Gangnam, the streets where we met
Pause outside a shop, climb the station steps, then walk into a brightly lit lane. From New York Bakery and Donga Theater to Kyobo Tower and the neighborhoods behind the main roads, follow Gangnam's changing streets through people's clothes and footsteps.
Explore the 100 photographsPeople and clothing
Beneath the signs, among the people
Jackets and jeans outside Donga Theater, pedestrians passing New York Bakery. Familiar storefronts preserve the clothing and movement of their time.
Autumn clothes outside Donga Theater
People pass along the pavement near Donga Theater in 1995. Loose jackets, jeans, short skirts and long socks share the frame. The crowd beneath the signs offers a close look at the street's autumn clothing.
A pavement lined with clothing shops
Clothing-shop signs cover the buildings near Donga Theater. People carrying bags and wearing jackets pass the storefronts. Layered signs above and moving pedestrians below fill different levels of the same street.
A pause on the seats outside
Blue seats stand outside shops on Yeoksam Street. Parasols and signs on several floors rise behind the seated figures. A place to pause sits alongside the spaces for shopping and walking.
Along the tiled pavement
This is the pavement on Yeoksam Street in 1995. People in jackets and shirts walk in both directions, with shops and small stalls along the edge. Foot traffic stretching into the distance shows how the space outside the shops was used.
Shops beneath winter decorations
The shops near Gangnam Station are seen across the road in January 2006. Decorations run above their windows and signs, while people stand by the entrances. Even from the opposite pavement, the ground-floor shops remain clearly visible.
Winter coats in the sunlight
Winter sunlight reaches the pavement outside Gangnam Station's shops. People in heavy coats pass an entrance decorated in red. Their long shadows lie alongside their steps on the paving.
Phone promotion on the street
White-clad promotional staff appear near Gangnam Station in 2007. A suited pedestrian and casually dressed passers-by move among them. Retail promotion extends out into the everyday flow of the pavement.
Two people beside the main road
Two people face the camera on a pavement near Gangnam Station. Hats, sunglasses and light outerwear stand out against buses and buildings. A personal snapshot becomes part of the street's visual record.
An adult and child pause at a screen
An adult and child look at a media-pole screen on Gangnam-daero. A hand reaching toward it and a bright bag stand out nearby. A street fixture becomes something to stop and examine together.
Tall media poles on the pavement
Black media poles stand on the Gangnam-daero pavement in 2009. They repeat beside people walking beneath shop signs. Information displays extend beyond building walls into the street itself.
Summer clothes and shopping bags
The camera looks closely along a Gangnam-daero pavement in summer 2010. Short-sleeved tops and carried bags overlap from foreground to distance. Individual clothing choices emerge within the long stream of pedestrians.
A crowd following the pavement's pattern
People move across a pavement divided into striped bands. Black media poles and tall shop signs stand beside them. Even on a broad walkway, pedestrians and street fixtures occupy distinct pockets of space.
A pavement beneath brand signs
Different brand signs cover the buildings along Gangnam-daero. People gather outside the shops as cars pass immediately beside them. Shopping and movement along the main road occupy closely connected spaces.
Footsteps filling a spring pavement
The Gangnam-daero pavement is crowded in May 2011. Short sleeves, striped tops and light jackets mix together. The crowd stretches between the shops and the tall structures along the road.
Passing New York Bakery
People pass the Gangnam branch of New York Bakery on May 17, 2012. Light tops, bags and an open umbrella appear beneath its red ABC sign. The entrance meets the pavement directly, placing the familiar storefront behind the passing crowd.
Spring clothing on the pavement
People gather on the pavement near Gangnam Station in spring 2012. Light coats, jackets, jeans and trainers appear alongside papers and phones held in hand. Standing figures mix with walkers, recording several rhythms of movement outside the station.
Spring outside the corner bakery
People pass the corner beneath a Paris Baguette sign. Shop windows and displays of bread sit behind pedestrians in light outerwear. The photograph brings a food shop and the broad pavement into the same scene.
Buses, crossings and trains
Moving in different directions
From exposed earth around a junction to crowded platforms, follow the routes taken by buses, cars, bicycles and pedestrians through Gangnam Station.
A road through fields
The archive dates this view around Gangnam Station to the 1970s. A straight road crosses open ground and fields, with buildings scattered beside it. The balance of land and road contrasts with the area's later density.
The junction beside construction works
This is the Gangnam Station junction in the early 1980s. Buses run behind excavated ground and temporary structures, with apartments beyond. Construction work and a road already in use occupy the same frame.
