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Infiltration
Asia: Exploring the Forbidden in the Far East
< on 4/3/2009 12:44 PM >
Jon Dunbar
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The following article was done by me for a Malaysian underground
zine, and later reprinted in my own zine, Broke in Korea.
There's some interesting information about UE in five Asian
countries, but I caution you it's a LONG read.
I contacted urban explorers in four countries to ask them
questions about their activities. Represented here are Malaysia,
Singapore, Japan, Korea, and China. The Japan guy was interviewed
by phone (I won't give away his identity but he can speak
up) and the others were interviewed by e-mail. And of course
I answer all the questions for Korea. It's worth noting that
only the Chinese and Singaporean answers were true locals
to their countries.
BROKE: First of all, are there any security concerns you have,
such as over your identity, or the locations of places youve
explored, etc?
MALAYSIA: I dont actively advertise who I am nor freely give
out location information to just anyone, especially with prewar
sites which might have some kind of historical importance.
SINGAPORE: For ours, keeping identities a secret is a positive
thing. As our authorities do not condone people visiting abandoned
places and people announcing openly of such visits. Our country
frowns on explorations and superstitious beliefs like ghost
hauntings. (they would deny such things exist). We have different
groups of people here in our country. Most urban explorers
(eg. our group) prefer staying low flying under the radar.
There are many who are purely thrillseekers, they visit the
place, make a lot of noise, some do vandalism, some do drugs,
some do illegal activities and so on, some blatantly publicize
themselves on websites to show off their deeds.
As for locations, the famous ones we need not hide their locations,
as generally everyone whos interested will know how and where
to go, with the ease of information searching on the internet.
(as we are a small country, nothing much remains hidden for
long). For lesser known locations, we do try to minimize information,
as thrillseekers tend to use such information to visit and
trash up the place, and induce more authorities to clamp down
with more security, thus restricting or eliminating the chance
for UE activities. Therefore we do not encourage illegal activities
or acts of boastingby trashing up places. We visit, explore
and document (take photos/ videos/notes) locations.
JAPAN: There are some security concerns particularly as to
one or two of the locations that Ive visited. One of them
is an old military installation and people have been prosecuted
for going on site there. ...The police have arrested a number
of, particularly foreigners, that have been trying to get
on and off [Gunkanjima].
KOREA: Nope, no problems here. UE is under the radar in Korea
so I put little effort into hiding my identity. For some sites
I dont reveal my access points, but usually I encourage people
who want to go poking around these places.
CHINA: Security is the foremost issue weve talking about most
before every exploring, and we have to take the different
UE equipment according to the different exploring conditions
Beyond anything if the place we locate to explore is too dangerous,
after the disscutions we will probably cancel the exploring.
======================================================
BROKE: How popular is UE in your country? How many people
are involved?
MALAYSIA: No idea, so far I have not met or found any serious
UE type people in this country. No doubt they are out there
in one form or another but I have yet to find them. If you
find any let me know!
SINGAPORE: For our group, main active members number less
than 10. There are many unofficialurban explorers who make
their own trips and explorations, these are usually undocumented.
So the actual number of people who do UE in the country is
relatively unknown.
JAPAN: Huge. Huge. Mixi[Japanese social networking site]s
got whole groups set up for whats called in Japanese haikyo.Haikyo
is huge here in Japan. If you pop that into a Japanese search
engine youd get tens of thousands of sites of people that
explores webpages posting on Mixi. Theres a whole series of
magazines and books and articles on everything from industrial
decay through to modern ruins. I can go into my local bookstore
and buy haikyo books and haikyo magazines. Because its so
broad, theres such a wide base of it. Thats why theres magazines,
DVDs, TV programmes-- even mainstream magazines will publish
haikyo articles every couple months.
KOREA: Almost non-existent. Most urban explorers are from
other countries. I count three Canadians and one British guy
over the time Ive been doing it. There are many other people
who tag along, such as my wife, who I would call the only
Korean urban explorer (inside Korea at least). My work has
also encouraged other foreigners to take pictures of abandoned
sites, so that I can explore them myself later. I hope there
are Koreans who do it, and dont know the term urban explorationyet.
CHINA: Urban exploration in China goes back just three years,
with Beijing taking the lead and attracting mainly the young,
many of whom are IT workers. The registered members of Chinas
largest UE website, www.chinauer.com, ranging in age from
18 and 40, now stand at more than 40,000 throughout the country.
