Koreana Spring 1991 (English)

. A quarterly on Korean cultUre

All About Seoul: From Heap of Rubble to Monument To Korea's Can-Do Spirit Editor's Note I Color Section/Anatomy of Seoul 2 Interview with Yun Tchi Young 17 An American Boy in Yesterday's Seoul Horace G. Underwood 19 Kangnam: A Boomtown Across the Han Hwang Keewon 27 A City That Has Never Had It Easy Down Ages Kim Yong-sang 34 Quiet Flows the Han- Finally Resusdtated Yoo Byung·rim 39 Cons & Pros about CitY of Seoul (I) For All Its Andent Glories Seoul Defies Understanding Ryu Choon-soo 4 5 (2) Its Fortes Might Mean Only Its Weaknesses Kim In-whoe 49 (3) All-out War Proposed for Preserving Environment Chung Yong 52 (4) Economies and Dises:;onomies of Agglomeration Ahn Doo-soon 57 (5) Seoul Needs More and More Parks to Embellish Itself Kang Eun-yup 62 Seoul Flourishes as Museum of Korean Culture. History Kim Yu-kyong 66 . Seoul's Mr. Everybody S. Chang 72 The Other Face of Seoul Not Exactly Appetizing Hong Chan-shik 76 Review/Art First Seouiint'l Art Festival Seo Seong-rok 83 Review/Books Clay Walls: First Novel on Emigre Experiences in English Lee .Kyong-hee 86 Zen Dance (Son Mu): Glories of Zen Dance Revisited Lee Kyong-hee 87 To Open Up or Not the Legal Services Industry Short Story/A Winter Commuter

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Yun Heung·gil

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I Editor's

Note

KOREANA Vol. 5 No. I. 1991 KOREANA is published quarterly by INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL SOCIETY OF KOREA 526. 5-ga, Namdaemunno. Chung-gu, Seoul KOREANA was registered as a quarterly magazine with the Ministry of Information.

Republic of Korea, on August 8, 1987.

Registration No. Ba-1033 ©International Cultural Society of Korea 1991

Namdaemun (South Gate).

National Treasure No. I , in the heart of Seoul.

All rights reserved. No part of tJiis publication may

be reproduced in any form witJiout tJie prior permission of tJie International Cultural Society of Korea.

PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Lew Hyuck-ln EDITORIAL BOARD: Choe Chungho, Hahn Man-young, Rhee Sang-woo, Yoo Young-ik EDITOR IN CHIEF: S. Chang MANAGING EDITOR: Lee Kyong-hee ART DIRECTOR: Kim Shi-joong ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Song )ung-sok (text) Choi Sun-ho (design) CIRCULATION: Overseas/C.P.O. Box 2147, Seoul. Korea Tel: (02) 753-6464 Fax: (02) 757-2049 DomestidC.P.O. Box 7852. Seoul. Korea Tel: (02) 274-5443. 269-2209 U.S. Subscriber Service: KOREANA P.O. Box 312 Hartsdale. New York 10530 Tel: (914) 472-4587 Fax: (914) 472-1195 Advertising inquires should be addressed to: AD Seoul. RM 60 I. Lions Bldg .. 50, 2-ga, Chungmuro. Chung-gu, Seoul. Korea Tel: (02) 274-8336 Fax: (02) 274-8337 LAYOUT: Yong Ahn Graphics TYPESETTING: World Compugraphic PRINTING: Samhwa Printing Co. (Ryu Sung-keun) Printed in Korea, March 2 5. 1991 Price per copy: US$5 (W3.500)

All About Seoul: From Heap of Rubble To Monument to Korea's Can~Do Spirit

I

ts stunning pace of growth has inspired a long list of nomenclatures. Some call it a Miracle on the Han. others a Shangri-La on the Han. still others a 20th-century Babylon on the Han- even a "monument to Korea's can-do spirit."

Small wonder. Consider the quietly flowing Han River. Once it marked the southern end of Seoul. And that's within living memory. Now the great river forms the demographic center line of a capital. that with a population in excess of I 0.000.000. is one of the largest metropolises in the world. like Shanghai.

Mexico City, Tokyo and Sao Paulo.

Much of this issue is dedicated to stuying the process that has marked the astonishing development of Seoul. Analyzed by the same token are some of the ecological consequences with which its citizenry is confronted. As last mayor Koh Kun has pointed out. even in the density of population. Seoul has all but outstripped Tokyo. And cars that numbered I .000.000 at the onset of last year have since been skyrocketing in total by 600 new registrations a day .... yes. a day.

Still and all. many of our overseas readers might like to give the case of Seoul a searching attention. At the close of the Korean War in 195 3. the capital was virtually a heap of rubble. Today it is nothing less than a glittering (and sometimes gaudy) kaleidoscope of Gonspicuous consumption. unbridled commerce and prosperity. And Seoul is a mere two and a half minutes' jet flight from an altogether different world North Korea.

Vol. 5 No. I KOREANA 1991

ANATOMY OF SEOUL A Study In Contrast

Kwanghwamun Gate circa 1890.

Right: A foreign visitor being carried in palanquin in old Seoul.

Below: Kwanghwamun Gate today.

Behind the gate is the National Museum of Korea.

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Left: Open-air market in yesterday's Seoul.

Below: Myong-dong. shopping and entertainment center.

Below: One corner of the city as it looked long ago.

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,-

Tongbang Plaza features ultramodern architectural style.

DOWNTOWN SEOUL TODAY

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Lovingly manicured foliage forms contrast with a top newspaper headquarters building.

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QUIET FLOWS THE HAN

Left: Olympic Bridge, constructed to commemorate the 1988 Summer Games that Seoul hosted.

Right: More housing complexes and wind surfers.

Below: Bridges across the Han have kept soaring in number.

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Vol. 5 No. I KOREANA 1991

Right: A new attraction on the Hansightseeing boats.

Left: Picnic park by the Han .

Below: Springtime by the Han.

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MARKETS & STREETS Left: Roadside capitalism thrives in Seoul.

Below: Roadside cuisine

Below: Miles of textile goods floods deep in Tongdaemun Market.

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Below: Avant-garde art in open-air market.

Below: Nearly everywhere in open markets you see mounds of fruits.

Bottom: Jungle of signboards in hangul and Chinese characters.

Bottom: Namdaemun Market is among the largest of its kind in Asia.

Vol. 5 No. I KOREANA 199 1

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PALACES & HISTORIC SITES

Changdok Palace. renowned for its Secret Garden.

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Below: Hyangwonjong pavilion in Kyongbok Palace.

Below: Sokchojon. the first Renaissance-style edifice in Korea.

Bottom: Kyonghoeru pavilion in Kyongbok Palace.

Bottom: Lovely lines of the eaves mark this edifice in Changgyong Palace.

Vol. 5 No. I KOREAN A I 991

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WHERE ARTS, OLD AND NEW, THRIVE

Painter Lee Man-bong.

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A brilliant galaxy of performing artists enlivens cultural scenes.

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MAPS OF SEOUL TODAY AND YESTERDAY

Above: Susonjondo map of Seoul in 182 5.

Left: Map of Seoul today.

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BEST OF ART FESTIVAL ENTRIES (see page 83)

Untitled ( 1990) by Costas Tsoclis of Greece

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Autumn Falls-! ( 1990) by Bryan Hunt of U.S.

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KOREANA Interview

NOW IS A ¡GOLDEN CHANCE FOR SEOUL'S FULLEST DEVELOPMENT Ex~Mayor

Yun Tchi Young (Age 93) f age must be equated with wisdom. as Confucian scholars persist in saying. then Yun Tchi Young would have to be among the most enlightened men in Seoul. Born in 1898. he is the most ' senior of ex-mayors of Seoul. But his age is misleading. Residing in a stately home at the back of Seoul's township. he continues to brim with energy. good humor and pouncing intellect. Once a minister of home affairs. a member of the National Assembly more times than he can remember and a confidant Yun Tchi Young to presidents ranging from Syngman Rhee to Park Chung-hee. Yun clearly is among a handful of men truly worthy of being called a senior statesman of Korea. One recent morning. he graciously agreed to be interviewed by KOREANA about a city that he loves. as he put it. "from the bottom of my heart" - Seoul. Some of the questions posed and his replies follow;

I

Question: What was the most serious problem that confronted you while you served as mayor of Seoul?

Answer : There are so many differences in Seoul between now and then. But where some of the fundamental problems are concerned. the city has hardly undergone any change. For this reason. what I have to say in answer might possibly prove of interest.

I was there as head of the city hall for two and a half years from late 1963 (December 1963 to April 1966). When I was appointed mayor. it was precisely 10 years after the Korean War ended with the signing of the Armistice Agreement. But South Korea was not a signatory to that agreement. In other words. a technical state of war still continued as far as we in South Korea were concerned.

Indeed North Korea still kept dropping all manner of hints that there could be another war between the two Koreas. And you could understand one thing for certain: I wasn't playing golf everyday. Far from it. That threat left me worrying myself sick everyday.

To me as the mayor. Question No. I was obvious: what to do with the citizenry in case North Korea kicked off another attempt at invasion? That problem was downright serious for two reasons most of all.

In the first place. the population of the city in ruins in the wake of the war then stood already at 3.2 million . In the second. there existed but two (yes. two) regular bridges* across

* The

number now is 20 including one under construction.

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the Han River. in addition to the one used by the National Railway. Hence this vital question: how could you evacuate the citizenry southward across the river if North Korea's armed forces than a minute's jet flight stormed across the demilitarized zone (DMZ). which after all is at l~s from downtown Seoul?

Every week. I remember I had a regular session with the commanding general of the United Nations forces to tackle this question. In the end. there was but one answer provided by the military side. They said that in such a case they might be able to "construct" three (yes. three) pontoon bridges across the Han. The estimate then was this: the existing bridges plus the pontoon affairs might be able to evacuate 2.I million people in a span of seven hours after the outbreak of another war. And so I was left with a nightmare: what to do with the rest of the city's population under such circumstances?

0: What then was your answer to that question?

A: I never could work it out. The only thing I could do and did was to do everything everyday with war on top of my mind.

0: Since back those days. Seoul has undergone a great deal of transformation. What do you have to say about the result as it ¡looks today?

A: I must say I'm overwhelmed with emotion each time I take a look from the window of my home. Today. as one of the largest cities in the world. Seoul is the source of limitless pride on my part. It is nothing less than a monument to the diligence and intelligence of the nation at large.

0: What would you say has served as the most effective trigger for the development of Seoul?

A: At least one of the answers is the construction of the Seoul-Pusan expressway (431.9 kilometers). President Park Chung-hee and I first asked the French how much time and money such a project might take. The answer was seven years and an incredible amount of cash.

It was too much time and too much money. We next approached the Japanese. Their answer was precisely the same as that of the French.

We had a lengthy series of talks in Seoul. In the end. the decision was to do it by ourselves. That was one of the wisest decisions ever made in Korea. We finished the construction in three years for a cost that stood at just about half the amount asked for.by both the French and the Japanese.

So many of the problems were solved with the completion of this expressway.

0: Nevertheless. there must be things called constructive criticism. Do you agree?

A: I'm not quite sure. But let me point to one thing. Seoul. like many other large cities. is an exceedingly complicated existence. What a single man as mayor could do would be limited. Whe!l I served as mayor. I had two vice mayors to help me. Now there is but one. I would like to say that there definitely should be more vice mayors to alleviate the burden of the mayor. Much more of the day-to-day decision-making chores should be given to these vice mayors so that the mayor himself might have more and more time to carry out his job from a much more elevated viewpoint than now.

Now that communism around the world is on the decline. I must say that today is providing the golden chance for Seoul to achieve the fullest development. @

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AN AMERICAN BOY IN YESTERDAY'S SEOUL "Golden Days" Fondly Recalled Horace G. Underwood !though I was born in the city of Seoul and in the common expression have lived here all my life. in practical terms my memories of Seoul fall into several semi-distinct periods.

The first period. from my birth until I went to America for the first time with my parents at the age of six in I 92 3. is very hazy in my memory. as might be expected. and such recollections as I have center on family events or spotlight specific scenes. At that time we lived just behind where the Tokyu Building now stands near South Gate (our mailing address was simply "Outside South Gate"). Most of the city wall was still standing. although breached in several places. and ran right behind our house. Our gate led into a narrow

A

alley along the OUtside of the wall and down to South Gate.

Not far away was the Severance Hospital compound where we were intrigued by the new building going on. My principal recollection of the Great South Gate is walking past it to a silversmith who had to cut off a ring I had grown too big for. The street was a lot narrower then. though very wide to a five-year-old child walking through the dust. As I remember it the silversmith was located about where the street to the Yomchon-gyo turns off now. The streets were of course all unpaved at that time. and the dust was kept down by men pulling small handcarts with tanks of water on them and a simple gravity sprinkler system in back.

Horace G. Underwood in Yonsei University campus.

Horace G. Underwood. the son and grandson of American Presbyterian missionaries in Korea. was born in I 9I 7 in Seoul. where he has spent most of his life. After finishing college in the United States majoring in English and education. he served in the U.S.Navy during WW II. finally being assigned to the U.S. Army Military Government Department of Education after Korea's liberation. During the Korean War he again served on active duty and was senior interpreter at the Panmunjom Armistice Talks from 1951 to 1953. He earned his M.A. in Education from New York University. At Yonsei University he has served as a professor of education. Chief Librarian and Acting President. and is now a member of the Board of Directors. His grandfather. a pioneer Protestant missionary to Korea. arrived in 188 5 and subsequently founded Chosun Christian College. now Yonsei University. assisted in part by funds provided by his brother. John T. Underwood. the founder of the Underwood Typewriter Company.

Vol. 5 No. I KOREANA 1991

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The tanks were filled from the nearby sewers. and my mother told of once being shocked to see two little boys playing under the unsanitary shower - only to realize with further shock that it was her twin four-year sons!

Another vignette of memory is watching tennis at the Seoul Union Club -actually at that time the Ladies Lawn Tennis Association - located in Chong-dong where the American Ambassador's swimming pool and the offices of the Seoul Milk Company are located. At that time. and up until World War II. the Chong-dong area was popularly known among foreigners as "Legation Street." because that was where most of the diplomatic legations (consulates. in my days) were located. In the early days the old Korean government wanted all foreigners kept in one area and designated Chong-dong for that purpose.

LEGATION STREET By the time I was growing up the French Consulate had moved (to the present location of the French Embassy). and the Russian Consulate was communist. so we had nothing to do with it. but the American and British consulates were very much part of our scene. (Although the British Embassy now faces and has access from the City Hall side. it is geographically in Chong-dong. and used to have ready access from the Chong-dong side.) Seoul's "Chinatown" was also in Chong-dong. However. the larger world of the whole city. at that time with a population of about I 00.000. was beyond the scope of the interest and knowledge of a small child.

The second period of Seoul Past for me. and the dominant one. was from 1926. when we returned from the U.S.. until 1933. when I went off to school in the States again. At that time we lived on the campus of Chosun Christian College. now Yonsei University. which was FAR outside the city. Although the population grew to about 300.000 by 1933. the city did not even fill the area within the city walls. except in one or two places. The district leading up to the Northeast Gate (by the road to the Skyway). and the area around Changchung Park (near the Shilla Hotel) were both wooded retreats with few. if any houses. In only a few places had the city moved outside the old walled area. Outside both the West and East Gates the city had spilled out a little ways. and then with strip villages along the main roads to Si:Khon (west) and Chongnyangni (east).

From the South Gate towards Yongsan was a bit more built up. but even along this road the buildings stretched back only two or three houses deep. Even Yongsan. then the Japanese district of the city. was quite small. There was the military headquarters (the U.S. Eighth Army "Main Post" and the former Korean Army Headquarters) and the early Government. General buildings on the portions of "South Post" behind the Yongsan Post office. and a built-up in the district from Samgakji to the Yongsan Railroad Station. and that was it. Over the rise from Yongsan into what is now Sobinggo and Itaewon was out in the country. as was all of the south slope of Namsan.

RIVER PORT AT MAPO We even had a country summer house in Hannam-dong (we simply called it "Han Kang") near where the the big bowling alley now stands beside the Riverside Road. and the only road to get there was through Changchung Park. There was a narrow line of houses along the country road toward Mapo with a larger cluster along the river front in Mapo itself. Mapo was an important place as the river port for Seoul. Ocean junks could come up the river that far (the river was too shallow for them above there) bringing grain and firewood and other coastal products for Seoul or for transshipment inland on the long. narrow flat-bottomed river

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Vol. 5 No. I KOREANA 1991

boats which had brought their loads downriver to that point.

As I recollect. only a few streets in the downtown area were paved. and some of them only in the center lanes. theoretically leaving the dirt lanes for bicycles. bull carts and pedestrians.

There were no sidewalks except in the city center. and the streets became deep in mud when it rained . All cars had to put on what we facetiously called "mud splashers." devices that had to be attached outside all four wheels to try to keep the mud from splashing so much on the pedestrians and streetside shops. The guards for the back wheels could be attached fairly easily but the ones for the front wheels were always a problem because they had to turn with the wheel. Usually they were attached to the front wheel hubcaps. with the result that they often started to whirl around with the wheel.

According to one story, one car owner obtained some new and improved guards that would not spin. only to be stopped by a policeman who thought they were SUPPOSED to spin. They were never very effective. at best. and it was a standard joke that the best horn would be a recording of a car splashing through the mud - everybody would be sure to hurry out of the way.

At that time there was an extensive trolley system in Seoul. Most of the downtown portions were double tracked. but from West Gate to Mapo was single track. with passing places every kilometer or so. Similar single-track portions stretched from East Gate to Chongnyangni. where our Seventh Day Adventist friends lived. and also on the Wangsimni road. The fare was five Japanese sen. roughly two and a half cents. U.S., for a ride to any portion of the line. but I was told that only a few years before the city had been divided into sections. with three sen for each section you rode in.

TROLLEY SYSTEM The early trams were simple four-wheel vehicles of a type familiar to tramcar buffs everywhere. but later much more modern cars were introduced. with eight wheels - four-wheel bogies in front and back. The trolley arm. connecting to the overhead electric power line. frequently bounced off. especially going around curves or through switches. but this was quickly put right by the conductor. The trolleys (trams) were the principal means of public transportation . So far as I know. there were no buses in those days. Automobiles were also quite rare. not more than about one or two hundred in the whole city. There were some trucks. but most heavy goods were transported by bull carts.

In the earlier period these bull carts were usually huge two-wheeled vehicles with the ~ides of the cart projecting as shafts ending in a heavy cross-beam that served as a yoke. These were soon displaced by "modern" four-wheeled carts that had two small wheels in front that could turn and have a conventional harness and yoke. These were much easier on the bulls but the small front wheels often caught in ruts. tram tracks and holes. Smaller loads were carried on the back in the ubiquitous Korean chiglje. now usually called an A-frame.

Anything from brushwood to huge pots to live pigs to cages full of chickens could be seen on the streets. and the laborers could carry incredible loads. I once saw a man carry a 400-pound pig. though he did need some help in lifting the load onto his back. All sorts of vendors would be on the streets. too. though I remember best the IJOt sellers. Theirs was the Korean malt taffy that came in long strings which the seller would cut into appropriate lengths with the scissors that he clanked to advertise his presence.

When it got close to New Year one often saw men with huge wooden mallets pounding the rice to make Korean ttok (cake). The thud of the mallets. the rising clouds of steam in the

Vol. 5 No. I KOREANA 1991

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cold air. the encouraging suggestions of the onlookers always made a dramatic sight. Another sound. especially in the evening. was the wail of the small pipe that the blind masseurs would play to let people know they were available to anyone wanting a massage. A more haunting night sound was the rhythmic rat-a-tat of the ironing sticks as the women stayed up late into the night beating their clothes smooth. while outside one could hear the clack-clack of the night watchman's stick. warning all burglars to get away.

The power lines for the trolleys and all other power and telephone lines were carried on wooden poles and in the downtown area especially the streams of lines trailing above the streets was an amazing cat's-cradle of wires. Even in the smaller streets the number of wires was a constant impediment to any high loads that needed transportation. Even as late as the Korean War almost all electric lines of all sorts were above ground. carried on poles with multitudes of cross-arms. Telephones were not very common. with only two centrals (ours was Kokamon - Kwang Wha Moon). and no dial phones anywhere. Even electric power was limited.

I can remember clearly when "day current" was installed in our house. Before that house electricity was supplied only at night. Electric rates were based on the number of bulbs and/or outlets in the house. not on a meter.

School for us was the Seoul Foreign School. then located in Chong-dong. where the Franciscan Fathers now have their center. The school was also a sort of community center with its "Morris Hall" auditorium on the second floor. Seoul Union Church met there on Sundays. for a time movies (silents. in those days) were shown by Mr. Morris on Saturday evenings. and the Hall was used as a matter of course for many gatherings - meetings. plays. recitals or what have you. Just down the street next to the American Consulate. was the Seoul Club. the recreation center for the business community. and although the Seoul Union Club had by this time moved to a new site just outside Sosomun (Little West Gate) it was still within the circle of "Legation Street" access.

FOREIGN ESTABLISHMENTS Other western-related institutions on the street included Ewha School. the Methodist "Grey House" residence. Paichai School. and the offices of the Singer Sewing Machine Company (now owned by the Kyunghyang Shinmun). while nearer the Seoul Foreign School were the Russian Orthodox Church (MBC Building now). the offices of ).H. Morris and Co .. and around the corner were other foreign firms. while not far away were the offices of Shell and Standard Oil. Some "White Russians" lived in the Russian Orthodox Church. and a Belgian lady. Madame Boutant. had a dress shop right across from the SFS gate. On the corner about where the gate to the Chong-dong Methodist Church is located stood a two-story building that housed the community's principal tailor. a Chinese.

We had three ways of getting to school from our home on the Yonhi (Yonsei) campus. On nice days we walked. though we more often walked home than to school - we were always late getting off. Our path took us through the Yonsei campus. across the fields of what is now Taesin-dong. through the woods where Ewha University is now located. over the hill and past the Aeginung (baby tomb) in Puk Ahyon-dong. then over the ridge where we finally met the first city dwellings far below where Kyunggi University is now located. When we got there we were almost at school. and often joined other children from the five or six other occidental homes in what was then "Takezoe Cho." Other days if it was too cold or rainy we might go by car. taking the narrow lane roughly where the present wide street went through what is now Ahyon-dong and Taehyon-dong.

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Vol. 5 No. 1 KOREANA 1991

.,.

Chong-dong. a diplomatic section of yesterday's Seoul. Atop the hill in the background stands the old Russian legation building.

It was a sort of strip viJiage. one house deep on each side. with fields just back of the long row of houses - shops mostly - facing the road. I remember once that we met a funeral cortege just entering the alley as we were going to school. On the way home in the afternoon it had hardly reached half way to Sinchon. and had still not cleared the street when we went into town for an evening engagement. We were told that it was the funeral of a famous kisaeng and her gift of pleasure to many men was being carried into death with copious libations at every bar along the way. By the time we met them in the evening the pall bearers could hardly stand.

For us at Yonsei and others in what were then western villages well outside the city. there was the kidongcna. a diesel-powered car that made a regular loop run from Yongsan along the old track to Sogang. then out to the Han River power plant near the Catholic Martyrs Memorial. then back to Sogang. then on a track now completely obliterated around to the Sinchon Station and on into Seoul Station. For us the stops at "Yonhi" (across from the present Yonsei athletic field). Sinchon. Ahyon. Sosomun (near the present car overpass) and Seoul Station were the important ones. We would get season tickets and take the car from Yonhi to Sosomun. then walk through various alleys to Seoul Foreign School.

At a time before I can remember. Seoul Station was apparently somewhere on th~ slope across from the present National Police Headquarters near Sodaemun. In any case. although the station had long since disappeared. there was still a turntable that we walked past from the Sosomun stop to school. a subject of fascination for all of us.

Although my schoolboy world was mostly bounded by "Legation Street" and the various foreigners "compounds" we did get around to other places. and of course did travel through the city on our visits. Food shopping was done in local markets. but household shopping was at "E.D. Steward's." This was run by a Chinese. Eedai. who had been a steward on a Pacific liner before he set up an import business in Seoul. a sort of general store where all sorts of food and household items not available in the regular stores and markets could be bought.

Everybody shopped at "Steward's" and it was a birthday treat to be allowed to get some precious imported item. perhaps Nestle's chocolates or Dutch Edam cheese or (one of my favorites) cans of American bacon.

