Korean Job Discussion Forums

[markhan]

Knowing that I will be moving to one of the Incheon Free Economic Zone: Cheongna, one of my close friends who works for a government agency, asked me what suggestions would I make, from a foreign perspective, to improve new cities that are being developed in Korea.

Although many, one of the first things that came to my mind was the need to eliminate the hideous business signs, banners and others that envelop already too-plain-looking buildings.

So, I want to know, based on your residence in Korea, what suggestions would you make to improve the overall attractiveness of Korean city?

PS. I am going to translate what I deem good answers in a Korean forum so I hope for your thoughtful comments.

[tigershark]

street signs with addresses... with the development of GPS it can only help.
construction that prevents mold build-up in apartments... not that hard but overlooked all the time.
sidewalks.... for walking.... maybe a bike lane.... more parks... grass.... nature.... don't cut down all the trees... and i'm spent.

[fermentation]

More trashcans on the sidewalk can help. Another thing I don't like are the stores that sell their items on the sidewalk. I see otherwise neat, clean areas cluttered with businesses that leave their crap all over the street. It makes the place look disorganized and it gets in the way of pedestrians especially when they're a lot of people. I would prefer it if they kept their merchandise in their stores.

[ThingsComeAround]

Narrow roads. Major streets don't need to be 10 lanes wide (5 each way) just 3 lanes will do. Why? When cars want to turn on a side street suddenly it will cut down on traffic-

Bus stops that make transfers easy. Far too often I see bus stops that don't make transfers in different directions easy, and they are quite far from subway entry points. why not put them closer together? Think of the elderly!

Elevators that are wired together- meaning the nearest elevator goes to the floor when called. It is tiring to have to wait because one jerk calls two elevators.

For homes- underground parking that connects to the apartments.
I've only seen this ONCE in Korea. For some reason, this is viewed as a "luxury".

[Captain Corea]

You've only seen underground parking that connects to the homes once? Seriously? Almost every apartment complext I've seen built in the last ten years has that.

[bekinseki]

[ThingsComeAround]

[Mix1]

Leave a few trees standing! Nature is your friend not your enemy.

Trees freshen the air, dampen noise pollution, and provide natural shade.

There's no need to fill every square meter with the same gray buildings. Mix it up a little with mini parks or plazas so people can stroll or hang out a bit. Keep some of the original Korean vibe in terms of architecture, etc. And leave some small streets for traditional vendors.

One of the main criticisms of Korean cities is they are just crowded, grey, soulless blobs with no vibe whatsoever. Adding neon and flashy lights to the grey buildings does little to improve the vibe, it just makes it look cheap.

The faux luxury look is overdone here. You can understand why they want to show that look but it looks like you are trying too hard to show your nouveau riche status. Visitors see right through that. Class over flash. We don't need more Korean version of Beverly Hills/ Rodeo Drive crap. That's just wannabe stuff. Create your own vibe for once.

The use of space is generally horrible as well. You can't just say, "we're a small country" as an excuse. If you are small you have to use space wisely, not just pack everything into one place as densely as possible.

[Yaya]

Don't make the town look Korean with dozens and dozens of signs in a small area. Try to give the impression of a lot of space.

And have laws on loud music at stores and places. I also would love to get K-poop banned but I know that won't fly.

[eamo]

In the UK the local council can force building owners to clean up their property if it gets shabby looking. Korean cities could use a bit of that.

I'm still seeing too narrow streets without sidewalks even in new developments. It's clear that the developers are reluctant to make wide enough streets as it will lower the pyeong-age, thereby value, of the surrounding buildings.
Any street made in these days of mass car ownership should be wide enough for parking on both sides and still space for two cars to pass. And sidewalks.

The build-demolish-build cycle needs to be longer. A building should not be redeveloped after just 15 years. It means that no matter where you live, there's always some noisy messy construction going on nearby.

[matthews_world]

Don't build restaurants and food establishments on the first floors of residential complexes. These only attract roaches which migrate to the higher units and can be fire hazards.

On that note, build proper fire escapes and stairwells. I don't want to be Spiderman hanging from a safety rope.

No gambling or casino zones next to public housing.

Larger brand name shops and bookstores, etc. so people don't have to travel out of the town. And not these mom and pop places which go belly under in a year.

[chasmmi]

Street Names on Signposts, even if it is just street 1, street 2 etc. Gives people a sense of knowing where exactly they are.

More bins, nothing encourages littering more than having to walk 45 minutes carrying an empty can.

On every 4th rotation place the Baskin Robbin's after the Dunkin' Donuts just to add a bit of variety.

[DejaVu]

Sorry, nothing original here. Just a focus onthe points I agree with-


More trashcans? Just 1 in all of Busan would be nice. Or some fines for littering. My friend from a large Japanese city scoffed at how littered Korea's streets were.


More color (Especially on the huge buildings [and not neon])

Trees

And for saftey more than anything else, this:
"Any street made in these days of mass car ownership should be wide enough for parking on both sides and still space for two cars to pass."

Driving is so dangerous, especially in a scooter, when people decide it's a good idea block half of the street just because they put on their flashers. The only thing I've seen cops do is beep at them. Make a solution for this to lessen both traffic and accidents.

[Steelrails]

Trashcans Trashcans Trashcans.

"Monster Flush" (can handle TP in the bowl) public toilets at the subway stations and other transportation hubs. Frequent cleaning of public facilities in those places.

Strictly enforced traffic laws.

Addresses and numbers.

Tax breaks for businesses selling foreign groceries and liquor.

Car-free walking friendly shopping district.

A casino.

Easy to follow Cheongna-neighborhood transit system.

[adzee1]

[/quote]

The government's just lucky I never got to sit in on one of these meetings. Some ideas I have.

-When a new apartment complex/New Town is built, don't bulldoze the former geography of the area and put in a new megastructure with no relationship to the vicinity and landscape.
-Incorporate Korean design elements into new buildings. There are ways to design modern buildings while also introducing aspects of Korean heritage. Also, it would be nice if every building isn't a clone.
-Colour. These days even Pyongyang is more colourful than most of Korea's newer areas.
-WTF is a We've anyway? Or an iwant? And why aren't Brownstones brown or made of stone? Having English names for your apartment is no better than having a bunch of random English words on your shirt.
-Mixed commercial/residential structures. It's nice if an apartment has a supermarket or convenience store on the main level, plus other establishments. Not only is it convenient, but it makes the places somewhat safer as there is more likely to be people around at night.
-More affordable housing for smaller families. Not everyone is in a nuclear family. All the new highrises are for larger families, and there's not much that's good for families with lower budgets or fewer members.
-Don't persecute evictees. They're the ones who you will need to run your grocery stores when all the yuppies move in.
-Culture is a huge part of breathing life into a city. New York isn't the most famous city in the world just for Wall Street--take away all the local culture and cultural events, and you're left with Songdo.
-Speaking of Songdo, proximity and ease of access are important. It should be possible to live in an area without a car.
-It will be a long time before these free economic zones actually pay off. For now, they're ghost towns. I've never heard of Cheongna, but Songdo is a creepy place. South of there is Wolgot New Town, which is officially the saddest place on Earth.

This is all I can think of for now.[/quote]