Saturday, September 19, 2009

63 Building, Seoul, South Korea -- Walking along the Han River in Seoul . . .

This afternoon Julianne and I headed down to the Han River in Seoul to go on a ferry boat ride (I'll put up the pics of that later). Afterward we walked along the river just taking in the Seoul urban riverscape.

Since we were in the Yeouido area we walked past "The DLI (Daehan Life Insurance) 63 Building (63 빌딩 or 육삼 빌딩) [which] is a skyscraper on Yeouido Island, overlooking the Han River in Seoul, South Korea" (from wikipedia.com's entry on 63 Building). The sky was very beautiful and the lighting really good so I began taking pictures . . .

I really like the symbolism of the dirt, rocks, street lamps, tree, grass, a wheelbarrow, a pick up truck, and a modern skyscraper all together in the same composition . . .

I took several shots of slightly differing composition and tried really hard to narrow it down to just one shot of the general perspective . . . . but I've included a few variations because I really like them.

The weather was absolutely beautiful today: 27 and something like 65% humidity in the mid-afternoon. The breeze off the river was cooling and Julianne and I had a great time.

There were a few ajusshi out fishing along the river. You can seem them next to the blue umbrella.

The Han River is being given a major face-lift and there are still major sections under construction. I really like the composition in this picture of the earth blending into a man being framed by a construction digger moving to the building . . .

This shot was awesome because the bicyclist's shadow came out really well. The journey from pre-modern technology to urban modernity in the 21st century works well here--and I like how it's unclear where the cyclist is going . . .

Upward evolution or downward spiral into modernity's conflicts?

A small shaft of sunlight slips in between the buildings to illuminate the earth and the path to . . . somewhere.

The worker lost in the shadows of the skyscraper holding a slack hose leading out of the shadows and into the sunlight . . .

The overseer watching Julianne and I . . .

. . . while nearby seniors work at clearing ground and planting new seeds . . .

Up on the concrete surrounded by signs and symbols . . .

Moving further and further upwards towards the peak . . .

. . . only to be reminded of humanity by this towering cutey that I saw on the way home.


More pics to come later . . .

J

1 comment:

Jason said...

Apparently the Fireworks festival is canceled--Brian in Jeolleonamdo messaged me on facebook to let me know . . .

Guess H1N1 is gonna wreak a lot of havoc this year in Korea....