Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cisco kid]

11 years ago when I came to Korea, I visited a friend at the Inn Daewon in Kwanghwamun...it's still there, but so many other things have changed.

I tried to find the other guest house they used to own, torn down. I tried to find the internet cafe that all the foreigners used behind Kyobo, gone. New high rises everywhere...nothing is the same anymore. I feel like time has passed me by. I know I've changed since then (Cut off my long hair, got married and settled down) but Korea is not the same place it used to be.

There used to be all kinds of foreigners all over Kwanghwamun...hippies of all nationalities (we were called Cowboy teachers back then because most of us were here on tourist visas) but I haven't seen one person that fits that description all day today. The Wendys is gone too. I never ate there, but it was a good landmark. Went into the Inn Daewon and it was so much smaller than I remember it...they got a new roof at least.

I just can't believe that things aren't the way I remember them.

Ah, father time...you've taken my memories away.

Pfffft. Anyone else remember these things?

[cosmo]

How about the Taco Bell in Gangnam, or Planet Hollywood?

[kangnam mafioso]

i lived in kangnam in 2001 and then left for 2 years. i went back last summer and half the stuff i was looking for no longer existed or had morphed into something else. in korea it isn't only the physical landscape that changes expeditiously but also people's attitudes and styles. koreans are more open-minded now and there is a lot more western stuff available. i think that's what makes korea exciting ... you get a bit of the old with the new, the 3rd world mixed with the first; you can exit a sky scraper and turn a corner and see an ajumma dressed in hanbok, cutting up onions on the sidewalks. i can't imagine how much korea will change in the next 11 years!

[leebumlik69]

[Woland]

I remember all the places you mentioned, OP. I arrived in 96, stayed two years and then went off to Turkey before returning this past year. The change hasn't been just physical, but, as another poster noted, Koreans attitudes have changed. They have become more worldly, in ways good and bad. On the whole, I think the change has been positive. Seoul is much friendlier place than it was ten years ago, and it's nice not to be regarded everywhere as a freak to stared and yelled 'herro' at.

But not all has disappeared. One of my little pleasures here has been rediscovering my favorite old coffee house in Anam-dong, Bohemian. It's still here, still here serving up organic, fresh roasted beans, and still the nicest coffee shop in Seoul. Long may it perk.

[Cthulhu]

I also came in '96 (to Pusan, er, Busan) and saw a lot of changes before leaving in 03. Changes in the mood (riot police/riots were more common then), major construction differences, fewer western chains etc. And things were cheaper too! I have a feeling when I return to visit someday it will be nothing like I remember. But it was a great experience.

[caniff]

Are you serious, Archie Bunker?

Oooh, thoose were the Daaaays!!!

Please.

Korean commercial business locations and usages change faster than your underwear (I hope).

Let's not not get all misty-eyed over poorly-conceived crap that suffered too long through what frankly should have never been. And it wasn't only Gwahwamun, baby.

[Satin]

Caniff:

[caniff]

I hear ya, satin. I was just trying to get a rise. Things have changed.

[cisco kid]

[caniff]

Cheers (to Mike)

[kimchi_pizza]

I lived in Chuncheon for a year in '93 and yea, there sure have been a lotta changes. For the better for the most part. Koreans seem more accepting of foreigners now, specially if you have a Korean girlfriend.
I know there's still those drunk adjjoshi comments, but not so frequent or serious.
The only change that I really miss are the SOJU TENTS. A real pochangmachang! Man, those things were like kimchi, part of the cultural heritage. Tents, upon glowing tents stringed with christmas lights just welcoming you to get warm on a cold winter evening helped along with a wa-sha of soju with friends.
Sure, there's the solitary tent around Seoul, but to see a whole block of 'em full of Koreans from drunk student activists shouting slogans in the alleys of tents to the drunk adjjoshi arguing with his friends and the occational slap or punch to the fine looking drunk K-gal surrounded by girlfriends crying about losing her lover.

It really was an interesting experience...

[RACETRAITOR]

I miss the activist students. These days they're all about drinking and not about rioting.

/yes, I was here in '96. Briefly.

[doggyji]

[RACETRAITOR]