She cooks them, you say how many
The coastal path between Seongsan and Udo ferry terminal is one of those roads that feels designed to keep drivers…
East Asia
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The alley behind the fishwives
The alley that runs behind Busan’s Jagalchi Market doesn’t announce itself. There’s no sign, no English translation, no photograph of…
The Last Corner Table at Madame Kim’s
I found my way there on a Tuesday afternoon in early November, when the ginkgo trees along the street had…
Through the fence, across the gap
The first railway bridge I found was on the wrong side of a valley. I could see the rusted trestles,…
Seongsan Ilchulbong at 4:20 PM
I paid 4,000 won for a can of iced Americano from a vending machine near the Seongsan Ilchulbong ticket booth….
The last neon sign on a road that used to have forty
I found myself standing in a narrow alley in southern Seoul, not far from the express bus terminal, watching a…
The Crease and the Fold: Inside Jeonju’s Paper Workshops
The first thing a visitor notices about hanji is not its beauty but its sound. In Jeonju’s Hanok Village, past…
Beyond the Tank: Seaweed, Salt, and Serious Snacks at Busan’s Jagalchi
The woman at the stall gestures with a dried squid the approximate size of a car tire, then peels off…
The Bootleg BTS Tape and the Book of Phone Numbers
Gwangjang Market on a Tuesday afternoon smells like sesame oil, burning rice cake, and the particular must of old paper…
That Photocard in a Cardboard Box, Next to the Gum
The elevator at Myeongdong Station opens onto a corridor that smells like fried chicken and old vinyl. This is not…