People still miss the Pimat-gol

There was a back alley from 1st street to 6th street of Jongno, called Pimat-Gol in Seoul, Korea. It has been there since Yi dynasty around 1390ies. The people could avoid the dashing horses of the gentlemen in the main street and walked through the back alley. Pimat means to avoid the horses and Gol means the alley in Korean language. In the Pimat- Gol there were many shops and small restaurants that those small people used to visit and enjoy the food and leisure time. This alley was made by the planner of Seoul, Jeong Do-jeon when Yi dynasty was founded to protect the grassroots. In the era of tyranny student demonstrators crying for democracy and freedom also sneak into the alley to avoid the police. But the Le Meilleur building was built in that area recently and some of the merchants have to move to the building. However many small shop owners cannot afford the rent and gave up their business. Of course there were many problems in that alley. For example the electric lines were entangled in the air and the alley smells bad because of the insanitary environment. And the alley was vulnerable to the fire. So the city permitted the high rising building to improve the situation. Anyway the Pimat-Gol was vanished now. Many citizens feel sorry for it and still miss the back alley filled with the breath and the culture of the grassroots.