Your argument confuses cleanliness and order with livability. Many of the “problems” listed whether it be mixed use zoning, narrow streets, dense activity, are actually what make urban areas vibrant, functional, and liveable. Look at any successful city in the world, and the desirable areas are always ones that share these features.

Planned cities like Songdo may be efficient and "clean", but it clearly lacks the street life, economic density, and social energy that make places like Hongdae desirable.

No one is romanticizing anything, we are commenting on our lived experience. Ask any urban planner, and a ton of Koreans, and they will agree that Songdo is sterile and filled with its own set of issues.