[Book Sip] A Neighborhood with Leisure and Sophistication, 'Aneun Dongne Aneun Yeonhui'

Some sentences encapsulate the entire content of the book itself, while others instantly reach the reader's heart, creating a connection with the book. We present meaningful sentences excerpted from the book. - Editor's note

This magazine sheds light on the life and culture of familiar neighborhoods around us from various angles. The theme of the eighth series is ‘Yeonhui-dong.’ Based on Yeonhui-dong, it explores residents and outsiders who have maintained their work and life, unique cafes and bakeries scattered throughout the alleys, standalone houses steeped in time, Saroga Shopping Center, as well as parks, forest trails surrounding the neighborhood, and alley travel courses. Through their stories, it unravels the reasons behind Yeonhui-dong’s unique sense of leisure and sophistication.

Yeonhui-dong has three large and small mountains and seven parks. Thanks to the nearby neighborhood hills and barrier-free forest trails that stretch endlessly, anyone can comfortably stroll through the woods, and the parks scattered throughout the neighborhood make it easy to sit on a bench while walking the alleys and feel the neighborhood’s atmosphere. Starting from the south of Yeonhui-dong, Gungdong Neighborhood Park is formed at the summit and trail of Gungdong Mountain, followed by Ansan Neighborhood Park, called “small Ansan,” after crossing the overpass on Jungga-ro. Behind the Natural History Museum and Seodaemun District Office, Ansan Urban Nature Park, known as Ansan Jarak-gil, unfolds.

Yeonhui-dong is a good neighborhood. Of course, economic prosperity and geographical factors such as being near mountains and rivers cannot be overlooked as its background. Yeonhui-dong has both the hardware and software to become a good neighborhood, but if asked which is more important, it is the software. When we create a space, we can change the arrangement of furniture, the position or brightness of lighting, and the size of windows as we wish. However, we cannot know what kind of people will visit that space, what conversations they will have, or what scenery they will create. I believe a good space is ultimately completed when good people gather without boundaries of various classes and generations.

Time flows slowly in Yeonhui-dong. Spacious residential alleys that cannot be seen in neighboring Sinchon or Hongdae continue, and flowers smilingly peep over the walls of the residential area to greet you. The image of an affluent residential area that housed two former presidents also creates the neighborhood atmosphere unique to Yeonhui-dong. Visiting old workshops and galleries, stopping by a familiar bakery where friendly greetings are exchanged, and choosing a piece of bread, you soon fall into the slow rhythm of Yeonhui-dong.

Aneun Dongnae Aneun Yeonhui | Written by Urbanplay Editorial Department | Urbanplay (URBANPLAY) | 192 pages | 17,000 KRW