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Great Korean Railway Journeys S01E02 Suwon to Seodaemun Seoul
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00:01South Korea by rail
00:04These trains are capable of more than 200 mpH
00:08the opportunity to explore one of the world's most successful countries
00:14amidst towering skyscrapers in gleaming mega cities
00:18architectural statement
00:21I'll ride the wave of Korean culture sweeping the West. It's got this very spicy sauce
00:27and encounter ancient civilizations and traditions
00:33on a peninsula divided by war along a border between
00:37capitalism and communism the sense of tension here is powerful
00:42I'll see how out of destruction and partition South Koreans have forged an
00:48impressive new identity
01:00I'm
01:18My journey of discovery in the Republic of Korea continues in its massive capital Seoul
01:25The Korean Peninsula endured a terrible 20th century with a long period of Japanese colonization
01:32Including the Second World War and then the devastation of the Korean War
01:37I'll explore how in the South the state has backed enormous industrial conglomerates
01:42That grew from family businesses to drive economic growth and I'll see how K-pop
01:49conquered the world
01:52Beginning close to the demilitarized zone on the frontier with the North my route has brought me to the captain's
01:58soul
01:59I'll head south via Daejeon to the historic city of Gyeongju and on to Busan, the country's biggest port
02:08Continuing west, I'll visit Gwangju symbol of the nation's struggle for democracy
02:13And I'll end my travels on the volcanic island of Gyeongju, Korea's top holiday destination
02:39Even if you are used to the complexities of the London underground this map is pretty mind-blowing
02:46It shows 24 different metro lines and no fewer than 302 stations
02:53However, as you go along each line each station has a number a simple but brilliant idea
03:00And it means that during your journey even if you're not fluent in Korean
03:05Even if you don't have the English language, you'll have a very good idea when you've reached your stop
03:14This morning I'm taking the Shinbundang express line south out of the city to the district of Suwon
03:21Where the headquarters of a global tech giant and Korea's biggest company is based
03:28It's one of a few family businesses that in a drive to rebuild the economy following the Korean war
03:34were backed by the government to boost growth
03:40This system has produced companies that are dominant in world markets
03:44And it has made the average Korean rich by global standards
03:49These companies are now huge conglomerates and household names
03:54Such as Hyundai and LG
03:57Here in Suwon is the biggest of them all, Samsung
04:03It's South Korea's largest exporter
04:05And one of the world's leading producers of consumer electronics
04:09This 390 acre site, known as Digital City, employs around 35,000 people
04:17Predominantly in the research and development of new products
04:20Bomi Lim is the director of communications
04:25Bomi, hello
04:26Hello, Michael
04:27What a pleasure
04:28It looks like an enormous facility that you have here
04:31Yes, we have mobile business, home entertainment business
04:35And we have great facilities for our employees
04:37It's a big campus
04:41It's obviously now a giant corporation
04:44But everything begins somewhere
04:47Yes
04:47Where did Samsung begin?
04:48Well, Samsung started back in 1938 in Korea by Mr. Pyong Cheol Lee
04:54Originally as a trading company
04:56And it dealt in everyday products like dried fish and apples
05:00Selling mostly to nearby countries
05:02And when did the company get into electronics?
05:05So Samsung Electronics was founded in 1969
05:08In the early years we started making black and white televisions
05:12Followed by washing machines, refrigerators and air conditioners
05:16And, you know, to many families in Korea at the time
05:19They were more than just appliances
05:21They were actually a symbol of progress and a modern lifestyle
05:25Then by the 1980s
05:27That's when we ventured into semiconductors and telecoms
05:30And in 2010 we launched our first smartphone
05:33And since then we have expanded into everything from mobile, home entertainment
05:38And smart appliances powered by AI
05:43In the on-site museum, you can see how much things have moved on since the early days
05:50I don't know why it is, but technology from yesteryear seems pretty amusing
05:56Like that 1970s black and white television
05:59Ah, the video recorder also from the late 1970s
06:041983, the personal computer
06:07And much the same age
06:10The clumsiest looking microwave you ever saw
06:23Across the site
06:24The company's latest gadgets and innovations
06:27Are tested in a full-size model smart home
06:31Hello Tay
06:32Hello Michael
06:33So I'm going to open the door with my fingerprint
06:35Let me show you
06:36I'm taking a tour with manager Tay Lee
06:41Good start
06:46This way
06:49So the home knows that I'm home
06:50And I like it nice and bright in my home when I arrive
06:53So the curtains will open, the blinds will open, lights turn on
06:58And the TVs come on
06:59That's right
07:00So all of this is very convenient
07:03What else can the smart home do for us?
