Seoul
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Malls. If you live in Seoul, and you’re not at home or at work, you’re in a mall. Pretty much guaranteed. They have everything. And these aren’t like Southern California malls; these are mega malls of insane proportions. Basically at every major subway station in Seoul, a shopping mall awaits you above ground. I got to spend a lot of time in them just going from one part of town to another. And it’s not so much about the shopping experience, but the hanging experience. Couples just stroll and eat and hang out, go to the movies, the arcade. Oh man, the arcade was bananas. I mean I watched a kid hold court on Tekken 6 for like an hour behind a wall of glass from his opponents as to prevent conflict, and this dude play the drum track of Lithium by Nirvana on expert mode. Also, a long suspicion of mine has been confirmed that the KFC colonel has slightly thinner eyes in Asia. Terrible.
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Tags: 2010. New Year's Eve, arcade, Drum Station, eating, Imax, Insadon, James Ryang, Korea, Lithium, Mall, mega mall, Myedong, Nirvana, Photography, Popeye arms, Seoul, Shinsegae, Shopping, subway station, Tekken 6, UFO Catcher
Fashion. Fashion. Fashion. Namdaemun Market and Dongdaemun Market are the two centers of discount shopping in Seoul. Picture Canal Street on a Saturday afternoon times a thousand. You can find pretty much anything. Some of the goods being sold are authentic and others not so much. Clothes you didn’t even know existed still are still being sold. Also, anything you want or need can be made on site. Tailors, jewelry makers, pattern makers have open booths waiting for customers to make alterations and entirely new pieces. It’s nuts. Also, goods are transported in and out of the markets via motorcycle messengers who strap bushels of clothes on the backs of their bikes. It’s easy to get lost in the dense alleyways and indoor tunnels of these markets but that’s really what it’s all about. Seeing all the flair.
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Tags: 2010, accessories, clothes, clothing, Discount, Dongdaemun Market, Fashion, Indoor, James Ryang, jewelry, Korea, Namdaemun Market, open market, Outdoor, Photography, Seoul, tailors
FOOD. Koreans love food. We love eating food. We also anthropomorphize food. It’s in the grocery stores, the streets, the mall food courts on plates and in plastic, and even the arcades. It is everywhere, and it is good. Best finds: Meta Hurricane Ice Cream Cones, Stuffed Sushis, and the Stuffed Pickled Daikon Radish. I wanted to win that so bad. Also, coffee. Let’s talk about it. Freeze-dried coffee is the norm. If you want fresh ground bean coffee, you have to shell out clams. I only had Taster’s Choice for almost two weeks straight.
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Tags: 2010, Anthropomorphic Food, Daikon Radish, Food, Food Courts, Inanimate Food, James Ryang, Lotte Mart, Meta Hurricane, Plastic Food, Seoul, South Korea, Stuffed Animal Food, Stuffed Sushi, Sweet Home, White Bread
This has been a hectic trip so far. It seems like it’s mostly been travel, whether it’s a car, bus, or plane. It was almost a full day on an airplane. Just getting here has been a trip and it’s going to be mostly fulfilling family duties before any real fun starts. It also occurred to me that I’ll pretty much only be around Asians for the next three weeks which is always fun to experience again. I’m already starting to shoot some things that will be of more interest in future posts.
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Tags: 12.24.09, Airports, Christmas Eve, JAL, James Ryang, Japan Airlines, JFK, Narita, New York, photographs, Seoul, Tokyo
