Guidelines Made for the Preservation of Insadong

With more modern-style buildings being built in Insadong there have been suggestions to preserve the traditional character of this area.
On March 3, the Seoul City Government and the Seoul Development Institute announced that they are preparing to establish three guidelines for the preservation of the Insadong area.
These three guidelines include a prohibition on widening existing roads, no permits large-scale development, and only specific businesses, such as art galleries and traditional crafts stores, will be allowed to build in the area.
Above all, the Seoul City Government would not allow the narrow roads, one of the characteristic features of Insadong, to be widened. Under current Korean construction laws, any road may be widened, however, the Seoul City Government considered that the random application of this clause would detroy the beautiful traditional roads in Insadong.
Also, in Insadong under no circumstances is it permissible to purchase an adjacent site and use it for the expansion of existing buildings.
The detailed guidelines about the surface area for buildings will be decided after researching the real estate condition around Insadong.
In addition, the entry of Karaoke and convenient stores into the area will be restricted because of their detrimental effects on Insadong's character.
Only a short list of the businesses such as art galleries, traditional hand-made product store, and paperhanger stores will be permitted to operate in Insadong.
At the same time, the Seoul City Government assigned 29 acres in Insadong as a district for urban planning in December 1999. This measure was taken help manage Seoul more suitably.
Construction will be banned for the next two years in the Insadong area as a preservation policy.

by Chang Se-jung