Seoul Bang: urbanism between infrastructure and the interior

Abstract

This article aims to introduce the concept and culture of Bang into the long and continuous practice of making, managing, and thinking about the architecture of Seoul. Bang is the Korean word for the basic unit of an interior space (similar to the English word ‘room’). The propagation of the alternative of Bang accords neither with the rational aesthetic principles of architectural Modernism nor with the popularisation of it as a style, for the simple reason that most people in Seoul do not understand its architecture as being either a self-referential expression of individuality or a form of art to be preserved. The experience of Seoul’s residents differs from an approach to architecture that takes into consideration visual organisation, formal aesthetics, or stylistic distinctions. This article argues that the architecture of the city of Seoul is perceived by ordinary Seoulites as an empty shell, an artificial field for life, an infrastructure stripped of any stylistic or formal language. By extending the ‘public’ space of the city to the interior of buildings, Bangs operate as a reminder of the constructed meaning of the idea of the ‘public’, demonstrating a bare condition that transcends the contemporary focus on aesthetics and forms. Emerging at the nexus formed by the daily realities of competition, exploitation, and the lack of scruples bred by contemporary neoliberalism, Bangs enable the citizens of Seoul to thrive in their own way and on their terms.