[Current & Culture] Do You Know Juliana?

Not long ago, I found myself lost in bittersweet memories while reading real estate news. On the 21st of last month, a lease contract was signed for PH129 (The Penthouse Cheongdam) in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, with a net area of 273.96㎡ on the 6th floor, setting a new record for the highest monthly rent at a deposit of 400 million KRW and a monthly rent of 40 million KRW. That amounts to 1.33 million KRW per day, and over two years, the total rent sums up to 960 million KRW. Why did this news evoke such nostalgic feelings in me? And why so bittersweet?

Having lived nearby since childhood, I am well aware of the building’s history. Originally, there was a hotel on that site. It opened in 1992 as the ‘Emerald Hotel’ and changed its name to the ‘Ellui Hotel’ a few years later. The hotel itself was not very famous, but the nightclub in the basement was truly exceptional. If you were to pick the best club during the peak of nightclub culture in the 1990s, without hesitation, it would be ‘Juliana Seoul’ located right there.

Every night, the nightclub and the surrounding alleys were bustling with young men and women who gathered to escape loneliness. It was also the stage for groups like the Orange Tribe and the Yata Tribe. Celebrities, sports stars, and second-generation chaebols often came to flaunt their wealth and popularity. It symbolized the glamorous yet ultimately doomed nightlife culture of the 1990s, which collapsed amid the IMF crisis and the end-of-century atmosphere.

As the 21st century arrived, nightclubs were shunned by the youth, and Juliana Seoul closed its doors. The hotel’s owner, struggling with financial difficulties, ended his life in one of the hotel rooms. Every time I saw the building standing lonely and abandoned without an owner or visitors, I felt a strange sadness and looked away. However, the immutable truth of real estate applies to this building as well. What is that? Location is eternal.

The old hotel was reconstructed a few years ago and transformed into a luxury residence with sale prices exceeding 10 billion KRW and monthly rents over 40 million KRW, recreating the glory of the 20th century. The residents revealed in the media are also impressive. Alongside star instructors like Hyun Woo-jin, actors Jang Dong-gun and Go So-young, and professional golfer Park In-bee, names of business magnates also appear. I wonder if any of the residents once frequented ‘Juliana Seoul’? If so, it must feel quite surreal.

Another dramatically transformed building is the mixed-use complex ‘Acrovista’ in Seocho-dong. It is remarkable enough that a luxurious mixed-use building rose on the site of the collapsed Sampoong Department Store, which claimed many victims, but what’s more, a president emerged from there. Those who felt a distant emotion watching the president-elect smiling brightly and waving under congratulatory banners put up by the residents are surely not alone. While writing this, I realized that the apartments I once lived in have also been demolished for reconstruction and turned into construction sites. It feels empty, as if my memories are being denied along with the disappearing spaces.

The city of Seoul changes too quickly, even too fast. Many people are currently saddened by the impending demolition of the Namsan Hilton Hotel, a masterpiece of Korean architectural history. There are many hotels over 100 years old in the US and Japan, not to mention Europe, but in Seoul, even hotels less than 40 years old are slated for demolition. Unless designated as cultural heritage, buildings in Seoul are doomed to a short lifespan. So if you have a building or shop you are fond of nearby, take a photo and keep it. You never know when it might disappear.

Lee Jae-ik, Novelist