013_courtesy lane

Try taking subway ride in Seoul and you will be surprised by the number of senior citizens traveling on their own. They are really in good shape walking up and down the stairs like it’s nothing. There are some courtesy seats designated for them at each end of the car. They know exactly where to wait by this blue sign on the platform.

012_seoul subway

Taking subway in Seoul is quite convenient. The network is dense enough to bring you close to anywhere you want to go. It is less complicated than Tokyo subway but I think the fares are more expensive. The experience is also very much different. In Tokyo, commuters are like robots; they know exactly what car number and door to take and which exit brings they closer to their destination and they all move through narrow passageways without touching each other. In Seoul, it is pretty much like trying to get a piece of Prada when they have 50% discount. You get push from every direction and, of course, they don’t say sorry. The most polite way is to tap you first before they shove you out of their way. It is fantastic that they won’t get angry when you push them back. It is just a customary manner in Seoul subway culture.

011_windy cap

I once heard from somewhere that people who live in regions where climate changes a lot in a year would invent more things than people who live in places with same weather throughout the year. Does this make one more intelligent than the other? That I don’t know but I do know that changing of temperature encourages people to think and plan in advance. What they can use in winter will be useless in summer and vice versa. This picture was taken from a restaurant in Korea in winter. To protect a fan from dust when not in use, they invent something like a shower cap to cover it. Very cute, isn’t it?

010_blue dots

[Busan] Busan is a city situated on hilly topography. Pumping water up to store in water tanks then feeding down by gravity makes much economic sense. There are blue (or green or sometimes gray) water tanks installed on rooftop of every building. They all collectively create an interesting urban landscape.

009_double landing

[Busan] This picture was taken from the hotel I stayed in Busan. (Sorry guys, not enough money to stay in a 5-star hotel) It’s a way to save space, by combining lift lobby and staircase landing together, but hell difficult to walk up with a luggage. I’ve seen a similar technique in Tokyo but the lift lobby was on the upper landing so there was no struggle!

008_al fresco dining

There is one compulsory scene all Korean dramas must have that is the characters, be it happy at work or heart broken, having roadside food drinking Soju (Korean potato wine). Getting food from vendors is a part of Seoul’s metropolitan lifestyle, a very nice Asian culture indeed. These vendors can be found almost everywhere as long as there are enough potential customers walking by that street. It is quite normal to see people stop by to get some bites from these roadside stalls after shopping at some international-branded boutique shops.

007_public toilet

One very good thing about Korea is that public toilets are abundant and easy to locate. If you’ve been to Hong Kong you’ll know how hard to find a public toilet. Even in department stores, if you are lucky enough to find one it’ll be locked, you need to get a key from a sale assistant. Is it possible that Korean people eat a lot of kimchi so they need to poo often?

006_seal protection

[Busan] The same principle can also be applied to the exterior of the house. In the picture, this house was situated in a fish market in Busan. There were a few more houses with the same coating detail within the area. Take a closer look, they painted everything including the wires attached to the house. Lucky enough that the air-con condenser was left intact.

005_wallpaper**

This is the typical interior of Korean traditional houses. Since they are made of wood, pieces of paper are used to protect the inside from cold weather, insects and whatever other things.

004_silversticks

Chopsticks in Korea are made of stainless steel. They are rather heavy, cold when placed in air-con room and hot when you leave them in noodles bowl. Legend has it that in the past chopsticks used in palaces are made of silver in order to prevent the royal family from being poisoned. This has been passed on to later generations as a norm or culture but silver is too expensive to use for ordinary people. The cool thing is even Korean restaurants overseas also use the same material, except for the ones in food court or hawker center which, of course, even stainless steel is too costly for them.