There are about 900 hanoks in Seoul’s centuries-old Bukchon Hanok Village. Jun Michael Park for The New York Times

Restoring Korea’s hanoks

Seoul has undergone rapid urbanization amid the economic boom of the last 25 years or so, and the number of hanoks — traditional Korean homes — has fallen. In 2006, there were about 22,000 in South Korea’s capital. In 2020, there were only about 8,000.

But the hanoks that are still nestled between Seoul’s towers and hip coffee shops have devoted fans. Craftsmen work to maintain them, an act of devotion to a slowly vanishing piece of history.