Insadong is one of those really touristy areas that are also quite awesome - every city has them, I think. Like Times Square in New York, or the Opera House in Sydney. Insadong is Korea, magnified and commoditised, but it still has a soul (please note my immense restraint in not using a pun there).
Insadong is cobbled streets and tiny laneways; ajummas and hanboks; mass produced traditional craft; delicate handmade jewellery; tea houses and modern art galleries; stunning pottery and oh so much wonderful, wonderful paper; hanoks hidden down side streets, turned into restaurants serving bbq, dumplings and soup; and embroidery that nearly breaks your heart with it's intricate beauty.
And then, just round the corner, you'll find a stray dog or three, and old men hard at work lugging pallets of eggs and bags of cabbages from the underground vegetable market. Or go the other way and you'll find lotus lamps and prayer beads and Seoul's largest Buddhist temple...
These are fabulous photos! Wow - you have me drooling over all that lovely craft and paper... I hope I can visit one day! x
ReplyDeletelovely photos! looks like lots of nice crafty items and colour :)
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! I just love the colour and detail in your photographs. And that bike… amazing! I think I need coloured rims on my bike. :)
ReplyDeleteIt looks fabulous! I'd love to go exploring there (with no kids)
ReplyDelete