daehanmindecline

Broke in Korea 20th Anniversary

Here are three times Buster tried to repeat his famous move of sitting on my foot.

20251113

Cactus Club

Frustrated by too many other restaurants being closed or whatever, I finally went to Cactus Club. Overall I liked it, but I don't see it as standing out enough for a full food review.

20251112

Pyeongtaek

I seem to have developed a new standard for taking time off. When you're sick, just go to work and try to get through it. Once you recover, take a day off and enjoy the freedom.

I went down to Pyeongtaek with three objectives in mind:

finally get rid of that giant cage that's been cluttering up the stairwell in front of my apartment, by donating it to a dog rescue shelter in Paengseong

try a Jamaican meat patty restaurant in Songtan

visit 6th finger, a bar opened by the founder of Rabbithole, which is apparently the area's only queer bar

Of those three, I accomplished one goal, and failed on the other two. Apparently nothing's open in the ville on a Wednesday.

20251110

City Hall

Just an upidate on City Hall: they also think it's hideous, so they covered it up.

20251108

We had the show, and it went smoothly. There has been demand for Broke in Woori Mal, but I still have a couple copies left. I still have plenty of copies of the other zines.

After some chaos with Killerty disintegrating the Monday before the show, I decided to drop the price and have only three bands. All three were entertaining, and have ensured my loyalty to them.

20251108

Brisket Hunters

Another adventure into spaces where I probably shouldn't be.

20251106

Broke in Korea 20th Anniversary Stuff

Broke in Korea published its first issue in March 2005. I decided to celebrate 20 years later in the year, in November, mainly because I wanted to get the count up to issue 40.

After celebrating 10 years with issue 20, I managed to land on issue 40 after another 10 years. Also, over the months of putting this one together, I decided to expand it and make it 40 pages long, the sort of symbolism that is probably lost on everyone.

With a couple weeks to go before the release date, I had the idea to put together a publication for Koreans, featuring all the Korean-language content ever published in Broke over 20 years. I may have been thinking this would be manageable, but ultimately I ended up with a pretty large book with over 200 pages.

After I got everything printed, I remembered that I had been working on the Best of Best of Broke in Korea issue. I had done three previous "Best of Broke in Korea" issues, where I introduced the most significant content over the years that could be most helpful in explaining our scene to newcomers. The challenge now was to put together a similar issue that consolidated all three of those issues, plus whatever new stuff was relevant, into one thick zine that could be stapled together. Luckily for me, there was only about an hour of work left, and I was able to get this done in time as well.

20251031

Halloween

Halloween was Friday, the first time in several years that it was on a somewhat weekend day. Also, it's a day that I usually have off, but I was called in due to it being the middle of the APEC summit.

When I got off in the evening, I went by Itaewon to see how it was going. First impression was it was busy but not bad. Then I came back around 11:30, and my impression then was that thousands of people were willingly pressing themselve into a meat grinder. I get it, Halloween is a neat holiday, but why go through that much security, and press yourself up against so many people, in an area where so many died? There are places all around the city where you can dress up and get sloppy drunk.

20251029

Day of the Dead

When I did a newspaper drop at Itaewon Global Village Center, I ran into people just as they were leaving. I also met a Mexican foreign resident who had put together this altar for a Day of the Dead celebration.

20251028

Late at Night

I was surprised to see this block of buildings housing restaurants all fenced off.

20251026

Yongsan Government Buildings

I'm going to be watching the Hilto as it gets chopped won over the next few weeks.

20251025

Itaewon Tour

I arrived in Itaewon just as Matt was concluding his RAS Korea tour. As the self-declared president of RAS After Dark, I hijacked the tour after, somewhat.

20251025

Abandoned Hospital

I had also wanted to stop by an abandoned hospital, and all I got was that the property owner may be litigious, but probably isn't thorough. There are enough abandonments around that I don't need to crawl into every single one. It is pretty weird how some are so open, and others are so sealed.

20251025

Adventures in Taxation

After scouting out Origol, I was on my way back into central Seoul to catch up with Matt's Itaewon tour, but then I passed by a couple abandoned buildings that turned out to be more interesting than they sound.

20251025

Origol

We're working on the next issue of Transactions, which will be 99, and my fact-checking took me to this remote outpost on the way between southwestern Seoul and Bucheon. More will be revealed when the thing is completed.

20251024

Calzones

I went to try a restaurant that serves calzones, but when I got home Buster had prepared an unpleasant surprise for me. I got him to the vet before it closed, and they gave him two shots and sent us home. So that was fun.

20251024

Hospital

During a regular checkup with my cardiologist, I bought a yogurt drink from a cafe right inside the cardiology building. As I was leaving, the doctor told me "You shouldn't drink that." I told him "You shouldn't have a cafe serving them right outside your office."

I probably came off a little flippant, but he's absolutely not wrong. Why is this there?

20251023

I completed the process of updating Broke Publishng's address to Yongsan, with a visit to pick up some forms and then a stop by the tax office. It honestly made me miss Yeongdeungpo's chintzy tax office.

20251021

Return to Hongdae

I went back to Hongdae a few days after the tour for one purpose: to see if they'd left the door to former Club Spot open.

20251019

Cat Butt

Ever since he found worldwide fame and the tacit approval of the funny pages' most badass orange cat, Buster has been sitting on my foot for attention.

He does it when I'm going out, but that's not the only time. He also does it when we're both in the washroom. He also likes putting his butt on other things, such as laptop keyboards. It's like he uses the thing as his primary form of communication.

I don't get photos often because usually no camera is within reach.

20251018

Hongdae Tour

I did a tour for RAS Korea of Hongdae, and got a closeup look of how the place is changing. I won't lie, I didn't like what it had become, so I'm not angry at any of these changes.

20251017

Yongsan

I got permission to register Broke Publishing at an address in Yongsan, which would be free of cost unlike the arrangement in Yeongdeungpo. So I started the process of changing business addresses, which was more confusing than registering a new business in the first place. It might be how Yongsan is set up though.

20251015

Dildos Tacos

I went over to grab some tacos, or possibly the "Hawaiian quesadilla," and got a look at the work to make City Hall look less hideous.

20251014

Pre-Halloween

Mid-month, Halloween decorations started appearing around Seoul, and Yongsan. This was a change from last year, when I didn't see that many such decorations, and I was looking.

Last year it seemed like the local government had been urging businesses not to put up decorations, particularly anything death-related, but this year it would appear no such request had been made.

20251014

Namsan Deli

A new sandwich place opened up near my home, along the short commute to my work. The sandwich I had on this first visit was mostly good, but suffered from the wrong kind of mustard. I went back a second time before the pop-up ended, and had a hot dog, which was fine, and a fudge brownie sundae, which was worth the six months it probably took off my life expectancy. Now that they're fully open, the menu looks a lot different, and clearly caters more to Koreans.

20251013

Hilto Demolition

The Hilto has been shrinking in height, so I went up to get some photos. As they chew down the building, they remove the tall construction hoarding around the site layer by layer. It's possible I'll be able to put together some kind of animated gif later, with all the photos I've been taking from roughly the same spot.

20251012

Food Run

I went to Buam-dong where there's a pets' superstore and bought a variety of different cat foods for Buster. On the way back I stopped for a sandwich and hit a palindrome on my odometer.

20251012

Cats on Keyboards

I took a couple new photos of Cats on Keyboards.

20251011

More HBC

Just a few more photos of HBC, including a long line of people waiting in the rain for Taco Stand. It's not bad, although by definition I'd probably have to say it's overrated, but it's not like they're standing waiting in line for Street Churros. They're waiting to go into a restaurant and sit down. So that will probably take longer.

20251009

Demolition

There's a side gate for the Hilto that I rarely get to see, but if I take one shortcut to work, I pass by and sometimes can see inside.

