The Soul of Seoul

I have been in Seoul for about a year now and somehow the city is growing on me in spite of the usual barriers an alien could face in terms of language, food or culture. Seoul as we know is the capital of South Korea also known as the Republic of Korea, Its an irony that North Korea is known as the Democratic People's Republic Of Korea while nothing could be more untrue than what that name suggests.

Back to Seoul, some of you might be knowing that I live in Mapo and bang on one of the main corridors intersecting Seoul. But my introduction to Seoul was through Dongdaemun Stadium where I noticed those large Departmental Stores that keep their shutters open till 5 in the morning and the historical Dongdaemun Shrine a symbol of the rich heritage. The quantum of people shopping on that Friday was amazing and later in the night when we had come out for a walk at 11 in the night I was feeling that the evening had just about started. The hawkers with their makeshift stalls selling cheap socks, shoes, dresses, fake watches, cheap watches, artificial jewellery. The stalls selling meat lollipops, stick hot dogs, rice cake curry. The net effect was one of coordinated chaos. The high-rise stores looked down upon us, inviting us in with their dazzle. Stage shows outside with deafening beats of percussion and gyrating boys and girls was I am told a normal Friday affair.

The next day, true with possibly most foreigners, we landed up at Itaewon the only place in Seoul where you are assured of an English reply from shopkeepers. We did hit a couple of bars and went on to a desi-shop(shop selling Indian stuff) to have a look at the inventory on display. This was "the" cosmopolitan area of Seoul where the locals were outnumbered twice over by the aliens.

With my earlier experience in Tokyo I had presumed that English would be a problem but to my surprise I went on to find that the younger generation can converse in English to some extent at least. The older generation can understand English but there hesitation was in an conversational engagement. In office I found ladies more keen to speak English while the Korean men were not quite forthcoming. Some of them have American tutors for learning spoken English but I guess the practice remains confined to that classroom and that does not help at all. However, overall I don't to seem have problems n communicating my intent wherever necessary; be it the local stores, or the bus driver or the theatre.

The subways very early in the morning are full of older people who have come out for going to a park or a temple. You would also find industrial workers on their way to work. However as the day progresses, men and women smartly attired in office wear crowd up the stations and bus stops and when I look down from my window I can see the traffic piling up. The free newspapers, the local restaurants dishing out leaflet invitations, the stair case hawker selling fresh kimbaaps or dried octopus/squid chews, ginseng roots, people distributing literature or discount coupons for the latest Korean Drama, the church leaders persuading people to visit the local church; it's a strange kaleidoscope out there.

The Koreans have their dinner early but on Friday its "drinking time folks". Men and women, old and young either visit bars, or roadside makeshift tents serving grilled meat and soju. The enterprising would go to the discotheques or night clubs and drink and dance till the early morning hours. Jazz bars, Country Bars, Hip-Hop Clubs at Hongdae are a must and especially on the last Friday of the month when its Club Day.

The Koreans I presume love shopping and whether its the Discount Stores or the Departmental Stores the crowd coming in or out never seems to end. The consumer is king and the wares are all there enticing you in every possible way.

The senior citizens are the silent brigade with their share of community responsibility. Picking up old newspapers, cleaning up dog poop, watering society gardens, cleaning up local lanes, they are doing it all. So the young study, the middle aged work and the seniors look after the neigbourhood, I seem to get the hang of the Korean pride. The pride emanating from the love of their country and whatever else.

Social responsibility is stretched to the extreme out here. Imagine this scenario, where two drunken guys throw up in a subway train and pass out. A well dressed couple, probably on their way out to dinner, and has nothing to do with this gets into the act. The lady takes out some tissues and starts piling up the mess at a corner so that the main corridor is wiped clean and then the man puts all this mess in a bag and at the destined station gets down with the garbage for the final disposal in a waste bin. This is not a story and it's one of the many examples of the character.

Sincere help is always available and in spite of me being a lonesome foreigner in a melee of locals, I am somehow never lonely. Some of you may feel that way, but its for us to blend and not the other way round. Exceptions prove the rule and therefore side incidents are after all side shows.

The people of Seoul is it's pride and character. Get out on the streets to feel the pulse of this soul!!

Sphere: Related Content