Seoul's Historic Walks in Sketches by Janghee Lee

Author:Janghee Lee
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781624121142
Publisher: Seoul Selection
Published: 2018-08-03T16:00:00+00:00

Samil Building

Built in 1970, the Samil Building was a pioneering structure that launched Seoul’s skyscraper era. It was built with thirty floors to match its location on Samil-ro Street, which literally means “Three One Street” (a reference to the March First Independence Movement). Its construction coincided with then-president Park Chung-hee’s desire to “liquidate the vestiges of Japanese colonial rule through skyscrapers.” Korean tourists would even visit the building to count its floors.

The building’s design was handled by architect Kim Joong-up, who was accused of ripping off the Seagram Building in New York, by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. An even bigger problem, though, is that the building doesn’t have any underground parking space. Accordingly, the rent here is supposedly cheaper than in surrounding buildings. I like to think of it as being a trendsetter, as a building that eliminates parking spaces to discourage cars from coming downtown.

This site was where the house of Yu Dae-chi, a leading nineteenth-century proponent of progressive reform, was once located. Yu’s home was extremely shabby, but it proved an invaluable hideout for reform-minded young people. King Cheoljong’s son-in-law Park Yeong-hyo, late Joseon modernizer Kim Ok-gyun, Seo Gwang-beom of the royal secretariat, Independence Club leader Yun Chi-ho, and other modernizers all passed through the door of Yu’s humble home.

On the day of the Gapsin Coup, the ultimately unsuccessful attempt of the reform faction to take over the government, the plotters sought out their teacher, Yu, and told him what they were planning to do. He tried hard to stop them, since he didn’t trust Japan. They launched the coup anyway, and it’s said that Yu left his home and disappeared after hearing the news. I wonder if the Samil Building—if it could think—would understand the youthful spirit of those would-be reformers.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.