20251008

Broke in Korea 20th Anniversary Show

Just a night at the convenience store, and a look at some of the foods sold there.

20251008

Miari Texas

I met up with a German scholar who was doing a study of the urban texture around an apartment complex in Gireum. I took him through an abandoned neighbourhood immediately downhill from there, and through a mostly abandoned red-light district across the street. Real scholarly work.

20251108

Broke in Korea passed its 20th anniversary in March this year, but I was on issue 39 and wanted to wait until issue 40 was ready. On the 10th anniversary, it was at issue 20. On the 50th anniversary, it will be on the 100th issue. Issue 40 will be released at this show, as well as two other "best of" publications. One is "The Best of the Best of Broke in Korea," containing all the most significant coverage since March 2005, and the other is "Broke in Woori Mal," which contains all the Korean-language content published over the last 20 years, mainly interviews, reviews, and rants.

This time we're celebrating with a show at Binary Studios, featuring my brother-in-law's band Gallus Alice, the ~~debut show of Killerty (ex-members of Couch and Rumkicks)~~, Fail Fast before they tour Japan, and Paper Cruise, which I saw recently and was impressed by.

Click on the poster to go to a ticket reservation link.

20251007

8Piece

I got pizza from 8Piece, and then Buster decided to get creative with his cat butt.

20251005

Entry

After the previous night's scouting, I decided to try my luck in broad daylight. The ultimate test will be whether my entry points are still unsecured later.

20251004

Scouting

I went out to do an assessment of entry points into Hannam New Town. They've done a pretty good job of sealing up the perimeter of the site, by which I mean I only found about six feasible entry points. All of them are a little ugly, so I doubt this will open up tourism inside the exclusion zone.

20251003

Seoul Drag Parade

Last year, I covered Seoul Drag Parade, and it was fun, being way less stressful than SQCF. This year, I let a coworker cover it, and she wrote articles before and after the event.

20251002

The Easiest UE Ever

The CU behind my office closed down, leaving a bright open empty space. This means we now have to go to the 7-Eleven on the other side of the building, or cross the street where there's another CU, or go into the subbasement of the office building across the street where there's a GS25. Also, a new CU has since opened about 50 meters away from this one's location.

20251001

Another Palindrome

These photos of my dashboard are probably boring any visitors to this site to death, but I like taking them. Looking forward to hitting 1666X soon.

20250930

Dinner with Jim

I met up with Jim, who was the final director of Peace Corps Korea until it withdrew in 1981. He has recently published a book based on his experiences in Korea almost 45 years ago, which I helped edit.

20250929

Food Time

I was sad to find out that Wokster has withdrawn from Itaewon.

20250928

HBC Cats

Just a few pictures around HBC and home, involving a couple of cool cats.

20250927

No Model and Sour

When I heard there was an American hardcore band with an adoptee member coming to Korea, I was quite interested. When I heard there were two bands coming over, and the other one had two adoptees, I decided I better hand this over to my adoptee contributor, so she could cover it properly.

I ended up going to the show, and it was the most intense hardcore show I've been to in a few years.

20250927

Seoul Fireworks Festival

On my way out, I thought of passing by the Seoul Fireworks Festival, but then I remembered how crowded it was last year and I thought fuck it.

This picture was taken from my roof, showing that I can see the fireworks from my home, and certainly also could hear them inside.

20250926

Asian Rockabilly Festival

This was my second annual Asian Rockabilly Festival. For this one, I interviewed DJ BO, an American currently living in China who's well-connected to the scene in many countries in the area. We did the interview before meeting, and when we met up in person I figured we'd have a lot to talk about, but that was an understatement.

I was only there on the first day of the festival, and saw the bands play in a very small venue. It went well, sort of like what I saw last year when it was at Strange Fruit.

20250926

Seosomun Overpass

I had a bit of time to stretch out, so I went on a walk over that overpass that's being prepped for demolition.

20250926

As I've been watching the Hilto being prepped for demolition and now starting to shrink down, I heard about an exhibition at nearby Piknik looking at the history and demise of the hotel. It's pretty remarkable, and although there's a cover charge, it's worth it, at least for me.

20250923

RAS Korea Lecture

Taylor from Honford Star gave an RAS lecture. Afterwards, Buster sold two books for American money. Take that, Bora Chung!

20250922

Food Run

I went out expecting to go to Dos Tacos, but had to go to Bas Burger instead. Also I wound up on a closed overpass.

20250920-21

Block Party 2025

Finally I'm finished with all my Block Party photos. This year's festival was bigger and more fun than last year's, and Jamie seemed to have a lot more fun this time around, which had an overall effect on the event. Lots of iconic moments and I was able to get pictures, so next year's coverage will have a lot of file photos to rely on. You can read my preview article for Block Party here, and see a small selection of photos here. But click through on this page for a clearance warehouse of my Block Party photos.

20250920

Yangdong

Here's an update, as they appear to have completed putting up the curtains around this site.

20250918

Restaurant Review

We went to Pizzeria Hokey Pokey for a work supper and scouting for a review.

The worst thing I can say about Hokey Pokey Pizza is that, while on the bus on the way to the restaurant's location in Gwanghwamun, we passed by another bus that had lost a wheel. I know the restaurant staff couldn't have anticipated this or done anything about it, but I couldn't think of anything worse to say. Other than the odd number of flies buzzing around inside the restaurant.

20250918

Chopsticks

Just a look at my collection of North and South Korean chopsticks, banana for scale.

20250916

I showed up looking for Chris and got a shock when I saw cop cars everywhere, as well as paramedics and ambulances. Turns out they weren't there for him, and there'd been a collision between a scooter and a taxi.

20250916

Cats

Buster repeated his Heathcliff trick, entrapping me twice to prevent me from going out. The torrential rain cooperated.

20250915

Work

In the course of a regular day of driving around, here are the highlights.

20250914

Monkeybars

They're monkeybarring the little slum corner between Seoul Square, the Hilto, and Trapalace. I don't expect I'll get a closer look, due to the frequent high volume of old people lounging around the area.

20250914

Dildos Tacos

Just an average meal run that took a dark turn. Dark and damp.

And while looking for tacos, I ended up with pizza, which Buster then attacked me for.

20250913

Feel It In Your Gut

Sharon invited me to take part in this show series she's starting. I'm not entirely sure what the concept will be yet, or if it will change, but for this one she wanted to display the work of five live music photographers. I've probably spent more time photographing her than anyone, so of course I was one of them. My contribution ended up focusing mostly on Hongdae Playground photos from the 2000s, some of which Sharon made into a collage.

20250912

Just checking in on the Hilto. It looks like demolition may be starting.

20250912

Grandma Piie

I was trying to decide where to get lunch on a Friday where I didn't have to work, and then I remembered hearing about this foccaccia pizza spot on the platform at Sindorim Station. I headed down there, picked up two pieces and some Hong Kong slush tea, and came back. It was quite good and I probably will review it soon.

20250911

Around Home

Just a few shots from around on my regular daily routine.

20250910

Meejah

Meejah was back in Korea, and we covered the show.

20250910

I hit another palindrome number.

20250909

Geoffrey Lewis

I ran into Geoffrey Lewis and he started telling me about his latest album, so I started recording and we ended up with this article.

20250909

Be Kind

Another trip to the banh mi restaurant

20250908

Le Freak

I went down to Yongsan to try a Nashville chicken restaurant. It was probably the best sandwich of its kind I'd ever had, but even wilder was the macaroni and cheese.

Also I saw a lunar eclipse, or might not have.

20250902

Drinking and swapping hats in HBC.

20250901

Demolition

An update on various demolition sites. The dog meat restaurant near my office has been erased.

20250901

Baemsool

I wanted more pictures of my North Korean snake liquor.

