Seoul Sellers

This city is a hawker’s and street vendor’s paradise, and in a very incongruous way. You have stalls selling socks and fried food and fake designer sunglasses and plastic flip flops everywhere. And I mean everywhere. I got a real kick out of passing by the Bulgari and Louis Vuitton flagship stores. They were all marble and glass elegance just like Tokyo. And then just at the door were hawkers selling fake Fendi sandals and Gucci bags and corndogs and underpants. It was hilarious. I really felt that this city does not take itself too seriously. But I don’t think I could live here. All this outdoor selling and food preparation makes it extra pungent and mental.
I’m not sure about the Korean attitude to work and service. There were the young kids goofing off, hiding in the food palettes at the donut shop. Or the front desk clerk was full on asleep on, slumped over the desk when I went to give in my key this morning. Or the young police officers were smoking and eating ice-cream in uniform. I just don’t know what to make of it. I’d read that Koreans work and study the longest hours of any nation in the world but it sure looks like they’re taking those working hours pretty easy. Maybe I just need to lose the Japanese stick up my rear.
It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that they drive on the other side of the road (to Japan and Ireland) over here. I didn’t notice because they don’t seem to let you cross the road that much. Many of the main streets have about ten lanes of traffic so instead you have to use these underpasses. Underpasses are great if you know where you’re going. But if, like me, you’re not that sure, they can be a very frustrating experience. You see where you want to go far over the other side of the street. You go underground and make sure to travel in exactly the direction you were looking. And yet somehow you end up coming up three blocks behind where you started. It’s like they’re time tunnels or something.