=============================================================
BROKE: Is there a distinct UE style in your country? What
makes it unique? ie) photographic techniques, distinct styles
of buildings, etc.
MALAYSIA: Without any known UE groups here its a hard one
to answer. When Ive checked out local forums about abandonments,
people always first want to talk about if its haunted before
anything else; the mere suggestion of a haunting can also
scare off many people wanting to go anywhere near a location.
This has got a lot to do with the culture and belief systems,
so I wouldnt be surprised if the UE scene out here gets spun
off from ghost-hunting clubs or something like that. I know
some UE groups in Singapore have a heavy spin on the paranormal
with their explores. Not my kind of thing, but whatever floats
your boat.
SINGAPORE: Chances for urban exploration in our country in
recent years, is pretty limited. Apart from having current
events affecting, our small country does a lot of urban renewal,
which is tearing down/demolishing old buildings and land,
to make way for new development. Rarely we get to visit an
abandoned area without security installations. Major exploration
landmarks in our country are fast disappearing, many are being
redeveloped into modern amenities like spas, hostels, hotels
and other commercial projects. And we lack exciting locations
seen in other countries, ours are the humble abandoned hospitals,
factories, old British military installations (most are either
sealed up or demolished). Our country may be unofficially
considered the most UE-unfriendly, or the most difficult for
UE activities.
Our countrys urban explorers distinct style? Maybe its a hit
& runtechnique: Go in, explore, get out We simply do not
have the luxury of time to try artistic photography or map
out in deep detail, an entire area. The longer we stayed in
a location, the higher the risk we run getting caught or reported
by concerned folks. Another fact of UE here, usually it goes
hand in hand with haunting rumours. Singapores probably the
asian country with the most haunting rumours per square feet,
considering our countrys size and the large amount of haunting
rumours to go around. Most of these explorations are done
at night, under the cover of darkness. Which might have contributed
to haunting rumours. Exploration in the day just doesnt quite
seem appropriate here. (theres no privacy in most places)
one thing here, locals like to be scared silly, they like
the hopeful thrill of meeting some spooks, but always deny
their beliefs so as to look serious.
JAPAN: It would be summed up in one word and that would be
respect. Because the explorer is someone thats just out for
the interests in the architectural style--the artist, the
photographer, the painter, and just the person thats just
gone there to look. In my countless explores Ive come across
a wide range of people from young kids to a variety of adults,
old people sketching, painters, everything. None of them has
had a can of spray paint with them. Because its old, it doesnt
need to be smashed and graffitied. Thats almost nonexistent.
What it means is it affects the overall explorer culture here,
because if youre found on a site where you shouldnt be, the
assumption is auntomatically that youre not there to do bad.
If I was exploring in New York or Australia, if Im found on
the premises, immediately Im in the wrong and theyll be going
through my bag looking for spraypaint and for stolen stuff.
Here the assumption is the opposite. Here the assumption is
Im there appreciating the aesthetic and not nceessarily there
to be bad. There once was an amusement park in Yamanashi called
Gullivers Kingdom. Once you got passed the loose perimeter
fence, the only thing stopping you from walking into that
was a rope drawn over front entrance way, with a sign hanging
up that said do not enter.
KOREA: There are many abandoned neighbourhoods in Seoul that
are slated for demolition, so most of my pictures are of residential
buildings. Im more focused on all stages of urban renewal,
from pre-abandonment and eviction to condemnation and demolition.
Sometimes it is a long legal battle that lasts months or years.
When I look at photos from other countries, they are very
different from mine. While other countries have sites that
are dilapidated and undisturbed for years, Koreas sites are
newly abandoned, and often heavily damaged by gangsters during
the eviction of the tenants.
CHINA: Urban exploration in China is still in the initial
stage, so that the individuals have not yet formed their own
style. Actually in china UE in most conditions is a team effort.
Abandoned sites in Beijing can be divided into four categories
- forbidden places such as underground air-raid shelters and
closed metro stations; structures and houses about to be demolished;
buildings with a historical background, such as Wan Ning Bridge
and Xiliu Palace of the Forbidden City; and haunted houses.
=============================================================
BROKE: What are your favourite UE sites in your country?