20250831

Buster's Secret Agent Career

I paid an early morning visit to Hannam New Town, with the intent of peeking through construction gates to determine how many street lights are still on. There are, at least on the inside of the gates.

20250830

Weekend

I didn't do much on the weekend, but it was time spent preparing for later weekends.

20250827

Demolition

A quick check in on two demolition sites in my neighbourhood.

20250827

Be Kind Banh Mi

After a contributor wanted to write this restaurant review, I gave the place a try. The first time, I tried what she recommended, the Crispy Pork Banh Mi, which she probably recommended because she's from the Philippines. The second time, I tried the Spicy Chicken, and after I touched my eye, I felt like I had been maced. Both were fine, though I regret I never got to try the Lemongrass Chicken.

20250826

RAS After Dark

I couldn't make it to Sam Denny's RAS lecture, but the afterparty was still going strong for quite a long time after I got off work at 10:30. They filled this basement room at a restaurant; absolutely everyone in this photo was there for him. And also, he was paying the bill for everyone's food and drinks, in a sign of generosity I don't think I've seen demonstrated like this before. I even pointed out, it's supposed to be the opposite, and we're supposed to pay for him.

20250826

Playground

While passing by Hongdae to pick up food, I saw they were doing some pretty heavy renovations on the playground. The last incarnation hadn't been working, so I can't say it will be missed. They did kill a bunch of trees though.

For this new version, they pulled out the last untamed part of the park and seem to be turning it into terraced seating maybe. It looks like it might provide a new surplus of places to sit, as well as making the area easier to pass through. But I have my doubts this is creating a straight path the way people want to go. And we'll see how the terraced seating goes, as it doesn't really overlook anything nice, just a road.

20250826

Mr Crepe

I decided to try this new crepe restaurant near Hongdae Playground. It was... different. I wish they'd done something a bit more economical with the crepes, rather than wrapping them like big cones, which start off looking generous but soon funnel down to a tip that was too densely packed with crepe for me to finish. I also wasn't a fan of how they filled the lamb crepe with fries.

I'd want to try one other one before I render any more permanent judgement on the place, probably a beef one because that smelled good cooking.

20250825

To go with Buster's pancreas medicine, I bought him a packet of CIAO slime tubes. It turns out CIAO is a spy agency, and they've been giving him secret missions. Mostly to dispose of confidential materials. A rival secret agent has been comig after him trying to stab him so he can't complete his mission.

20250824

Friends

Just a few random photos around.

20250823

Late Night Abandoned

I was wide awake late one night, so I decided to go out for a drive. This took me to the former Boilers location in Yongsan, where I limboed under a construction gate and had a look around.

I also investigated Hannam New Town, which has been thoroughly fenced off; I was curious if the streetlights inside had been deactivated. My preliminary look seemed to indicate that there were still active streetlights inside.

20250823

Myeongdong Night Market

I'd been planning to do an article about "Myeongdong Night Market," a basically made-up tourist attraction that's pretty popular with people planning to come to Korea, but unheard of to locals. When I think of night markets, I picture something that's open well after midnight, like Dongdaemun or the food tents around Jongno 3ga Station. Myeongdong has a number of street stalls, but they're open in the day and they stay open only until about 11 p.m. In the end I decided I didn't feel right writing an article discouraging tourism to this area. It's not my thing, but if Myeongdong loses its luster we'll have to deal with more tourists in other parts of Seoul.

New hypothesis, Myeongdong is now the token most foreign part of Seoul, surpassing Itaewon.

20250820

Liquid Death

There was a civil defence drill, so I got onto the roof. After a bit of time out there, a worker came to get us and bring us down. We found out that they don't ever plan to reopen the roof. But presumably they've left in place the same lock mechanism which doesn't actually work. Now I know the cameras are monitored though.

20250818

Just a couple photos around HBC.

20250818

The little guy hadn't been feeling great, so I took him to the vet, who put him on a regime of large daily injections for his kidneys, and a pancreas medicine he enjoys a lot more. He seems to have recovered, both physically from the main problem and mentally from the ordeal.

He and his late sister have also recently been acknowledged as published authors by the National Library of Korea, and have their own ISBN.

20250816

Liberation Day Hilto

I've had one goal for Liberation Day trespassing this year: the Hilto. The tailor finally moved out a couple months ago, and I've been watching as they trashed out the building and began building a big shell around it. As I passed by on my daily commute, I noted a few critical flaws in their security.

The day came, and there were workers. I passed by later at night and it looked cleared out, so I made an attempt. It worked, and there were no cops coming after me, so I tried a second time as well and saw a little more. My two objectives were to see the lobby, and also to check in on the tailor shop. The lobby was gutted and all the Christmas decorations were gone, and the tailor had even less remaining.

It was enough, and I consider myself done with this site, unless I was confident I could find a way up to the penthouse again. That's unlikely though.

20250816

Sustenance

A couple food stops of restaurants I think could be worthy of a review.

20250812

Jack's RAS Korea Lecture

Jack gave a lecture on civilian massacres in the Daegu region. It was similar to this contribution, but was much better to hear him talk about.

20250811

There's this one garbage truck that goes through HBC that has these stuffed animals hanging off the back. I've been trying to photograph it to learn more about the habits of garbage collectors.

This was also when I interviewed the owner of Life for this article.

20250810

Just a few photos around my daily routine.

20250805

Babylon

I went for the second time to Babylon, an Iraqi restaurant in Samcheong-dong owned by Adnan, who has been running a kebab shop in Namdaemun for a very long time. I liked it, though one friend with me who has a more Middle Eastern background had a few criticisms.

20250802

Roof

From inside, I could see some interesting things were happening outside.

20250724

Memorial Altar

Millie's remains were returned to me, inside a jar wrapped inside a cloth; I haven't opened any of it at all, and I don't intend to. I have set up an altar for her, right on the table that she once loved climbing on top of to eat cat food. As well as cat food, I've set her up with two cat paw toys she has interacted with, and a toy gun that she has often posed with -- she was an American, remember. Now when Buster needs food, we have to go to Millie's altar. I assume Koreans don't have any strong feline funerary traditions.

20250724

I was feeling listless, so I made a trip over to Hannam New Town and climbed to a roof I had hit a few months ago, after dark. Now, I think I need to go back up there a third time, this time after dark because I'm curious how many lights are still shining inside the redevelopment zone.

20250724

Cave

How about more pictures of the cave site? Also, is there someone inside that house?

20250722

RAS Korea Lecture

Olga Fedorenko gave a lecture, which had a lot of insights but kind of had a cutoff point around 15 years ago. That's the nature of research, so I don't intend to criticise, and also much of her observations were timeless, but she missed out on the chance to observe an important chapter in history: Korean media's attempt to move from print to digital, which could have been extra insightful.

20250722

Millennium Seoul Hilto

I've had to reconnect with the Hilto after returning from vacation. At this point, my plan was to wait until National Liberation Day for a chance to sneak inside. But at the same time, they were clearly trashing out, and starting to put up hoarding for demolition. Would I make it inside in time to see anything left?

20250720

Driving Around

This gallery is a mixed bag: scenes around central Seoul, more odometer numbers, a delivery made to a friend who lives in a building that is so dilapidated that it deserves a K-drama or something.

20250713

Millie

After 19 years, 8 months, and 4 days of this planet not deserving her, Millie left us and moved on. She was born on Nov. 15, 2005, in Hanshin Apartment 1 at the bottom of Haebangchon. Her mother was a tortoiseshell named Rudy who was brought to Korea from America. Her father's identity isn't confirmed, but suspected to be a boy cat from the same mother born earlier that year.

