2호선

2호선 is the second subway line in Seoul, aka the Green Line. I spent all day on this line today... It's so large! It's a circle, but unlike the Yamanote Line in Tokyo which takes exactly an hour to complete, 2호선 takes about 2 hours. It's enormous, and I usually have no choice but to take it these days whenever I go to Seoul because all my buses back to Suwon are on this line.

So today after class, I arrived in 잠실 (Jamshil) at 2:30 by bus, and went to 뚝섬 (Ddukseom) where Seoul Forest is. Someone recommended it to me, so I decided to go, check it out, and take some pictures. The sky, as usual in Seoul, was completely invisible. Nothing but fog. I couldn't even feel any fresh air in a park full of trees. In the West and in the East, there are two very different perceptions of outdoor beauty. In the West, we look at the bigger picture. When we're looking at something old and picturesque, the only way we could describe it so is if there is nothing industrial or such in the way of our view or photo. In the East, there can be a beautiful gate with a dirty highway running behind it, and they could still call it beautiful. This thought was reaffirmed at Seoul Forest where behind beautiful trees and sculptures I saw highways, apartment buildings, and large cranes. Even in Central Park in New York City you would never see that. They make sure that the trees are tall enough to block out that which isn't pretty to the eye, and all the visible buidlings are gorgeous and enviable.
*rant over*

Anyways, after that, I went to 신당 (Shindang) to have the famous Shindang 똑볶이 (spicy rice cakes) with Sean. It was really good! Also, I really missed Sean, cause I haven't seen him in two years. We used to hang out all the time last time I was here. He pretty much helped me get around the city when I knew nothing about Seoul. After dinner, we ended up in 홍대 (Hongdae), the hip college town area of Seoul. I got a rook piercing that I've wanted forever now! It only cost me $10, which was worrying, but it doesn't hurt, so I guess that's a good thing. After that, we went to a jazz bar for a bit, did sticker photos, then went home.