Exploring the regeneration potential of urban palimpsests : Focus on Janghang Smelting Factory’s company housing complex

Abstract

Janghang Smelting Factory’s company housing complex (the Complex), a backup complex for employee housing and support services in conjunction with large-scale manufacturing facilities, was the birthplace of a modern industrial city and urban housing. This characteristic housing complex was situated on the hillside of Sudo Mountain in Hwacheon-ri, Janghang-eup, located approximately 1.5km from the factory. The original site comprised 46 buildings with 115 units and included housing for managers, employees, and production workers. In 1976, the addition of the Saemaul Houses development expanded the Complex to 94 buildings with 182 units. Most of the Complex was demolished after the factory closed in 1989. Reflecting the early factory organisation and rank systems in its construction of residential space, the Complex is both a present space and a memory device to recall the lives of the workers at the time. Structurally, the Complex is stylistically eclectic and merges the following distinctive features: Japanese architecture, owing to its construction during the Japanese Occupation; Korean architecture, reflecting its location in Janghang; and Western architecture, imported via Japan. This eclecticism also allows for the gradual modernisation of Korean residential spaces. The Complex epitomises collective housing architecture, which embraces the emergence of modern communities. In terms of urban planning, the Complex is Janghang’s archetypal residential facility that mirrors the changes in the region, witnessing both its advance as a modern industrial city and the formation, maturation, and decline of the smelting industry. As a prototypical form of modern collective housing, the Complex cultivated the placeness and local identity of Janghang by transcending the limited sense of place shared among its residents and preserving the collective memories of Janghang as a modern industrial city. An ongoing palimpsest exists in contemporary Janghang, as the accumulated layers trace its history and imagine its future. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.