Abstract
Not only individuals, but whole nations can undergo rites of passage. This paper will explore the importance of post-colonial national self-assertion (Blanchard and Bancel, 2006)1 in an urban context through the classical Van Gennep's and Turner's concept.
An intricate example of this is observable in South Korea, most notably in the capital of Seoul. Korea has been a Japanese colony from 1910-1945, yet the post-colonial sentiment in South Korea remains complicated at best.
After massive post-war reconstruction of the country, the 1990s marked the beginning of South Korea's attempts to become truly modernized on a global level. This meant marking a break-off from the colonial legacy, seen as back warded by the policy-makers: the most iconic episode being the tearing down of the Government General building, starting on the 50th anniversary of the independence in 1995.
Yoon (2007)2 labels it an act of "iconic warfare" over the most auspicious geomantic spot in Seoul. As such, the rather civic rite of passage takes up a spiritual dimension, relating a symbolical act of national self-awareness building to pungsu (Korean term for feng shui), a world-view perceived as inherently "Korean" (Choi, 1992)3.
The paper will further explore two different axes of mass urban ritualized activities which could be interpreted as rites of passage from the colonial past. On one hand, we will discuss the Independence celebrations (as 2015 marked the 70th anniversary) in Seoul as means to publicly assert "Korean-ness".
This will enable us to discuss the theme of collective memory (Nora, 1989)4 and civic ritualized activity in the urban space. On the other hand, we will tackle the theme of globalized modernity (as opposed to perceived colonial backwardness) demonstration through mass sport events such as the World Cup or the Asian Games as a case of another civic, yet highly ritualized, activity that shapes both the city design and image.