Mark James Russell

Books, blog and other blather

Category: Seoul (Page 4 of 5)

Random Seoul stuff

February 14, 2014 / / 0 Comments

So, I was walking around Seoul a few days ago, dropping off copies of K-Pop Now to some of the companies that helped me out with the book. When I went to Sidus HQ (home of Jay Park), I was surprised to see they had found a new home. Their longtime location, close to the COEX Mall in Samseong-dong, was pretty drab. But their new building (about one subways stop away) is really swank.

Sadly, it was also too big for my lousy camera. But the building really does look like an impenetrable fortress. Finding the entrance was not easy.

 

Here is a view from the interior stairwell:

I then took a ride in the subway, where I discovered an ad for a plastic surgery clinic — for men. How common are they?

(Sorry for being out of focus … I was trying not to creep out the people sitting there).

I thought I found another one in the same car, but it turns out this ad is focusing on women getting surgery:

It reads, “Boyfriend quietly, I am on my knees, begging you to recommend me the place…” (meaning the place where his girlfriend got her surgery).

A bit later, I took a walk along the Cheonggyecheon stream. In wintertime, it is a bit sparse, but on the plus side, there was almost no one there. Very peaceful for the middle of Seoul.

Of course, the last time I took a photo of the Cheonggyeocheon, when I returned to Korea last summer, it looked like this:

Starbucks nation

February 14, 2014 / / 2 Comments

I can remember when the first Starbucks opened in Korea — just outside of the front gate of Ehwa Womans University (sic). Reportedly, it was then the only Starbucks in the world with a smoking section.

Anyhow, I was looking for a Starbucks to meet someone for an interview, and this is what Shinchon/Hongdae looks like now:

And Jongno/downtown Seoul:

 

And all of Seoul:

Thursday links

February 6, 2014 / / 0 Comments
  • One of the more fascinating parts of North Korea, in my opinion, is the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, a school largely funded and run by Christian Korean-Americans. I’ve been lucky enough to get to know one PUST founder Dr. Park Chan-mo — himself the former president of the Pohang University of Science and Technology — and interviewed him a few times, although mostly about science in South Korea. Anyhow, I don’t use the term “must see” very often, but I think if you are at all interested in North Korea, this doc is a must see, especially 5min-15min. (BBC)
  • The power of Korean TV drama. An obscure children’s book gets mentioned in My Love From the Stars, and it turns into a hit, selling 100,000 copies in weeks. (Chosun Ilbo)
  • The new KT boss seems to be clearing house. 52 of 53 affiliate heads replaced. Out with political appointees, in with (gasp) actual professionals. (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  • I’ve lost track of the amusement park projects that have been “announced” but never built. Paramount. Universal. Now here’s one more, supposedly the size of Yeouido, coming to the island around Incheon International Airport. (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  • Incidentally, I used to go to the beach on the far side of Yongyu Island, back when the airport was still under construction. You had to take a ferry there. But it was tiny and dead-quiet. Cannot believe what it has turned into.
  • Fun little story about hot chocolate and Cacao Boom. There’s a branch near near my apartment, so I found it nice to read about its founder, Go Young-ju. (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  • An interview with ex-T-ara member Hwayoung on trying to break into acting and her problems with the girl group. My original headline was “Bully for Hwayoung,” but the desk head made me change it; that made me sad. (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  • While I’m happy that Seoul is tearing down most of its ugly overpasses, part of me feels strange to see the Ahyeon overpass go. I’ve walked past it so many times over the years, it feels like a bit of me. Still, I’m sure it will make that part of town much nicer once it is gone. (Korea JoongAng Daily)

Hongdae from the above

January 20, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Naver’s map service, in addition to offer a Google-like street view, offers something called “airplane view,” which is essentially these panoramic views of Korea from the air. I’ve known about it for a while, but never really thought much about it. I guess I just assumed they were just doing typical air routes for normal planes. I saw a nice one for Haeundae Beach in Busan, but for Seoul? Seoul typically is a nightmare for aerial filming (because of security regulations related to the North), so I just assumed you would not have anything interesting.

Dumb me, apparently.

I was looking for something in Hongdae on Naver Maps the other day, when I happened to hit the button for Airplane view, and, wow, there were some excellent views. Like this one, from over about Sangsu Subway Station, looking north:

And this is from Shinchon, looking south over Hongdae.

