
Sanghaehyang (restaurant)
Shinmunro-2-ga 1-209, Jongno-gu, SEOUL, Korea 110-062
Tel +82.2.733.1199 - Fax +82.2.733.1159
Seoul Village 2011
* also a speciality at "Dunnae Minsokchon".
- Metro newspaper successfully split its mediterranean villa in two, opening the Eastern wall to the street in an original take at the iron frame / stone wall classic... unfortunately to make room for yet another coffee and dessert shop (Ato), and to move the office into its brand new wing, a mini replica of high rise glass building that totally ruins the whole area
- if the old Namuga ineun jib house lost most of its charm following its renovation (as we mentioned before, the restaurant itself moved right next door), the new tenant is more than OK as far as food is concerned.
Self proclaimed 더덕집 or "deodeokjib" / deodeok house, Sanghaehyang is specialized in that bellflower root* to the point their menu sounds like a Monty Python standard when you replace all 더덕s with the word SPAM. All preparations are available, including in special beef dishes or full course menus.
For instance, 더덕온반 ("deodeokonban") is perfect for a light but soothing lunch : it mixes a hot broth with some sort of chicken bibimbap, and of course the flavor of the month.
Sanghaehyang (restaurant)
Shinmunro-2-ga 1-209, Jongno-gu, SEOUL, Korea 110-062
Tel +82.2.733.1199 - Fax +82.2.733.1159
Seoul Village 2011
* also a speciality at "Dunnae Minsokchon".
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Seoul from above : 40 years of archives soon available
Next year, Seoul Metropolitan Government will open its satellite databases (1971-2010) : all citizens will have access to forty years of archives and see how each area evolved over time.
The scale is 1/5,000, the best resolution available these days on paper : I often use an excellent Saehan Map / Blue Map of 2004 Seoul featuring maps on left pages and satellite views on right pages. Expecting every year in vain an updated version...
This online database is exactly what I've been dreaming of for years, but only had once the opportunity to experience "IRL", during last year's excellent exhibition "A Retrospective : Kim Ki-chan and the World of Alleys" : in a display, you could observe a whole charming Seoul village being progressively obliterated and replaced by soulless apartment blocks.
As a teaser, authorities proposed this not so spectacular sample of Ttukseom (top) and COEX (bottom) areas :
I can't wait to browse through those tens of thousands of satellite pictures.
Meanwhile, I'll keep roaming Seoul villages at ground level.
Seoul Village 2011
---UPDATES 2011-2012---
The website (in Korean only): aerogis.seoul.go.kr
The scale is 1/5,000, the best resolution available these days on paper : I often use an excellent Saehan Map / Blue Map of 2004 Seoul featuring maps on left pages and satellite views on right pages. Expecting every year in vain an updated version...
This online database is exactly what I've been dreaming of for years, but only had once the opportunity to experience "IRL", during last year's excellent exhibition "A Retrospective : Kim Ki-chan and the World of Alleys" : in a display, you could observe a whole charming Seoul village being progressively obliterated and replaced by soulless apartment blocks.
As a teaser, authorities proposed this not so spectacular sample of Ttukseom (top) and COEX (bottom) areas :
I can't wait to browse through those tens of thousands of satellite pictures.
Meanwhile, I'll keep roaming Seoul villages at ground level.
Seoul Village 2011
---UPDATES 2011-2012---
The website (in Korean only): aerogis.seoul.go.kr
The Spice (Seoul)
This is Itaewon street, but on the "Northern Garosugil" / "Hannam-dong" / "Hangangjin" half. Twenty years ago, Yukong would be the last stop before Hannam Bridge but now and under the SK brand, the gas station lies in the middle of a tree lined street filled with the kind of restaurants and boutiques you would rather find in Cheongdam-dong (no coincidence there: same money).
Here, all remaining nondescript buildings are progressively replaced with four storey shops and more original facades. Mercifully, newcomers don't seem to grow any higher, which allows some urban consistency in the area (for the mother of all large scale design failures, look further Westwards : the IP Boutique Hotel, a.k.a. Mondrian meets Joe The Plumber).
