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ON THE TRACK OF THE PAST IN SEOUL

10/14/2014

2 Comments

 
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I was recently back in Seoul after publishing Phoenix Rising: A Journey Through South Korea and like all authors after publishing a book, I wanted to find out if what I had discovered and written about almost a year ago still held true.

Was This Really Seoul?

I stayed in a 4-star hotel in Myeongdong, near the Cathedral where all the riots and protests against the military government took place in the 1980’s but also very close to the largely middle class shopping district.

The middle-class atmosphere of the shopping avenues hadn’t changed much, except perhaps the district looked even more like an upscale shopping quarter in any country of the world: designer shops, boutiques, Starbucks, international labels, department stores. What seemed to be missing was the feel of the traditional, rather eccentric, do-it-yourself Seoul I knew when I first lived there – and on many subsequent visits.

It was the same in the hotel. A sort of international, airport-style architecture and design had taken over. The tourist services were in place but they were perfunctory and utilitarian.

There was a distinct lack of character in the business lounge or hotel lobby and much less of the rather nutty, barely English speaking character of the Koreans I used to know in my traditional inns (yogwan) of the past with their bedding on the heated floor and their often uproarious maids and tipsy male porters.

To sum up, this area of Seoul had become not so much cutting edge (the Seoul portrayed in many Korean movies and TV dramas) as boring. There was an old-fashioned theatre, yes, offering a Korean ‘entertainment’ show for tourists in English. There were Korean-style barbecue restaurants. But the prices were very high for food that looked, frankly, like barbecued meat anywhere in the world.  

Searching For The Authentic Korea

On that first day I wandered around the area looking for something authentically Korean – a real hot springs/spa and massage place, for example, of the kind I used to frequent or perhaps a lively local bar offering soju (potato liquor), makkolli (cloudy rice wine) and leek pancakes  (jon), or a Buddhist-type restaurant with vegetarian side dishes (namul) and kimchi.

But I drew a blank. And so I took a deep breath and did what I always do in similar situations. I went on a hunt for the authentic.

And thank goodness it was still there!

Not very far away from the dull hotel and sleek avenues of Myeongdong with its perfectly turned out, white suit wearing shoppers and moisturized young people with their cosmetically enhanced faces, we found the traditional Korea-style street market of Namdaemun (South Gate).

All sorts of useful things for personal health or home use were on sale at Namdaemun. I bought a shopping trolley and a wooden back pounder with spikes from a very friendly, amused woman who showed me how to use it on various parts of my body to increase circulation.


I bought T-shirts and cheap jeans. I ate Korean street snacks sitting on a low stool at a table in the middle of the road. I found a wonderful Korean medicinal shop with reasonably priced Korean red ginseng paste to take home.

Beneath The Surface

Later, I went to one of Seoul’s most famous Buddhist restaurants hidden in a back street near the Insadong arts and crafts center. Here I was served twenty-eight vegetarian dishes in a traditional inn stuffed with historical and artistic Koreana (and a bit of Myanmarana in the shape of Burmese puppets!). The dishes were exquisite and included my favorite spicy todok root – like marinated ginseng - and a sour plum wine that I ordered twice.

Continuing on my Buddhist way, I found the main Chogye temple of Seoul in its dusty courtyard where I went and prostrated myself many times in front of the golden shining face of Buddha – alongside many female supplicants.

They didn’t bat an eyelid at the presence of a white foreigner in their midst. They made smiling room for me on the matted floor as the priest intoned the sutras and the bell rang out in rhythm with Buddha’s teachings.

What a relief! Seoul still existed beneath the veneer of international sophistication and the heavy mantle of being Asia’s most innovative capital for fashion, IT and design.

Yes, it has all these things – as I say in my book – but as I also say in Phoenix Rising that the most extraordinary characteristic of South Koreans is their ability to look both forward and back simultaneously. They do not to forget where they come from.

2 Comments
SELF denied Holy Warrior for Jesus Holy Trinity
11/23/2020 05:52:19 pm

global extermination by 2025 - And I've sent this & messaged DOD & military base's in new mexico re: Dulce's military base as well; It's gonna be a literal, human incomprehensible global bloodbath massacre & not even the word nightmare nor Crime's against humanity can scratch the surface. Including those fool's (devil court jester's) - The 'Utah Data Center', code-named "Bumblehive". And the Multiprogram Research Facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

ALL $ bought & sold out your humanity & NON-SELF owned Soul (as solely God owns ALL), but re: Even with & like THOSE upon indian reservation (no respect for THE LAND) = New Mexico's 7 mile's down Dulce military base (& their just ONE amidst USA, despite global elsewhere), but press - on your computer keyboard key's Ctrl & 'F' & search / find keyword - type in: Level 6 & see thereof text wordage around thereof: https://www.crystalinks.com/undergroundbases.html.

