Story House Revisited

There is a colour version of this scene here. I think this black and while film version expresses my feelings about the city being torn down and turned into apartments for rich Seoulites and property investors better than the colour version does.

Raw Fish

 

Outside a raw fish restaurant, Sokcho

Some years ago, the faculty and staff of the middle school where I worked had lunch at a raw fish restaurant. Sitting uncomfortably cross-legged at a floor table with a bowl of white rice in front of me, I searched the many side dishes for something that didn't have any seafood in it. Although I tried to avoid looking at it, my eyes couldn't help be drawn to the fresh-from-the-aquarium fish lying on its side in a central platter garnished with leafy vegetables. The fish was intact, but its flesh had been thinly sliced to allow easy eating with chopsticks. Its round eye seemed to be looking straight at me. I felt guilty, even though I wasn't going to eat it. The young dimple-cheeked teaching assistant sitting across from me was also looking at the fish with her hands folded benignly in her lap.

'It looks so pitiful,' she said. When I grunted my assent, she took a sesame leaf from the platter and covered its face. Then she picked up her chopsticks and looked for the plumpest bits.

Strange Creatures

 

I don't know what Amice thinks about the cars going back and forth all day on the street below. Can cats differentiate between animals and machines? Maybe he thinks of the SUVs and sedans as especially ugly breeds of dogs.

Taking a break at GS25 convenience store

 

GS25 convenience store on Yeongnang Coastal Road

The cars and the umbrellas weren't moving, so I had plenty of time to micro-compose. 

Beached Swimming Platform

 

Lighthouse Beach, Sokcho

I haven't been in Sokcho long enough to know if this is a swimming platform or a platform for something else. I may never find out because I avoid the beach and tourist areas during the summer. At the moment it's just a place for a small bird to have a rest.

Anchovies

 

Yangyang Market

The two smaller sizes of anchovies are usually fried in soy sauce or chilli paste. The larger ones are for soup stock. 

Rachel's Kitchen

 

Yeongnang Coastal Road, Sokcho.