Insa-dong losing cultural identity

A view of one of Insa-dong's best-preserved alleys in 2012, by artist Yiang Jong-souk. / Courtesy of Yiang Jong-souk

‘Let the culture speak for itself'

By Kwon Ji-youn

Temperatures fell below zero in Seoul early Tuesday morning, but the streets of Insa-dong were nonetheless crammed with tourists. Visitors from around the world roamed the streets of the buoyant neighborhood in central Seoul dressed in layers of sweaters and padded jackets, scrutinizing window after window and taking photo after photo.

Stores on the Ssamziegil (Ssamzie Road) were teeming with young Chinese women who appeared to be taking photographs more than purchasing goods, with street vendors calling out to them in several languages, hoping one from the horde might break away for a snack. Ssamziegil refers to a building on the Insa-dong main road with a spiral stairway lined with over 70 shops including handicraft stores, souvenir shops, art galleries and restaurants.

The main street of Insa-dong teems with tourists, but the alleys that branch off the main road, seen above, are often missed.
/ Korea Times photos by Kwon Ji-youn

But the shops in the alleys that branch off the main road are often missed, prompting shop owners to hire part-time workers who encourage tourists on the main street to visit their shops.

"Tourists tend to linger on the main street or in Ssamziegil," the owner of a "hanji" (Korean paper) craft store down one of the alleys said. "I know that the noodle and dumpling restaurant down here hires part-timers to get business on the main street."

Insa-dong was once a large market for antiques and artworks. It was created 500 years ago as a residential area for government officials, but after the Korean War (1950-1953), became a cultural mecca that represented Korean traditions and culture, home to Seoul's oldest bookstore (Tongmungwan) and oldest tea house (Kyung-in Art Gallery). It attracted masses of tourists during the 1986 Seoul Asian Games and the 1988 Seoul Olympics and was renovated in 2000.

Olive Young, a cosmetics store owned by CJ Corporation, sits next to a souvenir store on the Insa-dong main street, Seoul, Tuesday.

In 2001, Starbucks opened a branch on the Insa-dong main street, and in an attempt to appease residents and the public, hung a sign out front that read "Starbucks" in Korean.

The Insa Traditional Culture Preservation Association (ITCPA) slammed Starbucks for "bringing disgrace to the neighborhood and to the residents of Insa-dong," and called it "an anti-cultural marketing strategy."

The ITCPA works to preserve and develop Insa-dong's traditional culture. ITCPA President Yoon Yong-chul worries that policies that focus on tourism and not on preserving the culture of Insa-dong will eventually destroy the neighborhood altogether.

Chinese tourists shop at the Ssamziegil, a building on the Insa-dong main road with a spiral stairway lined with over 70 shops including handicraft stores, souvenir shops, art galleries and restaurants, Tuesday.

"The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) has declared Insa-dong a cultural district, but that's it," Yoon said. "They're doing nothing to control the different types of businesses unrelated to the street's overall identity that are setting up camp here. As a result, Insa-dong is losing its identity. Even the streets have lost their names and have been replaced with numbers.

"Merchants new to the area lack an understanding of Insa-dong and its history," Yoon added. "As rent goes up and large conglomerates open stores here, Insa-dong's native residents are being forced out or forced to change their businesses, and they are the people who have a true understanding of what belongs here on this street."

Indeed, cosmetics stores, cafes and street vendors can easily be spotted among the antique boutiques and galleries.

Tourists shop for souvenirs on the Insa-dong main road, Tuesday.

"I ask, is it necessary?" Yoon questioned. "Cosmetics stores and cafes would be more at home in Myeong-dong. Culture is what sets Insa-dong apart from these more commercial neighborhoods, but it's being stripped of the culture that makes Insa-dong Insa-dong."

According to Yoon, the SMG has been providing small amounts of funding to the neighborhood, but this funding does little to help if the policies remain focused on tourism and foreign visitors.

"If the culture is kept alive, then tourism will follow," Yoon said. "Look at Paris. There are no high-rise hotels in Paris, and they aren't needed. The culture speaks for itself."

Prioritize culture or hallyu?

A group of Chinese tourists wandered from store to store Tuesday morning, carrying shopping bags filled to the brim. They began at a Korean pottery store, where they bought a set of teacups, and then went on a short trip to Ssamziegil. The group wrapped up their Insa-dong tour with a visit to Olive Young, a cosmetics store owned by conglomerate CJ Corporation.

"Our friends and family back in China enjoy gifts from Korean cosmetics stores," Wang Fang, a 23-year-old college student in Seoul for the winter, said.

"The craft and artwork they sell here in Insa-dong are beautiful and culturally significant, but cosmetics, I believe, would be more useful."

Wang added that the blend of cultural and modern stores on the main street is practical for tourists.

Another tourist, who refused to give her name, said this is her second visit to Insa-dong.

"I was here for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and I remember visiting Insa-dong then, too," she said. "But so much has changed since then. There is less to see."

Owners of traditional tea shops, restaurants and galleries described such developments as ploys by conglomerates trying to get a free ride.

"Think of all the shop owners on this street who have devoted their lives to maintaining the district's cultural value despite the fact that they don't make good money," an owner of an arts and crafts shop said, asking not to be named.

"We're happy that tourists are attracted to this neighborhood, but I am sure that they can enjoy expensive coffee and purchase cosmetics in other neighborhoods."

Solutions

ITCPA President Yoon stressed that he is not against development, but the development should be in keeping with Insa-dong's identity.

"We've been asking for years to have a large convention center built here, so that artists can hold exhibitions," he said. "All the artists are now heading to Samseong-dong to hold exhibitions at COEX. We also want to build here a structure in which merchants can collectively gather to sell their goods.

"Dongdaemun has become a design mecca following the construction of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP)," he added. "We are not against development, period. But what is the point of selling golf goods in a football stadium?"

He stressed that it isn't retrogression that the residents of Insa-dong want.

"There are ways to revitalize the neighborhood without bringing in cafes and cosmetics shops," Yoon said. "We just need permission to do so."

Follow Kwon Ji-youn on Twitter @jennajykwon