The adults. of course. were after more mundane things like western-style mops. or canned

Vol. 5 No. I KOREANA 1991

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delicacies or other items that assume significance only when you can't get them. Unfortunately as we came into the 40s. Japanese controls increased and anti-Chinese sentiment was encouraged and finally on the eve of Pearl Harbor Steward's had to close.

When we wanted to buy presents for birthdays or Christmas. we all headed for "Chinkogae." officially in Japanese "Honmachi" and now known as Chungmu-ro. the little street just north of Toegye-ro (which did not exist in those days). Chinkogae was lined with shops selling all there was to buy in Seoul then. Although Yongsan was the Japanese district Chinkogae was a typical Japanese shopping street of those days, with decorative arches across the street the clop. clop of Japanese wooden qeta shoes on every side. and the smell of Japanese cooking from the many restaurants.

CHINKOGAE SHOPPING STREET A group of negatives may help picture Seoul at that time. There were no buildings more than three or four stories tall. and the towers of the old Chosun Hotel. the Myongdong Cathedral. the Anglican Cathedral and a few similar landmarks stood above most of the city. Of our present well travelled streets. there was no Toegye-ro. no Chonggye-ro (then an open sewer-stream through the city), no Yulgok-ro from the National Museum east. and of course no Naeja-ro or Sajik or Kumwha tunnels.

The only east-west streets were Chong-no and Ulchi-ro (under different names then) and going north-south there were only the main street from the Capitol to the South Gate. and South Gate Street from the Gate past the Bank of Korea and on to Chong-no and Anguk-dong. and a street connecting East Gate to Little East Gate. continuing as a country road through Changchung Park. The road from City Hall to Sosomun did not exist. and all other streets were small twisting alleys.

This is the "old" Seoul that I remember best. but now that I am asked to look back and talk about it I realize how circumscribed my memories are. The facade was often Japanese. on the big streets. but behind that front and in the smaller streets and alleys was a thriving and bustling Korean city of hidden houses. stores. eateries. artisans shops. all carrying on the real work of the city of perhaps 300.000 people by 1933. Of the old palaces. the Toksu Palace was open for the Meseum of Arts. and the Changgyong Palace was open for the zoo and as a park and playground. We used to go to the animals from time to time. and in the winter time the pond-lake in the palace was a favorite skating place. In the spring would be the cherry blossom festival in the palace with special lights to emphasize the blossoms at night and crowds of viewers out to enjoy a time of relaxation. The other palaces were closed to the public, I believe.

In any case I have no recollection of visiting them until after World War II. Many more sections of the city wall still remained in those days. The portion above the Shilla Hotel was not torn down until the 1960s. when the city government wanted the stone for the anti-communist center. The portion from Seoul Gate to West Gate sort of disintegrated as people built houses and made roads along that section, though pieces of it can still be seen. Tucked away largely out of sight were still a number of old-style mansions. the residences of yanqban {aristocrat) families in Seoul and now almost all gone. It was my privilege to visit some of those old residences occasionally. and it was a joy to see the intricate arrangement of rooms and courtyards and corridors that made up such almost-palatial homes. The bulk of the city houses. however. were those of the poorer classes. usually "U" or "0" shaped. presenting only an outside wall to the world.

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Old Chongno street in the center of Seoul.

Both yangban mansions and commoners' houses were of course heated by the famous and efficient Korean ondol system of flues under the floor. Good as the system was. a city like Seoul consumed enormous quantities of firewood, small brush and kindling. One of the principal cargos of both river boats and ocean junks was bringing firewood to the city, enormous heaps piled high on the decks. Within the city and in all the surrounding districts the ground was scraped bare under the trees as people raked up every leaf and pine needle. and even cut off branches to bum. All early accounts of Korea speak of the barrenness of the hills. Although it is true that the Japanese accelerated the process of tree-cutting as part of their war effort. it is equally true that the voracious ondol fires started the process long before the Japanese came, and the invention of the kumongtan (coal briquettes) in the 1950s has been the saving of the Korean hills. ¡ In 1933 I went to America to finish high school and attend college (university). returning in the summer of 1939. to find that tremendous changes had taken place. Perhaps as part of the additional importance of Korea in the Japanese war effort in Manchuria and China, the city had developed rapidly, with the population reaching about 500,000 by 1941. While I was away the Mitsukoshi Department Store (now Shinsegye). the Hwashin Store at the corner of Chong-no. the Banda Hotel where the Lotte now stands and many other "modern " buildings had gone up. Many more of the streets were paved. the old narrow Han River bridge had been replaced by a more modern one (one of the present pair). the railway line had been double-tracked and many old streets widened and new ones put through. Of particular interest to me was that the old narrow alley from West Gate to Sinchon was replaced by the present wide road, and was extended out into the "country" to what is now the Sinchon rotary, where a beautiful weeping pine tree stood.

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MODERNIZATION OF SEOUL The valley between Ewha and Yonsei had been taken over by the government for redevelopment and a few houses were beginning to go up. though with no exit at the top of the valley (now the Kumwha Tunnel) it was still quite rural. As a young adult I was far more aware of the tensions of living under the Japanese oppression of that time. Colleagues were in jail for pro-Korean activities. goods of all kinds were hard to find and substitutes were the order of the day. the "Shrine Question." where the government required attendance at Shinto Shrines as a patriotic duty, was tearing apart the churches. and petty oppression. usually in the name of reform or of patriotism. was a daily harassment.

Essentially, this period lasted until the Korean War. because although Liberation in I945 brought tremendous changes in social and political structures. there were few changes in the physical aspect of Seoul during that time. As a result first of the war (WW II) and then of the flood of refugees from the north because of the division of Korea the city had no energy to spare for development.

We so easily forget the past that I must mention one more period: Seoul from I950 to I955.

Few today remember. and probably fewer realize the implications of the fact that Seoul was some 75 percent destroyed during the Korean War. A few lucky districts escaped the holocaust a few modern reinforced concrete buildings remained. though often severely damaged. but whole sections of the city were nothing but mounds of ruins where fire and shells had swept through whole districts.

You have to look carefully now .to even see any scars - the pock-mark of bullets on the tower near the National Museum. for instance. But just 40 years ago one could look along vast stretches of the city and see nothing higher than a man's head. We do not like to remember that period. and think of it as an exceptional moment in our past but it is part of our past and one that I remember with great vividness and sorrow.

Except for the post-war part. this is my "Seoul Past" of which I have mostly fond memories.

Taking the trolley out to the Changgyong Palace to go skating or see the animals or the cherry blossoms. riding a boat down the river in the moonlight from "Han Kang" (Hannam-dong) to the Han River bridges. skating on the river ice or on the rice paddies in Yonhi-dong. shopping in Chinkogae. celebrating "Empire Day." the 24th of May. at the British Consulate in the most m~orable party of the year. walking over the country hills to go to school in Chongdong: not a city directory of streets and buildings but a place to grow up, to live. to enjoy.

We all hanker for the "golden days" of childhood. and in some ways I do. too. .

But in a deeper sense I rejoice at and share pride in the fantastic growth of my home town. with the way it has not only coped with growth but made it a healthier and happier place to live than it used to be seventy or sixty or fifty years ago. Those living in Seoul today may be preoccupied with its many problems. but they should rejoice at living in such a dynamic and progressive place with an even greater future ahead of it. ÂŽ

(The original text for this article was written in English and contributed for e:ÂŤlusive use by KOREANA.)

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KANGNAM: A BOOMTOWN ACROSS THE HAN What Price Urban Glories?

Hwang Keewon oday, nearly 600 years since the monarchs of the Chason Kingdom ( 1392-191 0) established Seoul as their capital in 1394. the city's population has grown I ()(}fold from I 00.000 to 10.000.000 and its total area has expanded 37 times from 16.5km 2 to 605.4km 2 The capital changed very little during the 500 years of Chason rule. In fact it wasn't until 1914 that some of Seoul's suburbs were incorporated into the capitaL resulting in a total area of 36.18km 2 - 2.2 times the city's original size in 1394. and a population of approximately 200.000.

The layout of the capital did not change much through the mid-Choson period. A time-honored belief in geomancy dictated that the city remain firmly planted within its four main gates and the surrounding mountains. The entire city was in many ways a man-made "new town:¡ much like those created by modern urban planners today. Major palaces and government offices. public shopping streets and homes were all laid out carefully according to government regulations. Only by stepping outside the city gates could one enjoy the freedom of suburban life.

Kangnam. ltaewon and the Namsan area. all bustling neighborhoods today. were bucolic countryside back then. So remote was the area south of the river. Kangnam. it was no stretch of the imagination to identify it with another Kangnam. the broad. open region south of the Yangtze River in China where the swallows went in the winter.

Seoul shrank in size following the Japanese invasion of Korea from 1592 to 1598 and an attack by the Chinese in 1636. and the next century was spent rebuilding the city. Over the course of the reconstruction. outlying areas began to urbanize. and as a result the neighborhoods along the Han River. such as !chon-dong and the Mapo district grew to become important links in the river transport chain. There was. however. no significant change in the East-West axis that had dominated the city layout. Except for a few ferry crossings like those at Mapo or !chon-dong. there were few paths for growth between the capital and the southern regions.

T

JAPANESE RULE It wasn't until the Japanese occupation of Korea in the 20th century that North-South expan-

Hwang Keewon. born in 1948. is an associate professor at the Department of Landscape Architecture. the Graduate School of Environmental Studies. Seoul National Universit!J (SNU). specializing in urban environmental design and the histor!J of environmental design. A graduate in architecture from the College of Engineering at SNU. he went on to major in urban planning at SNU's Graduate School of Environmental Studies and then travelled to the United States where he studied urban design and landscape architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Professor Hwang has served as the head of tfle Urban Design Research Team at KIST (the Korean Institute of Science and Technolog!J) as well as the assistant dean of SNU's Graduate School of Environmental Studies and the chairman of SNU's Department of Landscape Architecture. He was also active in the formulation of the New Capital Master Plan and the Independence Hall Master Plan and handled the landscape design for the Pare de Paris located at Mok-dong and the KOEX Building in Samsong-dong.

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sion began in earnest. Japanese merchants established a stronghold at the foot of Namsan. the colonial army was dispatched to the Yongsan area. south of the mountain. and the colonial authorities built railroads linking the Japanese islands to Manchuria through the Korean peninsula. A number of North-South thoroughfares were constructed in Seoul during the early colonial period. establishing a new North-South axis that deviated from the capital's traditional EastWest layout Hangangno Road was built in 1906 and Taepyongno Avenue stretching from the South Gate (Namdaemun) past Seoul' City Hall to the Kwanghwamun intersection was constructed between I 912 and 1918.

This construction served to link the inner city with life outside the capital's gates and as the bridgehead for the development of the Kangnam area south of the Han. It was also during this period that the first bridge for hull)an and vehicular traffic across the Han River was built launching the boom in the Kangnam area with the development of the Yongdungpo and Noryangjin districts. later the industrial center of the capital.

By the end of Japanese colonial rule in 1945. Seoul had grown to cover 133.94km2 with a total population of approximately 900.000. The wave of immigrants from North Korea that swept into the capital over the next five years swelled the population to I .600.000 in a 267.77km 2 area. but the population declined again to one million as a result of the Korean War ( 1950-5 3).

Rapid economic development and urban growth in the early 1960s contributed to another expansion boom with Seoul's population swelling to 3 million and the total capital area covering 61 3.04km 2 The area directly south of the Han River and some parts of the surrounding province of Kyonggi-do had already been incorporated into the city by this time. but it was not until the late 1960s and the early 1970s with the completion of the No. 3 Han River Bridge ( 1969) and the Seoul-Pusan Expressway ( 1970) that the development of the Kangnam area began in earnest.

POPULATION DISPERSAL There are a number of reasons for the boom in the development of the Kangnam region in the 1970s. but by far the most important was the central government's desire to relieve the overcrowding that had been caused by the flood of immigrants to the Seoul area. Not only had the capital's population tripled in the decade following the ceasefire in the Korean War in 1953, but most of these new immigrants were lacking in capitaL skills and familial ties in the Seoul area.

The newcomers were an indispensable source of cheap labor fueling Korea's rapid e'conomic development during this period. but the boom in substandard housing and traffic congestion they brought with them resulted in inner city overcrowding and unbridled expansion along the East-West axis in the Kangbuk area north of the river. Persistent provocations by the North Koreans. including the dispatch of a team of presidential assassins. caused the South Korean government to recognize Seoul's vulnerability to North Korean attack, and as a result an official policy aimed at curbing further growth in the Seoul metropolitan area was launched by President Park Chung Hee in 1969.

The core of President Park's policy was the prohibition of further growth in the metropolitan area and the relocation of culturaL administrative and educational facilities to the provinces.

A ban on the construction or expansion of universities and factories in the metropolitan area. two major causes of the concentration of population in the capitaL was decreed. government offices and research institutes were moved to the provinces. satellite cities surrounding the

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capital were constructed. and industrial centers were established in towns and cities outside the metropolitan area.

The development of Kangnam was one part of President Park's master plan enunciated at one of his visits to Seoul's City Hall in January 1970: the area. encapsulated by mountains and "green belts." was to be actively developed. thus siphoning off population from the area north of the Han while at the same time attracting new immigrants and preventing them from settling in the Kangbuk area. In 1973. Park went one step further by ordering the destruction of the shanty towns that dotted the capital. He also ordered the construction of the satellite city of Kwachon to which many of the main offices of the central government were located. and pressed for the creation of a new administrative capital in the central part of the country. far from Seoul.

Thus the growth of the Kangnam area to encompass an area of 307km 2 with a total population of more than 5 million people. making it one of the largest cities in the world. surpassing the area of the Kangbuk region by some 9km 2 with a comparable population. did not occur as the natural result of Seoul's burgeoning population (although the importance of this factor can not. of course. be overlooked). but rather was caused by the government's forceful population dispersal drive.

APARTMENT COMPLEXES The development of the Kangnam area has been centered around the concept of the "complex," a self-contained compound surrounded by a fence inside which one can find a group of buildings of similar function and design. The concept does not necessarily have to apply to apartment complexes; hospital complexes and industrial complexes are common features of any urban landscape, and it was precisely because of the advantages city planners recog-nized in terms of initial development. maintenance and control that the complex idea was applied to the housing problem in the Kangnam region. This. in fact. was an unfortunate decision as was the decision to concentrate solely on the construction of apartments. rather than other forms of housing. south of the river.

Typical housing complex in Ka ngnam .

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The construction began. however. and soon a phalanx of apartment complexes marched across the plains south of the Han. Many were simply called "Complex No. I" or "Complex No. 2.'' and then. as certain construction companies began to build larger complexes. they named the apartments after themselves: Hyundai. Daewoo. Samsung. Ssangyong and so on.

It didn't take long before the influence of an individual construction company was determined by the reputation and price of the apartments it had built. and their names were affixed to department stores and shopping centers. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this development pattern and the manner in which apartments were named was the product of a militaristic culture whose uniformity and rigidity had permeated the everyday lives of the common people.

The first apartments to be built in Korea were the now dilapidated Mapo Apartments constructed in western Seoul in the I 960s. The universal appeal of apartment life today is truly amazing when one considers how unpopular they were when they were first introduced 30 years ago. Indeed. one could easily ascribe their present popularity and outrageous prices to the development of the Kangnam area.

From the contractor's point of view. the apartment is ideal because a large number of units can be constructed in a relatively short period of time. Consumers have also accepted the apartment concept because it is the only housing alternative that offers modern facilities. is conducive to the increasingly prevalent nuclear family. and is available through sales by lot.

As a result. Kangnam is blanketed with apartments and "villas ... two- or three-story luxury apartments that offer many of the advantages of single family dwellings. such as small gardens and private entrances. Amazingly. one-third of Kangnam¡s population. ranging from high-ranking government officials. bar hostesses. architects and even poets. live in such apartments.

And on top of that. not only are highrise apartments more popular than smaller buildings or duplexes. but there are even two-story apartments with a total floor space of more than 200m 2 in some highrise buildings. Everybody is clamoring to pay exorbitant prices to live in these apartments. even though the buildings are packed so close together that you can see everything that happens in the apartment across the way but enjoy the sun for only a few short moments before it sets behind another building.

The cars are parked so tightly together it is hard to squeeze your body out in the morning. and there is hardly enough room to plant a blade of grass. Just to give an example of how outrageously expensive these apartments are. the price of the author's apartment built relatively early in the 1970s has multiplied 2 5 times to 200 million won (approximately US$400.000). and that is nothing compared to the price increases of apartments in many of the posn neighborhoods of Kangnam.

ROLE OF EDUCATION Why are Kangnam¡s citizens unwilling to leave this overpriced and overrated neighborhood?

The answer to that question lies in the so-called "high school group system." Vestiges of the Confucian state examinations of the Chason Kingdom and the higher education system introduced by the Japanese during the colonial period live on today in the popular Korean belief that the key to success lies in admission to a popular department at a prestigious university in Seoul. And in order to make it into that prestigious university one must graduate from a prestigious high school.

In the early days when the capital was relatively small. almost all of Seoul's high schools were located north of the river. and nearly all students either walked to school or commuted

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High school students in Kangnam.

by a short bus ride of 30 minutes or less. Competition for entrance to high schools in Seoul was. of course. tough, considering the fact that students from all over the country were trying to get in. but there were no geographical restrictions and anyone with brains c?uld attend the school of his or her choice.

As the city expanded and the Kangnam area developed. commuting distances grew. and the "high school groups system" of regional school districts was implemented. The quality of various schools. some of which had earned reputations as excellent college preparatory schools while others had poor records in university matriculation. was equalized. and st1..1dents were assigned to schools at random after passing a simple qualifying exam.

A problem arose. however. as the government sought to stimulate the development of the Kangnam region against the background of the implementation of the school groups system and the equalization of school standards. In order to entice citizens to the Kangnam area. the government gave special priority to the improvement of high schools in Kangnam's core.

Many of Kangbuk's prestigious high schools were moved and top teachers were assigned to new schools in the Kangnam area. Amusingly enough, nothing remained of these "prestigious schools" except their names as a result of the equalization of educational standards. But their reputations began to flourish again following their move to Kangnam. and many of the newly created schools in the area began to grow in popularity. Of course. "prestigious" here refers to nothing more than the percentage of graduates who made it into top universities.

While this phenomenon may in part be due to the efforts of older graduates of the old "prestigious schools" in Kangbuk who wanted their offspring to enjoy the reputation and perks of a distinguished education. informal analysis indicates that a far more important factor was the attitudes of parents who were less well educated and therefore wanted their own children to enjoy the fruits of success and status that they themselves had lacked.

This was not the real problem. however. The most serious problem was the housing shortage that began as a result of the wave of immigrants from Kangbuk. other parts of Kangnam

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as well as from around the country. all of whom hoped to enroll their children in the prestigious Kangnam core school group. The government had developed the area in order to reduce overcrowding north of the Han River. But it ended up not only with a Kangbuk district drained of its brightest and most affluent residents. but also skyrocketing real estate prices in Kangnam which in turn pushed up housing and land prices around the country. This vicious circle worsened as more families moved to the area or in many cases sent their children alone to register in the core district and schools expanded and remodeled to accommodate them.

Interestingly, it appears that the so-called "prestigious schools" are not significantly superior when it comes to their graduate's matriculation in Korea's finest universities. Nevertheless. few parents are willing to take a chance with their children's futures.

EXCESSES The urban problems plaguing the Kangnam area - social. environmental and economic have become the problems of the capital and the entire nation. Skyrocketing land and housing prices. fluctuations in the stock market and rampant pleasure-seeking and decadence are all in part caused by the educational fever mentioned above. But a more fundamental source of such problems can be found in the failure of the government's real estate policies and the resulting expansion of a speculative mentality and a surge in the number of overnight millionaires.

In the early years of the government's development of the Kangnam region. apartments on the desolate plain did not sell well. causing not only financial difficulties for contractors but also headaches for city planners trying to reduce population pressures north of the river. In order to relieve this problem. the government began to offer financial assistance to contractors and homeless families. Contractors were given a number of perks including the acquisition of land. financing and tax exemptions. and homeless people were offered low interest loans. Sales of apartments began to pick up. and in the I 980s. many contractors were able to build their firms into major conglomerates thanks to the advance payments made to them by the prospective residents of their apartments.

It wasn't long before demand exceeded supply and the focus of the government's housing policy began to shift away from the financially strapped homeless in favor of the middle class.

First-pick rights to the new apartments soon soared in value and were bought up illegally by wealthy people with money to spare. Suddenly apartments were like the goose that laid the golden eggs. doubling their owners¡ investments overnight. A wave of speculation resulted. sweeping through the apartment complexes of Kangnam and onward to gobble all the empty land. shopping centers and office buildings in Seoul. And it hasn't stopped there. The excess capital of all these speculators has bound its way into the stock market and every building. vacant Jot and piece of forest land in Korea.

An unprecedented surge of extravagance and pleasure-seeking has followed hard on the heels of this speculative frenzy, gradually eating away at the social environment of the Kangnam boomtown. Not only can many speculators give up their regular jobs. but many nouveau riche with little culture or education have no idea how to use their new found wealth in a constructive or healthy manner. They loll in bed pondering their account books and then step out for a sauna or a couple buckets of balls at the local golf range before they stop off for a sumptuous feast at their favorite lounge. Their thirst for excitement and novelty isn't easily satisfied. and as a result Kangnam has become a mecca for luxurious restaurants. extravagant clothes shops and exotic entertainment establishments.

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The male family heads aren't the only ones indulging themselves. The degeneration of wholesome family life in Kangnam has been kindled by nouveau riche housewives who leave the housework and family concerns to their maids and their children who spend their free time partying with their friends. The complete liberalization of government restrictions on travel abroad has also fanned the consumption binge by heightening interest in foreign goods and ways of life. Indeed, the Kangnam core neighborhoods of Apkujong-d.ong, Shinsa-d.ong, Pangbaedong and Chongdam-dong now rival the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. Piccadilly or Tokyo's Sin juku.

All Seoul's major department stores. restaurants. shoe stores and clothing shops have moved their main branches to the Kangnam area in order to take advantage of the area's vast consumer appetite. and now we are witnessing a similar trend among the capital's educational and sports facilities. galleries. theaters. book stores. and even churches. While government restrictions on the construction of new buildings and facilities that might lure people to the Kangbuk area and administrative guidelines permitting the construction of larger homes south of the river certainly contribute to this mass exodus to Kangnam. a more significant cause is most certainly the fact that there is more money, more power and more educated people to be found in Kangnam .

Nevertheless. although we have seen a surge in the construction of high quality cultural and entertainment facilities south of the river. particularly since the Olympic Games in 1988. we have yet to witness a concomitant growth in the residents' capacity to take full advantage of these facilities in a wholesome and constructive manner.

ROLE OF THE HAN Although the only thing truly dividing Kangbuk from Kangnam is the Han River. the two areas have come to embody two diametrically opposed urban life styles and cultures. It is as if the Han were a moat slicing the city in half. Everyone boasts of "the Miracle on the Han." but although many recreational facilities have been built on its banks in recent years, a cruise between the skylines of Kangbuk and Kangnam reveals that the river is in many ways an absurd symbol of Korea's breathless march to modernization.

Now is the time for the Han River to reclaim its role as the lifeline of the capitaL the belt that binds all Seoulites together. Hidden in the shadows of the skyscrapers. highrises and plush hotels of Kangnam lives an underclass of homeless people, alienated from their wealthy neighbors and struggling to survive. The river that is presently dividing people must be harnessed to pull the city together. to bring harmony to the increasingly isolated Youido island, the apartments packed along its banks, the Olympic Sports Complex in the east the mountains looming in the haze over the city, the remaining traces of the ancient city, and the many citizens alienated from Seoul's breakneck growth.

This can't be achieved simply by building more bridges across the river or by filling it in as many have joked. The Han must regain its status as Seoul's lifeline by becoming the symbol of an improvement in the urban environment and of an advancement toward a healthy and prosperous urban culture. The restoration of this 600-year-old city will only be possible when the Han gathers Seoulites in its embrace like a loving mother comforting and encouraging her many children. ÂŽ

(The text of this article was written originally in Korean and contributed for exclusive use by KOREAN A. This is a translation.)

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A CITY THAT HAS NEVER HAD IT EASY DOWN AGES A Quick Look at the History of Seoul Kim Yong-sang eoul. the capital of the Republic of Korea. is a large metropolis bisected by the Han River from the east to the west. It sprawls over an area of 627.06 square kilometers.

