SPEAKING WITH AHN

In a conversation with Jonghwan Ahn, it was suggested that a potential site for the 6 Feet Up project could be here - a carpark above the new subway station for Seoul National Cemetery. 

SUGGESTED SITE
map via local.daum.net

A new structure would act as an anchor along the link through Seoul National, across the river and on to Mt Namsan on the other side. This would localise relavence to the contemporary bereaved, bringing a new attachment to the site and perhaps lift the National Cemetery, behind it, out of its state of forlornment. By constructing a new urban mountain in this prominent site with all the auspiciousness of the geomantic location, a focus for a new model of memorial could be created in an appropriate manner.

However, auspicious though the site may be, it would suffer from the same issues of separation that the existing cemetery has. Now both memorials would be cut off from the day to day by hill, river and highway. The new memorial may be closer physically, but is it likely that it would be any closer mentally? Perhaps after the initial shock of the new it would simply fade away into the background, ignored save for Memorial Day once each year - or worse, begin to loom!

In any case, these are issues that may be applicable to any eventual resolution so it is important to not discount the suggested site just yet. Instead I will weigh up any benefits against the original ideas and promises I made at the start of the project, taking into account the ebb and flow of the themes within.