한국어 번역 - 클릭
|
| Modern Luxury Villas replace "protected" hanoks |
| Before 2001: 88 protected hanoks After 2001: 9 luxury apartments and three villas |
Like other districts within Bukchon, Kahoi-Dong 1 district had enjoyed the special status as a "Local Cultural Asset" (since March 17, 1977) and was also designated as a Korean-style House Preservation District under the special care of the Metropolitan Government.
The district was home to 88 hanoks and a few more recent buildings that had appeared in the 1970's. The hanoks clustered together on the steep hillside. There were no roads, just winding pathways and many steep flights of steps.
Some degree of renovation was needed here and there, but the buildings were structurally sound and sparkled with the natural life of a community. This was also one of the most picturesque districts within the whole of Bukchon.
Despite this, and the district's special status, the government sanctioned the complete demolition of the district and bulldozers began to raze the district in December 2000.
| Destruction in Progress |
 |
| 2000 .Spring 2001 . .Autumn 2001 |
On the Metropolitan Government's own account, this was one of the most interesting areas of Kahoi-Dong yet when the opportunity came for construction companies, real estate agencies, and developers to make sizeable profits, protection status gave no protection whatsoever. According to local real estate agents, land values in this district are now over KRW 50 million per pyong, compared with about 3 million before re-development took place (these figures were quoted in 2006 - the current values will be higher).
Details of the new buildings are in the table below.
| The New housing in Kahoi-Dong 1 district | ||||||
Apartment Group 1 |
Apartment Group 2 |
House Group 1 |
House Group 2 |
House Group 3 |
Commercial Facilities |
|
| Housing No | 5 |
4 |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
| Area | 1,855.40m2 |
2,115,90m2 |
771.4m2 |
431.50m2 |
940.7m2 |
592.4m2 |
| No of Floors | 2 |
2/1 |
2/1 |
1/1 |
2/1 |
2 |
| Land Area | 1,188.99m2 |
1,298.19m2 |
506.11m2 |
157.74m2 |
500.18m2 |
455.49m2 |
| Building % | 41.38% |
27.74% |
26.88% |
18.27% |
21.84% |
42.75% |
| House Space | 64.08% |
47.81% |
40.96% |
18.27% |
33.63% |
76.89% |
| Permission Date | 2000.10 |
2001.3 2001.11 |
2001.2 |
2000.10 |
2001.3 |
2000.10 |
The Walking Tours of Bukchon and Kahoi-Dong that the Seoul government arranges take visitors close to the new villas,
Unanswered
questions: Who approved the demolition of this supposedly "protected"
district and why? How did society benefit from these changes to
a historic district?
David Kilburn
2nd November 2006
