The entrance to the electronics market in the northernmost building leads to many shops selling lighting fixtures and CCTV equipment. / Korea Times photos by Jon Dunbar



By Jon Dunbar

Cutting a path across the eastern edge of downtown Seoul, the Seun Sangga complex is an ambitious urban project from early in Seoul's modern history. Resembling a fleet of four ships traveling in a straight line, it stretches between Jongmyo Shrine to the north and Namsan Park to the south. Built in 1966, the megastructure symbolizes an era of unbridled urban development. As it ages, the legacy of this imposing architectural form is fading. Artists, attracted to the endangered structure, have begun moving into spaces in and around the building as they are vacated by their original tenants.

Wang Ja-eun, a graduate of contemporary art at Seoul Women's University, moved into a small third-floor space facing out onto the complex's long terrace earlier this summer. "Right now this building is not bad," she said. "It is a kind of history of Seoul. I think it is important and I want to conserve this building."





This art shop, pictured on the third-floor terrace of Daerim Sangga in this 2008 file photo, no longer exists at this location.



From her space, named 300/20 after the deposit and monthly rent paid, she admires the view of the relatively undeveloped Euljiro-dong to the east of the building, stretching toward Dongdaemun Market visible in the distance.

Down among the narrow alleys filled with machine shops and hardware stores, one can find a three-story multipurpose art complex set up in an old sewing machine factory, now named Slow Slow Quick Quick (SSQQ).

"We are very interested in this area," said the director of SSQQ who goes by the name Yangachi. "This area is very interesting in many artistic ways because there is so much important history. This area is a symbol of dictatorship."





Wang Ja-eun (back row second from left) and volunteers prepare the Seun Dongsan Delivery Garden, a guerilla gardening project in collaboration with Project 02, on the terrace of Daerim Sangga on July 10.

Creative origins

It took an artistic vision to birth Seun Arcade. The man selected for that was Korean master architect Kim Swoo-geun, who ultimately disavowed the project.

The uniquely long, skinny footprint of the building dates back to the latter days of the Japanese occupation (1910-45), when the strip, one kilometer long but only 50 meters wide, was left undeveloped to prevent the spread of fire in case allied forces bombed Seoul. After liberation, the space was occupied by an unauthorized shantytown, especially notorious for prostitution. So, Mayor Kim Hyon-ok, nicknamed the "Bulldozer," looked to the master architect to build over the space with a building that would demonstrate the power of the regime.

Kim Swoo-geun envisioned a self-sustained city encased in a single massive complex, providing residential, commercial and recreational spaces built around airy atriums, as well as transport infrastructure that would have connected the four futuristic buildings aboveground.





Electronics are for sale in the brightly lit corridors of Seun Sangga in this 2008 file photo.

"Kim Swoo-geun had a plan for a utopia with this building," said Wang, "but he failed."

His dream was compromised due to meddling from various interests according to the area artists. The final project lay like a modern-day city wall, strangling the local area and creating a developmental no man's land in between downtown and Dongdaemun Market.

The apartments, which originally attracted the rich and powerful, fell into disrepair over the years, leading to the rise of a dynamic black market dealing with electronics, surveillance equipment and pornography.

"There is a historical and cultural value to the market for illegal things like pornographic videos, surveillance equipment and Viagra that has flourished in underdeveloped areas like this, in contrast to prosperous society," said Wang. "This story of preceding generations also intrigued me because I haven't experienced them."





An Australian visitor inspects the fresh produce growing at 300/20's "Delivery Garden" at the opening party on July 12.



Workers here were renowned for reverse engineering technology, and the complex remained Seoul's main electronics market until the late ‘80s when many of the vendors relocated to the newly opened Yongsan Electronics Market.

Business in the Seun complex has continued dwindling to this day. Electronics such as lighting and CCTVs are still sold in the two northernmost buildings and the southernmost building contains a fragrant garden market.

More recently, several beautification projects have been proposed or carried out to erase the storied history of the Seun Sangga complex. The second-southernmost building was renovated into Sampoong Nexus and PJ Hotel, and its exterior terraces were removed, which Wang and Yangachi consider awful.

And the northernmost tower, Hyundai Arcade, was pulled down in 2008, as the first stage of the failed Seun Green Belt Project. That project would have replaced the entire row of buildings with a narrow city park, essentially restoring the area to the state the Japanese left it in at the end of the occupation.



Creative future

Nowadays, the future of Seun Sangga and its surroundings is still in question. The artists setting up shop here may be the vanguard of progressive forces, which could take one of many forms in the future.

Three loosely connected arts-related businesses have opened up in Daerim Sangga, located just south of Cheonggye Stream. As well as Wang's 300/20, there's 800/40 next door, an artist-run space run by Jeon Solbi and Chung Yohan. The two spaces, little more than cubby holes in the side of the megastructure, were formerly occupied by a restaurant located next door. On the western side of the building there's 200/20, a bookstore run by Kim Jinha.



Wang opened her doors July 12 with Seun Dongsan Delivery Garden, a guerilla gardening project in collaboration with Project 02. Wandering by on the terrace, one can find blueberry bushes outside her space.

She is uncertain how long they can stay there. For one, the future of the structure is uncertain, and the terrace is seeing economic activity evaporate, suggesting it could face heavy renovations or even removal. As well, she sees signs of gentrifying forces preparing to make a move.

"These days many people come here and ask us how much the deposit is for this space," she said. "I think Starbucks may come here."

"I think there will be many coffee shops after two years," said Yangachi. "I think Jung District Office will try to make a second Samcheong-dong."

Currently he is receiving money from the district office to operate SSQQ. The space includes a restaurant serving basic steamed food, a concert space and a flower shop, featuring a special "Flower Hotel" where people can leave their plants when they go on vacation so they will receive care. The second floor has an exhibition hall and the third floor has a library and meeting room.

They are building the community, as the existing community of vendors and tradespeople are fading from the area, similar to what is happening in Mullae-dong where a thriving arts community has been growing for over a decade within a receding industrial area. As in Mullae, there is little overlap between the two groups around Seun Sangga, as the workers are busy with economic activity and have little time to puzzle over what their new artist friends are doing.

"We just want this area to have community," said Yangachi. "We don't want just shoppers. We need partners, like workers, shop owners, artists. In three years, we expect it to become a second Samcheong-dong, but the artist community will try to find another direction."