Gangnam Station junction · Then and later
These photographs show the same junction in 1996 and 2010. Although the cameras face different directions, building heights, facades and vehicles around the crossing can be compared.
The later view is the newer photograph in each pair, not a view of today.
Gangnam Station junction in 1996
Office buildings of different heights stand beyond the junction in 1996. Cars cross its broad surface as lane markings branch in several directions. The road's width and the skyline can be compared with the later photograph beside it.
A taller skyline around the junction in 2010
Tall glass-fronted buildings surround Gangnam Station junction in 2010. Buses, cars and a motorcycle share the crossing. The camera faces a different direction from the 1996 view, but both document changes in the scale of buildings around the same junction.
Lanes and traffic seen from above
An elevated viewpoint looks down Gangnam-daero in 2000. Cars and buses pass on either side of a yellow hatched area. Individual lines organize movement along the broad road between buildings.
The road beside a rounded tower
A rounded glass tower rises beside the road. Cars beneath the street trees and arrows painted on the surface lead in the same direction. Building form and traffic flow share this view from 2000.
A red bus heading toward Gangnam Station
Gangnam-daero stretches toward Gangnam Station in 2005. A red bus travels down the middle while white hatching and arrows fill the foreground. Road markings divide the space used by different streams of traffic.
Waiting seen through a train window
People on Gangnam Station's platform are seen through a train window. Reflections overlap with figures waiting outside. The carriage and platform meet visually across a pane of glass.
Walking along the platform
A long passage extends along Gangnam Station's platform in 2006. People in short sleeves move between columns and information boards. Figures stretching from foreground into the distance reveal the length of the underground space.
An evening road with fire engines
Red fire engines and cars appear on a road near Gangnam Station. Glass building fronts extend behind people on the dim pavement. The reason for their presence is not established by the photograph, which records the vehicles on the street that evening.
Signs and footsteps underground
People walk through Gangnam Station's underground arcade. Large mobile-phone advertisements and bright shop lights line the passage. A route for movement and a place for shopping meet without a dividing wall.
Traffic between glass buildings
Building fronts rise along Gangnam-daero in 2010. Cars gather in the lanes on the right while the road opens into the distance. Uneven building heights on either side give the street its depth.
The broad road toward Kyobo Tower
Kyobo Tower's red facade appears on the left. Cars spread across several lanes, with the pavement continuing beneath trees on the right. The view makes the broad carriageway's scale apparent between buildings and pedestrians.
Pedestrians beside a green bus
People walk along the pavement beside a green bus on Gangnam-daero. A black media pole and a bicycle stand near the road's edge. Bus travel, walking and a parked bicycle occupy closely connected spaces.
An entrance beneath a glass roof
This is the former Exit 3 of Gangnam Station in a 2010 photograph. A person in summer clothing stands beside a roof made of triangular glass panels. The entrance clearly marks the connection between pavement and underground railway.
Summer clothes at the platform doors
People wait for a train at Gangnam Station in 2010. Light tops, shorts and bags line up beside the platform doors. Overhead advertisements and a yellow floor line frame the waiting space.
Handing out leaflets on the steps
A person in a thick padded jacket stands on the station steps. Leaflets in hand and the coats of passing people appear close to the camera. An entrance used by many pedestrians also serves as a small space for promotion.
A summer crowd at the crossing
People gather at the crossing by Gangnam Station. Beyond light short-sleeved tops and bags, broad white stripes span the junction. Waiting pedestrians and moving vehicles reveal the alternating rhythms of the signals.
A bicycle at the crossing
A broad crossing spans Gangnam Station junction in 2012. A brightly dressed cyclist and pedestrians pass beneath large commercial buildings. Their small scale contrasts with the screens and signs overhead.
Roads and building heights
Along the lanes, between the towers
Tall glass buildings rise beside roads where low shops remain. Windows, advertisements, lane markings and rooftops help trace the area around Teheran-ro.
A shuttle bus outside Yeoksam Station
A small shuttle bus stands outside Yeoksam Station in 1987. Its open door appears beside people in light clothing. The station entrance and a place to board a vehicle sit close together.
Low buildings beside Teheran-ro
Teheran-ro is seen from above in 1995. Low shops and open ground remain in front of a tall white building. Buildings of different scales stand together along the major road.
A broad pavement beside offices
Tall buildings stand beside a broad pavement on Teheran-ro. Regularly spaced trees and lamps separate walkway from road. With few people present, the width and arrangement of street fixtures become especially clear.
