Jip - Mi Casa

This is home. Seoul-shi, Socho-gu, Shinsa-dong

It’s humble. As you can guess, I didn’t get a parking space. Nor do I want one. They box each other in and leave their phone number in the front window. Then they wake each other up in the morning and have a row about it.

I’m thinking we could plant a few trees, put in a little garden and grow some herbs. Then add a barbecue pit and some deck chairs in the center. It’s a tough sell with the neighbors.

Shinsa is not really a family neighborhood. There aren’t many kids around. Most of the businesses in the neighborhood are brothels and seafood restaurants. It’s famous in Seoul for the crabs.

It’s a crossroads and a financial hub on the south side of the river. So there are lots of suits and places that cater to them when the leave the office.

Restaurants, karaoke rooms (called “nore bang”), whiskey bars (where you buy the bottle, not the glass), and plenty of room salons (which is what the Koreans call fun houses).

Also down the street is the headquarters for the KBA – the Korean Basketball Association. Our neighborhood also has a ton of “Wedding Halls”, which seem to be very Las Vegas styled in-and-out, line starts outside, kind of places.

I rarely ever see a white boy here. When I do, I’m always surprised. And not sure why.

We’re close to the Han River, which makes ‘life in the little box’ manageable. You can take a blanket down to the park. Lay it out alongside the river. There’s a little cantina selling cold beers and dried squid.

The park is called Hangang.

You can even order food from your cellphone, give the directions to your blanket and within half an hour, a waiter on a scooter will show up and serve dinner. With real bowls and plates. He then says to stash the dirty plates in the bushes and he’ll be back for them later.

I can’t stand the scooter drivers when I’m out for a jog. They hog the trail and blow exhaust in your face. But when they’re serving dinner, I feel somewhat forgiving.

If you’re feeling ambitious, a lot of city parks in Asia have exercise machines. Han Gang Park, here, has practically a full gym right alongside the river.

This is the neighborhood store across the street. It’s a mom and pop shop. And mom and pop are awesome. If only I could understand them. They’ve been good to me.

This is Mool (which means “water”). It’s the night club across the street. The flashing neon keeps my entire apartment lit up at night.

Mool is the biggest night club in Seoul, I’m told. I still haven’t been inside. The tunes are not exactly luring me in.

Pyeong

Being a small, overcrowded Asian country, Korea has many things to offer but personal space is not one of them. You’re considered very fortunate here to even have a room of your own.

As far as getaway trips to the mountains and the coast, they’re beautiful, but don’t count on “escape”. The queues on the hiking trails can be as bad as those on the subway escalators of Seoul.

Koreans accept the lack of space. They don’t build massive homes to show off or throw parties. You’ll rarely be invited to one’s home. Most families live in apartment blocks. They meet at restaurants and entertain by picking up the tab.

A man’s symbol of status seems to be his car. A man you’ve just met will tell you stories about how fantastic his car is and give you detailed figures of how well his company is doing. He might also mention the countries he has “girlfriends” in.

To get an idea of how you’re living here, Koreans will not only ask you what neighborhood you’re living in and where you work, but also how many “pyeong” your apartment is. This number is also a measure of success. It’s not a car or a balance sheet. But it provides some indication of where you fit into the puzzle.

I’m not sure of the exact size of one pyeong. I’ve heard it compared to the size of an average man lying flat with arms and legs outstretched – like the Da Vinci painting (which I won’t try to spell). A friend guessed my apartment to be a 12 or 13. I just say – it’s humble.

Koreans are doing away with the tradition of pyeong. I read that next year they will officially start selling and renting apartments according to the metric system, ie. square meters.