Seoul’s Seochon Village Slated for Architectural Revival
Digital Chosun Ilbo
Architects are being mobilized to revive Seoul’s Seochon, literally “western village,” the area to the west of the Gyeongbok Palace. The revival plan aims to remodel the area into a cultural zone by restoring old streams hidden under asphalt and opening artists’ studios.
An official with the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday, “To avoid destructive redevelopment, the city selected several architects at the end of last year to begin the Seochon revival project encompassing an area of 580,000 sq. m, and we recently devised concrete measures for the project.” After consulting with the residents, conservation or development measures will be carried out from the beginning of next year, he added.
Participating architects envisage seven points, namely restoring waterways and connecting them to the Cheonggye Stream, building public facilities such as parks, creating a village of traditional homes, conserving or recreating ancient roads, building apartment complexes in traditional style, using historical or cultural resources as tourist attractions, and building a cultural center.
The head architect of the project, Kwon Moon-sung, is a professor at Sungkyunkwan University and president of Atelier 17. “Seochon is the only area in Seoul where people can feel the ambience of the Chosun period,” he said. “The northern village of Bukchon was mostly inhabited by high officials, and few records remain of the occupants. Meanwhile, the Seochon area used to be inhabited by the Jungin class of technical specialists and there is comparatively abundant material on this, so restoration is easier than in other areas.”
Under the project, some of the 630 surviving traditional homes will be purchased by the city to be transformed into studios, guest houses and district offices. The project also includes building new structures such as traditional-style shophouses and apartments adopting traditional architectural elements to match the rest of the village.
According to an official, once the project is complete, the city will seek listing on the UNESCO World Heritage List for the combined property of the Gyeongbok Palace and the Bukchon and Seochon villages.
