Ssamziegil, a place where people encounter culture and crafts, is breathing new life Insadong.

Signboards of resident shops in Insadong Ssamziegil(For left) One of the open stores, ‘Dakddongzip’ and its funny-looking items.

Strolling along the Insadong is much easier and relaxed compared to other crowded must-visit areas in Seoul. It is a small district with full of antique shops, art galleries, bookstores, and traditional restaurants on both sides and connecting alleys. A spacious walk at the center is tread by visitors not vehicles since the latter are not allowed passage along the street, especially on the weekend. You can easily drop in and out various antique shops in which owners take pride of their exquisite or historic items. There are also eateries often besieged by a long line of people whose faces look eager for a bite to eat. For art-lovers, galleries are always open.

Although Insadong’s main attraction lies in its traditional features, this does not mean it should remain as stale, old place. Just last December there was a noticeable update to the street as a six-story structure (including two underground floors) was opened in the area. Its name is ‘Ssamzie-gil’, and it is dubbed as a ‘miniature’ Insadong in itself. ‘Ssamzie’ means pouch in Korean, but here it rather refers to Korea’s popular fashion and accessories company, which actually built the mall. ‘Gil’ means a walk which is rather more traditional and natural than an artificial pavement. The building’s name may seem unusual at first, but once visitors step inside they will know why. A total of 70 shops including craftwork shops, restaurants and galleries line a spiral route connecting the lowest to the highest floor. Unlike other shopping malls which consist of a number of shops on a single floor, visitors can enter stores whilst just walking along the path or ‘Gil’ and making three turns before reaching to the rooftop. It is an exquisite combination of walking and buying. Choi Moon-Kyu, architect of Ssamziegil, said, “There are many reasons why people come to Insadong, such as visiting galleries or eating out, but in the end what t h e y come for is a walk. The idea of Ssamziegil started from the purpose of extending various routes in Insadong.” The extension he meant has been completed, in a vertical way, throughout the structure. The most important aspect of the design was differentiating it from other buildings. And after a long deliberation, Choi came up with the ‘gil’ idea, something which he believed to be the most ‘Insadong-like’, because it is the very medium connecting people to others, as well as craft and culture.

The background story of the birth of Ssamziegil is also noteworthy. In 1999, some 12 shops including craft shops and paperers began to stubbornly defend their tradition in the face of a dismantling order from government development planners. It resulted in a movement by civic groups to save those 12 shops, and two years later the fashion brand Ssamzie bought their land sites to restructure them into this new building. Ssamziegil has a total of five entrances stretching in all directions, without a main gate. At its central garden on the first floor, there are a mass of signboards from all resident stores attached on the wall as well as stones and trees, which create a traditional atmosphere. In the first basement floor, a commercial gallery for young artists, art shirt shops, design collection shops and commodity stores are located. Climbing up to the second floor, several open shops catch the attention of many visitors with creative items on display. One of them is ‘Dakddongzip Design’ selling humorous character goods as funny as its name, which refers to the large intestine of a chicken! Three young designers in their 20s created a funnylooking character called ‘SSBA’ in 2003 and since then have been developing inventive goods such as single eating table, pulp notes, Ramen bowls, etc. Dakddongzip is a side dish served with soju, Korea’s popular hard liquor and often brings up the image of people drowning their sorrows over the food. Taking a cue from this, they kept the name as a symbol of expressing their life stories and ideas through the goods. One designer working under the alias of Bongja says, “It’s good to have an open store here, because people come and go more freely and we can also approach them in a friendlier way.” Previously their crafts were sold via a specialized online shopping mall targeting designers and fans, but now their customers are varied, and are especially in 20s-40s age brackets. “We love this work as it is. It’s definitely not for the money,” she added.

Stepping up a little further one is encountered with a group of people working on ceramic painting. They are not specialist artisans, but visitors experiencing hand-painting on mugs which they paid for. Yoon Hye-Sung, a managing staff of a shop belonging to Cerawork says, “You can learn a bit of skill and take your craft back home. Usually we have some 100 visitors every weekend.”

On the third floor are located exhibitions for the intangible cultural assets of Korea and shops selling articles essential for marriage including Hanbok, the country’s traditional costume. Then in no time you arrive at the top floor and meet with Haneul (sky in Korean) Park where you can take a view of Insadong street. Although it is not a wide open view from a high structure, this place at least gives a break to your tired legs.

Ssamziegil is also decorated with various creative artworks, which provide some of the most popular photo opportunities for tourists. One of the most impressive works is a mass of red rubber gloves with people’s wishes written on them. They are hanging on clothes lines like fat red squid, but telling various stories of the people. There was also a drop-a-line board asking passers-by what their view of Ssamziegil is. One of the remarks reads; “A new type of modernism that gives super fun!”

Ssamziegil indeed adds a new look to Insadong, and is a place where young artists are taking up the baton from the old. Strolling along the 500 meters of pathway, visitors will see the past and present of Korean art as well as its future trends.

By Sun-A Lee
BusinessKorea writer