How has the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea changed? One Day in Korea: Residential Areas and Waste Sorting House in South Korea
Hanok is a house built in the traditional Korean style. When building such a house, the terrain and seasonal features are taken into account. The ideal location for besanimsu is when a mountain rises behind the house and a stream flows in front of it. In the cold northern regions, traditional houses are built in the shape of a square, in the central part of the country - in the shape of the letter "G", and in the warm southern regions - in the form of a straight line.
traditional korean house hanok is an environmentally friendly dwelling, which was created exclusively from natural materials: wood, stone, straw and earth for walls and floors, clay for tiles and rice paper hanji for windows and doors. There were two main types hanoka : a house with a tiled roof where nobles lived, as well as thatched dwellings of peasants and common people. It was by the material used to create the roof that it was possible to distinguish the house of an aristocrat from the dwelling of a commoner. In those days, ceramic tiles cost a lot of money, and only representatives of the upper class could afford to have a house with a roof made of this expensive material. Peasants usually used rice straw from their fields for roofing. At present, thatched roof houses have practically disappeared, and as for Hanok with a tiled roof, many Koreans still live in such houses, which can be easily seen not only in the countryside, but also in large cities.
The supporting pillars and load-bearing structures were built of wood, the walls were laid out of bricks made from compressed earth mixed with grass, and the floor in the living rooms was wooden, while in the utility rooms - stone or earthen. Doors, windows and walls were covered with Korean rice paper. hanji .
They also laid on the floor hanji , which was previously impregnated with vegetable oil. One of the distinguishing features of a Korean traditional dwelling is its unique heating system. ondol . It consisted of pipes laid under the floor, through which hot air from the hearth in the kitchen reached the living quarters, heating them. Thus, the floors did not lie directly on the ground, but were raised to the height necessary for installation ondolya , and rooms to save heat were made relatively small in size.
Also, the spread of such a heating system made such pieces of furniture as a bed, chair or armchair unnecessary - Koreans preferred to sleep or sit directly on the warm floor, laying a mat or a thin mattress on it. This lifestyle "on the floor" had a great influence on everyday culture.
Now most Koreans live in European-style buildings or modern apartment buildings, sleep on beds and dine sitting on chairs at a high table, but their apartments are still heated by a system ondol . At home, people go barefoot, so when entering a Korean apartment, you must take off your shoes.
Recently, the number of cases of various types of dermatitis and eczema has become more frequent in Korea. Scientists have conducted research and found that living in a Korean traditional home can help to cope with such ailments and have a beneficial effect on health.
Many older people prefer to retire and move to live in the provinces and settle in hanoke .
Korean traditional houses hanok quite a lot has been preserved throughout the country. Some of them have hotels where anyone can spend one or more nights and get to know Korean culture better. The most famous examples of traditional Korean architecture that have survived to this day include the traditional village in Jeonju, the Hahoe village in Andong, the Chire artists' settlement, the Suedan, Imcheonggak and Rakgojae estates in Seoul.
Perhaps a kind of irony of fate is that the military of the two countries are at the forefront of this peaceful rapprochement. The army has always been famous for its conservatism and suspicion regarding various peace initiatives with a recent enemy. Soldiers and officers can be understood: diplomats can agree on anything, but if the enemy strikes in the back again, it is the servicemen who will die first, and therefore a certain conservatism in the thinking of the generals is inevitable. The “people in uniform” of the South and North are no exception. Nevertheless, in the past few weeks, they have repeatedly met in the DMZ area, held negotiations, agreed on cooperation and worked together to restore peace to the inter-Korean border. Judging by the current results, they were able to achieve a lot.
On Thursday, October 25, the parties fully completed the implementation of measures for the complete demilitarization of the already seemingly "long-term demilitarized" joint security zone (English abbreviation - JSA or Joint Security Area) in the Phanmunchzhom area. Nine checkpoints were eliminated there - five from North and four from South Korea. And by the end of November, all 22 checkpoints on both sides of the entire DMZ will be removed, which serve as forward defense strongholds in case of war, and are also widely used for surveillance.
In addition, also in the JSA, which was just recently stuffed with mines, the demining process has ended. At one time, US President Bill Clinton called this area "the most terrible place on earth", and now the JSA is really turning into a symbol of peace and rapprochement between the two parts of Korea.
It is expected that in the near future the South and North will also dismantle some of the equipment to monitor each other, as well as stop a number of military and intelligence activities in the regions adjacent to the border.
