Parking Chance, The App

This is not about PARKing CHANce, the Park brothers venture (by the way, "Bitter, Sweet Seoul" passed the 10,000 views mark only yesterday - what have you guys been doing instead of watching it?), but about actual parking spots across Seoul.

From today on, Seoul Metropolitan Government is offering for free its parking app: 주차정보안내서비스 (서울주차정보 for short on Google Play) delivers key data sets for over 2,000 parking lots: location, contact, capacity, rates, and sometimes even photos. Don't expect real time info about availabilities at this stage, but that's a start.

Download the app (e.g. for Android, here) and check available spots

The web version: parking.seoul.go.kr  (on your mobile: parking.seoul.go.kr/mobile/Resource/ParkingMap.aspx)

The service is also available on major navigation systems, and who knows, non-Korean third parties such as Parkopedia.com could be interested.

Of course, Seoul's future belongs to even smarter solutions: eco-friendly public / shared transit...

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The Unbearable Lightness of Being John Kerry

John Kerry was born two centuries too late: this Francophile Secretary of State with the heckuva $2 banknote mug* would have made a decent Plan B for Thomas Jefferson, but he had to face Karl Rove and his minions, and to live in a World where Asia matters more than Europe.

JFK Jr. dreams of being the guy who solved the Israel-Palestine conundrum, and tries his best to stay away from East Asian politics:

In 2013, John Kerry flew once to Seoul and Beijing, twice to Tokyo, 6 times to Paris, 9 times to Tel Aviv, and 12 times to Shannon (for "refueling" - Irish whiskey I presume)
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/434198414734008321

During his short stop in Seoul before Beijing, the SoS did something right on his way to or from Cheong Wa Dae: passing by the quintessential Seoul neighborhood Seochon (and more precisely in the now highly touristic Tongin Market**) to taste Korea's quintessential street food. Judging by the color, his tteokbokki wasn't that spicy; if John Kerry makes a face, that's because he's being forced to swallow East Asian politics:

Here with Ambassador Sung KIM, John Kerry eating tteokbokki in Tongin market
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/434131906032975874

KIM Jong-un's obviously not on a tteokbokki diet. Ever since he discarded uncle Jang, North Korea's "Beer Leader" has been drinking, eating, and smoking his way to heart attack:

After the purge, Kim The Third needs some fat cleansing.
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/433844655055069184

I mean look at this blob from a closer range!
"BREAKING: Flappy Bird grounded in North Korea as well!"
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/434137476047724544

So. Since neither Kim nor himself seem ready to move, Kerry drops the hot potato on XI Jinping's lap: "China has a unique and critical role it can play. No country has a greater potential to influence North Korea". And while you're at it, could you please stop building aircraft carriers, redrawing ADIZes, and claiming Senkaku/Diaoyu? We can't even make our partners agree on Dokdo/Takeshima...

Of course, the US have a unique and critical role they can play. No country has a greater potential to influence Japan and Korea, and they are very much aware of Shinzo Abe's amorality, but the revisionist PM has it all tied up: the US need Japan and they're kept busy with Okinawa reshuffles. Somehow, if Abe's as much a S.O.B. as his untried war criminal of a grandfather***, he remains their S.O.B.

So the US 'criticisms' remain totally indirect and nowhere near the face-losing zone: Abe's Yasukuni visit was a 'disappointment', and Barack Obama's 2-day state visit to Japan became a one day in Korea - one day in Japan stunt.

Even 89 year-old Tomiichi Murayama was more direct in his toned-down reference to Japan's "indescribable wrongdoings" yesterday, as he met survivors of Imperial Japan's sexual slavery system.

And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stood much more firmly for the victims as the clock keeps ticking****.

