field trip #13: bukchon (북촌)

between seoul's two greatest palaces is a sea of tiled eaves that form the 600-year-old city's last traditional neighborhood.

in joseon seoul there was both a north village (bukchon) and a south village (namchon). while namchon stretched from the cheonggyecheon south to nam mountain and was home to lower ranking officials, bukchon was built between gyeongbuk and changdeok palaces, and was historically home to fancy palace officials.

pic of bukchon from no. 11 gahoe-dong (from here. please click for larger... no, really, it must be done).

the palaces were built on what was considered seoul's two best plots. according to korean baesanimsu (배산임수) principles (similar to feng shui), their location is auspicious since it sits on the slopes of a mountain (bugaksan) with water (the cheonggyecheon and the han river) in the front. situated in-between, bukchon also enjoyed the area's positive yang energy. while little of namchon remains, bukchon is seoul's last neighborhood with a high concentration of traditional homes, called hanok (한옥). according to peter bartholomeu, there were over 800,000 hanoks in seoul just thirty years ago, but today only some 12,000 remain with 900 concentrated in bukchon.

a close-up of a beautiful hanok roof.

hanok are typically single-story structures made of clay, wood and stone with ondol heated floors topped by curved tile roofs called giwa (기와). in this part of korea, they usually take the shape of the korean letter "geok" (ㄱ) or "deegut" (ㄷ), which create a nice central courtyard. in the cold north they are often square shaped to help retain heat, while the warmer southern region's hanok can have an open "I" shape.

the number of hanok in bukchon has decreased significantly since 1985, despite the area's "preservation" designation since the 1970s. today, less than 40% of the structures in bukchon are hanok.

today there are about 2,300 homes in bukchon, but back in the day there were probably no more than 30 villas here. but when japanese annexation brought the joseon dynasty down in 1910, social and economic forces conspired to divvy up of the old villas into hundreds of compact lots. unfortunately, what remains is only about 40% hanok (down from 55% in 1985), and very few of them date from the joseon period. most were mass produced in the 1930s, and space restrictions required shorter roof eaves and the average hanok in bukchon is only about 25 pyeong in size (about 83 sq m / 900 sq ft) although there's one 150-pyeong monster hanok.

two maps compare the number of hanoks in bukchon in 1985 and 2001. blue denotes hanoks and orange denotes demolished hanoks. orange kills me! (click for larger).

bukchon hasn't escaped a government policy to tear down hanoks, or the desire of many koreans to abandon their "inferior" traditional housing for the sea of ubiquitous "apateu" tower blocks that started ravaging seoul's skyline in 1962. while just 10% of seoulites lived in community housing in 1970, a generation later (by 1994), nearly 60% did.

a nice junction in gahoe-dong.

it's only recently that the city government and tourism officials realized bukchon's value and moved to protect it. unfortunately, their preservation plans have been plagued with snafus. while the neighborhood has been better preserved than most (this isn't saying much), it's nearly impossible to find a view uninterrupted by ugly, new-ish, multi-story brick homes. for example, even though the gahoe-dong neighborhood was designated a hanok preservation district in 1973 and put under special care of the city, less than half of its hanoks remain.

a less-polished row of hanok.

by 2000 there were just two streets in gahoe-dong filled entirely by hanoks. in 2001, the seoul metropolitan government launched its "bukchon project", investing 84-billion won ($90 million) to encourage residents to register and renovate hanoks via grants and low-interest loans. the city undertook a detailed architectural survey and worked to improve roads, street lighting and tourist signage while changing zoning laws and imposing new height and design restrictions.

the problem, however, was that large areas in west bukchon were excluded. through 2007, while 200 neighborhood hanoks were renovated, many others were demolished and replaced with 4-story+ commercial buildings. furthermore, while bukchon maintains its tenuous definition as a primarily residential neighborhood, its population is only about half of what it was in 1976. furthermore, in 2006 alone, 33 homes were converted into commercial establishments.

this hanok has been renovated into a dentist's office.

while the number of hanoks in bukchon continues to fall, there's also new hanok construction going on. living in a hanok is becoming cool, and the city is working hard to promote bukchon as a top tourist destination. the rise of wine bars and art galleries in trendy, next-door samcheong-dong, brings a lot of foot traffic, not least of which is japanese housewives on "yonsama" pilgrimages. "yonsama" is the japanese name given to bae yong-joon, the (gross) star of the very popular korean tv drama, "winter sonata", which was filmed in bukchon.

