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Ladies and Gentlemen, I have found my Korean Mecca. At long last.
I took the long ride to Insadong today in the hopes of finding some traditional Korean gifts to send home. Upon getting off the subway, I was confused at the metropolis: it was a big-store shopping district. Wasn't this supposed to be a marketplace? I walked for nearly an hour, looking for the secret gateway that would lead to this market to no avail. I found this park devoted to Korean independence right in the middle of that bustling hub of stores and coffee shoppes. Gosh, Koreans love the Coffee Shoppe (yup, that's how I spell it. I'm Canadian and we like French things).
I kept touring around for a bit, got a latte (the soy vanilla is growing on me), and ended up following a trio of white people (I was so obvious too...what a sketchy girl I was yesterday). I asked them where I could find the market, got some patchy directions I knew wouldn't take me very much farther to my destination, but kept moving on. I walked through a strange back alley of restaurants in tents (the Koreans love their tented restaurants), and, at long last, stumbled upon the street of Korean art.
My plan was to get this expedition over with as soon as I could (you know how much I can't stand traditional artsy things) so I could head to the Hyundai Gallery by Anguk Station. There was an exhibit there that I've wanted to see for awhile, so I thought I'd spend some requisite time at the market before leaving to see the good Korean art.
But my gallery reprieve was unnecessary. I was really expecting kitsch, but this place was amazing. There were cheesy things all over the place, sure, but there was some really beautiful art. And there were galleries interspersed all over the street. From pottery to statues, acrylic on canvas to hand-dyed traditional Korean clothing, it was art all over the place. I was thrilled. The coffee kicked in and I made some deals with some shopkeepers. Most of the merchants speak excellent English, which is great, but after this long, you'd hope I could get along enough to ask, "how much", and "thank you". Regardless, the English was appreciated.
I'm going to contradict myself now. I saw so many foreigners there and was struck by how annoyed I was to hear my native tongue. I know firsthand that coming to Korea is overwhelming and the urge to talk is so strong because we're outnumbered. Newcomers are amazed and want to talk about everything to everyone and they tend to laugh too loudly on the subway. I get it, but today I was annoyed entirely with the English language (despite what I just finished saying about how grateful I was to hear it from the merchants). Maybe I'll come home and be quiet for a change. I'll leave you with that thought.
Alas, amidst all this glory, I saw a disturbing sight: a Starbucks sign had been translated to Korean. There are some things that should never be altered: that's one of them. I fully support the ousting of corporation from traditional areas, but if you are going to welcome them in, you have to keep the sign as familiar as I know it (so I can find it in case of an emergency). Don't go changing a good thing. Remember what Samantha said, "if it ain't broke, don't marry it" (somehow that made sense in my head).
I still don't have a camera, so I borrowed these images to give you an idea as to what the place looks like. It's great.
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