Historic Sites and Cityscape in Seoul, South Korea
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
FOUNDATIONS FOR THE MODERN: HISTORIC SITES AND CITYSCAPE IN SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA A Thesis by William Silcott Bachelor of Arts, Wichita State University, 2011 Submitted to the Department of Anthropology and the faculty of the Graduate School of Wichita State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts May 2015 © Copyright 2015 by William Silcott All Rights Reserved All Images Credited to the Author FOUNDATIONS FOR THE MODERN: HISTORIC SITES AND CITYSCAPE IN SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA The following faculty members have examined the final copy of this thesis for form and content, and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts with a major in Anthropology. ______________________________________ Jens Kreinath, Committee Chair ______________________________________ Angela Demovic, Committee Member ______________________________________ Helen Hundley, Committee Member iii DEDICATION To my mother. A pillar of strength and support. Thank you. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not be conceivable, much less possible, without the support of the many people involved in this project. First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Jens Kreinath, and Dr. Angela Demovic for their guidance over the course of my academic career. The same thanks goes to the department of anthropology at Wichita State University for their financial support, education, and significant role shaping me as a scholar. My sincerest gratitude also extends to my friends, peers, and colleagues, namely Andy Blakemore, Jamie Quattlebaum, Rachel Sebastian, Josh Bickford, and Michael Ward, who helped in nearly every step in this process. This research is also the product of the gracious opportunity to study at these locations forwarded by the Cultural Heritage Administration of South Korea, the administration of Goyang City, and the management of Namsangol Hanok Village, whom I also thank for their generosity in both time and patience through their interviews. Integral to this project was the assistance of my friend and interpreter, Kim Yun-Jong, without whom both the research and my stay would be impossible. Further, I would like to thank Kye Eunjean (Esther) for her help in interpretation, as well as Dr. Cho Mun Young for connecting us. v ABSTRACT Based on ethnographic field work in the summer of 2014, this research hopes to create an approach to cityscape that allows for a nuanced understanding of a world that creates, and is created by, its inhabitants. Seoul, South Korea, with its over 600 year long history, has grown into one of the largest metropolis areas in the world. Though the impacts of imperialization, war, and modernization have all left lasting impressions on the cityscape, the city’s past remains deeply engrained and the landmarks and memorials have, just as much as any other factor, shaped the Seoul of today. This research is an attempt to understand the significance of these historic sites not only in their roles as markers of the past but as parts of an active and ongoing process in the lives of Seoul’s citizens. By taking the experience of the cityscape as a point in a continuum of time and space, these historic sites gain influence in their surroundings as they are considered for their past as well as their role in the future. Further, processes of making historic sites museal or, as I forward here, “toural,” create a cityscape that is known by people who dwell within it. The establishment of a cityscape that is understood and transverses temporal and spatial boundaries, I argue, is then infused with emotion and sentiment, namely in feelings pride and shame. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................,............................................1 2. SITE DESCRIPTIONS….......................................................................................................21 3. MERGING TIME AND PLACE............................................................................................48 4. MUSEALITY, TOURALITY, AND AUDIENCES..............................................................67 5. PRIDE, SHAME, POLITICS, AND PARKS.........................................................................76 6. CONCLUSION………….......................................................................................................99 REFERENCES…….…..….........................................................................................................108 APPENDIX..……………….......................................................................................................114 A. Questionnaire Guide For Interviews...........………………………………………..115 vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Moving Through the Cityscape - 2010 The inspiration for this research came during a 2010 visit to South Korea. Getting off a bus during one of my first days there, I was told we were standing before the construction site that would someday house Seoul city hall. Caddy-corner from the city hall, half obscured by the rush of traffic, on a small square was a procession of what I recognized as palace guards in bright colors and large, circular hats. The changing of the guard before the half-park, half-museum complex of Deoksugung palace right in front of the to-be ultra-modern city hall caught my eye and brought to the fore the possibility of a connection between the two sites. With this in mind, and my trip just beginning, I remained vigilant for similar compatibilities between historical locations and their surroundings as I spent time immersed in the Seoul landscape. A day spent in what is commonly advertised as a spot for traditional arts and tourist gifts, Insa-dong district, led to my second twinge. Between shops selling calligraphy supplies, antique Chinese medical manuscripts, modern espresso and traditional candies, and more than one place for cheap plastic trinkets and socks designed like instant ramen packages, the crowded pedestrian walkway flowed into a busy street. A turn to the left and, sandwiched between Buddhist and shaman supply stores, was the Jogyesa temple, a still-inhabited Buddhist temple I recalled reading about in English language newspapers, and which the posters advertised, was the main “temple stay” location made famous by Richard Gere. The juxtaposition of tradition, modernity, and modern packaging of tradition was striking. 1 A few days later, following my relatives through a subway line I hadn’t taken before, I was excited to find, quite to my surprise, a giant, walled square--Gyeongbokgung palace, the partially reconstructed palace of the first ruler of the Joseon dynasty and a common symbol of Korean heritage as the main palace of the last kingdom of Korea (1392-1897). I was perhaps even more surprised that we didn’t stay, moving from the stone walls and almost immediately onto a huge, eight-lane road through the middle of Seoul. The contrast could probably not be more obvious. Dividing oncoming traffic were large statues of Korean heroes, Admiral Yi Sun- Shin who defended against the Japanese naval fleet with 13 of his armor-plated turtle boats during the Imjin Wars (1592-1598) and King Sejong the Great (1397-1450, ruled 1418-1450), the inventor of the hangul writing system that is used to date. The road, active from both the vehicle traffic and pedestrians moving from shops or watching small performances, provided a clear path between the palace that called on the period of unified Korea and the city hall building that the heroes faced. The present, and the future, it became clearly marked, were only possible with the foundations set in the past in both reference to it and the shaping of the city around it, making the past a nearly unavoidable aspect of everyday life. Heritage and tradition, the cultural identity of Korea, was not simply something enculturated; Korean identity was stone and cement around which the modern metropolis was built. Research Methods The following research is based on and expands beyond these earlier observations. Rooted in observational and interview data, collected between June and July of 2014, this project seeks to elaborate on the “twinges” of my earlier visit. How do South Koreans, both Seoulites and from abroad, view their over 600 year old capital city? Are the references across the 2 cityscape accidents of time, the results of conscious planning, or the intermingling of both? In this exploration of the unfolding and crumpling of time in Seoul, larger theoretical conceptions and methodological concerns are raised, with the explicit purpose of this project directed towards a focus on the thoughts and lives of the people who inhabit the cityscape in their everyday lives. Interviews (N = 18) were done with visitors at these sites, who were chosen based on their presence, in either English or with the assistance of an interpreter. Selection based on age or gender was minimal and only done in an attempt to gather a more balanced pool of interviewees. Ethnic identity did serve as the primary factor in interviewee selection, with ethnic Koreans making up the entirety of the interviews except for a single interview done at each site with foreign visitors. Due to the nature of visits to these locations, most interviews were done in groups ranging from two to six people with varying degrees of involvement on behalf of the interviewees. Two exceptions were interviews arranged and undertaken by Seoul city employees who served as managers for one of these sites.