I first visited this site back in March 2015, and then didn't bother returning again until this year. Extra dumb because my camera battery died on my first visit and the only pictures I had from back then were on my phone.
1. It's two medium-rise apartment buildings. On the other side is the royal tomb of Queen Sindeok, which is a large natural mountainside area. Originally she was buried in central Seoul, but her tomb was dug up and stone monuments were made into a footbridge to disgrace her memory. Later history turned in her fabour and she was reinterred out here.
2. And up the road looking back, you can see part of the traditional wall of the palace complex, as well as the relatively densely populated housing on the downhill side.
3. I jumped the fence and found a couple but not all of the entrances sitting open.
4. The streetside building was mostly gutted by scavengers.
5. They chopped up the floor looking for heating pipes, which is standard practice.
6. A few things were left behind, like this cuckoo clock.
7. And this Simpsons drawing. Who knows, maybe the kid animates the Simpsons now.
8. I liked how they used socks on the toilet seat.
9. Korean fried chicken has become well-known in other countries, but over here we're all about Paris fried chicken apparently.
10. I crossed over into the other building.
11. Right inside was a discarded baby portrait. This looks like it's from a doljanchi ceremony held on the first birthday. The baby is placed in front of a table containing things like foods, string, brushes, ink, and money, and the object they pick up predicts their future. The kind of keepsake you can just throw out, because fuck babies I guess.
12. I went up a landing and there was a loud racket. It sounded like someone was in there with me and unhappy to see me. Then this small fuzzy brown creature tore past me, and I somehow managed to take this picture.
13. At first I thought it was a wild boar and retreated, looking for something to arm myself with. After finding the picture and enhancing it, we believe it is a raccoon dog on one end, a mallard duck on the other.
14. The closest thing I could find to a weapon was skis.
15. Further evidence it was a boar, I found Charlotte.
16. I returned in the fall after the vegetation and spiderwebs died down.
17. My camera was out and in better settings in case I needed to take a similar photo again.
18. It looked like those could have been animal tracks on that maroon strip thing.
19. The world from the perspective of a raccoon dog.
20. I found a tiny skull.
21. Curious what made these scuffs.
22. Wherever I looked, no live wild animals.
23.
24. But at least I was welcomed.
25. Up near the top floor.
26. More track-like marks.
27. Here's a view of the area.
28. From the top floor, I found stairs leading up to loft rooms, which isn't something I see very often in Korean architecture. Lots of friendly animals up there.
29. Well...that dates the place a bit.
30. An impressive painting which I'm guessing is the crater lake on Mount Paektu, located on the border between North Korea and China.
31. Having cleared one side of the building, I wandered down the hall in the direction the raccoon dog went.
32. This gives you an idea of the lifestyle they're used to.
33. A fair amount of art and some more hanging lights, but no live animals.
34. More non-live ones in the loft on this side though.
35. When I escaped, I found someone had been drying pumpkin in the weeds right outside. Doesn't look sanitary.
When I had thought it was a wild boar, I was prepared to call animal control, assuming it was trapped in there and couldn't climb back into the tomb grounds, plus could be dangerous if it got out into the street. Raccoon dogs, though, can fucking fly, which I know thanks to Super Mario 3.
