I posted pics from my travels in Korea some months ago... I really got into shooting their massive apartment blocks while I was over there. Having grown up in Vancouver I'd rarely seen anything like them up-close. When I first encountered them they didn't seem real. I guess some people would call these 'commieblocks' - whatever you want to call them I've developed quite a fascination with massive concrete housing.

Near Busan:
http://static.flickr.com/117/292384217_872a6308ca.jpg
Ulsan:
http://static.flickr.com/115/302519379_db0510b2ab.jpg
Namchang:
http://static.flickr.com/115/292384213_2194f3600c.jpg
A bunch from Ulsan's Mugeo-Dong area...
http://static.flickr.com/87/267462291_7a8d8f5da2.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/114/267462289_2653195a7a.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/91/267462286_7f7964a4c3.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/109/267462284_5e79ba2e38.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/110/259420100_217013c52b.jpg
Gumi - I think they make a lot of LG screens here.
http://static.flickr.com/87/264815574_417b2e97f6.jpg

Flickr users can check out larger versions of these and my other pics at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wzrdry

looks really like singapore HDb public apartments!!

some of the pics look like a rendering. :lol: i think its just me. :lol:

overall, the pics doesnt look impressive though. ;)

looks really like singapore HDb public apartments!!

Yes they do but I think the living condition in these Korean housing estates are better off compared to those in Europe or The US.

I'm actually more interested in the ones in Pyongyang.

looks sad...

Yes they do but I think the living condition in these Korean housing estates are better off compared to those in Europe or The US.

I'm actually more interested in the ones in Pyongyang.

Yes i think so too.

Korea's Apartment "Commie" Blocks are, probably and generally, the most impersonally-looking and designed ones there are in the world, outside Communist or post-Communist countries.

I mean, I can't imagine myself having an address such as: Apartment Block 314 Lotte Castle.

Look, I know I've been advocating that American/Canadian/Australian-type suburbanization is a the most wasteful and alienating type of population-housing. Furthermore, I am an all-out supporter of dense-urban housing. However, these Korean "commie" block-type of housing estates are equally, if not, more alienating/depressing than American suburbanization not because houses (and people, especially) are simply too far apart from each other but, rather, the impersonal atmosphere that these "commie" blocks project.

Why can't Korea build more aesthetic and livable apartment blocks the way China does.

Buildings like the ones in Korea are also getting typical in Malaysia except they paint in in bright tacky colours especially peach.

^^ Really!!! That's really BAD! I always liked Malaysia until I saw that uber-TACKY First World Hotel @ Genting Highlands.

Now here comes more "TACKY" news...my God! I'm really dissapointed! Yes, Asia, indeed is getting richer but our cities are becoming magnets for "tacky" architecture.

India is, most probably, the one that's sprouting-up the most number of TACKY architecture (i.e. new Mumbai highrises) so far.

I pray to God that China won't follow suit. Imagine the tacky overdose we'll get when that happens.

Btw, Singapore apartment blocks are also way tacky. I love the city, though. :D

But at the street level, how vibrant are the squares, parks, and markets within these complexes? While they may not be the most beautiful buildings around, they may actually be working communities.

Yes i think so too.


look inside.. much better than Canadian apartments.. but not the outside

Korea's Apartment "Commie" Blocks are, probably and generally, the most impersonally-looking and designed ones there are in the world, outside Communist or post-Communist countries.

I mean, I can't imagine myself having an address such as: Apartment Block 314 Lotte Castle.

Look, I know I've been advocating that American/Canadian/Australian-type suburbanization is a the most wasteful and alienating type of population-housing. Furthermore, I am an all-out supporter of dense-urban housing. However, these Korean "commie" block-type of housing estates are equally, if not, more alienating/depressing than American suburbanization not because houses (and people, especially) are simply too far apart from each other but, rather, the impersonal atmosphere that these "commie" blocks project.

