This is second actual graffiti drawing I have seen ... "Wow, those Korean gangs sure seem like ruff'n tuff guys. Whew, wouldn't want to meet them in a dark alley..."
This actually brings up a good point about Korea. There hasn't ever been one place where I have felt threatened by other Korean people. I ride my bike home at night from work, I go running in all sorts of areas at night, and I've been hiking out in the middle of nowhere. Not once, so far, have I ever thought I should be concerned by the Korean people around me. Coming from a community with at high theft rate, due to some unruly and immature out-of-state college students, I started out in Korea with my hands in my pockets and an eye over my shoulder. I've now started to even leave my bike unlocked outside the store when I need to just grab something quickly. My worst fears surface when I do my hill training at night. (I want to take a video soon) My fear is that some tiger is going to come out of the forest and eat me. Haha! Silly, right?.... well, anyway... In Korea, people simply never think of theft. It is a non-issue. It is just something that you do not do. I think if there was a theft, people wouldn't know what to do just because it never happens. Which reminds me of another funny/scary/awkward story that happened to me this past week. I'll save for a little later.
I love these next photos because it shows how the Korean people are trying to reincorporate a harmony between the industrial/urban city and the preexisting habitat. In the 1950's after the Korean war, the country was in absolute shambles in every division of the nation. Everywhere you looked, it was absolute chaos. Thus, the Korean people worked tirelessly and endlessly to bring their country from far below bankruptcy to one of the leading economies of the world. While a developing country and like most developing countries, they had to put environmental conservation on the back burner. Now, they are working hard to restore nature as much as possible. I believe this is important because it show responsibility. It is the evidence that proves that Korean people want Korea to be a healthy environment for their grandchildren and so on.
This is one of Seoul's 'techno-worlds'. I'm assuming a techno-world is like a mecca for people like my friend Paul S. (and company :). However, it could be floor after floor of dance clubs. If this were true, then by the time I reached the top, I would have a migraine.
The structure in the middle is the Olympic Stadium.
Yes I am wearing pink gardening gloves... They really help keep my hands warm and they keep my hands clean for when my chain derails... need to work on adjusting that, lol
So funny story below. I'm on the opposite side of the river and I want to cross back over and start heading home. I don't see any pedestrian bridges but I do see a set of stairs and a man walking his bike up the stairs. I think, "Oh there must be a bike path across this bridge". So I follow him only to find that the "bike path" is hardly wide enough for one bike. However, I see Korean bikers passing each other down this narrow lane. So I think, "Well, can't go back now. Might as well say my prayers and go for it" lol It was very scary passing someone since I sorta had to lean like I was going to fall into the river and the other guy had to lean like he was going to fall into oncoming traffic. However, it wasn't as bad as I thought. I have narrowed the interpretation of the look of the on coming bicyclists to two thoughts. 1)"What the heck are you doing up here?!? Ah, crazy foreigners strike again!"...or... "Wow! I'm impressed that you actually tried this and made it this far. Most foreigners are either road kill or fish food by now" LOLOLOL
I was actually taking a picture of the interesting contrast of lush greenery with tremendously huge sky scrapers in the background. When I loaded this picture onto my computer, I saw the man with his two kids. Very cool!
So one more story to share before I sign off. I'll try to be brief.
It was after work, and I was getting ready to ride my bike when I noticed my keys were missing. After searching for a half hour, I could not find them. I resorted to trying to find tools to cut the cable. After a very cold walk to Emart, I found the tools I needed. On the way back, I made a short-cut through the park and thought "In most other cities of the world, it would be absolute madness to walk through a city park at night" However, all I saw were moms doing their routine walk and gossip (lol, I'm assuming that) and children of all ages playing with their friends. When I finally got back to my bike, there was a group of bus drivers standing by my bike. I hesitated, but thought that it was better to my 'deed' in plain sight instead of when no one was around. The bus drivers seemed to have little interest and most likely assumed it was just another foreigner doing whatever foreigners do. On the other hand, when I was about to take off, I saw a whole group of people staring at me from inside the building. The looks on their faces were of just absolute amazement. They didn't know what to do? "he isn't! ... He is! What should we do? He's a foreigner! What is he doing? Is that his? How would we know? My great aunt Bertha told me she saw something like this once. She said the town was never the same after that..." And so on. My thoughts were, "Should I tell them? Should I try to explain?" Then reality hit, "Oh, I don't know how to say but three words in Korean and that is "Hi, good-bye, and thank you"" LOL So, I simply took off and hoped that I would get tas'd. I have since parked my bike in the same spot and so I'm sure that this group of people know by now that it was my bike. If they don't, then they have no business teaching students. But still, it was a very interesting situation. I have since bought a combination lock :)
And so I will sign off for now. Cheerios - Isaac
Hello, my name is Jack Sparrow. I'm a 50 year old self-employed Pirate from the Caribbean.
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