The naturally formed city wall villages surrounding the Seoul City Wall were once considered targets for demolition and redevelopment in urban planning. However, in the 2010s, their value was reaffirmed as living heritage sites that reflect Seoul's ur...
The naturally formed city wall villages surrounding the Seoul City Wall were once considered targets for demolition and redevelopment in urban planning. However, in the 2010s, their value was reaffirmed as living heritage sites that reflect Seoul's urbanization and as spaces reflecting the lives of its residents. The "Comprehensive Plan for City Wall Village(2014)" established in 2014, is significant in that it specified not only physical maintenance plans for the walled villages but also measures to improve the residential environment and landscape as part of the public management plan. Of the nine walled village areas, the Gwanghui area was particularly predicted to be a region where the logics of preservation and development sharply clashed. Therefore, ten years after the Comprehensive Plan was established, it is necessary to trace changes within the Gwanghui area, where development and preservation were anticipated to be at odds, and to examine how the guidelines of the public plan for preservation and management were actually implemented on the ground.
Previous research has approached the preservation of historic environments from various perspectives. However, the dichotomous distinction between preservation and development has limited most studies, treating development projects and preservation plans separately. While recent attempts to integrate the two areas have emerged, empirical analysis based on a long-term perspective remains lacking. Furthermore, existing studies on fortress villages have focused primarily on specific case sites, leaving areas with complex urban contexts like the Gwanghui area lacking.
To address this, this study selected the Gwanghui area as a case study and conducted a follow-up study based on content analysis and case analysis. From 2014 to 2024, the city wall management plan developed following the "Comprehensive Plan for City Wall Village(2014)" and its reflection in subsequent urban management plans. Furthermore, the study analyzed the relationship between public planning and actual construction heights, site sizes, and uses.
The main findings of this study are as follows: First, in the Gwanghui area, the "Comprehensive Plan for City Wall Village(2014)" aimed at integrated management, but the management plan was fragmented across districts due to factors such as the physical conditions and development potential of each district and changes in the higher-level plan.
Second, the non-statutory "Comprehensive Plan for City Wall Village(2014)" played a crucial role in establishing a long-term preservation and management system for the fortress villages. This suggests that the Comprehensive Plan serves as a precursor to the statutory plan for managing the historic environment in urban areas, establishing the basic principles and direction of preservation.
Third, rather than applying uniform preservation regulations, subsequent management plans adopted a multi-layered and realistic preservation and management approach that considered the specific circumstances of each district within the Gwanghui area. This characteristic suggests that the place and value of the fortress villages were not addressed through a uniform development restriction approach, but rather through a multi-layered management approach that applied regulations and relaxations based on the specific circumstances of each district.
Fourth, the analysis of new construction and renovation activities simultaneously revealed the effectiveness of preservation and management, as well as the limitations of spontaneous regeneration. Nevertheless, the "Comprehensive Plan for City Wall Village(2014)" is significant in that it reflects the core principles of fortress village preservation in private construction activities, including new construction and renovation, and that this principle has been implemented from the management plan to the actual site.
This study is significant in that it empirically analyzes the link between planning and implementation, from the macro-level background of the establishment of the "Comprehensive Plan for City Wall Village(2014)" to the micro-level implementation stage of individual construction activities. This study offers significant implications by specifically examining how public preservation and management plans are implemented and modified in urban management settings. This study is expected to provide valuable insights for future management plans in urban areas, such as the Gwanghui area, where the need for preservation and the potential for development coexist.