Sidetracked
For those of you combing through here as of late and finding posting a little light, I apologize. I’ve been busier than a bunny in spring and promise to shift gears this week. I got word this morning from CNNGo that my second assignment will run tomorrow (Thursday) so you can count on me throwing that link up when I grab it. I’m also off to some of the city’s skating rinks this weekend for next month’s issue of SEOUL. It’s been ages since I last strapped on the blades so it promises to be fun, albeit injury inducing.
And this has to be one of the best portrait shots I’ve seen to date. Derek recently had his Nikon D700 stolen but that hasn’t deterred him from pumping out photographs like that. Sifting through his Flickr photostream earlier today I was reminded of just how badly I need to step up my game. Impressive work, indeed. And, while I’m on the subject of portrait photography, Eric Lafforgue’s Papua New Guinea snaps are fantastic. I’ve covered a lot of ground in SE Asia, but I’m itching to head to Papua New Guinea after seeing that set.
Yeah, if you take the bus, it’s about 8 hours. I never took the bus because Korean buses tend to make me a little car sick.
As annoying as it was when I lived there, I think Jindo’s isolation has served it well in some ways. Sure, it’s suffering from population decline, but it has also preserved a unique character that I found lacking in other, more generic parts of the Korean countryside.
Both excellent shots, Kelsey. Love the first one. I remember the journey down for me when I had to write a piece for The Korea Tourism Organization. Took about eight hours in total I think. In all honesty, when I get that far out of Seoul, time sort of slips away and it becomes less of a struggle and more just the addictive adventure of getting away from it all.
Here’s the link to that piece I wrote a while back:
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=561202
Believe me, I’m quite aware of how hard it is to get to. It’s even harder to get from there to anywhere else. It’s about 6.5 hours total travel time from Seoul. 4.5 hours on the KTX to Mokpo, then 1-1.5 hours from Mokpo to Jindo by bus, and allow .5 hours of taxis between the train/bus station. Want to go somewhere not on the Mokpo-branch KTX line? Hahahahaha. I never made it to eastern Korea because it takes SEVEN hours to get to Busan from Jindo. SEVEN. I refuse to spend that long in a moving kimchi fart sauna.
Granted, I’m really glad I chose Jindo. I got to experience a part of Korea that most expats don’t even realize exists – the rural part that hasn’t changed much since the 1970s. Sure, some of my schools didn’t even have indoor plumbing, but I got to drive a motorcycle to work every day and see the sunlight glinting off the reservoirs, and I was a 20 minute drive from a pretty awesome beach that was never crowded. I had a huge apartment, and while I once went and entire month without speaking to another native speaker in person, it also meant that I was better friends with the Koreans I knew.
Here are two of my favourite shots of Jindo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/antipeople/2722415984/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/antipeople/2960738710/
Nice shot! Jindo is pretty hard to get to, but I love the warm, coastal hospitality.
That portrait reminds me of this one I took of a man a few blocks from my apartment in Jindo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/antipeople/2980451447