The Weird World of Wolmi-Do 의 이상한 세계

I discovered a place that resembled some of the cheap and cheerful fancies that can be enjoyed at many seaside resorts globally. Once a romantic escape from Seoul for courting couples, the Island of Wolmi has become a promenade for mass entertainment at a hysterical pace. 

I found the experience overwhelming after a couple of hours. Intense screaming and fishy food odors filled the air, which was enough to turn even my strong stomach. It was a gray Saturday afternoon and people ventured here en masse. Sandwiched between the huge seaports and industry of Incheon, it was a surprising break in the harrowing landscape of infrastructures of imports and exports. It seemed Coney Island had arrived on a ship. 

I presented some photos of this experience and some key questions arose, which interestingly surrounded the cultural differences between my views and that of people who enjoy this orgy. Why do people enjoy this so much? Does everyone in Seoul love this type of excursion? Why do I find this juxtaposition on the waterfront somewhat uncomfortable? The views of the Sea were stunning and on a gray day it could've have been Bognor. The activity was frenzied and led to thoughts on how this was a seasonal place. It must suffer from some of the same issues as British resorts with the need to shut up shop for winter months. 

Its relationship to the water front reminded me of the typical British need to have a convoluted journey to the water accompanied with an alcoholic drink and some diverting entertainments along the way. There is a pursuit of pleasure in such a place but not in a romantic manner. The artificial landscape of distractions mirrors that of the consumer’s need in shopping malls for material objects. It is surreal and as Travis Elborough describes in such situations 'theres a giddying sense that the time-honored distinctions between the sea and the land have come unstuck some how'. 

Contract Scenario_1 | Message In A Bottle

Many issues have arisen when looking broadly with humanity's relationship with water. Could a new contract be forged between the citizens and my architectural project for this year. The perils we face currently with regard to our environment require a party of mass participation to face up and solve them. SOS messages in a bottle could spread objectives and ambitions that stem from hundreds of issues.

Seoul & The Sea

This drawing looks at Seoul's urban growth towards the Yellow Sea to the West of the city. The seaport of Incheon is the nearest city to Seoul and has a population of 2.7 million making it South Koreas third largest metropolis. The transport connections between the two cities make the travel time between the two centres not much more than an hour. Our location is flagged in red which represents the KNUA campus.

Fabric of Seoul 서울의 구조

Seoul has transformed into a mega city the last sixty years. The density of the city and how its growth vertically can be seen when comparing the same view. The images below are part of an exhibition at the Museum of Seoul, the top photo was taken 1949 and second looking at the same view in 2007.

The museum also offered a chance to study the city at a scale of 1:500 on a giant model roughly 100sqm in size. It illustrated the cities new development and the ambition to turn the US military base in Itaewon into a large green lung in the centre of the city. Climbing the Namsan, a mountain in the centre of the city, the topography of the area becomes apparent. The mountains contain the city in all directions. I took a series of photos that looked at the differing densities of the city, the prevalence of the apatu apartment blocks have steadily erased the low rise more adhoc suburbs.

Dragon Hill Jimjilbang 드래곤 힐 스파

A new cultural phenomenon, Jimjilbang's have taken off in past decade are surreal place to relax, socialise and have a snooze. Dragon Hill is an elaborately themed bath house taking motifs from all around the world and throwing them together in a tower. I'd seen some images before arriving and I was intrigued to see whether they were manifestations from a underlying cultural relationship with water. This was my first adventure into naked bathing with many men. A spiritual atmosphere was missing that I would normally associate with a bath house typology. There was not much there that I could associate with traditional Korean culture. Igloos, american Indians and Terrier dog water fountains were some of the most bizarre items. The price is great 12,000 won (£7) for twelve hours, I can see why citizens have adopted them as the best way to relax after the exhausting hours they put in at the work place. There was clearly a very unnerving aspect to the spaces and they were not calming, the smell of nail parlors, food counters and people smoking in the changing rooms meant a that I left feeling a little abused.

KNUA Presentation_1

3| Infrastructural Edges

A work in progress, my aim is to look patterns and layering that become defined by the transport infrastructures at the river Han's water front. The section below is a quick look at the Hangang Park space and flood zone and looking at the ways the rivers water connects to the landscape, city and its citizens at this threshold.

