According to the Chosun Ilbo, the heads of major Korean corporations and their relatives have been purchasing Korean traditional homes, or hanok, in the Bukchon neighborhood, driving up real estate prices. One long-time resident told the paper if you don’t have 1 billion won, you can’t buy a home here. As many of the corporate [...]
We’ve had some nice, fluffy white clouds in the skies since yesterday. I’m guessing this is due to the heat wave, but I’m sure the more meteorologically savvy among you will give me the specifics. Somebody, remind me this month to pick up a graduated ND filter.
If you do find yourself in Bukchon Hanok Village one evening and have 5,000 won to spare, do check out the exhibit “House Lives with Time” at the Gahoe-dong Han-ssi House. Korean hanbok designer Kim Yeong-seok and Japanese contemporary artist Tatsuo Miyajima collaborate in this unusual piece of installation art uses digital counters in the [...]
If you live in Seoul, you’ve no doubt noticed it’s snowing outside. Getting home won’t be fun this evening. Take care on the roads tonight, everyone.
The great thing about working in Bukchon (“North Village”) is that you can spend your lunch hour wandering around one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in Seoul. Bukchon, so called for its location north of Cheonggyecheon Stream, is a residential district on the low hills between Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung palaces. Sitting on prime real estate [...]
(Click for the 1,200px version) I would have preferred to have taken this shot of #31 Gahoe-dong a bit earlier, but I suppose it will have to do. From atop #31 Gahoe-dong, you’re treated to a dramatic contrast between traditional and modern, the bright lights of downtown Seoul glowing above the tile roofs of Bukchon’s [...]
The official Buddha’s Birthday holiday was Tuesday; I’d hoped to head out of town to somewhere like Bongamsa Temple in Mungyeong, but the weather was so crappy that we stayed in Seoul. And with that, I bring you my Buddha’s Birthday holiday. Joseon Jjigae 500 Years We had a decidedly non-Buddhist lunch at a recently [...]
Just a couple of shots of a rainy 31 Gahoe-dong, the single-most photographed spot in Bukchon. The alleyway is just a five minute walk from our office, thus making it the perfect place for a lunch-hour stroll. View Larger Map