[Walking Through Seoul] Seoul’s “Inside the Four Gates” as Reflected in Vienna

At the end of last September, I visited Vienna, the capital of Austria, for the first time in nearly 20 years. I stayed for almost a week, walking through every corner of the city and encountering many fascinating sights. The walls of the subway station stairs adjacent to the Ringstraße, a road lined with an unusually large number of trees, were part of the old Vienna city walls. Out of curiosity, I found out that in the early 19th century, the city expanded rapidly due to a population boom, surpassing the boundaries of the walls that had protected Vienna for centuries. Subsequently, in the mid-19th century, Emperor Franz Joseph I, inspired by the newly renovated Paris, demolished the walls and constructed wide roads. This became the Ringstraße. Along this broad, tree-lined road, magnificent buildings such as the Parliament and the Opera House were erected, forming the urban space that tourists today admire as 'beautiful.'

Hyehwamun, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

When I think of a walled city, Seoul?or rather Hanyang?automatically comes to mind. Although there are many differences between Hanyang and Vienna, both cities were formed around a river and enclosed by walls, with power centers controlling access to the city. In other words, the authorities distinguished between those allowed to enter the city and those who were not. Kings lived in Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung Palaces in Hanyang, and in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. Sacred spaces such as Jongmyo Shrine and Sajikdan Altar were set apart in Hanyang, while Vienna had St. Stephen's Cathedral and Karlskirche. Both cities maintained close relationships with their surrounding areas. Near Hanyang, in Gyeonggi Province, there are many royal tombs of former kings, and Vienna’s old suburbs include Sch?nbrunn Palace, the emperor’s summer residence.

Today, the inner city areas within the old city walls of Seoul and Vienna receive special treatment. Seoul’s ‘Inside the Four Gates’ area already has two UNESCO World Heritage sites, and the Hanyang Fortress is also a candidate for registration. Vienna’s ‘Innere Stadt’ district is entirely a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is a historic area that also serves as a commercial district, filled with offices, luxurious shopping streets, restaurants, and hotels.

Sungnyemun, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Although they seem similar, attitudes toward the city walls differ significantly. Seoul focuses on restoring the long-gone Hanyang Fortress, striving to recreate the Joseon Dynasty era and gain global recognition through UNESCO. Vienna, proud of the Ringstraße built after demolishing the walls, only partially preserves traces of the old walls and does not consider restoration. Instead, it focuses on preserving the Ringstraße and the buildings along it.

This difference is deeply related to national sovereignty. Hanyang lost its sovereignty at the end of the 19th century and became Keij?, a city under Japanese colonial rule. The demolition of the walls was seen as an act of erasing Joseon history. South Korea, now a developed country, dreams of healing and restoring this historical pain through the restoration of the Hanyang Fortress. On the other hand, Vienna’s walls were demolished by the Austrian emperor himself, and the construction of facilities favored by the upper class, such as the Opera House, made the city more beautiful. These became symbols of Vienna’s cultural level and sources of pride. That said, restoration efforts are not entirely absent. After World War II, Austria was occupied for ten years by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union. Vienna also lost sovereignty and was divided into four zones. After the war, restoration efforts focused not only on buildings destroyed by bombing but also on restoring history.

By the same logic, restoring the ‘Inside the Four Gates’ area to its pre-loss Joseon era appearance is understandable. Preserving cultural heritage and historic landscapes like Bukchon will greatly help erase the nightmare of Japanese colonial rule and restore cultural pride. The increase in traditional architectural style buildings since the 2010s likely stems from the same reason.

However, is it truly possible to restore the ‘Inside the Four Gates’ area to its Joseon-era appearance today? While traditional architectural style buildings can be built here and there, many high-rise buildings have already been constructed, and the city functions are diverse. Historic buildings like Seoul Station, though not traditional Joseon architecture, also have historical value. Layers of history accumulated through the modern era coexist in this urban space, sometimes clashing according to the demands of each era and the city’s functions. Vienna, which has preserved its traditional architectural style and cityscape for a long time, is in a different condition from the ‘Inside the Four Gates’ area, which has undergone rapid and turbulent changes in a short time.

The population decline trends of the two cities are interesting. Vienna’s historic city center residential population peaked at 73,000 in 1880 and has steadily decreased to 16,500 as of 2023. At the end of the 19th century, Hanyang’s population was just over 200,000, most of whom lived inside the ‘Inside the Four Gates’ area. As Seoul expanded in the late 20th century, the population inside the gates also declined, with 89,000 residents as of 2022. Numerically, Vienna’s historic city center has experienced a much larger population decrease.

A city needs a resident population to diversify its functions and maintain vitality. Vienna’s historic city center, with its small resident population, felt like a theme park filled only with tourists. Many European cities are similar. In contrast, the ‘Inside the Four Gates’ area still feels like a living, breathing neighborhood. To expand this advantage, the resident population must increase, which requires new housing and buildings. A closer look at the ‘Inside the Four Gates’ area reveals many residential zones as well as areas where residential functions can be expanded.

The area is divided into Jongno-gu and Jung-gu, with Jongno-gu having many more residential zones, reflecting the history of commercial districts concentrating in Jung-gu since the Japanese colonial period. But is it necessary to keep this division fixed? Recently, many cities worldwide have seen residential areas emerging within commercial districts. Examples include offices on Wall Street in New York and Ginza in Tokyo being converted into apartments. What should be chosen in such cases? It would be regrettable if the area were filled only with featureless concrete jungles. How about the Seoul city government actively supporting creative architecture? This would leave traces of the current era while enriching the deep historicity of the ‘Inside the Four Gates’ area over time. When history meets today, and the present and future meet creatively, wouldn’t that pave a path suitable for Seoul? Isn’t this the way forward for the ‘Inside the Four Gates’ area, rather than becoming a theme park or a concrete jungle?

Robert Pauzer, Former Professor at Seoul National University

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.