[KS] Insa-dong Struggling To Regain Its Traditional Image As Cultural Center
Frank M. Tedesco
tedesco at uriel.net
Tue Jul 14 23:36:41 EDT 1998
> Insa-dong Struggling To Regain Its
> Traditional Image As Cultural Center =
> 07/14(=C8=AD) 15:44
> =
> By Yang Sung-jin
> =
> Staff Reporter
> =
> Insa-dong in central Seoul is a symbol of tradition. Its
> history runs deeper than expected when you stroll down a
> small, winding back street leading to an upscale traditio=
nal
> Korean restaurant decorated with nice calligraphy.
> =
> The street was designated a no-vehicle-on-Sunday-zone in
> April last year. The festivities and cultural performance=
s
> that followed have drawn around 100,000 visitors on weeke=
nds.
> Yet some unwelcome guests intruded _ street vendors selli=
ng
> fake antiques and goods unrelated to the traditional arts=
and
> crafts spirit of the district.
> =
> At the request of disgruntled shop owners of Insa-dong, t=
he
> Chongno Ward Office closed the Sunday market on June 28 f=
or a
> reopening in September after cracking down on the illegal=
> street vendors. But that is only a fraction of the proble=
ms
> facing the time-honored district of Insa-dong, a coalitio=
n of
> citizens and architecture specialists argued.
> =
> The coalition named ``Insa-mo'' (meaning `a group of peop=
le
> who love Insa-dong' in Korean) was launched at a building=
in
> the district last Thursday, followed by a seminar on the
> pending issues of Insa-dong including the closure of the
> popular Sunday market.
> =
> The popularity of the Insa-dong Sunday market is
> double-edged. According to a latest survey conducted by
> Insa-mo, a majority of shop owners selling traditional go=
ods
> favor the weekly event in principle, yet 64.5 percent of =
the
> respondents said it's been of little value when it comes =
to
> boosting their sales revenues.
> =
> In contrast, more than half of the proprietors engaged in=
> pleasure-seeking game-rooms, liquor shops and fast food
> restaurants said the Sunday market boosted their sales.
> =
> ``Insa-dong is now losing its unique fragrance'' said Par=
k
> In-sok, a professor of Myongji University who joined the
> forum last Friday.
> =
> Lee Sang-hun, keynote speaker of the forum, said the fail=
ure
> of the no- vehicle-on-Sundays is largely due to the shodd=
y
> government policy which neglected the opinions of residen=
ts
> and shop owners in Insa-dong.
> =
> ``Plans designed to promote Insa-dong area should be
> implemented in close cooperation with Insa-dong residents=
and
> shop owners. The government should stop organizing showy
> events and instead make efforts to develop Insa-dong as a=
> cultural center,'' Lee said.
> =
> To that end, Lee said new principles should be establishe=
d.
> Among them, the redevelopment plan should include adjacen=
t
> areas while preserving the existing roads and back street=
s as
> much as possible. More importantly, illegal street vendor=
s
> must be cracked down upon and the shops unrelated to
> Insa-dong's traditional image should be curbed.
> =
> ``We need a joint committee comprising the government,
> Insa-dong merchants and citizen groups in order to go ahe=
ad
> with these measures,'' the professional architect argued.=
> =
> Insa-mo president Kim Ki-ho said a totally new plan shoul=
d be
> mapped out for the traditional street in consideration of=
its
> cultural image and competitiveness.
> =
> Said another forum participant Lee Ho-jae: ``Most shop ow=
ners
> have been here for 10-15 years, and the no-vehicle-on-Sun=
days
> event was the first project of our own. But we lacked the=
> necessary techniques and experiences in doing this kind o=
f
> event.''
> =
> Lee is president of Insa Traditional Culture Preservation=
> Committee, a group of Insa-dong proprietors and building
> owners which formed in 1987 in preparation for the 1988 S=
eoul
> Olympics.
> =
> As street venders multiplied in the wake of the launch of=
the
> Sunday market, the committee held an emergency forum last=
> year and came up with a measure aimed at gearing all the
> programs to educational purposes, not commercial, Lee
> explained.
> =
> The underlying problem, however, lies with the building
> owners and the obsolete government regulations.
> =
> Only 13 percent of those engaged in traditional and cultu=
ral
> fields _ galleries, old book stores, paintbrush shops and=
> other antique shops _ own their own buildings. Meanwhile,=
87
> percent of the shop owners rent the space from building
> proprietors, who block any attempts to renovate the aging=
> structures.
> =
> In addition, the government regulation which has prohibit=
ed
> the redevelopment of one side of the Insa-dong main road =
over
> the past 32 years is worsening the overall situation.
> =
> Lee Byong-hwa in the city maintenance department of Chong=
no
> Ward Office said the redevelopment plan should be revampe=
d in
> a way that ensures the preservation of the traditional im=
age
> of Insa-dong.
> =
> ``We need a big picture here because developing Insa-dong=
> will be meaningless without plans covering neighboring
> districts such as Chongjin- dong and the Chogye Temple
> area,'' the government official said.
> =
> The development-oriented plan, however, is sure to hit so=
me
> snags since there is no consensus on nurturing a sound
> cultural consumption pattern, argued Shin Chong-won, dire=
ctor
> of social development department at the YMCA.
> =
> Another recent survey by the Seoul administration shows t=
hat
> a majority of respondents or 89 percent favor the idea of=
> preserving Insa-dong, Kim Kwang-chung, a city development=
> researcher, said.
> =
> ``Unlike other areas, people are showing strong affection=
> towards Insa- dong,'' Kim said.
> =
> One participant of the forum pointed out that Insa-dong
> itself is in the process of all-encompassing restructurin=
g.
> Therefore, if this trend continues for a while, a new ord=
er
> will emerge naturally, with the losers streaming out of t=
he
> district.
> =
> But there was a voice of concern about the
> survival-of-the-fittest scheme. ``Shops specializing in
> traditional artworks and craftsmanship are easily pushed =
out
> of Insa-dong without proper government protection against=
the
> influx of profit-oriented businesses,'' said a shop owner=
who
> asked not to be named.
> =
> Kim Ki-ho, president of Insa-mo, said the newly-formed gr=
oup
> will organize this kind of forum on a regular basis for b=
oth
> policymakers and those related to Insa-dong development a=
nd
> preservation.
> =
> Insa-mo will also conduct a survey and academic research =
on
> Insa-dong while promoting the image of Insa-dong through =
the
> Internet, Kim added.
> =
> ------------------------------------------------------------=
--------
> (C) COPYRIGHT 1998 THE HANKOOKILBO
http://www.korealink.co.kr/14_6/9807/t4651275.htm
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