Between Historicism and Modernization: Co-operative Village for Future-proof Printing District in Seoul

Abstract

This study begins with an awareness of the dilemmas encountered during rapid social changes in Seoul, South Korea from the 20th century to the present. The question is why the methods of “urban improvement” in Korean cities, especially Seoul, have become entrenched in the dichotomy of Historicism and Modernization. This question can be answered by examining the direction in which urban structures have been renovated from existing medieval city structures during the Japanese colonial period, the Korean War, and the military regime era, and what that signifies. This study argues that the conventional development approach, seeing improvement and development as synonymous, has led to the creation of urban redevelopment methods accompanied by complete demolition. However, issues such as immigration problems and the deprivation of the right to survival caused by demolition have been presented as solutions centered around the keyword “preservation” since the 2010s. This dichotomy between development and preservation has been a major obstacle to arriving at design proposals for how cities can be truly regenerated. Furthermore, this study extends its focus to the Euljiro and Sewoon District, which have been subject to continuous and varied discussions over the past two decades, particularly from the first half of the 21st century to the present. The reason for concentrating on this area is that it succinctly demonstrates the dichotomous debate on “improvement” of Korean cities discussed earlier. Therefore, by considering this area as a test bed, it is believed that a powerful alternative beyond the dichotomous approach of Historicism and Modernization can be proposed. This study examines how the morphology of the city has been structured through overlapping urban fabrics from different periods and identifies what architectural typologies have taken place in the city through this process. The spatial information obtained from this investigation serves as a basis for proposing alternative urban improvement methods beyond the dichotomy of Historicism and Modernization. Furthermore, the spatial scope of applying design is determined based on the research, and among these sectors, two are selected to propose urban, institutional, and architectural solutions. Finally, as Euljiro and Sewoon Districts typify the framework of historical changes experienced not only by Seoul but also by different cities in South Korea, this study aims to argue that the design framework can be applied to other areas of Seoul with similar characteristics as well.