Decision-making processes for public memorials in Seoul: How well do they reflect and contribute to South Korea’s democracy?

This paper examines public planning processes for a very specific element of the urban environment: memorials that are placed within the public realm. It explores how the decision-making processes for these installations shape and approve their themes, forms, and placements, through interviews with the key protagonists of a series of public memorial projects that have been created in Seoul over the past 15 years. It focuses on evaluating if and how these decision-making processes are democratic.