A day at the expo
Passing over Daejeon’s iconic bridge…
…to disembark at Science Expo.
Every year in autumn it’s where big and small people can fly simulations…
Build cities by singing…
Meet the latest humanoids in person…
And be generally amazed.
From the mountain at the south
The most typical Korean countryside view? Tall hills stretching out endlessly, meeting the clouds.
Back to the museum
Plaza of the national science museum, a gem from the ’90s.
The café and the fusion lab
Typical morning coffee at the campus of KAIST polytechnic, with views on the national fusion research institute while ice latte is brewing.
Fear and loathing in Korean corner diner
Memory of one beautiful January
Small typical places Daejeon (1)
Flashbacks of basking in the weekend streets of Gung-dong. One of the many dense nightlife areas. All them being countless cafes, bbq’s, chicken places, karaoke and video rooms, arcades and cosmetics shops thrown together in the midst of old residential areas.
Outworldly new residential areas. But never too far away from the above-mentioned.
My visions of spring under way in the campus of KAIST polytechnic.
Seven things I learned about North Korea while living in the South (or some cheesy title like that)
Everything below comes from gladly living in South Korea in 2015-17; also from being frequently asked lately if I wasn’t afraid to be there. (A hypocrisy in the media’s way of presenting things was not without its role, either.)
tl;dr: A Korean acquaintance told me that if North Korea didn’t develop nuclear weapons USA would have already invaded it.
* South Koreans never speak bad about “the North”.
(Well, at least they never do to foreigners!)
They are disapproving of the regime, of course, but they don’t view North Korea as an enemy. Mostly as the lost half of their country.
(…and with this I don’t mean “the half which has to be taken back”.)
* South Koreans don’t worry about attacks, yes, no matter what the media tell you if I may say so.
People outside asked so many times if everything was alright and if the public was panicking, and every time it felt comical to everyone inside. The reason is that both governments behave the same way (see below) and that neither side is willing to break the equilibrium of many years.
Disclaimer: That was the situation while the undersigned was there. She doesn’t know about recently, but she’s ready to take bets that they worry more about the Trump than about the Bomb.
* The South Korean government prohibits speaking good about the North.
Two years ago an American author was expelled after saying that beer is better in North Korea. http://bit.ly/2yfPtdy
Oh, by the way, three years ago the only parliamentary leftish political party was shut down for alleged ties to the North. http://lat.ms/2xqZZtT
Modern classics
I remember warming music at Culture and Arts Center in Daejeon…
Styled in the manner of a traditional hat,
an opera house with two halls, both hosting performances year-round.
Things getting more impressive the further in one goes and excusing poor resolution! (Here, the set for the Center’s Otello production.)