60thAnni In Seochon, past and present coexist

By Kwon Mee-yoo

There is a neighborhood in downtown Seoul, just behind the forest of skyscrapers where time passes slowly. Everyone seems to know each other here. A woman stopped by another lady pushing a baby carriage was asked for any recent news of the villagers. Children play games at an old-fashioned video-game machine installed in front of a stationary store instead of going to an Internet cafe or “PC bang.”

It is Seochon, literally meaning west town. Seochon refers to the area located to the west of Gyeongbok Palace to the foot of Mt. Inwang, including Chebu-dong, Okin-dong and Tongin-dong areas.

During the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), the area was occupied by “middle-class people,” referring to artists and other technical professionals. Landscape painter Jeong Seon and calligrapher Kim Jeong-hui lived here and in the early 1900s, painter Lee Joong-seop and poets Yoon Dong-joo and Yi Sang resided in the neighborhoods.

There are some 660 hanok, or traditional Korean houses, left in the surrounding villages. These hanok are not ancient ones, but refurbished hanok built in the early 1910s. As time went by, the town became a mixture of old hanok and Western-style buildings.

Kwon Oh-nam, 80, runs a small secondhand bookstore, Daeo Bookstore, one of the oldest shops in the alley in Nuha-dong. The store has a handwritten sign and sky-blue-colored doors.

“My husband ran a bookshop when I married him. We renamed the store with letters of our names,” Kwon told The Korea Times. “Dae” comes from her husband’s name Cho Dae-sik and “o” is from her name. Cho passed away about 10 years ago and now Kwon tends the shop on her own. “I have not purchased books since then, but I will just keep running this shop as people still come by.”

The shop is a part of a small hanok, which is full of books piled high. “This is the house I lived in since getting married and I cannot leave here,” she said.

Her little bookstore became famous when a KBS documentary crew filmed her earlier this year and afterwards many people came to visit the little shop. “There were university students majoring in architecture and interested in traditional Korean-style houses. Some wanted to take photos, while the others left a letter in the store,” she said. “Sometimes, I feel exhausted as these visitors take all my energy.”

A novelist even suggested Kwon charge an entrance fee as most of them do not buy any of the old books in the store. But the old lady just smiled and said, “I cannot turn away people who come to see the bookstore. It would not be fair if I interviewed for a newspaper but rejected others,” Kwon said.

Kwon often leaves the door open and goes for a walk in the afternoon, so visitors to the store are advised to come in the morning or evening to meet her. “I go out and meet my neighbors,” the old bookstore owner said. “I also try to exercise regularly. I play gate ball with the other elderly people at Sajik Park, which is nearby and a competition is coming up.”

Younger artists flock

Kim Nam-hee, 30, is the tenant of Kwon, running a small fabric workshop and store next to the secondhand bookstore. She rented the outer wing room about a month ago.

“I live in Nusang-dong, some 10 minutes away from here. Since moving to Seochon two years ago, I always dreamed of having such a workshop,” Kim said. “I like the atmosphere of Seochon.”

When she first opened her shop, she closed the door. However, she changed her mind and now has the door open while working. “Passers-by were curious about what I did inside the workshop and so I decided to open the door to welcome and ‘communicate’ with other people. I think this way suits the lifestyle of Seochon,” the artist said.

Kim said residents live rather in an old fashioned way in this village. “Most Seoulites live a self-centered life. They only think about themselves. However, in Seochon, we naturally find out who lives next door and get along well with our neighbors,” she said. “Most of the residents are older people, but the younger population is increasing visible.”

The residents voluntarily try to keep the mood of this town as it was. “For example, landlords do not rent their property to those who plan to open drinking places here. Instead, they are more open to artists looking for studio space,” Kim said. “I want the visitors to feel the mood of Seochon and respect the culture.”

Simple is charm

Kwon Yung-sung, an “alley” lover who operates the blog “Scene on streets (www.alleyway.kr),” told The Korea Times that Seochon reminds him of children, elderly people and middle-aged women.

“Unlike Samcheong-dong or Seongbuk-dong, which represent sleek, luxurious madams, Seochon is more simple, honest and friendly like a grandmother,” Kwon said.

Kwon is a trader who takes photos of alleys as a hobby. He also published a book “I indulge in alleyways” in 2009.

For him, a typical alleys give off a cozy, affectionate feeling in contrast to standardized, desolate city life.

“Korean alleys were generated spontaneously. Houses were there first and they were connected to create alleys and villages. These alleys comprehend time and affection. I am delighted when walking through such lovely alleys,” he said.

He said Seochon is a cultural heritage where the lives of ordinary people merged with alleyways. “Newly fabricated Bukchon does not have such legitimate sentiments,” he said.

After lengthy consideration and discussion, Seoul City has decided to preserve Seochon as a hanok village. Currently, traditional houses in the area are poorly managed and hidden behind outer iron gates installed for security.

Kwon said Seochon has been slowly ruined because of the government’s deliberation. “Residents were split into the pro-redevelopment side or the preservation side. The mood was intimidating and some hanok went through reckless redevelopment,” he said. “Now the city decided to keep the area as a hanok village, the people seem to return to normal.”

He asked for swift decision making in urban redevelopment projects.

“We have to redevelop towns to make living more comfortable and convenient. However, current redevelopment planning totally abolishes small but warm villages during the prolonged process,” he said. “I think urban redevelopment should focus more on preservation and improvement, not overturning entire areas into new villages.”