Namsan and the Seoul Tower

Seoul is ringed by several small green mountains. But one mountain, Namsan, arises from the middle of the city -- a pretty unusual urban feature. This wasn't always the case; "nam" means south and "san" means mountain, so this was once home to a fortress on the city's southern edge. But with the explosive growth south of the river, Namsan is now in Seoul's geographical center. A simple map of the city:

Namsan is in the Jung District, or Jung-Gu. I live in the district directly to its east: Seongdong. The river is the Han. The word for river is "gang," so it's the Hangang. But the romanization rules for Korean, if there are any, confuse me. The "g's" are pronounced like "k's," so why not just use "k's"?

The Korean alphabet is a model of simplicity and can be learned in a couple of hours. The problem for the short-term visitor like me is that pronunciation is just half the game. If you don't have the complementary vocabulary, the words are meaningless sounds. So I can read some street and store signs, but I don't know what they mean, if that makes sense.

If you watched the rap video, you'll notice some of the Hangeul sounds are really hard to make. Koreans have the same problem in reverse. The "f" sound isn't in their alphabet. So "coffee" is rendered "coppee." There are no "r's," either. So "computer" is pronounced "computah."

It follows then, fortunately perhaps, that Koreans are disinclined to yell "fire" in a crowded theater.

Had a funny conversation with an old guy who asked me where the word "McDonald's" came from.

"It's the name of a clown, Ronald McDonald. The "s" is at the end to show the restaurant belongs to him."

"So it is a name."

"Yeah, like an Irish name."

"Ah, Irishee."

I taught him to stress the "Don" syllable, because he was having a hell of a time pronouncing it. He practiced it a dozen times and got pretty good, but he refused for some reason to pronounce the "s" at the end. He then pulled a English vocabulary list from his backpack and said he was having trouble with the word "wondering." I told him that it was usually followed by "whether," and he nodded with recognition.

He practiced a few sentences on me. "I wondering whether rain tomorrow," stuff like that. I told him to forget "wondering" and just use "wonder."

"You won't need any linking verbs and your sentences will be simpler that way."

"Ah. Thank you."

At the foot of Namsan is the Namsangol Hanok Village, featuring a half-dozen Korean homes from the Joseon era. This shit bores me to tears, but hey, you can't judge!

More interesting to me were these schoolkids playing this traditional game in which one tries to keep a top spinning by whipping it.

traditional.korean.top.game from Sluggh McGee on Vimeo. Korean kids are really cute. I feel bad for them because their school day is 12 hours long. They go to school all day, take a break and go back at night, usually to learn English. There is a lot of pressure on Koreans to learn English -- so much so that you're not considered to be a good Korean unless you have done so. The result, of course, is that some people are embarrassed to show their English isn't very good, and so they kind of go into a shell.


Next door to the Namsangol Hanok Village is the Korea House, where weddings, banquets and folk performances are staged. It's very peaceful here. I can barely hear the city.

Back on the street, I see a bus stop that shows the No. 2 going to the top of Namsan. It's cheating, but I long to be multi-modal, so I hop on. The driver greets each passenger over a loudspeaker with a hello. (Ahn-young-ah-sayeo) You sure get a different perspective traveling aboveground.

The traffic is ridiculous, of course, and in typical Asian style, there is a crazy motorcycle culture. These daredevils are everywhere, and they're fun to watch, but I gotta say this motorcycle riding on the sidewalk is simply out of control. It's illegal, of course, but the law isn't enforced, so you've really got to be careful as a pedestrian. Watching soap operas while driving your car is illegal, too, but millions here do it with impunity.

I despair of ever seeing a clear day in Seoul. (Maybe after it rains?) This was the best picture I could get from the observation deck. Thousands of high-rises are in all directions.

South of the river are some of the tallest skyscrapers I've ever seen. You can't see where the city ends. At over 20 million people, Seoul is the second-largest metropolitan area in the world, and the population density is something like 20,000 people per square kilometer. I estimate my neighborhood back home, Catalina Vista, to be almost exactly 1 square kilometer, and its population can't be more than what, 500?

Lots of picnickers up here. I think this is a pretty important place to Seoulites.

I didn't pay the $8 to go to the top of the tower because of the smog, but maybe I'll return some evening for some night shots. Back at street level, I walk through the fashion center of Myeong-Dong.

On the subway ride home, I encounter a health drink called Pocari Sweat. Enjoy! Koreans are among the most educated people in the world, but they have some really nutty ideas that I'll get into later.

Machine shops like this one line my blue-collar street, and whirring, grinding noises go on into the night.