http://www.toronto.ca/ttc/pdf/subway_rt.pdf
As I'm sure many of you are quite familiar with, this is a map of our beloved(maybe?) TTC subway system.
Now if you will, please click on this picture to open the larger version. On the far left, highlighted in red is where my apartment is at Gaehwasan station. Pretty evident is the huge complexity of the fair city of Seoul. Makes you realize why they call it the 'Republic of Seoul' sometimes.
On the subway ride to Sinchon I had one of my most interesting experiences thus far. We had planned on getting some food downtown so we left Gimpo around 7 PM. On the underground car with us were about a dozen very friendly ROK Marines. They had just finished Guundae, their mandatory military reserve service for the year and were celebrating before heading home. Some of these guys were pretty intense, there was a paratrooper, a couple mountain rangers, and even a SCUBA search and rescue/demolitions dude. One spoke pretty good english and we had a good twenty minute chat and snapped a couple pictures with the promise that I tag it as "Republic of Korea Marine Corps". So, here we go:
This is in the middle of Sinchon after dinner. It's huge. Probably 6 by 6 square city blocks, with lots of little alleyways between buildings. One block is indistinguishable from the next. It's populated with 4-8 story commercial buildings with restaurants and bars on each floor. Bars are called 'Hofs', from Hoffbrau, the only German loanword (that I know of) in Korean.
Here's another shot of a larger building. Notice the PC rooms two floors apart. I don't know what there are more of in Korea, Hofs or PC-bangs. Halfway up is 'Cafe Room', which has the Korean characters for Norae-bang: Kareoke. Also everywhere. Like a virus that sings cheesy K-pop songs while you drink Soju.
And here is Kevin looking stunned at the last stop of the night. There's a chain of bars in Sinchon known as 'Ho Bar'. The Chinese word for good is Hao (as in Ni Hao!) and the Korean approximation is Ho, resulting in some great cross-language jokes. There are bars I-V within walking distance, so it was a pretty respectable goal for Kevin and I to have a beer in each and head home by 12-1 (It was a thursday night, classes to teach in the AM). We couldn't figure out what the Open~am8:00 sign meant, or if in fact they do close.
Sadly, there were no Marines on the subway back. That's all for this night.
Cheers.
2 comments:
Three points:
1. Re: borrowing words from other languages. We use a swivel joint or 'chiksan' to connect long joints of pipe. The word is apparently from the Korean for "gold mountain"; the American company mining for gold in
Korea kept its name on its return to
U.S.A. and branched out into making
swivels.
2. I don't believe I ever heard a bar called a Hoffbrau in Germany, nor Austria or Switzerland.
3. While you were under the bright night-lights of the bustling city, I was in the middle of the bush nearing the mountains (awesome landscape!), with no cell service, staying at a work camp.
That subway system is intense. Having been free to walk around Toronto only half a dozen or so times growing up my knowledge of even the TTC is a little rusty. This weekend visiting Addie was literally being guided around by hand as I had no idea where to go.
You friggin' should have taken me with you, it's sounding awesome.
Also, the obligatory: You come home. We party.
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