Finally going where the people are
Or: “Aaron commits to spending a night in the fun part of Seoul”
Cinestill 800t, shot on Canon A-1 in Seoul, South Korea; scanned/developed at Gorae Photo Lab in Seoul, South Korea
Living in the furthest-east suburb of Seoul (Nowon-gu) meant that doing anything other than ‘do schoolwork, have coffee, go out to dinner, go to the movie theater right next door’ meant being out late. And, reader, I do not like to be out late on school nights.
Cinestill 800t, shot on Canon A-1 in Seoul, South Korea; scanned/developed at Gorae Photo Lab in Seoul, South Korea
It also basically meant that on weekends, deciding to go ‘out’ (like, actually to a club) was a whole day ordeal. Even if I didn’t drink (which I didn’t do much of) it still wiped me out the next day. And then there was the transportation factor- either spend 2 hours on the Seoul subway system*, or spend the equivalent of $65 on a cab.
Cinestill 800t, shot on Canon A-1 in Seoul, South Korea; scanned/developed at Gorae Photo Lab in Seoul, South Korea
But I knew my time in Seoul was coming to an end. And I knew that I wanted to experience a late night without feeling tied to a subway, or feeling like I had to pay a lot for a cab. So what did I do? I rented a nice (and weird, tbh) hotel room in Gangnam.
Cinestill 800t, shot on Canon A-1 in Seoul, South Korea; scanned/developed at Gorae Photo Lab in Seoul, South Korea
And then I met up with some friends and did some bar-hopping around Gangnam, Itaewon, and Hongdae*.
Cinestill 800t, shot on Canon A-1 in Seoul, South Korea; scanned/developed at Gorae Photo Lab in Seoul, South Korea
I admittedly don’t have a ton to say about this night, simply because my photos (like in the past, occasionally) hopefully speak for themselves. It was a lovely, balmy night in Seoul. I got to take fun pictures, and I got a night in a cool and weird hotel room.
Cinestill 800t, shot on Canon A-1 in Seoul, South Korea; scanned/developed at Gorae Photo Lab in Seoul, South Korea
I knew when I embarked on this evening that it was my last time having an adventure like this* in Seoul, and I trusted Cinestill 800t more than any other color film at that point to communicate what I was hoping to communicate.
Cinestill 800t, shot on Canon A-1 in Seoul, South Korea; scanned/developed at Gorae Photo Lab in Seoul, South Korea
The lights of Seoul felt brighter that night. I’m glad I had a good lens and film to capture them with.
Cinestill 800t, shot on Canon A-1 in Seoul, South Korea; scanned/developed at Gorae Photo Lab in Seoul, South Korea
I was ready to go home, but it was hard to deny how serenely beautiful the evening was.
Cinestill 800t, shot on Canon A-1 in Seoul, South Korea; scanned/developed at Gorae Photo Lab in Seoul, South Korea
As I’ve said elsewhere, there may be no better conventional film stock to capture lights than Cinestill 800t.
Cinestill 800t, shot on Canon A-1 in Seoul, South Korea; scanned/developed at Gorae Photo Lab in Seoul, South Korea
Wrapping-up thoughts:
footnote/asterisk 1: as I’ve said before- I don’t miss much about living in Seoul. But I do REALLY miss the subway system.
footnote/asterisk 2: these three neighborhoods had a lot else going on too! But they were practically impossibly far away enough from me that made going out to them at all never happen. So when I did, I felt very not me.
footnote/asterisk 3: I had a few more adventures in Seoul
Go see movies!
If you’re in the PNW, Union Arts Center is doing Macbeth for their Shakespeare in the Park. I cannot wait to see it.
Go Team USA!
That’s all for this week! Hope anyone reading this had/has/is having a happy 4th of July!