A Gift 2D Seoul 2 차원의 선물 서울

Rosa managed to befriend a very nice guy in the architecture department who passed on a gift of indescribable richness and complexity, the whole of Seoul in 1.72 giga bytes. The map of seoul shows the city tiled out of individual CAD files. A great gift.

2| A Unique Condition 고유 조건

The edge condition as I described in an earlier post is unique in many ways. In many other cultures spaces below and close to vast transport infrastructure are usually intimidating. The Han Renaissance is successful only due to the cultural mindset of Seoul's citizens. I feel that Korean culture is guided on solid moral principles in which respect of each other and the public realm enables the spaces at the rivers edge to be inhabited positively. I carried out a photographic study of an area close to Oksu subway station. I find this part of Seoul fascinating and the photos below try to study peoples activities, infrastructural connections, spatial characteristics and water relationships at first glance.

Fishing with filligree rods a place of escape and contemplation with the city left behind above.

Quiet place for a Korean siesta.

Infrastructure soars above shading the spaces below, see if you can spot the guy. The table of photos below look at four areas of interest, Activity on the bank, activity at the rivers edge, infrastructure that helps define the space and the assortment of views and perspectives across the river and the city.

The Host 괴물

'Monster' A Korean classic horror film (Director Bong joon-ju) set on the Han River depicts a creature terrorising and inhabiting the dark bleak spaces of the city's underworld at the rivers edge. The architecture is inhuman and menacing and the director has clearly used the infrastructure to explore the unknown and underused spaces of the city. The Han Renaissance project has allowed these spaces to be revitalised and tamed and as outlined before helped it become a successful city park. It seems that the citizens perceive the rivers edge as a feared no longer. Below are series of stills from the film that illustrate the dark infrastructural spaces explored by the director.

1| Hangang City Park 하천 도시 공원

Our first day in Seoul began with a cycle ride along the Hangang (River). A huge entity that powers through the city. The edge condition is mind blowing... transport infrastructure passes along the bank and is pierced every now and then by the sweeping bridges. The monolithic character speaks of a cold and brutal urban reality, but the Han Renaissance project has worked wonders with the sheltered spaces below providing a park the length of the city. Planting, outdoor gyms, cycle and hiking lanes create a complex space where the citizens can escape. The Hangang park is an underworld with the noise, pollution and congestion left elevated above. A strange utilitarian beauty is embodied in the concrete forms and provide a tectonic ensemble of vertical columns and sweeping horizontal platforms. A calmness has been created in these spaces through planting which helps soften the menacing infrastructure. 

Bike rental was 'service', which was the stewards way of saying free, this meant that anyone could enjoy the entire rivers edge. We cycled a few kilometres in 3 hours coming across many activities, which included fishing, sailing, power walking, basketball, amphitheaters of varying sizes, badminton courts, picnic zones demarcated on the concrete floor, gym machines, volleyball courts and football pitches. River activities were prevalent, with people wind-surfing, sailing and catching small water ferries, which embark from a floating station. The park also included a boat yard where pleasure craft and fishing boats were stored. The amount of activity surprised and excited me, as it showed that the river is beginning to be loved and enjoyed. The renaissance project has created a unique environment a park the length of the city, which the citizens are taking full advantage of.

The Han River Renaissance Project
(Source: Seoul Met Gov, 2008a, 57,93)

'The Han River now belongs largely to the Republic of Korea, or South Korea, with its effluence in the Yellow Sea a few nautical miles from North Korea (though some of the river's tributaries are in North Korea). During the first few decades of South Korea's existence the Han River became a byword for pollution, as burgeoning industry and an impoverished populace used it as a convenient spillway for industrial and urban refuse. Though it no longer plays a central role in commerce or transportation it is a prime fixture in the life of the South Korean capital and in the last decade has become the focus of government sponsored environmental efforts to clean it up and transform it into an ecological jewel of the capital. During the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, the Han River was the site of the Olympic rowing regatta.' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_River_(Korea)

The World Is Not Enough

With my journey now underway I would like to talk about my Dubai experience. This city and it's culture should be so different and unrecognizable in so many ways and some parts are, but unfortunately the huge malls and skyscrapers that are so dominant are good examples of 'non-places' of our supermodern society (Marc Auge). The 'Old areas Bastakiah and Diera resembled a traditional city with their narrow streets and small souks (markets). But an overwhelming sense of sameness and banality was felt in the new areas. It is clear a rich culture can be diluted by the perils of being a global destination. The array of malls all sporting the same global brands was expected and hit home the gaudy and sickly state of our capitalist appetite for consuming. Dubai has with its linear character monopolised the excess of space by building along the coast, but why go so high with so much land? I wondered what forces are at play with regard to density or land prices? And I have to admit it just left me baffled, which means I have to take it for what it is 'a playground vision being fulfilled'. A strange ugliness pervades a place built on money and not on the personal needs and relationships of its citizens. 

