Konkuk Daehak, Again

My favorite language-exchange friends go to Konkuk Daehak. It is my new usual Saturday night hangout. Great friends!!

Mozart Cafe, Seoul

I found a great little shop located in an area of many great little photo stores and shops in Chungmuro. It is called Mozart Cafe. It is owned by camera collector, nude photographer, and poet Michael Choi. Mr. Choi lived in Chicago for 30 years before returning to Seoul to open his awesome little camera museum/shop/coffee shop/beer HOF.
The first time I walked into his store, last week, he said, "Can I help you?" I said, "No, I'm just looking." "Get out then!," he said. "Can't you read the sign? It says coffee shop and HOF. You want coffee?" "Sure," I said. I couldn't keep myself from laughing.
Now I go there just to stop and say hello to him and his wife. He doesn't even charge me to look anymore. Yesterday I was looking for a strap for one of my point-and-shoot cameras. He pointed me to a bin of small straps, he handed me one and said, "This one is good." I tried it and it didn't fit. I continued searching. He came back over and said, "That one was good!" "It didn't fit," I told him. He tried to make it fit anyway, it didn't.
I kept looking through the bin. He said, "I don't have one that fits, that's all." About two seconds later I found a perfect strap!
I bought a copy of his book of poems title "Winter Wanderer III." I don't think "Winter Wanderer" or "Winter Wanderer II" ever existed. Please come and visit me in Seoul and we will take a trip to see Mr. Choi at Mozart Cafe. It is so great!

A Typical Week at GoMaGoon

These are random pictures from GoMaGoon this week. It is the choe bab (sushi) restaurant in our building in Janghandong. It is like our kitchen, and the owners are definitely our family.

Reverse-Chronological Roll

Photo Top, my new photo place. They do an excellent job at an excellent price.


Slow-shutter self portrait in Dongdaemun Stadium subway station.


Eating kimchi chigae with Sung Ryeong in a little shik dang near our hagwon.


Kyung Ran and Jung Eun at Tom n Tom's. They are sisters and hand bag designers.


A story that my friend In Cheal wrote in Chinese on my white board.


A "letter" I got from Jenn DePalma.


A badass BMW scooter in Jangandong.


A proud worker and his building in Jangandong.


Two of my students in the Janganpyeong subway station.


Got BOX?


Some kids who asked to take a picture with me near Namsan.

(Condensation Damage?)

I went hiking, as usual on Sunday. I decided to take my small point-and-shoot at the last minute, so I took a roll of film directly from my refrigerator and loaded it into my camera. I think this may have created condensation damage on my negatives. Not sure, though.

Night Out in Konkuk U.

Saturday night my friend Hyung Shik and I headed over to Konkuk University. I had never been there before, it is amazing how many people are there, mainly students, just walking the roads with rows of bars. It makes me wonder how many other awesome places I am missing out on. Seoul is huge.
We ended up going to a bar called Ireland Yuki. The main reason I wanted to stop in was to see what they mean by "Ireland," but the fight right outside the door (that you can see in the picture) also persuaded me. We thought we would go and have a drink and keep walking. However, I challenged some kids to darts. I am pretty decent at darts. It wasn't long before the Koreans at the bar were chanting my name -- JJang!! Let me reiterate -- it was awesome.
Then the bartender got on the PA system and was talking about us in Korean (of course). One of the bartenders preformed some crazy bottle throwing-around-the-back drink making acrobatics, then lit the shots while breathing fire. And gave them to us for free! (In Korea this happens a lot -- free stuff. It's called "service.")
Then one of my new friends accidentally scared the girls that we met away. So we ended up eating and drinking soju -- not a bad night.

BLOG

Blogs as we know them have been gaining popularity since their onset around 1994. Yesterday, I saw this elderly gentleman riding his blog down the street. I am now convinced that they also span great generational gaps. Blog on.

Office Party Seoul 12/12/09

We had an office party Friday night at a chicken HOF in Jangandon. A HOF is a place that sells beer and chicken, I think it is German. It was Julihee's going away. She was our manager and she is going to a different campus. Andrew and H.K., two other Koreans who teach English, are going to different jobs.
Office parties are very fun, they are a lot of work though.