Cars approaching along an undulating road
Cars approach the camera on Teheran-ro in 1996. Behind a silver car, the rising and falling road overlaps with buildings. Its changes in height separate the same lanes into near and distant layers.
A boulevard beneath a gridded tower
Office buildings line both sides of Teheran-ro. Cars pass a white tower with a regular grid of windows. Near and distant buildings overlap, emphasizing the road's direction.
Cars lined up before the junction
Vehicles line up across Teheran-ro near Gangnam Station. Dark and light bodywork mix against layered signs and buildings. The scene offers a view of the different car shapes on the road in 1996.
Buildings rising beyond the lanes
Buildings of varying heights rise beyond a broad junction. Low fixtures between the street trees and distant cars provide a sense of scale. Road and architecture dominate this view of Teheran-ro.
The street from its roadside edge
The camera looks along Teheran-ro from its roadside edge. Two cars pass in front while tree supports repeat along the pavement. Beneath the tall buildings, vehicles and street fixtures occupy a similar eye level.
Shops beneath a glass facade
A large glass-fronted building stands near Gangnam Station in 2000. Upper signs, ground-level shops and passing vehicles appear together. The facade reveals several businesses occupying different floors of one building.
Different facades at a corner
Glass and dark-clad buildings meet at a junction near Gangnam Station. Cars and a bicycle cross in front of them. Vertical facades and horizontal road surfaces surround the smaller vehicles.
Sky between office towers
The camera points upward between buildings near Gangnam Station. Different facades and corners stretch inward from the edges. Looking up from the street, signs and towers reshape the visible sky.
Gangnam-daero beyond the buildings
Gangnam-daero stretches into the distance between tall buildings. A foreground rooftop sign and higher rooflines beyond frame the road in layers. The elevated view reveals connections that are difficult to see from ground level.
An office tower carrying a large sign
A large sign covers the facade of the Hyundai Industrial building in 2000. Trees and vehicles below appear small. The tower serves both as a workplace and a surface visible from far away.
An office street beneath the trees
Cars travel beneath the street trees on Teheran-ro. Glass buildings and roadside flags appear between the leaves. Tree shade and traffic lanes run alongside one another in this urban scene.
A city layered beyond the rooftops
An elevated view looks across the Teheran-ro area in 2009. Rooftop equipment and buildings of different sizes crowd together. More streets and structures continue behind the tall facades lining the main road.
Construction vehicles beneath new towers
Tall glass buildings stand near Gangnam Station in 2010. A concrete mixer, buses and cars pass below them. Finished facades and a construction vehicle occupy the same street scene.
Jinheung Apartments, Seocho and Yeoksam
Another neighborhood a few steps away
Regular apartment blocks, brick homes and narrow lanes. Behind the main-road towers, houses and shops share space with parked cars and people on foot.
Beyond the low roofs of Yeoksam-dong
Roofs overlap around Yeoksam-dong 624 in 2005. Low residential buildings fill the foreground, with larger offices behind them. The neighborhood beyond the main road follows a different scale.
Parking between red-brick homes
Red-brick homes face one another in a Yeoksam-dong lane. Cars fill the gaps between buildings and along walls. The narrow outdoor spaces around the homes serve as parking areas.
A lane beneath a price sign
A large price sign hangs on a shop in a Yeoksam-dong lane. People walk down the slope beneath wires and smaller signs. This commercial street operates at a different scale from the towers on the main road.
Two spires above residential roofs
Two church spires rise beyond the roofs of low buildings. Water tanks, roofs and walls overlap at different heights. Within Yeoksam-dong's residential streets, a distant building becomes a visual point of reference.
The city toward Gangnam Station
This 2005 panorama looks from the Star Building toward Gangnam Station. Major roads run between low foreground buildings and apartment districts beyond. Residential and business spaces form several layers within the same area.
Tiled roofs beside large buildings
Large buildings stand behind low tiled roofs in Yeoksam-dong. Sloping rooflines contrast with horizontal bands across the taller facades. Older housing forms and the scale of office buildings meet at close range.
A lane between steps and brick walls
A narrow lane runs between curved entrance steps and a red-brick building. A small green car stands beside a yellow edge line. Doorways and the route used by vehicles meet in a tightly shared space.
A glass tower behind low houses
A glass tower rises beyond residential roofs in Yeoksam-dong. Foreground water tanks and rooftop fixtures appear low and small against it. Buildings of very different scales share the same neighborhood view.
