We have wind. We have brisk weather. We even have falling leaves.
It’s about time.
Feel free to post your own seaonal sijo in my comment section.
Newly opened North Gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace
Cheong Wa Dae, seen through North Gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace
{ 95 comments… read them below or add one }
To think that just last week in Seoul I was sweating like a pig.
Are those storm clouds gathering, or just bus exhaust in my face?
Soon the streets will be covered in patterns of frozen spit and puke.
Great photo by the way.
“Are those storm clouds gathering,
or just bus exhaust in my face?
Soon the streets will be covered
in patterns of frozen spit and puke.”
You’re a poet, Michael.
And I know it
I used the Marmot’s link, and it’s damn hard to follow the instructions to write a “sijo.” Fortunately I’m at work and didn’t have to do it on my free time
Fall in 남조선
Finally! An end to sweat.
Subway heat full blast
Quiet pond, lined in chrysanthemum, brown leaves and candy wrapper,
A dragonfly struggles against the water in anger,
Angry to leave, angry to stay — the pond is quiet, once again.
Hooker Hill lightly dusted in the first snowfall of winter.
Without looking, a ho plants her boot on the virgin ice.
The Nigerians laugh and point as she skids down the hill.
Fall in Korea….
Ajumma bundled up in mis-matched plaid and and floral prints,
Agashi in knee high black boots and sweater,
Adashi is still a goon.
Michael, you are killing me .
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1928365,00.html
OT, but u guys might be interested in this.
Citizens go about their bustling ways, bracing for the chill
The Uri politician, stubborn to a fault, sniffs the air
Radionuclides, smelleth he, a delicious smell indeed
In fall-time at the Marmot’s Hole, Robert posts a picture;
Patient trees turn brilliant hews; changing colors gladden hearts.
Seeming Korea-phobic comments like falling leaves swirl around.
–
Yeah, I know I’m asking for it (I can see the predictable sijoes about me already), but perhaps we might try to mirror the tone of the post in the comments on this thread? (Btw, I’m certainly not referring to all the comments above.)
Wedge, good one…maybe Marmot will publish our sijos in Seoul magazine
Nathan, who’s afraid of Korea? It’s OK to poke fun, and remember, We Are Seoulites®
More, Michael, more!
A new E-Mart opens down the street from our officetel.
The miniskirted “doumi” looks cold out in the fall air.
Should I say hello? No way, back off foreign devil!
Thank you ladies and germs, I’ll be here all week
I can see the headline now:
외국인 웹사이트 ‘한국 비하 시조’
Ah, don’t worry Mr. Marmot, the government will make me an “intangible cultural treasure,” with an emphasis on “intangible.”
The icy winter wind blows fiercely down Pukansan.
Protesters in Kwanghwamun huddle in the cold.
One eats a Japanese flag, others burn a police bus.
Here’s one for Nathan B.:
Some time to kill on a rainy November evening.
The pojang macha on the corner looks warm and bright.
Broken English and Korean, drinking soju, all’s well.
OK, so it’s not Ko Un….
Michael,
You’re on a roll!
Robert, just in case you haven’t tested yet, your blog looks fine in I.E. 7.
Nomad, I get the feeling you’re my only fan here
Gotta work now anyway (to the great relief of Senor Marmot).
As I stepped off the subway train and was hit by the wind head on this morning, I thought to myself, it’s colder than a whore’s heart.
–Remort
Brr! The temperature is slowly dipping into the teens
Expatriates sitting before computers feigning to work
Anxiously awaiting more sultry skin pics from the Marmot
Michael: Keep up the good work.
The expat spies Yongsan, finding comfort in the bright foliage
Alas, the moment passes; the leaves lose their grip, falling south
In the distance, the northern leader smiles in satisfaction
Great work, Michael! Very entertaining.
Beautiful Picture (First One), Thanks.
Michael,
Your poems are awesome. “One eats a Japanese flag.” Yeah. Great image.
Living in a foreign land, each day brings a new challenge:
Learning the language; reserving tickets; travelling alone;
Trying to find Kim Hye Soo’s 타짜 tits on the Internet.
Each day I punch the clock and work for the Korean man.
Trying to please, not step out of line, making pots and pans.
And then my pay goes to the Dear Leader and politicians dance.
Yeah, that first photo is gorgeous. So’s the second one, with Bugaksan in the background.
I had no idea there was a north gate, but it stands to reason: p’ungsu (feng shui) and all that….
I think Michael’s second poem was the best. Who knew a classical poetic style could be applied so naturally to modern-day life in Itaewon? And with descriptions of nature, to boot: bonus points for that!
Waiting for the light to change, oncoming cars without end.
The signal blinking, flashing: is he waiting to turn left?
No, it’s a U-turn! Insurers everywhere turn in their sleep.
