The exodus of steel industry to the perimeter of Seoul has left vacant building and urban space within Mullae-dongs industrial city-scape. Once a center of metal industry, production and craft, in recent years has survived a severe decline of related services, opening spatial opportunity for artists of various background. Since the turn of the 21st century, Mullae-dong has become a regenerative urban center for artists who have formed a loosely defined 'village' now gaining cohesive and cultural recognition.
Presently there are about 60 independent artist studios now operating within Mullae's industrial neighborhoods. Largely camouflaged amongst the lackluster and ailing concrete structures of Mullae, the studios exist separate from industry. They remain suspended in a symbiotic and figurative equilibrium as the disappearance of industry would certainly bring an end to the neighborhoods existence. It is a fragile balance to be certain, teetering on the edge of extinction with the cities plan to redevelop the area.
