• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.691-711
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• 2016

Recently, Economic spaces around the world have changed dynamically. Creative arts and cultural actors have begun to emerge in old industrial neighborhoods of major metropolitan cities. These new actors can be seen as creative actors in arts and culture, as well as non-economic actors that have been somewhat overlooked in the traditional approaches of economic geography. They contribute to overcoming regional economic crisis, as these actors bring a particular deviant and creative atmosphere in the neighborhood. Especially, informal gatherings of artistic communities play a pivotal role in knowledge platforms for dynamics of knowledge creation and creativity, which has a significant effect on shaping a creative milieu in the initial stage of formation of a regional ecosystem. In this regard, this paper will investigate the fundamental mechanisms and driving forces of urban spatial restructuring through a case study of the creative arts and cultural ecosystem in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, Korea. Thus, the main purpose of this study is to identify the formation process and key drivers behind the development of the early arts and cultural ecosystem in Seongsu-dong from an evolutionary perspective.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-17
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• 2016

The purpose of this paper is to understand the value of Dongji(東池), Seoji(西池) and Namji(南池), the lotus ponds of Fortress Wall of Seoul as part of the cultural landscape of the period through a consideration of personal behavior and impressive landscape characteristics via various old writings on each pond. The objects of this study include poems, diaries, travelogues and essays describing these ponds. The results are as follows. First, the preferred landscape elements of these three ponds were lotuses, willows and water itself. Second, while Dongji was recognized as a natural landscape, the composition of Seoji was a mixture of with natural and urban landscapes, and Namji was more urban altogether. Third, in aspects of personal behavior, while Dongji was a place where people broke their journeys to gaze at the scenery or looked down distantly, in Seoji, people stayed for a long time in a pavilion called Cheonyeon-jeong(天然亭) and engaged in various leisure activities, and in Namji, there were many gatherings under a temporary shelter or at a friend's house near the pond. Night was the best time to enjoy Namji because during the day, the area was crowded with people, horses, carts and so on. Fourth, the landscapes of fortress walls were impressively described often. Fifth, because these ponds were integrated into the surrounding area, they were like public openspaces mixed with water spaces, natural environment and adjacent facilities. The lotus ponds of the Fortress Wall of Seoul were located in a place connecting inside and outside of fortress, supplemented the cultural features in city, were valued as public openspace, and made it possible to experience the unique landscape of Hanyang. Although these ponds were buried and have now disappeared, they still hold great cultural meaning and potential value as water landscapes of the old city.