It is said that South Korea is the only country where a Chinatown could not take root. Indeed, in what is by some statistics the world’s most homogenous country, the presence of foreign communities has been hard to come by.
The fabled 'Foreign Neighborhood'... It's cute. It would fit into a shoebox. This is probably the size of a Torontonian neighborhood for gay albino Inuit.
Seoul also has an upscale French village in Seorae Maeul, Seocho-gu. About 20 percent of Korea’s French residents, or more than 450 people, live here. The main road of this village is called Montmartre Street. Blocks of three colors symbolizing <> - white, blue, and red - are enlaid in this area’s sidewalks.
...Ha! A triumphant return! Let's just see how long it lasts. I've got lots I could write about, and lots of pictures to show, but in order to pace myself I'm gonna start with a request.
Imagine watching television, and then pressing the 'mute' button. You will notice strange things when you do this. For one, you will notice just how strange are the jerky head movements of news talkers. With one eyebrow cocked, they trace strange shapes in the air with their chins. Perhaps you experience a moment of nausea, as you rediscover the bizarre in what should be normal life. You will notice that most commercials will rely on sound to link together random images as they flash in front of your eyes. Subtract the sound, and the ferocity of these images becomes even more apparent.
Obviously, I don't speak or understand Korean. So your possible experience with the mute button is comparable to my experience with Korean television. Images, subtracted from their context and explanation, become all the more striking and aggressive. I've uploaded part of the Starcraft channel, and some other game show. I haven't been quick enough to capture my current favorites, one of which is the brazenly cynical beer commercial with the doe-eyed girl who is at first unapproachable, but soon 'opens up' after a couple drinks, and then her top blouse button suddenly pops off. Korean beer, incidentally, is utter piss, suitable only for Americans who seem to enjoy drinking piss instead of beer. Actually, that's not charitable. I'd even take budweiser over Cass. To begin...
...and here's the starcraft. The first video is just pre-game chatter, but you'll probably get a kick out of the pink shirt that the announcer is wearing. Plus the general spectacle of professional gamers, looking pasty and bewildered with all the heavy metal and strobe lights that surround them.
Here's what you're in for: a half-hour to sometimes an hour of white-knuckle starcraft spectatin'. Once I get around to it, I will try and capture the whole denoument routine: suddenly one of the players forfeits the game when it's clear they're going to lose. Everyone cheers, and we cut to the winner, who blinks at couple times, rubs their chin, takes off their headphones, and starts unplugging their keyboard. Cut to: the loser, who only stares at the monitor, maybe blink back tears, and.... fade out to commercial, accompanied to heavy metal music. Is it a more graceful alternative to spiking the ball in the endzone? It is pretty predictable, and pretty boring.
there's not to tell. i live in toronto. i don't buy very many things. my socks have holes in 'em. i live with wonderful people. i try to accomplish things in my community that defy the illusion that i am a helpless spectator. i listen to music that most people hate. i like to indulge in bouts of hysterical cynicism, but only on weeknights.
