Posted on 02/22/2019 11:52:11 PM PST by blueplum
From the main street, the Euljiro neighbourhood doesn’t look like much: some shabby retail stores, cold-noodle restaurants, a Starbucks.
Enter one of the small alleys, however, and you’ll find yourself in a kind of manufacturing anthill: thousands upon thousands of shops, each crammed to the rafters with bolts, circuit boards, iron castings, gauges, wires, lights, switches, tools and innumerable tiny objects that defy description.
This incredible warren of machinists is the manufacturing heart of Seoul. There are 10,000 shops here, with 50,000 tradespeople, many of whom have been working here since the 1950s and were integral to South Korea’s postwar economic boom, the so-called Miracle on the Han.
But even as the tour guides at nearby Jongmyo Shrine extol the history, foibles and eating habits of the long-dead Joseon dynasty, here in Euljiro a living history is about to be unceremoniously wiped out...
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Sounds like they need an industrial park in Seoul, if not in that spot then in some other spot.
Another big government “genius” plan.
Why don’t they just leave people alone ?
Actually i know why. The politicians have been paid off by real estate “investors” who want to do a quick develop and flip before the bubble ends.
So when real estate crashes, and a vital part of the Korean manufacturing tooling and prototyping has been destroyed... then what ?
That wouldn’t be the same. I’m sure many of those workshops are also their homes. They probably couldn’t afford a shop and a home.
Wow, my wife and I were just walking through this area several months ago when we were in Seoul. It is kind of an anachronism, through, you have shop after shop that is just selling basically one product, like air conditioning vents, or a certain kind of doorknob. The one that was the most amazing was a shop that only sold spray cans of WD-40. We were exploring there partly because one of the areas there is known as “Watch Alley.” They used to have hundreds of small watchmakers and jewelers in this one compact area, and you could find all sorts of vintage (pre-quartz) watches. I was very disappointed, though, the majority of watchmakers have left and the ones that were still there were mainly selling things like fake Rolex and Omega knock-offs (something no true watch person would ever do).
That area looks to be falling apart. Good to develop it. The industrial park idea sounds like a good idea.
“Watch Alley,” which is also near Cheonggyecheon Stream, Jongmyo Shrine and in the Euljiro area. A similar story.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/14/fashion/watches-seoul-clock-alley.html
I went somewhere in Seoul in quest for upgrade RAM for a 486, there was a whole large building with nothing but computer parts stores. Some new, some used. There would be stores, rooms really, some packed to the gills with only used RAM chips. Another with just power supplies. It was absolutely amazing! I’d forgotten about that. I eventually found what I needed, though it took a while.
The real reason it's being torn down . Greedy Government collectivists taking out a large and organized nest of tax evaders.
Interesting...thanks.
there used to be places like that here in the us.
buttons, bottles, tools, car parts...
Every growing nation goes through this.
Every nation handles it differently.
There is no easy way.
One thing I will never understand. They left Seoul where it was and even built it up for 70 years. If Stalin could move all of Russia’s manufacturing east of the Urals, why didn’t they move that city?
Uncle joe didn't mind killing millions of his fellow countrymen if it suited his goals.
Stalin was a corrupt BUTCHER, even worse than hitler, and responsible for far more deaths.
I suppose there was, but it was amazing to see. This was a fairly large building, stuffed to the gills though. It would not pass any sort of fire codes as I recall. I was even able to pay with a credit card, that took some doing. It really is a remarkable country with remarkable people.
These are the types of people the US should be encouraging to immigrate here. I say give them federal grants to relocate their businesses here - in toto - and teach US youngsters valuable skills -
“cold-noodle restaurants”
Well, maybe that’s the problem. People might not like cold noodles. Maybe they like broad noodles. They should try Chow Fung.
**************
Kramer: Okay. What are you getting?
George: I’m gonna get a Chow Fung.
Kramer: What’s a Chow Fung?
George: It’s a broad noodle.
Kramer: What do you mean, a broad noodle?
George: It’s a big flat noodle.
Kramer: Well I don’t want a big flat noodle.
George: What kind of noodle do you want?
Kramer: Who says I want a noodle?
George: All right, look. I’m getting the Chow Fung. You don’t have to have any.
Kramer: All right. I’ll get pea pods and you can’t have any of my pea pods.
George: Fine.
“I store nearby me”
A store near me
That decision rightly belongs to the property owners.
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