ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the theoretical considerations that guide the analysis of the nexus between urban development and design, and identity construction. It focuses on a survey of Seoul's historical development and the formation of postcolonial identity through the city's urban landscape. The chapter also focuses on the 'construction of memory' through museums, monuments and parks. During the time of Park Chung-hee the attention given to the colonial period signified a shift from earlier trends. Notwithstanding the personal 'Japanese past' of the president and the state's 'collaborationist record' both which were at the time stumbling blocks for the full blooming of colonial mythology governing mythology did allocate space for colonial history. Based on this study's analysis of dynamics pertinent to advancing governing mythology through memorial sites in Seoul, it may be concluded that the ability of South Korea's authoritarian governments to 'impose memory' at the expense of the preservation and the development of private and collective memories and myths was limited.