She grew up to be an intelligent cat, with a strong personality and an intense, sometimes jealous, sense of intimacy. She completed 100 days of apprenticing with a pansori singer. She co-wrote a book, and to be honest did most of the work. Very little of it made much sense, and what seemed to disturbed me, but after years of her sitting on the keyboard, or walking over it when I was trying to work, or just sitting by my side pressing the keys, I realised that I wasn't getting a brilliant piece of literature, but somehow this human device was recording her expression of love, transcribing it in a linear format. Each keystroke by her paw, cheek, tummy, or tail thwack was an individual moment in time that she shared with me.

She lived a surprisingly healthy life, very rarely needing medical care. But I noticed a distinct slowdown in the last few years. Over the last few weeks, her once-voracious appetite had been fading, and the vet couldn't help her. We were kept waiting for the next appointment where I knew I could make only one responsible decision, but before that could happen, she passed away peacefully and quietly in my hands, her tail entwined with Buster's. No matter how old she got, no matter how much weight she gained, no matter how mean she was to her younger brother, no matter where she barfed, she always was, and always will be, my little Eggy.

20250717

Dos Tacos

I stopped by Dos Tacos for a Hawaiian quesadilla, which is exactly what you're probably imagining. I photographed these Dos Tacos that were placed in front of me for someone else's order.

After the big, mostly supportive response to my Pizza School review, you can probably guess what's coming up.

20250715

I got stuck in HBC during a rainy night.

20250712

Subriot

I went to a show at Subriot for the first time. It was my first time seeing Paper Cruise, Miryang's only punk band, and my first time seeing Pokeman chi this month.

20250711

Back in Korea, back in HBC.

20250711

Cave

I checked in on the cave, only to find the tarp had peeled away. The house is being covered over. I didn't feel the need to get closer to either.

20250710

I've been obsessed with my odometer lately. Some important numbers were coming, and I guess not much else was happening in my life.

20250628-707

Alaska Cruise

It was my parents' 50th wedding anniversary, so I joined them for a cruise into a hostile country, the US, specifically Alaska. It was not cool crossing into enemy territory, and even though Americans I met on the other side also showed regret for what their government was doing, I wouldn't recommend anyone else goes there until their current regime collapses. In the end, I was there for family.

I never faced any threats crossing into US territory, but I still regret that I did. I recommend people don't travel there for the time being. Even though I found some pretty cool businesses and bought things, I would still say it's best to wait until after the current US regime falls.

20250627

So Long Korea

I went on an overseas trip, technically the second time I've been out of the country this year. The next update may take a bit more work.

20250626

Adventures in Catsitting

Coetzer as always looked after my cats while I was gone. We met up after I America-proofed my phone, and then we ended up crawling into a hole.

20250624

Return to Steak Alley

I went back to the food alley in Namyeong-dong, but this time as I was headed over there, I was told that our office wasn't moving to this area after all. Oh well.

20250623

Just a few photos around HBC, including this accidental couple's outfit.

20250622

Abandoned Motels

I went west to Hongdae/Sinchon to deliver newspapers and try a new restaurant, and I happened to take photos of some of the abandoned motels over there.

20250621

Pansori Busking

I saw online that Casa Amigo was about to host a "pansori busking" event. We got an article out about it, and the response was explosive. I don't know how many people it actually convinced to come to this free show, but it was definitely more than zero.

20250621

So Long Yongsan Market

Demolition is in full swing in Yongsan Electronics Market. One building has just been destroyed, and another one I knew better looks like it's next. The game market is still standing but totally fenced off.

20250620

Sushi

Maria from Wonderful was visiting, so we went out to an omakase sushi place in Gongdeok.

20250618

Seoul Queer Culture Festival

Chris needed help removing the cover of the light in his washroom, after several months of darkness in there. I tried and failed, but then I touched the glass cover and discovered it came off easily.

20250614

When I set out to cover this year's event, I felt a bit of dread at the repetitiveness of it. And most of it seemed pretty much exactly like last year's event. The festival grounds were segregated pretty far from the big Christian protest, and there were only two significant Christian protests of note along the parade route, both of which were small.

As I was arriving, I heard one of these groups starting to perform to YMCA. That was quite a thing, and if I wanted to spend more energy on this, I would have written an article analysing this song's use. That was certainly the standout part of this year's event, especially with the camouflaged Jesus Army children. Heterosexual children, of course. There were fewer this year than previous times. Hopefully because parents are becoming less stupid.

The social confrontation is fading, but the Christians are still trying. It's still pathetic to watch, and their movement certainly inflicts harm on people in various ways. One of these was the dude who smeared himself with shit, although it's not known if he was Christian or just mentally ill. Fortunately I wasn't anywhere near him.

It seems like the festival participants are not being provoked by the Christians, which is probably the right reaction, even if it's not always the one that feels like it needs to be done. My preferred way to deal with the Christians would probably involve buying them all milkshakes. But on the other hand, I'm here to observe, not to participate. The fact that this sort of retaliation doesn't happen is reason enough for me to stay out of it. The SQCF participants seem to be engaging in a radical Antifa tactic against the Christians called "turning the other cheek."

20250610

Street Woman Fighter: HBC

I have a new work laptop, which Millie chundered on. But it didn't stop working, unlike my earlier Samsung laptops (though those have significantly better audio).

20250609

Regular Routine

These are some miscellaneous photos over a couple days, showing typical things I see and eat.

20250608

Berries

While driving around with some hardcore urban explorers, I noted some stains under certain trees, and it made me realise that there were berries ready for picking. I went to some sites I knew the next day and got a small amount. I could have grabbed more but don't really need them.

20250607

Javin Visit

Javin returned for his latest visit, and we drove out to the outer reaches of the capital region to see some interesting sites.

20250606

The US is in an uproar about transgender people in sports, but I couldn't care less. Or maybe that's wrong: I very much care.

Here's a trans woman rasslin' with a femboy.

20250605

Now that Buster is also 19, he seems like he wants to take better care of his niece, who is also his older sister.

20250605

Dos Tacos

Will they get a Restaurant of the Week someday? Lotteria got it, and Pizza School might, so why not them?

20250603

Election Day

When there's an election, where would you rather be than in a newsroom?

20250603

Pizza School

I was wondering what to do for food, then just gave up and went to a Pizza School.

20250603

The fencing around the Hilto is not really that good, but I'm fine with that. I'm currently trying to figure out what the future of this space is.

20250531

Enjoy just a bunch of HBC photos, plus bananas and also cats.

20250529

Inwang and Ansan

I visited this apartment complex, which was set to host a very expensive concert by the Solutions the following weekend. Turns out it was an apartment complex, a single building next door, and more stuff a little uphill. The standalone apartment was easiest to enter, and I found a sizeable atrium inside.

20250529

Fire Aftermath

I went back for a closer look at the fire aftermath. Not sure what's happened since.

20250528

I decided to test whether you really could roll back an odometer, by going up to 11772 and then right after the number changed, driving in reverse. It seems like it didn't.

20250528

Fire

There was a fire visible from my desk at work. When I had a chance, I went over for a closer look, only to find the fire still burning and fumes everywhere.

20250526

Cats

Millie doesn't seem to welcome the return of RAS Korea.

20250525

Bereket's 2nd Anniversary

I visited Hannam New Town in the evening, and got on the roof of this one larger building at the foot of the hill. From there I was able to get a decent enough photo of the hill above me. There are still a few streetlights, but it is definitely much more closed off now.

20250525

It came a few weeks later than the date, but Bereket wanted to celebrate his second anniversary writing for us. He brought a ton of homemade Ethiopian food to the office, invited a bunch of people, and served a feast.

20250524

Book Sale

I went to the Tongbang Books warehouse for their next big open house sale, as well as a book talk by Mirinae Lee.

20250523

Skunk Show

I went to another show at Skunk to see Gallus Alice again. No more Seoul Somek Skins, as Bovver has fled the country once again, but we got Rux instead.

