Overheard In a Seoul Hostel


"Wow, they must have a lot of Nazis over here in Korea."

(Of course, this symbol denotes a Buddhist temple. It is not a Nazi swastika.)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcome to PC Bangs!

Hello, welcome to the PC Bangs website and my apologies for the delay in getting things started. I have now been in Seoul for what seems like an eternity but which has actually only been two weeks. Over time, I hope to describe some of the aspects of Korea's unique 'PC Bang' culture. Here, 'bang' is a word that means something like 'room' so 'PC Bang' translates roughly as 'computer room' or, more helpfully, 'internet cafe'. Over the course of the next four months I'll be visiting various examples of the PC Bang phenomenon and hopefully taking some pictures of the really cool signwork they have here (you can see an example on the top right of this page). First things first, though. I arrived at Incheon International on Saturday 27 August on a hot and muggy day. The only thing that I can really remember about the airport is seeing a sign reading "Gateway To Asia" and thinking - hang on, isn't that Darwin's claim ...
Read more

50/49

Fifty days in the land of the morning calm. Forty nine nights in a city that breathes like a dragon. Forty eight days drinking cold coffee from cans. Forty seven nights without an Australian radio station. Forty six days stepping over puddles of spittle in the street. Forty five nights with a mosquito and a ceiling fan buzzing in my ears. Forty four days crossing roads and counting seconds till the lights change. Forty three nights eating dinner alone in a city where everyone else eats in large and noisy groups. Forty two days staring up at a sky of a different blue. Forty one nights staring at holes in the bottom of empty soju glasses. Forty days in which the season is on the verge of turning. Thirty nine nights where old men sit in the park on newspapers. Thirty eight days as humid as bowls of bubbling soup. Thirty seven nights watching Koreans dreaming on the subway. Thirty six days thinking about my faraway family. Thirty five nights like revenue stamps from the immigration departm...
Read more

Jetlag World

Wake up calm. It will be morning soon. Hours disappear, then shatter at the Sound of a phone call (wrong number). Your mobile bleats when it’s time to Change the battery, in that awfully Disconnected voice that’s had reverb Added to it, in the room where you Remain alone. Eat a mandarin. That’s Better. No use trying to go back to Sleep. You've deposited enough hours In that bank to fund your hibernation, This winter, when it comes. It will. Television wakes you again. When did You switch it on anyway? Consenting Adults. Leave the room. Be sure to Wrap yourself in warm clothes, for It is cold this morning. The Minimart’s Always open. Buy cans of cold coffee. Sit outside and watch the businessmen Leaving their apartments, mp3 players Already fitted, a soundtrack you can’t Hear jettisons them towards offices That are already lit. Return to your Room and watch television again. It’s Samuel L. Jackson in a kilt. Leave the Mandarins where they are. Shower. Catch the subway. The morning m...
Read more