not your thing? then pick up a neighborhood map at the bukchon cultural center and partake in the new "bukchon museum freedom pass". for 10,000-won, you get access to five museums: the gahoe museum, hansangsu embroidery museum, dong-lim museum, museum of korean buddhist art, and my favorite, the seoul museum of chicken art.

let's hope another hanok is what's to come.

as hanoks continue to be demolished in other parts of seoul, at least one neighborhood's clumsy efforts to preserve them is gaining traction. let's hope bukchon's sea of arching tile roofs and winding alley roads stick around to see seoul's next iteration.

getting there:

→ take subway line 3 to anguk station (exit #2) and walk north. the area's museums are typically open 10:00-18:00, closed mondays.

more info:
"the bukchon plan" (in korean)
"the bukchon plan" translated into english

look who dragged in the cat!

i hear that bundang is like the paris of korea (joke).

on sunday my social prospects improved dramatically when miss cindy arrived in seoul. born here but away for the past 30 years, she's back to fulfill a 2-year teaching contract (not english!) and to connect with family and the motherland. we go way back and our tandem goofiness knows no bounds.

this electronic progress report reminded me of hong kong international airport's train. i was giddy to see that one day soon it will reach my vicinity.

nearly 7 hours of sunday was spent fetching cat #2 and a missing bag from the korean air cargo and passenger terminals. each of the subway, shuttle bus, airport limousine and taxi legs and pit stops in-between were smooth thanks to cindy's papers being in order and very pleasant airport personnel. along the way, we took the "arex" airport train for the first time between gimpo and incheon airports. it was a little slow, but clean and well-done. yea korea.

now that my sister of another mother has landed, let the circus begin!

snapshot #13: the morning after

the recent non-stop rain has been unkind to my silver slippers. after yet another nighttime soaking, here they be on a recent weekday, taking advantage of a few paltry minutes of afternoon sun.

discovering korea #13: gangwondo road trip, day 2

a hot hot hot day 2 on the beach (photoshop alert: check out hoon's gimpy hand... i had to erase the sunglasses when i swapped another pic's head to replace the original).

transcript from my kbs world radio show, discovering korea.

abby, hoon and i took 3-days to explore gorgeous gangwon province. day 1 was spent in the mountains. day 2 was spent on the beach (read it here).

couchsurfer #2

a rare european (of a kind) who loves both korea and americans.

i had my second couchsurfer last week (remember marlene?). originally from belfast, kevin has been a vagabond of late, spending time in korea, mexico, and what sounded like an epic trip through the usa. he's got one of those wonderful "i don't understand why i love this ugly, maddening city" attitudes that's rare among white expats. he also, on many occasions, opens his mouth wide and holds it there a while before speaking. it doesn't sound charming, but it is. inexplicably, we were 36 hours into our 48-hour time together before he divulged that we play for the same team. i've found commonwealth-ers strange in this respect.

i know it's cliché, but it's nice how trying to be a good host can result in discovering new things in an old hood. case in point i finally checked out the tiny live music club just 2 blocks from my apartment. perhaps it was the midget little person bouncer who's typically guarding their door, but this was my first time to duck inside. we sat among just 4 tables, enjoyed a decent korean crooner, consumed two unsavory cafri beers, and called it a thursday night.

among blood

g-cash is looking a little glum.

it's been over three months since i've made the daegu family trip (shame!). so last sunday, despite a hefty slew of new work projects, i took the 100-minute korea train express (ktx) to the city of big apples. the ride down was fun since mr. hoon was also doing a gyeongsang province family reunion, but his was in busan.

anyhow, at east daegu station, i transferred to the subway, and 7-ish stops and a 15-minute walk later, i was at the family compound. tho pretty damn lucid for a 92-year-old great-grandmother, my halmoni tried speaking to me in japanese again. at least she realized her error and started laughing. her physical health seems ok but her spirits were low. she smiled infrequently and i'm concerned about a large, textured growth on her right jowels. anyhow, i need to get back on my once per month visiting schedule.

i arrived at about noon and left at 5:30. a shamefully short visit and halmoni wasn't pleased. per usual, wesukmo (my aunt) was in a constant state of food prep and clean up. she is chatty, but me thinks her audience wasn't ideal:

1) a 92-year-old know-it-all matriarch who asks the same questions repeatedly.

2) a mentally-retarded husband whose boyish non-sequiturs always take a conversation off-track.

