Something that strikes me here every day and am more fascinated by the day, I realize that there are no one-off observations:
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in Gangnam is against the urban jungle used by relatively organized. This difference is now I only noticed that and I have come to the conclusion that the Government in Seoul actually has little influence over the city. Can it not. Much more than in Berlin, where it's more about the identities of the neighborhoods, has in Seoul each district a certain amount of power and the population (and thus tax revenues) is a given authority can use it - or not. This has nothing to do with parties but with attitudes and organizational structures. To my knowledge, all district mayor of Seoul and majorities in all the district council in the conservative Hannara. Nevertheless, the differences in administrative efficiency are still huge.
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What me while I was in Gangbuk (the northern part of the city) lived, was never noticed, is Gangnam that really extremely well organized and as clean as it is a district with a daytime population of nearly 2.5 million people without a police state can be in the background. In contrast, Gangbuk increases in the high summer heat funny smell in the drains, garbage lying around. I never quite understood why my friends in Gangnam me always as a "romantic" mocked because I Gangbuk and especially the old town so much to like. It really is a big difference.
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Since I now live here in Gangnam dive again unknown to me, cars and uniforms. There are things I've seen in a year never Gangbuk: Mobile speed cameras illegal parking, Cleaning robot, street cleaning patrol car, sidewalk pressure jet cleaner. The parking lots are located not only accurate - is the wrong car is within a half hour of the tow truck as I was today when translating observed on the roof garden. Shops put on their tables or costs within specified limits. The garbage disposal is already late in the evening, picks up the waste, which otherwise can not fressbar for each rat are in plastic bags on the roadside, but are stored in large plastic barrels. Then comes the cleaning the streets and washes through.
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And I emphasize like: It destroys the myth that disorder and Korea together. The side streets are still Gangnam Korean, still improvise a little and quite confusing. But to recognize a common line. Red lights on here is just as driven, but that is suddenly on the sidewalk in front of a car is stopped, comes roaring in at 20 mph, which is not often the case here. And illegal parking, as I said I have only seen 3 times within 3 weeks - because in Germany there are more of.
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So my times confused observations summarized systematically
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first The Seoul city is still so much planning, if not the districts are the necessary autonomy (South) and also the resources (parts of the North) to implement the many good ideas that the city administration. In this sense, the creation of bodies such as my foreign correspondent no point if nobody cares for, that ideas are implemented in each of Dong. A city like Seoul as a whole is not easy to manage. Local autonomy, however, is in Korea in Seoul is still a relatively new concept with which many of the old officials can not or want to befriend.
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second What the North (or parts of it as well as part of the South) I think that is necessary, therefore, such a systematic implementation of some very simple principles that does not cost much, but require only a reasonable planning. Certainly this is easier if the district mayor not a veteran bureaucrat of the developmental state, but a well-traveled businessman with international education as in many districts is the case now.
have to watch the same areas like Gangnam (or just Songpa), not to lose its character. Chaos is not Korean, order anything Western, but a certain amount of disorder leads to creativity and dynamism, how for example, places like Hongdae Samcheong-dong and see. With strict town planning, the unspeakable "Redevelopment" and similar jokes do you get the not out.
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