Paper short abstract:

This paper focuses on a case study of the district of Bukchon* in Seoul where the concept of new coffee houses, considered as ‘European’ or ‘cosmopolitan’ cultural practices, drives the restoration of ‘traditional’ alleys. *see http://bukchon.seoul.go.kr/eng/intro/wculture.jsp

Paper long abstract:

In the past decade a culture of urban coffee houses has emerged in the South Korean metropolis of Seoul. Forming what is locally known as 'café streets', these are central actors to gentrification in certain residential areas. They not only represent a new urban lifestyle and consumerism but also have a remarkable influence on environmental structures and social life of those districts.

This paper shows an example of the district of Bukchon in Seoul where the concept of new coffee houses, considered as 'European' or 'cosmopolitan' cultural practices, drives the restoration of 'traditional' alleys. In this process, the interests of the political authorities of the city of Seoul, the urban planer, the local resident, the owner of the shop, the actor in creative industries, and last but not least the consumer - as flaneur - coincide in restoring the alleys. It is interesting to see how the languages of 'cosmopolitanism' and 'local tradition' blend in the narrative of 'creative city'. Local residents initiate projects against the gentrification, e.g. photographical documentation and collection of individual memories of the district. Yet, these activities match the touristic interest of the political authorities to create a sense of historicity and authenticity of the place.

This paper shows an excerpt from an ongoing dissertation project that studies the current development of the new coffee culture in Seoul from an ethnographic-praxeological perspective.