An urban renewal
How Seoul is bringing culture back to downtown
It is a story known the world over. As cities grow, they develop bustling, lively centres. Then, as they continue to grow, businesses and people move out to more spacious suburbs. The suburbs blossom; the urban centres are left to decay.
This story is particularly true of the Republic of Korea’s capital city. Since the ending of the Korean War in the 1950s, the city has hurtled into industrialisation and modernisation, achieving in 30 years a status of advancement that took the likes of London nearly 100. In fact, as early as the 1970s, Seoul’s downtown was a thriving metropolis, featuring suspended highways and a growing backdrop of high-rise commercial hubs. It was a model city of the future.
Perhaps inevitably, this central buzz wasn’t to last. Bearing the consequences of rapid development and rushed construction, in recent decades downtown Seoul has suffered from low investment, reduced footfall, and an absence of sense of place. Those who can, have moved to wealthier districts like Gangnam. Those who can’t, have been left behind in a district that’s lost its way.
Since the early 2000s, the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) has been doing something about that. Their answer to downtown’s crisis of sense of place? Culture.
Here are just four of the SMG projects that are working to transform the landscape of downtown Seoul.
1. Sewoon Sangaa
In 1967, the Sewoon Sangaa opened as Korea’s first mixed-use complex, comprising eight enormous buildings that hosted shops, small businesses, factories, and housing units.
By the early 2000s, it was apparent that the businesses and manufacturing enterprises of Sewoon Sangaa were being outcompeted by e-commerce and mass-production; the complex was falling into disrepair. The SMG initially entertained plans to demolish the whole area and regenerate, but when these plans were met with fierce local objection, they reconsidered.
After extensive public consultation and community participation, the Sewoon Sangaa has been revitalised as a space that sees active, everyday use. Retaining its core ethos as a mixed-use complex, the scheme now offers affordable spaces for start-ups alongside small-business owners; and hosts innovative outposts for Fab Lab Seoul and the University of Seoul. The complex has even added a publicly-accessible rooftop garden to its ninth floor.
The changes made were not radical, but by inviting innovative thinking and young companies into the space, the Sewoon Sangaa has been transformed into a place of energy and opportunity.
2. Cheonggyecheon Stream
Perhaps one of the greater casualties of Seoul’s rapid development was the Cheonggyecheon Stream – a central waterway that posed practical challenges to the growing urban environment of the 1960s. At the time, the solution to the stream’s obstruction was to build over the top of it, and for 40 years, the stream was covered by road.
In 2005, in an effort to improve walkability and restore urban greenery to the downtown area, this highway was lifted.
Today, 11 kilometres of landscaped, waterside footpaths pave their way through the heart of Seoul. Dropping down below road level, pedestrians can escape the city noise, cool their feet in the shallows, and cut their way across downtown – free from traffic.
3. Bukchon Hanok Village
An historic village that neighbours Gyeongbokgung Palace, Bukchon has a complex history of urban regeneration and conservation. In spite of comprising architecturally-precious Korean ‘hanok’ buildings, over the years the village has been used pragmatically to respond to Seoul’s housing needs – sometimes at the cost of historical preservation.
In 2001, the Bukchon Regeneration Project was founded for exactly this reason. Under the scheme, hanok owners have been supported with tax reductions, assistance with building maintenance, and government investment in the village.
The result is a village that at once feels both old and new. The restored history and architecture have attracted tourists; the tourists have attracted boutique coffee shops, design galleries, and designer labels. It is a village with a cultivated image – perhaps not for everyone – but it has certainly brought footfall and life to the area.
4. Ihwa Mural Village
On the peripheries of the downtown district, and set apart by a steep climb up from Dondaemun, in the early 2000s Ihwa was a village fighting for survival. Home to mainly poor families and elderly residents, the village was scheduled for demolition.
However, the 2006 ‘Art in the City’ campaign changed the village’s fate. This was a campaign that brought the community together; inviting local students, residents, and artists to participate in the ‘colouring in’ of Ihwa’s streets. With its winding stairways and dramatic views of the city, it is a village that naturally lends itself to visual art.
The village now welcomes visitors all year round; it is worth the trek just for an Instagram snap, and several guesthouses have even cropped up at the top of the hill. With expansive views of the city, and creative murals decorating the streets, Ihwa has become a desirable place to live, stay, and visit.
The urban renewal
Whenever cultural and place renewal is instigated from a government level, there is every reason to be sceptical of the changes. Indeed, it’s evident that a few of the SMG’s placemaking projects have prioritised the tourist experience, rather than the resident.
However, community involvement has been welcomed here (or, in some cases, demanded) at every turn. It was local objections that saved the Sewoon Sangaa from demolition; it was pedestrian mobility that made the case for opening the Cheonggyecheon Stream; it was local home-owners and residents who were empowered by the Bukchon Regeneration Project; and the Ihwa Mural project was only made possible by the active participation of local residents and artists.
The best placemaking comes from mutual benefit and participation at all levels, and in downtown Seoul, this process has certainly made a compelling case for initiative-led urban renewal.