From now on, in the Phanmunjeom area, which was and is perhaps the most famous point on the DMZ, where negotiations between the South and the North are constantly taking place, you will not see armed soldiers. Security there is provided by 35 people on both sides - five officers and 30 soldiers each, but they are all unarmed, resembling "vigilantes" who keep order.
If earlier the soldiers of the South and the North stood against each other in tense poses, then on October 26 the generals of the two countries shook hands with smiles, jokes and laughter, signing another package of measures to reduce military tension. From now on, under no pretext, military operations are allowed on the DMZ.
“I am really very impressed with the measures that we took to disarmament in the JSA area ... Just yesterday we were standing opposite each other, at the forefront of a possible confrontation, aiming at each other. Now we are in the forefront of those efforts for the part of the world, about which our countries and our leaders agreed,” South Korean Major General Kim Do Gyun told his colleague, General of the DPRK Armed Forces Ahn Ik San. while now a new age begins.
A joint military committee is also expected to be set up in the near future to oversee compliance with these and other similar agreements.
Of course, there have been many times before when the South and the North talked a lot about peace, only to start threatening each other with weapons again in a few months, and tension and sometimes even the sounds of machine-gun fire returned to the border. But now everything is different - the weapons are leaving, and in some key areas the DMZ (the same JSA) has already gone, making it impossible to shoot.
This rapprochement between South and North Korea is viewed with suspicion by the United States and a number of other countries. There are enough conservatives in South Korea itself who urge "not to believe the commies", but the leaders of the two Koreas, Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un, seem to be determined to seriously reduce tensions in bilateral relations. At least they were able to force their military to become the main executors of this "peace offensive".
October 28, 2018 will become a kind of symbol of changes to the world and, of course, a landmark historical event. On Sunday at 9:00 am, the Joint Security Zone, where only the elite and under strict escort could previously enter, will be open to ordinary visitors. From now on, from 9 am to 5 pm, anyone can visit the JSA and freely walk around both the South Korean and North Korean sides of this area.
South Korean journalists joked in this regard: “Yes, you can breathe a sigh of relief - now it will be possible to come to Panmunjom for a walk in jeans, shorts and miniskirts.” Indeed, until now the JSA from the South Korean side could only be visited if a certain dress code was observed. At the same time, there were no such restrictions on the part of the DPRK. Now it will be possible not to take care of the wardrobe so much. But, of course, it's not about shorts and miniskirts. Peace has returned to the inter-Korean border. I would like to hope that forever.
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I had 10 hours before my flight to Fiji, and I decided to deviate a little from the traditional routes: I went not to the center of Seoul, but to the outskirts! See how people live!
01. If you go from the airport by car, you can see a giant steel member. I don't know what the author of this sculpture wanted to show, to be honest. Maybe it's not a member at all, judge for yourself ... 
02. The cable-stayed bridge of Incheon-tegyo goes across the entire bay. 
03. But it's better to take the subway! The train to the center takes 50 minutes, which is faster than by car. You can take an express ticket, it will be even faster. But it does not run as often as a regular metro, and it is not always convenient. Pictured is a bike rack. 
04. Station 
05. The Seoul metro cannot boast of rich decoration, like the Moscow one, but here everything works like clockwork. The trains are modern, the platforms are fully equipped for people with disabilities, there are elevators and escalators everywhere. 
06. I noticed that in the subway girls prefer to sit closer to the girls. 
07. And men - to men. That is, if a man enters the car, he will rather sit down with another man than with a girl, and vice versa. I wonder why so? 
08. Border with the sea on the bay. The coast is fortified, everything is in fences and watchtowers. Firstly, here we have the Seoincheon power plant, and secondly, they are afraid of saboteurs from North Korea who can swim to the South Korean coast and land;) 
09. Low tide gives Martian landscapes. 
10. Bridge 
11. View of Incheon. In 2003, South Korea's first free economic zone was established in the city. Now it is a large transport and business center with a population of 3 million people. At the same time, it is part of the Seoul agglomeration and serves as the gateway to the capital. The tallest building is the 308-meter skyscraper Northeast Asia Trade Tower in the business district of Songdo. 
12. The city is being actively built up, skyscrapers are replacing small buildings. 
13. Here housing is mixed with offices. 
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15. Koreans love to paint their roofs green. I wonder if this makes any sense? 