Dubai has a strained relationship with water and is a good example of a dislocated society. Water is used extensively as a method of passively cooling exterior spaces and this is a harmonious and historic technique. But when a city survives solely by the energy intense method of desalinating seawater and air conditioning spaces to keep the city functioning, it does beg the question, is this extremely short sighted in the current global environmental climate? I was surprised by the amount of green planting and wondered how much water it must take to keep the city artificially and aesthetically pleasing. This need to perform becomes most evident with the 'Burj Khallifa' water show that takes place every evening at the foot of the 830m high worlds tallest building. It was incredible and all I could ask myself was how much? and at what cost? 

The city's coast with the sea breeze and cooling ocean is an Oasis, but has been pillaged by private owners. The land mass is not enough and new formations are being created off the coast, with new beaches and Islands sculpted into mad desires. Land reclamation has its ecological issues and the flows and movement of stagnating water is a key problem. Acting God and creating a 'New World', and the 'Universe' highlight the superficiality of the place. I was intrigued to notice a lake of development on these creations. The World was desolate, no sign of any civilisation, has the global financial crisis doomed this dream. It's fascinating to contemplate the scale of engineering achievements that have taken place in this one city, but I find the quality and thoughtfulness of the designs somewhat doesn't match. The city visually entertains on all the scales and that is a interesting point of departure for the rest of my research. I will return to see if this architectural disneyland will survive or adapt to the strains not to far away.


An article titled the 'The Mad Experiment' succinctly talks about some of the above issues:
http://www.newsweek.com/2008/06/28/the-mad-experiment.html


Non-Places: Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity (1995),  Marc Auge

Free + Everywhere 무료 사방

Arriving in Seoul a peacefulness pervades everything, the people and the city. The transport infrastructures allow for two very different contexts to reside. The huge motor-ways efficiently carry the majority of the cars, which leaves areas in the urban fabric with a very pedestrian feel. This peacefulness transcends down to the citizens most basic need. A drink. I am immediately struck by the availability of great tasting free water, everywhere from restaurants, airports, streets, corridors to kitchens. It is never far away, the enjoyment of this simple gesture is of course amplified as I've just arrived from the desert, but even in London I struggle to find good clean, chilled water anywhere, especially not for free. It's fine to walk in off the street and just help yourself to the water thats available. It draws to my attention a situation in Bolivia, in 1999, when President Hugo Banzer placed Bolivia under martial law with the government setting out a $200 million contract selling Cochabamba's public water system to foreign investors. Rates increased by 35% sparking country wide protests, this put Cochabamba on the front-line in the battle against a globalization of water resources. It should be a human right to have access to good drinking water all the time. 


Waste, pollution and other societal inflicted issues continue to affect the possibility of such an achievement. As the strains on our environment increase, the issue of enough freshwater will become the next Oil issue, a sacred resource that governments and nations will be willing to go to war for. 


The images below show some of the drinking paraphernalia discovered around Seoul. All support an easy thirst quenching experience.

Maximised Edge Condition

New York City map circa 1900

Water Scarcity!

80% of the worlds population lives in areas where a fresh water supply is not secure. The result can be seen in a map that plots the composite threat to human water security and to biodiversity in squares 50km by 50km (30 miles by 30 miles) across the world. "What we've done is to take a very dispassionate look at the facts on the ground - what is going on with respect to humanity's water security and what the infrastructure that's been thrown at this problem does to the natural world," said study leader Charles Vorosmarty from the City College of New York. What we're able to outline is a planet-wide pattern of threat, despite the trillions of dollars worth of engineering palliatives that have totally reconfigured the threat landscape." The "trillions of dollars" of investment are represented by the dams, canals, aqueducts, and pipelines that have been used throughout the developed world to safeguard drinking water supplies.

Their impact on the global picture is striking.

Natural

Managed

Related stories from the BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11435522
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7865603.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8399036.stm