3) a korean language beginner (me) who latches onto a coupla key words and context, but whose questions and reactions expose his paltry 23% comprehension rate.

4) a small maltese-ish mutt who is 130 in korean dog years (13x10). in this case, i think the american x7 tradition works a lil better (i'm not sure why i've included "maek-seu").

anyhow, this couldn't have been a very satisfying audience.

a hot summer weather favorite: aunty's delicious samgyetang (삼계탕)

the fam don't speak any english and that's a good thing, i guess. they are not accustomed to interacting with foreigners, so they don't speak slowly, use seoul dialect and/or simple vocabulary for my benefit. no, matt, this isn't sogang korean language institute level 1... and thank goodness, because language school doesn't serve you three meals in under 6 hours (#1: curry rice, #2: samgyetang (whole boiled chicken stuffed with rice, ginseng and dates), #3: bulgogi (marinated grilled beef... probably from america).

snapshot #12: obsessed with your english teacher?

i'm editing a new english book for the little rascals in yeosu as their city prepares to host the 2012 world exposition. nevermind the missed errors, i found this sample passage increasingly alarming.

miss abby turns 26!

birthday regards you shameful (gorgeous) thang!

man plan: for love of country

my my, i think i should cleanse that nasty scratch on your rippling abdomen (pic from the joongang daily).

to celebrate (memorialize?) man plan's most promising but impossible prospect, i'd like to honor mr. hoon with some posts prior to his untimely departure.

you see, in about two weeks, the man plan allstar will leave civilian life for a 22-month stint in the korean army. much like his brethren above, he, too, will be forced to mud wrestle half-nekkid with his nation's most virile under the sweltering summer sun.

photos like this one make me think perhaps it's my patriotic half-duty to volunteer as his replacement. plus, i think i have a couple of friends who would like to see my abusive self get humiliated while naked and in the mud. hi, kimi! thanks for your support! oh yeah, and summer ain't the only season for koko shirtless conditioning (here and here).

sorry, i got off task. anyhow, i don't think it will be all bad, dear hoon. and even if it is, do the selfless thing... show your patriotism, and please bring your fatigues home on those long weekends... xo

discovering korea #12: gangwondo road trip, day 1

a very easily-accessed peak on seoraksan... no, we didn't make it to the summit.

transcript from my kbs world radio show, discovering korea.

last week, abby, hoon and i took a road trip in gangwon province. we spent a day in the mountains, a day at the beach and a day hugging giant penises. this is a retrospective on day 1 (read it here).

snapshot #11: sunset on the cheonggyecheon

a pretty sunset on the jongno neighborhood stretch of the cheonggyecheon (click for larger).

as if you couldn't tell, i haven't been feeling particularly motivated to post of late... and when i do, it's kinda been garbage. sorry. hopefully a change of diet, a 10-degree temperature drop or one of my weekly electroshock treatments, might help. thanks for your patience.

big rain and manplan progress (of a kind)

if ye ask He shall provide.

i complained about the lack of rain so jangma (the monsoons) responded last night with a spectacular deluge. perhaps this korean weather phenomenon respects that i come from a hometown well-known for rain (seattle). one friend suggested jangma has performance anxiety. (beyond the fact that weather isn't typically intimidated) this is unlikely since my town specializes in drizzle, not real rain.

so, after an early birthday shindig for my friend abby (more on that later), hoon and i had the strange idea of walking from the hookah joint (that's not a creative spelling for a prostitute) to the han river with no convenient route available. in what could only be described at times as a biblical downpour, we were quickly rendered head-to-toe wet. our wet walk's soundtrack was mariah, rihanna and clazziquai (gay!) on a shared ipod while under one or two umbrellas -brellas -brellas, just in case the rumors of korean acid rain causing baldness are true.

a coupla hours later we reached our destination, a particularly attractive stretch of riverside park near banpo in seocho-gu. it was the rainy wee hours of a sunday morning, so i was surprised to see a few older couples walking the path with us, but less surprised to see a parking lot chock full of young things' flings in progress. during an unusual let up in the rain we made our own naughty alongside a dead, floating carp. ominous messages, or more proof that jesus loves homos? please vote.

i'm melting.

i've seen children removed from the custody of their parents for lesser evidence of neglect!

