this weekend - insadong
April 23rd 2007 04:11
sunday provided us with the chance to check out insadong province in seoul. this is an area that is aimed at western tourists, so i had mixes emotions about the entire day. even at home a i generally stay away from areas that are aimed at these kind of markets, but when in rome... although it is quite a beautiful area that reeks with korean tradition, it is also quite plastic in that it is catering for the mass audience from the western world - and that is indeed who was there.
we did stumble across some nice galleries and i could have spent millions of won on many of the contemporary pop art pieces that were on offer, and there were of course many places to eat and nibble and refresh. one thing that i had to ponder over was why are we traveling to these places to see different cultures, yet these different cultures are trying so eagerly to accommodate and assimilate to our culture? but then who are we to tell them not to? i also had to wonder where it will all end up in a few decades from now.
the morning was excellent and this was completed by a lovely lunch of bip bim bap and bulgogi, all of which was washed down with a bottle of plum wine. however my tolerence ended there as i could not put up with the arrogance of to other tourists that were eating behind us. after hearing their stupid conversation of who farted and how cool they were, the straw that broke the camel's back was when they clicked their fingers and yelled out 'check!' now the style of this restaurant or sikdong was one that was quite tranquil and calming but i think even the owner saw red and had steam coming out his ears!
i had to also ponder over the fact of why come to another country and expect to find your own? isn't the reason you travel to learn and discover new cultures and traditions and not force your ways on others? i just couldn't understand it.....
but anyway here are some snaps from the day:
we did stumble across some nice galleries and i could have spent millions of won on many of the contemporary pop art pieces that were on offer, and there were of course many places to eat and nibble and refresh. one thing that i had to ponder over was why are we traveling to these places to see different cultures, yet these different cultures are trying so eagerly to accommodate and assimilate to our culture? but then who are we to tell them not to? i also had to wonder where it will all end up in a few decades from now.
the morning was excellent and this was completed by a lovely lunch of bip bim bap and bulgogi, all of which was washed down with a bottle of plum wine. however my tolerence ended there as i could not put up with the arrogance of to other tourists that were eating behind us. after hearing their stupid conversation of who farted and how cool they were, the straw that broke the camel's back was when they clicked their fingers and yelled out 'check!' now the style of this restaurant or sikdong was one that was quite tranquil and calming but i think even the owner saw red and had steam coming out his ears!
i had to also ponder over the fact of why come to another country and expect to find your own? isn't the reason you travel to learn and discover new cultures and traditions and not force your ways on others? i just couldn't understand it.....
but anyway here are some snaps from the day:
one of the coolest shop fronts i have seen
the world's largest plastic food...ever!
one of the local traditional musicians
they have some of the most amazing paper and hanji shops. image courtesy of leisa hutchinson.
some of the local delicasies
the day was finished off with some 13th century glass encased pagoda action.
......and a gift from an emporer.
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Comment by Ash
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
What a bittersweet day hey! I hate that people travel all over the world... to eat at MacDonalds and drink at Starbucks... come on people! If you are going to leave your sense of adventure at home then why bother leaving in the first place? And the arrogance of people such as you have described here irritates me beyond belief too....
but then when you have pictures like you have shared it calms the nerves just slightly. What do they sell in that shop in the first picture? As you say a great store front.
Those fish remind me of the fish that people eat from where I come from.... dried out in masses in the sun and very, very salty...called Kapenta...only a few centimetres long and eaten whole. They are made into a stew with tomato and a vegetable sort of like spinach and eaten with a porridge-like substance called Sadza which is similar to Polenta except it`s white....something to try... yum!
thanks for sharing... plum wine? sounds divine...
ash
Comment by Jonathon
Anthroblogogy
i 'just now' understand where you come from. and all this time i thought you just loved traveling through africa. that stodgy dish you described sounds good - i can almost taste it, and will ensure that i do. but these fish are a little bigger - probably about 10cm?
so i can't read the font on top of the shop, but i am thinking as it was shut during the day, it probably is a bar of some sorts. and yes i think i just needed to share the story to remind myself that it is just a few people that annoy me in that basket, not all of them. it was a great day apart from that.
Comment by KylieW
Celebrity Obsession
Great post. I love travelling and seeing new places. The only thing I hate about travelling, is having to put up with ignorant tourists. The worst ones are the ones that complain how "they have that in Australia" or "well you can do that in Australia". I just want to yell at them. "You're not in f@#king Australia, so just soak up the experience".
Wow, enough of my rant.
The shop front is WAY cool. I love it. And the paper. That is amazing.
Kylie
Comment by Jonathon
Anthroblogogy
the paper shops are amazing! they are kind of like a craft shop in that they have crafty things laying around on tables for sale, along with the coolest paint brushes. they remind me of arrow heads but they can be as big as your head! but then you see the hangul and you understand why they are so big. everything here (particularly legal things) are still sealed with wax stamps, so i am also trying to get my name done in a wax stamp. i will feel like the coooolest round eye then!
and you are completely correct with your rant, i also hate tourists that do that. we were talking about it on the weekend, of people that travel the world but in their own little bubble. they go to all these places but never really see or experience anything different to what they are used to. kind of like 'contiki tourists' i think you could call them. and that is the end of my rant.