Rethinking the Placeness of Yongsan Park
Project Date: 2021-2023
Research : 김지수
Development : 이충녕
3D Modeling : 김휘성
Dirction : 주진호
Tools: WebGL, Polycam
Link to project : https://yongsan-memorial.vercel.app/
Link to web XR platform styly : Styly WebXR Project Link
* This project is part of Jisu Kim's Masters Degree Dissertation Research at Sogang University Art & Technology Program
Reconnecting the citizens to the Yongsan park and empowering the marginalized voices in the urban planning process is our main goal of the project, ‘Dreaming Yongsan Park’. As it shown on the project title, we would like to return the power to the citizens to dream and re-think about Yongsan park beyond physical constraint from top- down approach by government urban plan. It empowers citizens to make a place freely by themselves so that reconsider the meaning of place 'Yongsan Park' where access was previously forbidden to them. Inviting citizens to share 3D scans of their everyday objects and stories for their dreaming Yongsan Park, and how they want to regain their relationship to Yongsan park, the project aims to enhance inclusivity and participation in the dialogue of placemaking.
The technology for 3D scanning and 3d navigating website enables bridging the gap between the real world and the imagination. The Dreaming Yongsan park is employed in the web through WebGL(Web Graphics Library) and JavaScript libraries three.js that visualize the 3D graphic and give interactivity and access to the general public. Visitors freely access the Dreaming Yongsan park through their computer with internet connection. Using shaders, animations, and movements, the visitors can virtually walk around the park and interactively tour citizens’ dreams and visions of the future Yongsan Park beyond its current reality.
Due to historical factors like post-colonial influences and a government-driven top-down approach to urban planning, urban spaces in South Korea have often been disconnected from the inhabitants and citizens who are the true owners and users of these spaces. In order to restore the relationship between Yongsan Park and the citizens, we use virtual space as an activist approach where the virtual space can be a way of reshaping engagement and attachment of the place, and also sharing marginalized voices of the citizens in the top-down city planning. We collect 3D scanned objects from citizens. It not only works as their own installation that they can place freely on the virtual park but also bring their everyday lives, hidden stories, and wishes of the Yongsan park. This virtual park visualizes the placeness of Yongsan park that citizens think and want, and it helps to understand and connect citizens as it works as common ground to talk about it. The website is opened to public and anyone can virtually walk around and read the stories of how the citizens dream of the inaccessible place.
The project investigates the usage of 3D scanning and placemaking play for participatory virtual art creation. We identify 3D scanned objects as a virtual form of ‘self- narratives’ of people within their time and place. We utilize those objects to share one’s voice as a com- munity member, reshape and reengage the place as their own. This virtual 3D environment of the park was designed with reference to the images of actual Yongsan Park and includes seven landmarks that represents the history of the colonial and post colonial era. The virtual space is juxtaposed with 3D scanning of everyday objects that the participants have col- lected and repositioned on the virtual environment. Through a participatory creative workshop, the project encouraged participants to share experiences they want to bring and feel in the Yongsan Park in the future. Participatory interview and workshops were conducted 2023 05.17~2023 06.10, 13 citizens of Seoul and community member live near Yongsan par- ticipated to upload the 3d scanned objects, and 10 of them participated the participatory workshop. We have collected 50 of the 3D scanned images through Polycam and received written description about the reason why they would like to share those objects. The citizens decided on where they would like to place the objects within the virtual park through the interview. The 3D scanned objects were displayed on the Dreaming Yongsan Park where visitors can virtually navigate through with keyboard and mouse and look around people’s objects and texts. The participants were invited for a participatory workshop to explore, share, and discuss about their experience of virtual Yongsan park. Through the workshop, the participants imagine what the collective dreams and visions of the future Yongsan Park might be like.
VR experience
The VR version is being created as an essay film by connecting the collected story.