The Marmot’s Hole

Spent Sunday walking around Myeongdong doing what I like to do best—taking photos of early modern architecture. The Myeongdong area is one of the best places in Seoul for this sort of thing, home as it were to such priceless examples of colonial-era architecture as the Bank of Korea Museum, the former headquarters of Korea First Bank and the Kepco Building (Korea’s first earthquake-proof building). But, before we get into all that, I bring you…

The Wongudan Altar

The Wongudan Altar, located just behind the Westin Chosun Hotel, is not the most popular tourist attraction in Seoul, but it is one of the most beautiful, especially when it’s lit up at night.

An interesting history behind this building. It’s surprisingly not that old, built in 1897 (the three-story Hwangungu Shrine was built in 1899). As you might guess from looking at it, it’s the Korean equivalent of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing—just smaller and cuter. This is where King Gojong carried out the Rite of Heaven, a ritual performed to ensure an abundant harvest. Now, during the ultra-Confucian days of the Joseon era, when there was only one Son of Heaven and he lived in the Forbidden City, this rite was not performed. Fast forward to Japan’s victory over the Qing Empire in the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895 and the resulting proclamation of the Daehan Empire in 1897, and we have a new Son of Heaven in town.  The Wongudan was built and rites performed there until Korea was annexed by Japan in 1910.

Now, most of the original complex—see photo here—was destroyed when the Japanese began construction of the original Chosun Hotel (in Korean) in 1913.  This is a fact not lost on the nationalistically minded—last year, I talked with one guy conducting a signature campaign in front of the Wongudan calling for the Westin Chosun Hotel to be moved so that the complex could be restored in all its original splendor.  The chances of that happening are slim to none, but you can take some comfort in that karmic justice might have befallen the Chosun Hotel when the original building—a beautiful German-designed hotel (see photo here) that was Korea’s first world-class hotel—was torn down and replaced by the new Westin Chosun Hotel.

Myeongdong

Unlike the Wongudan Altar, Myeongdong doesn’t suffer from a lack of visitors. Probably the most congested spot in the entire Republic of Korea, this is what a normal weekend looks like:

Myeongdong is also home to some of Seoul’s best examples of colonial-era architecture. This should come as no surprise, really—it was during the colonial period that Myeongdong took over from Jongno as Seoul’s premier shopping district, a process expertly described by Dr. Andrei Lankov here. The Myeongdong intersection in particular is a real treat for lovers of early modern architecture—see below:

The Bank of Korea Museum (Historical Property No. 280) is probably the most famous, given its rather outrageous neo-Renaissance design:

It’s a building you either love or hate.  Completed in 1912, the complex (see here for a good background in Korean) served first as the headquarters of the Bank of Choson, the central bank of Japan’s Korean colony. The building was designed by pioneering Japanese architect Tatsuno Kingko, who also designed Tokyo Station and the Bank of Japan.  After Liberation, the building became the headquarters of the newly established Bank of Korea.  It is now a museum dedicated to the history of Korean banking and Korean currency.  It’s not a bad place to stroll around, actually, and the interior of the main hall is pretty spectacular.

My favorite of Myeongdong’s colonial-era structures, however, is the former headquarters of the Korea First Bank (Seoul Tangible Cultural Property No. 71):

I just love this place—so powerful… so imposing.  Wouldn’t be out of place in New York City.  Originally the Choson Savings Bank, this monster was completed in 1933.  The interesting thing it is that it was the first building in Korea whose design was selected by open competition.  Three conditions were attached to proposals—the building should have a safe, it should have a hall the masses could use freely, and it should have a roof-top restaurant for bank employees.  In two months, some 269 proposals were received from within and without Korea, many coming from Japan.  Eventually, a proposal by Tokyo architect Hirabayashi Kingkyo was selected.

After Liberation, the building was taken over by Korea First Bank, which used it as its headquarters until 1987, when the bank built a new headquarters in Jongno. Korea First Bank (Now Standard Chartered First Bank Korea) still uses the building, however.

Next to Korea First Bank, of course, is the newly restored landmark headquarters of the Shinsegae Department Store (formerly the Mitsukoshi Department Store), which I described here.

Prior to the Korean War, the intersection was also graced with the gorgeous neo-Baroque Central Post Office (in Korean)—see here for some absolutely must see photographs.  Unfortunately, the building was burnt down in the Korean War.  A new, massive central post office is now going up, but it’s a rather peculiar-looking modern structure that in no way, shape or form resembles the old pre-war building.

A little further up Myeongdong, just across from the Lotte Department Store, is one of Seoul’s least known treasures, the Kepco Building (Korean):

Designated Modern Cultural Property No. 1, this seemingly unassuming office building (surrounded as it is by larger, recently constructed high-rise offices and the Lotte Hotel) was quite revolutionary in Korea when it was built for the Japanese-owned Keijo Electric Company in 1928. It was the first building in Korea that incorporated earthquake-proof and fire-proof designs, built as it were not long after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 leveled much of Tokyo. And at a time when very few buildings had elevators in Korea, it had not only one, but two.

In the 2005 Kukmin Ilbo article linked above, 70-year-old Park Won-tae, who worked at the building as an employee of Kepco from 1962 to 1992, said, “It was the second tallest building in the neighborhood behind the Bando Hotel (Now the Lotte Hotel), and it was very sturdily built… As it was a refined and new-style building for its time, you felt very proud working there.”

Park continued, “Myeongdong in the 1920s and 1930s was favored by the Japanese as a residential and commercial district, so it began modernizing early. It got communication facilities and electricity first, it had a cable car… it was a symbol of opulence and splendor. The Keijo Electric Company, built in the middle of a downtown crowded with tea houses, cafes, theaters, and (Western) suit stores, drew stares of envy and jealousy from many people.”

Where Have All the Dabang Gone?

During the 50s and 60s, Myeongdong was Seoul’s cultural center.  Its tea houses and taverns were the salons of Korea’s writers, poets and painters and musicians.

Not that you’d be able to gather than now.  Myeongdong’s dabang (Korean tea houses) disappeared long ago (in Korean), to be replaced with trendy shops catering to young shoppers, department stores and financial institutions.  Basically, it looks a lot like Tokyo’s Ginza district now (not that I’ve been to Ginza, but everyone keeps on saying so).  To get an idea of what has happened to Myeongdong, see below:

As the sign would suggest, this is the former site of the Eunseong Tavern, the favorite haunt of late writer Lee Bong-gu (in Korean) and his artist/writer buddies. Most of Lee’s writings are set against the background of old Myeongdong, but as you can see, much has changed since then—the tavern is now gone, and right across from the old spot is none else than a Krispy Kreme. In a way, it’s quite sad, although I’m sure Lee would have appreciated a good donut…