Today in Korea

I mentioned the campaign to get Koreans to read in an earlier note. With the help of Professor Doh Jung-il and others, a consensus has formed that increasing the reading of books among citizens is the best way to take Korea to the next level.

I must admit, the first efforts seemed to be a bit primitive and from an American perspective, unlikely to succeed. But I am amazed to say that the number of people reading I observe is increasing rapidly. Here are some photos from a convenience store in the Seoul Metro. There was no such pile of books available in convenience stores even a year ago. Although imperfect, Korea seems to be able to set goals for national development in a manner that seems organic and convincing, and actually works.

I remember that in the old days in Japan it was Takashima-ya in Yokohama that was the greatest department store in the world. What an assortment of foods and objects one saw when one wandered through its display cases.

I recently had a chance to tour the Shinsegae Department Store in Gangnam, Seoul and I was impressed. The quality is as good as anything I have seen in Japan and in some ways the service even better. Here are a two pictures of the cakes and candies on display.

Here is a portfolio of beautiful Daejeon. I took these photographs over a period of six months for use on the Daejeon Compass site. I think they represent well what makes the city exceptional.

Haechi started as a mythical beast guarding the Gyeongbokgung Palace and has evolved into a city Mascot, superhero and lovable friend who sings songs with Girls’ Generation. The progress is remarkable.

KBS News tonight featured a fascinating report on recent impressive public buildings in Korea that have been designed with little concern for environmental factors. The public buildings discussed include the Yongin City Hall and Yongsan District Hall in Seoul. These impressive towers of glass represent well Korea’s emergence as a cultural and technological power, but the mass of windows has turned parts of the buildings into saunas for employees. The report includes a scene with public officials using personal electric fans at their desks on top of the internal air conditioning.

The problem is one quite familiar to Americans, but we had hoped Korea might avoid this misstep.

Our neighborhood in Sindang is changing quite rapidly. One of the most striking changes was the opening of this new bread store. Whereas most boulangeries in Seoul are run by larger companies and the bread is merely delivered each morning, this new shop, founded by a mother and daughter team, makes all dough in the shop. They bake bread and cookies every day and have done an excellent job of fixing up the old home where they live. There is something reassuring about just walking buy on the way to work and seeing them at work.

I would have been hard to imagine such a place even five years ago in downtown Seoul, but times are changing. Just as we now have Koreans who leave the city to become farmers in rural areas and live a healthier life, we have some urban pioneers who are creating their own spaces in the city.

[twitter-follow screen_name=’epastreich’]