16. A funny shot came from a height. Very similar to Central Park in New York, only without the forest of skyscrapers! 
17. Despite the fact that the city is new, you will not see underground passages here. 
18. But you will see multi-storey residential anthills! Koreans can be understood: the population density here is several times higher than in Russia, but there is not so much land. For example, in Seoul, the population density is 16,626 people per sq. kilometer, in Moscow - 4833 people. In St. Petersburg - 3764, in Novosibirsk - 3133. I can still understand why 45-story residential buildings are being built in Hong Kong, Shanghai or Seoul. But why do it in St. Petersburg? 
19. This is an ordinary residential complex. 
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22. House numbers are written large on the facades. Previously, Koreans were very afraid of the number "4", this is the number of death. In China, the number 4 sounds the same as the verb "to die", and in Japan and Korea this word came from Chinese. So fours were always avoided: there was no 4th house, they didn’t make a 4th row on planes, and there was no 4th floor in houses - it was usually denoted by the letter “F”, and apartments on it were cheaper than 5 -m. But now there are fewer superstitions, and it is quite normal to live on the 4th floor of house number 444 in the 44th apartment. 
23. Quarters of residential buildings. This is the middle class. 
24. Entrance to courtyards for residents only. 
25. Inside, everything is very similar to our new areas, only there is more greenery here. 
26. Playgrounds are mostly primitive. 
27. Of the unusual, I noticed exercise bikes! 
28. Top view 
29. Passages between houses and landscaping 
30. Everything is parked in the yards. 
31. Just like ours, only they don’t break the rules and park only in those places where they can. 
32. This is what a standard yard looks like: almost everything is occupied by parking. But the places are clearly separated - it is clear where someone is standing. The concierge ensures that everyone parks correctly. The concierge also makes sure that strangers do not park cars in the yard. If you do not have a pass, then the concierge can come and kick you out along with the car. 
33. Yards and houses in general are similar to our areas. But here the condition of the facades is very strictly monitored: you can’t hang air conditioners on your own (there are special places for them), you can’t glaze balconies. It looks much better and cleaner. Housing in Seoul is expensive. Prices in new neighborhoods on realtor websites start at $500,000 for two- and three-room apartments. Although it is possible that this is just business-class housing, and ordinary Koreans move into cheaper ones. 
34. Garbage sites in Korea are very interesting. From the outside it may seem that someone just piled garbage, but it's not. In Korea, there are two options for throwing out the trash. You can buy bags and throw away anything, that is, unsorted garbage. If you want to throw away garbage for free, then you need to sort it. The sorting yard can be located right in the center of the yard. Cardboard boxes separately, bags - separately. 
35. Green big bag - for metal cans, blue containers for batteries. 
36. There is a special bag for paper waste. 
37. Styrofoam is handed over separately, carefully pressing with a brick so that it does not fly away. A barrel is needed to drain the old oil. 
38. These green containers are for unwanted clothes and shoes, which are then distributed to those in need. 
39. Separate container for batteries. 
40. There is a container for light bulbs, while there are light bulbs that are simple, long, large, small, and each type has its own capacity. 
41. Even household appliances have their own container. Unnecessary household appliances are laid out in a special box, which will then be disassembled and recycled. 
42. Bag of cans 
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44. And if you want to throw away some furniture or something else large, you need to pay money. 
45. You will be stuck with such a sticker "Paid", this pleasure costs 5,000 won (250 rubles). 
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47. A cycle path that is properly separated from the road. True, it seems to be narrow. 
48. Mast for a traffic light. It looks too massive, but this pole has a special illumination for pedestrians who stand on the safety island. 
49. In general, Koreans are quite free about the rules of the road. For example, they often park in the wrong places, under a prohibition sign, or even on the sidewalks, and this does not particularly bother anyone. They like to drive, they don't always let them pass at the transition. In general, compared with the Japanese, they are generally savages. 
50. Good bus stop. Good information about routes. The only thing missing is a bin, so an attentive viewer will find cups and other garbage. 
51. Girls 
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53. It is very safe in Korea, nothing is stolen, and you can often see bicycles with only the rear wheel fixed. That is, people do not even fasten them to the parking lot. In theory, you can just take it under your arm and carry this bike away. Inexpensive bikes often just sit on the street without any locks. The people feel very calm. 
54. An unusual storm drain grate. I'm not sure if it's effective, but it looks cool. 
56. Japanese Cafe 
57. When leaving the supermarket, there are special packing tables where you can take adhesive tape, ropes, boxes - everything you need to pack your purchases conveniently. Cool idea, it's a pity we don't do that. 
There will be another big post about new residential areas in Korea coming soon!
