Spring is just about here in the ROK and I, for one, could not be happier. To say that the weather between late November and late February were cold is a gross understatement. It was painful. It was miserable. It was depressing. I never wanted to leave my house (and for the most part I didn’t). It was a tough couple of months. But even though it felt as though it would never end, here we are mid March, in the mid to upper 40s, no longer battling a sever case of SAD and no longer refusing to get out of bed for anything other than a contractual agreement that allows me to stay in this country.
Along with the increase in temperature, attitude and overall outlook on life, there has been an renewed sense of desire to get out and experience the city a bit more. With that comes a lot more subway rides and journeys around Seoul. Now days these journeys aren’t spent gripping my own body for warmth, wiggling my toes to avoid frostbite, and assessing all possible areas that might be left uncovered and exposed to the air outside. Since I no longer have all of these things to do on the subway, I’m able to get back to people watching. I almost forgot how wonderful Seoul is for that exact thing.
A few weeks back I was headed somewhere by myself, when 3 elderly people sat down across the train from me. At first glance they looked like normal Koreans over the age of 65, but before I looked away I noticed a significant amount of sparkle reflecting off all their clothing. As I inspected it became clear that they must have put on every fur/sequin/multi-colored/flannel piece of clothing they owned. It was at that moment that I realized it was my duty to take a picture. My heart was pounding because I was nervous that they’d see me, or that my camera would flash, or if I did take a picture with out flash it wouldn’t turn out, then they’d of course get off at the next stop, causing another missed opportunity for greatness, so I decided to take a video.
So here’s a video of 3 Korean senior citizens that i’d love to spend some time with, maybe have some drinks with, maybe go to Vegas with.
What’s frustrating and sad about this video, is that it doesn’t even come close to giving these people’s outfits the justice they deserve. There was so much shine. So much fur. So many layers. So much, and I mean so much fake hair (those clip on ponytails are huge here in Korea) and i’m pretty sure the gentleman on the right also buys into the hype.
On another pleasant weekend afternoon, a couple of us girls went to the foreign market in Itaewon to buy some hard to come by spices and overpriced potato chips (the real, not airy kind). After shopping we were walking around trying to figure out a place to eat when we ran into a fiery Korean woman that had a few choice words to say to foreigners that partake in unfavorable activities here in her homeland of Korea. And like any patriotic activist, she had pulled up a chair on the street corner in the foreigner district and put her thoughts on display...
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Just to clarify her sign reads “Drug foreigners return to your country! If not we will kill you on the road in daytime.”
cold blooded murder > drugs |
I don’t think anyone in their right mind would question this woman’s moral priorities or logic. They seem pretty airtight.
When she noticed us taking interest in her sign she decided to show us a pamphlet she’d made which had a picture of Obama holding and uzi. She kept muttering something about “Korean politician” and pointing at Obama. I was thoroughly confused. And entertained. As can be seen in the picture below...
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| Skyler and I with the Korean lady who’s fightin the good fight. |
Later on that same day, about a minute and a half later in fact, we ran into some people partaking in something that I thought you might actually get killed in the street for. In the states you’d at least get taken to the streets if you did this openly in a major city with absolutely no shame. Right outside the subway on the way to the Wolfhound we saw a Korean man dressed in black face, with a dread-lock wig, screaming something while holding a sign.
In all honesty I found this more shocking and appalling than the woman who was threatening to kill people in the street in daylight (questioning my moral priorities at the moment). This Korean had a crowd gathered around, everyone looking to their left and right trying to decide who was going to make the first move and at least say something about how inappropriate it was. But as we stood there we saw people of all different races and nationalities walking by, shaking their heads in laughter, so we decided to walk away without causing a bigger scene--but not without getting a picture first.
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| If the guy in the red sweater is smiling and not punching the guy behind the banner out, who am I to play moral police? |
It’s really great having even the slightest want to be outside and if my outings continue to be this comical and entertaining I’m gonna be going out all the time. So keep it up Seoul.
