Rediscovering Seoul

By Lee Hyon-soo

Korean-Canadians ― that is, Koreans living in Canada ― are filled with nostalgia for the towns they are originally from. To put it more accurately, they miss their hometowns as they remember them. If their hometowns have changed unrecognizably since they left, they can no longer identify with them.

When former Seoulites who have lived in Canada for a long time come to Seoul for a visit, they are bound to be surprised by the extent to which the city has changed during their extended absence. Specifically what do they notice?

First, Seoul’s skyline has changed dramatically. The city is packed with high-rise office and apartment buildings, which block your view wherever you turn. Furthermore, Seoul has undergone a remarkable facelift. A real eyesore, the old Cheonggye Elevated Expressway, is gone. And the Cheonggye stream has been restored. It is a delight to see clear water flowing through downtown Seoul, a concrete jungle. One more change worthy of a mention is the new plaza in front of Seoul City Hall. The wide green space is pleasing to the eye.

Second, Seoul boasts an excellent public transportation system, which seems to be unrivaled in the world. Unlike in Canada, Seoul’s public transport network is so well laid out and so extensive that you can go almost anywhere in Seoul by taking the subway and/or buses.

In addition, the streets of Seoul are more pedestrian-friendly than ever before because the city has demolished those previously ubiquitous overpasses and installed street-level pedestrian crossings at major intersections.

Third, the streets of Seoul are overcrowded by passenger cars. Every household seems to own at least one car. Unlike in Canada where most citizens increasingly buy small-sized cars because of rising fuel costs, Koreans prefer big cars. In Korea the size of the car you drive seems to serve as a status symbol. It is quite amazing that Koreans drive bigger cars than Canadians do despite the fact that the fuel price in Korea is twice as much as it is in Canada.

Fourth, housing prices have skyrocketed in Seoul over the years. For instance, many apartments in the Gangnam area are worth one million dollars or more, although they are quite modest in size and far from luxurious. This phenomenon is beyond comprehension on the part of the Korean-Canadians because they can get a large two-storey house with a spacious backyard for that price in Canada.

Fifth, Seoul has superb department stores such as Lotte, Hyundai and Shinsegae which no Canadian store can match in terms of the decor of store and the quality of goods offered for sale. This contrast has a lot to do with the disparity in the shopping behavior of the consumers in the two countries. Koreans are brand-conscious and go for expensive items whereas Canadians are price-conscious and shy away from over-priced goods.

While visiting Seoul, Korean-Canadians invariably get ambivalent feelings. On the one hand, they are impressed by the remarkable progress Seoul has made over the years.

On the other hand, they are puzzled by Seoulites’ dazzling way of life as demonstrated by the expensive apartments they live in, the big cars they drive, and the high-priced goods they purchase despite the fact that Korea’s per capita income is about half as much as that of Canada.

As a consequence, the visiting former Seoulites do not feel they are back in their old hometown. Instead, they feel they are strangers in a foreign city.

The writer is a freelance columnist based in Toronto, Canada. His email address is tomhslee@hanmail.net.