South Korean Shoebox

Goodbye Gwangju

2007-07-26T02:57:00.001+09:00

We are leaving the shoebox in a couple of days, and will return to America in a few weeks. Perhaps we will upload some of the many unseen photos from this past year once we are settled again. This will be the last post until we are back in the U.S.A. Here is a final batch of snapshots from Gwangju, R.O.K.

Gwangju snapshots

2007-07-23T11:50:00.000+09:00

garlic

2007-07-17T01:49:00.000+09:00

fashion report

2007-07-13T02:36:00.000+09:00

Goldfish store

2007-07-09T18:26:00.000+09:00

Welcome to Busan!

2007-07-07T21:18:00.000+09:00

cute animals on the streets of Fukuoka

2007-06-23T23:13:00.000+09:00

While I was shopping in Fukuoka in April, I was lucky enough to run into this man.
He had a matching colored longhaired cat & dog following him around while he pushed a stroller whose passenger was a spoiled longhair cat. He also had a relaxed fuzzy cat hanging out on his shoulder.

I probably gave him the creeps because i was so excited, but he consented to some quick photos anyhow. You go out into the world with animals like these, you are asking for attention from weirdos.

Look-alikes.

This cat is wearing a tiara!
The day before I saw these great cats, I was able to pet an adorable tiny horse on my way to the manga store.

This little horse was on the sidewalk to promote a riding group.

The bunnies of Gwangju

2007-06-13T01:39:00.001+09:00

5-18

2007-06-06T13:29:00.000+09:00

May 18 is the anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising, and there was a lot of activity here in Gwangju to commemorate this event. Dramatic re-creations and other performances were staged, various social causes were being advocated at booths with related actvities, and lots of crafts & displays filled the streets in the area now called Democracy Square. Here are some of our snapshots of the day's events.

Japanese photo grab bag

2007-05-27T23:37:00.000+09:00

Blogging enthusiasm has dwindled here in the shoebox, apologies to anyone who is checking this regularly. We are still taking photos! I will try and put a few more up here and there, in the meantime enjoy some random images from the Japan trip last month.

Todaiji Temple in Nara

2007-05-08T14:34:00.000+09:00

random Nara photos

2007-04-29T15:31:00.000+09:00

Nara park

2007-04-18T21:28:00.000+09:00

Hiroshima

2007-04-16T12:02:00.000+09:00

back from Japan

2007-04-13T21:24:00.000+09:00

Here are a few quick photos from my trip to Japan, I have a lot more to post soon.

Gwangju buildings

2007-03-26T12:25:00.000+09:00

random photos

2007-03-18T21:07:00.000+09:00

Chinese cat pillow

2007-03-11T13:41:00.000+09:00

storefronts

2007-03-09T13:01:00.000+09:00

Expensive whisky shop

Strawberry coffee shop?

Musical baby

glasses

2007-03-01T14:17:00.000+09:00

wigs

2007-02-20T14:35:00.000+09:00

motorcycles

2007-02-17T22:11:00.000+09:00

Happy Valentines Day

2007-02-14T00:35:00.000+09:00

Actually, the bottom 2 photos are from Pepero Day (Nov. 11) and the top lovely garbage photo I took in December. There is Valentines candy all over the place right now, mainly chocolate.

Noraebang!

2007-02-07T00:40:00.000+09:00

The noraebang (song room) is a very popular nightlife destination in Korea. It's a private karaoke room rented by the hour, bring your friends and a cake, belt out your best songs. They are all over the place, look for signs featuring singing cartoon characters holding microphones. We went to one a couple months ago for Mindy's co-worker Joy's birthday party.

Joy & her birthday cake.

Here I am getting some dancing & tambourine help from Lisa & Joy with special request Funkytown (by Lipps Inc.)

A little soju & green tea adds poignancy to bittersweet Korean ballads.

I "bring it on" with Judas Priest's "Breakin' The Law".
"You don't know what it's like!"

pork & chicken

2007-01-29T12:15:00.000+09:00

crystal wonderland

2007-01-26T15:21:00.000+09:00

Shin-chan exposed!!!

2007-01-24T18:34:00.000+09:00

Gwangju wandering

2007-01-21T14:24:00.000+09:00

green skull plays purple guitar

2007-01-18T00:11:00.000+09:00

It has been weeks since the last post, I guess we needed to get back to normal after our trip to China. I will try and catch up on posting photos from our regular life here in Gwangju.

