[The Future of Seochon]① Architect Hwang Doojin: "The space left by power must be filled with mixed residential areas"

The 'Seochon Era' to Begin with the Blue House Relocation
A Turning Point in Rethinking Old Downtown Regeneration
Seochon, a Residential Hinterland of the Core Business District
"People Commuting from Afar Should Live Here"

The relocation of the presidential office to Yongsan also heralds the 'Seochon era.' The now-vacant Blue House has been filled with the footsteps of tourists and the desire for old town redevelopment. Real estate agencies in the Seochon, Samcheong-dong, and Cheongunhyoja-dong areas have been receiving a continuous stream of investment inquiries, and commercial property asking prices have soared.

However, on the other hand, voices are growing that the increase in tourists and the revitalization of commercial districts are not the entirety of the 'Seochon era,' nor should they be. This is because with the power that symbolically suppressed the heart of Seoul moving out, it has become an opportunity to rethink the space called Seochon.

Seochon is the old town in the heart of the city, possessing a unique character with history and tradition. At the same time, it shares the common issue of Korean cities as a deteriorated old town. In that sense, Seochon is both the present and future of Korean cities. What has Seochon looked like so far, and what should it look like going forward? Asia Economy met with Seochon residents, merchants, public officials, and politicians to hear various stories about Seochon's past, present, and future. [Editor's Note]

Architect Hwang Doo-jin

Architect Hwang Doo-jin is the head of Hwang Doo-jin Architects and a resident of Tongui-dong. He designed the brick building 'One & One 63.5' in Gangnam, Seoul, and the complex training facility 'Castle of Skywalkers' for the professional volleyball team Hyundai Capital Skywalkers. When we met him on the 11th, he cited Seochon as the optimal place to realize his core architectural theme, the 'Rainbow Rice Cake Architecture Theory.'

-- You have your office in Tongui-dong and have lived there for a long time. What kind of neighborhood is Seochon to its residents?

▶ (Hwang Doo-jin) Seochon is a residential hinterland of Seoul's old town. The problem is that it is not properly fulfilling its functions and roles. There are many workplaces in the city center. It is a place overflowing with jobs, yet the people commuting to this area come from very far away. Seochon has a large floating population but the resident population has significantly decreased.

-- Does that mean the resident population needs to increase?

▶ Yes. If the resident population in Seochon can be increased, many citizens can drastically reduce the distance between their workplace and living space. From an individual perspective, this improves quality of life, and environmentally, it reduces energy consumption accordingly. The most positive change expected from the Blue House relocation is precisely the increase in the resident population. When viewing the city of Seoul as an organism, Seochon also has its proper role as part of the body. That is to provide many residential functions close to where people work in the city center.

-- Seochon is near Inwangsan Mountain and Gyeongbokgung Palace, so development conditions are challenging due to height restrictions and other regulations.

▶ That's right. Therefore, it will not be easy with the development approaches and ideas we have known so far. The existing development method is to clear the site entirely and build complex-style apartments. Even after the Blue House moves, many regulations remain in Seochon. You cannot move Inwangsan or Gyeongbokgung. We need a different approach to development than before.

-- Then how should we approach it?

▶ I think a small-block development method is suitable. Seochon’s land parcels are too finely divided, making parcel-level development difficult. It is necessary to set development units by blocks rather than parcels. This helps relatively maintain and preserve the existing urban organization and form.

However, even small blocks are large chunks by Seochon standards. Blocks need to be further subdivided by function. The underground can be jointly developed as parking lots, the lower floors can house shops or cafes, the middle floors small-scale officetels, and above that, residential spaces. It is not a single-use building but a mixed-use building. In other words, it is rainbow rice cake architecture. Seochon is the optimal place to realize rainbow rice cake architecture.

※Rainbow Rice Cake Architecture: One of architect Hwang Doo-jin’s core themes is 'Rainbow Rice Cake Architecture.' This refers to buildings that satisfy complex demands such as residential and office uses. If buildings composed of single-use floors are likened to sirutteok (steamed rice cake), then buildings with different functions on each floor can be likened to rainbow rice cake. It is a type of urban architecture that maintains high urban density while satisfying all conditions such as housing, economy, and views.

Hwang Du-jin Architect Office's meeting room displays works by architect Hwang Du-jin. On the left is the rental office building "One and One 63.5," located on Gangnam-daero. The name combines two facts: the client’s surname is Won, and the building’s actual height up to the rooftop is 63.5 meters. On the right is "Chunwondang," which is used as a Korean medicine clinic.

