The former Yongsan Railway Hospital, now used as a research building by Chung-ang University Yongsan Hospital, is a reminder of Yongsan’s history as a railway depot. Completed in 1928, the hospital’s smooth, flowing lines are said to represent something of a transitional stage between classical Western architecture and modern architecture. Due to its architectural and historic value, it was recently designated Registered Cultural Property No. 428. According to the Doosan Encyclopedia entry on it, Korea’s current railroad authority, KORAIL, still owns it.
Korea’s colonial railway authority, like the great South Manchurian Railway (which ran Korea’s railroads from 1917 to 1925), built more than just railroads — it constructed schools, hospitals, hotels and other facilities, too. Korea’s first major international-standard hotel, the beautiful German-designed Choson Railroad Hotel (the forefather of the Westin Chosun Hotel), was built and operated by the Government-General’s railway bureau. Unfortunately, with the destruction of Singye-dong (developed as a residential area for railroad employees), many of Yongsan’s historic railroad-related sites have been lost.
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Rob,
Do you have Adobe Lightroom II? The Luminance function could help tweak those pics.
Nope — Linux user. I did use something similar, Lightzone, to relight the first pic, though.
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