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I don't do these very often, but 2023 was a pretty weird one.
At the end of last year, I felt like I was in a slump. Then in December I had a sudden surge of adventure.
1. The Millennium Seoul Hilto closed on the last day of 2022, and we made the most of it. Here's a picture of it on Jan. 1.
2. When I spoke too loudly about that site, a random stranger spoke up about a totally different hotel that had closed down. I found out this was the site of Burning Sun, a controversial nightclub that had been co-owned by a K-pop star. It closed after being exposed as basically a rape factory for the wealthy, where female patrons were being drugged by bar employees so the club's real customers could have sex with them.
3. I had a rare visit from a UER member passing through this part of the world.
4. In February, I met a fucking tiger.
5. The next weekend, I visited the zoo that was going to rescue the tiger. I also had a chance to see an abandoned prison.
6. In March I began an anarchaeology expedition of a plot in front of a major palace, when a renovation project uncovered old forgotten trolley tracks.
7. In late April, I attended a barbecue inside an active enclave of an otherwise mostly abandoned foreign military garrison in the center of Seoul.
8. In May I stowed away on a cruise train.
9. In late May, I rooftopped a new building under construction next door and saw my own home.
10. In July I met British Spider-Man, a base jumper who had been caught halfway up the country's tallest building.
11. I also explored an abandoned neighbourhood with a refugee resident of the area, who showed me where he used to live.
12. In September I infiltrated the Hidden Space, just a random underground passageway in front of City Hall that had been forgotten for decades.
13. During Chuseok, one of the country's two main holidays, I successfully entered the tunnel for the GTX-A, an underground bullet train line currently under construction.
14. At the start of October, I used my miniaturised versions of myself to infiltrate a miniature theme park
15. Also in October I accidentally infiltrated a Buddhist temple that was not closed yet, and got a tour from one of the two remaining residents.
16. And in later October I rooftopped a major hotel and was kicked out gently upon leaving.
17. In November I visited the Host Tunnel with British Spider-Man.
18. After skipping last year, I revived the tradition of visiting the Host Tunnel for Christmas, and we had possibly the largest group yet. We'll see if next year is as good, or if it skips a year.
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Another great year, that nightclub story is messed up.
What is the distance here? It feels to me like everything you do is so close together or do you have to drive/travel far and wide for so much awesomeness?
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Posted by Freaktography
What is the distance here? It feels to me like everything you do is so close together or do you have to drive/travel far and wide for so much awesomeness?
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Sorry, you've triggered my geography nerd reflex. South Korea from one end to the other isn't much more than 300 kilometers, which is the approximate distance between Edmonton and Calgary in my home province, two cities that Canadians consider to be neighbouring. Korea is connected from Seoul to Busan by a bullet train. The train can hit speeds of 300 km/h, but it takes about two and a half hours, because the route isn't straight due mainly to mountains.
Two of the pictures I shared (the two tiger-related photos) are over two hours away by bullet train, in opposite corners of the country. Two more are right outside Seoul in bordering cities.
Of all the pictures I shared, most of them are pretty close to home. The first hotel is about 400 meters away, and the nearest fence of the foreign garrison is not much farther in the opposite direction (although the useable gates are way on the other side).
A lot of explorers regularly travel for multiple hours outside the city, just to see what are often just empty concrete shells. I take pride in exploring close to home. It's where all the most interesting history is concentrated, and where you see the most interesting cityscapes.
There's also another reason I don't stray far from home. My cat, whose urban exploring alias is Bucky, has diabetes, and I have to give him an injection every 12 hours.
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Very cool year!
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You had an amazing year!
The nightclub backstory is icky!
I find that a lot of place near where you live or quite historic and hidden away from most explorers outside the city too. Exploring the home turf is pretty low key on certain days.
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Urbex goes hand in hand with sobering reminders of the realities of human society imo. Great pictures btw and I always love your write ups too!
[last edit 12/31/2023 6:46 PM by Philodis - edited 1 times]
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I always love the details you add with each place you visit. The backstories of the nightclub and the tiger both really made an impression when you first wrote about them earlier in the year. The cruise train and the bullet train tunnel both look wild, too. Always look forward to your posts, man!
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Very cool set. You always post the most unique things.
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