“Asian Review 042” ― Seoul part3
City Hall－the Old and the New
The old City Hall adjacent to the Seoul Plaza was originally used as the “Keijo-Fu” government building built in 1926 during the Japanese governance, and afterwards, it was used as a government building for the Seoul City. At the time of the FIFA World Cup co-sponsored by Japan and Korea in 2002, a time when Japan-Korea relations were the best, many citizens gathered in front of this building.
After the Korean War which began in 1950 and became a ceasefire status in 1953, Korea was recognized as one of the poorest countries in the world for a while. However, with some help such as the compensation, yen loans and technical support from Japan, the export industries such as Hyundai Motor and Samsung Electronics had remarkably developed. In 1995, Korean economy had grown to become the 11th place in the world by GDP, which is called the “Miracle of the Han River”. Seoul City Hall also became narrow, and in 2006, they decided to build a new City Hall on the site behind the old one.
The selection of the design proceed with much difficulty, but in 2008, finally, a Korean architect named Yoo Kerl was selected and he finalized the basic design work. In 2012, this strange looking, glass-covered building was completed. According to the official Seoul City Hall Self Tour Guide, “Seoul’s newly built City Hall was designed with two concepts in mind: ‘horizon’ and ‘deep shadow.’ Korea’s centuries-old houses, known as Hanok, embody these concepts in the structure of their eaves, and City Hall planners sought to invoke and re-interpret their beauty. The building is 13 floors high above ground and reaches 5 floors below ground, with a total area of 90,000 square meters. It is designed to be eco-friendly, providing both pleasant shades in the summer and warmth in the winter.” However, there seems to have been criticism from experts and citizens such as, “It looks like the old town hall is about to be swallowed by a huge new town hall.”, and “They are using too much glass to save energy.”
The first and the second basement floor are City Hall named “The Place to Hear Citizens’ Voices”. On the top floor is the “Sky Plaza” and the cafe “Happy Plus”, from where we can overlook Seoul Plaza.
Along with the construction of the new City Hall, there seemed to be some opinions as for the old one that “It should be demolished because it is a remnant of the Japanese governance”. Eventually, it had been renewed and preserved as the Seoul Library opened in 2012. It includes a café, a culture hall and a memorial hall, and etc. as well and seems to be accepted and favored by the citizens.
In the political world of this country, they tend to avoid what seems to be pro-Japanese as if it were a taboo. Can’t we get back to what it was like in 2002?
