Over at Korea Expose there is a great article about a nondescript set of stairs near the US military’s Yongsan Garrison in Seoul that is actually a reminder of some interesting Japanese colonial history:
Haebongchan neighborhood with the 108 Stairs pictured on the right via VisitSeoul.net.
There’s a stairway on the outskirts of the hip Haebangchon area in Seoul — one that doesn’t really merit a second look. No impressive characteristics beyond its steepness, nothing spectacular in its surroundings. No chic bars, no hipster coffee shops. There’s no reason to remember, much less visit, it unless you’re a resident walking up and down the hilly area.
But the 108 Stairway, as the steps are called, is one of Haebangchon’s oldest residents. In existence since the colonial era, it saw the evolution of Yongsan, the district Haebangchon is in: Streams, woods and tigers in the early twentieth century, the tents and slums before the Korean War, the bombing and destruction, and eventually the clusters of red-bricked houses (and increasingly coffee shops) today.
Situated near the U.S military base, today’s Haebangchon boasts one of the most culturally diverse pool of residents in South Korea. But very few of them have actually used the 108 Stairs for its original purpose.
“My friends and I would rush up, panting, and skip two or three steps at a time,” says 82-year-old Seo Jang-hun. “At the top, there was this huge area, covered with gravel. And there was this temple, where adults threw coins into a box, clapped their hands three times, and prayed.” [Korea Expose via Gusts of Popular Feeling]
You can read the rest at the link, but the staircase once led to the Gyeongseong Hoguk Shrine that was built in 1943. Residents that lived in the neighborhood were forced by Japanese authorities to pray at the shrine for Japan’s war dead. After liberation in 1945 residents tore down the shrine and today the steps are all that remain. Soon even the steps may be removed to be replaced by an escalator.
This all poses the question of what Japanese colonial relics should be allowed to remain and what should be tore down?
Another death caused by the security doors in Seoul’s subway system:
The victim, circled, collapses after coming through an emergency door on the platform. He died in hospital. / Yonhap
A man was killed after being caught between subway safety doors and a train at Gimpo International Airport Station in western Seoul, Wednesday.
The passenger, surnamed Kim, 36, was on a train heading for Banghwa Station of line No. 5. As the train arrived at Gimpo station, he was getting off but got caught in the 30-centimeter gap between the train and the platform safety screen door.
As the subway engineer closed the train doors and screen doors to depart, a passenger reported through the intercom on the train that a man was caught between the two sets of doors, according to Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corp.
The engineer re-opened the doors and closed them again 27 seconds later and started moving the train, apparently failing to check whether the man got out of the gap. [Korea Times]
The Konglish often seen around Korea I always find humorous, but the Seoul city government has launched a crackdown to try and fix many of its signs:
On left, an English sign referring to a public stage in front of Seoul City Hall is wrongly translated as “Vitality Charging Station.” On right, “Muggyo Annex,” nearby the hall’s entrance, is misspelled as “Emuggyo Annex.” / Korea Times photo by Hong Dam-young, Lee Jin-a
The Seoul City government recently launched an ambitious project to crack down on errors in English-language signs. But maybe they should take a look at their own building first.
Walking around Seoul City Hall, reporters from The Korea Times spotted several errors in English-language signs.
The first sign that caught their attention was “Vitality Charging Station” at an information display kiosk on the first floor. Referring to a public stage in front of the building, the English wrongly translated the original meaning.
One of the reporters asked a passing Canadian if he could guess the meaning of “Vitality Charging Station.” He thought for a while and said: “I think it means ‘battery’ or ‘male stamina.’
It’s the best guess I can make. I’m not sure what it means, though.” [Korea Times]
I saw this story posted over at Reddit Korea about a Korean man caught illegally dumping pig carcasses into the Han River:
Apparently since October of last year, he would dispose of pigs he had used for jesa(제사) by dumping them into the Han River. In total he discarded nearly 100 pigs, amounting to 13 tons of illegal dumping in a public waterway! [Reddit Korea]
Long time ROK Heads may remember the large protests that happened when a USFK mortician poured 20 gallons of formaldehyde down a drain that was diluted first of all by running water, then was processed through the Seoul waste treatment system, and finally through the Nanjido central metropolitan treatment plant along with 1.9 million gallons of other sewage and waste that was processed through those facilities that day.
