What do people do in Euljiro-3-ga? They put on suits and ties and go to work at the gleaming new glass and steel office towers that crowd around the intersection of Eulji-ro (을지로) and Samil-daero (삼일대로). Or they put on white hard hats and reflective vests and go to work building two more such towers. …
Hi guys, just a couple quick announcements to make. First of all, we’re sad to say that our column in SEOUL magazine has come to an end. The mag recently underwent one of its periodic redesigns and content shakeups, and the editorial staff decided that, after close to five years, it was time to bring the Seoul Sub→urban…
For the longest time I was under the impression that there was an actual resort at Ttukseom Resort Station, a victim, it turns out, of a rather loose-fitting translation. A more direct rendering of 유원지 (yuwonji) would be something like ‘pleasure grounds,’ though that of course doesn’t strike the ear as quite right either. An…
When one considers the geography of Seoul, it’s her mountains that seem to define her: the noble peaks of Bukhan serving as a backdrop to the city’s seats of power – Gyeongbokgung and the Blue House; sacred Inwang watching over the old city’s spirit from the west; Namsan, which once marked the city’s southern limits…
(Editor’s Note: Photos by Merissa Quek.) The cover of the Gwangjin-gu (Slogan: A City of elegance, livable Gwangjin) promotional booklet that the kind docent at the Achasan Goguryeo History Musuem handed to me shows an aerial shot of the district, mostly a confetti smattering of densely packed apartment rooftops, broken by the occasional vertical tower. …