30.30 kilometers north to south and 36.78 kilometers east to west. Located at 37'34 " N. 126'59"E. it is approximately at the center of the Korean Peninsula. As of 1990. its population stood at about II million. making it the most densely populated and the fifth greatest city in the world in terms of the number of residents.

In Korea's government terminology. it is called Seoul Special City. the term "special city" being a denomination for an autonomous unit in the system of local administration. The name Seoul. which means "capital city," is an indigenous Korean word that originated thousands of years ago. The name was "vividly emblazoned in the .mind of the world," in the words of a proud city official. as the host city of the the 24th Summer Olymics in 1988.

Chamshil. the southeast part of Seoul where most of the Olympic competitions took place. is a historic site that saw the development of the Neolithic and Bronze cultures and later the birth of a kingdom which was to dominate the peninsula together with the Koguryo and Shilla Kingdoms until the 7th century. Traces of a large Bronze Age pit dwelling colony can be seen by the river in the Amsa-dong area about 8 kilometers to the east of the Olympic Main Stadium.

In the second century B.C. . refugees from the territory of Old Choson in the northern Korea and northeastern China streamed into the Korean Peninsula and subsequently divided the area south of the Han River into three states that were collectively known as the Samhan (Three Han): Mahan. Chinhan and Pyonhan. The area which is now Seoul was the territory of Mahan.

It was here that Onjo. the son of King Tongmyong-wang who founded Koguryo (37B.C.- A.D.668) in northeastern China. migrated with his followers from the north and established his kingdom in 18 B.C. He named it Paekche. and it thrived until A.D. 660 when it perished at the hands of Shilla.

Wiryesong. Paekche's first capital. is believed to have been located at what is now the downtown area of Seoul to the north of the river. According to ancient records. King Onjo-wang moved his capital south of the river in 4 B.C.. 14 years after the establishment of his country. and later back to the north side of the river. Paekche repeatedly moved its capital back and forth across the river. Eventually the capital north of the Han River was called Habuk (North of River) Wiryesong and the one south of it Hanam (South of River) Wiryesong. Some believe

S

Kim Yonq-sanq. born in I 91 7. is a retired journalist who currentllj serves on the AdvisoYIJ Committee for Seoul Citlj Administration. Seoul Citlj HistoYij Compilation Committee and Seoul Citlj Cultural Propertlj Committee. and as the vice-president of the Korean Museum Societlj. He formerllj worked as political editor of the Seoul Shinmun and manaqinq editor of the Dong-A Ilbo. both leadinq dailies in Seoul. He wrote. amonq other books.

Ancient Monuments and Famous Places around Seoul. A 600-Year History of Seoul and This is Seoul.

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that Hanam Wiryesong was located somewhere near what is now Namhan Sansong or Kogol But more recent claims. supported by a series of excavations. place it in the earthen fortress of Mongchon in the Chamshil area.

PAEKCHE Paekche grew rapidly after it first established its capital south of the river and expanded its territory to the Imjin-gang River in the north (now just to the south of Korea's Demilitarized Zone. or DMZ). the Kum-gang River in the south. Chunchon in the east and the Yellow Sea in the west. Kaeru-wang. the fourth monarch. moved the capital north of the river near what is believed to be today's Nagwon-dong and constructed a mountain fortress. which came to be known as Pukhan Sansong. in A.D. I 32. The capital was again moved south of the river

by King Piryu-wang (r. 304-344).

While moving its base back and forth. Paekche kept expanding its territory, reaching down to the South Sea by absorbing the last of the Mahan territory. and threatened Pyongyang.

Koguryo's base. for its south-bound movement. Koguryo then exerted a powerful influence in Manchuria and the Liao-tung Peninsula across the Yellow Sea. It was also during this period that Paekche transmitted advanced culture of the continent to Japan by sending scholars and artisans there. Also during this time Buddhism was introduced to Korea and the first Buddhist temple of Paekche was built in Mt. Pukhansan in 385 during the reign of Chimnyu-wang.

For over 400 years Paekche flourished culturally, politically and economically with Seoul at the hub. In 475. however. it was attacked by its northern neighbor. King Changsu-wang of Koguryo. Paekche's 21st monarch. Kaero-wang, lost his life in this war and Paekche moved its capital to Ungjin. today's Kongju. leaving Seoul to the hands of Koguryo.

Koguryo set up an administrative organization in Habuk Wiryesong and renamed it Nam Pyongyang (Southern Pyongyang). designating it as a secondary capital after its own capital city. Pyongyang. It was one of the three largest administrative centers of Koguryo. the other two being Pyongyang and Chuban (Tung-kou). which had been the capital before it was moved to Pyongyang.

Koguryo's occupation of Nam Pyongyang. however. lasted only 77 years because it was recovered by Paekche in 55 I . only to be taken by Shilla three years later. King Chinhung-wang of Shilla who defeated the Paekche army erected a boundary marker on top of Mt. Pukhansan to proclaim his right over this hard-won land. The peak was called Pibong, or Monument Peak. thereafter.

KING CHINHUNG After Shilla's unification of the Peninsula in 668 until its supersession by Koryo (918-1392) in 93 5. the name of Seoul was changed many times from Nam Pyongyang to Shinju. Hansanju. Namchonju and Hanyanggun. It was still one of the three most important cities in the country, the others being Songgyong. the capital. and Pyongyang, which was called Sogyong. meaning the Western Capital. Seoul. in the meantime. was called Namgyong, the Southern Capital.

In II 05. King Sukchong of Koryo ordered the construction of a new palace in Namgyong near today's Chong Wa Dae. the presidential mansion. and at the same time set its administrative boundaries at Pugaksan in the north. the Han River in the south. Naksan in the.east. and Muaksan in the west. The city was reorganized in 1298 and was renamed Hanyang. as it was to be called until the end of the Chason Kingdom which superseded Koryo. In 1357 discussions developed that the capital of the nation should be moved to Hanyang from Kaegyong

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Stone monument erected by King Chinhung (r. 534-576 A.D. ) of Shilla Dynasty atop Pukhan Mountain to commemorate his occupation of Seoul.

(Songgyong) and. for a brief period of five months. U-wang. Koryo's 32nd monarch. actually set up an administrative base there. Kongyang-wang. Koryo's last king. again attempted to move his capital to Seoul. and this time the effort lasted about six months.

It was under Yi Song-gye, the founder king Taejo of Chason (1392-191 0). that Seoul was formally made the capital of the country again after the lapse of a millennium. Taejo ascended to the throne in Songgyong (Kaegyong or Kaesong). the old capital of Koryo. but moved south to Seoul in the third year of his reign (November 29. 1394 to be exact). and renamed the city Hansong. which remained its official name throughout the Chason period until the country was annexed by Japan in 1910.

Prior to moving to Hansong. Taejo worked out a detailed development plan for his city and started with the construction of Chongmyo, the national shrine for the royal ancestors. as well as his palace. in November 1394. They were completed I 0 months later. He also constructed Sajiktan. an altar for him and subsequent kings to dedicate services to the gods of the land and crops. The construction of a fortified wall circling the town was begun in 1396.

CITY PLANNING The construction of the ancestral shrine. the palace. the altar and the wall bespeaks the major policy guidelines of the new dynasty. Denouncing an adherence to Buddhism. which was honored as the national religion in the Koryo period. Chason adopted Confucianism from the start.

By constructing a shrine to the royal ancestors and dedicating seasonal memorial services to them the king aimed to exemplify the practice of Confucian precepts of filial piety.

The king also held rites at the Sajiktan Altar every year in supplication of a bumper harvest and prosperity for his agrarian state. The construction of a magnificent palace was inevitable to display kingly dignity and good administration. So was the construction of the wall that provided a clear-cut border between the inside and the outside of the town and a symbol of order and welfare for those inside the wall .

Part of the wall. snaking along the ridges of Pugaksan in the north. Naksan in the east Namsan in the south and Inwangsan in the west remains intact today. The straight distance from Pugaksan to Namsan was 5.82 kilometers and that from Naksan to Inwangsan was 3.82 kilo-

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Painting of lnwang Mountain, one of the four storied mountains of Seoul. by artist Chong Son (1676-1759).

meters. The total length of the wall was 18 kilometers .

The city was planned to spread southward from Kyongbokkung. the main palace. which was located at the foot of Mt. Pugaksan. To its west stood the Sajiktan Altar. and the Chongmyo Shrine to its southeast. Buildings to house six administrative ministries were built in a line along the main street stretching from the palace. and a commercial district was formed along what is now Chongno Street. Six hundred years since the construction of the city. Seoul retains basically the same layout in the old district.

The town at the time comprised not only the area surrounded by the wall but also an area within a circumference of 4 kilometers from the wall. The latter roughly covered part of what is now Songbuk-gu. Tongdaemun-gu. Songdong-gu. Yongsan-gu. Mapcrgu and Unpyong-gu.

The part of Seoul within the wall was divided into five districts. which were further subdivided into 49 units called bang. Hansong undertook various tasks including census taking, supervision of commercial practices. construction of houses. land distribution. forestry protection. construction of roads and bridges. dredging of river beds. supervision of monetary transactions. maintenance of law and order. post-mortem examination. and ownership certification of vehicles and animals. The mayor. who was called pansa. panbusa. or panyun. was ranked equivalent to the heads of ministries and was qualified to attend the State Council.

The city was entered through four large gates. each at a compass point. and four smaller ones between them. The gates were opened and closed regularly at the sound of a bell that signaled the hour of the day.

The belfry stood at the center of the town in Unjongga. or today's Chongno intersection. as it still does now.

FOUR GATES The National Academy (Songgyun-gwan) was founded in the city as the highest educational institute to inculcate Confucian philosophy and classics. In each of the five districts of Seoul was built a haktang. which was roughly equivalent to today's high school. Thanks to this educational system. Korea made spectacular advances in Confucian scholarship and classic literature during the Choson period.

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Except for about six years when Chongjo. the second king of the new dynasty. moved the court back to Kaesong in the aftermath of bloody feud among his brothers. Seoul developed remarkably as the capital of the country for two hundred years until it was reduced to ash

by Japanese invaders led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1592.

Development in cultural fields was especially remarkable. Hunminjong-um. the Korean alphabet reputed to be the most scientific and complete writing system in the world. was invented during the reign of Kong Sejong (r. 1418-50). In the same period A-ak. the classic music unique to Korea. was rendered in the present mature style. and scientific instruments such as water clocks. sun dials and rain gauges were invented. Development of metal type led to active printing and publication. National Codes (Kyonguf~ taejon). which defined the structure and functioning of the Chason government. Augmented Geography of Korea (Tongguk yoji sungnam) as well as many scholarly and literary works of great scholars and poets were published during this time. Internationally revered Confucian scholars Yi Hwang and Yi I were some of the scholars who were active at the time.

Ceramics. including the famed Chason porcelain which was later to contribute much to the emergence of Japan's Satsuma yaki and Arida yaki. was already in a considerably advanced stage.

White porcelain was widely used in the households of commoners in Seoul as well as in the court.

The Japanese invasions in I 592-98 reduced Seoul to a ghost city and wreaked immeasurable damage to cultural relics in general. Palaces including Kyongbokkung. Changdokkung and Changgyonggung as well as the Chongmyo Shrine were burnt to ashes and so were the government buildings and all the houses on the northern side of the thoroughfare that stretched from Tongdaemun (East Gate) to Sodaemun (West Gate). Priceless books. historical records on the reigns of the kings of Koryo, and countless historic treasures of various kinds were also destroyed.

DESTRUCTION BY JAPANESE What survived the Japanese invasions was thoroughly destroyed during the Manchu invasions of 1627 and 1636. Seoul's population. which stood at 109.300. or 18.522 households. at the time of King Sejong, dropped to 95.000. or about I 0. I 00 households.

The city was rehabilitated slowly but steadily to grow once again into the hub of lively academic activities and developments. not only in Confucianism but in Practical Learning (Sirhak) which was closely related to the advancement of the quality of everyday life. It also witnessed detrimental political turbulence. both domestic and international. that plagued the ¡ country throughout the 18th and 19th century.

With the country's annexation by Japan in 1910. Seoul lost its prestige as a capital of a nation and was downgraded to a city belonging to Kyonggi-do province. Its name too was changed from Hansong to Kyongsong. It was only after the liberation of the country in I 94 5 that the capital city of Korea was formally named Seoul.

Seoul once again was reduced to a ghost city in the wake of the assault on it from North Korea during the Korean War. But that. and how the city once again recovered its life like a phoenix. are all within living memory. ÂŽ

(The original text of this article was written in Korean and contributed for exclusive use by KOREANA. This is a translation.)

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QUIET FLOWS THE HAN ---FINALLY RESUSCITATED Massive Project Revives Han River Yoo Byung~rim

n 1983 Korea's foremost ornithologist Yun Mu-pu wrote: "Back in the early 1960s before the Han River ecosystem was hit by the recent deluge of construction. the river was largely a marsh area, an excellent environment for water fowl and migratory birds. In the spring and falL the banks of the river were covered with water fowl feeding on fish. and when the birds took flight the sky seemed to be filled with an enormous gray cloud. The songs of the ducks that gathered along the river in winter. of the orioles that frolicked in the hills and of the reed warblers that twittered in the grassy marshes along the river still echo in my ears.

It would be hard to imagine water fowL fish or other wild animals along the river today considering the horrible pollution."

During the 20-year period between 1960 and the 1980s. Seoul's transformation into a major metropolis was in many ways a paradigm for the rapid growth and development of Korea as a whole. but over the course of that development the once mighty Han River deteriorated to the point where it was little more than a foul sewer. Sewage from the metropolitan area emptied into the river untreated as did factory and industrial wastes that somehow managed to escape the eyes of government watchdogs.

As a result the natural ecosystem of the Han River was destroyed, a fact revealed over and over again by newspaper photographs portraying vast schools of dead fish floating bellyup in the putrid river. Swimming and boating were out of the question and even strolling along the river banks lost its appeal. The water was unfit for consumption despite the purification plants at Ttuksom and Noryangjin. and fishing was rendered impossible.

The need for the systematic development of the Han River was recognized early in the 1970s but a lack of financial resources and the engineering skills and technology to handle largescale river improvements permitted only minor changes through the early 1980s. With the inauguration of the Fifth Republic in 1981 and the national campaign to stage the 1986 Asian Games and 1988 Olympics in SeouL there was a growing popular demand for a restoration of the Han River as the lifeline of the capital city.

At that time. the original Han River Development Plan was relatively simple. focusing on short-term goals such as the dredging of gravel needed for the many large-scale construction projects under way around the Seoul area and basic river improvements. However. the various development projects that followed brought with them a number of additional problems.

I

Born in Chunchon in 194 5. Professor Yoo Byung-rim received his undergraduate degree in civil engineering at Seoul National University's College of Engineering. He went on to study for his graduate degrees at SNU's Department of Urban and Regional Planning in the Graduate School of Public Administration and at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design majoring in landscape architecture. At present. Professor Yoo is teaching landscape architecture and urban physical planning at SNU's Graduate School of Environmental Studies and has been active in the urban environment planning and design field on such projects as the Mok-dong Pare de Paris and development plans for the metropolitan area.

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Han River Reborn . In the background are two of Seoul's best-known modern office buildings in Youido.

BASIC IMPROVEMENT The systematic development of the Han River began in September 1982 and continued for the next four years until the opening of the Asian Games in September 1986. Major projects included: the leveling of the riverbed. the construction of terraced banks along the river. of the Olympic Highway and of an underwater drainage network. The construction of sewage treatment plants. riverbed leveling and the development of parks and recreational areas along the river banks constituted the main thrust of the project.

The riverbed leveling project required the leveling of the river bottom to a uniform depth in order to improve flood control functions and maximize water surface transportation. The river bottom was extremely uneven causing varying depths and resulting irregularities in the flow of water. In order to remedy this problem. a 36km stretch of river from Amsa-dong to the Haengju Bridge was dredged to achieve an average depth of 2.5m and a width of between 725m and 1.175m.

As a result. boats were able to operate along the river and a large supply of aggregate gravel was collected and sold for use on other construction projects. providing much needed revenue for the construction firms handling the river development program. A number of incidental projects such as the laying of underground oil pipelines and communication cables. the reinforcement of bridge piers and the maintenance of existing embankments were implemented simultaneously. The magnitude of the project was almost beyond imagination. A total of 6 million truckloads of sand and gravel was removed from the river bottom alone.

It goes without saying that the revival of the Han River depended on a significant improvement in water quality. For most of the 600-year history of the capital. the Han River was the sole receptacle for Seoulites' residential sewage and waste. The tributary flowing through the city of Seoul has been the main culprit in the pollution of the Han River. but the smaller tributaries along the upper reaches of the river flowing through Tokso and Kuri-dong and into the Paltang Reservoir. the main source of Seoul's drinking water. are also another important source of the pollutants that have caused a downgrading in the capital's water supply from Grade I to Grade 2.

According to the Environmental Preservation Law. water quality is divided into three grades. the third grade exceeding 6ppm in BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) and unfit for human

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consumption . At present. water flowing from the Paltang Reservoir to the Chamshil Bridge through Tokso and Kuri-dong remains Grade 2. but water samples taken from the Pogwangdong area downstream the inflows from the Pungnaechon. Tanchon and Chungnyang tributaries show a deterioration of water quality to Grade 3. unfit for use as drinking water. Although the water quality readings at different points along the river vary widely. the BOD levels generally increase as water moves downstream.

Two basic methods have been used to improve water quality along the Han River. First. the volume of water has been increased. When the water flowing through the multipurpose dams on the upper reaches of the Han is not used for generating electricity. the flow of water is artificially increased by holding back a set volume of water and then releasing it. thus improving water quality during a drought period.

The second basic method for improving water quality has comprised the construction of sewage treatment plants that collect and treat sewage before releasing it back into the river.

The most effective sewage treatment technique has involved the construction of differentiated drainage systems-one drainage system channeling sewage and industrial waste into the treatment facilities and another allowing rain water to flow naturally into the river.

The construction of the differentiated drainage network is the most significant program implemented during the Han River Development Project. The major cause of Han River pollution has been the direct inflow of sewage and waste from residential areas and industrial facilities.

To remedy this problem. huge underwater drainage pipes were installed to channel sewage. waste and rain water into differentiated treatment systems for treatment prior to release into the river. Intake channels carry the sewage and waste to four sewage treatment facilitiesNanji. Anyang. Chungnyang and Tanchon. At the upper reaches of the drainage network. the reinforced concrete intake channels measure 1.5m by 1.5m. and the channels gradually grow larger to a maximum of 4m by 4m as they approach the sewage treatment plants.

TREATMENT PLANTS Three of the four sewage treatment plants now operating in the Seoul area were constructed as part of the Han River Development Project. The Tanchon Sewage Treatment Plant handles waste from the Kodok and Apkujong-dong area with intake channels totaling l5.3km in length. The Anyang Sewage Treatment Plant processes waste from the area between Panpochon and the plant itself with intake channels extending 18. 7km. The Nanji Sewage Treatment Plant processes waste carried by 20.6km of intake channels serving the Kangbuk region.

Sewage Treatment Facilities Unit: 1O.OOOm 3/day Capacity

Treatment Level

106

Secondary

1970-79: 36 1987: 70 1991: 34

Tanch6n

50

Secondary

1988: completed

Anyang

100

Primary

1987: completed Secondary treatment by 1992

Secondary

1987: completed Secondary treatment by 1993

Facility Chungnyang

Nanji

50

Total

306

Construction Schedule

Existing 36

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Underwater Drainage Networks and Location of Sewage Treatment Plants

Remarks

~

0 -

A Cross-sectiona View . of Underwater Drainage

Sewage Treatment Plants Underwater Drainage Networks

The underwater embankments constructed at Singok on the upper reaches and Chamshil on the lower reaches of the Han are significant for their contribution not only to the improvement of water quality but also to the maintenance of an even water level. The two underwater embankments are basically dams built under the surface of the water to collect water during relatively dry spells. thus maintaining a constant water level and permitting large boats to operate on a river that seems much more full and vital. The underwater embankments consist of stationary banks varying in size from 700m to 883m and moving banks varying in size from 124m to 200m. Both underwater embankments also feature channels through which fish can pass.

Riverside parks and recreation facilities open to the public are a common sight in all the major cities of the world. and the creation of such facilities in Seoul was one of the major goals of the Han River Development Project. Urban development plans pursued by the Seoul government beginning in the early 1960s focused on the urgent problems of housing and traffic congestion and so resulted in the placement of highrise apartment complexes along the banks of the Han. hindering free access to the river. The Han River Development Project responded to this problem by developing riverside lands and creating riverside parks. Deserted wastelands were converted into broad plains on which sports facilities. boat launches. playgrounds. fishing areas and other recreational facilities were built.

RIVERSIDE PARKS Providing access to these riverside facilities through underground passageways was the first order of business. The construction of bike paths. parks. leisure facilities. swimming pools and a nature park for visiting student groups soon followed. A total of 68km of bike paths has been built along the Han River in Seoul together with nearly 130.000m2 of parking, 3.830.000m 2 of natural grasslands. 83.000m 2 of leisure facilities. and a total of nine public parks. In 1989 swimming pools were added.

Use of the riverside sports and leisure facilities has boomed in recent years providing a visible measure of the success of this aspect of the Han River Development Project. One drawback of the low-lying riverside parks is. however. the considerable cost of repairs following the summer floods that sweep through annually. The restoration and maintenance of the grasslands along the river are the most pressing and budget-draining problem considering their enormous size. and. in fact. Seoul's experience provides an important lesson for other cities considering the development of riverside parks. Future developers would do well to restore the river banks to their natural state using native grasses and shrubs. rather than planting non-

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Recreational Facilities at Ttuksom

Sightseeing boat launch

native grasses.

When Seoul was awarded the right to hold the I 988 Olympics. the most urgent project facing the city authorities was the construction of an expressway to carry athletes and officials to the Olympic Village in Chamshil. A riverside road extending from Kimpo International Airport to Olympic Complex was built together with a number of multi-level crossings linking the new highway with existing streets. The four-lane highway running along the southern bank of the Han was expanded to eight lanes to cover the 26km distance between Amsa-dong where the Olympic Complex is located and the Yanghwa Bridge.

An embankment was built for the new six-lane highway that now covers the I Okm distance between the Yanghwa and Haengju Bridges. The Olympic Highway project ultimately involved the construction of five bridges totalling 3. 170m in length. including the 2.070m-long Noryang Bridge spanning the distance between the National Cemetery and the Han River Bridge. as well as six new interchanges. In addition. five existing interchanges were renovated.

Stretching from east to west. the Olympic Highway has made a significant contribution to the reduction of traffic congestion in the capital. but it is not without its problems. Because the highway was built in response to the needs of the central government under the time constraints of the fast-approaching Olympics. the interchanges were not well-planned and in some cases. such as the interchange serving Youido Island. truly defy the imagination. In addition. the Olympic Bridge built to commemorate the 1988 Games was not completed until 1989. well after its namesake was finished.

OLYMPIC HIGHWAY Concern for the image of the city and the need to provide more efficient transportation were the main goals of the Olympic Highway project. At present. a new riverside expressway is under construction on the north bank of the Han. Hopefully this project will benefit from the mistakes revealed in the Olympic Highway. The long-term traffic problems and regional development bottlenecks now facing the Seoul area clearly reveal the shortcomings of streamlining the planning and construction processes in order to meet the demands of an overly tight schedule and of focusing on the shortsighted needs of a national event.

Seoul is faced with a number of pressing short-term problems such as the growing volume of traffic along the riverside highways. severe traffic congestion during rush hour. the expansion of residential areas. the accelerating subordination of satellite cities to the capital and the paralysis of major bridges because of traffic bottlenecks on approaching interchanges. Over

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Riverside Parks and Recreational Facilities

~ , 1

...,~

Public park

Ali g Regional pa r • __ .]I Grasslands

• • • ' I ....... .,. 1 Olympic Highway llllllllllllllllll Boating areas ~Watersk ing facilities l::i;i;i;i:!:i:il Yachting areas I @ I Swimming ' - - _ j Sightseeing boat launch

the long term. the present pattern of urban land use centered around the construction of highways must be carefully scrutinized. The culturaL educationaL recreational and sports functions of public open spaces such as those made possible by the development of riverside lands have been overlooked for so long that it is now difficult to secure land for these beneficial uses.

The placement of urban cultural facilities. such as universities. museums. performing halls and the like. and recreational facilities on riverside lands is an internationally accepted planning method that promotes both park and open space development but in the course of Seoul's hasty development of riverside apartment complexes. the chance to secure valuable public open spaces and green lands has been lost. Hopefully the lesson of Seoul will not be lost on those supervising river development in other cities around Korea and elsewhere in the world.