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* an "Forbes" for a middle name!
** don't get me wrong, I love that place, and I'm glad it's more alive and kicking than ever! See posts related to Tongin Market, including "Yeongcheon Market saved, Tongin Market already bukchonized" (November 2011), "Tongin market opens up to art : adaptation or yet another symptom of Seochon's "Bukchonization" ?" (July 2011)
*** see among other posts "The Elusive Independence Day - When will Japan officially proclaim its Independence from Imperial Japan?"
**** again, this essential case is gaining momentum in the US (most notably in NJ and CA), and reaches far beyond Japan or Korea (see for instance "First International Memorial Day for "Comfort Women"")

----
UPDATE 20140226
---

Read the backstory of Kerry's visit to Tongin Market (with a kinder picture of him): http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2014/02/20/2014022001937.html 

Tongin Market's tteokbokki looks more appetizing than John Kerry trying to eat it
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/438532810320535553

Bitter, Sweet Seoul

Eventually titled "Bitter, Sweet Seoul" ("고진감래"), the "Seoul, Our Movie" project launched last August (see focus) premiered yesterday in Seoul Cinema and in the presence of its 3 promoters - 'les trois Park': co-directors PARK Chan-wook and PARK Chan-kyong (PARKing CHANce), and Mayor PARK Won-soon, who commissioned the movie for Seoul.

Avant-premiere: press conference following the first screening
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/433118837777510400

Premiere: same cast, second take, following the second screening

The PARK brothers scanned all 9,561 minutes of the 11,852 videos submitted by the public (44% by non-Koreans), ultimately selecting 141 in a one-hour-long final cut that probably owed editor YANG Jinmo a few sleepless nights.

All 141 international participants (film credits)

For his "Life in a day", Ridley Scott could work on 80,000 crowdsourced videos recorded on the same day all over the world but here, the focus wasn't on a moment in time but on the shape-shifter of a city, both modern and old. Contributors were given about 3 months, and could send old material if they fancied. The PARK brothers added TV and Daehan News archive footages, plus a few scenes featuring the Be-Being group on the Han River - most notably the prologue and epilogue.

Such delicate mosaics usually require the right music and soundtrack to at the same time cement them and prevent them from freezing, and this one respects so well the diverse rhythms and pulses of Seoul that I had to ask the PARK brothers the secret of their alchemy (beyond choosing JANG Young-gyu, a great composer for the soundtrack). They explained how the story of Simcheong (Simcheongga - 심청가) became self-evident and clicked naturally with key scenes, not to mention the fact that we're partly seeing Seoul through the eyes of a blind girl's dog, one of the main Ariadne's threads in this maze of a movie (in this traditional pansori - what a bewitching version by Be-Being! -, the daughter of Sim sacrifices herself to save her father, and ultimately helps all blind creatures recover eyesight).

More than a patchwork or a mosaic, PARK Chan-wook and PARK Chan-kyong considered their work as a symphony composed with a wide array of instruments. What makes the result powerful is its touching simplicity and truth. This isn't just a bibim of personal videos, short fictions, documentaries ("Nevada" on his rooftop), and heartbreaking moments in the city's history (war exodus and destruction, Sungnyemun's collapse...), but a fair tribute to life in Seoul, regardless of each Seoulite's origin, gender, age, or even species.

Seoul Metropolitan Government didn't want to commission yet another postcard video, and allowed full artistic license to the directors. As the title shows, both sides of the coin are exposed, the bitter struggles as well as the sweetest moments. Yes, you do see the embarrassing Floating Islands or Bampo Bridge Rainbow Fountain, but also a fair share of alleyways and dark spots. And even Gyonam-dong (merci Sebastien SIMON for making that dying neighborhood* survive in this portrait of Seoul)!

So here's this collaborative bitter, sweet take at Seoul's villages (300 views so far, but you can help PARK Chan-wook move closer to his 10 M+ record!):




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* see previous posts, including "Last Stand for 2013 and Gyonam-dong" and "In memoriam Samdong Samgeori, Gyonam-dong". The destruction is not totally over yet, but the end of the end is nigh.

Pilgrimage

I haven't posted anything over the past weeks: I was on a pilgrimage in Indonesia, my first return since 1989, when the nation was still under Suharto's yoke, and I an ESSEC student. 

For my first experience in Asia, I worked as an intern for a French bank in Jakarta. In the evening and on week-ends, I would often bajaj my way across parts of the capital I wouldn't have the opportunity to discover otherwise, and sometimes reach by car into Jawa Barat (Cirebon, Pelabuhan Ratu...). To go to Yogyakarta, I took the old Dutch train that basically never stopped between both cities, the mechanics taking only a few minutes to oil the rusty antique after each 12 hour journey... which left me 24 hours to visit the city, Borobudur, and Prambanan. And to celebrate the end of the intership, I indulged in a week in Bali, with a jeep to explore every hill and village.

