.jpg) General view of the 63-story Korea Life Insurance building in Yeouido, Seoul. |
When in the late 1970s, the Korea Life Insurance (Daehan Saengmyeong), then as now one of the largest insurance companies in Korea, decided to build new headquarters they had quite modest plans. They wanted a 15-storey structure somewhere on Yeouido Island, where many corporate buildings were located. But people in the government hinted that the building should be really high _ actually, the highest in continental East Asia. The old school managers knew that it would be imprudent to argue with the top officials, and they obediently began to design the tallest skyscraper in East Asia.
This was a difficult project, as Pang Hyon-chol describes in his article on the KLI 63-story building history (I am indebted to him for most of the material used here). Yeouido is a small sand island in the middle of the Han River, and it’s difficult to build a foundation for such a massive structure on such a treacherous environment. Hence, the builders had to dig 45 meters deep, to reach the underlying rocks, to erect the building.
Works began in February 1980, during dramatic political turmoil, and in five years Seoul acquired the tallest building in East Asia. The building is 265 meters high. This means that the new building was 25 meters higher than the tallest Japanese high-rise of the era, and one meter higher than Namsan Mountain, the ``major’’ mountain in downtown Seoul. Such a height means that the top of the building moves when winds are strong _ if the wind reaches 40 m/sec, the top of the building can move up to 60 cm.
Yes, the structure is known as the Taehan Saengmyong Building. But few if any Seoul residents use the official name of this building. For pretty much everybody the glittering tall structure on Yeouido Island is known as the 63 Building.
But why the “63 Building”? The most ready reply is ``because it has 63 floors.’’ Well, this is the reason indeed, but contrary to what most people think, the actual building does not have 63 levels above ground. There are merely 60 above the ground, but for the sake of better PR, the managers also included three underground levels as if they were ``real’’ floors.
Another peculiarity with floor numbering is the absence of Floor 44. Actually, many East Asian cultures are not very fond of the number ``four’’ which is seen as an unlucky number (it sounds like the word for ``death” in those languages). Hence, many Korean buildings do not have the 4th floor. The 63 Building has the fourth floor, but its managers still chose to be prudent and do without Floor 44, where the dangerous digit is repeated twice. ``Double death’’ is probably indeed too much…
The building is covered with semi-transparent glass of a peculiar golden color. Some people were afraid that reflections of sunshine would distract drivers, but fortunately that has not come to pass. The special glass, capable of withstanding high winds, also makes the entire structure look impressive. Architecturally, it is probably the most interesting feature of the building, which is otherwise a rather unremarkable box-like structure.
But in terms of technology, the 63 Building is indeed an interesting place _ especially if one takes into account that it was built two decades ago, when South Korea was still fresh out of the Third World. The high-speed elevators, which take merely 25 seconds to reach the top floor, were a technological marvel in those days _ and they still work well.
The offices inside the 63 Building are rented by numerous companies. Approximately 15,000 people come daily to the building to work, and an estimated 30,000 visit the building on an average day. In the past they came to see the building itself, and have a look from its observatory, from where one can see Incheon _ on a very rare clear day, that is. Nowadays, the initial thrill has obviously worn off for many, but the building still boasts a large entertainment complex and a shopping mall which attracts numerous people.
The electricity supply is important, since without energy the huge complex would instantly become unviable. It takes about 20 minutes for a reasonably fit person to go down from the top level, and I do not think that anybody has ever bothered to climb the entire height of the building (if there are such people, I have not heard of their feats of fitness). Hence, the 63 Building has a complete set of backup power generators, to take care of the power supply if the mains fail.
These generators have been used twice: in October 1986 when the electricity was off for 35 minutes, and ten years later, in 1996, when a blackout lasted for 10 minutes. There was a more recent shorter blackout as well, but that lasted for merely one minute (though a few people were stuck in the elevator for longer than that).
Now, after 20 years of service, the building needs some renovations, which will take a few years. But 63 Building was built to last, and I hope that even when it gets really old (by 2150, let’s say), it will not be demolished to give way to something fashionable. It might be architecturally unremarkable, but it still is an important monument to the Korean transformation of the 1980s.
The 63 Building heralded the start of high-rise building construction in Korea. It was followed by many others, and eventually Korean companies became the major builders of high-rise office towers across Asia. But that will be another story…
Prof. Andrei Lankov was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and now teaches at Kookmin University in Seoul.
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