The Han River Development Project is not however. simply a river improvement program.

Rather it is a multipurpose development program aimed at improving the spatial structure of a multifaceted urban area. With this in mind. we can not overlook the following points.

First of aiL the development project was launched as an emergency measure to facilitate the successful staging of a major. but one-shot national event i.e. the 1988 Olympics. Urban traffic considerations. flood control and improved water quality, the creation of public open spaces. general land use provisions and the improvement of scenery along the river were all part of the comprehensive plan.

A close look at the overall results of the project reveals significant advancements in the area of water quality. The appropriation and development of public green lands. scenic improvements and the diversification of riverside land use are. however. more delicate and long-range questions. In some cases as mentioned above. time constraints have resulted in the implementation of hasty solutions to some very difficult problems. The most unfortunate shortcoming of the project has been the failure to formulate a comprehensive riverside development plan well in advance so that each facet of the program could be accomplished within the proper context. If this had been the case. Seoulites would have benefited from a truly magnificent urban environment. Instead this remains the task of the next generation. ®

(Tfle text of tflis article was originally written in Korean for exclusive use by KOREAN A. Tflis is a translation.)

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Cons & Pros about City of Seoul (I) An Architect's View

FOR ALL ITS ANCIENT GLORIES SEOUL DEFIES UNDERSTANDING Ryu Choon-soo he city of Seoul enjoys a long and rich history, but if we are to understand that history we must first examine the history of Korea's ancient capitals and the many changes the country has undergone over time.

Pyongyang (about 200 kilometers north of Seoul) was the capital of the Koguryo Kingdom which ruled Manchuria and the northern part of the Korean peninsula in ancient times. Modernday Puyo (some 139 kilometers south of Seoul) was the capital of the Paekche Kingdom which was responsible for the transmission of Chinese writing and Buddhism to the Japanese islands.

The capital of the Shilla Kingdom which conquered Koguryo and Paekche to form a united kingdom in 668 A.D . was Kyongju (approximately 170 kilometers southeast of Seoul). now beautifully restored as one of modern Korea's most famous tourist sites. and Kaesong. just north of the present demilitarized zone. was the capital of the Koryo Kingdom which ruled Korea from 935 to 1392 A.D. Seoul perched on the edge of the strategically important Han River became the capital in the late 14th century when the Choson Kingdom defeated the corrupt Koryo Kingdom. The Choson rulers moved the capital to its present location to symbolize the launching of a new political ideology and system. The selection of the site was made by the great Buddhist priest Muhak who asserted the geomantic conditions of SeouL protected from northern winds and invaders by three mountains to the north. embraced on either side by Mt. Naksan and Mt. lnwang and facing Namsan to the south, were ideal.

The Han River came to be recognized as the new capital's lifeline and symbol as grain transported from Korea's breadbasket the Honam region in the southwest was carried up the river from the western shipping channels. and forest products from the northeastern provinces and rice from the plains in Kyonggi Province were carried by boat along the river to the c;:apital.

The Choson capital remained relatively smalL with a population from I 00.000 to 200.000 by the end of the 19th century, and was remarkably orderly, laid out as it was along a lattice network of streets and alleys situated within a 16 km 2 basin and interspersed with a number of well-planned palaces, government offices and bustling markets.

It isn't hard to imagine Seoul as it was back then-- slate-roofed houses and thatched cottages nestled together along narrow streets bustling with horse- and ox-drawn carts and palanquins, elaborate palaces symbolizing the power and legitimacy of the royal court. men dressed

T

Ryu Choon-soo was born in 1946 and graduated from the Department of Architecture at Hanyang University and the Department of Landscape Architecture at Seoul National University's Graduate School of Environmental Studies. Ryu is presently director of the Beyond Space Group as well as director of the Korea Institute of Architects. He was the gold medalist in the International Awards for Technology in Architecture at the Ouaternario '88 Sydney.

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in billowing white clothes and women in sporting colorful outfits as they strolled across the sturdy stone bridges and beautiful wooden bridges stretching over the sparkling waters of the Chonggyechon stream.

This tranquillity did not last forever. however. For centuries. Korea had served as the transmitter of advanced Chinese culture to Japan. but the Japanese moved ahead of the Koreans in the I 9th century when they became the first to introduce many of the advanced technologies and ideas of Western culture. The Japanese exploited their advantage and took over the Korean peninsula. imposing brutal colonial rule upon the Korean people from 1910 to 194 5.

Ironically Koreans got their first taste of Western culture through the Japanese. and today, decades since our liberation from Japanese rule. all spheres of Korean society remain scarred by the cultural damage caused during the colonial period.

SCAR FROM COLONIAL RULE For foreigners used to TV images of violent demonstrations by Korean students and workers it is probably difficult.to believe that Korea has never attacked another country and that the Korean people are a peaceful people who have developed a unique and rich culture quite distinct from those of Japan and China. Similarly. only those who have visited Seoul recently could believe how a city of barely 200.000 people just one century ago has grown to support a population of over I 0 million (nearing 20 million if you include the populations of the satellite cities that make up such an important part of the metropolitan area today) with some one million cars criss-crossing the 19 bridges over the mighty Han every day. The images of the Korean War - rubble and starving war orphans- still fill the minds of many foreigners when they think of Seoul. and for younger generations of Westerners. streets filled with tear gas and rock-throwing students may come to mind. but they all must realize there is much more to Seoul than that.

In 1987 during the most severe anti-government student and labor demonstrations. Korea's annual economic growth topped I 0 percent. and a surplus in the trade balance was achieved.

Personally I am forever optimistic about Korea's future because I believe Korea's consistent growth based on our long national history and persistent commitment to education. despite all the hardships with which we have been faced. will serve us much like the clear and quiet center of a typhoon. Let me turn now to take a more critical look at our present political and cultural situations on the basis of this optimism. my Although I am by profession an architect focusing on urban development I have b~gun discussion of Seoul with a quick look at Korea's history and traditional society because I believe foreigners must have some understanding of Korea's past if they are to understand anything about our present. and also because I believe cities and their architecture are a vivid mirror of the historical and social conditions of any society. That is to say, a city is the social mirror of a society. and architecture is the coagulant that holds the urban context and human activities together.

When one thinks of a capital boasting a nearly 600-year history, rich in tradition and blessed with the natural advantages of broad rivers and magnificent mountain ranges. it is only natural to assume that many examples of traditional architecture will be found there. For this reason. many first-time visitors to Seoul are disappointed.

The magnificent mountains are still there. lovely as always, but the sparkling waters of Chonggyechon and the Han River have long since been dirtied. and the "pine trees atop Namsan" hailed in our national anthem are now hidden behind a "forest" of skyscrapers and telephone

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Namsan, one of Seoul's best-known landmarks and a cable-car system to its peak.

poles. Indeed. we are lucky that the city engineers who developed the grid on which the modem city is laid at least left us the small patch of green on top of Namsan because there's little green to be found elsewhere in the city.

Prior to the opening of the Seoul-Pusan expressway in the early 1970s, less than 20 percent of Seoul's population lived south of the Han River. but today more than half the capital's population lives in the apartment complexes that stretch for as far as the eye can see in Kangnam. the district south of the river. The Han River has become the center of the city, dividing the capital between north and south. and the expansion of the riverside expressways following its banks on either side serve to isolate Seoulites from the waters that have so often been called "the lifeline of Seoul."

Korea's politics. economics. education and culture are all centered in Seoul. and as a result the capital continues to attract more and more immigrants every day. With the rapid increase in private car ownership since the mid-I 980s. the "satellite cities" surrounding the capital have for all intents and purposes become part of Seoul itself although they are still administratively distinct.

Today, even Seoulites are amazed at the rapid changes their city is undergoing. so it is only natural that there is a propensity to focus on the quantitative rather than the qualitative. It is difficult to lay aside land for urban parks and green spaces when the demand for housing and office space is so urgent and one can hardly expect great architecture under such cjrcumstances. Indeed, if it weren't for the royal palaces scattered around downtown and for Namsan. the city would be little more than a forest of concrete. asphalt and steel.

NEED FOR GREEN SPACES Tehran. the Iranian capital built in the midst of a vast desert. boasts many verdant parks. so why doesn't Seoul have any to speak of? And why are Seoul's modern buildings so boxy and unimaginative? What about a few street or pocket parks. a sunken garden or two, or maybe an attractive shopping mall?

The answers to these questions lie in Korean tradition. Because theirs was an agricultural society in which there was never a felt need for public open spaces. Koreans have seldom challenged the modern government's failure to provide for parks and public space within the city limits. Similarly the beautiful mountains and streams found around the Korean peninsula meant that our citizens felt little need to create manmade forests or parks.

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The expressionless square towers that pierce the Seoul sky were built that way because they were economical and because the steel frame and glass buildings and the curtain wall construction we have seen go up in recent years were beyond the abilities of Korean technology and materials. The failure to create intermediary space between buildings and streets in urban areas is. of course. to a large degree the fault of architects unfamiliar with the concept of intermediary space. but perhaps a more basic reason for the Jack of such space in Korea is our traditional agrarian society's preference for fences clearly delineating property lines.

The 1988 Seoul Olympics served as an important turning point in a number of areas. but perhaps they were most significant as a new historical starting point for an advanced awareness of the value of quality over quantity. Since the Olympics we have seen a noticeable expansion in public green spaces and a clear improvement in the quality of outdoor facilities in newly developed housing and urban development projects. In addition. the skills of and materials used by Korean architects and contractors are on par with those of their competitors around t;1e world. thanks to their experience in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. As a result. one can sense a distinct improvement and diversification in the shapes and colors as well as the techniques used in the architecture being created around the Korean capital today.

The recent announcement of the government's plan to tear down the buildings blocking the view of Namsan is just one example of the remarkable changes taking place in Seoul. The growing popularity of the public parks along the Han River. home now to tour boats and the thousands of water fowl that have returned to its increasingly unpolluted banks. is another vibrant example of a new urban open space accessible to modern Seoulites.

Traditional open spaces include the centuries-old palaces nestled at the feet of the mountains embracing downtown Seoul and the neolithic dwellings of early Koreans preserved in Amsa-dong on the banks of the Han. These historical structures provide a rich contrast to the capital's ever-changing modern skyline which now includes the 63-story Daehan Life Insurance Building and the twin Lucky Buildings on Youido. both designed by foreign architects.

Beneath the crowded streets of Seoul runs the city's subway, the world's seventh largest which will soon grow to become one of the world's most modem and extensive with the launching of a new stage of construction.

Seoul defies understanding sometimes. Visitors are constantly amazed by the cars racing along broad streets and twisting alleys swept clean by city employees. by the trucks unloading piles of goods for sale at the enormous markets at Namdaemun and Tongdaemun before the break of dawn. Foreigners have trouble understanding how residents of slum dwellings packed into the gaps between expensive highrise apartments can get along so easily with their wealthy neighbors. but this. just like the harmony realized in extended families made up of conservative grandparents and hotheaded students and the coexistence of taverns alongside schools and apartments. is all part of the charm of the city of Seoul. And in a few thousand years the enormous garbage dump on Nanji Island in western Seoul will become an archaeological dig revealing the history of 20th century Korea. !love Seoul for all of this - its natural beauty, its long and illustrious history. all the remarkable destruction and development it embodies. And I will do everything possible to make sure at least one of my projects will live on to become part of the history of this great city. ÂŽ (Tiie original text of t!iis article was written in Korean and contributed for exclusive use by KOREANA. Tliis is a translation .)

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Vol. 5 No. I KOREANA 1991

Cons & Pros about City of Seoul (2) A Pedagogue¡ s View

ITS FORTES MIGHT MEAN ONLY ITS WEAKNESSES Kim ln-whoe enerally speaking, citizens of Seoul today seem to be unaware of the good things about the city which have characterized it since a long time ago. It is because such good things do not exist any longer or are simply irrelevant to their daily lives.

Not all the centuries-old good things are visible. Many good things about Seoul can only be recognized through living in the city over many years. Most significant of all the merits of Seoul is its historicaL cultural and environmental atmosphere which can be appreciated only in the passage of time. in memories and reminiscences.

Therefore, there is a profound difference in the thinking and feelings about Seoul between its native residents and those who have moved in.

The natives regard Seoul as forming a part of themselves or as an extension of their ego, while the migrants who were born elsewhere do not have such a feeling. There seems to exist an unfathomable cultural gap between the two groups of people.

Many of the good things. which formed the basis of Seoulites' pride, have ceased to exist while others have turned into the most undesirable elements of the city.

Very often. therefore, Seoul's good or bad things have to be defined differently by each individuaL depending upon who speaks to whom.

A native of Seoul whose ancestors have lived in the city from one generation to another. this writer has witnessed the changes of Seoul during the past half a century. My view of Seoul must be based on my background as a native Seoulite and an educational expert.

In my opinion. the most important merit of Seoul lies in its natural environment particularly its geographical location.

Commanding the Han River to the south. the largest river in the Korean peninsula. and surrounded by big mountains. Seoul has an impeccable environmental harmony and perfect conditions to become a modern-day center of industry and transportation.

G

ENVIRONMENTAL HARMONY Alas, not many of my fellow Seoulites seem to appreciate how these blessed environmental conditions can successfully harmonize with the daily lives of all of us. And this lack of knowledge seems to have resulted in the negligence of Seoul's inherent merits in the process of its transformation into a mammoth city during the past decades, often exterminating them or even

Kim ln-whoe. 52 , professor of pedagogy, Yonsei University, is a native of Seoul. He majored in pedagogy at Yonsei and received his Ph . D. in the same subject from Yonsei Graduate School. He formerly taught at Ewha Woman's University , and in 1987 served as the dean of Yonsei's College of Education. He authored Korean Culture and Education. Education and Mass Culture. Pedagogy for the Korean People, A Study of Shamanism in Korea and other books.

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turning them into harmful factors.

A typical case of this shameful degradation can be seen in Nanjido. a site for refuse reclamation located along the Han River in western Seoul.

The nature-blessed location and environment of Seoul could be confirmed not only by such visible things as mountains and rivers but also by the invisible elements like the wind and the flow of underground water. The natural factors achieved a perfect harmony with the lives of Seoulites in old days.

Seoul could have clean and fresh air as the northwestern wind from the West Sea blew into it. The wind blew through the west district of Sinchon and crossed the heart of Seoul through Chonggyechon, the main sewage trunk, and walloped to the east. The Chonggyechon stream flowed past the boundary of Seoul until it joined the Han River. which ran. in the opposite direction from the east to the west and was united with the West Sea beyond the city border.

In the old days, dead bodies of Seoulites were moved out of the city through a southeastern gate called '"Shigu-mun" (Gate for Corpses). The tradition is deemed to have had something to do with the city's flow of air.

Now, let's take a look at today's Seoul. A giant city of over 10 million population, Seoul seems to run completely counter to our ancestors' utilization of the good natural conditions in city planning. Nanjido is the best example of the violation of the time-honored wisdom of city planning.

The city planners seem to have selected Nanjido as the waste reClamation site to nullify the nature-given benefit.

By reclaiming mountains of waste from Seoul in Nanjido, its western entrance. through which the fresh air flows in from the West Sea. the city planners have committed a grave mistake that no native Seoulite can ever understand or forgive.

This writer has to define the city planning as an indisputable symbol of artificial destruction of the great spirit and life of SeouL its history, culture and tradition. which have been built through centuries in wonderful harmony between nature and man.

Why did I pick up the wind. river and the foul-smelling refuse burial site in discussing Seoul's good and bad aspects, while there are countless other characteristics?

That is because I believe one of the most important factors that form both of Seoul's strongest and weakest points are its wind and water. The wind and water are important not simply from the chemicaL human, or geographical terms.

They are more important from the educational perspective and as forces that mark the values and lives of people who continuously move into the city of Seoul.

WIND AND WATER '"Seoul wind" does not mean a simple movement of air. It is the wind that blows in the great bosom of "Mother Seoul." It is a wind of cultural nutrition that matures people. It is the symbol of expectations for tremendous possibilities. hopes and abundances.

The Korean word param means both wind and expectation or hope. A Korean young man born to the lowest socio-economic bracket comes to Seoul if he is resolved to leap high to the top of the world in his lifetime. because he believes he will be able to find in this city¡ all the chances.

His dream may already be half-realized by entering one of the city's top universities, particularly Seoul National University.

An old saying goes in Korea: "Ponies should be sent to Cheju Island, children to Seoul."

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Vol. 5 No. 1 KOREANA 1991

__.....

Seoul National University campus on the southwestern fringes of Seoul.

Despite its serious air contamination. Seoul is growing ever richer. offering more and more intellectual. cultural. religious and artistic opportunities. This trend no doubt should be noted as a good thing.

However. the very "good" may turn into Seoul's weakness. In Seoul. the possibility and hope always go along with danger and frustration.

Seoul's rich is accompanied by its poverty. The ambivalent possibility makes Seoul more attractive. and this may be the reason why a great number of young men and women long for life in Seoul and flock to Seoul from the countryside. swelling the city further.

Seoul's good or bad factors can be found in its rapid growth into a modern megalopolis.

ÂŽ (The original text of this article was written in Korean and contributed for exclusive use by KOREANA. This is a translation .)

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Cons & Pros about City of Seoul (3) A Hygienic Chemist's View

ALlrOUT WAR PROPOSED FOR PRESERVING ENVIRONMENT Chung Yong

S

eoul. a giant city where the nation's politics. economy, education and other human activities are centered. houses over 10 million people. about a quarter of the total South Korean population. in 605.4 square kilometers of land. a mere 0.6% of the overall area of the nation.

Many reasons could be cited for the high concentration of the population in Seoul and the phenomena should be analyzed from many different perspectives. However, I would like to leave this task to some other authors and focus my attention on the¡ result of this concentration in terms of environmental impact.

The problems of Seoul's environmental pollution first turned serious in the early 1970's. In 1962. the Korean government set up an economic development plan and launched quite a few ambitious projects to transform Korea from a backward economy into a thriving one. As industries grew and economic activities picked up speed. Seoul's population increased further Economic expansion was naturally accompanied by increases in production . consumption and construction of infrastructure. housing. sanitary facilities. and manufacturing plants. An increase in the number of automobiles followed. All of these developments accelerated the consumption of energy and resources producing an increasing amount of pollutants.

In addition to pollutants. the environmental capacity-the size. topography (Seoul is located in a basin). and meteorological factors-of the city also functions as an important element in deciding the extent of environmental contamination. Increase of population and human activities in a limited land area. as is the case in Seoul. results in a phenomena in which the environmental capacity of the dispersion. dilution. or purification is overwhelmed by the accumulation of pollutants.

In Seoul. environmental pollution has already emerged. not surprisingly, as a serious social problem. The Seoul city administration seems to give considerable weight to the job of coping with the pollution. The city in fact wants to be the environmental showcase of modern Korea. and. in spite its of efforts. the public's disenchantment is still rising because of obvious administrative. economic and technical difficulties.

As the pollution grows along with the nation's economy, the government has made colossal investments in environmental control. But it still has to do a lot to satisfy the popular demand for a clean environment.

Chung Yong, born in 1943. earned his Ph.D. in hygienic chemistry from Seoul National University. He won a diploma in environmental science and technology from Delf College of Technology in the Netherlands. and was a visiting scholar at Cornell University in Ithaca. N.Y. in 1980-81 and the Free University of Berlin in 1985.

He is currently a professor at Yonsei University's College of Medicine and director of the Institute for Environmental Research.

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Environmental pollution refers to a state in which the life of animals and plants is hampered by wastes discharged by human activities. and. as a result. the health of living things, properties. and quality of life are endangered. Air and water pollution and solid waste disposal pose a serious threat to Seoul.

AIR POLLUTION Fossil fuel is the main source of air pollution in Seoul. particularly coal briquette and oil which are used for heating and cooking. Some 8.000.000 tons of anthracite coal is consumed a year to heat houses in Seoul. This accounts for about 60 percent of all the air pollutants.

Bunker-C oil. kerosene and liquefied natural gas produce I 0 percent of the pollutants.

The pollutants comprise dust or suspended particles. sulfur oxides. nitrogen oxides. carbon monoxide. and hydrocarbons that are the key indicators of air pollution.

Another major source of air pollution is smoke and gas emitted by automobiles. Over a million cars were registered in Seoul as of October 1990. and they bum up an estimated 3.000.000 kilolitres of gasoline and diesel fuel a year. producing 27 percent of air pollutants in Seoul.

The remaining 3 percent of the pollutants comes from factories and power plants.

Seoul's air pollution is at its worst during the six months from mid-November to mid-May. During the winter. air pollution becomes more serious than the rest of the year; the pollutants do not disperse well because of frequent temperature inversion. The most critical of all the pollutants in Seoul's air is sulfur oxides and suspended particles. begotten by sulfur in fuel and incomplete combustion of fuel.

Table I below compares Seoul's air pollution with the environmental standards set by the government.

Table 1. Air Pollution in Seoul

Pollutants

Environmental Standards (annual average)

Sulfur dioxide

max. 0.05ppm

Suspended particles

up to 150mg/m3

'84

254

'85

'86

'87

'88

Olympic Games Period

0.056

0.054

0.056

0.062

O.Ql 5

200

183

174

179

63

Air pollution in Seoul normally exceeds environmental standards. The pollution grows worse in spring and winter than in summer and fall. and it is very pronounced in the center of the city. The contribution of pollutants from industrial facilities to Seoul's air pollution is relatively low. though the pollution is undoubtedly serious in neighborhoods where many such facilities are clustered. Seoul's precipitation shows an acidity of pH5.6 or higher.

WATER CONTAMINATION The Han River passes through Seoul from the east to the west. The river is the source of drinking water for 10 million Seoulites. The water's purity is endangered by the increase in the amount of sewage, industrial waste water. and the use of agro-chemicals in farmland.

The Seoul city government operates nine plants that purify the water before sending it to

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the tap. Since 1975. the river in Seoul has been so seriously contaminated that it cannot be used as a source for tap water. and the water has been drawn from Paltang Dam on the upper reaches of the river. some 40km away from Seoul. Only two of the nine treatment plants take water from the Han River. while the rest use water from Paltang, or mix the water from the Han River with that from Paltang.

A daily average of some 20 million cubic meters of water flows through the Han River.

Seoul city discharges 3.4 million cubic meters of sewage and I 00.000 cubic meters of industrial waste water. Only some 70 percent of the waste water is released into the Han after being treated at disposal plants. while the rest flows into the river untreated.

As a result. the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in Ku-ui reservoir in the upper stream of the river stood at 1.6ppm as of the end of 1988. The BOD in Noryangjin reservoir along the river's middle basin was 4.3ppm and that in the downstream of Kayang-dong reservoir topped I O.Oppm (Table 2).

Table 2. Current Status of Water Pollution in the Han River

~

'82

'85

'87

'88

Remarks

Upper Stream (Ku-ui)

1.5

1.7

1.4

1.6

Piped water source (I st grade) BOD: I .Oppm or less

Middle Stream (Noryangjin)

5.4

5.9

4.3

4.3

Piped water source (2nd grade) BOD: 3.0ppm or less

12.8

14.6

7.4

9.9

Piped water source (3rd grade) BOD: 6.0ppm or less

e

.

Downstream â&#x20AC;˘ (Kayang-dong)

*Piped water source I st grade : water which can be taken after simple treatment.

2nd grade: water which requires considerable treatment for human intake.

3rd grade: water which is so severely contaminated that it needs sophisticated treatment.

Before 1975. almost no efforts were made to prevent water pollution in Seoul. In 1975 a sewage disposal plant was built in Kunja-dong, eastern Seoul. to purify the househo'ld waste water that flows through the Chonggyechon and Chungnyangchon streams. and more such facilities opened near Tanchon. Anyangchon and Nanjido thereafter. Establishment of disposal plants. coupled with the installation of sewage interceptors. has improved the water quality to some extent.

Reservoirs in Seoul are second grade sources or worse. and those in the downstream cannot be used as sources for potable water. Water in Paltang Dam. a main source of piped water. shows an average BOD of 1.5 ppm. Water taken from those sources undergo purification process before being supplied. But the quality of the piped water falls short of the government-set standard for potable water.

WASTE DISPOSAL Nearly I 0 million tons of waste is collected in Seoul every year. The amount is equivalent

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Sewage treatment plant in Tanchon.

to 5.500 5-ton truckloads every day. Each citizen produces 2.0kg of waste a day, of which 40 percent comes from coal briquettes.