This pilgrimage started in Bali and ended in Jakarta, with a big chunk devoted to Jogja. And for the final leg of the trip, I took once more the train from Tugu to Gambir, an 'express' (only 7h18!) that lacked the quaint charm of its green ancestor, but compensated with a much higher level of comfort, and even allowed me to say a brief hello to Cirebon*. From the train windows, rural Jawa looked relatively unchanged, the suburbs significantly extended, and the recent floods still visible.

Of course, Jakarta is dotted with much more high rise buildings than a quarter of century ago, but it didn't change as radically as Seoul over the past decades. This may not last long, with these steady 5%+ GDP growth rates and FDI billions pouring into Indonesia. I already saw a couple of scary round blocks towering over whole neighborhoods, as if some mad urbanist had used a giant round hole punch and left the 50 m thick disc standing out, then built newtownish apartment towers over it.

By the way... hard to escape Korea in 2014 Indonesia. In Yogyakarta city, posters advertize a K-pop festival, and in the countryside, jobs in Busan - here, near a lovely, remote, and warmly welcoming hamlet in Argomulyo district (Kecamatan Cangkringan, Kabupaten Sleman, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta):

Ad to recruit workers for Busan, in Indonesia countryside near Merapi volcano (wage USD 800 to 2 K)
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/431403149207674880

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* on my previous trip I passed by Bandung - the French program "Des Trains Pas Comme Les Autres" later (1993) made a focus on that cult line

Over the moon

The day couldn't start any better: a beautiful series of pictures of Baeksa Village, one of my favorite 'moon villages'*. Thank you Robert Koehler!

On Robert Koehler Travel Photography site:
http://rjkoehler.tumblr.com/post/73834365491/located-in-northern-seoul-on-the-lower-flank-of

* see previous posts on Baeksa maeul:

• "Junggye's "Baeksa Village" shall survive" (Sept 2011)

• "Junggye maeul" (June 2007)

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Mosquito forecasts, Convenience Safe Havens, One-Stop Complaining, and The Ministry of Hilly Walks

On our menu today, this bibim of new policies planned for 2014 by Seoul Metropolitan Government's department of civil affairs:

1) "Active implementation of mosquito forecast system and disclosure of citizen guidance for each stage":

• This insect is much more than a nuisance: a vector of diseases that tend to gain ground as climate changes and international travels boom. Eradicated from South Korea in the late 70s, vivax malaria came back twenty years ago and remains relatively low, but on the other side of the DMZ, 16,000 cases were noted in 2011, and the DMZ itself is a safe haven for our buzzing foes. Monitoring all 'mosquito infested areas' seems impossible when any flower pot can become a nursery, and a vague grade should have an effect similar to UV forecasts: just an incentive to get extra protection on certain days. Made in China or not, smog is likely to kill many more people in the short term, and it deserves even closer monitoring (see "Air Pollution: New Measures, Please").

2) "Establish a Happy Plus Work Place":

• This is not about bringing happiness to the work place, but about a place to help those who suffer at work. Of course, tackling the causes would be more efficient than curing the consequences, but we truly are in a state of emergency. The center is located in Hawolgok 2-dong, Seongbuk-gu, not far from a new town where a wave of suicides caught many desperate people last year. If in many ways, working conditions have dramatically improved in Korea, a growing proportion of the population is under financial and social stress, and like in most developed nations, the middle class is confronted to the high levels of insecurity it was supposed to have overcome decades ago.

3) "Expand the No-Smoking Zone for restaurants by lowering the condition from above 150 sqm to above 100 sqm":

• Let's be clear: all restaurants should be smoke-free areas. And the 'separate smoking rooms' are not only porous but disgraceful for both smokers and non-smokers. Yes, Korea has done a great job reducing smoking rates, and Seoul has considerably promoted smoke-free zones, but second hand smoke remains pervasive (see "The Fight Against Passive Smoke Continues").