Anyway. Today, four slots were under (re)construction, including one right opposite The Spice (the blue dot on the map, Itaewon street the vertical in the middle), and next to a garden itself under renovation, at the feet of the Yongsan International School of Seoul. The funny clover-shaped landmark building North of the restaurant hosts Passion5, a very pleasant place to get a gelato, a French Kouign-amann, a festive cake, or some macaron (there's also a restaurant upstairs, but Passion5 l'Atelier's menu doesn't look as stimulating as l'Atelier de Joel Robuchon's). On the other side of The Spice (South on the map) : Kyotofu, fresh from NYC... I've got stuck into worse neighborhoods around lunchtime.
You may be wondering when I'll start writing about The Spice itself - I guess that would be now. I could start with the food, but the menu changes tomorrow (along with the chef, an Australian). So I'll talk quality-price ratio : Haute cuisine from KRW 35-42,000, anyone ? Not in the three-Michelin-star league, but a very nice moment nonetheless, some research about taste, and genuine respect for the ingredients even in the details (I don't think I ever tasted as fresh a tapenade - as if a Southeastern France wind gently slapped me in the face).
I felt very much like after a stop at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Market in Paris : simply and happily satisfied. Owner Edward Kwon (Kwon Young-min) is said to have worked with the Alsatian chef, and maybe his restaurant's name echoes Spice Market, also by Vongerichten. But whatever has been said about Kwon's distorted bio and taste for hype, I enjoyed what he proposed today, and this quiet moment.
The Spice (restaurant)
729-45 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, SEOUL, Korea
Tel +82.2.749.2596
Passion5 (ice creams, bakery, patisserie)
729-74 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, SEOUL, Korea
Tel +82.2.2071.9505
Kyotofu (dessert bar)
682-1 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, SEOUL, Korea
Tel +82.2.749.1488
Seoul Village 2011
Here, all remaining nondescript buildings are progressively replaced with four storey shops and more original facades. Mercifully, newcomers don't seem to grow any higher, which allows some urban consistency in the area (for the mother of all large scale design failures, look further Westwards : the IP Boutique Hotel, a.k.a. Mondrian meets Joe The Plumber).
Anyway. Today, four slots were under (re)construction, including one right opposite The Spice (the blue dot on the map, Itaewon street the vertical in the middle), and next to a garden itself under renovation, at the feet of the Yongsan International School of Seoul. The funny clover-shaped landmark building North of the restaurant hosts Passion5, a very pleasant place to get a gelato, a French Kouign-amann, a festive cake, or some macaron (there's also a restaurant upstairs, but Passion5 l'Atelier's menu doesn't look as stimulating as l'Atelier de Joel Robuchon's). On the other side of The Spice (South on the map) : Kyotofu, fresh from NYC... I've got stuck into worse neighborhoods around lunchtime.You may be wondering when I'll start writing about The Spice itself - I guess that would be now. I could start with the food, but the menu changes tomorrow (along with the chef, an Australian). So I'll talk quality-price ratio : Haute cuisine from KRW 35-42,000, anyone ? Not in the three-Michelin-star league, but a very nice moment nonetheless, some research about taste, and genuine respect for the ingredients even in the details (I don't think I ever tasted as fresh a tapenade - as if a Southeastern France wind gently slapped me in the face).
I felt very much like after a stop at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Market in Paris : simply and happily satisfied. Owner Edward Kwon (Kwon Young-min) is said to have worked with the Alsatian chef, and maybe his restaurant's name echoes Spice Market, also by Vongerichten. But whatever has been said about Kwon's distorted bio and taste for hype, I enjoyed what he proposed today, and this quiet moment.
The Spice (restaurant)
729-45 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, SEOUL, Korea
Tel +82.2.749.2596
Passion5 (ice creams, bakery, patisserie)
729-74 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, SEOUL, Korea
Tel +82.2.2071.9505
Kyotofu (dessert bar)
682-1 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, SEOUL, Korea
Tel +82.2.749.1488
Seoul Village 2011
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