Sometime after the first wave of infections ended, but before the second wave began, I planned a small meetup. We hadn't had any get-togethers this year, and one of our members had just returned from the US and going through self-quarantine, so I arranged for a few of us to meet up and walk through a couple neighbourhoods.
There were five of us from my usual group, three of us being UER members, plus three others who joined us. We did as much social distancing as you can in tight quarters.
1. First we ducked through a hole torn in a construction site curtain.
2. Our first stop was inside a shaman's house, decorated with colourful wallpaper.
3. Then we went through a bathhouse that had been hit by artists at some point.
4. We walked through a massive demolition field. This site had been our favourite since the start of the year, but demolition was moving fast all of a sudden.
5. Here's everyone but me at this point.
6. What can I show you all my mind!
7. You can tell the sky was a little polluted, apparently because China is becoming active again. This isn't typically the time of year for air pollution. One of our members was late because she didn't like the look of the AQI forecast.
8. Looking back the way we came.
9. She's a reporter I used to work with who I brought into the fold because I was impressed by her coverage of urbanisation issues. She doesn't do clickbait.
10. We visited a traditional house that dated I think to the 1950s.
11. The ceiling had been smashed in.
12. The beams in this part of the ceiling were visible. I had always thought the use of crooked wood like this was a stylistic choice (contrast with the straight pieces used in
this pre-war house). But our returned friend explained that the best wood came from North Korea, and after the war started South Korea was no longer able to get that supply, so they made do with the inferior South Korean wood pieces.
13. Our returned friend, the guy on the left, has a superpower for buildings. He can just eyeball a particular house and say "This was built in the late 1950s," and he can give you the name of the company that made the tiles.
14. Next we went to a nearby second area, located on a hillside below a royal tomb (which is why you can sort of see a wall in the distance).
15.
16. They look like a band.
17. The first area we were in was on the other side of those highrises.
18. The closest thing we got to a group photo the whole day.
19. The way ahead.
20. We decided this hillside slum looked more interesting to walk through.
21. "Hold my camera and watch this."
22. Ollie!
23. Handstand!
24.
25. Next I got separated from the group while driving to the next site. I ended up on top of a mountain overlooking downtown.
26. This is a traditional Korean house, with roof tiles that said "Great Japan" and had Japanese flags. The house was built during the Japanese occupation and shows the attitude during the occupation was not entirely of yearning to be free.
27. Here's the gate into the property.
28. It had a couple "Great Japan" tiles on it too.
29. Many of the tiles are much older than the house and were brought here probably from another earlier building.
30. The front gate was quite an issue. We went here with an artist who had studied the area intently but hadn't known about this house. She didn't want to risk jumping the metal front gate, which was tied closed by wire and we couldn't do anything about it. One of my companions jokingly swung a shovel at the gate, revealing that the frame was tied in place but the panel was loose. We opened it and were able to bring everyone in. One of the most comical moments in my urban exploring history.
After, we went to a neighbourhood restaurant for
rotisserie chicken. It was my first time actually staying and having a meal in a restaurant since early January. Hopefully the infection numbers stay down and we can see each other again.
