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the name of Seoul's famous red light district near Cheongnyangni
train station. It gets the name "588" because this is
the address where most of the brothels of the neighborhood
are concentrated, not because there is a bus by that number
which passes through the area (it doesn't) as commonly
believed.
Angel and Woodcutter is a famous Korean fairy tale. Once
upon a time, there lived a Woodcutter who was unable to
find a wife. With the help of a mountain spirit, he meets
a Angel who has come down from the Heavens to bathe. He
hides her "wing clothes" so that she cannot go back. The
two marry and live happily, having two children. But after
their second child. After giving birth to their second
child, Angel tells her husband that she would like to
take a look at her 'wing clothes' again. Against mountain
spirit's advice that he should not return the wing clothes
to Angel until they have their third child, Woodcutter
gives the clothes back to Angel. Once putting on the clothes,
Angel flies away to the Heavens with their two children
one in each arm. The Woodcutter lives his remaining days
in tears, wishing he had listened to the mountain spirit. |
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Another well-known Korean story. A swallow falls from
its nest, breaks its legs, and is nursed back to health
by a man named Hungbu. Two years later the swallow brings
Hungbu a gourd seed. He plants the seed, and the gourd
in produces is filled with treasure, making him very rich.
In Korean, 'swallow' is slang for gigolo.
Byeongtae and Youngja are the main characters of 'Parade
of Fools', a 70's movie which described the Korean youth
culture of that age. Here, they are parodied twenty years
later; Byeongtae has only become a part-time university
lecturer while Youngja sells insurance policies, a common
source of extra cash for middle-aged women who are struggling
to support their families. |
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| Built by the Japanese Colonial Government, Seoul Station
is the largest train station in the country, always busy
with people coming and going. In recent years, it has
earned a reputation for having large numbers of homeless
and ethnic Koreans from China congregating there, with
many middle-aged ethnic Korean women peddling various
Chinese medicines and folk remedies. |
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| The subway system is an important means of public transportation
for the twenty million people living in Seoul and the
greater Seoul area. There are currently eight lines operating
in the Seoul Metropolitan Subway System, and each line
has unique characteristics according to the neighborhoods
through which they travel. Unlike the affluence easily
seen on Line No.3, which passes through Apgujung, Shinsa,
and the Gangnam area, or the clean and modern feeling
of Line No.5 which passes through Yeouido and Gimpo Airport,
Line No.1 was the first to open in 1974 and passes through
the nine stations between Seoul Station and Cheongyangni,
the most central parts of old downtown Seoul, and is connected
with the National Railroad lines that come from Incheon,
Suwon, Ansan, Uijungbu. Line No.1 is a little old and
a little dirty, but it is the most exemplary of common
life. |
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