From concrete walls to digital walls: transmedia construction of place myth in Ihwa Mural Village, South Korea

Abstract

Media representation is not a neutral site for reflection of reality, but a process through which discourses are constructed and circulated. When presented in media, urban space is re-mediated and its meanings are newly configured. Discursive currents do not simply remain in the media sphere, but reshape the cultural economy of certain places by attracting tourists and inducing property value increases. This article examines the process in which Ihwa Mural Village, a disenfranchised residential neighborhood in South Korea, has become one of the ‘best photo spots’ for tourists through representation via three distinct types of media – murals, popular culture, and Instagram. The analyses focus on the double functions of each medium: branding function to create particular place meanings, on the one hand, and power to create distance between representation and community realities on the other. This dual tendency is reinforced by transmedia dynamics. When featured in diverse media, images of Ihwa Village proliferate, attracting more participants and enabling further transmedia interactions. Yet, transmedia image flows accentuate only visual and aesthetic qualities of place. The expansive and subtractive transmedia construction consolidates the place myth, while the same process advances its detachment from the reality of the place.

Arts-led revitalization, overtourism and community responses: Ihwa Mural Village, Seoul

“…In 2010, one artist insisted that her artwork be removed and re-sited to a less conspicuous place due to growing complaints by residents. The artist's “angel wings” mural became too popular as a backdrop for visitors who wished to copy the actions of a popular entertainer who had their photo taken in front of it ( Oh, 2020 ). Despite this incident, the transformation of Ihwa Village continued to gain momentum, particularly in the following years during an intense phase of “tourism gentrification” ( Cocola-Gant, 2018 ), when several outsiders purchased homes in Ihwa, converting many of them into private museums, galleries, workshops, bistros and cafes.…”

“…That same year he reworked another staircase into the “koi fish” staircase mural. It is important to note here the role that social media has had in reinforcing the importance of these and other artworks in the place branding of Ihwa Village as mural village ( Oh, 2020 ). In particular, visitors to Ihwa often arrive with the intention of having multiple photos of themselves, their family members and friends taken in front of such murals with the goal of posting the very best shots online via Instagram, blogs and other social media tools (ibid.).…”

“…While the story of Ihwa Mural Village as an example of overtourism has remained largely unknown outside of Korea, the transformation of the residential area through mural art and its effect since has received much media as well as academic attention within the country. With regards to scholarly research, no less than five unpublished theses ( Jeong, 2014 ; Kim, 2016 ; Kim, 2017a ; Kim, 2017b ; Lee, 2015 ) and an equal number of published papers ( Jeong & Kim, 2016 ; Kim & Son, 2017 ; Kim, Son, Lee, & Lee, 2019 ; Oh & Hwang, 2018 ; Woo, Kim, & Nam, 2017 ) in Korean can be found on the area's revitalization, together with a handful of studies published in English ( Kim & Park, 2016 ; Mersmann, 2018 ; Oh, 2020 ). This large body of work has addressed, among other specialized topics ( Kim & Son, 2017 ; Mersmann, 2018 ), the development history of Ihwa ( Lee, 2015 ), resident perceptions towards the cultural regeneration project ( Kim, 2017a ; Kim, 2017b ; Kim & Park, 2016 ), satisfaction levels since the district's transformation ( Jeong, 2014 ; Kim, 2016 ), and the role of social media in making Ihwa Village into a tourist hotspot for photo taking ( Oh, 2020 ) and in contributing to the overtourism problem ( Jang & Park, 2020 ).…”

“…More recently, Jang and Park (2020) examine the role of social media in the touristification of Ihwa Village via big data analysis of news articles and personal blogs. Similarly, Oh (2020) analyzes the importance of Instagram and other forms of social media in transforming Ihwa Village into one of South Korea's “best photo spots” for tourists. While Oh refers to the 2016 vandalism incident and acknowledges some of the underlying issues behind it, including property rights issues and excessive tourist numbers, these issues are not fully explored and developments since the incident are not addressed.…”

“…Although a recent edited book on the topic ( Milano, Cheer, & Novelli, 2019 ) has contributed to rectifying the scarcity of research outside of Europe, as have a few recently published academic papers ( Cheung & Li, 2019 ; Jang & Park, 2020 ; Kim & Kang, 2020 ; Koh & Fakfare, 2019 ), there is a need for the topic to be further addressed elsewhere, particularly in countries with growing international tourist flows. Despite a steady growth in both international and domestic tourists, to the best of our knowledge published academic research in the English language on this issue in South Korea is limited to two papers on the role of social media in encouraging it ( Jang & Park, 2020 ; Oh, 2020 ) and a paper on anti-tourist attitudes in one such affected destination ( Kim & Kang, 2020 ). The lack of academic research, apart from these very recent exceptions, has been surprising given the frequent Korean-language news media reports that have emerged over the years concerning growing public frustration towards the tourist saturation of popular visitor sites and destinations.…”