Seoul town lights. {KOrea}
If you ever go out at night in Seoul, you should know that you can’t have only one destination–Korean custom mandates that you make at least three stops during the course of the evening. For instance, you could start with fried chicken and beer at a bar, then head to a Noribong room to practice your best Michael MacDonald tune, then finish up the night under a seafood tent with some cooked sea squirts and a bottle of Soju. In Seoul, people stay out late and at three o’clock in the morning, there are still crowds wandering the streets, hailing taxi’s and ordering Gimbap at take-out windows. In a city of over ten million people, it seems like there is always at least one person awake.
One evening while I was in the Korea, I headed out with Tiana, Jon and Amber to the Myoungdong neighborhood to experience the Seoul nightlife. We rode the subway into the heart of the city, ate some pork dumplings at a Chinese restaurant, then found ourselves wandering the streets in a trance towards all of the colored lights and signage. It was late, but there were thousands of people walking under the glowing purple sky: little kids eating french fries on sticks; girls in high heels with Forever 21 bags dripping off their arms; a screaming crowd watching a wanna-be K-Pop performance; teenagers buying Girls Generation mugs. Women were handing over cash for shoes and wigs and teddy bears; and men were eating cups of Bundigie or grilled silk worm larvae, which sounded too good to try. Being out late in Seoul made me feel like I was part of the secret-magic after-dark world, and it also made me feel like I should trade my florescent-pink fanny pack in for a leather Louie Vuitton handbag.
If New York is known as: “the city that never sleeps”, Seoul should be know as: “the city that never sleeps at all, except for in small doses between stops on the subway”.
I totally want that kid’s Lacoste shirt, along with whatever he’s eating.
dong love?! it’s nice seeing photos from your trip, shelby 🙂
Your photos (so very beautiful) remind me how many, many, many people there are in this world.
Wow, nice! What were these taken with?
hi there! i use a canon 5D mark II and i usually use my 27-70mm 2.8 or my 35mm 1.4. cheers!
hi! is that Amber in one of your photos? i just had dinner at her house last night…crazy world! i am in love with your blog…the photos, the writing, all of it. what’s your story? did you live here? i love these kinds of connections.
hi there! thank you so much for the shout out! and yes–thats amber–such a small world. i was just in korea for a visit but i live in portland, oregon. what are you doing in seoul??!!
have been teaching at another international school for the past 4 years. we’re reaching the end of our contract. moving with the hubby to Laos in October where we are looking to start a yoga retreat center (long term goal). i really love your images and writing. will be keeping up with your posts. good luck.
Very nice
Baby….your photos make all the boys come to the yard….(i die)
These are great photographs. You really get a solid impression of Myeongdong at night. I think I’ll be back for more.
such a fantastic set of pics. you really captured the spirit of the nightlife there. so colorful.
Myoung Dong!!
Oh gosh!! I loved that place….isn’t it like the Fashion Street of Seoul?
i am not sure if its the fashion street, but i wouldn’t be surprised cause everyone there was ROCKIN it 😉
This makes me so nostalgic for Seoul, I can’t even stand it.
Amazing, I’ve been through your entire blog and I love your style of photography. Do you mind me asking what camera and what photo editing application you use?
Thanks.
Matthew
hi matthew! thanks so much for your comment. I use a canon 5D mark II (the 35mm 1.4 is my lens of choice) and I use Lightroom to edit all my photos. cheers!
I see Big Bang, T.O.P, U-Know, Jaejoong, Kim Hyun Joong, TVXQ, Boys Over Flowers (I think I see Goo Jun Pyo), SuJu, and Bi Rain? Great pics btw, lol
love the photography on ur site
These are all beautiful pictures!
so colorful in korea.
These pictures are beautiful! I can’t wait to arrive in Seoul, I hope that when I do my blog entries can be as nice as yours.
Amazing set of photos! Especially love the 2nd & 3rd one!