Week 4

Site Analysis

This week, our lab assignment shifted to fieldwork, which was an exciting change of pace. Serena and I were assigned two areas of Seoul to focus on together. The administrative hierarchy within the city has several levels, among them districts (gu, 구) and neighborhoods or census tracts (dong, 동) within the districts. Given the great variation in urban form and environmental factors throughout the city, we seek to conduct site analyses in support of more localized parameterization of the generative AI model that our lab is working to create.

On Monday, we began site analysis of Magok-dong, which includes the LG Science Park, LG Arts Center, and Seoul Botanical Garden. It is located in the westernmost district of Seoul, Gangseo-gu. Being on the city outskirts, until relatively recently much of the land was still used as rice paddies. Both the city and industry (LG) have identified the area as an opportunity for growth and it was interesting to note how this is evident. The city has used the area as a test bed for smart city projects. Likewise, LG’s Science Park is a large research and development complex. The main tourist attraction is the Seoul Botanical Park, which is closed on Mondays, the day of our visit, giving us a good opportunity to observe the impact of LG employees’ presence. After our site analysis, we walked through the park outside the botanical garden.

The rest of our work week has focused on processing the data collected during our site visit. One area that we will dig deeper into next week is the design of permeable pavement infrastructure.

Outside of work, we have also covered plenty of ground in the city! Friday evening, I explored the Seong-su area with a new friend. We shared a mango bingsu to cool off from the heat (I want to try the red bean flavor too, which my blog writing café has on the menu) and participated in a pop-up for an art exhibition benefitting UNICEF and one promoting an airline. The pop-up concept is an interesting way to keep an area interesting and fresh for tourists and residents alike; it is also likely a response to soaring rent in a high-demand neighborhood. After a sunset stroll through the Seoul Forest, I met with Serena and Eliana for a night in the board game café.

On Saturday I went with the group to the science museum though I didn’t have much energy and spent most of my time in the gardens outside, reading. Sunday was a big day for us – we hiked in Bukhansan National Park. The heat and grade of the mountain was a bit brutal at times. Some rocks were so smooth and steep that I had to scramble up on all fours, which was both difficult and a lot of fun. The view was incredible and we could even see Lotte Tower miles away across the river. I also could clearly see that there are so many groups of identical apartment buildings clustered together, which is completely unlike any city I’ve seen in North America and Europe. I intend to go back into the National Park at least once before we leave partially because Eliana wasn’t able to join us and partially because Robert and I want to do the segment that a map labeled as ‘Expert’ level (our hike was only considered intermediate).

This weekend, we leave for Jeju Island and the group went to Costco to load up on hiking snacks and groceries for the coming weeks. It is very cool that my Costco membership card from the United States is valid thousands of miles away (thanks, Dad!).

Lastly, I am continuing to teach myself Korean. It is slow-going, but I am working through the book I bought two weeks ago and skip the days where my workload is too much to accommodate a few moments to go through the new words of the day. Still, I try to get in flashcard practice daily!

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