By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Whenever Chinese language student Park Kyung-jun has guests from China, he takes them to a hanok ― traditional Korean housing ― in Bukchon, northern Seoul. And they all become fans, he said. ``It is a bit of a shame that we can't see many of them these days,'' he lamented.
Hanok was seen everywhere just 50 years ago. But there are just 13,700 left in Seoul, among which 3,700 are located within the four main gates ― Heunginjimun, Sukjeongmun, Doneuimun and Sungnyemun ― which are the places where tourists mostly visit.
The decrease in the number was due to the development of apartments and modern buildings that have ensued since the 1960s, with plans still ongoing. A total of 3,382 have been demolished for various development projects since 2006.
Now the Seoul Metropolitan Government has stepped in to preserve one of the most popular tourist spots of Korea. Last Wednesday, a plan was unveiled to invest 370 billion won over the next 10 years to build or preserve hanok.
Up to 100 million won per housing will be provided in loans or subsidies for building and renovating. Tearing down hanok within the four main gates is prohibited and developers will also have to obtain special permission.
The large-scale development plan in Chebu-dong, Myeonglyun-dong and another eight spots in northern Seoul will also exclude more than 600 hanok.
``I guess we have lost much of our identity and originality for industrialization. The preserved hanok will provide people with not only tradition or history, but also environmentally-friendliness and other benefits,'' Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said last Wednesday at the Bukchon Cultural Center.
The plan is considered an extension of the city's long-term plan to boost cultural identity and to promote tourism. It has already restored hundreds of buildings in Bukchon and other northern Seoul areas since 2000, when it bought 33 hanok and turned them into exhibit halls and museums.
Oh said the plan will have benefits. ``The project will create more jobs in this economic downturn,'' he said.
Oh's blueprint was welcomed by scholars who have been campaigning for the protection of the houses.
``For a long time, the government considered hanok as outdated buildings which must be brought down for new facilities. The plan is one of Oh's shiny achievements,'' Prof. Jeong Seok of Kyungwon University said.
However, local residents are asking for more. Residents in run-down hanok subject to development said 100 million won was not sufficient to aid their lives in poorly built buildings.
``We don't think all hanok-looking buildings are worth preservation,'' said Kim Hyung-jun, a Chebu-dong resident. He said the city government must be selective in screening the traditional housings for preservation.