My first experience as a car passenger in Seoul. Pretty bad fisrt attempt, I know.
A peaceful day on the pine-shrouded mountain hiking trails,
The sound of chimes and moktaks at a quiet temple;
Then miles of bumper-to-bumper traffic on the way back home.
I spent last winter in 강남 and noted street behavior.
Girls in skirts versus ajushis spitting on the sidewalk.
One day I counted. Made a game of it. The girls won, 6-1.
Three weeks ago I stopped to ask myself, “Are those yellow leaves
or is that a yellow building that I see through the trees?”
Today I had to borrow a windbreaker it was so cold.
I was the last in my office to still be wearing short sleeves.
“안 추워?” they asked me. But I have body “fur” and they don’t.
What’s “Indian summer” in Korean? Anyway, it’s gone.
My friend went to see a sexy Korean tattoo artist.
She worked on his torso, moving in close. He smelled her shampoo.
Both the tattoo and the unsatisfied boner were painful.
Aw shucks, thanks for the compliments. There’s a lot of great sijos here by everybody — c’mon, group hug!
Maybe the Marmot can get Seoul Selection to put out a collection of these, like “Trashy Expats Celebrate Korea’s Four Distinct Seasons.” Huh Marmot?
The ajuma labors with her pull cart down the cold hungry road. Pigeons pick rice from frozen puke piles. I steal a kiss from a nubile agashi. Life deals me practical jokes. I enter the shop with a spinning barber pole and discover a shop that sells barber poles.
” I enter the shop with a spinning barber pole and discover a shop that sells barber poles.” Railway, that’s kind of Zen, in a Korean way. Another good one.
I thought you might like it
Kangnam cougars carry cosmetic chests of C-cup cargo
Hedonistic he-men handling horny Hongdae hotties
Soju-swilling Seoulites seething seeing such a shameful sight
Good alliteration there….
Deep in a dark abyss within the Northern kingdom,
Alchemy turns pure element into energy and light,
Throughout the Republic drill sirens shriek,
The sonic screech of metal dragons fill the air,
Expats, like fleeing rats off a troubled ship.
Now is the autumn of gyopo discontent.
I was hoping Bluejives would weigh in, now for Baduk
I think Baduk is more of a patriot than an expatriate, so perhaps pawikinuljirogi?
Now for some high brow ex-pat bashing…..Let the self-loathing begin…..
My “Baduk sijo”:
South Korean commies have taken over the Blue House.
Look, murky clouds from China are gathering overhead.
Korea is ripe for invasion; Korea is fucked.
Early this morning, coffee and internet wait for me
Bluejives writes a sijo, images and sounds leap of the screen
Darn it, the bloody thing is not in sijo form — try again please!
My friend is now my foe, my enemy once my ally.
Their faces are one and the same but how different now?
He tells me to kill them all and He will sort them out in time.
R. Elgin, you rock. Thanks for the hearty laugh.
They resign and change positions like a Songtan juicy bar.
With an alliance like this farce, how could the US want a war?
Happy Halloween, and trick or treat, you motherfcukers!
The autumn breeze blows out the last candle at the vigil.
Tomorrow we rise early for our first Hankyoreh meeting.
Being a college student is so hard. No time to study.
Fall gets colder–officials ban “doumies” from noraebangs.
Grown men cry, what will we do now for “entertainment”?
Miserable winter nights at home with the wife and kids.
China is pissed, “The little Hitler really screwed up this time.”
Still he prepares for another test and snubs his nose at all….
Sun fades so swiftly now, but the Rising Sun shall dawn again.
So many Corean spies have gone to jail this past week.
We have fungus among us; they love to play golf everyday.
Maybe fewer Lexus’ and BMW’s driving on Yongsan.
Hee-hee Michael. You so naughty. You must be reincarnated yangban.
I figured soju and the winter chill would help to ease the pain
but I was wrong. Forgive me, for I am drunk and can’t write well after cutting off my finger in protest at the demo.
R.Elgin, I’ve heard that yangban were social parasites who just sat around writing poetry instead of working, so maybe you’re right
“The government is full of commies and spies!” cried McCarthy.
“The government is full of commies and spies!” cried Baduk.
Let us go on a witch hunt…it is Halloween, after all.
My utility bill comes a few days after my neighbor’s.
We have the same size apartment…same air conditioner, too.
Korean pays W400k; I pay W1,400k.
I remember trick or treating as a kid in the States.
Sometimes my breath would make icicles inside of my mask.
I cut off my air con..now my balls stick together with sweat.
I set a fan next to the window to bring in cooler air.
“What are you doing? That’s bad for Sun-Hee’s health,” says my wife.
I thought she meant the pollution, but she pointed at the fan.
It is dark when I go to work, and dark when I come home.
