Narrow Vision on Slow Paths

As I've mentioned before, Korea has its fast paced mentality, but it also moves slowly in a beautiful dancing motion when you narrow your vision. Sure, that sounds a bit flowery and a bit too broad for a specific quick deciphering. But, something that I've realized on my long and slow excursions outside my four wall apartment is that in order to take in South Korea, you really need to "stop and pick flowers." And, sometimes literally. In order to grasp this country and shake it in your brain, you need to focus and zoom in until your eyes see pixelated lines and shades, until your vision is numb in utter awe and content, until your focus spills out of the tunnel. And tumbles into another. Stepping out of the main street and wandering into an alley that leads to another alley, tends to take me to a back road that is quiet and serene as watching the world from heights. 

Seoul at Heights

Sure, in the midst of the action, Seoul can be your typical boisterous city with blaring music and business vendors yelling out discounts on their echoing microphones, children running and screaming, ajimas (old Korean ladies with permed hair and flowery visor hats) scuttling about, teenagers laughing and texting and flirting, cars honking, buses zooming by...

but then you climb a hill, or walk further down..a little further..and then a bit more...sound suddenly, completely mutes. As if you're flying above a mountain in a dream and the only sound you can hear is that of your own, inside your mind, gasping for more. 

Some moments of hiking further up the peaks of inner Seoul, I turn to take another glance, just to make sure that deep grey cloud hugging the green mountain hasn't faded into the blue sky. Then there's that serene moment of resting your elbows over the ancient city walls, as if holding onto a blue blanket and talking to Charlie Brown until the sun goes down. Resting at these chunks of walls that notes the original city limits makes me feel that time travel does indeed exist; I'm suddenly not standing in modern day Seoul, that's for damn sure. 

Over these walls, small houses are cluttered below with rooftops in an obvious struggle of not collapsing, rather, they steady themselves with beautiful gardens galore. The only noise heard is the buzz of the monster-sized dragonflies swirling around and around within the city walls. They nearly swat my face in their obtuse angle of flight, showing off their enormous wings. 

Anybody feeling lifeless and dead inside should take a look at Seoul from the top of a hill or the tip of Seoul Tower, and rethink their life. These points of the city is equivalent to recharging your camera battery. It seriously does the same to your inner energy.  

Random Moments of Beauty and Oddity in the Bu (UijeongBU)

I'm not sure why I have this deep and ever growing fascination with, not only South Korea, but Uijeongbu itself. Over the years, I have grown accustomed to walking at a fast pace amongst smile-less people with a void glazed over their eyes, over their bodies. And I come to this tiny city (because after living in large fast paced cities, this is considered a tiny city in my book) to find that I need to slow down. A lot. Almost halt myself and begin by taking baby steps from A to B. Because as much city Uijeongbu seemingly holds, it is a town. A town with tall buildings and copious amounts of people. So, as I walk at the pace of the Uijeongbu-ians, I learned exactly why they walk in such a manner...or at least I learned why I myself wouldn't mind taking my time. Easy. This country is beautiful. And so is the vibe the dwellers set off, especially the children. They have an innocent and pure life in them that I've decided to take in as well. And, while I'm at it, take pictures along the way. Stopping life to take a picture here and there has its extreme advantages. For example, I would never have come across a random naked man at noon thirty, alone on a rock in the stream. (haha) But in seriousness, I wouldn't have thought to pause myself and appreciate the view, the smell of trees and mist and food (and sometimes the disturbing smell of mothballs) and every little whizzing car and laughing child and angry drunk old man.

In Search of the Soul of Seoul

As painfully cliché as the title seems, I have truly been on a search for the heart of Seoul. If you were to strip it clean of the foreign teachers and militia and tourists and businesspeople and world wanderers (aka gypsies), Turkish kebab-stand men and, all who find their way into Seoul...well, then, what exactly IS Seoul? I came to the conclusion that with the oh-so-cool westernized influence and a hub for foreigners to dwell, Seoul's true soul has partially decomposed, leaving a sort of aftertaste not much different from that of a soggy, warm kimbap from 7-11...
Oh...wait, what's that? I'm in Itaewon?! OH! Well, then scratch all that! Pft!
 On a side note, though, us traveling westerners have turned just about every major city and beautiful landmark across the world into a pile of festering poo, right? (And I mean that in a very nice gesture).

So, I'll truly begin with the true beauty of Seoul. Because, no, the culture has NOT been lost. In fact, it's flourishing in the midst of all the Starbucks and tourist shops. And, my god....this enormous city is GEORGEOUS and full of life that has a fast paced international city feel with a Korean heart beating behind the curtains. If you go into Seoul, there is MUCH soul to find. And yes, that of your own as well. :)
I will definitely be posting Seoul trips throughout my SK blogster, but let us begin with my first taste. My first month...seen from heights. (ToBeCont...)