Way to Make a Statement 2011

I know this comes a bit late, but I hope that everyone in Nihon is doing alright. Can you imagine what it would be like to be less than 130 km away from the epicenter of a 9.0 earthquake? Unless you were there, probably not. I mean when's the last time you heard a 9.0 happening? I'm not sure if people have been keeping track of the major earthquakes these past two years, but I'm am concerned that something big might happen off the west coast. I don't mean to alarm anyone, and hopefully nothing will come of it. How would we respond? While history shows us that the 日本人 have been extremely resilient people, I am hoping that the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear plant explosions will be taken care of sooner than later, and that the people of Sendai and the surrounding afflicted areas will be able to overcome this time of hardship. I guess only time will tell.

Simultaneously, two viral videos have managed to keep the youth of the States preoccupied, or if you prefer, ignorant about these world crises. I'd rather not get into the details, but the overwhelming interest in the "Friday" music video, and the UCLA student berating Asians in the library makes me wonder in what direction we are headed. How would we view the Japanese people, if during an equally massive earthquake, a small coastal town got wiped out by a tsunami leading to "8,805 (+/-) deaths, 2,628 (+/-) injured, and 12,664 (+/-) people missing across eighteen prefectures, as well as over 125,000 buildings damaged or destroyed (Wiki)," and they were preoccupied with ludicrous internet videos. I know that this doesn't apply to everyone, and I'm sure a lot of people are more interested in helping Japan though disaster relief programs and donations than those videos, but I'm appalled that they have been receiving so much attention!

Has anyone been keeping up with what's happening in Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen?! What about the Libyan protests? I mean these are ordinary people, living in such extraordinary conditions. Can you imagine firing anti-aircraft guns strapped behind Toyota trucks? Running across dirt intersections while being fired at from multiple directions? Or, trying to sleep at night, while the endless barrage of explosives deafens your ears? Sounds like something out of a Terminator movie, but it's not. All I know is that the people of Libya are fighting for their freedoms. Just like our ancestors did. Free from diabolical oppression. Free to believe in whatever we want. Free from fear. Free to do as we please as long as we don't thread on others. Free to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.

Perhaps, we've forgotten?
Just something to think about.

Anyways, here are some pictures from the past week.
enjoi :D

Roll:
1. Kodak Portra 400nc

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[Jonggak Station]
1) Korea's National Tax Building. I really like the design of this building, and I managed to get in a tiny piece of the moon!



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[Myeongdong]
1) Tourists.

2) Supporters of Nonghyup Bank. I wasn't sure what the exact details of this sit-in was, but I believe another big bank was trying to take over NH Bank. 2011 seems to be the year of protests.

3-4) The worker was kind enough to let me use her glasses cleaning cloth to clean my filter. Too bad I only caught half her face! Juxtaposed: She was deeply entranced in her ipod/iphone, caught fellow street photographers Kelly and Lauren in the background.







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[Insadong]

1) Unhappy camper. I hope I don't look like that when I grow older...

2) Girl in white, barefoot, holding a clock, Yet, it wasn't 12 o'clock...

3) *edit Deranged Homeless man passing out selling magazines headlining Justin Bieber to get back on his feet. thanks alicia. Juxtaposed: Kids playing in front of their dad whose taking a cigarette break.







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[Samcheongdong]
1) A couple through the window of a small film camera stop in Samcheongdong. If you're into art, cafes, boutique shops, this is the place for you. Couple's haven.



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[Bukchon]
1-2) This lady was acting like a little baby girl (noticed the flashy outfit). Juxtaposed: A baby girl allowed to act like a baby girl.

3) This little girl was making faces on the other side of the glass window, and I was hoping that she would make another face, but instead I got her closing her eyes, yet smiling in glee.

4-5) I saw an opening through one of the old Hanok houses, and I thought this would make an interesting photo. Juxtaposed: An elderly lady reading, in her plant shop.







Thank you for visiting!

more to come & I hope you enjoyed my visual story of Seoul

pax