Al Jazeera has an interesting report about efforts to rehabilitate poor neighborhoods in Seoul and Busan by respecting the existing contours of the area, rather than forcing them into predictable, cookie-cutter layouts. Famed South Korean architect Seung Hyo-sang: “Construction companies dominated everything, so they erased most of the memories inscribed on our land. That is the main problem.”
This is a topic I’d love to read more about. Little by little, bit by bit, South Korean urban redevelopment projects are exhibiting a heightened appreciation for aesthetics and quality of life issues. Seoul is certainly no one’s idea of a beautiful city, but it has come a long way from what it used to look like 15 to 20 years ago.
