Twenty Years of Hanok Preservation

DATE: Sunday, June 5, 2022, 1:00pm to 5:00pm
DESTINATION: Bukchon, Seochon, and Ikseon-dong
COST: KRW25,000 for Members; KRW30,000 for Non-members
TOUR LEADER: Robert J. Fouser

MEETING POINT: At the top of Exit 6 of Jongno 3-ga Station (Subway Lines 3 and 5 intersect) at 1:00pm.

RSVP by June 2 (Thursday) by clicking HERE with payment of the fee via bank transfer.  Please register one RSVP at a time.

☞Payment to be remitted to the following account:
SHINHAN BANK ACCOUNT # 100-026-383501 (RAS-KB)

*Reservation is not confirmed until payment has been received by RAS Korea in advance of the event.

Description:

The rows of hanoks, or traditional Korean-style houses, in Bukchon have become one of the most common images of Seoul. Interest in hanoks has recently spread from Bukchon to nearby Seochon and Ikseon-dong where less restrictive zoning has allowed hanoks to be adapted to various commercial uses. Preservation efforts, spreading commercialization, and the influx of tourists has caused stress in the communities and debates about the impact of preservation on established communities.

On this excursion, we will visit all three neighborhoods and focus on how preservation efforts have affected the design of hanoks since they began in the early 2000s. We will also see how official preservation guidelines have affected design, particularly in Bukchon. We will also look at the few hanoks that remain close to their original 1930s condition.

The excursion will begin at Jongno 3-ga Station and from there, we will make our way through Ikseon-dong which has experienced rapid commercialization since 2015. Long slated for redevelopment, Ikseon-dong is not in a preservation district and the new business has updated the hanok in unique (and sometimes controversial) ways.

From Ikseon-dong, we will make our way to Bukchon where hanok preservation efforts began in the early 1980s. Early regulations prevented owners from making changes to the houses, but these regulations became increasingly unpopular. In the late 1990s, the city of Seoul adopted a policy of offering hanok owners financial incentives to remodel their houses. Architectural guidelines developed at this time dominated hanok renovation efforts and we will see several houses that best represent “Bukchon Style.”

Seochon will be our final stop. In the 2000s, parts of the neighborhood were threatened with redevelopment, but in 2010, the city of Seoul began to promote hanok renovation using the guidelines that were used in Bukchon. In the early 2010s, commercialization of the area picked up and many hanoks were remodeled into “hip” cafés, restaurants, and bars. We will look at various examples of residential and commercial hanok renovations.

We will meet at the top of Exit 6 of Jongno 3-ga Station (where Lines 3 and 5 intersect) at 1:00 p.m. The excursion will end at Gyeongbokgung Station (Line 3) around 5:00, but participants may join me afterwards for a coffee or a meal (not included in the excursion fee).