"Difficult Heritage" & Selective Elision: The Seoul Power Plant

In the early twenty-first century, postcolonial cities such as Seoul possess built structures and support infrastructure (electric power, gas, and water) dating to earlier periods of history. The challenge of doing public history lies in approaching the heritage issues associated with how these structures may be retained. In the Korean case, using the Dangin-ri power plant site as a case study, this article illustrates how national planners, developers, and city officials have elided and emphasized certain aspects of history embedded within these structures. Originally a Japanese-built coal plant, later augmented with American and Korean construction, Dangin-ri continues to supply power to Seoul through new underground construction. At the same time, KOMIPO, the power company, has altered the site's features to include a public exhibition space, along with a wetlands and nature area. The "difficult heritage" associated with the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945) appears less conspicuous within this revised scheme, while also exhibiting the changes that came to the city following the heavy industrialization campaigns of the 1970s.