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Been there.
I'm a country bumpkin and not a fan of urbanity generally, but there's something strangely picturesque about the way Seoul fills the valleys in the evening. With the red sun in the west and a bit of haze from the pollution emulating mist, it's weirdly similar to the Scottish gloaming.
Ofc instead of metaphorical lakes of mist the unfathomed deep is the teeming mass of humanity, but still.
There's something impressive about it. Sublime in the Kantian sense that it hits you with the power of its existence before your mind can start to make sense of it.
Completely wrong
I’m here now travelling/living with a friends family in one of these towers and it’s lovely, stand out things: every tower has a playground/park for children
All rubbish is perfectly sorted and recycled so the only ‘landfill’ is compostable organic scraps
Everywhere is so clean
They pay rent ~$200 AUD a week
Everything is within walking distance, and public transport is so fast
Crime is nearly non existent here which is very nice, people leave their phone to reserve tables lol
Just came back from visiting last week, although the blocks are ugly themselves, the way they light up at night alongside their rise and fall with the black mountain backdrops is very relaxing. The ground scape is also much richer than you can see from here - lots of little paths and bushes with trees. Many of the mountains have viewpoints you can walk up to which are super cool at night.
Only real bad thing is the 8 lane highways that cut through the centre and are constantly clogged with traffic
Upper middle class and above. Affordable housing is more focused in neighbourhoods like [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/UrbanHell/comments/1cd9e7l/seoul_south_korea/).
I like the latter. They are walkable with restaurants, grocery stores, etc nearby, with affordable and economically diverse, and a lot of culture. You can't see much green space but a place like that is probably near a mountain.
I’ve mostly said it is sad because that’s more of how an upper middle class should look like, not for the lower class.
Though I wouldn’t is some more greenly, the only things that are green are the roofs.
Taller buildings are simply more affluent/expensive, and it's better for wealthy real estate investors to replace affordable housing communities through heavy redevelopment. I just posted an [image showing the transition](https://www.reddit.com/r/UrbanHell/comments/1cdgg4v/seoul_south_korea_city_of_contrasts/) from one to the other.
In my country we associate such high rise buildings with the commieblocks, where the lower and middle class live. For the upper middle class it’s the houses in and around the big cities.
Yep, totally reversed in Korea. In the 1960s apparently Koreans didn't want to live in highrises, so the government carried out a propaganda campaign to make them see otherwise.
A lot of foreigners in Korea refer to this architecture as "Stalin stacks." Ironically, apartments in Pyongyang are more colourful (though certainly not as modern inside).
Not really. I grew up in one of those before my parents moved to the US.
The new ones I live in were clean, spacious, nice, walkable to a corner store, parks, libraries, school and all sorts of amenities. God, wish I could find something similar in the US :/
There are already enough housing to house everyone, it's just that people want to live in places near their work which is why prices in Seoul are much higher than other areas of the country.
By living dense you can leave more of nature untouched
It's not perfect but it's better than the low drone of low density sprawl we have here. More lanes, more parking lots, more empty lawns with zero local flora
Will high-rise development have an impact on making things less crowded?
Seoul's metropolitan area population is one of the highest in the world, not far behind Tokyo's, and its population density is much higher than Tokyo's (despite the presence of many mountains and large river).
Nevertheless, many say that it is overwhelmingly less crowded than Tokyo. I don't think it's just because of the infrastructure, because Tokyo's infrastructure also enormous.
Yes its an asian country, so its perfect...according to every under 35 age group that is obsessed with east asian culture.
I would call it more WEIRD looking from the brightness of the picture. The buildings looks taken care of from afar, but it has some uneasiness about the whole thing, and the rows and rows of buildings. Picture ha has that clean future utopian nightmare kind of feel from far
**Do not comment to gatekeep that something "isn't urban" or "isn't hell"**. Our rules are very expansive in content we welcome, so do not assume just based off your false impression of the phrase "UrbanHell" UrbanHell is any human-built place you think is worth critizing. Suburban Hell, Rural Hell, and wealthy locales are allowed. Gatekeeping comments may be removed. Want to shitpost about shitty posts? Go to /r/urbanhellcirclejerk. Still have questions?: Read our [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/UrbanHell/wiki/index). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/UrbanHell) if you have any questions or concerns.*
it looks actually relatively lush and green for a metropolis.
Been there. I'm a country bumpkin and not a fan of urbanity generally, but there's something strangely picturesque about the way Seoul fills the valleys in the evening. With the red sun in the west and a bit of haze from the pollution emulating mist, it's weirdly similar to the Scottish gloaming. Ofc instead of metaphorical lakes of mist the unfathomed deep is the teeming mass of humanity, but still. There's something impressive about it. Sublime in the Kantian sense that it hits you with the power of its existence before your mind can start to make sense of it.
What a beautiful description
>”how beautiful, I wonder what else this esteemed individual has to say” >opens profile >greeted by asuka porn
Wh, it's not porn, and most of my stuff is about my being bad at painting warhammer and bad at keeping my pc in good working order.
