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| south korea |
| gangneung, ojukheon and jumunjin |
| Gangneung city, the largest on the Northeast coast of South Korea, is where I called home for the 13 months from October 2003 to November 2004. Gangneung has a population of about 200,000 people, beautiful beaches and is surrounded by several national parks, including Seoraksan National Park, regarded by many as the most beautiful in the country. It 's a typical Korean mid-sized city, ajummahs selling vegetables on the sidewalks, men with carts collecting cardboard, norae, dvd and pc bangs everywhere and techno blasting grocery and clothing stores. I lived in the upscale neighborhood of Gyodong Taekji, bordering Ponamdong and Gyeongpo Beach and downtown. |
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| Apartments, apartments everywhere! Rows, like dominoes, of apartment buildings in every neighborhood. Above are the Hai-Bil Apateu in Gyodong Taekji. To the right is the foot bridge heading towards Hanaromart and below that, the all-essential E-Mart in Ponamdong. |
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| Looking out at Gyodong Taekji from the roof of my apartment building, Moga One Room. |
| My apartment on the right, Moga One Room. |
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| Various views of the inside of my one room apartment. |
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| Above, Gyeongpo Lake and to right, Gyeongpo Haesuyokjang (beach). The oranges and gimbap in the sand are offerings made to the sea gods by fisherman for a good catch. |
| Once you make it past the barbed wire and guard shacks, the beach is really beautiful and very popular with the locals. Every day in the summer, the beach is packed with people and the skies are filled with parasails. |
| Empty soju bottles and fish drying in the sun. Below, a typical Korean BBQ restaurant and spent charcoal from the grills. |
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| The one and only McDonald's in Gangneung on Jungangno, the main strip in downtown, The Warehouse Club (one of the local foreigner hangouts) and some hand-painted billboards advertising Korean films. |
| Left, Bar Bumpin, another foreigner hangout, built by the owner, Mr. Lee. In the middle, some signs put outside shops during grand openings and on the right, Hooters Gangneung (don't be fooled, not a real Hootoers). Below, the covered market downtown. |
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| One month's pay in cash and some Korean products. San Soju (the local liquor), Corn Frost, fruit juices and Coke Light, Windex, Black Soy Milk, Hite (a local beer), Coca-Cola, Bread, Ramyeon noodles, Shrimp Chips. |
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| Wandering around town one day, I came across this temple hidden in the forest. Buried here, are three soldiers who died on the even of the last day of the Korean War. |
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| A rite of passage for many Koreans, the Taekwondo black belt test. My friend, Kate, was there for her belt and got it after performing all her punse (Taekwondo fighting stances) correctly in front of a panel of judges. |
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| A Buddhist temple in the centre of downtown during celebrations for Buddha's Birthday on May 26th. Below, Ojuhkeon, a collection of historical buildings, some of which are featured on the Korean 5000 won bill. the complex also includes the oldest bulding still standing in Korea. |
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| Jumunjin |
| The small fishing village of Jumunjin is located about 15 minutes drive from Gangneung. I went early one Saturday morning to catch some of the action at the fish market. |
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| I found these kids swimming in one of the tanks for fresh fish outside a restaurant. |
| A very common sight during the summer are red gochu peppers drying in the sun. These were just outside the Ojukheon Temple complex. The peppers are crushed and mixed with fermented bean paste, miso, salt and sugar to make gochujang, a spicy paste, used in many Korean dishes. |