Image courtesy Seoul Government archives
To be once again living in a city with seasons brings to mind transformations on many levels. Autumn is quickly approaching here in Seoul and with this comes cooling temperatures, clearing blue skies free of haze and moisture and the shedding of summer vegetative growth. This was a summer of reintroduction for me (and certainly autumn will be as well). The transformative reality of life here in Seoul.
Over the past 40 years the shift and growth of populations has changed the face of the city. Residential areas, once dense horizontal clusters of urban 'Hanok's' have been selectively removed and demolished in areas of the city. Districts of housing considered Seoul's new 'suburbs' were home to many middle class families of the 1960's. The acceptance of speculative apartment developments has erased a number of these communities around the city leaving behind decaying pockets of this once common urban housing type.
The image above from 1966 in Dongamdong district in Seoul is fresh reminder of a past era of neighborhood life. Like many places similar, no longer in existence, the face of this city appears to change as quickly as the sifting of annual seasons.