-- Why is Seochon the optimal place for rainbow rice cake architecture?

▶ As I mentioned earlier, Seochon has many office facilities right next door. However, the people commuting to this area live much farther away than Seochon. How long will we keep building high-rise apartments on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province for Gwanghwamun commuters? It’s not that there is no land. Old towns are also part of the national territory. Where else but Seochon has the balance collapsed due to the decline of old towns and weakening residential functions? In fact, most Korean cities are like this. We need to find answers within old towns and require a change in thinking. If Seochon succeeds, it will create possibilities not only for Seoul but for old towns nationwide. Seochon is the signal flare for the revival and regeneration of old towns.

-- What policy and institutional support are needed for rainbow rice cake architecture to take root in Seochon?

▶ Even without the Blue House, Seochon already has many regulations. It may not be desirable to blindly lift those regulations. However, sufficient support can be provided through district unit plans. Approaches encouraging mixed-use buildings are possible. By revising, evolving, and developing current district unit plans, this function can be fully realized. District unit plans are a very powerful tool. It is possible within the scope of not changing the Building Act or Urban Planning Act. It is a policy tool that can encourage and guide architecture suited to the characteristics of the area.

※District Unit Plan

A district unit plan is a plan established considering building plans and flat land use plans for cities and villages. It rationalizes land use, secures a good residential environment, and induces systematic and planned development of the area. As one of the urban management plans, district unit plans are established actively considering changes in conditions such as growth and development of the area and its future appearance. It encourages residents to diagnose problems themselves and seek solutions, providing incentives such as easing regulations to promote urban revitalization.

-- Even though old towns are deteriorated areas, land prices are high. Is it economically feasible to build mixed-use buildings here?

▶ The average density of apartment complexes is not significantly higher than that of rainbow rice cake architecture. The high-rise nature of apartments creates an illusion. Apartments have low building coverage ratios and require large spacing between buildings. From the perspective of the total amount of housing supply, rainbow rice cake architecture does not have lower density. Paradoxically, because land prices are high, the land must be used multiple times and in a mixed manner. There are still many low-rise residential areas in Seochon. The direction must be toward higher density than now.

View of Hackescher Markt. Located in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany, it was once the shopping center of East Berlin. The area, which was originally a wetland, was reclaimed and turned into a square in 1750 by Hans Christopher Friedrich von Hacke, then the Berlin city commander, under the orders of Frederick II. The square was named "Hackescher Markt" after the commander's name. Initially, it was used as a nickname, but on June 23, 1840, it was officially designated as the name. / Description and photo source = Wikipedia

--- Is there a model city where the vision of rainbow rice cake architecture has been realized?

▶ In Berlin, there is Hackescher Markt. Most European cities have courtyards, but typical European architectural courtyards are very closed. However, the buildings at Hackescher Markt have opened their courtyards and connected all the courtyards of the buildings. Because the courtyards of buildings across several blocks are connected, you can get lost walking there. It is a pedestrian paradise. On the lower floors, there are shops and restaurants, above that offices, and above that people live. It was the most excellent urban residential complex I have seen with my own eyes so far.

Architect Hwang Doo-jin

-- When people think of urban development, they mostly imagine apartment complexes. Some residents in Seochon also demand that kind of development. How should the sharp conflicts over development methods be reconciled?

▶ The best answer I can give is 'Let's try it once.' Let's create a case once and see how it works. We have seen how apartment complexes work through places like 'Gyeonghuigung Xi.' That complex did supply a considerable amount of quality housing close to the city center. But applying that method to Seochon is realistically difficult and we have already experienced it. So let's try a small-scale block development once as a pilot and see what kind of future it unfolds.

-- If you were to predict Seochon's future at this stage.

▶ There are worst and best scenarios. The worst is that Seochon becomes just a tourist spot. Group tour buses bring tourists, and the neighborhood becomes noisy. Some might think that means the neighborhood has improved. But those people are probably investors, not residents. In my view, to say 'a neighborhood is really good,' it must be a place where you would willingly bring your family to live. The best scenario is, as I said earlier, that Seochon becomes the signal flare and role model for the recovery of old towns in Korea. It becomes a case of regenerating old towns with various techniques and new experiments in ways our society has never tried before.