MALAYSIA: The best sites for me are predominately prewar abandoned
sites as they can have some amazing architectural styles and
history connected with them. One of my favorites is what the
locals call the 99 door mansion.Its an old mansion built in
the 1850s and abandoned in the 1950s. In the 50s the owners
son was shot and killed by Communist terrorists on the staircase.
After that incident the owners sold the house and the entire
estate it sat on, and there it still stands till this day.
Another prewar favorite of mine is the Relau Villa in Penang.
Its design is based on a Roman villa and even had a central
fresh water swimming pool. More recently Ive been exploring
modern sites. Malaysia has a huge unhealthy amount of modern
abandonments left over from the Asian economic crisis in the
late 90s. One great site is an abandoned mall in town, 5 levels
of shops, 2 cinemas and a 25-storey office tower with a helipad
on top. Only problem is that security has been increased after
a team of thieves hijacked all the metal parts from 32 escalators
in the building.
SINGAPORE: Im not priviledged to list down everything I know,
but I am happy to provide some well known locations.
OCH (Old Changi Hospital) Well known ever since it closed
down operations, every local young thrillseeker or urban explorer
would have visited this place at least once in his/her life.
Abandoned hospital built on a hill, from the foot of the low
hill to the top. Plans to convert this place into a spa resort
are currently underway. OCB (Old Commando Barracks) Theres
speculation on the actual name of this place, but most called
it OCB for short. Formerly used by the military, it has since
been left vacant for years. A colourful building with pre-ww2
designs, impressive pillars can be seen from the front. Another
rumouredly haunted place. Asian Village Abandoned amusement
theme park on the island of Sentosa. Also rumoured to be haunted.
Demolished and land cleared totally a few months back, now
is the site of the future Intergrated Resorts(or casinos for
the layman). Istana Woodnuek A mansion in the middle of a
sparse forest, near Botanical Gardens, rumoured to be haunted,
and owned by Johore (Malaysia) royalty. Rooms and corridors,
and an elaborately designed stairs. Recently some thrillseekers
set fire to the place, roof caved in, whats remaining is the
mansions walls, empty till today. Another rumour is that its
gonna be developed soon.
JAPAN: Certainly Gunkanjima, but the appeal to Gunkan though
is not just what it is, but its the location that its in.
Theres another well known location called Ashio, and Ashio
is essentially Gunkanjima on land and its larger as well.
Although I spent almost 3/4 of a day on Gunkanjima, Ive been
back to Ashio about 6 or 7 times now, and Im still discovering
more and more things.
Theres an enormous amount of urban renewal going on in and
around Tokyo too so you can find great lumps of land that
have been vacated. Just down the street from me where I live
in Tokyo, I found a house that would have been at least 100-150
years old. It was built before electricity and all the post-construction
electricity installations have been cabled around the outside
of the walls to install lights in, and they just bulldozed
it, but I able to explore that prior to it being bulldozed.
KOREA: The top one is obviously Okpo Land, an abandoned amusement
park on an island off the southern coast. Its been sitting
on top of a hill overlooking a growing city since 1999, and
has been a UE destination for me as well as many of my friends.
Also I have to mention the Seoul Hotel, an abandoned ten-storey
hotel I found in downtown Seoul. It was well preserved, and
most of the rooms still had beds and furniture. Up on the
top floor there was even a bar with leftover liquor. I took
my wife on a short vacation there once.
CHINA: There are old and forgotten buildings, military sites
with their own history or legends, the forgotten people in
the buildings, while very likely forgotten history or legends,
and this is my favorite place of adventure.
=============================================================
BROKE: Have you ever had any sort of legal problems from UEing?
MALAYSIA: So far no problems or runs ins with the law, yet.
SINGAPORE: So far...none. We are extremely cautious, of course
by staying safe and not doing anything silly, we lower the
risks. And lastly, we wouldnt want to run into any legal trouble,
thats the last thing you want to get into, in this country.
JAPAN: I have had my details taken by the police and by security
guards on two occasions in the last five or six years in Japan
so I need to be careful. Gaijins here, foreigners, often are
viewed with suspicion, and if youre a gaijin in a place that
its obvious that you shouldnt be, its likely that someones
gonna call the police and its likely that the police are gonna
come and take your details, and if you dont play it right
youre likely to be put in the back of a police car. But if
you keep your wits about you and you maintain a low profile,
and Im very fond of the invisible-in-plain sight routine,
and act like youre not being suspicious and not hide and run
around and skulk like youre trying to hide something, you
can get away with lots.