20250522

RAS Reboot

RAS Korea is back, but I'm not being part of it like before so that I can write about it from the outside.

20250522

Buster's 19th Birthday

Buster turned 19, and we celebrated with a lot of catnip. One more year and he'll be ready for university.

20250521

I passed another 666 milestone. Hail Satan!

20250520

Fat Cat

I decided to get around to making Fat Cat a Restaurant of the Week.

20250518

Driving Range

This abandoned property suddenly made a lot of news. Turns out China bought the land, and then seems to have done nothing with it.

20250517

HBC and Uplift

In the former space of KYLDN Social Club, a new place called Uplift has opened.

20250516

Rainy Day

It usually rains when it's my day off. I went to the tax office and got that taken care of, and then got heavily rained out on my way back. The Lotteria around the corner from home is my go-to meal when I don't want to go far or order delivery.

20250514

Apartment Shopping

I went shopping for a new apartment, and only got a couple photos during the whole time. In the end, everything I saw was way too high rent, way too low deposit. I would be losing money if I lived in HBC it seems.

20250514

Closed Cop Shop

In Chungmuro, I came across this building that used to belong to the cops.

20250514

Farewell Austrians

For the last night out with the Austrians, we went to a makgeolli place in Gwangjang Market.

20250513

Meals

I visited Hokey Pokey Pizza on Hooker Hill, and Facherito in front of Ewha Womans University.

20250512

Work of some kind has begun on the Hilto. The tailor is gone, and the building is being fenced off. Could this mean no more active security to keep out intruders?

20250512

Cage

I was approached about the possibility of transporting a dog to Canada on my next visit, but it seems to have fallen through.

20250511

Huam-dong

Just some random encounters around Huam-dong.

20250511

The Black Skirts had a free show in Subriot, apparently after a series of expensive shows at Jangchung Gym, and according to Chris there were people lined up around the block for it.

20250510

Stimpunk

I wanted to go to a show with the Austrians, and the most suitable thing I could find this night was a show with a punk band and a somewhat mostly metal band.

20250510

Dakgalbi

For our third meal together, we went out for dakgalbi, which means "chicken wings." Wait, it means "chicken ribs." Though it is really neither.

20250508

Austrians

The Austrians visited me at work.

20250508

Busy Day

It was a busy day, involving a hospital trip, a pass by the Soviet Embassy, a meeting with the Irish ambassador's husband, and more.

20250506

Chicken

Someone started talking about this style of chicken at work recently, so I decided to seek it out that night.

20250505

Austrians

Two years after her first visit, Sue returned from Austria for another look around. This time she had two friends with her, whose names took me a few more encounters to learn properly. We went to a galmaegi place in Mapo, and then a craft beer pub around the corner after.

While there, two Koreans at the next table quietly ordered us a plate of sausages, the first time I've seen anything like that here in years.

20250504

Just a few photos around HBC.

20250504

Southwestern Seoul

After the cave-in at the Sinansan tunnel site in Gwangmyeong, I decided to have a look at other parts of the line. This led to a disturbing find that could cost someone their life.

I also went around to several other sites, including some caves in Bangbae.

20250503

Bora Chung

I went to a book talk with Bora Chung and Anton Hur, organised by dbBOOKS and Seoul Silent Book Club. Bora seemed a bit more finnicky than I expected, but not overwhelmingly. Anton seemed very charismatic.

After, I went out for fried chicken with the RAS Korea Literature Club. It was the first time I'd had a night like that since Dec. 3.

This event got a writeup afterward.

20250501

More pictures from HBC, including a sketch of me.

20250430

Day Off

Just a few photos mostly from around the neighbourhood, plus one in Namdaemun Market when we went looking for black market goods.

20250430

Catnip

The cats got into the catnip supply.

20250428

Around Work

Here's what it's like around the office.

20250427

Northeastern Seoul

I drove up to Baeksa Village, which has been almost entirely vacated. I encountered a woman feeding cats (possibly the same woman I encountered a year or two ago), and got yelled at by a security guard as I left.

The weird house I found last time where there was a lot of porn in the form of slides has been cleared out, so there's no more porn. This might make me lose interest in this area. Though I did get a pretty thorough look of parts of the area that were previously off-limits to me.

After, I went to Miari Texas, where I confirmed that there are definitely sex workers remaining, and they're watching the area very closely for all comers/intruders/trespassers.

20250425

Adventures in Food Reviewing

These are just some photos from one day where I went to the hospital around lunch, then went to Itaewon around supper. I had a closer look at the demolition at that Itaewon site, and got into that one building by Hooker Hill that was run by a cat. Plus I got food at the new The Original Pancake House, which I would have to say was not really worth it.

20250424

We had a pending review of Jovy's Grill, and I decided we might need a couple more establishing shots.

I gave it a drive-by, but didn't stop in to try their food, because I wanted to check out a cave. And after succeeding at that, I passed by another kind of cave that leads deep into the Earth. Then I got into a cat house near the top of Hooker Hill, and visited some more cat sites in Hannam New Town. After all this, I had to get back to work for the night shift. You can never be sure where the F&B review beat leads.

20250424

Hospital Visit

Just one photo showing an alarming view I got on my way back after a hospital visit. They are doing construction work with some heavy machinery over top of a tunnel entrance. In light of things I've seen recently, I'm not comfortable with this.

20250423

Random Streets

Just a couple images.

20250422

Cave-In

Of all the insane things happening lately, I hadn't pictured this one. This site near my home, where I'd been investigating a weird tunnel that was uncovered recently, I got a message from a reporter recently that there was a cave-in here. It turns out part of the supporting wall had collapsed, causing damage to a two-storey house uphill from there.

I've been observing, and at present I'm pretty sure the possibility that the tunnel caused this accident can be ruled out. It seems to be something else, and the tunnel interior is as stable as before.

20250422

Chicken Truck

I managed to reestablish contact with the chicken truck guy who covers my neighbourhood. He is spreading the love but didn't tell me his full weekly itinerary. If he's anything like the other guy, he might not be allowed in Itaewon since the disaster. That's right, they finally caught the culprit! It wasn't the cops or the government, but the chicken trucks that weren't anywhere in the vicinity.

20200221

Noryangjin Overpass Fortifications

After the recent visit to Noryangjin, I determined that the security situation had been alleviated, and some pictures I had embargoed are now safer to share. Way back in 2020, in the wake of an eviction battle, I was given a tour of an overpass where evictee merchants of the old Noryangjin Market had fortified themselves. I took photos but it was requested that I not share them while they could be used to compromise the defences.

Somehow it's been five years, and they still have a presence there. But it's probably all safe to share now -- not that this site attracts enough people to be that much of a security risk.

20250420

Yene Ethiopian Restaurant

With Bereket's encouragement, I was invited to what seems like it might be the last Ethiopian restaurant in Noryangin, a neighbourhood that used to have a sizeable Ethiopian and refugee community. Ethiopians still hang out here, but it seems like many of them come to the neighbourhood, rather than just gathering where they live. There's so much redevelopment happening here.

It was Easter Sunday, and the owners offered us a dish of raw beef, something not on the menu (but that they can serve on request). It was hard to say no to that, and also none of us got sick from it.

I ended up inviting my coworkers, and we had a pretty great time. The resulting article apparently ended up encouraging many people to visit.

20250418

Pyeongtaek

I stopped by Pyeongtaek on a day off, and took a few pictures of the red-light district next to the station that's seen better days.

20250417

Work

Just a few pictures at work. Bad places to leave toothrbrushes, and remaining snacks from Canada.

20250415

A few pictures with the cats, including Buster's toupee.

20250414

Food

More adventures in food. I can't decide if No Brand Burger deserves to be a Restaurant of the Week. It's not good, but also it's not American, and I discovered on this trip that they have their own cola brand, which could allow me to keep drinking these drinks without supporting America.

