Don’t Read This Article: It’s About Geogeum-do
There’s an island in Jeollanam-do, just off the southwest coast of Goheung, that I love so much I almost bought a second home there despite not having a first.
Category: Travel
Odds and (Dead) Ends: Four Years of Getting Lost
My involvement with the “Lost” column began this month back in 2018, and as much as I’d like to have a single, significant topic to cover, this fourth anniversary has fallen during a creative slump. As per tradition, whenever this happens, I’m left to cobble together a few half-baked ideas with little rhyme or reason to them. And so, here it is – an underwhelming medley of odds and (dead) ends that have been crowding my workspace these past few months.
Like a Ton of Bricks: Hwajeong I-Park Falls from Grace
The Hwajeong I-Park collapse is on another level.
The Great Leap Backward: A Look Inside the Old Gwangju Prison
“What they were also surprisingly keen on was decorating, as many rooms had unique wallpaper not seen in other cells.”
Anticommunism and Counterespionage in the Middle of Nowhere
“My aim here is neither to extol nor vilify the Saemaul Movement, but rather to highlight its continued impact on the Korea we see today.”
The “Magical” Castles of Romania
Romanian castles preserve between their walls medieval stories about voivodes (governors) and kings, hide legends and bloody battles, or bathe in jewelry and treasures – castles that seem to rise from a rock and that give even more charm to a country that has so much to offer.
Youth on the Bubble: Shopping for a Home in Gwangju’s Overheated Housing Market
Korea’s millions of barbeque-loving boomers face a similar dilemma when it comes to apartment life. Lacking even the smallest external balconies, their apartments force them to buy half a home’s worth of additional appliances and camping gear so they can approximate backyard cookouts at overcrowded campsites.
If You Build It, Will They Come? Yonggwolsan’s New “Sky Road”
Located alongside the bulging rockface of Yonggwolsan, the new “Sky Road” (하늘길) zigzags for long stretches up the mountainside, offering unparalleled views of the Seomjin River valley below. It’s the latest manifestation of the region’s push to develop the local tourism industry, for better and for worse.