09 — Arch + Nik

Seoul you live in, 2020
Youtube channel

Year: 2020 ~ 2021
Type: Other works
Involvement: Planned and produced with Jaeman Park, Sowon Choi

Are you curious about the hidden stories of Seoul? How about getting to know them through the building facades in Seoul city? We are a facade specialist group of architects, engineers, designers and translators. We tell hidden stories behind the face of the buildings you have casually passed by.

- referenced from youtube channel introduction profile

main image episodes title from right to left:

1. The humble perfectionist, Leema Building
2. Seoul center building, living in the past
3. The unfinished Evolution, Good&Good Sandong Church
4. Memorial for Democracy and Human Rights, a man is here
5. Memories of Expansion, Seoul Apartments' windows
6. The projection of Desire, Seoul Apartments' walls
7. 21st Century Bridge over 1970s, Seoullo 7017

8. Get your smile back, Seoul Square
9. Ride the Hogwarts Express, Dumugae Bridge Tunnel
10. Facade Transition, Remodeling Before&After
11. Don't you notice anything different about me? Sam-il Building
12. Challenge yourself, Place 1
13. Come to the Far side of the Moon, JW Tower
14. I choose you! Thunderbolt, FKI tower

- participated in bolded episodes

︎︎︎ Click here to visit Seoul You Live In!

Ride the hogwarts Express, Dumugae Bridge Tunnel
22. Sep. 2020
Seoul you live in

Have you ever seen a series of attracting arches as you cross the Han River, from Apgujeong to Oksu station, taking subway number 3? If you are lucky enough to see this bridge with the Gyeongui Central Line train, which runs almost parallel to the Han River, you will be surprised at the exoticscenery of Seoul. Today, we are going to introduce the Dumugae bridge. The Dumugae Bridge first opened on June 25, 2003. Unlike its classical appearance, it's quite a young bridge that was built in the 2000s. The story of Dumugae bridge extends to the situation of Cheonggyecheon Stream, which runs through the centre of northern Seoul city.

The mayor Lee Myung-bak was elected, promising the Cheonggyecheon Restoration Plan. Starting with the demolition of Cheonggye Overpass on July 1, 2003, the restoration work was completed in October 2005, drastically reducing the road above the stream from eight lanes to two one-way lanes. However, with the disappearance of this Cheonggye Overpass, a new detour and an expansion of existing roads linking eastern Seoul and downtown areas were required. One of these construction projects is our Dumugae bridge. Imagine entering the city centre from east Seoul. In the past, we would have taken the Cheonggye Overpass from starting point of Majangdong to the ending point of Namsan Tunnel 1. However, now Cheonggye Overpass has disappeared into history. As an alternative, a quick way to get to the city centre is to use Gangbyeon Expressway,
which runs through Seoul along the Han River and taking the main roads adjacent to the Gangbyeon Expressway.

Most of the main roads connected to the Gangbyeon Expressway were four lanes round-trip at that time. However, the Oksu-Hannam section was only a two-lane road, so it was not good enough to handle the increased traffic. However, the proble, was that as the roads of this section and railways running along the road were so close, they couldn't easily increase lanes. Yet, the traffic will increase,and roads will have to be expanded. So what they came up with was a two-story, box-shaped road. The first floor is a two-lane bridge towards Yongbi Bridge and Hanyang University, and the second floor is a two-lane bridge in the direction of Hannam Bridge.

So, the word Dumugae "bridge" is a half one; instead, calling them Dumugae "bridge" and "tunnel" will cover both functions. The Dumugae Bridge is only located between Hannam Station to Oksu Station, where the lane is narrow because of the Gyeongui Central Line. It's over 1km in length. Let me introduce how to enjoy this short bridge. First of all, it is a unique charm to enjoy the HanRiver, which can be seen through arch-shaped windows, while driving a tunnel toward Yongbi Bridge on the first floor. People without cars can enjoy this tunnel and bridge, of course. Though it's a concrete bridge without any decorations, the elegant structure of the repeated archs can provide enough visual pleasure.

In addition, if the train on the Gyeongui Central Line passes in front of the bridge, the modern Han Riverside scenery will be completed, made by the Han River, the train running along the river, and the bridges of the arch structure. Not only the appearance of buildings we have been dealing with so fard but the facade of functional and rugged structures, such as the Dumugae bridge, is also the facade of Seoul, where we live in.