The new year is also a time to set resolutions and make changes for the better. During our 2nd group meetup of the holiday, those present decided that urban exploration is better with capes. We resolved to make 2022 the year that cloaks must become a mandatory fashion accessory while exploring. Here are some prototypes:
Ideally, I would like to have the Saemaeul undong (New Village Movement) logo on my cape; it would go well with this cap.
Perhaps, said cape could be reversible because I’d like to showcase my interests for bujeok on the other side. I’m pretty sure bujeok motifs and Saemaeul don’t go well together.
ANYWAY, on the second day of our holiday spectacular, the same fearsome foursome met up for some adventuring south of the Han River. We began our afternoon at a market in the early stages of redevelopment. It’s too early to tell, but it looks like the businesses in the newer part of the market are spare from relocation, while the stickers on the doors indicate the eviction process is in full swing. We wandered down some of the labyrinthine alleyways for a bit before moving onward to our next destination, where we spent the rest of the day.
We spent the remainder of the day in this abandoned neighborhood near a famous fish market; I’ve already visited and written about this place during my quarantine. I showed the group the houses I’d been into previously and we got into a few new places, one of them being the house with the Saemaeul hat.
It would not be winter urban exploring in Korea without coming across an ice palace, a mesmerizing scene in an already tragic absurdity of Korean urban redevelopment zones.
The last two places visited are quite possibly the oldest we saw. The government registered these houses in January 1964. However, being written in the ledgers on a specific date may differ from their actual age, which seems to be the case here. I wouldn’t doubt that these houses date back to the colonial area.
The new year is full of potential. Some life-altering changes are already taking place, as my wife and I have moved into a new apartment this last weekend. I can’t speak of it now, but some possible other considerable changes might occur as well. I won’t know until early Spring, but until then, I hope to keep exploring and put the finishing touches on the fourth issue of The Bulldozed Future.