China trip, part two

2007-01-04T14:33:00.000+09:00

After the Great Wall, we drove to the Summer Palace. There are many days full of wonderful sights there, we saw around an hour's worth.

Lots of great bronze statues, natural stone formations, and beautiful trees can be found throughout the grounds.

The palace surrounds a lake, which was frozen during our visit. The sun is about to set.

The Long Gallery is a covered walkway and pavilions following the lake shore, each section is decorated with incredible paintings.

After the sun set we quickly drove to a nearby pearl jewelry factory, where the pearls came from oysters harvested from the lake at the Summer Palace.
Then dinner, then a foot massage, then hotel & sleep.

The batteries were failing in the digital camera, and then the memory card filled up, so the next day's photos (Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City) were taken on a disposable camera; we haven't seen these pictures yet.

Too many amazing sights in too short of a time, we will have to visit China again someday.

Here's our travelling group at the Great Wall.
back row: Chun Wan, Mindy, Chris.
front row: Jennis, Hyung Joon, Sang Jun.

China trip, part one

2007-01-02T22:09:00.000+09:00

We booked a whirl-wind Chinese tour through a Korean travel agent for Mindy's holiday from work. We won't do this again. Too rushed, lots of problems with specifics on the itinerary, very little flexibility. I would now say just get some tickets, phrase book & maps, book some hotels & make your own itinerary with the help of the internet. Even with all the problems, it was still an amazing trip.

Here I am on the deck of the ship we have just spent 24 hours on, sailing from Incheon to Tianjin. As we got closer to the port, more and more ships appeared.

The next day we woke up & drove to the Ming Tombs, specifically the Changling site.

Here we are in front of the Hall of Eminent Favor.

The Soul Tower. Behind this structure is the Changling burial mound.
The view of the courtyard from the Soul Tower.

Guards at the Hall of Eminent Flowers.

This is a huge bronze statue of Yongle Emperor Zhu Di, and a pile of money left in tribute, inside the Hall of Eminent Flowers.

We left the Tombs & went to a jade carving factory, then we ate lunch, and then a visit to a copper enamelling factory.

And then, a drive to the Great Wall.

Some men working at the Wall, sweeping, picking up debris.

There are plenty of vendors around the cable car drop point & restroom area. This guy was not too friendly at first but warmed up with some chatting from Mindy & Jennis. He's boiling eggs in that kettle & selling snack cakes.

A view of the wall through the graffitti-scratched window of the cable car.

A camel waiting to be photographed. Jennis wanted to get a photo with the camel so we stopped on our way out of the parking area. Our driver and tour guide will soon be shouting at the men who own the camel, for jacking up the price asked for photo opportunities after agreeing on a lower group rate. A long uncomfortable argument and threatened phone calls to the police ended with the cheaper price being paid, and us getting the hell out of there.
Here's Mindy on the camel.
This is the late afternoon of our first full day in China.

Random Fukuoka

2006-12-17T13:06:00.000+09:00

Here are the last of the photos from my short trip to Japan.
I was sitting on a bench, checking my xeroxed map, and when I got up & turned around, I was staring at this sign.

Bee & flowers

Beer, whiskey & wine available from this vending machine, and this nice painting was above it on the storefront.

Bar Higuchi, Italian Food (with question mark crossed out?); this was a steel sign with hanging light bulb & empty coffee cans on the sidewalk. It did not look like a bar or restaurant.

Raccoon family

bong grafitti

This appeared to be a bank.

Fukuoka Xmas

2006-12-16T00:04:00.000+09:00

This xmas light Miffy was one of many displays at this shopping center park. Live music & lots of shoppers wandering & getting photos taken with Santa.

This pet store had a monkey in the display window. I took this photo & was told "no", so I couldn't get a better one.

Tenjin buildings

2006-12-13T13:54:00.000+09:00

Black Shark live rock metal & Green Peas drugs & cosmetics.

Magic Square. I don't know what this building is, and it was back down an alley with lots of clothes drying & bicycles, so I didn't go much closer, I didn't want to get caught in someone's backyard.

Mandarake, Fukuoka store. Four floors of manga, anime, and related toys. I spent a lot of time here, & got flush with comic collecting fever. A lot of great stuff I've never seen before, plus old Godzilla monster dolls.