Well, tomorrow will be Fiji;) Get ready!
This is one of the largest cities in Korea, its rapid growth began in the mid-90s, and still every day there is something new. Now the Koreans are implementing the Songdo Smart City project - it will be a large environmentally friendly and maximally automated area in the port area, but it has not yet been completed. But Incheon is a great place to see how Koreans build modern housing.
Koreans have a peculiar approach to housing. It seems to us from the outside that they simply adopt everything from the Americans, Europeans and Japanese, but this is not entirely true. For example, Koreans think it's very cool and prestigious... to live in anthill houses! Yes, yes, this is not one-story America with its endless suburbs and not London townhouse districts.
But, on the other hand, this is not the case either: a different quality of housing, a different attitude towards public spaces. Of the general only the height of the buildings and a fairly high building density, but there is very little land in Korea. The population density in Seoul is 16,626 people/sq. kilometer, in St. Petersburg - 3764 people. Feel the difference?
01. View of Incheon. Everywhere something is being built. In some places there are wastelands, but they will not stay here for long.
02. Housing in Incheon is built in blocks. The Korean residential complex is high-rise buildings standing around the perimeter of the block.
Perhaps most of all, Korean new buildings are similar to American apartment buildings, even. But the rest - the usual microdistricts. There is a special word for them in the Korean language - "apathy".
Most likely, this is a locally distorted English "apartment", although there is a version that the Koreans borrowed this word from the French. This is a universal term: the word "apathy" refers to both a microdistrict, and a multi-storey building in such a microdistrict, and an apartment in this building.
Here, along the street, three different "apaths" are visible. 
03. Here is a typical Incheon "apathy" quarter. Usually "apathy" is a microdistrict of several houses (there are somewhere from 5 to 15) with a common territory closed from the rest of the world. Houses, as a rule, are built at the same time, and not in "bursts". 
04. There are no purely sleeping areas in Incheon, because "apaths" can build office and other public buildings between the quarters. 
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06. Some are lucky: their residential complex overlooks a park with a lake. 
07. You have most likely seen the video for the song gangnam style. This clip is dedicated to the style of life in Seoul's Gangnam district. Something like how Moscow majors used to sing arenbi about Rublyovka. Only Gangnam-gu mainly consists not of mansions and cottages, but of "apathy".
That is, Korean nouveaux riches settle in unsightly high-rise buildings (in architectural terms, as a rule, they do not stand out in any way), and this is not considered shameful. On the contrary, it emphasizes the status of the buyer of such housing. Even if the house does not belong to the elite class of real estate, then living in an apartment in a high-rise building within the boundaries of Seoul is sometimes considered more prestigious than living in a cottage outside of it. The same can be said about Incheon, which many generally tend to consider part of Seoul. 
08. In general, if you are Korean and live in your own house or in an apartment in a house where there are less than 10 floors (they are called "yeonglip"), then you are so small fry. Really tough guys live in high-rise buildings like this. 
09. The park goes straight to the sea 
10. The first floors from the side of the street are always "live", there will be shops, cafes, offices, fitness centers, laundries, medical rooms and so on. 
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13. Gate at the entrance to one of the quarters. At the entrance, there is always a concierge, who is also an Important Watchman, who can also perform the functions of a house manager. At night, the door to the apathy is closed, and if you come home late, the Important Watchman will eat your brain. He also makes sure that cars of strangers do not park in the yard. The territory is always fenced, you get inside the quarter through a gate or gate. And sometimes there is simply no entrance to the yard: cars immediately get to the underground parking. 
14. Here he is. You can leave your car either here or on the street, where short-term guest parking is provided. 
15. Yard. It can be seen that there is not a single parked car. But this is a feature of the new "apathas". In the old ones (and houses that are 20 or more years old are considered old here) all the yards are parked, because large underground parking lots were not built then. 
Yards in Korean cities used to be simply rolled into asphalt, lawn, or, moreover, a large tree could rarely be found. Sometimes right under the windows of the "apatha" there are mini-gardens where Korean grandmothers grow Korean carrots. But gradually, Koreans also began to realize that a lot of greenery and playgrounds are good, so in new areas there is a higher chance of settling in a house with a landscaped area.
16. Koreans pay a lot of attention to landscaping, and they often have it with an emphasis on landscape design. When decorating courtyards, all kinds of stones, rocks, fountains, streams, hills, trees are used. At the same time, large trees are being planted. 
