Mayorless City

Walking by the quarantine tents, I saw this statue among the equipment. After I took it I realised a patient(?) was in the tent to the left.

At Severance, the quarantine works by filling out a questionnaire at the door, and then you receive a colour-coded sticker displaying the day of the week. People have been sticking them on posters at the exits as they leave. I've been taking them home. I have a full set on my front door, and I'm hoping to get a similar collection for my work computer. The weekend is combined, and Monday and Tuesday used to be happy faces, so I have eight unique ones.

Just some random gate between buildings in Jongno-gu. Probably if JiHoon sees this he would tell me all about its storied history and what's wrong with its recreation here.

The sky was dramatic today.

I had never noticed that big sign for Gongpyeong Historic Sites Museum before.

The brick building I know thanks to JiHoon is the former Chosun Ilbo headquarters, built in 1926. The brighter red brick building on the right dates back to 1922.

The whitish building straight ahead is a former school that will reopen as a crafts museum later this year.

It had to be closed for Hanjin's failed plan to open a hotel next door. Cities need luxury hotels, not schools, right?

A narrow entrance in Samcheong-dong.

An old Hanok being fixed up.

I was going to translate this but got bored before I started.

A street corner in Bukchon. The tall building is Hyundai E&C headquarters. I had heard when Chung Ju-yung died, they just sealed up his office and left it as is. Not sure if that's true.

Heading back toward where I used to live.

Some of the buildings look different.

Okay, this view is radically changed. There's now a skinny building built right next to the street that ruins the view of my former home.

This historic well also has a historic meaning to me: it's where we used to pile our garbage on garbage nights.

Here's Jungangtang, which was being promoted as a historic site just before, during, and after its renovation into a sunglasses store.

I definitely don't recall any such brick surfaces here when I was a resident.

I can't believe I used to live next to a palace.

On the right on the other side of these buildings is the palace grounds. When I was looking for a home, one of the two places they showed me backed onto the palace grounds. Out the back window you could see a traditional wall almost touching the building, with two security cameras on top.

Here is Waryong Park, up on the side of Bugaksan past SKKU's back gate.

Maybe he went up there to get one last look at the city.

The public washroom was a work of art. Could've been cleaner inside though.

Heading down from SKKU's back gate.

Click for full size.

I stopped by the old Sungkyunkwan campus for a look around. Since my last visits they've completed some renovations which included adding some tacky-looking new gates. Here's one.

There's the other. It really doesn't match the other woodwork.

But it does remind me of the neo-Hanoks in Bukchon.

I don't remember this being there before. Guess it was though.

Heading over to SNUH.

"Oh, what is S.N.U.H.?"

There was a gauntlet of media in front of the SNUH funeral home.

I wasn't sure what would happen when I got there, but having arrived I definitely did not feel comfortable going inside.

I had thought this was a lineup to get in, but more likely it was more media.

This has been translated to "His suicide was persecution -- A very ultimate form of persecution."

Yeah, not mourners.

One hospital patient just stood to the side watching.

You know news is happening if cub reporters are seated around wherever possible writing on laptops. I suspect the reason so many of them are female is because of relatively newly enacted meritocracy and blind hiring practices. Since we started using those for new reporters, I believe we've had a 100% female hiring rate.

While I was there, Justice Party leader Sim Sang-jung came outside and I briefly joined the mob of reporters that swirled around her. She didn't speak loud enough for me to hear. Her statement on Facebook earlier bothered some of my friends, that she wouldn't outright reject him.

Here's how it looks from the other side.