Of How I Slighted Busan

Today all started long before this trip, and the outcome reflects my utter lack of understanding of Korea during the planning phase, and this ignorance extends even further to Busan. As I was considering my options for this trip, I’d asked ChatGPT to suggest an itinerary, and the initial iteration had me spending a few […]

One Perfect Moment

I smelled the Jagalchi Market before I saw it. It’s the distinctive fetor of creatures from the deep sea that have been out of their home environment for far too long, and it made my nose cringe. Still, the walk through the market was fascinating, and is one of the big draws for many people […]

Where it All Began

I had come to Gyeongju for history, and I found it in the form of enormous verdant grassy mounds surrounded by ancient shady trees under a warm azure sky. I know that for a lot of people these would be just piles of dirt, and otherwise meaningless, but for me they meant much more more […]

A Step Back to Ancient Korea

The taxi driver didn’t speak any English, and I really didn’t have any way to communicate the name of my hotel to him. I showed him where it was on the map, thinking that would help, but he seemed even more confused by that. Finally I was able to find the Korean address, but that […]

The Thing With Feathers

My friend Andrew flattered me recently. He said “If I was told a friend was going to North Korea, you would be one of the 5 people I would suspect.” I find it very complementary that he thinks I’m that adventuresome, but also a bit curious that he finds me so lacking in judgement. Then […]

Musing on History

Over my many years of travel, I’ve been to several of the great cities of the world. Some of these cities, like Rome and Istanbul, flaunt their age. They are old and they are they wear their age with pride. Others, like New York and Sydney, just aren’t that old and instead relish their youth. […]