02. ZUGZWANG Seoul 2008/09 Zugzwang: personal traces of the expellees Hukseokdong, Bangbaedong and Sangwangsimnidong: Three city districts within Seoul. Having a population history of less than 40 years, it is now packed with blocks of family housing and these districts are facing a large-scale apartment construction enterprise. This is not an isolated case in Korea, a country that regards the apartment complex as the premium living form. Since the 70s, the apartment has affected the Korean comprehension of space strongly. But where will the current inhabitants of the working-class districts move to? Not all residents will obtain a governmental compensation, allowing them to return to the redeveloped area at a later stage. And among those, who will be able to deal with the rent inflation resulting from the new real estate developments? Despite the inhabitants’ efforts to fight their forced extrusion through legal means, they are powerless against the building companies. Even the most adamant ones who remain until construction starts eventually succumb to the highly influential companies; almost the entire construction industry in Korea is part of the Chaebol stronghold. The presented work with the German title ZUGZWANG, meaning to be forced to move, is based on a spatial concept, which indirectly portrays the inhabitants of Hukseokdong, Bangbaedong and Sangwangsimni. The spaces, once frequented, and by the time of the project partly demolished, will illustrate the fate of the displaced residents. Through the forced and in many ways too hasty evacuation of their homes, traces that characterize the former inhabitants are distinguished. This presented work was photographed in the period of November 2008 to March 2009 and exhibited in TOPOHAUS Art Gallery Seoul in April 2009.

Zugzwang
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