31. Yong Jin

Jet-lag was a real problem today: not only did I have to essentially kick myself to get up and out, but also my body seemed to frequently decide without warning that now would be a perfect time to drop into a deep sleep phase - needless to say we had a bit of an argument about that. Also, today Eunkyung had to work - so I was going to explore the city by myself. I took the bus to the city center, and walked to the subway station. As I was gazing at the subway lines trying to figure out how to get to Ingwansan, Yong Jin approached me and asked if I needed help. Of course by that time I had already forgotten where I was going, and it took a consult with my paper guide to tell him. In Yong Jin's opinion, taking the subway to Ingwansan was a waste of a perfectly good walk through the city, and after asking whether I had time he offered to take me there on foot. We had an intense conversation about what he perceived as South Koreas fixation on the US, and how European countries and political systems offer much material to study for a scholar of politology such as him. Somewhere on the way to Ingwansan, he pointed me to a small road full of shops - the real Korea - and offered to take me to Koreas biggest market. Obviously I was not going to pass on an opportunity to see something that is not even mentioned in my paper guide, so we turned about, and ended up taking the subway after all.
We eased into Kyeongdeung, strolling by a couple of stalls at the very outskirts of the market, and I rue and lament the fact that I was too busy looking to take more than one photo - it doesn't do justice to deluge of impressions I had. As we made our way inside, the density of shops, goods and people kept increasing until the paths between stalls were just wide enough for one person to walk through. There were hot chili peppers from various region, fresh, dried and ground, with different shades of red (and also different prices) signaling to the savvy shopper how intensely their taste-buds would be challenged. There were fruits and vegetables in hundreds of shapes and sizes. There were fish for culinary purposes - frozen, salted, dried or alive, and fish for medicinal purposes. There were dried roots, dried berries, dried frogs, dried squid, dried octopus, and dried seaweed. There were traditional mills that produced sesame oil, and kimchi stalls with all kinds of kimchi. There were stalls for traditional medicine with roots, with seaweed, with berries, with fruit, and with stag horns. And there was lunch. At the center of the market, there were a couple of places to sit down and have 장터극수/Jangteogeugsu (I think, I'm not sure if I'm reading Yong Jin's handwriting right), which is a noodle soup, and Sundae (but not the sweet creamy kind: it's more similar to haggis and pork liver). After that: five flavor tea in Simubang (not sure if I'm reading the business card right), a buddhist tea room.
And then it was time for a palace.
Yong Jin showed me to and around Gyeongbokgung, the king's palace. Again I was too busy looking, and listening to Yong Jin's treasure of information, to take more than a few detail shots:

Yong Jin: thanks so much for taking the time to show me around! 감사합니다!