17. Only special equipment can drive to the entrances; for this, there are wide driveways along the houses. Of course, they are always free: it is forbidden to park here, there is an underground parking for this. The same photo shows that the trees, although young, are already up to the 4th floor high. 
18. Example of landscaping 
19. This is a children's pool. It's still cold now, and it's empty, but closer to summer they fill it up, and the children splash freely here. 
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21. Yard gym 
22. Another children's pool, this time indoor. Bicycles children throw freely wherever they want. 
23. Kindergarten on the territory of the quarter 
24. There is even a camping area: you can pitch a tent right in your yard) 
25. Bike lanes 
26. Entrance to one of the entrances. The doors are transparent, the entrance is level with the pavement, tactile tiles are laid in place - just like in Europe. 
27. Mail lockers in which the courier from the delivery service can leave your order. Very cool. 
28. In the halls there is usually a small public area, like a hotel lobby. Here you can meet some guest whom you don’t really want to let into your apartment - the same courier. 
29. Video intercom 
30. There are bicycles here, usually no one chains them to anything. As I already wrote, street crime is practically absent in South Korea. Even just on the street, thefts are quite rare, and even within a closed quarter, they are almost unbelievable. 
31. Sales office of one of the new districts. Here is the "apatha" layout. 
32. It's funny that at the entrance to the sales office you need to take off your shoes and put on slippers) In Korean apartments, too, everyone goes without shoes - this is another difference from America. And the area where you need to take off your shoes is usually distinguished by a special recess, height difference or just a high threshold. 
33.
34. The quarter is raised one level above the road. Parking is tucked away at the bottom, with public areas above it. 
35. Several apartments of different layouts are being sold here now. 
36. There are 93 sq. meters, there are 84 sq. meters. Another difference between the Incheon high-rise building and the St. Petersburg high-rise building is that in a normal "apathy" house you will never be offered a hotel room of 20 square meters instead of an apartment. meters, as Russian developers like to do. For example, in the 90s, most houses were rented out with apartments larger than 75 square meters. meters. Now the choice has become wider. There are apartments less than 50 sq. meters, there are under 300, but in general this is a solid living space, and not cat enclosures. On the other hand, Koreans can include everything in the apartment area, for example, a balcony and even a parking space, so you should keep this in mind when buying. 
Previously, the entrances to the "apathy" apartments were made outside the house, from the gallery that encircled the high-rise building (much like in motels). Gradually, the Koreans switched to a more familiar pattern for us and now they come home from the stairwell.
37. All apartments are rented with a full finish, but without furniture. Household appliances are sometimes immediately included in the price of the apartment, sometimes not, as you agree. You can also choose one of the interior examples, they will immediately make the same one for you, and you will move into everything ready. 
38.
39. This is part of the smart home system. From here you can call the concierge, answer the intercom, adjust the climate and lighting. 
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41. There is an elevator call directly from the apartment. While you are lacing up your shoes, you call the elevator, you leave the apartment, and he is already waiting for you. And the computer can also show how long the elevator will arrive. During peak hours, when everyone goes to work, you can wait five minutes for the elevator. Very handy when you don't want to waste your time. 
42. Interior example 
43. Rooms in Korean apartments are usually small, with the exception of the hall, which is simultaneously a living room, dining room and kitchen. 
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45. The rest of the rooms are called bedrooms, but there may not be beds as such, because many Koreans still prefer to sleep on the floor. 
46. Here the beds are presented everywhere as an example, but the more Europeanized Koreans, most likely, really order them. 
47. Only half of Koreans have their own apartments, despite the rather low mortgage rates (there are several categories, but they are all below 5%). Here the high cost of the apartment and the mobility of the population play a role. The cost of a square meter of housing in an ordinary Seoul residential area (non-prestigious) starts at $ 3,500 per square meter. meter, and in the same Gangnam apartments consistently cost more than $ 1 million. 
It is clear that this is not a problem for the local rich, but often Koreans prefer to rent an apartment. This is also not cheap: in addition to the monthly payment, you also leave a deposit to the landlord, from which he receives interest in the bank. When you move out, the deposit is returned to you by the new tenants. But the problem is that the amount of collateral can reach an impressive amount. That is, you can give more than $50,000 for an apartment that does not belong to you into the hands of a person you do not even know.
Previously, this scheme was more popular and more radical. The amount of the deposit was even higher (up to 70% of the value of the apartment), but there was no monthly rent: the property owner simply received a large percentage of the deposit. 
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51. A fancy toilet bowl is one of the main signs of a Korean apartment. 
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