Architecture and Urbanism in Modern Korea

Chapter 1 The First Urbanization

The modern world arrived in Korea in force following Japan’s annexation of the Korean peninsula in 1910. Although Koreans were initially captivated by the prospect of modernity, the occupation soon brought a succession of miseries, causing those sentiments of wonder to be subsumed in feelings of anguish and humiliation. The occupation ended in 1945, and it was followed by the outbreak of civil war in 1950. In spite of this troubled history, Koreans have never stopped yearning for modernization. For this reason, recognition of modernity as a primary goal of Korean society must be included in any analysis of Korea’s history in the twentieth century. The development of modern architecture and urbanism in Korea can be defined as the path taken by intellectual and practical efforts to construct the country’s built environment in forms appropriate to the transformation of the traditional society upon which Korea’s national identity had been based. To extricate themselves from their historical bonds, Koreans have pursued modernization for over a century. Colonial Modernism in Korea When Korea was colonized in 1910, the newly dominant power, Japan, had already undergone its own modernization. Indeed, it had begun this process earlier than its neighbors, and this advantage enabled it to use the norms of a modern society, commonly identified as health, productivity, and efficiency,1 as tools for dismantling a traditional social order. The antagonism that resulted played out in two directions—between Japanese imperialism and Korean nationalism on the one hand, and between modernism and the premodern on the other. This confrontation of oppositional forces spawned complicated fault lines that fractured in different ways, forming the major themes of the architectural and urban discourse of the colonial period. Because of this complexity, two contrasting views of the colonial period have been maintained: one is founded on a theory of colonial exploitation (sikminji sutalron); the other, on a theory of colonial modernization (sikminji geundaehwaron). Despite the emergence of postmodern criticism in recent years, the two approaches remain controversial because they are essentially concerned with a historical accounting of the colonial period. As Jonghoe Yang observes, “more nationalistic Korean scholars are prone to reject the colonial modernization theory by pointing to the contradictory and exploitative nature of colonial modernity . In contrast, more empirically oriented researchers, many of them are foreign experts on Korean history, tend to argue for the positive effects of the colonial legacy by analyzing statistical data on colonial industrialization .”2 According to these latter scholars, Korea’s transportation and communication infrastructure, together with some of the industrial facilities built in the colonial period, all contributed to Korea’s economic growth after liberation. This book gives due weight to the recognition that the modernization of Korean society took place during the period of its colonization. Yet, as many scholars believe, the best conceptual account of the situation may be given from the perspective of Gramsci’s theory of hegemony,3 which provides an analysis of the intention of the ruling class in relation to space.4 Gramsci’s theory reminds us that the ultimate purpose of the policies formed during the occupation was to consolidate Japanese colonial rule in perpetuity. Although colonial modernism was dependent on cultural control, including control of the built environment, the goal of modernization persuaded many Koreans to believe that Japanese rule was not entirely repressive but productive , allowing them to accept, adopt, and internalize foreign norms and values. This was a fundamental limitation that led to the fluctuation that can be observed in various sectors according to the degree of Japanese interest in them. The imbalance proved an impediment in the advancement of modernization in Korea. Notwithstanding this limitation, a modern way of life did begin to emerge in Korea during the colonial period, with attendant impacts on the built environment. In The First Urbanization Chapter 1 4 Architecture and Urbanism in Modern Korea the West, the Industrial Revolution had brought about radical changes in the urban landscape. Until this point, most people had resided in villages set in a landscape sparsely dotted with houses, and this pattern of spatial dispersion dictated the forms of everyday life. When migrants from the countryside flocked to the cities to pursue employment related to the manufacture and increased availability of consumer goods, the housing that was available was incapable of accommodating the sudden increase in the population. In due course, city dwellers had to accept the prospect of living in largescale housing complexes and high-rise buildings, a new built environment...