Random pictures
Konglish and random pictures: the special ‘Icheon’ edition
1While in town for the Icheon Pig Museum, we came across enough ‘special English’ in one night to make an entire post of Konglish. All of these were taken in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do, within a couple blocks from the bus terminal or our hotel for the evening:
This machine is for a person
who wish to watch, to reduce
teenswatching and damage
on thoughless watching
Found inside the hotel room – apparently it cost 500 won and had the sticker for use by people 19 years or older. I’ll let you guess what this is used for…
I could see a few cases in which the words “center of wedding” might appear in More >
Random pictures, part 71
0Random pictures are pictures that are too good to keep to myself, but didn’t fit in any other posts.
If you’ve spent any time in Korea, you’re aware of how much is copied, derived from something else, or merely fake. In this case, it took longer than I expected to make ‘Gangnam Style’ into a karaoke room.
Even the military needs their cutesy figures. The Korean looks mirrored – 이병해? Seen on Ganghwa-do.
I really hope he’s jumping and not, er, creating another kind of gas. Also seen on Ganghwa-do.
Why is Madonna serving up drinks in More >
Snow! Dongdaemun, Banpo Han River Park, and Ganghwa-do
0So the snow has been around for awhile now, and I’ve had the opportunity to get out a few times and let the camera out to play:
Dongdaemun, complete in HDR glory.
Banpo’s Han River Park – the newspaper was already there, and seemed to play nicely with the criss-cross of footprints
A little surreal – at least, that was the goal. Still at Banpo’s Han River Park.
Next up – Ganghwa-do’s Fortress area:
Part of the fortress wall.
The South gate – and the one closest to Ganghwa’s bus terminal.
Random pictures, part 70
1As always, random pictures are the ones that didn’t fit into any other posts. Some warnings about natural gas safety, circa a couple decades ago…?
Korea Brains Development Information Center – because brains that need development also need an information center.
Because the best way to promote a nail shop in Seoul is two scantily-clad women.
So there are enough science education societies in Korea that they need a ‘federation’ of them?
Outside an art hagwon (academy) – the results aren’t typical for sure, but they’re still impressive. Because you always wanted to end up at a dive More >
Exploring: Mullae street art (western Seoul)
0I hesitate to use the word ‘destination’ in this post, as other travel pieces are labeled. It’s not quite a ‘Random Pictures’ post either. In the absence of a more descriptive label, “Exploring” shall serve as a hybrid of the two, where no one specific destination is in mind and understanding that things may look radically different in a year’s time.
I recently heard about the emerging music scene in Mullae – something that’s worthy of going back and checking out when there’s a concert planned. There was nothing scheduled this particular evening, however, so we meandered around and found some More >
Random pictures, part 69 – and a ‘caption this!’ contest
0As always, these are the photos, that didn’t fit into other posts.
Behold the subway strap – the elegant simplicity, the rounded triangle form factor, the hard plastic. For the photography buffs out there, this was one of the first shots I wanted to take with the 50mm f/1.4 lens – you can just make out the straps behind in the bokeh.
Oh, my… Seen as a rather gaudy hotel near Nambu Bus Terminal in Seoul.
Same hotel, different room – and amazingly comfortable.
One of my favorites from the snowfalls in recent weeks.
What happens when you let a shutter stay open for a few seconds during a More >
Random pictures, part 68
0As always, these are the photos that didn’t make it into another post.
Because every so often, it’s fun to figure out how to make something look like it’s floating in air. No Photoshop here, though I did use Picasa to make it black and white and make it a little darker. If you know how it was done, smile and share – don’t give it away!
My girlfriend’s macro lens meets samgyeopsal (thick-cut bacon) – om nom nom.
Baby heads for sale in Myeongdong…. Wait, what?
No rhyme, no reason. It’s the sunset against the glass panels of a downtown Seoul building.
Even a fast shutter speed couldn’t keep More >
Random pictures: fun with a macro lens (Hongdae, northwest Seoul)
0For the photographers out there, this is a Nikon 105mm f/2.8 macro, which can focus down to 0.314 meters, or about 1 foot. For everyone else, macro lenses are great for focusing in really close – a lot closer than your average lens I borrowed my girlfriend’s lens while my favorite lens is in the shop. I found myself meandering through the Hongdae area in Seoul – an area known for being especially artsy and craftsy.
One of the stones embedded in the plaster (?) near Sangsu station.
Part of the plastic overlay on a bunch of poles – it’s spiky to keep people from putting up posters.
One fun More >
Random pictures, part 67
0Although the days are shorter, it’s still nice enough to get around town. As always, these are the photos that didn’t make it into another post.
I had no idea a shell could ride a bike. Seen at the Sea Fossil Museum in Pohang.
Buddhist holy water, anyone? Seen at Jeondeungsa.
The mascot of Gyeongnidan? Seen at a local restaurant.
Because as we all know, second-hand toilets are great places to grow trees, right? Seen in Gunsan.
This poor dog was in desperate need of a 500 won coin – or an owner that thought rocketships should be left to the humans. Seen at a rest stop near More >
Random pictures, part 66: the naked statues edition (NSFW)
1If there’s one thing that makes a Westerner in Korea giggle, it’s the amount of nudity on statues. I’ve gotten used to them, however, but I thought some of you wonderful folks would be amused by them. Without further ado:
Naked mermaid, anyone? Seen on Udo.
No idea what prompted the pose – seen in Seoul.
Another mermaid, this one with a torch. Seen outside the National Lighthouse Museum in Pohang (ahhh, now it makes sense, right…?)
Part of a fountain in Dongtan.
Part of a display at Namiseom.
An oldie but a goodie – seen in Gwangju.
Dancing in the snow? Not my personal idea of fun, but More >
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