Abstract

In this article, I explain how Gwanghwamun and Cheonggyecheon have been consistently "naturalized" as important representative images of the Korean nation. The object of this study is to deconstruct the ideological naturalization of the dominant landscapes and to understand the historical formations of their hybridization in Seoul. Particularly in hybridizing situations, it is crucial to note the ways of life of people who have lived out in those places. Finding traces of hybridity in naturalized landscapes of Seoul's old city centers, I analyze how nature has been culturalized and architectural landscapes naturalized and de-naturalized. The methodology used to analyze the visual phenomenon of naturalization is the theory of hybridization, of which there are two main types: "structural hybridization" and "cultural hybridization." The article presents some findings in the field research: that which blocks the flow of people passing through Gwanghwamun, as well as the drive for a strategy to regenerate or revitalize the cultural power of Cheonggyecheon.