A funky looking bar. Nice hand painted signs & old neon.

Beers.

This weird skull balcony was the second floor of a crazy bulding that continues this psychedelic skeleton motif up several stories. There were dozens of bicycles locked up in front.

Temple in Tenjin

2006-12-12T00:49:00.000+09:00

These big wooden guardians stood on either side of the gate to this Buddhist temple, I'm pretty sure it was named Shorin-ji.

There are a number of Buddhist temples & shrines in the Tenjin neighborhood, where my hotel was located. I saw a cat in one of the temple courtyards, & tried to get a picture, but he ran past me, across the street and into an alley. Too fast.

This little shrine was on a street corner near my hotel, between convenience stores & apartment buildings.

Ohori Park

2006-12-09T23:22:00.000+09:00

Wednesday morning I woke up, got some coffee & a donut, & headed to the Tenjin Station of the Fukuoka subway. After a confusing time with the maps, schedules, and ticket vending machines, I figured it out & rode to Ohori-Koen Station to try and find the Fukuoka Art Museum, and see the park. It is a huge park, mostly a lake, with a walking/jogging/bicycling path running around the perimeter of the lake. It is a very popular place to walk your dog, so these cartoon signs are posted to remind people to clean up their dog's mess. I didn't see any dog-doo in my afternoon at the park.
While I was getting the photo of the sign, I was keeping one eye on a middle aged Japanese man who was playing with a cat near the path. I was wondering if the cat was a stray that lived in the park, or if it belonged to the man, or what.
I finally went over & greeted him, and asked if I could take a picture of his cat. The cat was happy & well groomed (it didn't look like a stray) & rolled around in the dirt while I petted it. The man asked me a few basic questions, but we couldn't really talk. He laughed at me & the cat, and after I left, I heard him talking to the cat, for a long time. As I slowly wandered towards the lake I kept listening & looking back to this happy guy playing with his cat in the park, talking to it & laughing the whole time.

There were more cute little dogs than I could possibly take pictures of, all getting some sunshine & meeting new dog friends.

Crazy eye!

I came to the park to visit the Fukuoka Art Museum, which was great, but no photos were allowed. There was a good collection of modern art (including a Dali, a Miro, & a Warhol), featuring many Japanese artists that I was unfamiliar with until now. There was an exhibit of Asian textiles, and a beautiful selection of Japanese ceramics. A group of Buddhist guardian statues (2 sets of 12 for the zodiac animals, plus two large gate guardians) were displayed along with 2 large Buddhas (one standing, one sitting), all carved from cypress wood in the 12th century, and saved from a temple in the area. There was a remarkable smell of ancient wood in the room.
Outside the building were several sculptures, including this bronze nude by a Japanese sculptor whose name I didn't write down. There were several benches, & relaxed there for awhile after eating lunch at the museum restaurant.

This giant pumpkin (by a recent Japanese sculptor) was pretty funny looking and an eye catching landmark for finding the museum in the park.

There is a long stretch of island running through the middle of the lake. This photo is taken from a small pagoda right off the island, looking at the walking bridge to the island from the shore.

No fishing.
I walked around & looked at ducks, seagulls and a lot of other birds before heading out to explore the neighborhood.

Trip to Fukuoka

2006-12-08T16:59:00.000+09:00

I took a boat to Japan last week. It was exciting and expensive, and I didn't take a lot of photos. I will be posting more in the next few days. These are a few random guys to start off with.

cat stamp shop

tiny squirrel truck

aqua parking concrete guard

cute sushi

a popular elephant mascot

gate view

2006-12-03T12:14:00.000+09:00

I have been walking by this gate several times a week since we have been in Gwangju (it is right outside the pedestrian underpass on the way to Home Plus) and have marvelled at the multiple cords & chains & rope used to fasten all these random materials together, and I have planned on getting a photo of it. Last week I walked by and the gate itself was gone! This is the fence where the gate was attached. The garden behind the fence has been levelled, and construction is beginning.

National Museum of Korea

2006-11-27T23:44:00.000+09:00

In early October we spent a few days in Seoul, and visited the National Museum of Korea, which is full of amazing artwork including ceramics, calligraphy, textiles, paintings, and historic artifacts. We mainly took photos of the collection of Buddhist art, which, though very large, was only a small part of the museum's enormous collections of Korean artwork. If you are ever in Seoul do not miss it.