Since the 1970s. amid the changing pattern of consumption. the so-called "cultural wastes," including paper and electronic appliances, have been on the rise. too.

Over 90 percent of the wastes are collected. Wastes are gathered at many downtown areas, often turning the city centers into habitats of rats and various harmful insects, ruining the city scene and causing foul odors.

Most of the household refuse is reclaimed in Nanjido but land is already running short there.

The city plans to move its waste disposal site to somewhere on the wast coast.

Some !50 tons of combustible wastes are incinerated daily. It is thus necessary to collect the wastes separately according to their nature-some can be recycled. while others 'should be incinerated or buried.

COUNTERMEASURES The Seoul Office of Environmental Administration under the Ministry of Environment and the Seoul city administration implement measures to preserve the environment of Seoul. The office controls. guides and supervises big factories and establishments that discharge large amounts of pollutants. while the city administration concentrates on small-sized sources of contamination .

The ministry pays much attention to the city administration's efforts for environmental preservation. But the two-tiered system seems to be hindering effective administration for environmental preservation.

One of the major projects. jointly planned by the office and the city administration to reduce air pollution. is the change of fuels. High-sulfur oil used at apartments and houses will be replaced by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Many of the downtown establishments now use oil instead of coal briquettes. To curb air pollution by automobiles. diesel cars will be replaced by LPG

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or those that use gasoline.

A plan has been announced to make it mandatory for gasoline-driven passenger cars to be equipped with catalytic converters. and now about two-thirds of those cars have them .

To fight against air pollution in a long-term perspective. introduction of stricter environmental standards is recommended.

When it comes to the preservation of water quality. it is most important to protect the sources of tap water. The Seoul city administration should take steps to protect those sources in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment. Construction Ministry and other government ministries as well as concerned provincial administrations.

In order to protect the sources of piped water. control of the waste water from individual households. livestock farms and factories should be strengthened. Picnicking. fishing and farming in the vicinity of water resources should be banned.

Seoul should. in addition. be fully equipped with sewage disposal facilities for a perfect treatment of waste water. A sanitary sewage system should be built and put into operation to divide household sewage and storm water or natural flow water. and to collect and treat them differently.

To improve the quality of piped water. the Seoul city administration organized a citizens¡ committee comprised of experts. journalists and representatives of concerned consumer protection agencies to inspect the water quality. in July I 989.

To combat the problem of ever-increasing wastes. incineration and sanitary treatment of trash is emphasized. To treat wastes in a sanitary way. it is imperative that combustibles are collected separately from non-combustibles. Publicity and enlightenment campaigns are under way to educate the people about the importance of separate collection of different kinds of wastes.

Environmental preservation efforts cannot be carried out successfully by the city administration alone but require cooperation and participation of citizens' organizations. mass media. businesses and academia. As a matter of fact. a large number of social organizations. mass media and scholars are paying keen attention to these efforts and are taking part in them.

ÂŽ (Tfie original text of tfiis article was written in Korean and wntributed for exclusive use by KOREANA. Tfiis is a translation.)

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Cons & Pros about City of Seoul (4) An Economist's View

ECONOMIES AND DISECONOMIES OF AGGLOMERATION Ahn Doo-soon SOME DATA To discuss the economic aspects of SeouL we should not fail to mention the problems of economic concentration and agglomeration in the city.

It is no exaggeration to say that the economic power of South Korea. the 12th largest trading nation in the world. relies almost entirely on Seoul. The nation's central nervous system. whether governmental or private. is concentrated in its capital city.

Seoul has 92.9 percent of the high-level government institutions and 98.8 percent of their manpower. Most large business firms are headquartered in Seoul. paying 72 . I percent of the nation's corporate tax .

Table I shows a few indicators of Korea's economic concentration in Seoul.

Table 1. A Few Indicators of Economic Concentration in Seoul Categories

Figure

Proportion to the Nation's Total

Population (per I .000) GRP (I billion won) Bank deposits ( " ) Bank loans ( " ) Income tax ( " ) Corporate tax ( " )

10.577 29.213 33.832 28.199 541 1.619

25 .0% 29 .3% 58.9% 57.8% 55.0% 72.1%

Source: Seoul City Administration

One- of the characteristic features of Seoul's industrial structure is its heavy reliance ¡on the service sector. As shown in Table 2. service industries such as wholesale and retail businesses. food and boarding. transportation. storage and communications. banking. insurance. real estate and other social and individual service businesses account for 61.5 percent of Seoul's gross regional product (GRP) .

Such a high percentage is compared with the proportion of service sector to the nation's overall economy, which stands at 35.54 percent.

It can be safely said that Seoul has been much more specialized in service industries than

Ahn Doo-soon. born in I 946. majored in economics at Ruhr-University in Bochum. Germany. He earned his doctorate in economics from its graduate school and was formerly a senior research fellow at the university's Institute for Development Research and Development Policy. He has been a member of the faculty for the Department of Economics. Seoul City University since 1981.

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Table 2. Comparison of Industrial Structure: Seoul/ROK/1987 (Unit: percent) Categories Agriculture. forestry, fisheries Mining. manufacturing Electricity. gas. tap water Tertiary industry Banking-related service Governmental Nonprofit private Import tax

ROK

Seoul

11. 39 31.52 I I. 39 35.54 2.77 7.2 1 2.30 3.42

0.68 19.33 12.42 61.50 5.08 4.58 3.66 2.9 1

Source: Seoul City Admin istration (Seoul Regional Products and Citizens Income.

1987: Seoul 1988)

other areas around the country.

It is natural that the proportion of agriculture. forestry and fisheries stands at only 9.68 percent of the capital city's gross regional product- I I .39 percent on a national level. The mining and manufacturing industries take up 3 I .52 percent of the gross national product but a much lower I 9.3 3 percent of the gross regional product in Seoul. .

According to Seoul city administration's estimation. Seoul's GRP accounted for 29.27 percent of the gross national product of Korea in I 987. The figure gives the impression that Seoul's GRP has been underestimated due to shortages in statistical data. technical deficiency in estimation. and problems involved with the regional allotment in the governmental and national defense sectors.

Therefore. it is necessary to reconsider the weight of Seoul's GRP in Korea's GNP as presented in Table 3.

Table 3. Share of Seoul's GRP in Korea's GNP by Industries (Current price of 1987- Unit: %) Categories Agriculture. forestry. fisheries Mining Manufacturing Electricity. gas. tap water Construction

Share

Categories

Share

1.75 5.44 18.45 19.45 36.82

Wholesale. retaiL food. boarding Transportation . storage. communications Financing. insurance. real estate SociaL individual service All industries

49.8 36.60 63.24 48.46 . 29.27

Source: Same as Table 2.

As Table 3 shows. banking, insurance. real estate. and other service businesses are most notably clustered in Seoul (63.24 percent). followed by wholesale and retaiL food and boarding businesses (49.58 percent). and social and individual services (48.46 percent).

The capital area is designated as an area subject for the removal of factories. and. in this regard. it is imperative for Seoul's further economic prosperity to foster the know-how and technology-intensive service industry.

GRP STRUCTURE In view of the heavy concentration of economic and administrative power in SeouL it is natural that Seoul's per capita GRP is higher than Korea's per capita GNP. In I 987 when Korea's per

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capita GNP marked $2.861. Seoul's per capita GRP was recorded as $3.618.

The gap is believed to have widened further in the following years. When we estimate Korea's per capita GNP to be around $4,600 in 1990. Seoul's per capita GRP will hit $6.000.

Diseconomies of agglomeration are likely to prevail even more seriously due to the increasing concentration of economic activities in Seoul. As the diseconomies consist mainly of nonmaterialistic elements. however. the disparities in production and income between Seoul and the rest of the country will not narrow unless bold measures are taken to distribute the nation's economic and administrative strength to other areas.

Seoul's 1990 budget stood at 3.507 billion won. comprised of 1.936 billion won in general accounts and I .057 billion won in special accounts. This represented nearly 20 percent of the entire budget of the central government.

As Table 4 shows. Seoul spends more money on "hardware" or such infrastructure as road. transportation. civil engineering and construction than on "software." like social welfare. education. culture. sports and industrial and general administration.

To promote a self-supportive economy. Seoul is required to allocate more budget to the improvement of citizens' welfare and its industrial environment.

Table 4. Functional Structure of Seoul City Budget. 1990 C:ategories Road/transportation Housing/construction Tap water projects Water control/firefighting Social welfare Cleaning/environment

Rate(%)

Categories

Rate(%)

35.4 10.5 9.2 3.4 5.1 4.8

Parks/greenlands Education/culture/sports Industrial/general administration Elections/parliamentary operations Assistance to autonomous districts Reserved

3.9 8.1 3.9 5.9 36.2 0.6

Source: Seoul City Administration

(Seoul Regional Products and Citizens lnwme. 1987: Seoul 1988)

AGGLOMERATION The concentration of economic and administrative power in Seoul aggravates the effects of agglomeration already prevailing in the city. further strengthening its economic status in the nation. This is called the "secularly reinforcing tendency."

There are various factors that accelerate this tendency.

First. industrial firms. placing great importance on their access to the administration and bureaucrats. prefer to keep their head offices in Seoul where major economic and industrial policies are formulated and most government sanctions and approvals are issued.

Second. one-fourth of the Korean people live in Seoul and 42 percent of the entire population is concentrated in the metropolitan area. attracting the market-oriented industries. This assumption is backed by the fact that half of the nation's wholesale and retail shops. eateries and boarding facilities are clustered in Seoul.

Third. Seoul offers the greatest access to Korea's financial market. which is still a suppliers' market. forcing 80.3 percent of the nation's banking. insurance. real estate and business services to keep their head offices in the capital.

Fourth. 42 percent of the Korean population live in the capital area and the disparity between Seoul and the rest of the country grows even more conspicuous when it comes to the

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acquisition of work force. Seoul has a large labor pool of manual workers and service employees and in most cases, high-quality human resources are available only in the metropolitan area.

Most people prefer to live in Seoul out of considerations for their children as the nation's educational and research institutes are heavily concentrated in the city.

Fifth. Seoul is the center of domestic and international transportation and communications.

Seoul's telecommunication network is far better arranged than in the provincial areas. and it has a worldwide aviation network that even covers the Soviet Union and China. Seoul accounts for 60 percent of the nation's telephone calls. Under these circumstances. Seoul is undoubtedly favored as the business center.

DISECONOMIES An excessive concentration of economy and city functions in a certain area begets undesirable side effects. In Korea. such concentration in Seoul causes diseconomies of agglomeration.

Here are a few most outstanding problems.

The most serious problem is the population concentration and congestion. Seoul houses 25 percent of the Korean population and its population density. I 7.000 persons per square kilometer. is ranked the world's second highest next to Paris. Seoul's population grows more by migration than births.

The second most serious problem is an enormous shortage in housing. This is easily understood when considering that Seoul is the home for 25 percent of Korea's total population whereas its land space only accounts for 0.6 percent of the entire national territory. The home ownership in Seoul has never exceeded 60 percent. Such a sharp housing shortage has encouraged the urban marginal pools to form slums which often turn into a hotbed of social

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problems.

Third. Seoul's traffic congestion is hindering economic development and promotion of welfare. The rate of road supply is a meager 18.4 percent in Seoul and the ever-increasing number of cars has slowed down their average speed to less than 18km per hour. causing a heavy burden on the people. Another source of its increasing financial burden is the chronic shortage of parking space.

Fourth. the ever-aggravating problem of waste and the contamination of air and water is degrading the quality of life of Seoulites and is levying additional burdens on city's economy These diseconomies raise the living cost in Seoul. which in turn necessitates increases in the workers' wages.

Land for industrial facilities and housing construction is running short. Nearly 15.800 manufacturing factories in Seoul are urged to move outside the metropolitan area on a gradual basis.

Accordingly. Seoul has to function as the haven for business headquarters and the center of international trade. Its industry cannot but be service-oriented. comprising the wholesale and retail dealing of goods. food. boarding, financing, insurance, real estate. and business and individual services.

To develop in a desirable way, these service industries should become know-how or technology intensive. But Seoul now has an economic structure relying mostly on intensive human labor and entertainment. Under the present circumstances. it is a little risky for Seoul to completely depend on its tertiary industry.

Seoul can develop a self-reliant economy by inducing urban-type ultra-modern manufacturing industries that produce high added value and legal. financial and managerial counseling as well as fashion and design services.

Also desirable will be promoting information and data services and inducing international conferences and trade fairs. thereby to strengthen Seoul's role as an important contact point for international tourism and transportation.

In selecting places for living and business. people tend to pay an increasing amount of attention to the amenity of the setting and access to information rather than traffic conditions and resources. In a long-term perspective. it may be said that Seoul's economic environment might not be so optimistic. ÂŽ

(The text of this article was originally written in Korean for exclusive use by KOREAN A. This is a translation.)

Kangnamdaero. one of Seoul 's subcenters south of Han River.

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Cons & Pros about City of Seoul (5) An Artist's View

SEOUL NEEDS MORE AND MORE PARKS TO EMBELLISH ITSELF Kang Eun~yp

am a Seoulite to the bone. which is rare. But some people might say I am not a real Seoulite because my parents' ancestral homes are elsewhere. Still. I think I merit the name because at least three generations of my family have lived in Seoul. I was born in Seoul and. except for the time my family took refuge elsewhere during the Korean War. I grew up in Seoul.

My childhood memories of how Seoul looked are so different from today¡s Seoul that it is like talking about when 'tigers smoked pipes.¡ Still. as I write about Seoul I find it useful to

I

mull over how it looked like in the old days.

My family returned to Seoul from our evacuation during the Second World War in I 94 7. two years after the nation's liberation from Japan. We lived in Ihwa-dong. near Tongdaemun (East Gate). but for some reason I went to elementary school in Huam-dong. It was very far. so I would walk to Tongdaemun and take the streetcar from the terminal there. Besides the streetcar. there were also rickshas and small horse-drawn coaches which were about the size of a nine-passenger minibus. The streetcar was a very important means of public transport at that time but it is a long time since Seoul did away with them.

Considering the streetcar ended at 'Tongdaemun. Seoul back then must have been a small city contained inside the four gates. The Seoul Railway Station. the Hwashin Department Store in Chongno. and the Chosun Hotel. the Cheil Bank. and the Tonghwa Department Store in Sogong-dong stood out because they were large Western-style buildings. Though the four gates no longer functioned as entrances to the city. they were landmarks that symbolically demarcated the city boundaries. the part beyond them being considered out of town. Today these historic remains are not demarcators of the end of Seoul but of the heart of the huge. complex city.

Namsan Mountain. which used to be covered with verdant forests. and the Han River. whose white sandy shores beneath the pedestrian bridge were where Seoulites went to relax and cool off in the summer. once nurtured the dreams and romantic spirit of young people and lovers. Today they are the pride and symbols of Seoul.

NAMSAN AND THE HAN RIVER Historians believe that the Paekche Kingdom. one of three kingdoms that dominated the Korean Peninsula until the late 7th century A.D .. built its capital near the shores of the Han

Kang Eun-yup. 53. graduated with a B.F.A. from the College of Fine Art. Seoul National University in I963. studied under Jose de Crieft at the Art Students League in New York in I 972. and received an M.A. from Montclair State College in New York in I 97 5. She has had many solo exhibitions and participated in many group shows. She is currently the Director of Programming and Research at the Gye Won School of Arts and the president of the Korean Sculptresses Association.

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River in 18 B.C. One theory is that the Paekche palace stood on Mongchontosong, an earthen fortress which was recently excavated in the Olympic Sculpture Park. a memorial to the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

When the Koryo Kingdom perished in the late 14th century, it was rumored that Hanyang. which was what Seoul was called at the time. was divined to be the capital of ~he next dynasty. The Seoul area perfectly meets the geomantic requirements for an ideal ausd)cious place.

That is. it has Pukhansan Mountain to its back like a screen, it is embraced by two mountain ¡ ranges which are geomantically referred to as a blue dragon and a white tiger. it:.faces lesser mountains to the south that appear to bow toward it and the Han River flows a;round it like a belt. At least it did at that time. And it was because of these features that King .i'aejo chose I this auspicious place for the capital of his dynasty in 1394. And now, six hundred: years later.

Seoulites are still proud of their city and its environs.

Let's drive from the City Hall Plaza to Kwanghwamun. Imagine that the National Museum Building. which we would like to erase from our memory because the building. once the headquarters for Japanese colonial administration in Korea. is a reminder of the national humiliation, is not there; just beyond Kwanghwarrtun. we can see Pugaksan Mountain directly i~ front of us.

Right beside Pugaksan is Inwangsan Mountain and on the other side is Tobongsan Mountain and far behind Pugaksan is Pukhansan Mountain. Everywhere we turn. mountains greet us. Turn around and look southward from Kwanghwamun . What we see is Namsan Mountain welcoming us to its breast. There are three tunnels through the mountain leading southward to bridges over the Han River that connect the southern part of Seoul. If you go over Namsan and cross the river. you come to beautiful mountains again. Skyscrapers. which accentuate the metropolitan skyline, harmonize well with the surrounding mountains.

The city's beautiful silhouette is without a doubt the result of a harmonization of civilization and nature. In fact the fluctuating lines and changing scenery of the mountains make the cityscape more exciting than that of big cities which are located in flat areas. And that is not all. Since Seoul does not have a decent park. Namsan Mountain is a green place where Seoulites can relax and it is also a source of inspiration for them.

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BEAUTIFUL CITYSCAPE Another source of pride for Seoulites is the Han River for which our ancestors wisely chose this place as a capital. When l was young. the train bridge. the pedestrian bridge. and the Kwangjingyo at Kwangnaru were the only bridges across the river. And. what is now a bustling apartment town in Apkujong-dong was. until twenty years ago. pear orchards accessible only by ferry.

Except for the floating bridge made up of boats lined up across the river which was used for royal processions. the first modern bridge built across the Han River was a train bridge built with American technology in l 900. A pedestrian bridge was built in 1916 but it was destroyed along with the train bridge at dawn. June 28. 1950. to prevent waves of enemy soldiers from crossing the river. This was three days after the opening of the Korean War. There were more than five hundred refugees on the bridges when they were exploded. The scars of war have long disappeared from the river and. due to Seoul's rapid expansion. it is now spanned by 20 bridges.

Much to my chagrin. however. not one of the 20 bridges is beautiful enough for Seoulites to point to with pride. I believe that this might be because they are the product of a militaryoriented civilization. What I mean is that for this war-weary people. bridges sometimes are viewed as simply a way to cross the river in order to escape the enemy. Perhaps those who were unable to cross the river have an attitude that prevents any consideration of aesthetics. l certainly hope that from now on only bridges in which Seoulites can take cultural pride and satisfaction will be constructed across the river.

Seoul was once so small that one could know it like one's palm but it has long since grown out of the boundaries marked by its four gates to become more than ten times bigger. The rapid expansion of the city came so suddenly that there was no urban planning - policymaking and administration came only as an afterthought.

It is not that I want Seoul to remain as it was in the past. It is just that development does not mean the discarding of old things for new ones. I cannot help feeling ashamed and remorseful about the things we have lost. things that we should have treasured and preserved with great pride. And. I cannot help wondering if today's Seoul would be a more beautiful and proud metropolis if we had preserved the area within the four gates exactly as it was. like the areas which have been officially designated traditional housing areas for preservation.

Of course. there are beautiful palaces. temples and historic sites right in the middle of Seoul which are a source of pride and a reminder of Korea's long history and culture. There !s Kyongbok¡Palace at the base of Pugaksan mountain. Changgyong Palace and the garden of Piwon. and Toksu Palace. There is also Namdaemun Gate (National Treasure No. I), Tongdaemun Gate. Sodaemun Gate. Pukdaemun Gate and Shigumun Gate. the gate through which corpses were taken out of the city.

HISTORY AND CULTURE Come to think of it. the difference in the East and West might originate in the way death is viewed. There are cometeries as beautiful as parks in the center of Western cities. the space being shared by the living and the dead. But Seoul appears to have always been a place for only the living. the dead being taken out of the city through Shigumun and buried far beyond the city gates in the mountains. Of course. the only place the dead could rest in peace is deep in the mountains since the country is very mountainous; only 26 percent of the land is arable.

And. perhaps the reason we are still bound to agriculture despite the nation's rapid transfor-

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Trolley car in Seoul circa I 890.

mation into an industrialized one is that a love of the land flows in our blood as a legacy of agrarian roots.

Still agriculture is declining because many people are leaving the farms in search of a better life in the city, the key to which they see as education. This has led to severe land speculation and population growth in the city. Seoul is actually churning like an intestine afflicted with maldigestion because of this constant influx of people heading blindly into it. And, it has become extremely difficult to find a true Seoulite like me.

We are all responsible for the ugliness and complexity of Seoul. But I will say again. this city in which we live is an ancient city steeped in history and culture. Moreover. it has long been a center of politics. economy, literature and arts. So. it is really deserving of the name Seoul Special City. However. these are merely Seoul's characteristics and not necessarily its strong points. I say this because I think that what our nation needs is to develop regional culture and arts centers based on the regional cultural legacies and local color of each part of the country.

Even¡ though Seoul is exceedingly congested because no prior urban planning and no efforts have been made to preserve any of its own color, the cultural and art streets of Tongsungdong and the Myong-dong, Insa-dong and Itaewon areas have become noted scenic spots owing to the belated efforts of some Seoulites. StilL Seoul does not have a decent park or plaza. not even in the newly developed Kangnam area, south of the Han River.

Is that perhaps because the idea of plaza or park is alien to a generation who is used to a life deprived of democratic ways? Or possibly even because they think Namsan Mountain and the Han River are suitable substitutes?

I believe now is the time for us to look back upon what we have lost and brood over what we should treasure and value. ÂŽ

(The text of this article was originally written in Korean and contributed for exclusive use by KOREANA. This is a translation.)

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SEOUL FLOURISHES AS MUSEUM OF KOREAN CULTURE, HISTORY Past Coexists with Present Kim Yu~kyong he geographical position of Seoul flanking the banks of the Han River has made the city a strategic. political and cultural center since the earliest days of Korean history. in eastern Seoul. the oldest known Indeed. the Neolithic remains found in Amsa~dong relics discovered on the Korean peninsula. date back to prehistoric times some 6.000 years ago. site consists of the remains of nine pit houses scattered over a 7.500 m 2 The Amsa~ong area first excavated in the early I 970s. These dugout mud houses consisted of oval pits dug in the ground. A primitive roof was slung over the top of wooden poles that were erected around the perimeter of the pits. All that is left of the huts today are the firepits delineated by a simple square or circle of stones and a number of stone implements such as axes and arrowheads that indicate human settlements on the Korean peninsula began here.

The historical and geographical importance of Seoul is also revealed by the wealth of r~ mains from the ancient tribal states and the Three Kingdoms found in Karak-dong in eastern Seoul and the earthen fortifications and tombs from the early Paekche period ( 18 B.C.-A.D. 660) located near the Olympic Park. Extensive remains indicate the Paekche Kingdom established its capital along the banks of the Han River and ruled southwestern Korea from that site from the third to the fifth centuries.

The geopolitical significance of the Seoul area located as it was along the Han River that was so important for agriculture as well as trade through the Western Sea of China and beyond was undeniable. As the Koguryo Kingdom to the north and the Shilla Kingdom to the south grew in strength. the scxalled Three Kingdoms struggled for domination of the region .

In 1984. archaeologists unearthed the Mongchontosong earthen fortification near the site of the present Olympic sports complex. The fortification provided the first solid evidence of the location of the Paekche capital known as Wiryesong. The earthen fortification was built in the shape of an oval corresponding to the natural dimensions of the knoll on which it stands.

It appears that frames made of wooden planks were filled with earth to create the enormous fortress which had a total of eight gates. The fortification walls varied in height from I 5 to 45 meters and measured 50 to 70 meters in length.

Much of the fortification was destroyed over the centuries since the Paekche capital was moved to what is now the city of Kongju in Chungchongnam-do Province. In 1986. however.

2.285 meters of the walls were restored in their original diamond shape, and a man-made lake has been built around the fortification site as it appears a moat was dug around the perimeter of the fortification for defensive purposes. The total area enclosed by the earthen fortification

T

Kim Yu-kyong. born in Seoul in 1947. is culture editor of Kyunghyang Daily News. a major newspaper published in Seoul. She began her journalistic career in 1969 upon graduating from the College of Education.

