Breathing new life into Seoul's traditional housing

Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

By Jon Dunbar

Tourists flock to Korea's many hanok villages, but do they understand them, and truly know what it's like to live in one of Korea's traditional houses?

Robert Fouser saw his first hanok in 1983 when he came to Seoul National University to study Korean. In those days he often visited Bukchon Hanok Village, then known as Kahoi-dong Hanok Preservation District.

Now popularly known as a “keeper of the hanok,” he first moved into a hanok in 1988 in Hyehwa-dong while he taught English at Korea University for a year.

“It was a nice house with gorgeous wood, but dealing with the charcoal heating was inconvenient and it had no shower or bathtub,” he told The Korea Times. “I took sponge baths in the kitchen and went to public baths when I had more time.”

But Fouser, originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, downplays the difficulties of hanok living.

“There's nothing mysterious about living in a hanok,” he said. “The most notable difference between a hanok and other forms of housing is a hanok is made of all natural materials. This means it breathes, which means there are fewer problems with mold.”

In the early 1990s he brought a friend to see his former home, only to find it replaced by “an ugly three-story building.”

He returned to Korea in 2008 as an associate professor of the Department of Korean Language Education at Seoul National University, moving into his second hanok in 2010, this time in Gye-dong, part of Bukchon. In 2011, he took an interest in historic preservation in Seochon and bought a small hanok there, which he began remodeling in 2012. His carpenter Hwang In-beom wrote a book titled “Building a Small Hanok” based on the project.

“I believe as much of the original houses should be preserved as possible, but I also think they need to be updated to meet the needs of contemporary lifestyles,” Fouser said.

Lately, the city has begun to focus on regeneration of old neighborhoods instead of redevelopment, but gentrification has been inescapable.

“In recent years, Koreans have begun to return to the city center, which creates pressure for redevelopment,” he said. “Gentrification is a problem, of course, but it often means turning hanok into cafes or bars. At least the hanok remain.”

Fouser considers Seoul's hanok a niche market, largely due to expensive property values.

“I don't see hanok ever becoming mainstream, but I think interest will continue to increase, particularly as young people who grew up in apartments take an interest,” he said.

Fouser left Korea in 2014 to live in Providence, Rhode Island, but he returns each spring, during which he leads various RASKB events.

“Korea always calls me back,” he said.

This year, he has lectured on “Changing Attitudes toward Korean Language Education in Japan” and led a walk around Seoul Station, as well as releasing his third Korean-language book, “The Spread of Foreign Languages,” which has been well-received so far.

Fouser will lead a walking tour of Ikseon-dong, Bukchon and Seochon this Sunday starting at 1 p.m. from exit 6 of Jongno 3-ga of lines 1, 3 and 5. The tour costs 20,000 won, or 25,000 won for non-members. Visit raskb.com or fb.com/raskb for more information.