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[HanCinema's Korea Diaries] "Seoul" March 27th-March 31st

Well! Once more I'm back in Seoul...Good ol' Seoul...yes, sir! Good ol' Seoul...how I hate it! All right, honestly, Seoul isn't all that bad, but I'm not a fan of big cities. They're crowded, and every so often this leads into some pretty ridiculous imagery. Like the lead-in picture. Namdaemun (남대문) is an artifact of a long dead age back when border walls were considered a serious foreign policy strategy. Thank goodness those awful times are behind us!

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Anyway, in the modern day, the Namdaemun is what little remains of that wall. For that reason, no one can bear to take it down. So the march of time has simply build roads and skyscrapers around the structure while making sure the gate itself is safe from demolition. How ironic, that the gate which was once the lynchpin of a massively impressive defensive wall must now, itself, be surrounded by a protective rim.

Food, of course, is another important concern. Pictured to the left are some staple Korean side dishes (반찬). Kimchi (김치), pictured in the top left, is just fermented cabbage that can be found just about anywhere. Sliced kimchi (깍두기), bottom left is mostly just kimchi in cube form. Although my favorite is Oden (오뎅), on the right. Sometimes it's spicy, sometimes not, but I love the texture of it mostly. In general side dishes are my favorite part of Korean dining, which makes me something of an oddball.

The main dish I had at this particular restaurant was Potato Stew (감자탕). I think, anyway. It's kind of hard to tell since the potatoes aren't visible in the picture, just the boned meat. It's pretty much what it sounds like- potatoㄷㄴ and meat prepared in hot broth. See the black pot it's served in? Those are specifically designed to keep food as warm as possible, for as long as possible. It's great for fighting off colds. No joke- I get the flu fairly regularly back home, but never in Korea because I'm usually having some hot soup every few days or so.

This lovely structure is located at Gwanghwaman Station (광화문 5호선), exit 4. It was originally built to commemorate the fortieth year in the reign of King Gojong (1902), the penultimate leader of Joseon and the first Emperor of Korea. The Korean Empire was a short-lived attempt to assert Korean autonomy. Back then you could either be an empire or a subject. In the end, Korea became subject to the Japanese, who unsurprisingly had little respect for a building intended to honor the notion that Korea had its own distinct history.

The demolition and reconstruction of King Gojong's Fortieth Anniversary Monument were both long, tedious processes, but by 1979 it had mostly been restored to its original and now present day condition by the South Korean government. Much like the Great Southern Gate, King Gojong's Fortieth Anniversary Monument is something of an anachronism in a mostly modern city environment. Still pretty to look at though.

Now, here's something a little different. As much as I like Korean food, just as interesting to me is the way the restaurants themselves are distributed geographically. This is a completely unremarkable alley restaurant I ate at somewhere in Seodaemun (서대문). The process is the same as it is at any other restaurant. You walk in, pick something off the menu, eat, and then are presented with food.

But you're basically eating in someone's kitchen as they prepare the food right in front of you. This makes for a very homey experience. Of course you'll need some functioning level of basic Korean, and also you'll have to be brave enough to wander around random narrow streets in search of such a place. Even so, it's pretty fun and I highly recommend anyone to try it at least once.

Article by William Schwartz

Bonus Pictures~

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