Seoul National University. where she majored in French literature. She has been covering various fields including drama. dance. women and fashion .

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measures 44 1.765 square meters. and scholars believe some eight to ten thousand people lived within its walls.

The remains of this earthen fortification together with the other Paekche fortresses and tombs found in the Seoul area provide strong evidence that this was the site of the Paekche capital of Wiryesong.

Achasansong fortress located near the present-day Sheraton Walker Hill Hotel in eastern Seoul was built by the Paekche rulers to defend against attacks by Koguryo forces. The Paekche King Kaero was killed in battle against the Koguryo at Achasansong fortress. and the fortress was the site of many battles between Koguryo and Shilla after the Paekche capital was moved to Kongju. The Koguryo general Ondal died in battle with Shilla forces at this famous fortress.

Although the fortress collapsed long ago. local citizens and guests at the Sheraton Walker Hill Hotel can soak in the atmosphere of ancient Korea with a stroll along the paths at the fortress.

MOUNTAIN FORTRESSES The Olympic Park. including the Olympic Center. the headquarters for the Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee. and the Olympic Sculpture Park. is located on the site of the Mongchontosong earthen fortress mentioned above. It is a remarkable experience to stroll among the I 90 pieces of sculptures submitted by sculptors from around the world prior to the 1988 Olympics and remember that Paekche kings and warriors once walked upon the same ground.

The view over the city toward the Han River from the grassy knolls dotted with eye-catching artworks is certainly one of the finest Seoul has to offer. At the entrance of the Olympic Park stands the World Peace Gate designed by the late Kim Chung-op, one of Korea's foremost architects. as a monument to the Seoul Olympics.

The city of Seoul became the capital of Korea once more with the founding of the Choson Kingdom in I 392 . Geomancy played an important role in the selection of the site. The Choson founder Taejo is said to have designated Pugaksan Mountain to the north as the guardian of the newly designated capital.

Some I .500 mountain fortresses built to protect towns and cities are scattered around Korea. many of them protecting the capital of Seoul. Pukhansansong fortress was built in I 722 during the reign of the Choson king Sukchong as part of the court's capital defense policy following the devastating Japanese invasion in the late I 6th century and the Manchurian invasion during the early I 7th century.

The largest of the fortresses shielding the capital. Pukhansansong fortress straddles a number of peaks to the north of Seoul. Its 3-meter-thick walls range 3 to 4 meters in height. The overall circumference of the fortress measured 8.348 meters. and I 3 gates were built into the wall. The fortress originally contained barracks. a command center and even a temporary palace for use by the royal court in times of crisis. All that is left today, however. are remnants of the fortification and the foundation stones.

Namhansansong fortress is the southern counterpart of the Pukhansansong fortress. Chcr son king Injo fled to Namhansansong fortress located in Kwangju County near the modern city of Songnam during fierce fighting at the time of the I 7th century Manchurian invasion.

Haengjusansong fortress to the northwest of Seoul was the site of a decisive battle waged

by Korean soldiers and citizens alike against the Japanese during their invasion of Korea in 1592. Legend maintains local women carried stones in their aprons up the mountain to the fortress for use against the invaders. In those days, women wore long, white aprons tied to

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Mongchontosong, an ancient mountain fortress site. which now is within the Olympic Park.

the front of their dresses. which came to be called "haengju chima" after the name of the fortress.

A monument to General Kwon Yul. the leader of the resistance at Haengjusansong fortress. now stands at the top of the mountain together with a small exhibition hall displaying some of the weapons and aprons used in the battle.

The many palaces and tombs that remain in downtown Seoul serve as persuasive visual evidence of the capital's historical role during the Chason period. Chongmyo. the royal ancestral shrine located along Chongno avenue in downtown Seoul. was built as a symbol of the legitimacy of the Chason founder. Taejo. and as a monument to Confucianism. the ruling philosophy of the Chason Kingdom. The present shrine was built in 1608 after the original structures were burned during the Japanese invasion of 1592.

ROYAL SHRINE AND PALACES Ritual. ceremonies honoring the spirits of the deceased Chason royalty are still held at the shrine on the first Sunday of every May. The gates of Chongmyo are closed the rest of the year in order to maintain the solemn atmosphere befitting a royal shrine.

The royal ancestral ceremonies have been designated Intangible Cultural PropertY, No. I by the Korean government and serve as an important example of the role of filial piety as a ruling value in the Confucian philosophy which has dominated Korean thought for so many generations. These ceremonies were held four times annually with the presence of the king and the queen during the Chason period. but in modern times financial restraints have reduced the frequency to one ritual every spring. In addition. the rituals are now presided over by commoners rather than members of the royal family.

Yi Ku. the son of the last Chason Crown Prince Yi Un. presided over the royal ritual when he was living in Seoul. At the time. Yi Ku always made it a point to remove his glasses and place them in a specially designed pocket in his traditional costume before he bowed to his royal ancestors. This action was a sign of respect to his elders as Korean tradition has always dictated that one should not indulge in modern conveniences in front of one's elders. Even today one sometimes hears of young sons of conservative families removing their glasses before bowing to their elders.

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Kyongbok Palace located at the foot of Pugaksan Mountain was built in 1394 as the main palace of the newly established Chason Kingdom . The palace stands on a 40.000m 2 site resplendent with countless pavilions and royal halls and four massive gates opening to the north. south. east and west. It was in Chiphyonjon. one of the main halls at Kyongbok palace. that King Sejong and his research team of scholar-officials invented hangul. the ingenious Korean alphabet. and innumerable philosophical and political discussions were held between Chason kings and their advisors. Stories of political intrigue. including massive purges of literati and officials. are equally plentiful.

The architecture of Kyongbok Palace prior to its destruction by fire during the Japanese invasion of 1592 was among the most magnificent Korea had to offer. The palace was rebuilt by the royal regent. Taewon-gun. during the region of Kojong at the end of the 19th century. but it was used as a royal residence for only 20 years before Kojong was forced to move out after the murder of his queen by the Japanese.

Japanese officials sold off most of the structures in Kyongbok Palace and then built their government headquarters right in front of it. In I 968. President Park Chung Hee ordered the reconstruction of the Kwanghwamun gate in front of the old Japanese colonial headquarters.

Seoul's other major palaces were also destroyed or badly damaged during the Japanese invasion of 1592 and during the Japanese colonial period. Only Myongjongjon hall and Honghwamun gate at the Changgyong Palace escaped the fires of the 1592 invasion and remain Seoul's oldest standing structures and clear evidence of the excellence of Chason era wooden architecture.

With the 1989 deaths of Princess Dokhye and Yi Pang-ja. the wife of the last Crown Prince. at Changdok Pq.lace. these two structures and the countless stories that surround the royal court are all that are left of the Chason Kingdom. Everything else was destroyed by the Japanese and their ruthless colonization of Korea.

The city of Seoul survived. however. During the Chason period when the total population of the capital was only I 00.000. the northern part of the city called Pukchon. or "Northern Village," was home to the royal family and the rich and powerful. Many poorer scholars lived in Namchon. "the Southern Village."

DESTRUCTION AND SURVIVAL Chongno has been the main shopping area since the founding of the city by the Chason rulers. The Hwashin Department Store was the first building to boast an elevator during the Japanese colonial period. and the main markets at Tongdaemun (East Gate) and Namdaemun (South Gate) continue to provide a traditional atmosphere in the midst of all the modernization Seoul has witnessed over the years.

Hanak. or traditional Korean houses. are another reminder of Seoul's past even as the city's population breaks the I 0 million mark. The traditional houses clustered in the Kahoe-dong area of the "Northern Village" are now protected under the government's policy for the preservation of cultural properties.

The living quarters at the presidential mansion. completed last year. are perhaps the best example of traditional building techniques in modern times. Even the traditional rafter-raising ceremony known as sangnyangshik was held during the construction of the building. duplicating Chason era techniques.

Behind every traditional house and on the porches of most Western-style houses throughout Korea one finds a cluster of dark brown jars and pots of varying sizes. These vessels,

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known as onqqi. have been used by all households from the royal family to the lowliest farming family for centuries to store soy sauce. red pepper paste and bean paste. three staples of the traditional Korean diet.

Besides their aesthetic beauty and usefulness. the onqqi are interesting from an anthropological point of view because of their link with Korea's Catholic population. This fascinating link appears to have begun during the late Chason period when Catholic missionaries flocked to the Korean peninsula.

Their Korean converts were persecuted by the Chason rulers. particularly the anti-Western Taewon-gun. father of King Kojong, and many were forced to flee to the mountains for safety.

The only way for many of these Catholic exiles to make a living in the mountains was to take up pottery.

The mother would dig up the clay, the father would make the pots, and the children would stoke the kiln's fire. The families would then take their pots to the roving markets that were held every fifth day in the nearby villages. The occupation was perfect for the Catholic fugitives because it did not require any heavy equipment and makeshift kilns could be dug anywhere in the mountains on the spur of the moment. The occupation was dominated by Catholic believers for years, and one such believer carries on the tradition¡ in Seoul today.

The connection between Catholicism and pottery has caught the eye of many a foreign anthropologist but in fact the link between the religion and Korea's onqqi is nothing more than a fascinating historical coincidence. Nevertheless. Korea's traditional onqqi embody a rich history that rivals that of Koryo celadon and Chason era white porcelain with its lack of affectation and homeliness.

The powerful winds of the West forced Chason society to open its doors _in the later part of the 19th century. The West's early influence on Korea's architecture is most evident near Toksu Palace. the residence of the last Chason kings, Kojong and Sunjong. The residence of the American ambassador, the British Embassy and the old Russian Legation surrounded Toksu Palace on three sides.

WINDS FROM THE WEST The American ambassador's residence was built in the 99-kan (kan is a traditional unit of measure referring to the space between two pillars) gable style of the traditional Korean literati's house, complete with a magnificent traditional outer wall which unfortunately has been . altered in recent years in response to anti-American demonstrations.

All that remains of the Russian Legation is the single white tower. a favorite subject for high school girls on sketching expeditions and a popular photo opportunity for the growing stream of Soviet visitors to Korea.

Across the road to the north from Toksu Palace stands Korea's central courthouse, and to the east lies the Anglican Church which was built some I 00 years ago combining the beauty of traditional Korean masonry and Western architecture. Korea's earliest Western-style educational institutes. the Ewha School founded by the American Methodist Church I 05 years ago, the old Kyunggi Girl's School and the Paichai School are also located in this neighborhood. rich with the history of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

One can easily imagine the many foreign shops and restaurants bustling with activity and intrigue. And although skyscrapers and other modern buildings have sprouted up around this historic neighborhood, a sense of history and continuity remains strong here. Limousines whisking diplomats to and from the American ambassador's residence and the British Embassy still

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frequent the road behind Toksu Palace. and many a worried Korean mother stands in front of the courthouse praying for her son standing trial.

The spiritual life of Korea is also vitally apparent in the capital. Shamanism. Taoism. Buddhism and Confucianism are deeply rooted in everyday life in Seoul. Kosa. traditional sacrifices of pig's head and liquor to spirits. are still held at the opening of every new shop and art exhibition. to inaugurate new printing equipment at modern newspaper offices and even to mark the beginning of a new year on the Korean stock exchange.

SPIRITUAL LIFE It isn't uncommon to see foreign businesses in Korea performing kosa ceremonies either.

No matter how cosmopolitan a Seoulite may be. no matter how many PhDs or foreign contacts he may have. just about everyone has participated in such ceremonies sometime in their lives. It doesn't matter what your religion is. except perhaps for the most rigid of the Protestant faiths. most Koreans have taken part In kosa ceremonies.

Buddhism also remains a vital part of spiritual life in Korea. Some 80 percent of Korea's cultural assets are related to the religion in some way. reflecting just how important Buddhism has been in Korea's historical and cultural development One can discover the significance of Taoism in modern life simply by stepping into a Korean home where one will undoubtedly find screens and paintings depicting mountain spirits. dragons and scenes of magic and mystery.

Confucianism has been the dominant philosophy behind Korean statecraft for centuries and lies at the root of all human relationships both in the family and society.

Since it was reduced to little more than a pile of ashes during the Korean War just 40 years ago. Seoul has grown to become one of the largest and most modern cities in the world boasting a unique culture combining elements of both tradition and modernity.

Much of Korea's cultural life. such as theater. dance. music. art and fashion. is concentrated in the capital. in part a response to the ever-changing nature of world culture. but nevertheless this concentration causes a corresponding alienation of cultural activities in the provinces. Within the capital itself. the center of culture is shifting as well. gradually moving southward to the rapidly growing Kangnam area south of the Han River.

The Insa-dong and Anguk-dong neighborhoods remain. however. the place to go for paintings. antiques. brassware and traditional decorations and accessories. And the sight of the gray-robed monks from Chogyesa Temple strolling past the stone walls and slate roofs .of the traditional homes and nearby Kyongbok Palace is still one of Seoul's most captivating images.

(The original text of this article was written in Korean and wntributed for exclusive use by KOREAN A. This is a translation.)

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SEOUL'S MR. EVERYBODY Is a Hard-Working Romantic S. Chang mong those millions of hard-working and sometimes hard-drinking Seoul citizens is a man whose mode of life and outlook on the world around him might prompt §orne sociologists to call him Seoul's Mr. Everybody. Kim Moon-soo by name. he belongs. body and soul. to the city's world-famous fraternity whose membership is collectively categorized as hoesawon (roughly. corporation man).

Meet our Mr. Kim . A handsome man with good eyes. at age 38 he might be a bit too much of a highbrow to qualify as the average Seoulite. His passion is T.S. Eliot. Similarly, the income of his family at 32 million won (roughly $US45.000) a year- his wife is a practicing nursewould make him slightly more affluent than much of the rest of the city's hoesawon army, the backbone of South Korea's booming economy.

Still and all. Kim's single-minded devotion to his job. his monumental propensity for hard work and even his quiet brand of confidence in the future of his country (and himselO should make him one of the most representative of Seoul's citizenry.

Indeed the record of his upward mobility amply reflects South Korea's social dynamism.

A farmer's son- he was the third youngest of eight siblings- Kim was born in 1952. two years after the Korean War broke out. His home village. named Kumkuk-ri and located 250 kilometers south of Seoul. is such a "hick hamlet." as Kim himself put it. that not even the war could reach it.

And the manner in which he breathed his first accurately tells his family's state of economic affairs. His mother. who at 76 is still healthy, gave birth to him with no assistance from any midwife or a doctor. Instead. it was his own father. a good rice farmer who at age 84 is also in good health back at Kim's home village. acted as a combined midwife and obstetrician.

Observes Kim matter of factly: "But that's the way all my brothers and sisters were born."

As a matter of fact. the difference in the mode of Kim's life between then and now is in itself a telling indication that he has come a long way from Kumkuk-ri. Now his comfortable apartment (see page 73) in downtown Seoul is crammed with practically every imagina,ble appliance item. Among them: a personal computer. a shiny refrigerator. a drier-washing machine and a TV set equipped with a video deck and a tuner for catching satellite telecast programs.

Beside. the Kims had just made the down payment for a new car. ¡Not one of these things existed under the thatched roof of Kim's first home sweet home back those days when he grew up in Kumkuk-ri.

A

CHEWING GUM To his elementary school. the commuting distance back and forth was 12 kilometers. Yes. young Kim trekked that much day in and day out for the kickoff of his education. He was clearly a bright kid. Without much trouble. he sailed his way easily through junior and senior high schools in a neighboring town. In 1971. the young scholar from the remote fastness of Kumkuk-ri successfully passed the stiffly competitive entrance exam at Seoul's prestigious Korea University.

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Kim Moon-soo and his family.

Kim majored in English language and literature. Why? The answer. coming from a member of his generation in South Korea. should not surprise anybody. Recalls he fondly: "Soon after the Korean War. I saw many American Gis visiting our village. They handed out to us something sweet and fantastic - the chewing gum. I loved it. I was fascinated too by the sound of the language they spoke. It then sounded downright exotic and exciting. But behind the intriguing sound of their tongue I. even as a kid. sensed the existence of something totally different. Yes. the word for it as I eventually came to know. is culture - a totally different culture."

Once in the college. Kim in no time made himself known with his knack for speaking and writing English. As a junior. he already became editor-in-chief of The Granite Tower. the campus English language newspaper. Then he was almost oblivious of demonstrations that his fellow students staged nearly every day against the government for concluding a treaty to normalize relations with Japan. once Korea's merciless colonizer.

Reminisces he: "Having come suddenly to the big city from deep in the countryside. I hardly knew anything about politics. Beside. I was too busy studying and editing The Granite Tower to take part in these demos." That was not all. He had just then discovered T.S. Eliot. Which to him meant that any span of time spent not within reach of his Eliot books was a total waste of time.

Such were his junior days at Korea U.. the first portion of what has become his long sojourn in the big city. As we've said. Kim was enrolled in the university in I 971. But he did ndt graduate from it until eight years later. Why? The answer in South Korea is something commonplace: the compulsory military service. He was conscripted into the army in 1973 and discharged from it as a private three years later.

GIRLFRIEND OFFICER Of course. the regulations are that male students could serve with the armed forces after graduation from their college. But Kim had wanted to get over with it early mainly because of one fact. Frequent clashes between demonstrating students and cops with their tear gas canisters made the campus hardly an ideal place for an earnest academic pursuit. He had in fact volunteered to do his military stint early in the belief that by the time he had completed his service. things would prove much quieter.

He was right. There was something else too. While doing his duty as a private. Kim ran into

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a lovely girl. who today is his wife. Her name: Lee Chung-hee. Precisely as old or young as Kim. the girl. a nurse with the army, was a second lieutenant. A chance encounter with him made her recall an article that Kim had written some time earlier. It was a review of the George Orwell classic. 1984. She loved the piece when she first read it in "The Student Corner" of Seoul's English language daily Korea Times. Soon the officer was in love with its author. the private. and vice versa. Kim then was a typist at the army headquarters in Seoul. They were married in 1980. and that was the year after the bridegroom finally graduated from his alma mater.

Once out of the army, Mrs. Lee (in Korea like in China. women retain their maiden names after marriage) continued to work as a nurse. albeit now as a civilian. The story was not so simple with th~ start of her husband's civilian life. First he tried to be a government official.

The reason behind this particular aspiration was characteristic of Kim. Explains he: "I had realized that for college boys to demonstrate against government was like throwing eggs at a rock. I decided that I could do better in helping make it a better Korea by becoming a ranking government functionary."

After spending six months cramming and getting set for a senior civil servant test Kim failed to pass it. Crestfallen. Kim changed his mind and allowed himself to be hired by an insurance company in Seoul. As a matter of fact he worked for it through the ensuing five years and four months. During this period. he went on his first overseas trip. He visited cities like Boston.

New York and Tokyo and did some studies of how insurance companies operated outside Korea.

But Kim on return home found himself increasingly disenchanted with his work. "My forte concerns the English language." he says, recollecting his state of mind back then. "My job with the insurance company hardly gave me a chance to exercise the benefit of myself as a linguist."

TRIPLE JUMP Sure enough. he switched job. working this time for a newly-launched electronic company.

Now Kim could use his English a good deal. The new firm was in the process of hatching a joint venture with Hewlett Packard of the U.S. "Everyday I had to be writing or speaking English," remembers Kim .

Was he happy, then? Yes and no. A new question began to weigh down heavily in his mind: Was it the right thing for him to throw away the accumulated benefit of his experience as an insurance company employee? Five years ago. he completed his vocational tripl.e jump by joining the Korea Life Insurance Association. a major research organization for south Korea's insurance business.

Today Kim serves as the association's chief coordinator on international affairs. Is he finally happy? "Well. I have my complaints." answers he. "But I must consider myself fortunate in that the association let me do pretty much what I would want to." Small wonder. Though the working hours at the association are 9 to 6:30. he seldom leaves office before 8:30 p.m.

Up at eight in the morning. Kim is a fortunate commuter by the Seoul standard. While many of his fellow hoesawon have to spend more than an hour getting to office. he reaches his desk via subway in a matter of only 20 minutes. After a hard day's work at office. he would often spend an evening pubcrawling with his friends from the college days. Admits he: "Until a few years ago I frequently kept drinking with my pals until way past midnight."

Heavy drinking among businessmen is a celebrated Korean institution. But it is gradually going out of fashion . Kim's daily routines typify the trend. Three nights a week he has been

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taking a postgraduate course at Yonsei University. "I should get myself a master's degree in no time," says Kim seriously. Beside. he is spending much time at home trying to make himself a computer expert. A good made-in-Korea PC has lately become part of his master bedroom fixture.

Kim's spacious (99 square meters) four-room apartment in a quiet residential area, at a stone's throw from the heart of Seoul. could turn many a Japanese "salary man" pale with envy. In Tokyo with its impossible real estate price. such a home is way beyond the reach of its most white-collar workers. The Kims purchased it only last year for 50 million won (roughly $US71 .000). "And with no financial assistance from anybody," his wife proudly declares. Even so. today's going price of their property on the ground floor leaves them stunned. "The price has since jumped two and a half times as much as we paid for it" marvels Mrs. Lee. In Seoul also. land is fast turning into an impossible commodity.

HAPPINESS And what about their car? Kim recently allowed himself - richesse oblige - to be fast-talked into making a down payment for a nifty 9 million-won (SUS 12.000) Excel car. But neither the husband nor wife owns a driver's license. Explains Mrs. Lee; "''m too scared of these many reckless drivers in Seoul." What about her husband? Answers he: Tm too lazy to learn to drive it." Evidently for a long time to come. the shiny Excel is going to be part of the Kims¡ household fixture.

The Kims have two handsome sons. bashful Young-sun. 9, and aggressive Young-hyun. 5.

His mother-in-law. living with them. takes charge of the upbringing of the youngsters while their mother is at work at hospital. Then on some evenings, Kim, a competent guitarist would quietly strum his way through a succession of old Korean ditties to entertain his family.

While at it Kim at times thinks aloud after posing himself some weighty questions.

Sample queries and replies: # What's wrong with Korea? "It's a pretty good country. Think of what we've done in the field of economy." #Does that mean there's nothing wrong at all with it? "I wouldn't go that far. I would want to see our military turn far more professional than now. By .the same token. I would want to see our politicians become far more honest than now." # Unification of Korea? "Why. the systems are so different between south and north. I think it would take at least ten years for us to achieve reunification." # And what kind of future does Kim envision for himself? "T.S. Eliot always comes back to my mind. Like the great poet I think I would want to become a Catholic (which his wife is). Right now. though, I cannot be so serious about religious matters because I'm too busy.

And yes. like Eliot again. I would like to become. in a matter of 30 years or so. a professor and/or a writer. In either case I would become a man with a philosophical turn of mind."

Is our man an incorrigible daydreamer? He is that to a degree. But having had a long talk with him one recent evening under his hospitable roof. I came away convinced of one thing.

Kim. first and most of all. is a patriot. When I asked him when he feels the happiest in life.

I was graced by a reply I really had not anticipated. Declared Kim, in all seriousness: "That's when I use my English explaining our country, its people and their thoughts to foreign visitors.

Then I feel that I'm doing something really constructive for my country. Then too I feel so endlessly happy." ÂŽ

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THE OTHER FACE OF SEOUL NOT EXACTLY APPETIZING Growth Also Means Mounting Trouble Hong Chan-shik ho Kyong-taek. 37, married seven years ago. Life has seldom been sweeter than these days for him. Early last year. he at last realized his long-cherished dream of buying an apartment.

Cho. an insurance company employee. had set aside more than half of his monthly salaries and cut what possible pennies from his daily spendings all these years. Yet. he had to borrow part of the money needed to buy his apartment from a bank. Anyway. he felt great about having a home of his own. though small and far from luxurious.

A considerable portion of his joy, however. seems to come from his newly achieved pride as a "full-time" resident of the great metropolis of Seoul. All these years after marriage, he had to spend a few hours each day in crowded buses or subway trains to commute to his office in downtown Seoul. His home was mostly on the outskirts of the city, where home rentals were relatively affordable for him.

Last October. he invited some of his closest friends to his home for a housewarming party.

He told his friends over drinks how he felt about permanently moving into Seoul after so many frustrating experiences he had while moving from one inexpensive rented room to another on its humble outskirts.

Cho's story is downright typical among so many Koreans. It has been a common sense of sort among them over the centuries that Seoul offers all the finest chances for success and wealth.

Is Seoul truly a haven to be so much desired as a place to live in? The answer is yes for a majority of Koreans. but not without a skeptical feeling about its many problems.

