Weekly Snapshots | 01.21.12
새해 복 많이 받으세요! Happy New Year! Not much blogging going on here these days. I was home in Canada over the holidays and ever since my return two weeks ago the new job and several new freelance assignments have been keeping me from posting. Going to try and get things rolling again.
♦ Interview with the very talented Bae Bien-U, one of my favourite Korean photographers.
♦ Mindblowingly good photos from the rooftop of Busan’s tallest skyscraper. Awesome.
♦ Cool new project that explores Gwangju one day at a time.
♦ Corey Rich crafts this gorgeous film to launch Nikon’s powerhouse D4.
♦ Absolutely gorgeous shot from Simon Bond from his trip to Sri Lanka.
♦ Beautiful shot from Flash Parker that made its way in to Asia Geographic.
♦ Sarah Lee’s ‘Playing in the Winter Waves‘. Huge, huge fan of her work. Epic.
♦ Jeonju Folk Village to hold Lunar New Year Festival. Truly beautiful part of Korea.
♦ Some great photographic content in Peter DeMarco’s ‘Busan Lightstalkers’ pool.
♦ ”The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” (Saint Augustine)
금천시장 | Geumcheon Market
I love street food. One of my new favourite food alleyways in Seoul is Geumcheon Market. It’s a great place to sample all sorts of traditional Korean dishes. The restaurants and bars are sandwiched together along the strip so you don’t have to hop very far to the next venue.
I started eating here a lot after I moved north of the river to Seochon-dong. The food is excellent and affordable. There’s this fantastic mandu (traditional Korean dumpling) snack restaurant called 손만두 분식 that’s been in business for ten years. Dumplings are handmade on site and will run you around 3,500 won for a box of ten.
Getting there: Take subway Line 3 to Gyeongbokgung Station, get out Exit 2 and take your first left.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Gwanghwamun Café & Onmaeul Tofu Restaurant
Dropped by Gwanghwamun Café this morning and then strolled over to Onmaeul Tofu Restaurant (온마을 – 즉석두부전문점) in Samcheong-dong for kongbiji jjigae (콩비지찌개) and jeyuk bokkeum (제육덮밥).
Gwanghwamun Café is nice little spot. The owner roasts all the beans himself. Great coffee to be had here.
Onmaeul Tofu Restaurant (738-4231) in Samcheong-dong has been in business for 14 years. Service is friendly, prices are reasonable, the setting is cozy and it’s near the end of Samcheong-dong’s main road so it’s a little more relazed, especially on weekends. They even have menu items written on wooden ladles. Highly recommended.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
View Larger Map
Weekly Snapshots | 11.22.11
Off to The Garden of Morning Calm this weekend. Looking forward to some downtime.
♦ After a little experimentation, Robert achieved this awesome shot of Jongchinbu.
♦ Very, very cool night shot of Seoul courtesy of Young-Doo Moon.
♦ Some stunning photos of the Korean Furniture Museum in Seongbuk-dong.
♦ Jason Teale sheds a little insight on how to win photo contests in Korea.
♦ And some equally impressive images in the KTO’s updated photo gallery.
♦ Incredible time lapse video from space shot with a Nikon D3s.
♦ There’s real beauty in simplicity. Flash Parker proves that nicely here.
♦ Amazing entries for the 2011 National Geographic Contest. SJ Kim is 52nd on the list.
♦ Dylan Golby walks us through one of his cover shoots for 10 Magazine.
♦ A few tips on how to visit Jeju on a shoestring budget.
♦ Dark Soul of Seoul. Awesome shot of Korea’s capital by night.
Jungbopsa (정법사) & Gilsangsa (길상사)
Spent the afternoon walking through Seongbuk-dong. Aside from the impressive architecture, it’s where you’ll also find one of Seoul’s best teahouses.
I wanted to check out the Korean Furniture Museum but as it was closed I headed over to Gilsangsa (길상사) instead, which is literally right around the corner.
Gilsangsa is beautiful this time of year. Before the temple was first registered in 1995, the grounds were home to “Daewongak,” one of Korea’s most famous restaurants.
Just up the street I discovered, in an equally beautiful setting, is Jungbopsa (정법사). Hugging the hillside, this small temple grants some pretty nice views of the city.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
View Larger Map