And here’s one looking north to Shinchon, with Yonsei University on the hil in the background:

The photos were apparently taken in 2009, so a few things have changed since then, but they still give you an interesting taste of my favorite Seoul neighborhood.

 

 

Mark’s Adventures in Jeonja-land

December 26, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Well, it looks like Yongsan’s electronics market, Jeonja Land, has seen better days. I took a walk there a couple of days ago, looking to pick up a couple of things, in what was probably my first trip there in five years. It wasn’t pretty. I guess the Internet age and online shopping has pretty much killed the need for a giant cluster of electronics (especially overpriced electronics sold by surly, dodgy shopkeepers).

On the other hand, there are more old vinyl shops on the second floor than ever. That’s pretty cool.

Yongsan’s old main building (where, if memory serves, I bought a 166 MHz computer for around $1,000 back in 1998) is all closed now. It is only open so you can access the walkway to Yongsan Station.

Here’s the biggest building in Korea.

Well, it would have been, if the development project hadn’t fallen through.

Even the new electronics market in the main Yongsan Station building is not in very good shape. The area set aside for electronics keeps getting smaller, while other types of shopping move in and take up the slack.

After shopping I did some walking around in the stretch from Yongsan to Seoul stations. Most of the old colonial buildings are gone now (not that they were in great shape before), but you can find a few here and there. I think what I like most about that neighborhood is the random things you run across. Like this Lotte E&C site, which apparently uses some old building.

 

It’s a neighborhood full of these sorts of little alleys, with a mix of old buildings and exposed wires.

And, as an added bonus, here’s a great door. Yes, up there on the third floor, with the little gate in front of it. I can only assume there used to be a fire escape there or another building or the like that was torn down.

 That’s all. Just a random walk and a bit of shopping in a cool part of town that has seen better days.

 

Wednesday morning links

November 6, 2013 / / 0 Comments
  • It’s a great day to be from Toronto, as the fine city’s mayor finally admitted to smoking crack last year. He’s not an addict, he says, he just did it once because he was so drunk. So, yeah, that looks pretty terrible. On the other hand, why should I care? He’s hardly the only politician who drinks too much or uses recreational drugs.
  • Anyhow, here’s an overview of the Rob Ford crack situation. (Globe and Mail)
  • As I’ve said before, I’m far more shocked that Ford was elected mayor than that he drinks too much or smokes crack.

As for non-Toronto, non-cocaine news:

  • Usually, I hate attempts at “modernizing” the hanbok, but here are some funky examples. (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  • My wonderful Hongdae neighborhood gets strangely singled out for all its litter. And it can get filthy at times, especially in the center of town on the weekend. But here’s a thought — if you don’t want trash in Hongdae, put out some trash cans. That’s true for pretty much all of Seoul. Also, how about cracking down on room salons and others who crank out those smutty fliers? That’s not even a Hongdae problem (at least compared so some other “entertainment” districts around Seoul). (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  • I find it hard to believe that Korean kids today are just 24th out of 60 countries for English ability. Young people have gotten so much better in recent years. (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  • An interview with conductor Gum Nanse, who, in addition to all his orchestral commitments, helps run the Korea Young Dream Orchestra, a program that sets up youth orchestras in the poor countryside areas around Korea. (Korea JoongAng Daily)

Wednesday morning links

September 25, 2013 / / 0 Comments

A few links and notes today:

  • 77-year-old gayageum master Hwang Byung-gi (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  • Another branch of Seoul Museum of Art has opened, this one in the north of the city, in Nowon District (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  • T-Ara, Davichi and other K-pop acts went to Mongolia and played for nearly 20,000 people in Ulaanbaatar. That’s kind of amazing. (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  • Face Reader had an awesome Chuseok, including a 900,000 admissions Saturday (nearly a record). After two weeks in theaters, Face Reader now has 7.1 million admissions, and has made 52 billion won ($47 million). (Numbers from KOBIS, of course).
  • From yesterday, here is my review of Andrei Lankov’s The Real North Korea. Excellent overview of North Korea. (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  • I can’t get enough of stories piling on former dictator Chun Doo-hwan. Now he’s been forced to give back the medals he awarded himself in the 1980s. (Chosun Ilbo)
  • A Pyongyang amusement park has gotten a “4-D” movie theater. (Chosun Ilbo)