In most countries. people may have the common wish to be freed from the backbreaking hope labor in the farming field, or the eternal backwardness of small provincial towns with lit~e for development.

Such a wish has been particularly conspicuous among the Koreans. Many of the problems Seoul is faced with nowadays have been derived from the belief that life can be much more decent and successful here than elsewhere. And this has predominated the Korean public since ancient times.

C

BURGEONING POPULATION Seoul's population stood at I0,576.000 as of the end of I 989, coming almost par with the world's largest metropolises like Shanghai or Tokyo. Seoul had only 6.880.000 permanent residents in 1975. During the last I 5 years. its population grew at an unpre-

Hong Chan-shik. born in 195 5, is a city reporter of the Dong-A Ilbo. a leading daily newspaper in Seoul.

He graduated from Korea University in 1978.

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cedented rate of 54 percent.

What makes the city administrators even more concerned is that Seoul's population is steadily increasing by some 200.000 to 300.000 persons each year. It represents an annual growth rate of 2.82 percent which is higher than the national growth rate registered at I .6 percent. been showWhereas the national population growth rate is ever waning. the capital city h~s ing an increasingly higher rate in recent years. It marked 1.44 percent in 1985. 1.65 percent in 1986. 1.96 percent in 1987 and 2.9 5 percent in 1988.

Seoul's population grows in the main because of migration from outside than by births within its city limits. It is not only the capital city proper that is confronted with the problem of burgeoning population. A considerable number of those who wish to move to Seoul from the countryside find themselves settled in smaller cities surrounding it - like Anyang. Suwon.

Inchon. Uijongbu and Songnam - owing to insufficient financial resources or various other reasons. Consequently. a dense population belt has formed around the capital city.

A recent government statistics has disclosed that some I 5.800.000 people. accounting for more than one third of the nation's total population. reside irt the capital area comprising Seoul and its vicinities. The figure comes only next to a few largest cities in the world. including the Tokyo area with a population amounting to 28.700.000. Mexico City with 19.400.000. New York with 17.400.000 and Sao Paulo with 17.200.000.

Over 70 percent of those who reside in the vicinities of Seoul commute to their workplaces in the capital city. The daily flow of these people results in the roads and subways connecting Seoul and its satellite cities and towns being amazingly overcrowded during rush hours.

The population density of Seoul marks 17.470 per square kilometer. the highest among all major cities around the world. It has been long since Seoul was free from most urban problems commonly suffered by the world's big cities. Unfortunately, it has reached the point of seeking almost revolutionary measures to heal its many illnesses.

Probably. the continuous population inflow to Seoul could be best explained with the traditional value system and life goals of Koreans. During the Confucian-dominated Choson period (1392-1910). a majority of Koreans believed that joining the officialdom in Seoul was the greatest success a man could achieve in his lifetime. Many Korean parents believed. and still believe. that by whatever means their children should be educated in Seoul offering all the best chances for success.

An old Korean saying goes like this: "Send new-born horses to Cheju Island but all children to Seoul." Scholars who had the best chances to join officialdom and climb up its ladder occupied the highest social stratum during the Choson period. followed by the farmers¡. technicians and merchants. in that order.

The population inflow to the capital city was even more accelerated in the modernization process of Korean society. due primarily to the increasing deterioration of farming comuni~ ties. Agriculture has registered only limited improvement in methods after World War II and Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945. Farming villages in Korea have long been faced with ravaging poverty and a growing number of farmers have left their ancestral homes in the hope of finding new jobs in Seoul.

Korea's manufacturing industries have grown fast in a wave of industrialization since the 1960s. requiring a huge manpower and consequently absorbing the flood of new migrants to the capital area from the provinces. A large number of these migrants had no previous training for jobs in the city or anyone to help them get settled in Seoul. They were simply drawn by the vague hope that once in SeouL they might not have to worry about earning daily meals any more.

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FLOOD OF MIGRANTS The migration to Seoul still continues. Despite the general economic improvement Korean farming villages show few signs to recover from their long recession. Of late. they are even more depressed by the increasing import of agricultural products from abroad and the mounting pressure to <?Pen food markets from the United States and other major exporters of agricultural products.

The outstanding enthusiasm for education characterizing the Korean people must be another important reason for the explosive population growth in Seoul.

Most Korean parents believe that their children need at least a college degree if they are to make their ways to a respectable social level. Applicants for college enrollment just naturally flock to Seoul where most prestigious schools are located. The majority of students with prominent academic performances in provincial high schools do not apply for colleges in their provinces. They come up to Seoul to enter better schools. Few return home even after finishing college education.

In addition. not a few parents move to Seoul themselves for a better education of their children. It is evident that such an enthusiastic attitude of Korean parents toward their children's education has played a remarkable role for the development of Korean economy. but not without undesirable side effects.

A large number of young people. on the contrary. are attracted to Seoul out of their simple curiosity about the excitement of city life. They touch off other problems.

Table-Population Increase in Seoul (Unit: I .000) Year

Population

Households

1975 1980 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989

6.889 8.384 8.839 8.788 9.991 10.286 10.576

1.409 1.842 2.328 2.428 2.518 2.658 2.816

Source: Seoul city government statistics.

Such a fast increase of population has caused above all else a serious shortage of housing in the metropolitan area. Statistics compiled by the city government show that the housing supply rate remained mostly below 60 percent during the 1980s. In 1989, the rate slightly increased to mark 60.7 percent.

Another set of statistics reveals an interesting phenomenon. Some 210.000 housing units were newly constructed in Seoul from 1980 to 1985. During the same five-year period. however. the number of households in the capital city increased by more than 490.000. This indicates that it is almost impossible for the housing supply to catch up with the runaway rise of households.

Since 1987. in particular. the skyrocketing real estate prices have been ever reducing the chances of Seoulites to own homes. In 1987. an apartment of 35-pyong space (one pyong equals 3.3 square meters) could be bought for about 50 to 60 million won (US$71.500 to 85,700).

But the price has jumped four to five times over the last three years. At least 200 to 2 50

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million won was required to buy an apartment of the same space last year.

Most salary earners. therefore. find to their dismay that it is practically impossible to buy a house in Seoul even if they save the whole amount of their earnings through their lifetime.

Actually. many give up their hope to own a home.

Why does the real estate price soar up at such a shocking pace in Seoul? Before all else. it must be attributed to the psychology behind real estate speculation prevailing in the Korean society these days. Another important reason is that Seoul is running short of land that can be used for housing construction.

Two popular areas where new housing development projects are under way at present are the Suso District and Kayang District. located respectively on the southern and western outskirts of the city. But not even these districts have land space to accommodate more than 40.000 units. falling far short of satisfying the ever rising demands.

HOUSING SHORTAGE The soaring real estate prices have brought about the greatest frustration to the homeless citizens in Seoul. In step with the housing prices jumping up at a disheartening pace. the home rental rates went up so sharply in the last couple of years that many tenants were asked to double their rents at once or move out.

In a bid to resolve such a serious housing shortage. President Roh Tae-woo promised during his election campaign in I 987 that he would. if elected. work to build two million housing units for low-income citizens during his five years in office. Some 400.000 of these new units are planned to be constructed in the Seoul area by I 992. but still. they cannot meet the annual household increases amounting to I 00.000.

The government announced a plan to develop four new satellite cities some 20 to 2 5 kilometers away from the central area of Seoul as part of its effort to disperse population. The plan is already being implemented and the sale of new apartments is under way in the new cities called Pundang. Ilsan. Sanbon and Pyongchon.

Taldongnae (moon village) of this kind still dots Seoul today.

These villages are being replaced rapidly in urban renewal projects.

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Nevertheless. not so many people seem to believe that these new apartments will help ease the housing shortage suffered by the citizens of Seoul to any remarkable extent. much less contributing to the population dispersion. Most of those who purchased the new apartments turned out to be Seoulites. but they will still have to commute to their work sites in Seoul daily even after moving to their new homes.

Some experts even pointed out that the government is encouraging a still greater population concentration in the capital area by constructing new satellite cities because they will attract more migrants from the provinces.

Another crucial factor for the sharp housing shortage in Seoul is the growing tendency among its citizens to favor the nuclear family. Due to the influence of industrialization and modernization -the Western mode of life- the traditional extended families are ever disappearing and young couples these days tend to form independent households upon marriage, contributing to the mounting demand for houses.

At the same time. a great number of people have come to regard houses and apartments as the most efficient speculative means to multiply their property in a short time span. These people are making the situation more desperate for the mushrooming army of house hunters in Seoul.

REAL ESTATE SPECULATION The housing policy of the metropolitan government places emphasis on building more small units and rental homes for low-income citizens. Heavy taxes are levied on unearned incomes occurring from speculative dealings of real estates in order to protect the majority of citizens from the endlessly zooming real estate prices.

Among the most serious problems encountered by the city of Seoul. along with the housing shortage. is the traffic congestion. The traffic congestion begins very early in the morning. when commuters leave their homes to make unending lines of cars on the roads leading to the downtown business areas from the city's outskirts in all directions.

The traffic jam in Seoul begins around 7 a.m. on the outer perimeter of the city and reaches its peak around 8:30 a.m. Sometimes. it takes more than an hour to drive a short distance of I 0 to I 5 kilometers. Particularly, the bridges across the Han River and tunnels through Namsan. linking the residential areas in Kangnam and the downtown business districts north of the river. are usually filled with long lines of cars that almost appear to stand still.

At present. buses take care of the largest portion of human movement in Seoul. Buses account for 50.6 percent of it. followed by subways (16.8 percent). privately operated cars (16.6 percent) and taxis (16 percent). More people seem to be using subways instead of buses or taxis in recent years to avoid the terrible traffic congestion on the roads.

Seoul currently has four subway lines. No. I Line runs through the central area from Chongnyangni Station in the east to Seoul Railway Station in the west; No. 2 Line goes around the downtown areas and the outer perimeter of the city; No. 3 Line connects Kupabal on the northwestern outskirts and Yangjae-dong on the southern border; and No. 4 Line links Sadang-dong on the southwestern outskirts and Sanggye-dong on the northeastern outskirts.

During rush hours. the subway trains are always loaded with passengers far exceeding their capacity. The commuting condition on Seoul's subways is far from pleasant or comfortable.

The No. I Line stretching out to the nearby cities of Inchon and Suwon. is still more terribly jampacked because it is the fastest means to bring commuters from these cities to Seoul.

The commuters have to wage a "battle" every morning to get into cars on this line. At almost

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all stations. stalwart "pushers" are seen pushing passengers on the back to cram them into the already overcrowded cars. Once inside the car. the passengers will find it hard even to breathe.

It is said that more than two-thirds of commuter traffic depend on subways in other large metropolises like New York. Tokyo, London and Paris. Experts here share the opinion that the only possible way to ease Seoul's traffic congestion at the moment is building more subways to extend their network.

The metropolitan government of Seoul plans to construct four new subway lines, which will lift the total length of subways operating in the capital areas from the present 168 kilometers to 300 kilometers by 1997. The existing lines will either be extended or connected with new lines to increase their transportation capacities as much as possible.

Seoul has a long way to go to reach the level of other major cities of the world in the total length of its subway network. Tokyo has the longest network totaling 544 kilometers. followed

by Paris with 473 kilometers. New York with 385 kilometers. and London with 383 kilometers.

TRAFFIC CONGESTION What is even more depressing is that there is little hope for the traffic condition in Seoul to notably improve in the near future. The city government's subway construction plan will require at least five to seven years to be completed.

The greatest problem with the traffic on the ground is caused by a shocking rise in the number of cars. Seoul had only 350.000 cars in 1983, which more than doubled to reach 780.000 by 1988. and then topped the one million mark in 1990.

Over these years the driving speed in Seoul has been continuously dropping, with the number of cars growing quickly in contrast to the space of roads remaining almost the same. The average driving speed was registered as 2 5. 5 kilometers per hour in 1983. It gradually slowed down to 22.1 kilometers in 1988. 21 kilometers in 1989 and then 20 kilometers in 1990.

Some scholars point out jokingly that. with the number of cars swelling at the present pace. it will be faster to walk than to drive in the not so distant future in Seoul. The city government predicts that the average driving speed will further go down to 12 kilometers per hour by 2000.

Flood of cars, trucks and buses in Seoul.

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Owning a car for private use has been a kind of fashion among the citizens of Seoul since the mid-I 980s. Not only those of the so-called middle class but also of the low-income bracket have been affected by this sweeping trend to become a member of what is called the "my car group" even though it accompanies a considerable financial burden.

Of course. some of these people could have been encouraged to buy a car by the prevailing social trend to pursue greater comfort and pleasure in daily life. On the contrary. however. many of them were obviously motivated by the very practical need to go to work without exhausting themselves in the overcrowded buses or subway trains. The heavy traffic congestion in Seoul is causing a vicious circle by encouraging the citizens to buy more cars.

Buses cannot fulfill their role as a public transportation means in Seoul. where the number of automobiles increases at the rate of 10 to 20 percent every year. Buses on certain lines passing through the crowded downtown areas are operated with longer intervals of 20 or 30 minutes.

Every evening on weekdays, traffic in downtown appears to be almost paralyzed with cars crawling bumper to bumper in unending lines. Experts in urban planning insist that the new life pattern of citizens has contributed to the traffic jam in Seoul which grows ever more serious. A large number of citizens have to cross the Han River to go to work every morning and then cross back the river again in the evening to return home.

Along with its notorious traffic congestion. Seoul is suffering from a disastrous lack of parking space. It is true that almost all large cities in other countries face similar problems. but Seoul is trapped in an even more difficult situation. The city is deemed incapable of resolving its shortage in parking space for it lacks basic facilities prepared in the early stage of urban planning.

LACK OF PARKING SPACE In most cases. drivers are compelled to park their cars by the roadside or in the back alleys. adding further up to the already helpless traffic jam. Traffic administrators have tightened control over illegal parking and introduced the exclusive bus lanes along busy roads in order to help ease the traffic flow.

Traffic congestion almost completely disappeared from Seoul during the 1988 Summer Olympic Games period. when the government introduced a system to operate the privately-owned cars every other day, those with odd plate numbers to operate only on the days of odd numbers and those with even plate numbers only on the days of even numbers. Simijar ideas could be studied to introduce more enduring measures to help the traffic stream in the city.

There is no doubt that Seoul serves as the showcase of Korea. Problems faced by Seoul may therefore be considered as the problems suffered by the entire Korean nation. The efforts to improve life in Seoul. at the same time. will result in the overall enhancement of the quality of life of all Koreans.

ÂŽ

(The original text of this article was written in Korean and contributed for eJcXlusive use by KOREANA. This is a trarrslation.)

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VoL 5 No. I KOREANA I 991

Review/Art

FIRST SEOUL INT'L ART FESTIVAL Seo

T

Seong

~ ro

k

he Seoul International Art FestivaL held at the National Museum of Contemporary Art (November 2 I. 1990 through February 20. 1991). has given us much to think about.

Ever since participating in the Paris Youth Biennale and the Sao Paulo Biennale in the

¡60s. the Korean art community has endeavored to expand the scope of its activities. Of course. there were many different opinions about participating in international exhibitions. and the fine arts community was thus divided into a number of factions.

There is still a lot of fuss being made because only members of the Actual Group participated in the Paris Youth Biennale. Some critics even say that a specific school of artists always monopolizes international exhibitions. No formal complaints have been lodged. though.

The reason for this may be what can be called the the survival theory of competitive society.

That is. the development of modern society is dependent on international relations. for without international cooperation and communications no country can survive. This is especially true of the world of art because the nature of the international art community is such that it undergoes rapid changes regularly. And artists must keep up with all the changes while at the same time developing their own art.

The international art community being what it is. the important thing is to participate in international exhibitions. Equally important is to host international exhibitions. Thus the staging of the Seoullntemational Art Festival is of great importance because it ranks Korea with familiar host countries for international shows. And this has been a long cherished dream among many Korean artists.

There are a number of other reasons why the holding of the art festival is of significance.

First 59 artists from 2 5 countries showed 120 works in the festival. There were 18 artists including Robert Rauschenberg from the U.S .. six from France including Armand P. Arman. and six from Italy including Mimmo Rotella. There were also artists from Austria. Belgium. Canada.

Czechoslovakia. Denmark. Finland. Germany. England. Greece. Holland. Ireland. Norway, Poland. the Soviet Union. Spain. Sweden. Switzerland. Yugoslavia. Chile. Mexico. and Venezuela.

The occasion can be called a success because it was truly international in size. in the number of countries represented and in the quality of the art works.

Sea Seong-rok was born in Seoul in 1957. graduated from Hong-ik University. College of Fine Arts. Department of Western Painting and the graduate school of the same university in aesthetics. and did research at the East-West Center in the U.S. He won a prize in the field of art criticism in a literature contest sponsored by the newspaper. Dong-A Ilbo. He is currently an art critic and a professor at the Fine Arts Department of Andong National University. His publications include Art and Criticism of Postmodemism. After Modemism. and An Understanding of North Korean Fine arts.

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Secondly, although it was an international exhibition. it had a character all its own. The show was organized around a definite theme. The organizers gave this inaugural exhibition a very particular theme: "Using Hanji." Hanji is a kind of mulberry paper made with traditional Korean techniques. This was sent to all of the participants to use as a medium. Only those works done with hanji were accepted.

It was a rather risky venture. hanji being an alien medium to the artists. But the foreign artists did different and refreshing experiments and interpretations with hanji. a familiar medium for Oriental painters. For example. the grand prize winner. Bryan Hunt of U.S.A., an artist of New Image Painting, used oil pastels and charcoal effectively to take advantage of the special qualities of hanji.

In addition to the ordinary methods of using ink. watercolor. charcoal or paint on hanji. some artists created works by cutting. tearing. burning. crumbling or even shredding hanji. The artist who showed the most sensitive approach to the surface texture unique to hanji was Costas Tsoclis of Greece. Highlighting the surface texture of the hanji and its natural color which approaches ivory, Tsoclis created a compressed sculptural effect on the hanji. Per Kirkeby of Denmark on the other hand. did a line drawing using no colors. only charcoal to create the illusion of looking at an ink painting. Mark Brusse of Holland imitated Oriental paintings by using stamps.

I am aware of the fact that Korean artists are not the only ones using special kinds of paper.

The West has its Kent paper on which artists do watercolors and drawings. But the difference between these two kinds of paper is quite evident in modern art works. For Korean artists. hanji is itself the purpose and the object of their artistic efforts. However. for Western artists. both American and European. paper is nothing more or less than a medium of expression.

So, from the beginning. the festival participants had different views of hanji. They mostly viewed hanji as I) merely something on which to draw. 2) a tool for collage. 3) an active medium of expression. and 4) a medium for reproduction. he third reason behind the festival's triumph is that it was an invitational show. Commissioners therefore were used. Pierre Restany, administrative director of the Havana Biennale.

David Burden. an American art critic. and Yi Yong-u. a Korean art critic. recommended the artists and played a decisive role in inducing the participation of such internationally known artists as Karel AppeL Armand P. Arman. Sam Francis. Nancy Graves. Hundertwasser. Robert

T

Rauschenberg, George Segal. Mauro Staccioli. and Korean-born Paik Nam-june. The efforts of the three really made the festival a big hit.

Some people might think that artists would naturally be willing to participate in any international exhibition. But actually it was difficult to get them to participate; it took a lot of persistent persuading by the commissioners. That is because the artists had no particular background information on this particular exhibition in Korea. In part. their participation may be due to their curiosity about Korean culture. And. of course. Korea's economic power was of help.

The problem is that. even though the festival was a good chance to enjoy masterpieces by well-known foreign artists. regrettably no Korean artists were included. The host thus missed a good opportunity to promote its own culture. It cost an equivalent of approximately US$715.000 to mount the show. Yes. it can be said that the Seoul International Art Festival successfully publicized to the world the excellence of Korea's paper culture. However. a party without its host is confusing for the guests and it is really not a proper way to treat guests.

In terms of content. the festival was prepared as a touchstone for future international bien-

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nales. It has given us confidence in our ability to invite artists and hold international exhibitions and it has also provided us with a chance to get in touch with various trends in the international art community.

Although the participants had to work on flat surfaces and were limited to hanji. we could easily see the directions of this age of detente. a conglomeration of numerous trends without a focal point. To categorize the exhibited works by style. they included Abstract Expressionism.

Nee-expressionism. New Abstraction. New Media Painting. Revived Romanticism. patterned and decorative arts. Conceptual Art. Nee-geometric. Trans Avant Garde. critical forms. paintings dealing with everyday themes and so on. It shows that the Nee-expressionism which prevailed in Germany. the northern Europe and the eastern U.S. is declining rapidly while gentle and warmly lyrical brands of abstraction are gaining force. ut then I should not use the word transitional for all the lyrical abstract trends that are apparent in the works of many artists because all times are transitional when viewed in the whole context of history. And inflexibility and unchangeability are concepts that are not relevant to modern art. If modern art is a barometer for change. that is. if it is a seismograph of the times. deriving its energy from the here and now. this word transitional holds no meaning because the only consistent. unchanging momentum in modern art is. strictly speaking. "change." History flows in the medium of changes and in that vein. modern art is nurtured on the nutrition of contemporariness.

The fin-de-siecle. modern art these days. is conspicuously diverse. The international styles are giving way to regional arts which have brought about the coming and going of innumerable styles. This anarchy in style seems to be closely related to the cultural phenomena of this age that can be said to point to a disintegration of mainstream thought an increased diversification of culture. the downfall of rational cosmology. and the arrival of an age of visual culture. In other words. the impressive development of mass media has destroyed world boundaries and brought about changes in the indigenous values. cultures and lifestyles of each country and has caused a mixing. combining. diversifying and neutralizing of all the various existing arts.

There is no need to stress again that the "global village" prophesied by Marshal MacLuhan is now becoming a reality. This trend is apparent in the work of Keith Sonnier who learned the art of paper making while traveling in Japan numerous times and developed his own paperwork style; Robert Rauschenberg. who spent some time in a Chinese paper mill in 1982 and composed printed images with handmade paper. silk and posters; Nancy Graves. whose works are reminiscent of gilded Oriental folding screens; Robert Kusner. who employs in his works the colorful decorativeness of the folk art of various countries; and John Chamberlain. who employs calligraphic techniques. Besides these people. similarities with Asian art are also evident in the works of Ricardo Benaim. Jules Olitski and Sam Francis.

However. the most significant point to mention about this exhibition is that by inviting Western artists to freely express themselves on Korean traditional paper. hanji. the first Seoul Jnterr1a-

B

tional Art Festival has sparked international interest in hanji as a new medium. At the same time. by succeeding in getting internationally known artists to participate. it has heightened the possibility for the holding of future international exhibitions. ÂŽ

(The original text of this article was written in Korean and wntributed for e>Xlusive use blj KOREANA. This is a translation.)

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Review/Books CLAY WALLS

By Kim Ronyoung (Permanent Press.

Sag Harbor. N.Y .. 1986; 301 pages; $18.95)

FIRST NOVEL ON EMIGRE EXPERIENCES IN ENGLISH Lee Kyong-hee

his is the story of a Korean immigrant family in Los Angeles. of a woman and a man who shared a common cultural and racial heritage and their children born in another land. More specifically, this is the first novel written in English to deal with Korean immigrant experiences in the U.S. which began way back at the outset of this century.

Haesu is a yangban girl of the nobility class. She is betrothed against her wishes to Chun. a farmer's son. and follows him to America. Inheriting the way of thinking and behavior of her class back home. she finds it painfully humiliating to endure the disdain from Americans and fiercely resists the slights she experiences.

She refuses to work as a housekeeper cleaning out toilets. a job simply unthinkable for a woman of her social standing in Korea those days. Thanks to her respect for learning. she attends English language classes and tries to get the best possible education for her children as well. She also actively takes part in an immigrant national movement to win independence for Korea. raising funds and organizing educational programs.

Her husband. on the other hand. quickly adjusts himself to his new environment because of his practical orientation and economic aggressiveness. He seeks no affirmation of his worth from strangers. wanting it only from his resentful wife. Practical as he may be. he is vulnerable.

His produce business suddenly crumbles. He loses more money from gambling, and eventually, he dies alone in a hotel room .

Haesu perseveres. She moves her family to a black ghetto and becomes the breadwinner for her three teen-age children. She easily reminds the reader of the typical Korean mother.

Against the background of her adopted country, however. she appears more likely to represent the strengths of the Korean immigrant personality, an embodiment of perseverance. tenacity and adherence to traditional values and institutions.