20250413

Windy Day

Just a few photos from around on a windy day.

20250412

Texas 3000

I interviewed Texas 3000, and in doing so I figured I needed to see them in person. Not sure how exactly, whether they're a big draw, or if the scene around Seendosi is just that good, but they seriously packed the room. This is a band that's not far away that should definitely be invited back.

20250411

Phillies

I stopped by Phillies in its new location in Itaewon to remind them to answer my messages. It's almost a month later, and it still hasn't worked.

20250411

Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary

On the way back to central Seoul, I passed through Hannam New Town. I got a look at a lot of the cats still there, and I also got into the former art studio space of a few artists I know.

20250411

I'd heard that this university in eastern Seoul had received a donation of newspapers from April 1960. This is a period missing from our own archive, other than the cheapass digitised version, so I hoped to see the pages with my own eyes. By phone we were unable to reach anybody who could help, so I showed up a little blind hoping it could be figured out. The ultimate answer I got was that nobody knows. I found a corner in a basement room where old archived newspapers were stacked up, but they were more or less irretrieveable.

Also, I saw an amazing brutalist building in Seongsu-dong.

20250411

Around Home

Just a couple cats, and a restaurant that has moved away.

20250410

Meals

Here are a few pictures from a couple meals I had on this day. First a lunch to welcome a new copy editor, and then an American Chinese restaurant another copy editor had found. The Chinese restaurant was kind of good, but it was also a delivery kitchen that isn't on any of the apps I use.

20250409

Seochon

I went with coworkers to Seochon to meet a new copy editor who would be joining us, and she gave us a tour of the area, including Han Kang's residence (where there was a light on) and her bookstore.

20250408

Lucy Valentine at Skunk Itaewon

This is another collection of miscellaneous sites: two entrances to the underground, a house that has undergone major repairs, a home filled with loudly purring fuzzballs, and a rare case of me reading an actual book for work.

20250407

Rooftop

My landlady asked me to take pictures of the roof, so I went out and got a few. At first I focused on the drains and some of the concerns I had, and then she asked me for photos showing the scenery.

20250407

Voting

I got my ballot in the mail, and sent my vote back to Canada, probably in time. I wish the timing for writing this article was slightly better, as the whole process was a little difficult to intuit, and also because the number of ballots sent out seemed alarmingly small.

20250406

Dog Meat Restaurant

Some urban exploring friends visited me at work, and after an otherwise normal meal, we visited a pretty small abandoned restaurant that's unremarkable other than the fact it used to serve dog.

20250404

Binary Studios Show

In the evening after the impeachment decision, I decided I might as well be around friends, so I went over to Binary Studios for a show featuring three bands I was looking forward to seeing: Pokemanchi (performing without a drummer), Komagens, and Monkey Gang War. I brought zines, with the idea that I'd be at a show the next night and distributing them there. But this show was a better choice for this particular zine issue, and anyway I ended up not making it to the show the next day.

This included not making it to the wedding of Graham of Cloud Underground, which I regretted, but it started at 11:30am which I didn't notice until a little after noon when I was getting ready to go. Blame the rain.

20250404

Photo Ops in Babylon

I didn't have to work this day, but it was one of those days when I wanted to be in the newsroom. By the time I was mobile in the late morning, the impeachment decision had already been announced. There was fear of a repeat of the storming of the Seoul Western District Court, but the city center was basically deserted. I drove out, and was so compelled by how empty it was -- like Chuseok in the 2000s -- that I just kept driving.

Soon I ended up in Bukchon Hanok Village, where there were still a few foreign tourists out enjoying the emptiness of the alleys. At some point too late in this process, I realised I should have been stopping and interviewing them to gauge the pulse of foreign visitors to Seoul during this very significant day. I mean, they would have had to pass through police fortifications to come over here. Businesses were closed, but there were still places to rent cheap cosplay hanbok?

20250403

Office Plants

All these plants were gifts for desk editors getting new positions. They're starting to wilt. Maybe you should be allowed to keep your job only as long as you can keep all your plants alive.

20250401

Cave Entrances

Just a few looks into ways to enter the underworld.

20250331

Buscliff

Buster is now officially down with Heathcliff.

This was my second attempt to enter this, and they edited it a little bit, but when I saw this it made my day -- no, year. Maybe longer.

The little guy only started sitting on my foot last December, on the day I left for a two-week vacation. I guess he could tell by the suitcases that I was going to be away for a while. Since then, he's done this a few times, but not every day. It's very deliberate; I think he communicates by throwing his butt at you, and it's more affectionate than the illustration suggests (which I love). He did it on the day that this comic ran. I've also caught him sitting on Millie.

I think he and Heathcliff would be great friends, as long as Heathcliff doesn't mind a sushi helmet.

20250330

It was announced, without nearly enough fanfare, that Lucy Valentine was back, for what turned out to be a couple of solo events. I showed up to the one at Skunk, a day after being there for another show.

It was also my first time seeing Christmas from 18Fevers perform solo, and she played the band's songs, which worked well with just her alone. I texted Matt telling him he's fired.

20250330

Hechyeomoyeo

The latest Hechyeomoyeo opening was delayed a day to a Sunday, so I showed up before going to work. The pictures I got were published in a later article about the exhibition closing, which was on a Friday and I also didn't attend.

20250329

Skunk Show

Bovver was back, but only for a limited time. He put together a new band, which he named Seoul Somek Skins (SSS), and played one show before disappearing back behind the Iron Curtain.

This show also featured Gallus Alice, fronted by my newly discovered brother-in-law Pete. They were a lot of fun, and brought a pretty big following.

20250328

FRYb

The day after hearing about FRYb, a Korean-owned fried chicken restaurant in Itaewon, I went over to see what it was like and why Filipinos were so excited about the place. In the end, it was determined that this is not the same as Jollibee's, but that's not a bad thing.

20250327

Black Markets

I had to take stock photos of Korean black markets for an upcoming article. Midway through taking pictures, I noticed signs warning not to take photos. They threatened that CCTV was recording, but nobody ever caught me. I ended up deciding that they were probably afraid of having any kind of records out there, and ended up making changes to the article so that you couldn't find any of these black markets. But I still very much want to use these pictures.

20250326

Cats

When I went out in the morning (OK, probably about 1:30pm), I found this container of cat food, with unidentified white bits. I was alarmed but didn't want to make any serious moves, so I took a picture and posted it online asking for help. Advice came slowly, and some people thought it was medicine, while others thought it could be poison and more people suggested it wasn't worth guessing, and the food could just be removed. When I returned, the food container was gone.

20250325

Blustery Day

We have had a lot of strong winds this year.

20250323

10666

Hail Satan!

Also, with 34% battery power left, I went over the hill to get pizza from 8Piece.

20250322

Zines

In the course of writing this article, I got my hands on several more zines for my collection.

I was happy with these zines, because unlike 99% of the zines out there, these ones are actually about the music scene. They are also artistic-focused and quick reads, but I'm not against that.

20250322

Phillies III

I went to Phillies Itaewon for their official opening. I was to meet two very different groups of people, who I figured I'd have to keep apart. But when I showed up, they were all sitting with each other.

With my long-lost distant cousin, we pioneered something called the "Dunbar Method." Basically, we went up to the gay owner of Phillies, and he complimented her on how she looks, and when he saw me, he decided maybe he was straight after all. Eat your hearts out, Christian conversion therapists. Later on, I stole Bovver's fur coat, and I think I turned Brett gay again with it.

20250321

Abandoned

There's a building in my neighbourhood, on the route between home and work, that I've been watching recently. I finally stopped by late one night, and had a closer look. Not much information revealed.