Jinheung Apartments and Seocho rooftops
An elevated view shows the Jinheung Apartments area in Seocho-dong in 2008. Taller office buildings rise behind apartment blocks of similar height. Residential grounds and the larger buildings beside the main roads form a clear contrast.
People in a lane layered with signs
People and parked vehicles share a commercial lane near Gangnam Station. Upper-floor signs cover the walls above a succession of small entrances. Many businesses and routes of movement overlap within a short street.
A main road dividing apartment districts
An aerial viewpoint looks down on apartment districts in Seocho-dong. Similar residential blocks repeat on both sides of a long road. Their relationship to the road becomes visible from above, beyond the limits of a street-level view.
Where the junction meets housing
Tall offices around Gangnam Station are seen from above. Low houses and smaller buildings pack closely together behind them. The main-road frontage and inner neighborhood meet at different densities.
Kyobo Tower's surroundings from above
This 2010 aerial photograph shows the area around Kyobo Tower. Dense low housing continues behind the roads lined with larger buildings. The view reveals the extent of the surrounding neighborhood as well as its towers.
A shop-lined lane in the rain
Rain has wet a lane near Gangnam Station in 2012. Sign colors reflect on the road as people with umbrellas pass between shops. The wet surface becomes another place where the street's colors appear.
Summer pedestrians behind the main road
People in summer clothes fill a lane behind Gangnam Station's main road. Short sleeves, shorts and shopping bags appear beneath signs at several heights. The flow of people and shops continues beyond the boulevard.
Kyobo Tower, Kyobo Book Centre and Kukkiwon
Places to read, walk and move
Readers seated beneath bookshelves and people gathered in taekwondo uniforms. Bookshops, sports venues and cinemas reveal different moments around Gangnam Station.
Workers at the Kukkiwon construction site
Kukkiwon's record dates this construction scene to 1971. People stand around a wooden workbench in front of a scaffolded building. The photograph reveals the workspaces and building process concealed by the finished exterior.
Kukkiwon · Then and later
The views show Kukkiwon nearing completion in 1972 and surrounded by a dense neighborhood in 2010. Despite different camera angles, the roof and forecourt help reveal how open ground filled with buildings and roads.
The later view is the newer photograph in each pair, not a view of today.
Kukkiwon nearing completion in 1972
Kukkiwon stands amid a broad area of exposed earth. Its roof has taken shape, while construction traces and open ground remain around it. Buildings in the surrounding neighborhood are widely spaced compared with the later view.
Kukkiwon surrounded by the city in 2010
Kukkiwon's blue roof appears among surrounding buildings in 2010. The forecourt and parking spaces are laid out, with dense housing and offices behind. Compared with the 1972 photograph, the use of land around the main building has changed substantially.
Uniforms gathered on the Kukkiwon floor
This scene records the second World Taekwondo Championships in 1975. People in white uniforms line up on the floor beneath packed spectator stands. The hall separates participants and spectators into distinct levels.
Flag bearers before the stands
Several flags enter the Kukkiwon venue in 1975. Uniformed flag bearers walk together as spectators watch from raised stands. The image records a moment in the event beyond the bouts themselves.
Athletes behind a country placard
A person carrying a Costa Rica placard leads a procession at Kukkiwon. Participants in taekwondo uniforms and suits follow. Different clothing marks the range of roles within the same event.
An open space above the book displays
Book displays spread across Kyobo Book Centre in 2003. Covers face outward beneath signs and a reflective ceiling. The sales floor is arranged in layers that allow many titles to be browsed together.
Opening a book beside new releases
A person stands reading beside Kyobo Book Centre's new-release shelves. Books are displayed with their covers visible along a long wall. The aisle serves as a place both to choose a book and to pause over its pages.
Reading on the floor beneath the shelves
Two people sit beneath the shelves at Kyobo Book Centre in 2003. Short-sleeved shirts, jeans, bags and open books fill the scene. The floor in front of a bookcase becomes a small reading place.
Flags in front of Kukkiwon
Several flagpoles stand before Kukkiwon's main building in 2003. Windows repeat beneath its broad roof, with low landscaping in front. The photograph shows the exterior form of the building used for athletic activity.
An airborne movement in uniform
A taekwondo demonstration takes place inside Kukkiwon in 2005. A white-uniformed performer moves through the air while others hold boards nearby. Folds in the uniforms and the surrounding poses record a brief moment of motion.
Trainers around a circular shop
A trainer shop occupies a commercial building near Gangnam Station. Lighting and footwear follow the curved ceiling and display areas. The shop's shape records the retail environment as clearly as the products themselves.
