Creative communities and the cultural economy — Insadong, chaebol urbanism and the local state in Seoul

Abstract

Creative communities that arise in a cultural milieu of place-based social relationships are being targeted for cultural economy strategies to revitalize cities in Asia. The dominance of a small number of family owned conglomerates, chaebol, in the economy and politics of South Korea represents an extreme case of the corporatization of citymaking that drives cultural economy policies. The experience of the historic district of Insadong, Seoul, illustrates the resulting loss of vernacular heritage, gentrification and commodification of creative community life-spaces under the cultural economy banner. At the same time, democratization and the rise of civil society have provided openings for grassroots organizations to seek to protect and support local cultural spaces as sites for creative engagements in urban life. Recent success of grassroots mobilizations in countering corporatization by electing an activist as mayor of Seoul points to the need to give greater attention to role of the local state in sustaining creative communities.