organization:

Flying City

Art Studio, home of an Urbanism Research Group.

The city of Seoul still seems to be on the same delirious run as ever. Density and complexity is just growing and leaving the weak infra-structure behind. At the same time one distinguishes mutant architectural form, urban structure, and urban life style.

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Flying City Studio - Source: www.flyingcity.kr

That delirious run does not necessarily mean that Seoul has grown up straight. Also the spacial structure is not constructed continuously. The city's narrative is essentially characterized by glare (or blindness) and a sense of speed (or paralysis) resulting from the radical montage of the conditions of life. Seoul lacks a central representative image.

But we think that it is still (and always) too early to regard this chaos as a breakdown of the Narrative. There are stories in hidden forms of strenuous efforts to keep and construct the continuity and unity of one's own life.

To understand the drifting life and to rethink that condition as a platform for creating a new style of life, and to draw a spiritual topography of the production relationship of Seoul Modernity requires a hypothesis built on clues scattered around urban landscape, close observation through parallax view, spying, disguise, installation of antenna, high-speed beam, and others.

While sweeping roads running through vacant lots, we overhear complaints from residents. We go into a deserted house and smash belongings left behind. We bow solemnly to the Olympic Apartments in Seoul that rise up in isolation. We set up a signpost pointing both to the Palace of Boys in Pyongyang and the World Trade Center . We take tourist photos in front of a tank barrier on Freedom Highway . We go inside an arts-and-crafts shop in Insa-dong [a Seoul art area] and make the shop keeper to leak out the secrets of landlord pretending we're taking pictures of him. We shout the 7.4 South-North Joint Communique against a high wall. We go round and round at night, and are consumed by fire. (In Girum Imus Nocte et Consumimur Igni).

Contact information

  • Flying City
  • 140-51 Gae dong, Jongno-gu
  • 110-801
  • Seoul
  • KR