These iron Buddhas are very large & incredible to see up close.
Stone Korean Buddha.

These are small close ups of an incredible and large wood carving relief wall panel from Indonesia. These scenes are full of rich detail & delicate wood work.
A carved & painted wood display with ritual gong, very beautiful.
This stone pagoda is one of the tallest found.
This tapestry was used in outdoor ceremonies, it is three stories tall, and was displayed with the very very long narrow wooden box it was rolled up & stored in.

more signs

2006-11-23T00:25:00.000+09:00

Gwangju Kimchi Festival

2006-11-19T13:58:00.000+09:00

Yesterday we took a bus to the 13th Annual Kimchi Festival, where kimchi makers from all around display their wares (free samples!). There are lots of other traditional Korean foods & crafts on display, and performances. This is a giant version of the mascot, a cabbage man giving you thumbs up.

This guy is waving some cabbage while I hold up a toothpick of kimchi.

There was a big auditorium where we saw a traditional drum & dance recital, and later this pop singer sang a few songs.

There was a hall of kimchi, where winning dishes were displayed and the story of kimchi was told through panel cartoons & displays. There were examples of ingredients, video presentations, and even some of the pots the kimchi is fermented in.

This is one of the lovely winning kimchi recipes.

puzzling ice cream

2006-11-16T17:17:00.000+09:00

I grabbed some ice cream novelties quickly when renting a movie last week, not really checking what I had bought until I got home. I was pretty surprised to find this rubber full of chocolate soft serve. According to the visual instructions, you are supposed to snip off the tip(!) and suck the slush while squeezing the bulb. I had some trouble cutting the end, and I guess I cut too much & the balloon snapped! It retained the bulbous shape & I threw it in a bowl & ate it with a spoon.

random junk

2006-11-13T12:43:00.000+09:00

These spinning beauty salon poles are everywhere.

This vending machine sells hot instant coffee & tea, cold canned drinks, and lottery tickets.

Waste Not

2006-11-11T12:32:00.000+09:00

A couple of weeks ago we visited the Gwangju Biennale exhibition, but didn't take many pictures because the camera's batteries were dying. It was an interesting collection of contemporary Asian art, anchored by a survey of Chinese archival propaganda photography side by side with the undoctored photo sources, as well as a collection of Fluxus films and artifacts. Mindy did take some photos of an installation by Chinese artist Song Dong, titled Waste Not. It displayed the entire contents of her mother's house, over 30 years of accumulation, reflecting on the older generation's tendency to save anything that might be of use later, a holdover from times of scarcity. This should be a warning to all of you pack rats out there!

a recent meal

2006-11-07T22:21:00.000+09:00

The black bowl is full of hot bean soup with tofu, onions & clams. The blurry hand holds chopsticks full of kimchi. Going sort of clockwise from the kimchi is a bowl of small clams with red chili paste, a covered silver hot bowl of rice, then a dish of chili coated seaweed leaves. The red stuff on the middle plate is pork in a red chili sauce, the main course. You pile a selection of these items onto one of the many leaves (on the platter to the left of the soup), fold & eat. The plates in the foreground are chili paste & raw garlic slices, cold bean sprout medley, some sort of radish, dried anchovies with chili paste, and some spicy steamed spinach. This is a delicious meal.

local buildings

2006-11-06T12:24:00.000+09:00

some signs

2006-11-04T17:40:00.000+09:00

my favorite chicken

piano lessons

crying owls

our apartment window

2006-11-03T12:12:00.000+09:00

Our corner apartment on the second floor above a restaurant. That is a giant photo of a raw meat platter below our window.

Scary Halloween Meats

2006-10-31T00:41:00.000+09:00

Here I am, clearly enjoying a delicious beer in an ice cold mug, with no idea of what nightmarish visions are in store for me tonight...
WARNING! Scroll down at your own risk, vegetarians!

Actually we saw these pig heads on a table down the street shortly after our beer & snack. Mindy snapped this picture as a warning to all pigs: this Halloween, watch out for ritual Satanic decapitations.

This scary salad is popular here, it features shredded cabbage topped with a squirt of mayonaisse & catsup, and that's pretty much it.