07:05So these devices that are connected
07:06They connect with each other and they communicate
07:09So it will optimize energy consumption
07:12So you don't even have to worry about it
07:13It'll do it by itself
07:16This is a refrigerator but looking more like a television than a fridge
07:20Right, so you can do everything you can with a tablet for example
07:24Watch even movies here
07:26But here what I want to show you is
07:28In the fridge we have a camera built in
07:32And it will manage what you have inside your fridge for you
07:35It will give me a recipe recommendation based on what I like
07:39Very good
07:39As well as suggesting what you might enjoy for lunch
07:42The smart house can help you to cook it
07:45I think this is a very good recipe to start with
07:48I'm going to hand you my phone
07:50Mm-hmm
07:50All you need to do is scan the barcode right here
07:55Okay?
07:56Okay
07:56So you want to tap this one right here
07:58Which is the same as this one
08:00Indeed it is, yeah
08:01And then tap on step-by-step cooking
08:05Tap on the phone where it says send to order purifier
08:10And place it here
08:12Just push down on the lever
08:15So you don't have to worry about how much water you need to add for this recipe
08:18It will automatically do it for you
08:20That is insane
08:23So we'll bring the pot back over to the cooktop
08:30Tap on send to cooktop
08:32Of course
08:34So this is another device where it has a screen and it communicates with you
08:37It will automatically set the right temperature for the pot to boil the water
08:44Um, will it open the packet for me or not?
08:47I think that's something for the future
08:50Put it in the pot
08:53So just pump it and pour it
09:03Smells great
09:04Say goodbye to overcooked noodles
09:09In the kitchen I always take orders
09:11So if it's from a machine rather than a person
09:13That's just fine
09:13Mm-hmm
09:16It's been great to cook with you, Tay
09:18And with your wonderful new technology
09:20My pleasure
09:21Mm-hmm
09:22How do you like it?
09:24Mm-hmm
09:26They're cooked to perfection
09:29Being in this futuristic country
09:32Is helping me to glimpse the future
09:47I'm returning to Seoul city centre
09:50And next to the modern main railway station
09:53I'm intrigued to find an historic building
09:56That looks oddly out of place
10:12The building is magnificent although strange and eclectic
10:19With its granite floor and this massive square byzantine style dome
10:25This is the old Seoul railway station
10:28Built in 1925
10:30It was renovated and transformed into a cultural centre in 2011
10:36Today it's a magnificent space for displays, for exhibitions
10:40And for great public events
10:43So-young Choi is one of the guides here
10:46So-young, hello, I'm Michael
10:48Oh, hello, nice to meet you, I'm So-young Choi
10:50Heard you too
10:51So, I love this old railway station
10:54But I'm surprised to find this in Seoul
10:58It doesn't, it doesn't look Asian
10:59It doesn't look Asian
11:10Did the architects of this station use any European buildings as their model?
11:27During Japan's 35-year rule, it was known as Gyeongseong Station
11:33It was renamed Seoul Station following Korea's liberation in 1945
11:38Trains continued to run here until 2004
11:41When the bold new terminus opened next door
11:45Do the people of Seoul feel an affection for this building?
11:50In European style and built by the colonial power, the Japanese?
11:55I feel like this question is very important to me
12:00I think it's very important to me
12:01But as a part of the modern era, the famous buildings
12:05It was very important to me
12:06In the time of the modern era, the old buildings were missing
12:08There were many buildings that were missing
12:10But in the past, there has been a terrible history
12:12In the past, it was a terrible history
12:16And it was a bad memory
12:16Even though it was a bad memory
12:18It was a place for those who had memories
12:33Continuing my exploration of Seoul, I'm drawn again to the fashionable district of Gangnam.
12:44It's one of Seoul's richest neighbourhoods and achieved global fame with the 2012 smash hit Gangnam Style.
12:50It's now the epicentre of South Korea's pop scene, which, along with South Korean films and TV, is making a
12:59worldwide impact.