20250321

TGI Fridays

I paused my boycott of American companies to give one last try of TGI Fridays before it disappeared from Korea, hopefully forever. This seriously ended uip being one of my most important articles.

20250321

South

I drove south to Gwangmyeong's Cheolsan to see if anything was still there. Turns out, nope. I should have returned earlier to see how those Buddhist temples held up throughout demolition.

20250320

GTX Entrance

After I'd been watching it for weeks, they seem to have finally completed the elevator that takes you all the way down to the subway tunnel. And of course, they seem to have locked it. But it won't be locked forever.

20250319

Stuff

Just some random pictures.

20250318

Kebab Place

I'd heard about this new kebab place so I decided to give it a try. At the moment I'm still on the fence, pending more information.

20250317

Detroit Pizza

If you like Detroit-style pizza, good news! You can now get it at convenience stores! It's not good, but anyway.

20250316

Helmet

It was a very windy day, and while my bike was parked outside the office my helmet was knocked off and disappeared. I had a backup which I wore, and as I drove off wondering what happened to the other one, I went around a corner and found it lying in the gutter. Looks like some other vehicle may have dragged it for a while, shearing it down to the styrofoam layer underneath.

20250315

Abandoned

While walking home, I passed by an unlocked gate which led to a pretty intense abandoned house, although I have not yet been able to get inside.

20250315

St. Patrick's Day Festival at New Phillies

After the Sindorim festival, I went to Phillies at its new location to see Seth Mountain play. It still wasn't officially open yet, after having a soft opening I think around Valentine's Day, although this seemed like a fully open night.

20250315

St. Patrick's Day Festival

I wrote an article about this year's St. Patrick's Day festival, but this time there was a bit less pressure to photograph the whole thing because Bereket was there also.

It was pretty fun, although the music lineup was a little less exciting this time. I was glad to see Red Dawg String Band, and the 120s were better than I was expecting, but there were a lot of other bands missing, like Honey Jam Sam and Ancestrul Rust. And I prefer listening to Seth Mountain in a smaller venue; he didn't seem to have the audience's attention here, and his second set later at Phillies was much more fun.

The crowd seemed much smaller at first, with the seating a little emptier than last year, but by the end I felt like the floor in front of the stage was more packed.

20250314

Yongsan History Museum

Yongsan History Museum had a temporary exhibition (until sometime like September) on the electronics market. When I visited, I was surprised to see that the exhibit contained a great deal of information on Mancho Stream, before it became The Host Tunnel.

20250313

Hoesik

I brought my coworkers out to Euljiro, where we went to The Ranch and the new Magpie over there.

20250313

It took me a moment to figure out what was so weird: no more Christmas decorations.

20250310

Tunnel

There's a new oddity on my street. At a site where there used to be an abandoned house, workers recently uncovered a tunnel entrance. I decided to make entry as soon as possible, in case they covered it up. It's now been three weeks, and it's still there, albeit half-assedly covered up.

20250310

The Hope Booth

I met up with Gloria who is the founder of The Hope Booth, and put together an article on it.

20250309

Stately Huam Manor

I returned to this house to look for a way into the basement. It was not where I was expecting. No idea what the reason for the shape of that slot was, as it wasn't like it led down to any kind of receptacle for catching whatever things would be poured in.

20250309

The Hope Booth

This booth was set up in front of Hangry Plate, offering mental health services and resources to anyone who wants to use it. I gave it a try to see what it was like. Will it have a positive effect? So little has beend one to solve mental health problems here that I wouldn't be surprised if it does have a noticeable impact. There is room for improvement though.

20250308

Phillies III

I finally made it over to the new Phillies located in Itaewon. The third floro wasn't ready yet, but the fourth floor and the roof were intact.

20250308

Stately Huam Manor

When I was almost home, I passed by this old building that had suddenly been opened up wide for the world to see in.

20250308

Good Morning HBC

On the way home, I decided to visit this roof so I could see HBC in the early morning sunlight as well.

20250308

I was wide awake around sunrise, so I went over to Hannam New Town to try photographing the eastern hillside in the sunrise. The sun was still rising a little too much to what I assume is the south, but I got some interesting photos, including of the mosque.

20250306

Just checking in on a few places.

20250305

Dogs

I went to Oldies Hot Dog, which was harder to eat than I remembered. I also went to former Hair of the Dog, which was pretty hard to swallow.

20250304

Office

When people ask me where the office is located, I like to show this picture.

20250301

A lot of people showed up, including a newly returned Bovver, complete with pimp coat. I also may have met a security alarm, and am no longer monitoring the progress on that venue.

20250228

Jeonnongcheon

I'd noticed this aboveground section of a stream, so I decided to head over and see if it went anywhere interesting. It's a strange little linear park, probably not known to too many people, but both ends had heavy doors I didn't want to mess with, so I didn't see anything interesting underground.

On this trip I also paid a visit to Chefmasters, after having passed the former restaurant in Hannam New Town earlier. That first one has since become a garage, with a van parked inside. The new restaurant location is pretty out of the way, so I hope he's saving a lot of money.

20250228

After my previous visit, for which I had only brought my smartphone camera, I returned with my DSLR. Being able to properly zoom in is good, but the lighting of this place is very delicate and hard to photograph right. I'll have to come back early one morning, or maybe late at night.

20250227

Restaurant Reviews

I was going to publish a review of a hot dog place called Holiday Frank, but when I went back one last time before finalising the review, I found the space it had occupied completely vacant. This is only the second time this has happened, and the first time was not my review.

After this sad encounter, I scrambled to find another restaurant to review. I settled on a pizza place south of the river, but ended up deciding it wasn't good enough.

20250227

I went for a look around Hannam New Town, and nothing too out of the ordinary happened.

20250227

Garbage

A few months ago, while I was throwing out garbage, I met an old man who I assume lives somewhere along the street who was eager to snatch up any empty aluminum cans. Since then, I try to separate them, and leave them in a clear bag so he can see them. Here's a before and after, showing that he -- or someone else -- is getting them.

20250226

Day at Work

This time I received a visit at work from Coetzer, and we went back to the VIP meeting room.

20250225

Bukchon Hanok Village

I had two reasons to go to Bukchon Hanok Village. First, I needed a picture of a paper window for an article, and secondly, I needed pizza. Some nights, it's crazy getting there because of all the activity in front of the Constitutional Court. Sometimes it's not much.

20250224

Redevelopment

You can see the closed Millennium Seoul Hilto in the distance up that one little alley. My understanding of their plans for the area is that all these buildings, from Seoul Square down on the street up to the Hilto, will have to be destroyed to make way for a very large mall-type building. This is something that will take several more years, while the hotel will remain closed.

20250223

Office

Bereket had been writing for me too much lately, and I was stacking up copies of newspapers with his articles in them. So he stopped by to pick them up, and we had a meeting in what I call the VIP meeting room.

20250223

Hair of the Dog

This was the final night of Hair of the Dog. I wrote about it, and I wasn't sure I'd stop by, but I did, and it was too crowded.

20250222

Just catting around.

20250221

Budae Jjigae

I found a GS25 that was selling budae jjigae. Years ago, sometime before the pandemic when these meals were still new, and quality was a little better, there used to be very good budae jjigae sets, and then they disappeared. These ones are about as good. I got one of the two there, liked it, went back and bought the other one, and they haven't had it since.

20250220

Coetzer's Hair

While Coetzer had been catsitting, he gave himself a thorough haircut. His plan was to donate the hair. But somehow, this is all that he collected.

20250219

Delivery and Food Runs

I went around delivering papers, and picking up two meals in the course of these images. I also found out that the lock on the subway vent leading to the Joseon Door has been replaced, locking it once again.

20250217

Finally, Buster makes it to the vet. We are now giving him insulin only every 24 hours, not 12.