Wednesday Morning Links

September 18, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Happy Chuseok, all — a holiday so big, even the news stops happening. No complaints from me, though, as I’ll enjoy a bit of free time. Anyhow, on with the morning links:

  • Han Jae-rim’s Face Reader is definitely the big film of Chuseok. After just one week, it has already pulled in 3.2 million admissions and made nearly 23 billion won ($21 million). Great cast, great-looking movie. (KOBIS)
  • Bored over Chuseok? Many of Korea’s best museums are open. Many of them for free. (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  • Seopyeonje was one of Im Kwon-taek’s most famous and successful movies, about a family of traveling pansori singers. Before it was a movie, it was also a book. And since then it has been made into a musical. Now, famed theater director Yun Ho-jin has turned Seopyeonje into a changgeuk, or a traditional-style opera. Even more strangely, he’s gotten rid of the idea that the father blinded the daughter to teach her han and make her a better pansori singer; now there’s incest. The mind boggles. (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  • A Q&A with leading liberal commentator (and art theory guy) Chin Jung-kwon (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  • Does Chuseok feel less crazy than it used it? That’s because it is. Holiday travel down 19 percent over last 15 years. (Korea JoongAng Daily)

Regarding the de-crazification of Chuseok … You can totally feel the difference in Seoul. Chuseok used to turn the capital into a ghost town, but now it feels more like a quiet Sunday morning. It’s still a nice holiday, but not jaw-dropping. On the other hand, my newspaper isn’t publishing for  four days, so it’s obviously still a big deal (with the time off, I’m not complaining).

Oh, here are a couple more pics from Face Reader, which stars Song Kong-ho, Lee Jung-jae, Kim Hye-soo, Baek Yoon-shik:

 

Friday Morning Links

September 13, 2013 / / 0 Comments
  • Wash, rinse, repeat … NK nuclear-style. (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  • An interview with young singer Lim Kim. (Korea JoongAng Daily). She has an interesting voice, and her music is that light, soft-pop style that seemed to be more common a couple of years ago. Videos posted below, too.
  • Those odd artificial “Floating Islands” in the Han River that have been sitting idle for last 2 years? Finally going to open. (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  • Great. I spent 3 months living in the Anguk-dong area, and as soon as I leave, the Pak No-su Museum and Brew 3.14 open (the Marmot’s Instagram).

This is Lim Kim’s “Colorring” (sic), which I rather liked:

This was her biggest hit, “All Right.” A million Youtube hits in just three months for a newbie isn’t bad:

And “Rain,” which is rather appropriate for this soggy day:

Speaking of rain, here’s a photo of Hongdae in the rain:

 

Exploring Hongdae 1

September 12, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Against my better judgment, I descended into the heart of Hongdae last Saturday evening. I mean, I like the Hongik University area a lot, but Saturday night the center of that neighborhood can get a bit out of control.

But Saturday, the Sangsang Madang arts space was holding a screening of the short films by Namkoong Sun, a talented young filmmaker, so I decided to check it out. You might know her music videos for Byul.org (“Pacific” and “Secret Stories Told by a Girl in an Opium Den”), as well as Neon Bunny and others. The screening was good fun, and several actors from her shorts showed up.

The after party was evidently going to go a lot later than I had the energy for, so I excused myself around 11 and took a walk through Hongdae, just to check out the neighborhood and see what it is like these days. No surprise, things were pretty crazy. Can you believe that, way back in the late 1990s, you could hit most of the Hongdae bars in an evening (well, at least the good ones)? But somehow the neighborhood keeps growing.

The park was, as usual, full of people and music. Perhaps this sign is as good a metaphor for Hongdae as anything:

It reads, “So not to inconvenience local residents, please no more live music in the park after sunset.” This photo was taken about 11:30pm, as yet another band started a set.

Anyhow, what I was there, a group called Monster People were playing. They are quite good — kind of an Interpol-like modern rock sound — so if you have the chance to catch them, I quite recommend it. Here’s some of their music over on Soundcloud:

The vibes were all pretty good that evening, at least while I was there. People were pretty blitzed, but I guess drunks don’t get belligerent and start fights until after midnight.

Looking at all the changes to Hongdae, the explosion of restaurants and cool things, I think I might start blogging about the neighborhood with some regularity. Every time I walk down an alley, I’m amazed by what I’m finding (in a good way, mostly). It’s fun to be back.

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