Bukchon as rhetorical situation : the making of new old tradition

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The extreme pace of economic development in modern Korea transformed the physical surface of the country in just a few decades. Bukchon, an old residential area in Seoul situated between two royal palaces, experienced acute conflict between preservation of tradition, represented in the form of traditional houses called hanok, and forces of modern development throughout the 1980s-90s. However, in the early 2000s, the city government introduced an incentive-based voluntary preservation program, which ceased the destruction of hanoks and significantly increased the economic and social standing of the area.
Although the government program’s economic success has been extensively noted, studies focusing on the rhetoric of the program have been noticeably absent. How did the government agenda succeed in bringing about the desired outcome, which was to cease destruction of hanoks? Because the program, being voluntary in nature, is premised upon bringing the prospective audience (homeowners) to share the city government’s vision, it was hypothesized to be rhetorical in nature.
Therefore, this study aims to analyze the rhetorical strategies that shaped Bukchon today. To this end, it employs the concept of rhetorical situation introduced by Lloyd Bitzer. At the beginning of 21st century in Bukchon, a rhetorical situation occurred, which was met by rhetorical discourses meant to eliminate the perceived exigence: the destruction of hanoks. The central points of the discourse concerned exchanging the preexisting concept of preservation with the idea of restoration, thereby returning a sense of glory and pride to the owners. It also sought to appeal the advantages of becoming a government-approved proper hanok.
As years progressed, the program met with positive reception owing to economic success. Under such renewed circumstances, hanoks escaped endangered status; however, in order to assure continual conservation of hanoks, it was needed to promote Bukchon as a historic area not only to the residents but also towards the larger public. Such need, combined with the need to use Bukchon as a tourist attraction for Korean tourism, brought a renewed rhetorical situation, and consequent discourse on tourism. To this end, Bukchon’s history and current status was selectively presented, while the lack of historic perspective was replaced with physical appeal. Such discourse ultimately distanced Bukchon’s historic value from reality.
While these strategies were met with economic success and public popularity, they also accelerated commercialization and commoditization of the area, which suggests that although the current rhetorical discourse succeeds in preventing physical destruction of Bukchon, they may not be as effective in sustaining its identity in the future. In conclusion, the current situation of Bukchon in 2014 is expected to produce yet another exigence, which will concern its identity as a residential area. As the first study to focus on the rhetorical situation of Bukchon, this study is expected to be meaningful in establishing a long-term plan for the next rhetorical situation that is expected to arise in Bukchon in the future.