this past week the korea meterological administration issued heat warnings for much of the country. we're into our second week of high heat and humidity, which, from what i'm told, is thanks to a north pacific anticyclone from the tropics. perhaps the worst of it is the absence of sane temps once the sun goes down. what is typically a very pleasant, breezy summer evening in seoul has been replaced by sticky tropical nights, when the daily low temps are still in the upper 20s (low 80s F). it's hard to make progress on the manplan front when bedded skin-on-skin contact is excessively soppy.

of course, this pales when compared to the oppressive daylight hours, as parts of the peninsula have seen temps in the high 30s (100˚ F). the real kicker is when the heat combines with humidity, which is called the heat index. lately we've seen heat indexes of 41. too bad the kma says heatstroke can occur among the physically active when the index is as low as 32.

this explains why a 22-year-old female college student collapsed and died on monday. she was participating in a 1,133 kilometer (704 mile) x-country trek from seoul's cheonggye plaza to tongyeong in south gyeongsang province and then back to seoul. the trek was cancelled yesterday. she's not the only one who's succumbed. nine others drowned over the past few days as they tried to cool off in local swimming pools, lakes and rivers.

and speaking of water, where's the shiz that's supposed to fall from the sky? it's jangma (monsoon) season, but i haven't seen nary a drop since the inaugural squall back on june 17. this could be the worst leg-viewing season in recent memory. plus, my patio planters are in shock.

snapshot #10: why i love korea

just got back last night from a 3-day trip around gangwon province. this was a highlight. details to come.

discovering korea #11: incheon: gateway to northeast asia

crazy and delicious junkfood... oh, and a huge port city, urban planning megaprojects, korea's oldest chinatown, etc. await you here!

transcript from my kbs world radio show, discovering korea.

today we hop on seoul metro and go west to the port city of incheon: the city that's striving to be the gateway to northeast asia (read it here).

happy birthday to the united states of america!

happy birthday!

my fellow americans:

since i'm feeling lazy and have to take off in just a coupla hours for a weekend trip east to gangwon-do, here's a little montage to my fatherland on its birthday. if you do a google image search for "america", these images pop up on page 1.

i think jesus people, super heroes, mickey mouse, mexicans, soldiers and overwrought media sum the usa up pretty well. on that note, replace "america" in your google search field with "united states" and all you get on page 1 are maps and flags. i guess our name claiming the entire western hemisphere generates a more emotional response.

so maybe i've never known what it's like to live or travel abroad at a time when the majority of the world doesn't hate america... but it's ok, i'm still proud of my country and feel good about it on its birthday... but while i think american travelers who sew canadian flags on their backpacks are super lame, i'm also glad that i living in korea.

holiday recap, part 4: random pics of amurrrica cause jonith and bdkymm like them

a little bit of korea in chicago. my people are everywhere.


several hours later i was having another one of those mornings when you ask yourself, "what the hell just happened?".


a lovely reminder of some of the wonderful folks i met back in my mavin days. delicious bfast at café macrina with carol in seattle's belltown.


there's remarkable physical variation in the human family. case in point: my godson and gender bender bdkymm. ya, she short, but he's just so big.

discovering korea #10: beomeo temple (범어사) and geumjeong fortress (금정산성)

ancient temples and an old fortress trail, just minutes from busy busan.

transcript from my kbs world radio show, discovering korea.

summertime in korea often means heading to the very popular haeundae beach off the port city of busan. but if sitting elbow to elbow with 200,000 other beach goers doesn’t sound like your kind of summer ritual, check out lovely beomeo temple and nearby geungjeong fortress (read it here).

also, english service received a nice listener comment made all the more nice since i've become skeptical that anyone listens to any of kbs world's expensive programming. (yes, this is the first and only complimentary e-mail my program has received to date!)

Greetings KBS Friends,

We don't have "Monsoon Season" here in Maryland, but it is officially summer now, so "happy summer" to you all in Seoul! I'm writing with a couple of comments and questions. First off, my compliments to Matt Kelley on his "Discovering Korea" segment. I've been particularly enjoying his series on Korea's mountains. I'm an avid hiker (as it sounds like many in Korea are) and his descriptions and photos of the locations make me want to take to the trails of Korea's parks. The maps showing the location of Matt's "tour spots" are also very helpful. I don't know if or when I'll have an opportunity to visit those locations, but I'm enjoying being a "virtual tourist" along with Matt. By the way, I was wondering if Korea has a National Park Service (or the equivalent) with information on Korea's parks in English...

-Jeff from Maryland

he loves my maps!!