Seoulist

The heartwarming and heartbreaking reality behind one of Seoul's last "moon" villages.

Up north, in the Seodaemun district of Seoul where most of us neglect to venture, is a small neighborhood perched high above the sprawling city. Gaemee Maeul (개미마을), which translates into ‘Ant Village’, is not named to reference any pests in the area, but to describe the ant-like diligence of its residents. Like the defining attribute of ants, the 400 or so locals of the Ant Village stay busy with their daily chores despite an average age of 50 to 60 years. Most of them have lived here their entire lives.

If you keep the distance and the cultural bias of a spectator, the colorful buildings and crooked paths of the Ant Village are quite charming. Yet, peering closer, you can’t help but feel that something is not right.

This village is one of the few daldongnaes (달동네) left in Seoul. Dal (달), the Korean word for moon, is used to describe towns that are located high up on the mountains surrounding Seoul. They were given the name because their location gives them a very good view of the moon. Despite the romantic origin of its name however, this community is homes to many people who live on government welfare. Slate roofs and patched walls characterize the village. The lack of development has created an outdated atmosphere, years or even decades behind the rest of the city. But the neighborhood has embraced this battered look to their advantage, even serving as the backdrop for the 2004 Korean movie When I Turned Nine (아홉살 인생).

In August 2010, art students sponsored by Kumho Engineering & Construction took a bold step and a fresh coat of paint to brighten up the deteriorating community. In just a few days, 51 murals featuring five different themes from family to movies filled the neighborhood. The paint did not just stop at mere decor, but it seemed to have brought back a liveliness and warmth of bygone days, similar to the giddiness we felt as children when we doodled on the sidewalk with chalks, perhaps to play hopscotch. Once a place barely noticed by outsiders, Hongje’s daldongnae is now a destination for an emotional and cognitive walk down memory lane. You know a certain locale has become an attraction when it becomes a part of a “date course.” And sure enough, many young couples and their cameras can now be found taking the trip uphill on the small green village bus to capture a piece of this town.

If you keep the distance and the cultural bias of a spectator, the colorful buildings and crooked paths of the Ant Village are quite charming. Yet, peering closer at the abandoned buildings and the lives of the people who live there, you can’t help but feel that something is not right. The unintentional nostalgia and lack of development in Hongje-dong is in fact due to a development restriction as part of a city plan to preserve the natural environment surrounding Seoul. In 2007, this restriction was lifted with promises of better living conditions for the locals. Since then, however, construction has stalled. Perhaps the biggest change in the neighborhood is now a visible mix of the original residents and empty houses snatched up by affluent Gangnam folk hoping to monetize on the redevelopment.

Residents and investors alike are getting antsy, and their voices are starting to converge. One investor who was found meandering around the premises, snapping pictures of his property, claimed Hongje-dong’s proximity to the Cheonghwadae, or the Presidential “Blue House,” is one of the culprits behind the red tape. “Restrictions on building height in the area has made it difficult to find construction companies willing to bear the costs of redevelopment,” he said. “We are still waiting, hoping things will not take too long to change.”

Ant Village has the potential to live up to the original romantic meaning of daldongnae. The colorful murals have helped bring attention to this neighborhood and have become a seed of hope for its residents. If the development and beautification can be carried out with respect to the livelihoods of those who have made this hillside their homes and to the new artistic values that has charged the community, there is no doubt that Hongje-dong can be a place where memories and renewal can co-exist.

Additional reportage by Yaeri Song

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Getting to Hongje Ant Village (홍제 개미마을)
Take Metro Line 3 to Hongje Station (홍제역). Take exit no. 2 and turn around. Between Exit 1 and 2 there is a KFC where you can get on the 07 maeul bus. The last stop is Gaemi Maeul (개미마을, or “Ant Village”)