Tales of an American moveable family
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Seoul’s oldest national treasure, Namdaemun (literally: “Great South Gate”; official name: Syungnyemun) burned yesterday evening after what officials think may be a case of arson.
More details here and here. And these pictures posted to Flickr.
This is truly tragic. The gate was more than 650 years old. And, if the stories about the fire being set are true, it is a completely senseless, meaningless act of violence.
Yesterday, Julie and I spent the morning at Namdaemun Market. (I’m still kicking myself because I forgot to charge my camera battery.) As is typical of me, I missed 90 percent of it the first time I went.
One thing about Asian markets (at least that I’ve found) is that you can miss them entirely if you don’t know what you are looking for—or at.
The first time I went, I saw all these wonderful outdoor stalls selling all kinds of things—clothes and handbags, pots and pans; others selling jewelry, shoes, luggage … There was even one stall selling live carp and snapping turtles. (For food, I think, not pets.) Truly, I think just about anything you could think of to buy, you could find it at Namdaemun.
But, I totally overlooked the indoor markets. If you actually enter any of the somewhat nondescript doorways, you will find yet another world of shopping. The international goods market, for example, is almost just like going to Target back home, if Target also sold whisky and ginseng, that is.
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