Hongdae: As Edgy As Korea Gets
Written by Kyle on Thursday, August 27, 2009 in Korea, Republic of
Feelin' amused
Since we've been here, we've been looking for a place in Korea that is "different". If you've been in Korea for a while, everything starts to look the same. There are the same shops in every building, the same architecture everywhere, people dress the same, and to my untrained eye, a lot of Korea (Seoul to be more exact) looks like the same block repeated over and over. So, last weekend, we went to Hongdae, one of the last places in Seoul that might be different, for the Seoul International Fringe Festival. I mean, if there's a fringe festival there, it has to have some sort of edge to it, right?Feelin' amused
Any place with hotdogs and pies can't be that bad
The first thing that I noticed about Hongdae was that there was graffiti. Some people may find it ugly or annoying, but considering most of the rest of Seoul is devoid of anything mildly rebellious, the graffiti was a welcome sight. A lot of the graffiti seemed sanctioned, but nonetheless it was graffiti and a lot of it was actually of good quality (i.e. Not just writing your name or some rediculous slogan like "The Government Sucks"). Curiously, Koreans were actually taking a lot of photos of the graffiti as well as I don't think they get to see a lot of it.
Another thing that I noticed about Hongdae that separates it a bit from the rest of Seoul were the shops. If Korea is good at anything, it is getting people to buy stuff. You literally can't step 2 steps without there being another store waiting for you. They're all over. Hongdae is no different in this regard except that a lot of the shops seemed to have a more personal touch to them instead of the standard box-with-a-name store variety that permeates most of the city. If I were a shopper, this is where I would go to get something unique from Korea. I'm not, so I just took pictures of the stores instead.
This store reminds us of similar stores in Latin America (sniff)
Finally, the Fringe Festival. We came looking for some art and performances that were on the fringe and maybe a little different than the norm. Instead, we found a poorly organized festival where things routinely started an hour and a half late or were just cancelled. So, we didn't get to see anything, because everytime that we would show up at a venue, we waited for 30 minutes until someone would finally put up a sign declaring that the next show starts an hour from now. A little frustrating, but we're getting kind of used to it at this point. We did, however, get to see some guys from a yo-yo performance warming up. In our minds, the show was super awesome.
In general, though, we had to make up our own performances: "We like to call this one 'Your Heart Speaks'. It is about the struggle of our inner emotions to speak out to the world. We encourage you to use the silent time to listen to your own "heart speak."
In reality, this was Bessie getting a clever photo while we were waiting too damn long for them to set up a performance that was going to happen at some indeterminate time in the future. We have to kill the time somehow...
Finally, in Hongdae, we found something that America has been looking for. President Bush couldn't do it. Barack hasn't done it. We've sent special forces looking for it, but to no avail. But, we found it! Ladies and gentlemen, we found Bin Laden!:
In reality, this was Bessie getting a clever photo while we were waiting too damn long for them to set up a performance that was going to happen at some indeterminate time in the future. We have to kill the time somehow...
Finally, in Hongdae, we found something that America has been looking for. President Bush couldn't do it. Barack hasn't done it. We've sent special forces looking for it, but to no avail. But, we found it! Ladies and gentlemen, we found Bin Laden!:
Where's our reward money?
Comments on "Hongdae: As Edgy As Korea Gets"
I love yo-yo tricks! But then again, I also love Yo Yo Ma! (Teehee) As an owner of many yo-yo from my youth to embarrassingly...into my 30's, I always marvelled at the skill of those "professionals." "Walk the dog" and "baby in the cradle" were my only two "achievements" even though I had 5th graders trying to teach me more advanced stuff.
Even though your Festival did not turn out to be as edgy as you had hoped, it appears that you had a nice day, good weather, and another "adventure."
Some nice street art and pretty shops. Looks like you had a peaceful day away from the students. Thanks for sharing!
by DADDIO at August 27, 2009 10:56 AM