Just last week, I had the pleasure of flying to South Korea to visit friends and family. It was a bit of a last minute trip (and it cost me like one), but I had a fantastic time! Here are my photos, thoughts, and observations of my one-week experience.
To note, because there are a lot of pictures, I've decided to do this entry as two parts: the first part are shots from m camera, the second are shots from my Korean tour guide's.
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| So apparently in Seoul, the way people go about buying housing is to come to one of these impressive looking model homes. They would then look at examples of the rooms and then buy them on the spot. The crazy thing, according to my Korean source, is that these rooms aren't even the final product! In essence, people have to buy their houses without knowing whether or not it will turn out the way they want it to! If you made a bad choice or had back luck, you'd literally have to live with it. |
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| I think this picture is indicative of South Korean culture today. The dichotomy between old and new is not only evident in the architecture, but also in social interactions. On one hand, the modern socialites of the young South Korean population run around the city with high-paying financial jobs and living up the excesses of consumerism. On the other hand, the aging population of ajashis and ajummas can also be seen, ambling around the city |
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| If you look very closely, you can see that this mess of a picture is actually full of locks. This picture was taken at the Namsan Tower where lovers go to "seal" their love for each other. They'll write heartfelt messages on these locks, lock them on the fence, and then throw away the key to symbolize undying love. While that was really cute to see, I should mention that I did see some locks that looked like they'd been cut off... |
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| Most people who live in and around the city live in these high rise apartment buildings that practically all look the same. I had the chance to visit people's apartments, and I have to say, although all the buildings look the same, there is a big difference in the quality of each of these building's apartments. |
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| Fresh and refreshing water from the world's only active DMZ! I don't know what's worse, that the terrible aftermath of the Cold War lives on, or that someone decided it would make for good marketing. |
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| I have a hard time taking Asian cops seriously. The ones in Viet Nam look like their always wearing bowling balls on their head, and the ones in Korea drive these cute, reinforced scooters around the city. |
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| In the traditional village of Bukchon. Amazingly, these are all houses that people actually live in. It was insanely quaint, despite all the bewildered tourists walking around. |
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| Street art in the Bukchon village. At first, I thought "Wow, typical cute Asian art." But then, I noticed the clever use of the pipes. Well played, street artist, well played. |
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| The famous Noryanjin fish market in Seoul. God, the smell. What an incredible experience, though. The market was huge, about as big as a warehouse! You could buy all sorts of weird fish here, by the way. My older brother and I got to sample some skate. It was rancid, but at least the burning sensation you get from eating it wasn't as bad for me as it was for my brother. |
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| Took a break on my last day in Seoul to check out the May Island Study Cafe in Gangnam. It was probably one of the coolest cafes I've ever been, too. It was complete with reserve-able group study rooms, "isolation" booths, a small library, and 5 WiFi routers. I settled into these cute looking circular desks near the window to read. When I finally sat down, though, I realized that the pile of stuff next to me wasn't, in fact, just stuff. Someone must have been up late the night before. |
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| Another shot of the May Island Cafe. If you look closely, you'll notice something odd. The large wooden board there is actually another, smaller room in the middle of the main room. The funny thing, though, is that it isn't supported by anything underneath. It was just affixed to the ceiling somehow. Underneath, you can see the students who are sitting at tables behind the small room. |
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| A Protestant church in Seoul. I hate to bring religion into my blog, but I had to share this. In the bottom right corner, affixed to the church, was a small cafe with a neon light. That just really bothered me for some reason. A church shouldn't be a place you go to to spend money, period. |
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