Yellow lights above the cinema counter
Yellow lights hang above the ticket area at Megabox near Gangnam Station. Small figures appear beneath electronic boards and film displays. The image preserves the lighting and arrangement of a space used before entering the cinema.
Cycling together on Teheran-ro
People in yellow tops cycle along Teheran-ro in 2009. Helmets, flags and roadside barriers are visible. A major road usually associated with cars is shared here by another form of movement.
Walking beside Kyobo Tower
A broad pavement runs beside Kyobo Tower's red wall. People carrying bags walk between patches of shade and sunlight. Everyday movement continues at eye level along the outside of the large building.
Footsteps across from Kyobo Tower
People cross a side street with Kyobo Tower in view. Shirts, short-sleeved tops and carried bags accompany different walking strides. A small pedestrian scene overlaps the building's large grid of windows.
Glass-fronted shops beneath the red tower
A blue-tinted glass building stands beside the red Kyobo Tower. Cars and a pink bus pass along the road in front. Large offices and lower commercial spaces face the same street.
Walking toward Kyobo Tower in summer
People walk along a pavement facing Kyobo Tower in summer 2012. Light tops and shorts appear beside buses and multiple traffic lanes. The familiar building shares the view with clothing worn that summer.
Stalls, restaurants and night streets
Everyday life beneath the lights
Small stall lamps and large signs, umbrellas and guitar performances. Walking, eating and gathering continue around Gangnam Station after dark.
Teheran-ro lights in 2001
An elevated view looks along Teheran-ro at night in 2001. Lit office windows and vehicle lights extend into the distance. Light outlines the buildings and roads that their surfaces define by day.
A photograph before the lane's lights
Two people stand before the camera in a night lane near Gangnam Station. Light outerwear and jeans appear against a long line of bright signs. The background of a personal photograph preserves the shops and street of its time.
A snapshot at a barbecue table
Two people pose for a photograph at a barbecue restaurant near Gangnam Station. Dishes and overhead ventilation appear in the dark interior. Gatherings inside restaurants form part of the neighborhood's everyday record.
Night-lane pedestrians in black and white
People overlap in this black-and-white view of a lane near Gangnam Station. Bags, backs and profiles appear close beneath bright signs. Without color, outlines and differences in light become more prominent.
A night of windows and traffic lights
Windows light up along Teheran-ro in 2008. A bright road and rooftop signs extend beneath the dark sky. Illuminated interiors on many floors contrast with the flow of vehicles below.
People gathering at a glowing entrance
The glass entrance to Gangnam Station glows at night. People in dark outerwear pass in front or head inside. Its lighting creates a small destination beneath the surrounding towers.
Footsteps continuing after dark
People remain on the pavement outside Gangnam Station's shops after dark. Beyond walkers beside bright windows, building and traffic lights stretch into the distance. Movement continues beyond the edges of the photograph.
Lit signs in a restaurant lane
Colored signs light a restaurant lane near Gangnam Station in 2010. People stand by entrances while others walk along the road. A succession of small doorways shapes the night street.
Small lights on a street stall
Small goods are spread across a pavement stall at night. Lights over the display reveal shop signs and passers-by behind it. A smaller place of trade sits beneath the glow of larger stores.
Music and dining in the same room
Tables and a performance area share the interior of I Have a Dream near Gangnam Station. Instruments and microphones appear behind diners in low light. Dining and music occupy closely connected parts of the same room.
An evening crowd beneath umbrellas
Umbrellas gather on a wet pavement near Gangnam Station. Light from shops and buses falls across the ground as people move between them. In the rain, umbrella colors and shapes become more visible than the figures beneath.
Outside the shops on Saturday evening
People move outside Gangnam Station's shops on a Saturday evening in 2011. Pedestrians beneath bright windows appear alongside buses on the road. Light from the stores spills outward onto the pavement.
A night street beneath bright signs
People gather on a night street near Gangnam Station in 2012. Light and dark outerwear mix between shop lights and vehicle lamps. Signs that mark stores by day illuminate the surrounding pavement at night.
A lane between bar signs
Bar and restaurant signs overlap above a brightly lit lane. People in light jackets pass one another along the narrow road. From the signs overhead to the ground below, commerce and walking share a tightly packed space.
Guitars outside Exit 10
Guitarists perform outside Gangnam Station's Exit 10 in 2012. Buses and building lights appear behind the instruments and microphones. For a while, the pavement becomes a place to hear music outside a concert hall.