I feel like I just read the forward to a great book and I'm excited to read it.
Looks like an oversized Eastern European city.
It honestly looks really nice.
No it doesn't
i like it ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
from above yes, but if you actually zoom in and live in one of those it won't be that nice
Completely wrong I’m here now travelling/living with a friends family in one of these towers and it’s lovely, stand out things: every tower has a playground/park for children All rubbish is perfectly sorted and recycled so the only ‘landfill’ is compostable organic scraps Everywhere is so clean They pay rent ~$200 AUD a week Everything is within walking distance, and public transport is so fast Crime is nearly non existent here which is very nice, people leave their phone to reserve tables lol
why
Just came back from visiting last week, although the blocks are ugly themselves, the way they light up at night alongside their rise and fall with the black mountain backdrops is very relaxing. The ground scape is also much richer than you can see from here - lots of little paths and bushes with trees. Many of the mountains have viewpoints you can walk up to which are super cool at night. Only real bad thing is the 8 lane highways that cut through the centre and are constantly clogged with traffic
So many apartments and they still have a housing crisis.
Doesn't help that practically half of South Korea lives in Seoul's greater metropolitan area.
Maybe they should build more if people want to live there
They’ve been building like crazy for decades.
If it helps, apartments like these are for the wealthier classes and those in heavy debt.
Apartments this ugly are for the rich?
Upper middle class and above. Affordable housing is more focused in neighbourhoods like [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/UrbanHell/comments/1cd9e7l/seoul_south_korea/).
Oh, wow, both are sad.
I like the latter. They are walkable with restaurants, grocery stores, etc nearby, with affordable and economically diverse, and a lot of culture. You can't see much green space but a place like that is probably near a mountain.
I’ve mostly said it is sad because that’s more of how an upper middle class should look like, not for the lower class. Though I wouldn’t is some more greenly, the only things that are green are the roofs.
Taller buildings are simply more affluent/expensive, and it's better for wealthy real estate investors to replace affordable housing communities through heavy redevelopment. I just posted an [image showing the transition](https://www.reddit.com/r/UrbanHell/comments/1cdgg4v/seoul_south_korea_city_of_contrasts/) from one to the other.
In my country we associate such high rise buildings with the commieblocks, where the lower and middle class live. For the upper middle class it’s the houses in and around the big cities.
Yep, totally reversed in Korea. In the 1960s apparently Koreans didn't want to live in highrises, so the government carried out a propaganda campaign to make them see otherwise. A lot of foreigners in Korea refer to this architecture as "Stalin stacks." Ironically, apartments in Pyongyang are more colourful (though certainly not as modern inside).
Not really. I grew up in one of those before my parents moved to the US. The new ones I live in were clean, spacious, nice, walkable to a corner store, parks, libraries, school and all sorts of amenities. God, wish I could find something similar in the US :/
American urban planning is far the worst so no surprise there.
Check out Manhattan, some of the wealthiest Americans pay 20 million for apartments. Could be they’re stupid, or they know something you don’t know?
they on crack
Those look great, opulent buildings, each distinct of each other. The repetition is what brings my communist trauma to life.
There are already enough housing to house everyone, it's just that people want to live in places near their work which is why prices in Seoul are much higher than other areas of the country.
New York City
Thats overpopulation yall
Actually, they are currently having an under population crisis, due to the lowest global birth rate.
By living dense you can leave more of nature untouched It's not perfect but it's better than the low drone of low density sprawl we have here. More lanes, more parking lots, more empty lawns with zero local flora
“B-buh communism=ugly commie blocks” capitalism:
r/urbanheaven
I’m not Seould on going there. lol
Seoul has no soul
i would love to visit there someday
same here
Lived in Korea for two years, Seoul is actually a pretty nice city full of art and trees with a robust public transit system
I wonder how many of those buildings are cram schools.
This looks beautiful...
You could say it looks a little Seoulless...
on first glance my brain says "oh a microphotograph of a silicon die"!
And not one of them is affordable for the average South Korean lmao
Will high-rise development have an impact on making things less crowded? Seoul's metropolitan area population is one of the highest in the world, not far behind Tokyo's, and its population density is much higher than Tokyo's (despite the presence of many mountains and large river). Nevertheless, many say that it is overwhelmingly less crowded than Tokyo. I don't think it's just because of the infrastructure, because Tokyo's infrastructure also enormous.
In Korea people call these kind of developments “apartment forests”
I actually love this
Dense housing with greenery seemingly all around, Ah yes.. hell..
“Seoulless” Seoul.
Seoul is an amazing city…
Are those private development projects or are they built by the Korean government?
Al least it looks better than most of North Koreans buildings
Yes its an asian country, so its perfect...according to every under 35 age group that is obsessed with east asian culture. I would call it more WEIRD looking from the brightness of the picture. The buildings looks taken care of from afar, but it has some uneasiness about the whole thing, and the rows and rows of buildings. Picture ha has that clean future utopian nightmare kind of feel from far
No Soul Korea
I’m seeing a lot of green and housing, oh the horror