20250216

Surprise Party

Fin decided to throw a surprise party for MJ at Hair of the Dog, the Sunday before its closure. She was very surprised.

20250216

I went back to Hannam New Town in the daytime, and yes that roof was alright. The lighting situation with the angle of the sun was a little awkward, as it had already passed to the other side of the hill.

I had been in contact with someone rescuing cats in the area, and was hoping to make an article about it, but then she stopped responding to me entirely for no known reason.

20250215

Another Look

Looks like I'm the only one who showed up.

20250215

One thing I wanted to do this day was visit Hannam New Town and look for cats, and cat feeding stations. I ended up going, but only late at night. I found one fairly large, modern building where I figured I could get to the roof, but it was too dark at the moment.

20250215

Buster has been having a bit of trouble lately. I started to notice he seemed like he was turning into a watermelon, legs unable to work properly and slipping around, becoming floppy little appendages on a big round body. This is a sign of hypoglycaemia. It was the weekend and already too late for me to do anything other than cancel my own plans. I took him off insulin and waited for the vet to open on Monday.

20250214

Another Look

I went back for another look at the progress in this venue. The opening show was supposed to start the day after this.

20250212

My odometer was about to turn over to 10,000 kilometers, so I was careful not to miss it. It happened while on my way to the hospital, specifically hitting the number in the middle of Geumhwa Tunnel, a predictably difficult place to note it.

20250211

Suzanne Crowder Han

I went to the funeral for Suzanne Crowder Han with an RAS Korea contingent.

20250210

Delivery

Just driving around making deliveries, and I guess some low-level snooping. Plus picking up food. I went to Homeboy Seoul which is fine but still kind of overrated.

20250208

Millie

Here's Millie at work, with her extra fifth leg now.

20250208

Day Off

I went to Dice Comics & Cafe for the afternoon, which involved taking a bus and other things. Also I was able to locate a Lotteria that still has the "Bearded Bikers Munching Sliders" crap up as the main decorative motif. So now I don't have to feel like I miss it.

20250207

Delivery

I went to drop off some newspapers, and the alleys of Yeonnam-dong or wherever I was were pretty iced down. It reminded me almost of the roads back in Edmonton, although at least here I'm pretty confident it will all melt in a day or two.

20250206

Work Night

This day at work, I went to Itaewon to try to locate a particular kebab truck. Mission accomplished. The kebabs he sells are massive.

20250205

Subriot

Work in progress...

20250202

Hangeul Kwaja

These snacks were at work, but when I picked them up expecting Hangeul, I got plain old alphabet. I want a refund.

"Talkative" was the longest word I could create with them.

20250201

PB Baguettes

I stopped by the PB on the corner in Huam-dong, the one closest to where I live. I picked up a few items, and also noticed they had baguettes. Not particularly long baguettes, but I was fine with the size. I bought one, took it home, and...it was stuffed with cream.

20250201

More checking in on HBC, which isn't doing so well these days. Hair of the Dog is about to close.

20250130

Lunch

I went out for lunch to Linus BBQ, and looked at some empty real estate I figured might be turned into the new Phillies, which turned out to be wrong. Also, on the way to work passing through the road between Noksapyeong and Samgakji, I noticed a lot of wreaths laid out against the garrison walls. I'm assuming it's all just protest funerary wreaths for the president.

20250129

Hair of the Dog

I noticed one painting high up on the wall that looked like a Cossrow. Turned out to be.

20250129

Found Photos

In one of the basements, we found a few binders full of photos like this. They all look to be early 1990s, and all of a corporate nature. Not sure why anyone thought a photo album would be the way to present this.

20250129

Hoehyeon 2nd Citizens' Apartment

I went back to that strange Itaewon site, with Coetzer this time, and this time he discovered that one of the doors which I thought led to a closet actually led to a hallway. At that point, we started finding some pretty crazy stuff.

20250128

Hidden Space

Someone left the door to the Hidden Space unlocked over the long weekend. I made about three visits during that time.

20250128

Weird Little Park

While driving by slowly, I started to pay attention to this weird little park next to the closed Millennium Seoul Hilto. It's a big turret pedestal with a sculpture on top, and there's a park around it, but it turns out to be just the tip of a larger structure.

20250127

Catnip

Time for some catnip.

20250126

Sauce

I went to Sauce to finally try their Sunday roast. It was fine, but just as I was going to write an article about it, they told me to wait because they were changing the menu.

20250125

GTX-A Seoul Station

The GTX-A line is open in two unconnected segments. The one from Seoul Station runs out to the northwest, bringing you to KINTEX in about 12 minutes, a trip that took me about an hour on my scooter once. Kind of sucks though because I no longer have a tunnel system to explore.

20250125

Tequila Bar

I paid another visit to this bar in the former Al Matto location. I think people are saying it's named "Tequila." It's good and beer is cheap.

20250125

I've been watching this site since at least 2008, when I first visited after watching a documentary from 2003 saying it wouldn't be around much longer.

People keep predicting its doom, but I went at night to see how many lights were on. Not many, but still some.

20250124

The Studio HBC

The door was open, so I had a look inside the former Studio/Camarata space. They're doing work on it, and it will look different.

20250124

Flowers

About once a year, there's a game of musical chairs at the office, in which a bunch of people who were working jobs get shuffled around to new positions. The latest one moved quite a lot, and now I'm working with less supervision above me than before.

20250123

Hair of the Dog

Hair of the Dog was about to close next month, so I went there in order to work on an article about it. I was especially impressed to notice that one of the former bartenders there had made a painting out of a photo I had taken for a previous article about the bar.

20250121

Redevelopment

The block of old buildings next to my office is getting fenced off, and redevelopment looks inevitable.

20250119

Game Market

I went and had another look at the game market.

20250119

Discarded Glasses

Someone left a box outside with discarded glasses for anyone to take. I grabbed a few things, including a wine glass that turned out to be cracked, and a White Crow beer glass.

20250117

Pyeongtaek

I went down to Pyeongtaek on a free day, and my main focus this time was on food, especially Wich Craft.

20250116

Interview with God

I went to Hair of the Dog with a few people, including a drag king. At one point three of us were sitting on one side of the table facing him, so it suddenly became an interview, and we were interviewing him for the position of God.

20250115

Small Park

I've been examining this small park next to the Millennium Seoul Hilto, which I'd never really paid attention to until this statue caught my eye. It's not really a patch of nature, just a structure built on top of a large buried thing.

20250114

After having photographed a blueprint the day before showing more buildings as part of this property under redevelopment, I returned and visited a few more buildings that had escaped my notice before. This small site feels like it keeps expanding.

20250114

Buam-dong

It had been on my to-do list for a while to visit this site, where I realised I could easily go up onto a part of the city wall overlooking these abandoned buildings. I wanted to go to a pet food store there to get expensive cat food, so I made this part of the journey.

20250114

Blue Screen of Death

Looks like I ran out of space on my hard drive at work.

20250113

I paid a visit to several sites around Itaewon, including the property I've been exploring a lot lately, as well as Hannam New Town and a smaller site next door that I'm assuming is not directly related.

The main reason I was there though was to see the presidential residence. I found a slightly better location from last time, a little more northward so there aren't any trees in the way.

20250112

Subway Tunnel Entrance

This is what's under construction right by Seoul Station at the entrance to my neighbourhood. Just some unguarded entrances to the underworld, leading down to the GTX-A tunnel.

20250112

I returned the next day before going to work for a more thorough look around this Itaewon site. I saw quite a lot, then went to work. Its mystery keeps deepening.

20250111

I had about 20 minutes to kill, so I figured I might as well take a closer look at these buildings I passed along a fairly well-used road. It turned out to be probably my most interesting UE discovery in about a year. Expect many more lengthier updates on this.

20250111