Does anyone think this farmer will face mass protests and massive media demonization for what he did to pollute the river?
This is an interesting idea where the city of Seoul is holding a flea market where foreign residents are the vendors:
A flea market opened in downtown Seoul on Sunday with foreign residents as vendors, as part of the city government’s efforts to provide them opportunities to integrate with citizens here.
About a hundred foreigners from some 40 teams selected by the Seoul Global Center gathered at Gwanghwamun Plaza early in the morning and sold various goods, ranging from used items to traditional handcrafts.
For graduate student Alex Gubo from Slovakia, the flea market was a platform to introduce his country’s culture to people living here. This was the second time for him to take part in the flea market event hosted by the Seoul Global Center. (….)
Sunday’s event was the latest among similar ones that took place in April, May and June. The last flea market this year is slated for Oct. 23.
Any foreign residents can apply to take part in the event, free of charge, the center said, adding the application process is provided on its website on the first day of each scheduled month.
“This event enables foreigners and natives to come together as one by sharing diverse cultures,” said Shin Dong-hoon, an official at the center.
The regular foreigners’ flea market is part of a broader weekly market event run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government from April to October on every Sunday. The theme of the market varies every week. [Yonhap]
I am surprised some enterprising ajushi hasn’t started hunting these wild boars for his own samgyeopsal joint:
Eighty sightings of wild boars have been reported in downtown Seoul in the first six months of this year, according to the city government’s report to the National Assembly’s Security and Public Administration Committee. This is almost one sighting every two days.
The figure rose from 54 to 199 cases between 2012 and 2014, Yonhap news agency said. It dropped to 155 last year, but if it stays at the present rate it will exceed last year.
Jongno District has had the most sightings, accounting for 35 percent of the 623 cases reported between 2012 and June this year. Eunpyeong District and Seongbuk District were second and third.
The three regions are next to Bukhansan National Park, one of Korea’s main wild boar habitats. The animals often descend from the mountains to residential areas or to hiking trails in search for food or when they leave their herd after losing power struggles.
The boars can be extremely dangerous when aggressive. On June 11, a man in his 70s was severely injured in an attack while he was working in a field in Goryeong, North Gyeongsang Province. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but before people start getting panicked about getting attacked by a wild boar keep in mind that you are probably more likely to get attacked by person than a pig.
What I find most amazing about this article is not that construction is being held up because of a dispute over cultural preservation, but the land these buildings sit on was bought for $15 billion:
Booyoung Group’s buildings have been designated as modern architectural assets by the Seoul city government. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]There are seven decaying buildings strangely ornamented with rectangular shapes right in the center of Seoul, where land is worth its weight in gold, a stark contrast to the clean modern structures surrounding them.The seven old buildings are located beside the Westin Chosun hotel in Sogong-dong, Jung District, central Seoul. The cafes, massage parlors and other shops in these buildings were all closed down last week. A restaurant on the first floor of one of the buildings had a notice that said, “Due to the reconstruction of this building, we are closing our restaurant on Dec. 22, 2015,” indicating that the reconstruction did not take place for seven months.
The seven buildings sit on about 6,562 square meters (1.6 acres) of land, which the construction company Booyoung Group purchased for about 1.7 trillion won ($15 billion) from its previous owner, Samwhan Corporation, in order to build a hotel. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but the Seoul government is making preservation demands on the construction company which is halting their plans to build a hotel. I think this architect quoted in the article does make a good point:
An architect who requested to remain anonymous said, “We need to reevaluate how much the designated buildings are worth, culturally speaking. Just because a building looks old does not mean it’s worth being preserved.”
Looking at the buildings it is not like they are architectural masterpieces. They are quite honestly ugly rectangles. It will be interesting to see what happens with this development in the coming years.
![Booyoung Group’s buildings have been designated as modern architectural assets by the Seoul city government. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]](https://i0.wp.com/pds.joins.com/jmnet/koreajoongangdaily/_data/photo/2016/08/17202325.jpg?resize=350%2C247)
