The Utopian Enclave: Little Pyongyang in London as Temporary Utopias

This paper introduces the concept of temporary utopia, which is private rather than communal and individual rather than collective, to investigate a paradoxical relationship between longing and loss in the individuals’ utopian process. The main argument is grounded in Ernst Bloch’s critical theory of utopia, which gives more weight to its function and process rather than its form and destination, which is the opposite of the traditional utopian imagination. The notion of temporality as utopic-spatial consequences is illustrated with a case study of New Malden’s North Korean community in London, United Kingdom. Through the examination of North Koreans’ utopianism, it amplifies how the individual memories, emotions, and longings are re-created, re-built and re-imagined in the form of temporary utopias to incorporate the endless ideals and changing conditions of the individuals. This investigation sheds new light on urban ethnic enclaves as utopia in the realm of architecture and urbanism.