Fire in the Sky

July 8, 2012 by 16 Comments

After the rain Friday afternoon, the skies above Seoul opened up in a truly spectacular way. I was lucky enough to have my camera and tripod at the office, so after work, I ran over to the officetel roof near the Cheonggyecheon where I took these photos hoping to get lucky.

And lucky I got.

Fire in the sky over Seoul

Fire in the sky over Seoul

The colors really were that stunning—see this shot taken on the same evening from the 63 Building this shot of Bukhansan National Park and this one on the Hangang River. I almost missed the show, actually—I was going to leave earlier, but decided to wait and see what developed.

And I was glad I did.

I used curves on Aperture to bring out the reds and yellows, and in Photoshop Elements, I used a layer mask to give the sky a bit more contrast.

Cheonggyecheon

While there was still a hint of blue in the sky, I popped down to Cheonggyecheon Stream to get a photo of the waterfall at Cheonggyecheon Plaza. After six years of looking at the thing, I think I’m starting to accommodate myself to “Spring,” although I still don’t “get it.”

Guldari Sikdang

On Saturday, the wife and I had lunch at Mapo’s Guldari Sikdang, one of Seoul’s best known restaurants for kimchi jjigae, or kimchi stew. It’s also known for its jeyuk bokkeum, or spicy stir-fried pork.

Guldari Restaurant

The jeyuk bokkeum is richly seasoned and just delightful—it’s a perfect match for the kimchi jjigae, which they serve here in a stainless steel bowl.

Guldari Sikdang has been around for 30 years—judging from the reviews at Wingspoon, not everyone’s happy with it lately, but if there’s anything I’ve gathered from online restaurant reviews, it’s that there are a lot of butthurt people out there. Anyway, the wife and I really liked it.

Phone: (02) 706-0323
Getting There: Short walk from Exit 9, Gongdeok Station, Line 5 or 6. See this map.

Filed Under: Cityscapes, Seoul Tagged With: ,

  • Pingback: And over at my photoblog: Fire in the Sky

    • marcel

      Great shots. I'd like to see the city turn that first block of the Cheonggyecheon into a pedestrian zone.

      • Robert Koehler

        That would be nice, wouldn't it?

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevieg4ever Justin Howard

    Lovely shot of Cheonggyecheon; I think you have inspired me to return someday, preferably when the tents are gone. I have a fairly nice picture of it too, but the focal length was a bit wide; i think yours is ideal. I just love the way the colours blend together there, amply demonstrated in your shot.

    Let's see these last few weeks out then im sure we'll be in store for some better weather from August.

    • Robert Koehler

      Yeah, the weather has been a real crapshoot. Definitely looking forward to August.

  • Sewing

    Robert:

    Those sunset shots are incredible–especially the second one, with mountains sillhouetted so dramatically!

    Keep up the good work!

    • Robert Koehler

      Thanks, sir. And glad to see you're still reading—I thought you'd gone and joined my legions of ex-readers!

  • Sewing

    Dang, I meant "silhouette" with one "L."

  • http://bensroadnotes.wordpress.com/ Ben

    Wow — These shots are knockout gorgeous! Seeing the late summer light over the Cheonggyecheon inspires a lot of nostalgia for a time when I would stroll the stream almost daily. Thanks very much for sharing.

    • Robert Koehler

      Thanks a lot, sir. Hope you get the chance to come back sometime. I see you're in DC now—fun place, and I'm told it's gotten a lot nicer since the mid-90s.

  • josh

    these pictures look amazing! especially the ones with a view above the buildings. may I ask where you took those shots? thanks!

    • Robert Koehler

      It’s a short walk up the stream towards Cheonggyecheon Plaza from the Samil Building. There’s a GS Mart on the bottom floor. Go into the officetel lobby, take the elevator to the 15th floor, and use the stairs to head up to the roof. It's the building with the donut-shaped thingamajig on the roof in the lower righthand corner of this shot:

      http://www.dcmcafe.co.kr/bbs/board.php?bo_table=d…

  • http://www.monster-island.net kushibo

    I was stuck in traffic down in Kangnam, pointed north, at about this same time. I was thinking that the spent clouds and the opening sky might end up being a nice sunset for someone somewhere in Seoul, and I'm glad it was you.

    Anyway, this post has inspired me to capture some stills from a video of an amazing sunrise I saw over Yongsan back in 2007.

  • http://advancedkorean.com steven

    Really beautiful pictures. I was arguing with myself about which of the first three to set as my computer background.

  • http://strange-lands.com/daily Jimmy

    I love them Robert!! Being an HDR buff I'd be keen to see these go through Photomatix, but you've done a great job without that. I've learned to live with my tripod recently. You just never know what the sunset will bring. I especially love that second shot. I think it's the details of the taller buiilding to the left.

    Great stuff.

  • hardyandtiny

    Nice shots.

    Cheonggyecheon should have been recreated at street level.