Take It To City Hall, Umm, Before It Disappears

Wow -- maybe I've been asleep, or it just hasn't been clear that a complete demolition of the old City Hall building was even being planned. But look at what the city started doing before they were stopped in mid-wreckby the Cultural Properties Committee.

[Source: The Hangyeoreh]

Christ in Heaven. Sorry to take the Lord's name in vain, but sweet Jesus -- how could they even THINK of demolishing this, and without the same level of public debate as the old National Museum building? Yeah, the Japanese built it, but jeez -- it's the most recognizable spatial, historical, and mental landmark of modern Seoul.

WHAT THE FUCK ARE THEY THINKING?

Are you kidding me? Of ALL the things I thought they'd NEVER demolish was City Hall. And me, like many other citizens, were thinking the new monstrosity they're planning to build was going to be built AROUND and in front of it, not OVER it. Hey, although my memory may be failing me, I'm pretty sure the plans I saw made it clear that the original building wasn't going to be destroyed.

This is pretty bad. Seriously, I cannot even wrap my mind around ANY Korean person claiming to have a sense of history who could take a bulldozer to that building. Is this not the ugliest fucking design for a building ever? Well, perhaps in context, if it was a swimming center, it might be cool. But what the hay is this frozen blue wave doing in downtown Seoul? It's about as bad as the spiral snail penis sculpture at the head of the Cheonggyecheon stream, or the "Hey, we-can-make-tall-glass-and-steel-buildings-just-like-in-other-big-cities" abomination that is the Millennium Building in downtown Seoul.

[Source: Marmot]

Perhaps we'll find out more, and this is all some weird overreaction because they were just taking off the rear annex or something (looks like the back building would have to go to fit the concept as drawn in the picture), but from the sounds of it, they were only stopped when the Cultural Properties Committee just went ahead and declared it a historical relic in order to stop demolition.

Now, it's apparently in a legal/bureaucratic wrangle, but at least demolition has stopped.

This is simply ludicrous. I'm offended, and I'm not even a voting citizen. If there's anything to protest and make a fuss about, this is it. Where are the angry citizens now? I hope they're out in front of City Hall tomorrow, giving the city a piece of its mind. Shit -- I might go myself.

I just hope they're not trying to get rid of it by doing it quietly to avoid the inevitable public debate that would have to be had. If so, that concept picture was a lie, and the city was a-lying.

This is ridonkulous!

I'm sure the city is thinking what it always does: "We have to show a 'good' face to all them white foreigners who come to visit Korea, so they'll know we're modern, smart, and well, not backwards savages! Wash the kimchi and hide the garlic -- the White Man™'s coming!"

That's the basic rationale behind most of the "renovation" or new development that takes place here, anyway. Things haven't changed since the city sent thugs and gangsters to beat squatters our of their handmade structures next to the 88 highway near Sangyedong in 1988, because they were afraid Whitey™ might see and wrinkle his nose at Korea.

That Jello-esque monstrosity they're building just reeks of such lackeyish thinking.

Sorry -- I'm venting. I'm gonna end this post now.

Idiots!

(HT to the Marmot)