Korea 1996

The Hanaro Mart where my uncle did his grocery shopping had two cow statues out front. All of these things are still there today.

My uncle introduced my two cousins to two of his students, Sumi and Dawoon, who took us around a lot. All of them were I believe 11 or 12 so I didn't fit in so well.

I believe they all went to the Chicago Pizza pictured in the background but I wasn't there for some reason, which made me angry.

We took a half-hour bus to Yeosu and they went roller-skating. I wasn't so interested and don't believe I joined them, but can't remember what I did instead.

Having popsicles one evening.

This looks like the walkway to Odongdo, which means if true then all the houses on the shore have been wiped out to make way for the Expo grounds. Also, it is surprising to see such a modern-style electric scooter back then.

Here's us on Odongdo, with a dragon cave in the background.

I was stupid to wear sandals like that on these rocks, but it was too hot for socks and shoes I guess.

This appears to be a view of Dolsan Bridge in Yeosu. That means this was taken in Jasan Park, which I don't believe I've ever actually stepped foot in.

The bridge from closer up.

I can't remotely remember the context of this or what animal was down there.

Elaine was curious enough to try the eggs. I wasn't.

A turtle ship.

At my uncle's school. The boy was named Dewey, and he was around my sister's age. He and his dad showed us around when my uncle was working.

My uncle got me to teach a class to two girls my age. I taught them about the basic music genres. They could barely keep their eyes open. They were 16 Western age, and the CSAT was only two years away so they were studying around the clock. I never saw anyone older than 14 or younger than 18 my entire visit.

The one great meal we had on this visit, my uncle's coworkers took us out to the countryside where we had barbecue duck.

We went to a noraebang one night.

It almost looks like I'm smiling. I think we sang a Village People song or something very easy, and had no idea about how to do it.

I also remember that short I was wearing well. The image on the front was from a cult poster showing this godlike dude beckonling people up to Heaven, and I went to a place in the mall that takes your picture and puts it on a shirt and told them to do that instead. It had "The End is Nigh" on the back.

I believe it was nonalcoholic beer.

My uncle's coworkers took it much more seriously.

This was Pooh-don, the dog of my uncle's boss.

I believe this was actual beer which is why she crossed her eyes. It was my first time I can remember having a beer of my own, though probably not my sister's.

We ate lots of watermelon. The Koreans were my uncle's coworkers.

Always lots of watermelon.

My uncle is hiding behind the tree.

I believe this was Ssanggyesa.

We probably thought this was pretty shocking back then.

These pictures were mostly not taken by me because I was more interested in the video camera. The footage I got was painfully shaky.

This was somewhere near the temple. There's Pooh-don.

No idea where this is.

I have no idea which market this is.

Annan drinks a Slurpee, which means this is probably in Seoul and looks like the subway.

Slurpees in front of Olympic Stadium.

Another temple, this one in Seoul, and I think Bongeunsa.

Lotte World was a highlight of our trip. It was like West Edmonton Mall crumpled up into a ball.

I stood still here for about five minutes pretending to be a statue and confusing people wandering by.

This is probably in the apartment where we stayed with a Canadian family. The husband was Serbian and the wife was Bosnian Muslim, and their daughter Seina was a real brat so I spent a lot of time trolling her back. I think they lived near Samseong-dong because I believe we walked to COEX once and had Wendy's, and also I saw Korean skateboarders.

And here is the original Namdaemun. The highrise to the right is the HSBC Building, which is still there, but it is a much more crowded skyline now.

This picture was taken out the window of the Jongno McDonald's.

Here's the same view taken sometime in the 2010s. Note some of the buildings have maintained their structure.

And here's us in the McDonald's.

Claire doesn't seem to like the attention.

A big draw to these restaurants was the mascot statues outside. When I returned in 2003 they were no longer so much of a thing.

Gyeonghoeru in Gyeongbokgung. I wonder what the crane was for.

In the distance is the Japanese Governor General Building, in the process of being torn down.

I was pretty curious about this and didn't understand at the time why they were tearing it down.

Inside the palace.

This picture might help give some context to why they decided to remove the building.

We saw a movie set while we were in Seoul. I figured out later which drama this was and who he was, but can't remember now.