Recently at Seonyudo Park, an island in the middle of the Han, there was an exhibit of photographs taken of the river during the mid-1950s and early 1960s. Unfortunately the exhibit will end sometime this week – and I apologize for not posting this earlier. For those of you who might appreciate a look at the Han’s past:
I like this picture with the restroom (I assume it is one of the old port-a-potties but I suspect not) in the foreground directly over the same body of water that the people are frolicking in.
A fisherman on his way to do some ice-fishing. The antenna-like thing on his head appears to be his fishing pole.
For those who would like to see some additional pictures you can go here.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for posting this, great for all of us that cant get to Seoul. I wonder does anyone still take a summer dip in the Han?
Trekkorea, the health of the river is slowly returning, but swimming in the Han has yet to return to being a popular pastime. The feeder streams are very popular though, so perhaps its more of a depth/child safety issue. These photos were taken before the river was dammed up. Who knows, hardly anybody iceskates on it in winter these days either.
Mr Neff, well done for posting this.
Is the guy in the second photo a 1950′s bikini girl paparazzi ajjeoshi? Or is he just taking photos of little boys in bathing suits?
The majority of swimmers in these pics seem to be wearing sensible togs and no t-shirts. I wonder when the majority of Koreans decided that swimming fully clothed was the way to go.
NASTY! My uncle who used to be the President of Korean yachting or parasailing something association or some shit used to try to get me to come and partake in Han River activities. HELL NO!
Mind you, this was in the nineties when they supposedly cleaned the river up. But whenever I took a stroll along the river, I’d always see trash and dead rats floating by…no different from East/Harlem River here in NYC. And, I have anosmia (cant smell too well) but I could still smell the shit smell wafting in the air.
Anyone who voluntarily swims in the river, must be locked up in an insane asylum. I’d rather drink the piss of a homeless man infected with gonorrhea.
The pics are really nice though.
>>drink the piss of a homeless man infected with gonorrhea.
fapfapfapfapfapfap
I suspected something, KrZ, now I know I’m right.
yacht club President in Korea?
you are indeed a product of corrupt elite Korea’s progeny, aren’t you, New York Tom?
you somehow bypassed all the perks that come with having South Korean birth.
did your ma lay you in a US hospital?
go buy a Hyundai.
I bet you drive a Jap model.
KrZ, when can you tell us you exciting life story? Extradition from Korea for the production of narcotics would be a good read.
Great idea! I’ll start:
In the summer of 2003, I was preparing to leave Korea to pursue a 2-year MBA in Canada. I was working at two patent translation companies as a proofreader, and I helped them to find my replacement (one proofreader for each). I placed ads online for natives with science educations, and screened candidates by phone with basic principles questions (“What is a gene?” “What’s the difference between reflection and refraction?”). Only three candidates got through that, and I brought them in for an interview and test. KrZ was clearly the top candidate – a good broad understanding of basic science, expecially chemistry.
He was tall, good-looking, with bleach-blonde hair and creamy, flawless skin. Knowing Korean girls’ tastes, I thought to myself, “This dude gets laid ALL he wants.” I recommended him to the company with first dibs, but they rejected him, saying “KrZ has a weird mood about him – he seems suspicious.” They took candidate #2, who was competent and stayed there for 2 or 3 years.
Before taking KrZ to company #2, I told them about #1′s impression. He said “That’s because the whole time I was in the office I expected immigration or the police to come charging through the door to arrest me.” A tad paranoid, no? I told him to relax at the next interview.
Anyway, company #2, a more adventurous place, took KrZ. Last I saw him, he was sitting at my old desk, earbuds in, skimming through patent applications, watching the door….
Thanks Linkd, that should save KrZ the foreplay.
Allready I am feeling frustrated.
KrZ didn’t seem to spend very long inside, if any time at all.
I’m sure ecstacy would make a cockmeatsandwich taste oh so much better.
I’m guessing he ran to Korea after college (where he had been dabbling in ecstacy production for his thesis project) because the policemen were coming for him.
Until more information comes to light, I could also hazard a guess that he is wanted in Korea for kiddiefiddling. But I won’t.
http://www.erowid.org/archive/rhodium/chemistry/ergocristine.html
KrZ, you really did that?
You used undergrad level chemistry skills to get high in a unique way, and got booted out of Korea?
you got off light.
seems like you’re a criminal.
you don’t have a documented personality disorder, do you?
no surprise, LinkD finds the guy to be really, really awesome.
Thank KrZ, but are you saying you were extradited for publishing that information.
Out with the story already, remove any personal identifiers as neccessary.
Do it for Harold and Kumar.
This is where everything went wrong;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bxk8tRBp1mU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niq-3yFTzN8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOafo1y77R
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8PcAXfuufs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfU4dXNnxlA
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