Where I Live - Part 3

At the entrance to the Shidae apartment/New Core shopping complex, there are always some very pretty, shaggy-haired Korean guys - probably University students - directing traffic. Standing at a junction of a four-lane street and a two-laner, with the exit of a parking garage on one side, and a six-lane road on the other, this guy certainly has his work cut out for him. Their outfits change with the seasons, or with "Event Sales" (they are actually employed by New Core). My favourite was the safari suit, complete with zebra accented fedoras. On Sundays, there can be up to 12 uys, strategically placed to guide the cars and pedestrians.

Don't be fooled, nobody pays the slightest attention to the traffic guys.


Looking up the hill (aka The Shidae Deathmarch - it's rather steep) towards Building 101, we can see Kim's Club (supermarket) and the New Core Outlet on the right, with Dong-Su fitness (a five-storey athletic/spa complex) behind. On the left is the swankier New Core department store. Need a Samsonite suitcase, some Body Shop soap or a leather couch? Here's where you want to go. There are three beautifully suited ladies at the door to greet you, and each counter has no less than two smiling (bored?) employees behind it.


Across from New Core, the effects of population density can be seen in the signs. All of these businesses exist in one four-storey building. If you read Hangeul, you can recognize "Paris Baguette", a pharmacy and a PC room. If you can't read Hangeul, you can just let yourself be dazzled by the neon when the signs are lit up at night.

This is only a taste of my home. And it's about time I showed it to you all.... it's been SEVEN MONTHS!