Baeksa Village, one of Seoul’s last 'moon villages,' faces demolition

Houses in Baeksa Village are seen from a nearby rooftop in northeastern Seoul, Oct. 23, 2021. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

Resident participation programs planned to keep memories alive

By Andrew White

Baeksa Village is a mountainside shantytown in Junggye-dong, located in northeastern Seoul's Nowon District. It is situated quite literally in the northeastern corner of the district, in the northeastern corner of Seoul, on the slope of Mount Buram, which separates Seoul from Gyeonggi Province to the east.

It is known in Korean as a "daldongnae," which translates somewhat evocatively to "moon village," referring to how the residents, being up in the mountains, are closer to the moon. Many such communities once lined the hillsides of the inner city and outer Seoul. Now one of the last still standing, Baeksa Village was formed in the 1960s and 1970s when citizens were forcibly resettled from more central locations such as Cheonggye Stream and Yeongdeungpo, which were undergoing rapid urban development programs.

An old store in northeastern Seoul's Baeksa Village, April 16, 2017. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

These evictees carved out their village of 3,000 residents from the mountainside border limits of Seoul, along narrow labyrinthine alleyways that stacked into the steep contours of the terraced land. For over 40 years the area's greenbelt status has kept Baeksa Village in its original topography, discouraging developers from building tall apartments that would block the mountain views. Not found in the tourist guidebooks, it offers a rare opportunity to walk through a type of urban living that is rapidly being lost nowadays.

Currently, 80 percent of its villagers have emptied their homes and moved on, leaving about 300 people remaining in 140 households. Roughly 90 percent of the structures are uninhabitable and in danger of collapse. On July 28, 710 of the 982 eligible landowners voted in favor of a redevelopment proposal. After approval of the redevelopment management and disposal plan earlier this year, demolition of one of Seoul’s last moon villages is scheduled to begin in the second half of next year, and the area is to be transformed into a 20-story apartment complex with approximately 2,000 households.

Over the past months, Nowon District has been announcing various resident participation projects to preserve the memory of Baeksa Village. According to the Nowon Cultural Foundation, landscape postcards of the scenic mountain village have been produced. From August to October, tour guides providing cultural and tourism commentary on the village were offered. A documentary has been produced on the redevelopment of Baeksa Village, compiling interviews and stories of village residents.

Capitalizing on the unique dilapidated single-story shops and residences, a video recording program and contest were held, allowing tour participants to contribute their own sights and memories of the village. The Nowon Village Media Support Center offered their video editing and production know-how, to help budding videographers come up with video content after touring and recording the village’s alleys.

The walls of Baeksa Village in northeastern Seoul are decorated with various murals, Sept. 4, 2020. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

These projects will culminate with the “Village to Disappear, Heart to Live” Film Festival, to be held Nov. 25 and 26 at Deosup Artcinema. The Baeksa Village redevelopment documentary film will be screened on both days at 4 p.m., along with local contestants’ various short films.

Moon villages evoke nostalgia with the older generations, those with vague memories of childhood hometowns, yet it is not apparently a sentiment shared by real estate developers and current politicians, faced with sky-high apartment prices and constant demand for more housing in the city. Nowon has already seen a great deal of redevelopment, transforming lower-density housing into more affluent high-rise apartment complexes.

“Once the development is completed, Baeksa Village will break away from its underdeveloped image of the past and be transformed into a new luxury residential complex. We will preserve our old memories by recording the joy and sorrows of the lives of ordinary people before demolition begins,” Oh Seung-rok, head of Nowon District Office, said in August.

“I hope you can share your valuable experience of turning your personal memories into the history of Nowon District.”

With urban redevelopment and gentrification programs playing out in all corners of Seoul, there is a collective hope that citizens will preserve their memories of these distinctive neighborhoods. These recent participation programs highlight the historic and unique architecture of these communities and the resourcefulness of their residents, past and present.

Visit nowon.kr and forest6.co.kr for tickets to the “Village to Disappear, Heart to Live” Film Festival screening, or call the Nowon Cultural Foundation at 02-2289-3465.

Andrew White is an American, and has been a college professor in Nowon District for 25 years. He received honorary Seoul citizenship in 2018 for his interest in and promotion of Korean traditional culture.