Seoul's Lost Villages: Han River Urban Renewal

Before the gleaming towers of Gangnam and the Miracle on the Han River, Seoul was a city of makeshift settlements clinging to the banks of the Han. This episode explores the human cost and complex legacy of the Gwanghwamun Plaza restoration and the earlier urban renewal projects that displaced thousands of residents from illegal shantytowns in the 1970s. We examine the stories of families who lost their homes to modernization, the controversial demolition of historic alleys like Namdaemun’s surrounding slums, and the debate over whether progress required erasing the poor from the cityscape. Lucas and Luna discuss how these decisions shaped modern Seoul’s geography and social fabric, looking at figures like Mayor Oh Se-hoon and the architects of the Cheonggyecheon stream restoration, while acknowledging the painful memories held by those who were forced to relocate to distant suburbs.

#SeoulHistory #Cheonggyecheon #HanRiverRenewal #Gwanghwamun #UrbanPlanning #SouthKorea #ParkChungHee #ShantytownDemolition #Namdaemun #ModernizationCost #EastAsianHistory #SeoulUrbanism #SocialJustice #CityDevelopment #KoreanEconomy #HistoricalMemory #FexingoHistory #History

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