New additions to Seoul's 'Future Heritage' list

By Lee Suh-yoon

Seoul's dense concrete landscape is changing constantly. To preserve the city's historic layers from mass-scale redevelopment, the city government created the Seoul Future Heritage list.

Since 2012, the list has designated over 400 buildings, sites and even non-physical cultural assets as "future heritage." Most are old shops and restaurants that still have a distinct local character. But there are also novels and food.

On Dec. 30 last year, Seoul Metropolitan Government announced 16 new additions to its annually updated list. They include a host of old art galleries and novels set in an older Seoul. In this round of evaluations, two restaurants, a marinated beef dish and an iconic building that once housed the literary magazine Saemteo made the cut.

"Seoul's future heritage sites may seem ordinary to us now, but these cultural assets are priceless treasures for the next generation," Yoo Yeon-sik, head of the city's culture division, said in a statement announcing the 2019 additions. "We hope citizens will partake in the efforts to consolidate Seoul's cultural identity through the preservation and utilization of future heritage."

The city provides the owners of future heritage sites with a copper plate marking the honorary designation and a free slot in the city's tourism brochure. Some are also given a small amount of funding to cover repair costs. Despite the good intentions, however, the "future heritage" label has also been criticized in recent years for failing to provide real support to designated sites facing closure due to high rent or redevelopment.

Here are the 2019 additions to the future heritage list.

Art Galleries

Tongin Hwarang / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

"Hwarang" (traditional art galleries) have served as a valuable platform for rising young artists in Korea. Four of them ― Tongin Hwarang, Chosun Hwarang, Ye Hwarang and Samtuh Hwarang ― are now Seoul's future heritage sites.

The oldest among them, Chosun Hwarang, opened in 1971. It provided an international outlet for Korean artists by participating in global art fairs and exhibits. The youngest, Samteo, which opened in 1978, is well-known for showcasing modern and contemporary styles of art that developed with the 1980s democracy movement in Korea.

Samtuh Hwarang, now known as the Wellside Gallery / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

Ye Hwarang, the first hwarang to open in the Gangnam area in southern Seoul in 1978, is well-known for hosting various exhibits by Baek Nam-soon, one of Korea's first female painters to be educated abroad.

The fourth is Tongin Hwarang, popular among foreign tourists for its ceramic and art store. The gallery opened in 1975 and has hosted works by acclaimed artists such as Park Seo-bo, Yoon Kwang-cho and Heo Geon.

Novels

The city is adding three more historical fiction books based in Seoul to the list. "Mother," a novel by Na Do-hyang from 1925, tracks a concubine's search for happiness through the streets of Seoul during the 1919-45 Japanese occupation. "Jeon Asa" by Choi Seo-hae, also set in the 1920s, shows how a provincial man adapts slowly to the capital's way of life. Unlike the first two, "Electric Train Sightings" by Ha Geun-chan is based much later, in 1974. A man and his grandson take a day trip on the newly opened Seoul Metro Line 1, capturing vivid scenes of 1970s Seoul.

A cookbook

"Chosun Cooking Methods" / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

"Chosun Cooking Methods," published in 1939, shares how to easily prepare "royal dishes" that were reserved previously for nobles. According to the city's evaluation, it is the "original form" of the Korean food scene in the capital.

Restaurants

One of the two Michelin-type additions to the list is Nakwon Agu Jjim. The restaurant is located in an alley next to Nakwon Musical Instruments Arcade, where you can find the best agu jjim (spicy monkfish stew) in Seoul. Even if you can't handle the spice, Agu Jjim is a must for those who want to expand their horizons on food texture. There are a dozen agu jjim joints in the area but Nakwon Agu Jjim is the oldest, passing down two generations since 1977.

The second is Won Codfish Soup. Opened in 1979, it is also the oldest restaurant in Samgakji's codfish soup alley.

Food

The people responsible for compiling the future heritage list seem to be running out of items, adding two general dishes to the list. One is neobiani, sliced grilled beef marinated in sweetened soy sauce. It's an earlier version of the well-known bulgogi ― which uses shredded beef ― that was formerly consumed only by noble families in Seoul.

The other is gujeolpan, another noble family dish that is now served at fancy hansik (traditional Korean food) restaurants. It's served on a tray with nine divided sections ― each section holding a different filling to be put inside small wheat flour pancakes.

Historic buildings

Hwanil High School / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

Yongsan Jeil Church, a well-preserved stone building built just after the 1950-53 Korean War, and the former headquarters of the Unification Church in Cheongpa-dong have been added to the list.

So has Hwanil High School, a 1957 steel and concrete structure in Mapo-gu that stands in contrast to the modern apartment buildings around it. It is also an all-boy Christian high school.

Blg 001 / Courtesy of 00 Ground

Blg 001, a brick building that housed the well-known literary magazine Saemteo in the heart of the Daehangno area for 40 years, was recently reborn as a creative workspace for young startups. The iconic structure was built in 1979 by renowned architect Kim Swoo-geun at the site of Seoul National University's liberal arts and sciences building. Its owner and developer, the firm Zero Zero Ground, did not demolish the building to build a taller one that could generate more rent. It also left the first floor and bathrooms open to public use, saying it wants to aim for "ethical" real estate investments that take social impact into consideration.

With these 16 additions, the miscellaneous future heritage list now contains 470 items and landmarks, including N Seoul Tower, Euljiro Nogari pub alley, Noryangjin hagwon town and Haebangchon's 108 Stairway. The full list can be found at futureheritage.seoul.go.kr (only in Korean).