Seoul, Uijeongbu Peace Statue, Budae Jjigae Street

Statue of Peace, Peace Park
After arriving at Uijeongbu station on Line 1, a full one and a half hours from Gangseo-gu, I came out of the station (exits 4,5 and 6) expecting, based on the maps, that the Statue of Peace that I had come all this way to see would be obvious. Well, there are two separate parks, and as per usual I picked the wrong one. The one to the right, which is a kids' art zone:


On the left, you will find the Peace Statue, and a variety of other installations relevant to the theme. If you go all the way through the park to the main street, the statue is right on the sidewalk by the bus stop. Here she is, representing a "comfort woman" of WWII, dressed warmly for winter, 2020:


Nearby, an homage to 70 years of Korean independence from Japan:


… and celebrating Uijeongbu's elevation to status of "city":


Following WWII, Korea was split into two parts, and five years later, the Korean War began with Kim Il-sung's attempt by force to reunite the halves under his dictatorial leadership. This became a proxy war, with the US (and allies) fighting on the South's side, and Communist China assisting the North. The movie and TV show MASH are set nearby what was then the village of Uijeongbu. Though the show is fictional, the US military presence in the area was real, and still to be felt to this day--23,500 US servicemen are based in Korea at this writing.

An homage to their efforts for peace, a section of a wall from nearby Camp Falling Water has been put up in the park:


With a theme of peace and reunification, the experience of Germany in 1990 was symbolized here with sections of the Berlin Wall and an interesting series of photographs from the time.


Alas, on this Saturday during Seollal, no one will get to enjoy toast from this pocha ...


… but hang on tight, because food is on order shortly.

Rodeo Drive, which I walked north from the park, after crossing the main road, is a fancy shopping street reminding us of the strong presence of US GIs in the area.


I strolled up Rodeo Drive to make my way to a street specializing in a particular food. Korea has this in spades: yeonnip-bap is from Buyeo, bibimbap and choco-pies are from Jeon-ju, etc. Uijeongbu's specialty is budae jjigae, or army base stew.

Budae jjigae street


This stew (jjigae) is Korean comfort food which dates only from the Korean War era. Those were tough times for the people, so you scrounged food where you could, including the refuse of US army bases (budae). In a MASH episode, Hawkeye and BJ ridicule Frank Burns's attempt to sell off the camp's trash in lots, but he was right: the average Korean could make good use of our cast-offs. Especially popular were SPAM and hot dogs, which together with seasonal veg, tofu (dubu), red pepper paste (gochujang), and beans, cheese or whatever else you could get, were cooked up in stock and served over rice or noodles. It is a hearty and delicious meal (I dedicated a post to it back in 2009).

I have it once or twice a month in my neighborhood, but Budae-jjigae street has grown up to be the place for it. I chose this restaurant, the second busiest one, whose sign means Uijeongbu Specialty Budae Jjigae Main Place (they have an overflow across the street), and was not disappointed:


Here is the ajumma in charge:


The version here is heavy on meat, dubu and kimchi, and I love the contrast of sour kimchi and spicy gochujang. Here's what it looks like cooking over a flame at your table:


Here's what it looks like in a bowl over some rice:


And here's what I look like stuffing my face!

Seoul, Nat'l Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

Trying to fit some high culture into my winter vacation/Seollal holiday, I dropped by NMMCA, and spent over two hours there: it is quite large with a about eight galleries, and had several things of interest. Best photo of the day:


One of the first parts of the first gallery is an exhibit of an art group's working area, including just a bunch of stuff in storage:


The next exhibit was a two room mixed media presentation (and the green hallway between them which makes odd whispering sounds) was about the nature of identity in a world of passports and DNA; it was quite interesting, but like much of art today relies heavily on video.


Speaking of video, this artist recording himself building a 1 pyeong (about 3 sq. meter) hut, or trying to, as it kept getting blown over, swept out to sea, etc.


This artist had images representing her fears on the glass cylinders (which were spinning) and projecting their shadows outward; the next one was about the impossibility of capturing the fluid motion of ocean waves in concrete.


In the center of this installation "Barefoot", a mechanical thing which makes squeaking noises representing Siddhartha, already in the state of nirvana, extending his feet toward his beloved disciple Gasupjonja. This is surrounded by "Gathering", a series of animals mourning the death of Siddhartha (incl. details).


A work called Kyon-Woo-JickNyo, which has a model earth suspended between North and South Korea. As sunshine energizes the solar panel, the model moves between the two, inspired by the "Sunshine Policy" of former president Kim Dae-Jung.


A toy tiger in some leaves and model buildings made of giveaway cards.


And finally:

Seoul World Cup Stadium Tour

For years I've wanted to take the World Cup stadium tour, but I generally only get over there on game days, when of course they don't offer the tour. I finally made it, and it cost a minimal 1,000W for an hour--including a not too rah-rah 13 minute video of the 2002 World Cup. In the waiting room, I was thrilled to meet K-Pop sensations and Seoul Tourism ambassadors BTS:


The field was being prepared for the upcoming ACL game on the 28th. I learned the turf is Kentucky bluegrass, and the import [mumble] square feet of it from the states each year.


Here is the player tunnel.


FC Seoul locker rooms, showers (note the fresh soap) and massage room:


Manager's meeting room, with me managering:


Warm-up room that visitors are allowed to sign on the wall. And


The young lady tour guide was very nice, and since I was the only person in attendance, she took lots of photos: