Eungam-dong, Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul (2016-2017)

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None of these posts dedicated to old explorations would be possible without iPhoto or iCloud. Without the geotag, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you how many times I visited, nor the dates I visited a neighborhood. Both technologies have jumpstarted my memories of those days long ago. I don’t want to see these pictures go to waste. I hope someone wants to know this neighborhood before it got demolished.

I took this picture on a cold day in mid-December 2016. The clouds obscure the Bukhansan mountain range.

I wrote about a Buddhist temple located in the Eungam-dong neighborhood almost one year ago. It was my favorite place to have discovered in the area, but I want to show you other memorable finds here. The redevelopment area spanned Eungam1 (il), Eungam2 (ee), and Eungam3 (sam)-dongs. My first visit was on December 14, 2016, my last on May 20, 2017. In total, I explored the neighborhood six times before it disappeared completely. 

In the background lies Eungam Central Church. It was the first abandoned church I had ever explored. This area looks like a tornado hit it. 

The church brought me here. Browsing Jon’s pictures from his website was enough motivation to go out and explore the neighborhood. I’d never been to an abandoned church before! This one didn’t have a baptism tub, nor a striking red chimney, but you never forget your first church exploration.

Holy Cloth!
The Holy collection basket.
Is this the kids collection basket?
The definitive proof that the Earth is only 6,000 years old and that God created dinosaurs to test your faith in Him.

Behind the church were the houses in the worst shape…except for one with some beautiful mosaic tile work. It’s not a too common of a style, but I have since seen other places with similar facades.

I was surprised a construction crew finished this house in July 1968. Perhaps the mosaic work was a later addition. Park Chung Hee was the President of South Korea at the time of the house’s completion. 
A tile framed selfie.

In the spring, demolition around the church and the hanoks began to pick up speed. I began exploring another neighborhood section where I discovered an abandoned Buddhist temple on the top floor with a treasure trove of left-behind objects in a rather run-of-the-mill building. On the lower floors, I found an English academy and a Taekwondo dojang

HB English School is one of the lower-level English academy chains in Korea.
I’m guessing this was some kind of reward system for students.
The entrance to the Taekwondo dojang.
A discarded taegukgi.

Here are a few random pictures shot from my multiple visits. This particular section of Eungam-dong is long gone but not forgotten. Recently, on a visit to another redevelopment zone quite near, I tried to relocate this area but it was virtually impossible as the numerous white, high-rise apartments tend to blur together into an indistinguishable concrete mess.

I love the corkscrew staircase; I have seen a few more since encountering this one.
Someone left their lucrative phone case business behind.
A shaman abandoned some candle stands. I hope they returned for them.
The end is near— I took this photo during my last visit to the neighborhood on May 20, 2017. 

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