A Residential District
A new sign near the entrance of Kahoi-dong 31 proclaims this is a residential neighbourhood and asks visitors not to disturb the residents. What it omits to say is that there are now very few residents. The new buildings with their hanok-style facades are empty most of the time – their owners mainly live elsewhere. For them, these are second or third homes, often bought for speculative reasons. Most of the remaining hanoks, mostly dating from the 1920′s and 1930′s are now empty and awaiting demolition. Yes, this is indeed a preservation area, but in the language of Seoul City, this means that older buildings must be replaced by new.
You can see some pictures of the dark, empty streets at night here