Do your own research, come to your own conclusion's, but DON'T deem vast that they have been doing & are (tick tock 'time', right now) aren't even worse so: global extermination by 2025, & whom TOP Power deem that 9-1-1 was JUST a TEST, to see just how the global masses would react & respond.

Globalist's, misc aren't really doing what they plan on, their really just passing the time, evil - senselessly, & their talk of reducing 7 billion plus down to 500 million, huh, OH don't think it'll stop there, oh no, just so Satan who solely started this Holy War against God, can eventually 'spite' God with exhibited all human eventually narrowed down & killed, like Satan's timeless laughing off it's ass at us (having put on a clueless humor show for that beast) & deeming to God, "LOOK AT THEM ALL, YOUR SO-CALLED PRIDE & JOY, THEIR SUPPOSE TO REPRESENT YOU?!"

And you gonna tell me (fellow human's) THAT no bothers you? OH it will, upon Coming Judgment Day before Jesus per / via your Heaven Life Record (everyone has one, even Adam & Eve), OH . . . I 'GET' much BECAUSE I chose to SELF denyingly Holy Warrior rise up for solely Holy Trinity. You (CARE?) to read - hear more? Huh, fine, it's NOT my Holy intel & I'm no threat nor lone wolf (as lone wolf is NOT in nor of Holy Trinity). Men in Black? Crime's against humanity NO even begin to scratch the surface.

Like judge Marshall ("Time Cop") said, "The sentence is DEATH, to be carried out IMMEDIATELY!" NO waiting around for the right cocktail, & thereof WATCH & WITNESS just how fast 6' x 9', misc tier's would be cleared & emptied!

Know that it was Adam that sinned first, NOT Eve BUT old men long ago would have vast past since - to date believe otherwise, & why would anyone think? YEAH, huh, right.

Here's another one: When satan got defeated re: Jesus's testing in the desert, Satan just deemed (BECAUSE of '?', ROGUE us all as a whole FROM Holy Trinity), "Fine Satan would just go after Jesus's next best thing, HIS Little One's 'children / kids' through the adult's".

Humanity could & should have SELF denyingly chosen to Holy Warrior rise up & represent solely Holy Trinity - as to why we were created & thought up in the first with WITH all we'd ever need ie: gift's, talent's, skill's & free will, NOT EVER to exhibitedly deem (UGH) that God is somehow a maid & janitor for us?

Uh, NOT HE wouldn't even have to exhale & we'd go out quicker than a candle & think NOT fellow humanity why Jesus REALLY came, huh, there'd be WHAT? Animatedly White streak's down all adult's back in fear & terror finding out the REAL Truth, with that we were solely created to self denyingly care take of each & Earth, NOTHING off!

And the dying Earth? Try: The Natural balance is off - once like a force field shielding, like a computer firewall going down, thus, having allowed in, because of Adam first & THEN Eve, which Satan seeing Adam failing God priorly THEN did God allow Satan to try testing Eve.

And re: children / kid's, Jesus: "If any adult's keep any of these Little one's from me, they will NEVER see my Father". MUCH has been changed, suppressed, misc by whether the Vatican, fill in the blank's over centuries, even destroyed so that later humanity would NOT know of the truth or say that - to do such, simply would have been purposely not been recorded so as to deem that it just never happened & thus, later humanity would not know.

Yeah, I know much BUT it AIN'T me, it's Holy Trinity, per / via HIm 'touching' me, knowing I'd be shunned but I don't care because I will die for Jesus & have past since - to date until my eventual death, SELF denied voluntary & chosenly Holy Warrior for Jesus Holy Trinity.

Huh two thing's: THEY of whether globalist's, etc or TOP - down globally deem cluelessly that - 1) Satan started this nevertheless 70 century - to date Holy War against God, 2) Adam FIRST, NOT Eve, sinned & then Eve of course but old men long ago changing writing's would have any & all believe otherwise, & SO . . . what then? Satan wins? YEAH, NOT! THINK AGAIN!

And THEN, there's thi

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Howard L link
12/4/2020 06:19:34 am

I enjoyyed reading this

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    With 25 years’ experience of Asia business, David Clive Price helps Western companies, SMEs and entrepreneurs to launch and expand in Asian markets. His International Business Passport consulting packages and bestselling Master Key Series offer proven strategies for building profitable partnerships and gaining competitive advantage.    

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