It's Saturday afternoon in Insadong, around 2PM. The time of the day when tourists and locals, who, after enjoying their lunch, walk the alleys of Insadong full of shops, cafes and art galleries.
From one end of the main alley, five giant mascots carried by five guys walked into the area, attracting everyone's attention. Who wouldn't notice them? They were twice my height! They got noticed, but nobody knew they were an omen that something was about to happen in Insadong.
The mascots, or rather, marionettes made of inflatables stopped at the main intersection and entertained the tourists with their dancing.
Then, out of nowhere...
An upbeat music started and three girls started dancing in the middle of the road, which initially, some passers-by did not notice or simply ignored. The music continued on and more dancers wearing pink and yellow Korea In Motion shirts joined the synchronized dancing.
It's a flashmob! And that's when people stopped and stood to watch! Every one now realized that it was!
Having rehearsed the choreography and learned their cues, the flashmobbers from Korea In Motion made up of Korean and foreign volunteers were now in the center of attention at the center of Insadong!
With all the tourists and locals taking photos and videos, and the dancers and b-boys impressing everyone of their production number, Insadong's main intersection was just turned into a theater of sorts, which just did not showcase Korean art, souvenirs and delicacies, but also a hint of creativity as part of Korea In Motion's way of letting everyone know that September 2012 will showcase musicals, non-verbal performances and other forms of performance arts in Korea.
Here's the Korea In Motion (KOINMO)>>> homepage.
And here are more of the KOINMO flashmob photos. Maybe later I'll also blog about the behind-the-scene rehearsal photos.
By the way, the full video of the flashmob has been uploaded by KOINMOmaster at...Youtube
One cool Saturday afternoon, I decided to hop on a bus and a subway train to get to Garibong, where a couple of years ago, I stumbled upon Zara outlets at the Mario Outlet and the Z Mall.
And now, when I thought of getting a few more of those KRW10,000-a-pair Zara pants as pasalubong (presents) when I fly home, spending an afternoon of travelling to the other side of the city was not a bad idea.
So, from Hannam-dong, I simply took the Blue Bus 214, got off at the stop near Nonhyeon Station of Line No. 7, the same line as the Gasan Digital Complex Station.
After walking out of Exit 4 of the Gasan Digital Complex Station, I strolled towards the Mario Outlet area and saw those 'sale' signs all over. Nothing much has changed, actually. I hope the prices have! Ha-ha-ha! Lower, of course.
I ventured into the Mario Outlet building and checked out the Zara Outlet in the building, but I was disappointed. Not much interesting things for me. So, not to waste any time, I crossed the street and headed inside W-Mall, and went straight down to the basement level, where, once before, I was surprised with the items at the Zara outlet just next to the food court!
But now, the Zara outlet was gone! No more Zara pants! Only the food court was there...and the bulgogi menu! Ha-ha-ha!
Disappointment.
Oh well, not my lucky day. So, I just roamed around and console myself at the GAP store on the opposite side, and got some KRW3,000 shirts. At least, I wouldn't go home empty-handed. I certainly wouldn't want those kilometers I covered from travelling go to waste.
Do I want to come back here again someday? Maybe. Maybe not. Unless the Zara outlet returns next to the bulgogi restaurant at the basement of W-Mall, maybe I would.
But in the meantime, where is the Zara outlet? My brother wants his Zara pants quick!
The rainy days in Seoul made me stay home, sit in front of the computer and crave for food (which is most of the time!).
And during these days when sunny days alternate with rainy ones, the craving for some delights that I miss grew even more. So, one night, I ventured into the Haebangchon area, which is next to Itaewon in Yongsan-gu, to search for Pita Time, that fast food restaurant, which used to be in Itaewon and has since moved to the Haebangchon. The last time I visited it was more than year ago. And I thought, it was time to go back.
I made my way through Haebangchon's landmark, those kimchi pots for sale displayed by the roadside. These pots, stacked over one another, welcome pedestrians and vehicles into the neighborhood.
But as I continued walking on my side of the road, expecting to see Pita Time on the opposite side at the location I knew where it was supposed to be, I realized....it was gone!
I tried walking up and down the road, and hoped that I just missed it. But there was no sign, no name, no trace.
Oh well. I resigned to the thought that it must have closed down...or maybe moved somewhere else I didn't know.
So, in order not to let all this walking go to waste, I decided to grab whatever was near. So, I went inside...Burgermine!
There were only a few diners inside that time, and the walls of the place was painted with interesting Andy Warhol-ish graffiti art.
And as I got seated, the owner, Jimmy Shin, explained to me that aside from the burgers on the menu, they offer an eat-all-you-can-burger buffet for KRW15,000! They call it 'DIY Burger Bar'.
I just told Jimmy that I wanted to just order from the menu. Of course, I didn't tell him that I am actually torturing myself these days by dragging my ass to the gym every morning in order to lose these extra kilos from all the eating during my summer vacation, and more eating after! Ha-ha-ha!
At the buffet table, you can actually create your own recipe for a burger, enjoy it and share the recipe with other people on Burgermine's website. And people will vote for recipe if they like it! They have specific hours for the do-it-yourself burger bar, by the way.
Here's their website: http://www.burgermine.com
As the Haebangchon area is far from Hannam-dong, I am not sure when I would be able to return to the area. But if you have time and would want to try their burger, just get off at Exit 2 of the Noksapyeong Station (Line 6), and just walk straight until you see the road fork to the left. From there, you will see the kimchi pots, and walk further up on that side. After maybe a hundred meters, you can see Burgermine on the opposite side of the road with its graffiti art marking the place.
On my way back to Itaewon, I decided to walk again, and avoid the temptation of taking a cab. I figured, perhaps I could lose a few burger calories that night by strolling under the cloudy night, and actually try to enjoy the sights (glaring lights from cars), sounds (all the honking of horns), smell (pollution from vehicle exhaust, actually), and everything to comes in between.
I even stumbled into the pairing of the Korean and Philippine flags on display at the lamp post in Itaewon. International flags are every where in Itaewon, actually. It's the neighborhood's way of welcoming tourists and residents from different countries, who visit, dine and shop in Itaewon.
Although that night, somebody just simply strolled along the main lane because of his heavy burger dinner. Ha-ha-ha!
And when I saw the Namsan electric car when reached the bus stop opposite the KFC, I finally decided wait for a bus myself, the one heading to Hannam-dong, my home, and continue my sightseeing while digesting a yummy burger from Burgermine.
