Korean Chic (PHOTOGRAPHY)

A Day In Pictures (PHOTOGRAPHY)

I spoke to the Deputy Mayor of Seoul today, who also happens to be the city's Chief Designer(and holds a PH.D in his field). He told me about a very impressive and comprehensive plan that amounts to a massive makeover for Seoul. The picture below reveals how important and imminent those plans are. The picture below is the front page at a newsstand at an arbitrary subway stop. You can see that part of Gwanghamun is being redesigned to be more walkable. These developments start on Saturday, and are part of - as I say - an exciting and comprehensive project.




This is my interpreter, Marianne. She has done a fantastic job - both yesterday and today. She's going to John Hopkins University to do a Ph.D in nutrition.

Seoul Live (PHOTOGRAPHY)

This is where I'm staying for the next few days.

We've been waiting for you for 5000 years (PHOTOGRAPHY)

It's warm, and spring is springing in Seoul. At the airport was a beautiful mountage of see-thru green plates, promoting Korea's heritage. One of them read: "We've been waiting for you for 5000 years." Another plate showed a tasteful depiction of a Silla Empire artifact (dated 6 AD). It is amazing to have a contiguous flow of people here over thousands of years. In South Africa by contrast the original inhabitants left (or were killed) a long time ago.

I had a nice drive from the airport after an exhausting 17 hours of flying. I am now on the other side of the planet, in one of the world's largest cities. How did all of this come to be, how did it happen without our ever coming here before or even knowing about it? Phenomenal.