An Icon of Seongsu-dong, Seoul's Hip, Industrial-Chic Enclave

[katie xie]

I have been hanging out in South Korea for a while, and one lazy afternoon decided to check out Seongsu-dong, the gritty, working-class neighborhood on the Han River that has in the last five years become Seoul's hipster-chic answer to Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Shoreditch, filled new galleries, shops, and restaurants. So I took the camera and made an appointment with Aaron, my necessary “Korea interpreter”, at Seongsu metro station.

There weren't many people at the street of Seongsu-dong in such a hot afternoon, and we were both starting to get a little bored after strolling around for a while, so just casually I took some pictures and and was ready to go home. Then I spotted Veranda Industrial, a battered old building with primitive windows and mottled gray walls that made a contrast to the surrounding modern shops. Caught me totally by surprise, but experience had taught me that Seongsu-dong was full of surprises, so decided to walk into this shabby affair.

Turns out it was a former metalworking workshop - an old industrial business which these days is increasingly rare in Seongsu-dong because of gentrification- and tourism-driven development - and the surprise It was a surprise for me when I saw Veranda's inside décor, compared to the gritty outside. 

Greeted by a slogan on one cement-block wall, "life is better when you LIFE,” we found ourselves amid a plethora of creative, impact-filled paintings, along with a kind of construction-materials décor, now run by an interior design firm. One of the managers told us the idea was to create a community of like-minded creatives, and more and more artists have been signing on.

The accomplished art on the walls is interspersed with sometimes rough-looking graffiti, some of it made by amateurs. "That doesn't bother anyone?"I asked. ”No, there is really no owner here, and we are all creators. Also, art is open-mind - if you put any restrictions on it, it's not art anymore," he replied. "Even if I weren't good at this, I think I'd still like to come make graffiti here.

I kept thinking: is there any people live the life we want? Taking the guitar to rove if you want to sing; taking the camera to travel if you want to photograph. However, most of us could not have this, and try to doubt the reality of life. But this atelier overcame my previous thinking. Until now, I know that we could live a life of working five days each week, or “adventure all over the world”. Most people who came to Veranda Industrial were not art workers. This atelier was a paradise, where they could express and escape the noisy outside world. Although not all the artwork was for sale, the artists were kindly to give them to travelers. If you share something in common, you may have their works for free. After all,it`s hard to find a true friend even with money. And many original artworks has been taken by worldwide travelers.

Veranda is not a huge space - you can take in all the art in a matter of minutes. It's the inclusiveness and creativity of this atelier that's the most striking thing about it.

By the time Aaron and I decided to leave, it was pretty late, but Veranda had charmed us - and indeed, compared with fancy Gangnam and noisy Myeong-dong, I prefer Seongsu-dong because of its arty - and yes, raw- and authentic-feeling - atmosphere. Aaron told me that if years ago, the area was all about business and industry, but today it’s the contribution of these remarkable artists and creatives that has remade the workaday and the ugly into the lively and fashionable.

Maybe I would have come back soon to enjoy the art and the vibe, this time for the whole afternoon. Because it's so true: life is better when you life.

More information: SD.go.kr.