13:07Squid Game, the Korean dystopian thriller series, is the most watched drama on Netflix of all time.
13:16In 2020, Parasite, a Korean movie, won the Oscar for Best Picture, the first film not in the English language
13:26to do so.
13:27There is no doubt that the world is being refreshed by a wave of Korean culture, for which the Korean
13:34expression is Hallyu.
13:36And the field of music is very much included, with K-pop populating the global charts.
13:44The success of K-pop has led to an explosion of dance and music studios across the city, offering classes
13:52for aspiring stars and for those who want to learn some K-pop moves.
13:56I'm dropping in at Deaf Company Dance School and Music Academy, which is run by Sungkyu Yang.
14:04It's Yang, hello.
14:06I'm Michael.
14:08Hello.
14:08I'm Michael.
14:09Great to see you.
14:13Your academy and your dance school have been going since 2002. When do you think was the origin of K
14:20-pop?
14:20How do you think was the reason why Korean music, K-pop, was able to break through not being in
14:47the English language? It's the first example, really.
14:50of a music that's coming from the eastern part of the world, and penetrating America, and penetrating Europe. Why does
14:58it succeed?
14:59I didn't think that Korean culture would be so popular in the world.
15:05Because it's just like our own music, our own own system.
15:11It's called K-pop music and K-pop music, but it's actually pop.
15:17It's called K-pop music and K-pop music and K-pop music.
15:29Some of today's huge K-pop stars began their journey to fame and fortune in classes like this.
15:36Along with group lessons, the academy offers one-to-one tuition, perfect for enthusiastic beginners.
15:45Hello.
15:46Hi.
15:47My name is Michael.
15:49I'm Um.
15:51Um.
15:51It's very nice to see you indeed.
15:53Well, how should we start?
16:13Okay, good performance, you can build my dance up in a small pooling.
16:22Can you show us what you'd like to play against your own music?
16:24I want to show you a little bit more.
16:27Okay.
16:28Steps are going to be together.
16:30Bang.
16:31Ah!
16:33Down.
16:34Down.
16:36Down.
16:37Five.
16:37Six.
16:39Seven.
16:40Eight.
16:40Wave.
16:42Whoa.
16:45Whoa.
16:49One step, two step, three step, four.
16:53Five.
16:54Six.
16:56Seven.
16:57Eight.
17:05Oh, yes.
17:10Yes, yes.
17:12Clap, clap.
17:17Okay.
17:18Step step.
17:26Pull.
17:36Bravo!
17:39Woo-hoo!
17:41Bravo!
17:42Hello!
17:43Hello!
17:44Hello!
17:44Like how we get out of track.
17:46unlike me these young stars of the future make it look easy can you tell me
17:52why are you taking these classes are you doing it because you want to go into the
17:57music and dance industry yeah I love to try the first time I came here it was
18:03like a mess and then I start to build up my skills from teachers fantastic how
18:14long have you been taking these classes two months what made you want to do it
18:18actually I've been always to be a singer I'm preparing my album on my own you're
18:28preparing an album Wow well good luck to you with your first album ah thank you
19:01quite apart from the extraordinary number of high-rise buildings in Seoul
19:05there's also an underground city you access it from a number of subway stations and you find
19:13their long halls shopping malls full of places selling food and clothing and
19:20they are an integral part of metropolitan life
19:28this modernity and vibrancy are a big part of today's South Korean identity this
19:36country has proved its national energy maybe as a reaction against the first
19:40half of the 20th century when it was occupied by the Japanese in the northwest
19:46of the city in the district of so day moon is Independence Park an historic and
19:52cultural site which bears witness to that traumatic period of Korea's past
19:59historically Korea has been painfully squeezed by her powerful neighbors the
20:05year she was forced to recognize the authority of the Emperor of China in
20:101910 Japan converted Korea into a colony in which the teaching of Korea's
20:16language and history was forbidden and property was seized I've come to this the
20:22site of a notorious prison to understand the history of those brave individuals who
20:28resisted the brutal Japanese occupation and paid with their lives following its
20:35closure in the 1980s so day moon prison is now a museum dedicated to those who fought against
20:43colonial rule J1 Kim is a professor of modern history at Seoul's Catholic University of Korea
20:50J1 we're at the site of a very forbidding looking prison tell me a little about its history please
20:57this is Korea's first modern prison built in 1908 by that point Japan had already taken the
21:07administrative authority of the Korean Empire including its diplomatic rights in general how
21:14did Japan treat its Korean colony the Japanese considered themselves civilized while they viewed the Korean
