Seoul to build 10 new hanok villages throughout city

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Seoul to build 10 new hanok villages throughout city

Published: 14 Feb. 2023, 19:34 Updated: 03 Mar. 2023, 15:00

Eunpyeong Hanok Village [YONHAP]

At least 10 more hanok villages will be created in Seoul over the next decade as the city’s mayor vowed to make traditional Korean architecture a part of the capital’s cultural identity.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said Tuesday that various regulations surrounding hanok will also be eased to make it easier for anyone to receive subsidies for building hanok and promoting the traditional architectural style.

Oh expressed hope that the efforts will ultimately boost tourism in the city. The city currently has eight hanok villages.

The Seoul mayor declined to say where the hanok villages will be created but mentioned that the Seoul Metropolitan Government was mainly looking at the outskirts of Seoul, where the wooden houses would naturally blend with the surrounding greenery such as the Eunpyeong Hanok Village in northern Seoul.

The mayor said his goal was to create a hanok village in each district of Seoul, pointing out that several districts had no such communities.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has broached the subject with several district offices and heard "positive responses," said Oh.

The hanok villages will come with a museum, nursing home and welfare facility for elderly residents, said the city.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon explains the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s latest efforts to boost tourism through hanok during a press briefing on Tuesday at City Hall in central Seoul. [YONHAP]

A so-called hanok global lounge will also be established in Bukchon Hanok Village and Seochon Hanok Village in central Seoul, where visitors, particularly foreigners, can experience hanok and purchase hanok-related items.

Under the current system, anyone who wants to receive subsidies from the government for building a hanok has to meet 73 different criteria that strictly dictate the structure's features and construction materials for it to be recognized as a genuine hanok.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it plans to fix 44 of those criteria within this month to make it easier for people to receive recognition even if they infuse elements of modern apartments.

“We can’t force these strict hanok criteria on people who are so used to living in apartments,” Oh said in Tuesday’s press briefing.

Anyone who builds a hanok can receive up to 120 million won ($95,000), according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Owners partially renovating a home into a hanok can receive up to 20 million won.

Subsidies covering up to 20 percent of total construction fees will be offered to hanok owners who renovate their properties to highlight certain traditional architectural elements.

BY LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]