KOREA: Me, no, never. Im very careful not to get caught while
Im exploring. Usually the fact that Im a foreigner gets me
out of trouble, as most people think Im just a lost white
guy who doesnt know where he is.
CHINA: Well about the legal problems, so far my team members
and I have explored so many places, (most places were abandoned),
only a few of them were in unexpected situations. For example
last time we were exploring a military site, six soldiers
trapped us. They made us delete the pics and finally released
us. I have to say in China we dont have a law about urban
explorer (stuff like this), but if a person destroys the place
or does some damage, it definitely should be punished by detention
or a fine. In most conditions if you really meet the police
it doesnt matter what you are doing. They will let you go.
=============================================================
BROKE: How do you locate sites to explore?
MALYASIA: Newspaper reports are handy and also Flickr-type
sites. I started a group on Flickr for just that purpose.
Even ghost-hunting clubs can be useful. I dont buy into any
of that stuff myself, but if you can find one of those clubs
they will normally have a good list of locations to follow
up on in the area.
SINGAPORE: By word of mouth, history books research or online
research.
JAPAN: I guess half the sites we explore we discovered ourselves.
The other half we use Japanese websites and other resources
like magazines. Gullivers Kingdom was largely off the global
urban exploring radar until we went there. We knew roughly
where it was and the only way we found it was because my wifes
car has a really old navigational system in it, and on the
disc, because the cars 15 years old, it had the original location
of Gullivers Kingdom on it and we were able to find it using
that map.
KOREA: I get most of my finds by riding around on a scooter.
I found a large abandoned university campus five minutes from
my home this way. Also, by posting my pictures on message
boards, I get a lot of tips from other foreigners about sites
to explore.
CHINA: We often use the GPS or Google Earth to locate the
place, and collect information, then we will post the pic
and information in our websites, and arrange a good time to
explore. Before every exploration we do the same process.
=============================================================
BROKE: What do you hope to do in the future with UE?
MALAYSIA: Ive always thought about turning my explores into
a book of some kind. I think the main prohibitive factor however
might be the cost, we shall see.
SINGAPORE: Well, hard to answer this, but we hope to be still
around as everyone in our group are slowly starting their
own family or having their own lifes commitments. We might
even be too busy to run around exploring urban decay. Otherwise
we would definitely still fly under the radar, we are not
here doing UE for the publicity anyway.
JAPAN: I may be going back to Gunkanjima this year on an official
sponsored tour. Someones making a documentary and they want
some local knowledge. Other than that, it really is about
relaxation.
KOREA: There are some big urban renewal projects coming up
in Seoul. A large section of downtown is going to be bulldozed
and rebuilt, which will offer up many fascinating abandoned
buildings. Ive prepared by visiting the buildings in advance.
Also, the city will change in a few years when the US army
base Yongsan Garrison is closed. Its a large central city
enclosure that eats up 2.5 square kilometers of prime real
estate. As well, I hope to be the first urban explorer inside
the Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang.
CHINA: For the future of UE, I think it should be encouraged,
with the development of urban exploration, cities are developing
the same style, and we have to make it meaningful.
=============================================================
BROKE: What advice/cautions would you give to someone new
to urban exploration in your country?
MALAYSIA: Treat each location you go to with great care, the
biggest danger is how structurally sound a building is. I
made the mistake in the beginning by first focusing on taking
pretty photos, rather than paying attention to my immediate
surroundings. This could have led to some dangerous situations
which could have seen me walking straight into trouble. Now
I make sure to properly check out my surroundings before taking
any photos of anything.
SINGAPORE: In our country - Always be careful and cautious.
Never to take anything for granted. Do not disturb the peace
or disrespect locations. As the famous slogan of UE, we believe
its a code to honour - Take nothing but photos, leave nothing
but footprints.
JAPAN: Take it easy and be culturally aware. In Japan cultural
sensitivity is number one. Understand the way that foreigners
are treated here and the manner in which the sites are treated
here as well.
KOREA: Be respectful to the sites you visit. Many of them
were homes to people and still hold a place in their memories,
and you never know when youre being watched. And never go
into buildings that have been half demolished.
CHINA: To be cautious before doing things, and first contact
the local urban exploring union, and this in a safe place
on the expedition will have a certain degree of protection. |
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