KoreaToday The Memories of Pimatgol Disappearing
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter
Pimatgol, a long, narrow alleyway flanked by hundreds of cozy eateries in Jongno-gu, in downtown Seoul, is disappearing, along with memories and tradition, giving way to the city's redevelopment plan.
``I visited here often when I worked near Gwanghwamun. I had dates with my boyfriend, who is my husband now, at Yeolchajip,'' said Kim Jung-eun, 33. Now pregnant, she visited the place again before the memories vanish due to the urban renewal. ``It is somewhat sad that the place is going to be demolished. It will never taste the same.''
The name ``Pimatgol'' comes from avoiding horses of high officials. ``Pi'' means to avoid, ``ma'' means horse and ``gol'' means alley in Chinese characters. During the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), Jongno was the capital's main street and Pimatgol was a back street. Ordinary people had to kneel on the street if they met dignitaries on Jongno until they left. To prevent the cumbersome manners, citizens preferred the small alleys behind Jongno and bars and restaurants for them sprung up there.
With a history of more than 600 years, Pimatgol originally reached Jongmyo Shrine, but only some parts of it in Jongno 1-ga and 3-ga remain, with bars and eateries selling folksy food such as roast fish and ``bindaetteok,'' Korean-style mung bean pancake.
The main part of Pimatgol was the small alley behind Gyobo Bookstore and next to a Burger King. However, the Burger King and other stores near the alley have already have left the place due to the urban renewal program. Once filled with tiny but popular places to eat, posters notifying people of restaurants moving fill the narrow alley instead.
Some Stay
Some pubs are still in operation because their buildings are not sold yet or the owners haven't decided on their transfer. Yeolchajip, the representative pub of Pimatgol, selling ``makgeolli,'' or the Korean rice liquor, is staying put. Makgeolli was the most popular and representative drink of the alley.
Woo Je-eun, 68, the owner of Yeolchajip, said she learned about the long history of the alley when she took over the pub in 1970s. The name of the restaurant came from a guest who had a sense of humor. ``When the restaurant was crowded, guest had to lean on each others' backs. A guest saw the scene and called it `Yeolchajip' because it seemed like the interior of cramped train,'' Woo said. ``Yeolcha'' means train in Korean.
The distinctive menu of Yeolchajip is bindaetteok made of mug bean, pork and vegetables. ``It tastes really good to have unsalted bindaetteok with pickled oysters,'' Park, a guest of the restaurant, said. ``This is the best appetizer for makgeolli.'' It costs only 9,000 won, the same price as 10 years ago.
However, the owner herself does not know about the future of the 40-year-old pub. If the building is sold, staff will have to move out in three months. Though she expects to stay in the current spot until the end of the year, no one can assure the future of Yeolchajip. ``We have to move out or shut down,'' Woo said.
Daelim, another restaurant, still remains in the narrow alley, specializing in grilled fish such as mackerel, saury and dried corbina.
``I am a short-tempered person, accustomed to the ppali-ppali, or hurry-hurry, culture of Koreans. However, I don't get angry for clumsy serving manners here. I just like the bustling and disordered mood,'' said Jang So-yeon, a university student.
She visited Pimatgol after watching a documentary on the disappearing alley. ``I feel sorry that all these places are going to be vanished. I wonder what the people who decided to break down this area thought. Had they been here? If they had, they surely would have known the meaning of Pimatgol,'' she added.
Some Left
Some of the eateries have been moved to the Le Meilleur building right next to the old location. To house more restaurants and recreate the mood of the original alley, the building created an artificial alley on the ground floor with a new, big Pimatgol sign.
However, most restaurant owners say everything is different from the way it used to be. Some restaurants had to raise prices due to the high rent and hike in prices of food supplies. Cheongjinok, a blood soup restaurant, was a fixture of Pimatgol established in 1937. The restaurant has moved to the first floor of the Le Meilleur building last August and raised the price of main dish ``ttaro gukbap'' (rice served with blood soup) to 6,000 won, a 500 won increase.
Mijin, a buckwheat noodles specialty eatery, also moved to the first floor of Le Meilleur, and raised the price of the noodle by 1,000 won to 6,000 won, the only price hike in eight years.
``I serve fewer guests here than I did at the previous location,'' said Lee Young-soo, 71, the owner. ``Steady customers come to the new place as well, but they say the taste is different.''
As the redevelopment plan is carried out, more restaurants are expected to move to the building. ``If the owner wants to keep running the eatery in this area, there is no other option than the Le Meilleur building for the present,'' a real estate agent in Jongno said.
The building requires a 100 million won ($72,000) deposit and 5-7 million won ($3,600-5,000) monthly rental fee for a first floor unit, the most expensive in the building and two to four times costlier than restaurants' previous locations.
Light and Shade of Redevelopment
Good, ordinary people filled the meandering alley of Pimatgol in a simple, plain way, adding to the area's unique character. However, Seoul City will replace the memories with skyscrapers.
The region was designated for an urban renewal plan in 1980s and the architecture committee of Seoul approved the plan in 2003.
``We knew some people wanted to keep the area traditional,'' said an official of the local government. ``However, the redevelopment was inevitable, not only because it is financially efficient, but the buildings were too old and even dangerous.''
The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to finish the renewal by 2012, but the cheap restaurants of Pimatgol are not likely to be capable of paying high rents of redeveloped skyscrapers.
``The new Pimatgol is clean and neat but doesn't have the comfortable and warm mood of the original alley,'' said Kim, an office worker.
