pics from Yeosu

A few pictures from my time in Yeosu. I have lots of other photos, but because I made the mistake of allowing Apple iPhoto to download and catalog them, I now have trouble accessing them for editing via Photoshop. Once I figure out how to get those photos edited and uploaded, I'll show them to you.

Here I am, just about ready to step out for my Chonnam interview:

Here's the box of tissues advertising the "tea room" that's actually more of a "ho room." So if you're ever lonely and in a certain part of Yeosu, just call these good folks up and get your ten to fifteen minutes of lovin':


After stepping out of my love motel, I turned around and took this shot:


This wider shot of the motel shows you the draped cover that keeps prying eyes from seeing cars' license plates:


Once I got to Chonnam University, I was confused about where the Language Education Center was. One hallway was labeled in Korean...


...while another hallway was labeled in English:


I stood out on this lovely breezeway for a few minutes, contemplating the great view of the city and enjoying the cool wind:


After my interview, I blogged one final time, packed up, and vamoosed back to the train station. The 12:50PM KTX was empty when I boarded it at 12:25, so I had a couple minutes to myself:


And for no reason whatsoever, here's a shot of my KTX ticket so that you know what one looks like (notice the red circles from where the person at the counter highlighted all the vital information):


The obligatory "selfie," as everyone now calls it:


Speeding along at 290 kph (about 180 mph):


The KTX made several stops along the way to Seoul. Here, we stop in Jeonju, a city famous for its bibim-bap:


The following shot was my lame attempt to point the camera as forward as possible. I seem to have caught—barely—the head of the train:


Final shot from this set: way in the distance, a sanso, or gravesite, here in the form of a family plot. We passed lots of these mountainside graves on the way up and down. I don't know much about them. Are they expensive to own and maintain? They're obviously a focus and locus for ritual behavior, and family members will sometimes visit the sites on non-ritual days simply to groom the area, plucking away weeds, sweeping off accumulated dust, and so on. Given Korea's population density, I wonder how likely it is, nowadays, that a family might to be able to establish its own plot. I do know this: the plots can be plowed over. Back in 1986, when our family first came to Korea as a family (Mom and Dad hadn't been back since 1968 at that point), Mom wanted to find her mother's grave. The search was in vain: we discovered, much to our dismay, that my grandmother's grave had been removed and developed into something else. Mom cried that day, and I have no idea where my ancestors are buried.



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