Shaping Seoul: Employing Heritage in the Urban Regeneration Projects Seoullo 7017 and Again Sewoon

Seoul has continuously been reshaped by nation-building strategies that project the image of the nation through urban space. From the 1970s onwards, this image has drastically changed by rapid industrialization and the creation of a ‘national heritage’ canon under the Park Chung Hee government. Subsequent governments have invested in the 'politics of memory' to strengthen their regimes: complete urban compounds were demolished and replaced by monuments, museums, public plazas, and impressive urban projects that have recently turned Seoul into a 'soft’, playful and global city. However, current Seoul Mayor Park Won Soon has shifted his focus on urban revitalization instead of demolition. His ‘Seoul Future Heritage Program’, in which ‘Industrial Heritage’ plays a crucial role, reflects the approach of ‘heritagization’, the creation of heritage, to revitalize decaying structures in the city. Seoullo 7017, a deteriorating traffic overpass turned into a green walkway, and Again Sewoon,...Show moreSeoul has continuously been reshaped by nation-building strategies that project the image of the nation through urban space. From the 1970s onwards, this image has drastically changed by rapid industrialization and the creation of a ‘national heritage’ canon under the Park Chung Hee government. Subsequent governments have invested in the 'politics of memory' to strengthen their regimes: complete urban compounds were demolished and replaced by monuments, museums, public plazas, and impressive urban projects that have recently turned Seoul into a 'soft’, playful and global city. However, current Seoul Mayor Park Won Soon has shifted his focus on urban revitalization instead of demolition. His ‘Seoul Future Heritage Program’, in which ‘Industrial Heritage’ plays a crucial role, reflects the approach of ‘heritagization’, the creation of heritage, to revitalize decaying structures in the city. Seoullo 7017, a deteriorating traffic overpass turned into a green walkway, and Again Sewoon, an old arcade ‘revived’ by inviting startups and creative events, were elevated as ‘Industrial Heritage’ and imagined alongside the nation’s ‘traditional’ heritage in a naturalized narrative portraying the nation’s culture and progress. Both projects were designed to attract daily citizen activity and engagement with their heritage value through information signs, public campaigns, and pedestrian accessibility. Altogether, Mayor Park’s policy shows a crucial shift in attention towards experiential heritage, in which industrial architecture is firmly placed within the national heritage narrative.Show less

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Shaping Seoul: Employing Heritage in the Urban Regeneration Projects Seoullo 7017 and Again Sewoon