Scratching the Surface (Korea Day 4)
K and I got to exploring the hood for the first time Monday. And since she's still waking up at 4:30 am, we did a little Tuesday morning too. I realized during that walk that no matter what I learned of this place yesterday, I've got a lot more to learn. This specifically related to photography for me, but it can be extended to all things. But first, back to Monday.
Endless rows of stuff. The district we are in has a huge marketplace known as Dongdaemun Market. For those who grew up in Upstate NY or have been to the Mall of America, this market will forever make you rethink what you know about shopping malls. I know I've never seen so many things for sale in one place, although "one place" doesn't really describe it. Think several large football stadiums and you begin to get the idea. There were pallets of books, fabric, and just about anything else you can imagine. Not being one who's very keen on the shopping experience, I felt no temptation to buy anything. Not that I'd ever be able to decide which of the hundreds of retailers selling basically the same thing I should go to. Much as I hate them, big box stores kind of suit my shopping habits.
The other remarkable thing about the rows and rows of things is that it's not only in the market places, but on nearly every street corner, side street, subway station, stairwell, etc. If there is a flat available surface just about anywhere, you've got somebody selling something on it. The side street markets too are a maze of stands selling all manner of dried fish, nuts, big bricks of seaweed, and all manner of things I don't recognize. And in any of the spots there's motorcycles driving by with giant stacks of packages strapped on to the back. Why on earth no one seems to have patented and sold a rack to attach to the back of a motorcycle, I don't know. They'd sure sell tons of them here, but every cart and platform seems to be of original design and welded on in someone's garage. Having them whiz by every few seconds makes for an even more frenetic and disorienting experience.
Note: K and I made quite a splash walking through the local market that day. It's not often that a big fat white guy with a baby strapped to his back in giant red carrier comes through at 6am.
A view of some of the shopping...more to come (I need to learn to bring another battery along for my G9).
Some of the thousands of motorcycles...
Endless rows of stuff. The district we are in has a huge marketplace known as Dongdaemun Market. For those who grew up in Upstate NY or have been to the Mall of America, this market will forever make you rethink what you know about shopping malls. I know I've never seen so many things for sale in one place, although "one place" doesn't really describe it. Think several large football stadiums and you begin to get the idea. There were pallets of books, fabric, and just about anything else you can imagine. Not being one who's very keen on the shopping experience, I felt no temptation to buy anything. Not that I'd ever be able to decide which of the hundreds of retailers selling basically the same thing I should go to. Much as I hate them, big box stores kind of suit my shopping habits.
The other remarkable thing about the rows and rows of things is that it's not only in the market places, but on nearly every street corner, side street, subway station, stairwell, etc. If there is a flat available surface just about anywhere, you've got somebody selling something on it. The side street markets too are a maze of stands selling all manner of dried fish, nuts, big bricks of seaweed, and all manner of things I don't recognize. And in any of the spots there's motorcycles driving by with giant stacks of packages strapped on to the back. Why on earth no one seems to have patented and sold a rack to attach to the back of a motorcycle, I don't know. They'd sure sell tons of them here, but every cart and platform seems to be of original design and welded on in someone's garage. Having them whiz by every few seconds makes for an even more frenetic and disorienting experience.
Note: K and I made quite a splash walking through the local market that day. It's not often that a big fat white guy with a baby strapped to his back in giant red carrier comes through at 6am.
A view of some of the shopping...more to come (I need to learn to bring another battery along for my G9).
Some of the thousands of motorcycles...
I just want the answer to the David Sedaris question: Seen anything fucked up?
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Nothing I would really classify as fucked up. I've seen some odd things. Lots of those. There's one really odd thing across from our hotel, but I haven't been able to get a picture of it yet, so I don't want to say what it is.
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