On the 8th, when the city of Seoul released a bird’s-eye view of the ferris wheel, Seoul Ring, those who designed the 200-meter-tall round structure 23 years ago, the Millennium Gate, received congratulatory messages from all over the place. Those who saw the bird’s eye view said that they mistook the Seoul Metropolitan Government for re-promoting the ‘Gate of the Thousand Years’, which the government had suspended in 2001. It was worth it. The Seoul Ring and the Millennium Gate are perfect rings with an empty center. It’s so similar. Moreover, Seouling was originally an alias for the Millennium Gate. It made me think, ‘The millennium door business is seeing the light’.
However, Seoul’s position was different. He said there were no identical elements in the two facilities except for their round shape. He said Seoul Ring is different from the Millennium Gate with an observatory because it is a large ferris wheel.
Of course, nothing is 100% new in the world. To create, you must steal other people’s ideas. The great poet TS Eliot, the painter Pablo Picasso, and the innovator Steve Jobs never hesitated to steal ideas. Stealing, however, is distinctly different from imitation, that is, copying. Professor William Duggan of Columbia University explains the difference this way. “Imitation is copying exactly what someone else did. Stealing is taking the individual elements of several people’s ideas and putting them together in a new way.” Elliott’s masterpiece ‘The Wasteland’, Picasso’s masterpiece ‘Les Demoiselles d’Avignon’, and Jobs’ ‘iPhone’ are all results of ‘stealing’. Wasteland has quoted and alluded to the work of over 30 authors. The women of Avignon combined African art with the painting style of the painter Matisse. The iPhone is a combination of touch screen technology and mobile web browsing technology.
If Seouling is the result of such ‘stealing’, creativity can be recognized. If it steals the ‘ring shape’ from the Millennium Gate and combines the function of a large ferris wheel, at least it will not be a simple imitation. However, the Millennium Gate also had a ferris wheel function in the first place. The blueprints are proof of that. 30 gondolas go around the circle. As a result of reducing the number of gondolas to four due to budget pressure, it is questionable whether Seouling can be recognized as separate from the Millennium Gate, even though the Millennium Gate lost its function as a ferris wheel.
Moreover, Seouling as a landmark, if the core element that draws admiration is in the ‘circle’ itself, it is all the more difficult to see it as a new creation. The power of ‘Won’ was great in winning the Millennium Gate over the late Nam June Paik in the international competition to build a national symbol in 2000. In recognition of his originality of designing the world’s first super-scale perfect circle structure, he was elected with unanimous approval from the judges. Of course, after the Millennium Gate was aground as the Seoul Metropolitan Government insisted, circular structures such as the ‘Eye of Bohai’ appeared in China. However, Bohai’s Eye is distinctly different from the Millennium Gate in appearance. Bohai’s Eye has numerous steel frames exposed to support the circular structure, but the Millennium Gate is a perfect circle without any superfluities.
The present age is ‘an era of flood of ideas’. Physicist Carlo Rovelli said, “In this world where each person’s thoughts are constantly exchanged, it is easy to lose the source of thoughts and often transform what they hear from others and make it their own.” It is a common mistake even famous scientists make. “At times like that, a phone call saying, ‘I was the one who told you that, remember?’ solves the problem,” says Rovelli. “The other person will correct the source soon.” If the city of Seoul did something similar to the common mistake of scientists, it would be better to correct the source. Of course, if it is clear that there is no problem with design ethics, it is right to push Seoulling as it is now.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon does not need to become a mature poet himself. He is a politician and administrator. If he realizes a great work made by an artist into reality, that in itself is a great achievement. Even if the copyright of the original designer is acknowledged, everyone will remember it as ‘Sehun Oh Seouling’.
[김인수 논설위원]