The Chuns face racism like other immigrants from Asia. The conflict within the family is played out in the broader context of the problems they encounter in their efforts to adjust themselves to American society. Laws bar them from owning property and acquiring American citizenship. Here. the dilemma of the second generation and its striving to find a place in American society is presented with poignant honesty.

T

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In the I 920s to the 1940s. many Koreans were settled in California. No one knows exactly how many. Some were counted as Japanese because Korea was under Japanese colonial rule at the time. and some as Chinese because of the similarity in surname. At father Chun's funeral in this story. some of the mourning is over a grievous mistake on the Las Vegas death certificate which listed his race as Chinese.

Korean culture. American racism and Korean nationalism are the three major themes of this novel. which is also a social history. The novel is composed of three parts: Haesu. Chun and Faye. It is narrated by their daughter Faye. Though the writing tends to get somewhat routine and overexplanatory. the story is well organized and presented in an easy and pleasant style.

"Kim Ronyoung. in her novel Clay Walls. adds another dimension to the depth and width of American literature by daring to discover and explore for us a forgotten and largely ignored area of the American dream and life." commented Richard Kim. a Korean-American writer and the author of The Martyred and Lost Names. He continued: "Her story of KoreanAmerican characters is told with a crisp and confident voice. a lucid and assured style. and with much love for her people who. by revealing their lives to us. gently whisper that they are here. and they have been here all along."

This is the first and the last novel by Kim Ronyoung. or Gloria Han as she was called. a second-generation Korean-American who was born in Los Angeles. She died months after the publication of this novel. a result of her hard work over many years.

Her friends remember that she passionately wanted to discover her roots in Korean culture. land and history. and worked hard to build a bridge of understanding among Korean-Americans of various backgrounds. @

ZEN DANCE (Son Mu)

-Meditation in Movement II

By Lee Sun-ock (llson Publishing Co .. Seoul. 1990; 128 pages: $24.95)

GLORIES OF ZEN DANCE REVISITED Lee Kyong-hee fter revealing the fascinating world of Zen dance in her work entitled Meditation in Movement I (Seoul International Publishing House. 1985). in which she portrayed the flawless face of a Korean dancer looking downward in meditation. Lee Sun-ock now brings us the sequel. Zen Dance (Son Mu)-Meditation in Movement II. This latest book embodies three of her choreographic creations. "Lotus r and "Lotus II." the making of a total art in performance through Zen dance techniques. and "Yimoko III: Zen Dance Choreography." which formed

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the basis of her doctoral dissertation. It once again brings to light the many facets of Zen dance as well as the divine inspiration and talent that this unusually gifted dancer-choreographerauthor possesses.

The philosophy and motifs of "Lotus r are based on the personal experiences of the choreographer derived from her long training in Korean traditional dance since the age of nine.

She became heir to Master Lee Mae-bang. who has been designated a "Human Cultural Treasure¡¡ by the Korean government for his interpretive performance of the Salpuri (Dance of Exorcism) and the Seung Mu (Buddhist Monk Dance). the two most representative types of Korean folk dance. stemming from Shamanist and Buddhist origins respectively.

The search for the creation of an innovative dance form has characterized the energetic activities of the author. incessantly exploring fresh avenues of approach. "Lotus r is an excellent example of the actualization of the choreographer's inner liberation from the traditional mold; i.e .. the wearing of Korean traditional dress (in performance). which carried with it a mode of expectation for the decorum of Korean women that inhibited her own self-expression in the creation of new dances.

"Lotus I." which consists of four parts. was first performed at the 20th anniversary of the American Dance Guild Conference held at Duke University in 1986. and later at both the Summer Shakespeare Festival in Haworth. New Jersey and at the Maison du Culture du Monde in Paris.

The first part represents the lotus. the symbol of enlightenment. The sufferings and attachments of desire. which are represented by the roots of the lotus. form the basis of the second part. The third part represents the search for truth. and is divided into two sections: the first portrays the form of meditation through the medium of Zen paintings and dance. and the second the cessation of all desires and attachments. The fourth part is a rite of purification symbolizing the inner freedom of the self. which is able to explain its true nature unconditionally in any medium or form.

"Lotus II." a Zen dance and painting concert in four parts. was first given at "Inter-Arts: A Symposium and Festival of Performances" held at the Institute of the Arts. Duke University.

A second performance was presented at the University of Hawaii as part of the "Buddhist Context Peace-Making Conference" in 1987. A videotape of "Lotus II" was produced by the NI network of Japan and shown in Tokyo in 1987.

The main motif of this work was inspired by Korean painter Lee Hang-sung. presently residing in Paris. who encouraged the choreographer to make use of a more contemporary mode of painting in collaboration with Zen dance. While working with the painter. the choreographer was involved in the process of creating the paintings used for the scenery.

Part I begins with a solo opening. "Enlightenment." in which the dancer undergoes freedom from attachment by breaking out of a paper costume like a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis. Part II. "Past." features two dancers portraying the role of Karma: today is the result of yesterday. Part III. "Present." shows that the result of a Karmic cause in the past is the appearance of today. Part IV. "Mandala-The Wheel of Life." represents the inner liberation of the dancer that enables her to dance effortlessly and spontaneously in a quest state of meditation. and the quest itself becomes a painting on the body. The harmony of music. movement. and brush stroke is likened to the nature of time as a flowing stream.

"Yimoko III: Zen Dance-Choreography," for which the author was the first dance scholarperformer to be awarded the Doctor of Arts (DA) degree from the Department of Dance &

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Zen dance performance.

Dance Education, New York University, is composed of two parts: "Dance Meditation," in which Zen dance technique is portrayed, and "Rebellion and Harmony," an abstract representation of the author's life experience.

"Lotus r and "Lotus IL" the making of a total art through Zen dance technique. and "Yimoko III: Zen Dance Choreography," represent an ongoing project of the choreographer's life journey in search of truth, a journey that began at a very early age and has continued up until the present time.

The book is divided into five parts, the first of which, the introduction. is devoted to an explanation of Zen dance (Son Mu in Korean) and what the author terms "Living Word Zen," "Dead Word Zen." "Hwadu" (Koan in Japanese), in which the mind focuses on the question Yimoko ("What is the true I?"), "Korean Living zen," and "Patriarchal Zen." The remainder of the work is given over to her choreographic creations, a biographical note on the author and the artists. a short bibliography, and some footnotes.

The main fault of this work lies largely in the printing, which is done both in English and Korean. It is all too obvious that the publisher. Ilson Publishing Co., has very little, if any, experience in English language publications. Aside from an untitled and unpaginated table of contents. the book has many typos throughout the English prose text.

The second fault may be found with the photos. Though well executed by such well-known photographers as John Chang McCurdy and David Fullard, they are somewhat randomly placed throughout the work. A more orderly sequence in line with the text would have saved the reader the trouble of thumbing back through the pages for the dance procedure. ÂŽ

(The book is distributed in the U.S. by Station Hill Press. Inc., Barrytown. N.Y. I2507. Tel. (9I4) 758-5840.)

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To open up or not. This has been the big question to man!J law!Jers in Korea. Problems arising from the banging on the doors of Korea's legal services market of course are nothing new. Precise/!! the same difficulties have been confronting law!Jers in Iapan. In the following article. Korean-Canadian law!Jer Eugene I. Oh details the opinion of himself and most of his colleagues. His is an interesting argument. though it does not necessaril!! reflect the view of KOREAN A nor that of International Cultural Societ!! of Korea. The editor wishes to sa!! that KOREAN A will shortl!! have an American view expressed in it.

TO OPEN UP OR NOT THE LEGAL SERVICES INDUSTRY Eugene

J.

Oh

here are no educational institutions in Korea which correspond precisely to American law schools. A typical Korean university is made up of a number of departments. one of which is the department of law where students receive their legal education and ground work. Unlike the American legal education system. the Korean legal education is typically more general in its scope. The primary goal of the Korean law department is not to provide students with the professional training for legal practice. but rather. to provide a more general system of education for those who wish to receive some grounding in the general principles of law upon entering the civil or business sector.

Neither is a Korean university's law department a postgraduate professional school as in the U.S. One can enter the department of law directly from high school and is not generally expected to become a lawyer upon graduation. As a matter of fact. the number of law graduates who eventually enter the legal profession is extremely small. as the passing rate in the Korean bar examination fluctuates at about 3 to 5 percent of the total number of applicants.

Thus. students graduating with good grades from law under the present system are far from being guaranteed of passing the bar examination.

Statistics show that currently a total of I .930 lawyers are registered with the Korean Bar Association. Seoul having the largest number of practicing lawyers totalling I .227 in 1990.

While there is one lawyer for every 500 persons in the U.S., there is only one Korean lawyer for every 22.000 persons in Korea. However. the latter figure still represents a drastic increase in the number of lawyers from the past there was a total of only three (3) lawyers in Korea in 1906. The number rose to 280 in 1954 and 1.060 in 1981.

There are also significant differences in the bar examination and admission systems between the two countries. In the U.S .. a prospective lawyer must. as a general rule. obtain a law degree and pass the state bar examination. In Korea. however. one does not require a law degree. nor need to possess any formal education to write the bar examination. Instead. Korean citizenship, superior legal knowledge. good writing skills and perhaps. a dose of good fortune. are

T

Eugene I. Oh. 3 5. is a Korean-canadian member of the Canadian Bar Association who currentI!! is an associate in the international law firm of Baker & McKenzie in Hong Kong. His extensive academic background includes studies at a number of universities in Canada and. among other countries. China. He has written a succession of articles on legal practices in Korea and elsewhere.

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the only requirements to pass the National Judicial Examination. the equivalent of the American bar examinations. Success in this examination opens the doors to a two-year program at the Judicial Training and Research Institute ("the Institute") sponsored by the Korean government.

Students of the Institute called "judicial apprentices." spend one year in formal classes and lectures and the remaining year with judges. prosecutors and practicing lawyers. Thereafter. another examination given by the Institute concludes the training. after which. they are qualified to enter any one of the branches of the legal profession. i.e .. the bench, prosecutor's office or the bar. In the past. students with the highest performance during the two-year apprenticeship have gone to the bench or prosecutor's office. However. this trend is changing in recent years, as more graduates of the Institute voluntarily choose to enter the bar because of the high demand for lawyers. the lucrative business. the flexibility and freedom that independent lawyers enjoy.

As entry to the bar is extremely difficult. a large number of law department graduates, numbering 6.000 annually from 88 law departments (counting different types of law departments in 5 I universities. such as one maritime law department. I I private law departments. I I public law departments and 65 general law departments). choose other careers. They can become legal assistants or para-legals in legal departments of large corporations, whose duties include drafting contracts and preparing litigation documents.

In Korea. the Institute is charged with the task of giving professional training to those who have passed the bar examination. In some respects. it is similar to an American law school. but differs from its American counterpart in one significant respect while American law schools uphold their primary aim of training individuals who intend to become practicing lawyers and in some cases proceed to become judges or prosecutors, the Institute has a broader scope of training its candidates in all the three branches of the legal profession mentioned previously.

The Institute also serves as a center for continuing education for judges and sometimes for practicing lawyers. and when necessary. renders advice and research assistance. The teaching staff of the Institute is usually composed of judges. public prosecutors. practising lawyers or university professors. On the other hand. there is no known identical institution, serving all judicial apprentices. judges and lawyers for legal training and providing continuing education and research. in the U.S. (A similar institution exists in Japan.)

LAW PRACTICE Most Korean lawyers used to practice law individually and ¡independently until I 970 when North American style law firms started to emerge. Foreign investments have also increased and social structures have inevitably become more complicated. as a result of the political and economic progress.

In Korea. a lawyer may open an office as a sole practitioner. or five or more lawyers may group themselves together and set up a legal corporation (of which there are presently 22 in Korea), which in all respects is similar to a partnership in the U.S. Five or more lawyers in Seoul (Three or more outside Seoul) may also form an "associated firm," which total 77 in Korea. These lawyers work as individual lawyers but share all office expenses. Only legal corporations. associated firms, plus I 5 notaries public are permitted to engage in notarial work.

As in the U.S., the majority of the Korean bar members are sole practitioners.

A sole practitioner is not. however. permitted to open a branch office, while a legal corporation may do so, possibly including offices outside Korea. if necessary. The Lawyers Act is si-

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lent as to whether or not a branch or associated office in a foreign country is allowed. But the implication is that it may be permissible as one of the largest law firms in Korea has an associated office in Los Angeles.

While all Korean lawyers must join the Korean Bar Association. there are thousands of nonlawyers doing legal work in Korea. under different titles. who are not covered by the Korean Bar Association's umbrella. These are other professionals who assume some of the functions or privileges given to an American lawyer. They include judicial scriveners (numbering 2.250). tax practitioners (numbering 2.500). notaries public (retired lawyers appointed by the Minister of Justice and numbering 15). administrative scriveners (numbering 6.500). labour agents (numbering 216). and patent attorneys (numbering 271 ). In Korea. legal corporations and associated firms are allowed to carry out notarial work while individual lawyers are prohibited from doing such work. A large company in Korea may not necessarily have a single lawyer. but may employ many legal staffers to do simple legal tasks. typically undertaken by lawyers in American law firms. or by in-house counsel. Thus. it is no wonder that Korea requires only a limited number of lawyers; they are needed mainly in litigation.

The differences in traditional roles between an American and a Korean lawyer are minimal. although a typical Korean lawyer tends to spend more time on litigation matters than his American counterpart.

FOREIGN LAWYERS The first prerequisite to be qualified as a Korean lawyer. or even to have an opportunity to write the Korean bar examination. is to be a Korean citizen. As a general rule. a foreign citizen is not permitted to become a lawyer in Korea. although an exception is provided for in the Lawyers Act. A foreign lawyer may be admitted to the Korean bar upon approval of the Ministry of Justice. provided that he or she has performed meritorious services for Korea and that there is sufficient reason to award hirri or her the privilege of becoming a lawyer in Korea. He or she is also exempted from taking the National Judicial Examination and completing the educational program at the Judicial Training and Research Institute. However. such approval from the Ministry of Justice is subject to withdrawal at any time. should the Ministry deem the withdrawal appropriate.

Admission to the Korean bar is not the only requirement for practice. A foreign lawyer is also required to seek permission to practice law from the Ministry of Justice. Again. while permission to practice law may be granted. it is the prerogative of the Ministry to withdraw this permission whenever it deems such action proper. The foreign lawyer who has been registered with the Korean Bar Association and has permission to practice law from Ministry of Justice can theoretically proceed independently: however. the scope of practice is limited.

Since the promulgation of the Lawyers Act in 1949. a total of 285 foreign lawyers (as of June 22. 1977) have been admitted to the Korean bar as honorary members for diplomatic reasons. However. none of these foreign lawyers admitted under Article 6 of the Lawyers Act have been known to obtain permission from the Minister of Justice to practice law in Korea.

Also of particular interest is that Korean law firms are not interested in establishing affiliation with only one foreign law firm. As referrals particularly from the U.S. are likely to be substantial anyway. it remains more profitable for them to stay impartial to all foreign firms.

FOREIGN CONSULTANTS Since the arrival of the first Western legal consultant. a German named Paul Georg von Mollen-

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dorff. who came to work for the Department of Diplomatic and Customs Affairs in 1882. there has been a small community of foreign lawyers working in Korea. There are currently about 10 Korean law firms involved in international commercial work. the largest having a total of 60 lawyers. including 12 foreign lawyers who are hired as "foreign legal consultants." At present. there is a total of approximately 40 foreign lawyers working for Korean law firms and in law departments of various major corporations. Korean lawyers. mostly qualified in the U.S. and numbering approximately 17. head all of these local law firms doing international transactions.

The concept of the foreign legal consultant as currently being perceived in Korea is different from that of the U.S. Under the present Korean Lawyers Act. foreign lawyers are neither allowed to represent clients on legal matters. appear in court. nor advise clients on matters pertaining to Korean laws. The role of a foreign legal consultant in Korea is therefore much more limited and usually within the bounds of bridging the language and cultural gap between foreign and Korean parties.

Some of the functions assumed by foreign lawyers employed by large firms or corporations in Seoul would include preparing drafts of agreements for negotiations with foreign parties. advising Korean lawyers informally on the laws of their home countries. or on the effects of local laws on overseas operations (the latter being arguably reserved for Korean lawyers). as well as ensuring that translated work and documents are correct in all respects. Developing and executing strategies for expansion into the Korean market on behalf of foreign clients operating in Korea and roles typically played by business consultants are also some of the functions of the foreign legal consultant. This cross-cultural role can. however. inherently create tensions between different parties on occasion as foreign clients may prefer to conduct businesses in Korea in the ways familiar to them but unfortunately inconsistent with local laws and practices. Nevertheless. no. one can deny that the services foreign lawyers render are invaluable to the Korean law firms.

In light of the unique role played by foreign lawyers in Korea. the qualities of the foreign legal consultant in brief. should ideally include the following: a foreign legal consultant working in jurisdictions other than one's own. should first and foremost. have a technical expertise . in one's own chosen area of law; in other words. he or she must be a good lawyer; second. one must have a broad experience and diverse background in the international setting; and. third. linguistic skills in other languages and a good understanding of different cultures and value systems. All of this will help facilitate communication between the lawyer and clients of differing cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

KOREAN BAR ASSOCIATION Korea. like Japan. has not escaped U.S. pressure on multilateral trade policies. The Korean government has been under continuous pressures to open up. among other industries. its legal services industry since early 1980s. Despite this pressure. however. this issue was never put on the trade negotiations agenda. until the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations began in Punta del Este in 1986.

Upon commencement of the negotiations. the Korean Bar Association clearly insisted on its involvement in expressing Korea's position. in cOnnection with the liberalization of the legal services market. It clearly indicated its strong opposition to any opening of the legal services market to foreign lawyers at the present time. and hence. to the inclusion of the legal services market in the reference list of the Uruguay Round negotiations. Significant reasonings underlying such objections included the following:

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First since there are fundamental institutional and cultural differences in the legal systems. legal education and legal ethics in different countries. it would not be rational for Korea to allow foreign lawyers licensed in other jurisdictions to practice in Korea without verifying their knowledge and respect for Korean laws.

Second. unlike many Western countries where the legal profession is regarded as part of the services industry. the Korean bar believes that the legal profession in Korea has much more of a public role. in that its main purpose is to promote human rights. social justice and national interests. Therefore. it would be irrational to treat such a profession that serves as a significant public function. in the same vein as those of general service industries.

Third. the Korean law practice. which is part of what could be termed as an "infant industry." requires protection from sophisticated foreign competition. If left in the hands of foreign lawyers. this infant industry is likely to see an increase in the number of malpractice suits and pose more problems in the area of disciplinary action. Therefore. it would be easier for Korean lawyers to continue to do research in foreign laws with the assistance of foreign counsel. rather than to have foreign lawyers research Korean laws. mainly because a large amount of legal material written in English is readily available. while Korean legal material written in English is limited to selected statutes and a few international journals.

Fourth. since it is unlikely that foreign lawyers will ever be allowed to have audience in Korean courts. their actual presence in Korea is neither critical nor absolutely necessary, as legal work involving international transactions can easily be carried out through advanced telecommunication facilities.

Instead. the Korean Bar Association advocated the following proposals: First that the Korean Bar Association be guaranteed the opportunity to participate directly in any dominant or international discussion on the issue of allowing foreign lawyers to practice in Korea. An important item on the Korean bar's agenda is the question of the extent of autonomy granted to the legal profession. At present the Ministry of Justice regulates the Korean bar and its members. and the Minister of Justice is empowered to enroll any members. even those who are deemed unsuitable in the opinion of the Korean bar. including foreign lawyers.

The Korean Bar Association's recent draft amendment to the Lawyers Act reflects this concern. an indication that the Korean bar will attempt to make the issue of opening the Korean legal market much more difficult to resolve.

Second. instead of allowing foreign lawyers to dominate special areas of law such as mergers and acquisitions. and international trade and financing. the Korean bar proposed that Korean lawyers be trained overseas in these areas and familiarize themselves with foreign cultures and legal system. In principle. the role of foreign lawyers should be to train Korean lawyers in areas where Korean lawyers lack expertise only.

Third . .that Korean lawyers be given adequate time. an estimated period of five years or more. to prepare for the onslaught of foreign competition. The Korean bar feels that because of the small number of Korean lawyers (who are still lacking in foreign education. experience and langu.age skills). it is currently premature to allow foreign lawyers who. with their accumulated experiences and strong financial support from their parent firms. may dominate the local scene.

Lastly, ¡if. and when absolutely necessary, Korea can open its legal services market only to a limited extent on the basis of a bilateral agreement with countries providing reciprocal treatment towards Korean lawyers.

The Japanese example of dealing with foreign lawyers may be particularly relevant to Korea

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because of the similarity of the legal systems and legal cultures of the two countries. The first of the similar proposals made by the Korean legal circle is to delete the citizenship requirement for admission to the Korean bar within two years from the completion of the Uruguay Round. Considering the difficulty of the Korean bar examination, no one. except perhaps Koreans living in Japan, are expected to take advantage of this lifted restriction. Nevertheless, this rule. if it becomes effective. will bring Korea in line with Japan. Canada and the U.S. insofar as citizenship for bar admission is required.

FEAR OF JAPANESE The implications of the current attempts to liberalize the Korean legal services market by the U.S. through the GATT. and of the opposing stand taken by the Korean Bar Association in connection with this issue, are significant as they will undoubtedly both influence the strategic planning of the law firms with regard to the Pacific Rim and determine the prospects for all foreign lawyers who wish to practice in Korea. In this final portion of the paper. I will attempt to make a final assessment of Korean bar's efforts to stop the liberalization process. and determine roles for ourselves as part of the foreign legal community.

The Korean bar's position on its "closed door" policy may be seen in a more favorable light if one is familiar with Korea's not-too-distant historical experiences with the Japanese during the colonial rule. However valid it may be. a reason for Korean bar's strong opposition is partly based on the deep-rooted but perhaps understandable fear of Japanese lawyers taking advantage of the opening of the Korean legal services market because of Japan's geographical proximity and the similarities in the legal systems of the two cultures.

In her defense of Korean bar's stand. Madam Justice Young Ae Lee proposes an interesting question for us to debate. In her paper presented at the Korean-American Trade Law Conference held in I 989, Madam justice Lee wondered whether. in the light of similiar circumstances.

U.S. lawyers themselves would tolerate a situation where foreign lawyers acting as lawyers by the American definition. and not have the English language ability, the adequate knowledge of the AmeriCan legal systems, and American legal license. were allowed to practice in the U.S. This would be extremely doubtful and moreover. it is arguable that the Korean market is already open to foreigners in a significant way, although not as much as to the likings of many foreign lawyers.

Finally, we must remind ourselves of the inherent differences in the methods used in conflict disresolution in disputes. A major function of American lawyers is to advise on and resolv~ putes pertaining to contracts themselves. While litigation is most likely to be the primary process for resolving contract disputes in the U.S., the Asian culture is more inclined to resort to mediation for settlement. Hence, cultural sensitivity is a significant consideration for foreign lawyers in this context as well as in many other aspects when working and living in Korea.

Despite continuing controversies in the Korean legal scene, Korea remains promising to American lawyers. The importance of long-term commitment when establishing successful business relationships in Korea and most of the Asia-Pacific nations cannot be overemphasized, and is critical component in doing business in the Asia-Pacific. Hence, increasing federal government policies engaging in trade missions and cultural-academic exchange programs with our Pacific Rim allies are definitely promising and should continue to receive public support, and even stronger support from the legal and business communities. ÂŽ

(The original text of this article was written in English and contributed for exclusive use by KOREANA.) Vol. 5 No. I KOREANA 1991

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IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND KOREA, YOU SHOULD TRY JINRO-SOJU. Jinro-Soju-Korea's traditional liquor Soju was introduced to Korea more than 600 years ago from Mongolia was also the country that first introduced Islamic culture to Asia.

Soju has for centuries been considered a premium quality liquor because of its mild and refined taste.

Why does Jinro-Soju taste so good?

Jinro is the largest integrated liquor maker in Korea, and has for over sixty years produced only superior quality liquor.

As Soju is a pure liquor made from natural ingredients such as rye and sweet potatoes, the taste is simple and clean .

Other products In addition to Jinro Soju, we produce ginseng wine, fruit wine, vodka, scotch whisky and dry gin, and export these products to 50 countries, including the U.S.A. and Japan.

The high quality of Jinro liquor has been recognized worldwide with the winning by Jinro of the International Wine & Spirits Competition Award and the Monde Selection Award , three years in a row.

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