From street corners to plaza: The production of festive civic space in central Seoul

By 2004 there was no officially designated public square or plaza for pedestrians to gather in this area. During the games and afterwards, rallies were initially allowed at the corners of Kwanghwamun crossroads, but this grew to incorporate a larger area The gathering climaxed with the occupation of a traffic circle called the City Hall Plaza, which is in front of Seoul’s city hall. The title of this paper, “From Street Corners to Plaza,” contains two meanings: first, the geographical movement of civic gatherings from the street corners of the Kwanghwamun intersection to the City Hall Plaza; second, along with this movement, the production of new civic (as well as festive) space in central Seoul.