21:23people who were called chosen as barbaric consequently the Japanese treated the Korean people very
21:32disrespectfully at Seoul's Pagoda Park on the 1st of March 1919 the Korean resistance movement staged its
21:42first mass demonstration and a declaration of independence was read firstly following the
21:52first world war the Paris peace conference was held around that time the concept of national
21:58self-determination emerged and inspired Koreans secondly Koreans already felt a great deal of anger towards
22:06Japan Japan the first protest was led by students and religious figures the Japanese authorities forcibly
22:14suppressed the protest resulting in a number of casualties from day one did the ideas of resistance and
22:23rebellion spread throughout Korea Koreans nationwide joined the protests which began at train stations and then
22:33spread from March to mid-April do we know how many Korean people died during those demonstrations in 1919
22:42there are no accurate statistics on the number of deaths however records show that several massacres occurred at the time
22:50according to the governor-general of Japan's records around 1.5 to 2 million Koreans participated in the March 1st
22:57movement in 1919
22:59of those between 19,000 and 20,000 were punished or charged
23:04one of the youngest and best-known figures of the independence movement was you one soon a young Christian
23:17nationalist who joined the cause as a student in Seoul and has become a symbol of Korea's struggle for freedom
23:24myung sang-ryu is a descendant of her family mr. you hello I'm Michael nice to meet you great pleasure
23:33and can you please tell me about you guan-su
23:37you guan-sun a martyr for Korean independence is a distant great art of mine you received a Christian education
23:47at school and participated in the March 1st independence movement
23:52you shared what you shared what had happened in Seoul with the community elders and the people of her town
23:57you thought that in her hometown there should be a protest as well
24:02this became known as the Aune market demonstration
24:09a month after the first independence demonstration in the capital around 3,000 people gathered in the small town of
24:17Chionnan
24:20you handed out the flags and led the chanting of long-lived Korean independence
24:25however the Japanese police forcibly suppressed the protesters with guns and swords as a result
24:31you's parents were killed by stabbing and shooting
24:38you was convicted of sedition and sentenced to five years at so demon but the teenager continued to fight against
24:46Korea's colonial oppressors
24:49most of the prisoners were anti-japanese independence activists related to the March 1st movement
24:57so once you shouted for Korean independence the entire prison shouted together long live Korean independence
25:07but alas she died here what happened
25:13the prison authorities identified you as the leader and tortured her the torture was so severe that she eventually died
25:21in prison from the after-effects
25:26you was just 17 when she died on the 28th of September 1920
25:46you one soon was held in a prison cell like this and she used this wooden floor
25:56to communicate her patriotism to other prisoners
26:02this love of fatherland of mother country is one of the greatest passions that a human being feels
26:10and it drives people to do extraordinary things
26:13even so I am in wonder that this 17 year old could find such courage to sacrifice her life for
26:25Korea
26:26how do you think such a young person could be so brave and so filled with Korean patriotism how is
26:36it possible
26:39I believe it was possible because she was convinced that fighting for one's homeland was the right thing to do
26:45I also think that use Christian faith enabled her to make this sacrifice
26:49in prepared their way
26:52and thinking that from others
27:05as to many other people
27:12saw the voice of God's
27:19The 20th century made Koreans tough.
27:23They endured a brutal colonisation by Japan,
27:26and then in quick succession,
27:28the Second World War and the Korean War.
27:31For the last seven decades,
27:34the state-sponsored capitalism of the South
27:36has been in a fierce competition of systems
27:39with the Northern Communist neighbour,
27:42and it has roared ahead.
27:44The so-called Korean shrimp,
27:48sandwiched between the whales of Japan and China,
27:51has become a big fish now,
27:54and swims confidently in global economic markets.
27:59Next time, is there competition between China and Korea for ginseng?
28:04In Korea's quality, in China's quantity.
28:09The tremendous economic growth in Korea
28:12has affected most people in most places,
28:14and here, yesterday's hovels, are today's cheek.
28:21It's extraordinary to touch an object that is 1,500 years old.
28:26above all and under, the occurring comum it osob is now resisted in such a Indian in the Midwest,
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