Paepaero Day – November 11

Ah ha! A nice overcast Sunday morning – perfect for finally catching up on my blog! I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last wrote! And I really can't believe that it's December 2nd!! Since my last post a fair amount has happened. Let's start on November 11th. Although November 11 is Remembrance Day back home, here in Korea it is Paepaero Day.

A box of Paepaero

It is a clever ploy by the Paepaero companies to make a little extra profit, because Nov.11 is 11/11, which (as everyone knows), looks like four sticks of Paepaero. SO, in honour of 11/11, lovers and friends exchange endless boxes of Paepaero and indeed other candy and gifts and cards (eerily reminiscent of Valentine's day, although they have that one too, poor blokes!)

It was on this day that four of the gal teachers decided to go to the Seoul Museum of Art, which was just wrapping up its exhibition "City_net Asia" which was a collaboration by several major Asian museums and curators who used the exhibition to "Introduce young artists who struggle to find their identities through individual issues of the city." It was a very thought-provoking exhibit. Some of my favourite installations included a "forest" of mics that played every imaginable city sound, a sideshow made up of charcoal drawings of the city, and a series of Eschel-style apartment blocks. It reminded me of YSDN's 2006 Grad class' Workshop project in many ways.

The four of us on the steps of the Museum
When we were finished at the Museum, we stopped for a coffee, and found ourselves standing next to a huge protest. What the protest was about we weren't sure, but there were thousands of very loud protesters, and a similar number of Police Officers in full riot gear. It was quite the scene; the protesters shouting and waving banners in the centre of the square, and police surrounding them on all sides, quietly waiting in their riot gear. It was very eerie.

Riot police in central Seoul
The caged buses that brought the riot police in... look how many there are!
I like to think these are swords on their backs :)

We didn't stick around to see what would happen next with the protesters and police, (although I was quite curious). Instead, we continued on to Myeong-dong, a shopping area known for its many shops, and many many hordes of shoppers.

A shirt Rupali found with an abnormally large pocket that induced such a fit of giggles I had to leave the store

After we had had our fill of shopping, we stopped at a Pizza place that had caught my eye on the way in. It was everything we had hoped it would be – delicious Italian style pizza with LOTS of cheese! YUM!

Shanda showing us how it's done