Many restaurants feature a helpful picture menu, so you can point at a photo while you mispronounce words, and order something that you aren't quite sure of. While we ate, I struggled with the Korean menu & the phrase book & figured out that these spicy skewers were beef kidney.
Cold beer & hot kidneys, happy Halloween!

around the neighborhood

2006-10-29T01:15:00.000+09:00

A nearby restaurant
These girls are on rollerblades. They saw me taking pictures and stopped to say hello. They are in front of a music school.

happy animal signs

2006-10-27T11:50:00.000+09:00

There are cute cartoon animals everywhere, they give you the thumbs up and would like you to come inside & feast on their meats.

octopus balls

2006-10-25T21:39:00.000+09:00

These friendly folks were making "Japanese-style" taco (octopus) balls & selling them out of this little van. Small gooey dough balls with spices & octopus, cooked in a waffle iron-type mold & covered in a couple of sauces, including mustard. Delicious!

political commentary

2006-10-23T23:33:00.000+09:00

This anti-FTA banner featured metal insects & spider and was hung on a building in the main square of Chungjangro during the festival.
This great portrait of our fearless leader was on a banner several stories tall on a building behind the main stage at the festival.
Click on the photos for a large version.

Gwangju Chungjangro Festival

2006-10-22T23:16:00.000+09:00

This is a pot of cooking silkworm larvae. For the past few days there has been a big festival in the downtown neighborhood Chungjangro, where the Democracy Bell is displayed and the busy shopping district is located. Streets are closed off and stages are set up, and vendors of all kinds of food and crafts are jammed onto the crowded sidewalks. We spent most of the day there yesterday, but sadly didn't bring the camera, so I don't have any pictures of the cute children's traditional Korean musical ensembles or the little kid's English school version of Wizard of Oz, or the hip hop dance groups, or the dual-accordian & saxophone band. Today it was raining, and seemed less crowded. We passed on the larvae & ate some fried squash & potato, and a tiny roll of noodles wrapped in seaweed, then batter fried. Some cold drinks, and we walked around for a few hours.
This puppet show featured a snake trying to eat some frogs. It was more annoying than entertaining.

An exciting Taekwondo exhibition! Lots of board breaking & high kicking, and I took a bunch of really blurry photos. These guys were just too fast. They had loud rocking music playing, and interspersed with the mock fighting & stunt kicking (kicking a rose out of one guy's mouth, human pyramid climb & kick) were choreographed stage numbers with tuff dance moves as well as martial arts.

This band was very good; two drummers, a guy playing a reeded wooden flute with metal horn end, and a bandleader who sang, clapped, danced, and played the hand held gong. Very nice sound from the flute/horn and big drums, with the smaller drum & gong propelling the whole song along.

Democracy Bell

2006-10-20T01:33:00.000+09:00

This giant bell is on display at May 18 square, the site of the Gwangju Democratic Uprising of 1980. The bell commemorates that date, as well as the earlier Independence Movement of 1929.

Gwangju Uprising Wikipedia entry

Home Plus bunnies

2006-10-20T01:11:00.000+09:00

There is a big pen outside the entrance to Home Plus with rabbits & ducks, and also some other birds.

Bu Bu Dog

2006-10-18T01:01:00.000+09:00

We see this sign on our bus rides to the downtown area. It's a pet store. We have seen a few fat chihuahuas around Gwangju.

Seafood

2006-10-18T00:55:00.000+09:00

There are a lot of tanks full of live sea creatures in front of restaurants & shops. You can eat them. Mindy has sympathy for the tiny octopus, but I will eat them. These guys look like they would enjoy chewing on me.

Gwangju city scene

2006-10-17T22:05:00.000+09:00

Here's a view from the pedestrian overpass on the way to the Home Plus store, which is sort of like a super Kmart. It's a short walk from our place, we end up there several times a week. You can't see it in this photo.

our street.

2006-10-17T22:03:00.000+09:00

This is the street that we live on. Our apartment is on the far right, second floor.

stone men

2006-10-16T00:37:00.000+09:00

These sculptures are sitting out on the sidewalk in an artisan district in the downtown Gwangju area.

Cute

2006-10-16T00:21:00.000+09:00

It is popular here to dye your small dog's ears & tail bright colors, like pink or green.

First experimental post.

2006-10-15T23:59:00.000+09:00

This is the entrance to a popular bar in our neighborhood. Noisy drunks wander out in the wee hours, visible from our window.