4) "Create female-safe apartments":

• Beyond this weird label is something more than a women's shelter program: insecure spots shall become welcoming homes, transforming whole neighborhoods into citizen-friendly areas.

5) "Operate 24-hour Convenience Stores as Safety Protection Houses":

• If you're not a Seoulite, you must start thinking this city is very dangerous, with swarms of killer mosquitoes and packs of rapists at every corner! Know that Seoul is very safe compared to other big cities, but of course crimes do happen, and adding a 'guardian angel' function to 600 CVS could make a difference. At least it adds sense at the village - local community level, and that's a more positive solution than selling guns to every citizen!

6) "Dongdaemun Design Plaza with 5 facilities: Art Hall, Museum, Business Center, Convenience Facility, Park":

• Since you already had a "Sneak peek inside Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Park", I won't play it again, Sam. This laundry list tells it all: confronted to reality, the initial '100% design' promise evolved into the now classic 'how are we gonna fill these empty spaces?' conundrum. So we line up the usual suspects: art, retail, business, leisure, and hope that someone in the audience will recognize a familiar mug.

7) "Development of Seoul Dulle-gil Trail":

• 35.2 km added to Seoul mountain trails, that's significant. And this time, instead of focusing on the venerable Seoul fortress holders (Bugaksan, Inwangsan, Namsan, Naksan...), the spotlights honor outer mountain rings: Suraksan and Buramsan (Nowon-gu), Gureungsan and Achasan (Gwangjin-gu, Jungnang-gu, Nowon-gu), Godeoksan and Iljasan (Gangdong-gu, Songpa-gu), and the Daemosan-Guryeongsan-Umyeosan (Gangnam-gu, Seocho-gu). There's always a subway or bus station nearby, surprising views from above, and interesting things to see and to eat in between. I have a special fondness for Buramsan, but again, I love all Seoul mountains... except the overwhelming "Budongsan" of course!

Starting from Northeast Seoul, the Buramsan-Suraksan Course...

... prolonged by Gureungsan-Achasan...

... then, across the Han River, Godeoksan and Iljasan,...

... and finally (?) Daemosan, Guryeongsan, and Umyeosan.

8) "All new Seoul tourism homepage":

• "Sights & Fun", "Food", "Shopping", "Korean Wave Tourism", "Medical Tourism"... "following consumer's priorities" is nice, but we must also develop the spectrum, promote cultural diversity, make Seoulites and visitors want to crave for more, discover by themselves, venture beyond mainstream (and please, beyond Hallyu fads - see "Heralding cultural diversity: a stronger and more sustainable Korean wave (1st Congress - WAHS)"). NB: VisitSeoul.go.kr is not active yet (still VisitSeoul.net)

 9) "Development of Sinchon Public Transportation District":

• Time for an update about this Yonsei-ro experience (e.g. "Yonsei-ro the first street in Seoul to ban cars in its transportation mix", followed by "Seobu Line confirmed as Seoul's LRT top priority"). The new and improved street was actually re-inaugurated in late December, with a festive Christmas market. The changes seem positive at the local level, and the traffic around the neighborhood less congested than I expected, even if Seongsan-ro and Sinchon-ro remain often saturated. Note that Yonsei University's main gate is less a jam now that two side gates have been opened.

 10) "Operation of integrated management system for civil complaints / suggestions":

• One-stop complaining / suggestion box soon a reality in a city that usually scores well on e-government issues. And remember that Seoul Global Center gathers the feed back of foreign residents in many different languages.

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North Korea Academy Award Nominees

It's awards season again, and here are the favorites for this year's Scars:

Best Actor: KIM Jong-un as "Despicable Me 3"

Best Supporting Actor: The North Korean people for "61 years a slave"

Best Actress: KIM Kyong-hui as Sue-Ellen EWING in "Who Shot J.T.?"

Best Foreign Language Film: "Marilyn RODMAN's Happy Birthday, Mr Dictator"

Best Original Score: 120 dogs in "Cloudy with a chance of meatballs 2"

Best Animated Feature: KIM Jong-un's hairdo

Best Visual Effects: Ministry of Propaganda for "Photoshopped Missiles"

Best Picture: JANG Song-taek in handcuffs

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