Urbexer in Gwangju shares tales of adventure

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Urbexer in Gwangju shares tales of adventure

Posted : 2019-01-08 17:42

Updated : 2019-01-08 18:11

Ryan Berkebile photographs the courtyard of an abandoned hanok, a traditional Korean house, in southwestern Korea, exact location undisclosed. / Courtesy of Isaiah Winters

By Jon Dunbar

Ryan Berkebile is the kind of guy who spends his free time "getting dirty, climbing walls, being in the dark and breathing in stale air."

He's an urban explorer who has walked among the secrets of cities in Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand. He will be sharing his experiences at the Gwangju International Center (GIC) as part of its GIC Talk lecture series this Saturday.

"Urban exploration is a general term for journey/survey of manmade structures, usually neglected buildings or unseen structures like tunnels," he told The Korea Times. "I see urban exploration as a mixture of tourism, anthropology and modern archaeology."

His lecture will introduce the unique approach of urban exploration, often called "urbex" or UE, give advice on how to explore ethically, and share pictures and stories from his own adventures.

Ryan Berkebile examines a discarded cassette tape at Palbok Art Factory in Jeonju in 2017. / Korea Times image by Jon Dunbar

He shares stories and pictures from his adventures on his website Long Distance Runner. He also writes about his adventures in Gwangju News, for which he is one of two urbex contributors. Gwangju News is a free monthly magazine published by the GIC.

UE is not for everybody, he says. But it does hold value for visual artists such as photographers, as well as architecture enthusiasts, history buffs and armchair anthropologists, even if these days it is overrun with thrill-seekers and social media influencers, neither of which Berkebile claims to be.

"You need to have an element of curiosity, understanding, and respect for the sites you are exploring," said Berkebile, an American originally from Portland.

He follows what's known as the "campfire rule," "take only photos, leave only footprints," which has been the prime commandment for explorers around the world.

Ryan Berkebile climbs underneath a rusted old amusement park ride at an undisclosed location in 2017. / Korea Times image by Jon Dunbar

Wherever there is human development, there have been urban explorers. In Japan where it is known as "haikyo," it is quite popular. China's UE community also has tens of thousands of members. But Korea remains a blind spot, even though there is much to see here.

"Many sites offer national history lessons you can't experience by reading a textbook. Sites connected to the U.S. Army occupation, Japanese colonial history and the democratization movement of the 1980s are hidden secrets just waiting to be investigated," he said. "If you are interested in learning about Korea and willing to explore off-the-beaten-path places, urban exploration is an avenue for learning Korean history."

In his 13-plus years spent living here, urban exploration has helped him foster a deeper appreciation for his surroundings. His first job here was at Alice Park, an Alice in Wonderland-themed English village in southern Seoul. He returned a year later to find the business had gone bankrupt and the park was abandoned. After moving to Gwangju in 2014, he began exploring with friends and never stopped. Lately he's been shooting film rather than digital.

"Getting into urban exploration provokes the curiosity of what lies in your habitat. It uncovers places hidden in plain sight," he explained.

"Since I began exploring in Korea, I have developed a deep appreciation of hanoks. They are truly beautiful works of art. Unfortunately, many of the ones I come across are dilapidated and beyond repair. It's sad to see them or any building in such a state, but I feel joy when I see former buildings I have visited being revitalized."

Ryan Berkebile and another urban explorer exchange a high-five using shattered mannequin hands found at the demolition site of the Godeok Apartment complex in southeastern Seoul in January 2017. The mannequins had been used as dummies for an emergency earthquake drill. / Korea Times image by Jon Dunbar

Although urban explorers are often accused of trespassing, it is technically legal here as long as certain rules are followed, such as not committing vandalism or theft, and Berkebile has little fear of legal troubles.

"Most people who catch me exploring are more confused than angry about why someone would want to explore abandoned buildings," he said. "The hobby of urban exploration is still unknown here in Korea, so I'm not worried about concealing my identity. I'm more concerned about protecting the location of sites so they won't be vandalized."

jdunbar@koreatimes.co.kr