Wouldn’t daylight-saving time be nice to have in Korea?
An extra hour of drinking would make an easy sell.
Nice series, Mark.
This post at Marmot’s Hole is becoming a work of fine art.
Comments which don’t require the scroll wheel–best thing since sliced bread.
I think maybe I am becoming addicted to sijo.
Seahawks play the Chiefs at 0200 tomorrow morning.
Games aren’t on AFN because Korea steals the signal.
I should get to bed now…we have cable at my office.
Early call – Korean Indian summer got ya. I had mosquitoes and 16 degrees celsius at 100am on 29 October.
Curfew time…a time to hide from the courtesy patrol.
GEN LaPorte has gone, but off-limits and curfew live on.
What was that about killing undead? Stake through the heart, perhaps?
Cool breeze dries the sweat from another Club Day in Hongdae.
Where to sleep? The wooden stairs close to NB look good to me.
These mosquitoes are really beginning to piss me off.
11 November most of the world honors Armistice Day.
Gee, I wonder, how do these sick puppies commemorate?
Give fcuking Pepero cookie sticks and fill love motels.
daylight savings time, I think the Seahawks started to get their asses whooped at 300am not 200am.
Seahawks… They forgot the white envelope……..
The Seahawks lost to the Chiefs by a touchdown today.
Our record is now 4-3…how can I heal this gloom?
Pittsburgh now 2-5…they put too much in that envelope.
Neither snow nor rain nor gloom of night stays these stocking-clad
sluts from the swift completion of their appointed tricks.
“Hands off our women!” cries a voice from beyond the Pacific.
The ground swells up, coughs out some strange exhalation, slowly settles.
Holding its breath for awhile, finally things go back to normal:
The labour is cheaper up there, and Hennessy flows once again.
Happy Halloween…a time to pretend we are something else…
…I think I’ll pretend that I’m an expatriate. Cheers!
Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me some taxi dickhead to beat.
Staff duty last weekend, yet again this coming weekend.
When will I have time to see the colorful leaves in Gangwon?
Fcuk that sh!t…it’s getting too goddamn cold outside anyways.
Black ice on the roads, what a dangerous time of year now.
Everyone is used to driving with bald tires on dry pavement.
Think of all the truckloads of soju that might roll over. =(
Now the Democrats run Congress and Rummy has quit, too.
Smells like we must stay in Korea and more aid will go north.
South and North Koreans celebrate with drink, song, and sex.
Mark’s on a roll…
Uri Party lawmaker calls U.S. the “real monster.”
And that Bu$shie is so bad, he hurts Korean Pride®
The norks will nuke U.S. and Japan–the thought gives him wood!
The wife wants to go see a movie. Autumn movies suck.
The Devil Wears Prada. What the Hell kind of shit is that?
Coffee…slap a designer name on it, and they’d drink cat shit.
Corea is still hungover from Election Day.
“Sanctions against Dear Führer? Not over uri dead body.”
Ayumi’s wardrobe malfunction bears greater importance.
Hungover Corea has pardoned its war criminals.
Corea is guilty nonetheless, so please rest assured….
I shall carry out the sentence in this life or the next.
Cold autumn streets and the pavements are freezing, I sit around.
Trying to smile but the air is so heavy and dry.
Strange voices are saying (what’d they say?) things I can’t understand.
Autumn…yes, a time for truth and reconciliation.
I know it’s bullshit, but it’s the thought that counts, so they say.
It’s a bit like a United Nations resolution.
College Scholastic Ability Test is finished now.
What will the students do with their surplus free time tonight?
Most will get drunk and have sex, but some will jump off buildings.
Fall…not the fall of the wall between, but fall nonetheless.
How can two halves be so alike and yet remain severed?
One the Outpost of Tyranny; one the Outpost of Tranny.
A church, a restaurant, a grocery, and a salon…
If your family owns all those Atlanta businesses,
Then why are you working in this highway massage parlor?
Happy American Thanksgiving, you motherfcukers.
We’ll give thanks for democracy, and turkey, and Britney…
And useful idiots like Cindy Sheehan and pawi.
Too much turkey & dressing, too much ham; please, no..more..pie!
I want to take a nap; but then again, maybe I should jog.
Oh, screw it. I’ll take a big nap and go get drunk tonight.
I finished my turkey today. What a coincidence…
Pope goes to Turkey today. Bush with NATO in the Baltic.
The stars are aligned, the moon is right; time for some more war.
December falls upon Korea like an icy Seahawk.
Juicy girls revel, for it is payday and warm inside.
The Almond football of the Army-Navy game Teases.
Almond Joy is the eye candy which Teases in times like this.
Chinnuts loasting by an open pyre, Jack Flost Nippon
At yo’ hoes…. Sometimes you feel like a nut; sometimes you don’t.
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