Why can't Korea build more aesthetic and livable apartment blocks the way China does.

well, now some companies are building great-looking apartments such as lotte castle, tower palace etc... but usually, well.. because Koreans "demand" apartments so much, companies do not decorate the apartment buildings.. because of the huge costs.. but inside.. kicking ass..
cannot compare to north american apartments.. way better than Canadian or U.S apartments

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/4333/a2006095zh6.jpg

Here's a pic of an apartment block in Malaysia.I hate that color.

look inside.. much better than Canadian apartments.. but not the outside


Yes this is true, I went inside some of these buildings and they were actually nice inside, often very modern.

The thing that's misleading about these apartment is that usually on the outside they look depressing and just your average commie block, but the interior is much more high class, as people are generally just worried about how their own unit look and usually dont give a damn about the the appearance of the apartment as a whole.

they look clean, do they have AC and how big is the unit?

You can tell which apartment units have A/C, they are the ones with the fan machine installed outside.

Actually, alot of people just have an airconditioning unit inside their house.

Nice commieblocks. :)

Actually, alot of people just have an airconditioning unit inside their house.

Yes, the actual A/C unit(s) is/are inside the house, but there usually has to be a large fan machine outside to draw air into the unit(s).

Unless I'm wrong...?

Yes, the actual A/C unit(s) is/are inside the house, but there usually has to be a large fan machine outside to draw air into the unit(s).

Unless I'm wrong...?

Yeah in my experience over there it was usually the case to have the A/C intake unit outside of each unit attached to a hose that led to the interior unit. At least in the more modern places in my neighborhood. I lived in a dump of a one room apt. with a horrible rusty window mounted one.

Yes they do but I think the living condition in these Korean housing estates are better off compared to those in Europe or The US.
The living conditions in such public housing in Europe doesn't necissarily have to be bad. There are huge areas with similar buildings in my hometown which are considered "good" rather than bad, and is home to many people in the upper middle-class.

May I ask how much one apartment unit in these buildings is ?

Why can't Korea build more aesthetic and livable apartment blocks the way China does.

Wow you are an idiot. Alot of these buildings were built in the late 60's, 70's 80's and early 90's when Korea was still developing and recovering from the Korean War. This was the cheapest way of housing and developing the country at the time. Now, buildings are starting to be built in other ways and types in architecture.

Wow, you're a rude bastard...you know that!!! So, a person is subject to name-calling because he voiced his own opinion?! :bash: :no:

Alot of these buildings were built in the late 60's, 70's 80's and early 90's when Korea was still developing and recovering from the Korean War.

I didn't know that! Ok! But, IMHO, since it's been decades since those were constructed; obviously, by now; they would have demolished those blocks and built better ones given that South Korea is already a developed country.

Btw, the newer apartment blocks still sport TACKY exterior color-schemes, although I agree that the same can't said about the interiors.

Cheers. :cheers2:

^^ Sorry, I thought you would know because in your location box, you listed Seoul as one of them.

On top of that, I thought it was annoying and ignorant that you would post a comment like that without even knowing the truth. Architecture in Korea is changing: for the better :D

Yes, cheers :D

^^ Actually, I've only been to Seoul once. It was back in 2006. It was an eye-opener trip for me because I was really, really depressed seeing all those commies.

I also really hated the ubiquitous red-yellow-blue color-schemes of store front roll-ups as well as apartment blocks exteriors. Now, don't get me wrong...I have all respects for this super-dynamic country (It's amazing how this tiny country can have more manufacturing activity than far larger countries and more populous countries like Mexico and Spain). But, I was totally fooled by their "Dynamic Korea" tourism ads. I expected too much from my trip to South Korea. I thought Seoul would look like a larger version of Singapore. It wasn't. So, in the end, I had a bad impression of the place thanks, mainly, to tacky color-schemed apartment blocks.

Anyway, I wish South Korean cities can emulate the recent redevelopments projects in Japanese cities. Now those redevelopment projects totally kick ass in a subdued and understated sort-of-way. :yes:

Cheers and thanks for the clarification. :cheers2:

Lest we forget that a said "commie block" housing a community of 1000 people will eat MUCH less energy per capita than a Canadian/American suburban neighbourhood of the same population. They may be semi-grotesque but you better believe that sustainability easily won out over aesthetics.