(Pictures by Emily Singh)

Militarymen out on a holiday. South Korean men between the ages of 18 and 35 must undergo a compulsory military service of between 2 and 3 years. They’re paid dismal wages, with one report estimating they’re paid less than a thousand won (0.80 euros) per hour.

One of the first things I do when in South Korea is visiting my grandmother, who lives in Chuncheon. It’s an hour’s train ride away from Eastern Seoul, or an hour and twenty minutes with the subway. I prefer the train since it’s a double decker, and that just seems cooler. The price difference is quite big though – about 3,000 KRW for the subway and 6,000 KRW for the train.

Sometimes I take the bus and end up passing places like this that I forget exist in Seoul.

Or this. Somewhere in Yongsan.

My aunt, who is a florist, has recently started looking after abandoned kittens she found near her shop.

My grandmother, who is hyper-modern, hyper-capitalist, hyper-Catholic and also superstitious, obviously hates the cats.

An advert for “Yeongkwang Daema Industrial Complex” (“Daema” also means Cannabis, whereas here it seems to be the name of a region)

Public phones can sometimes be found in large train stations, but often fail to work properly. Here is my outdated student ID which also doubles as a T-Money pass. I’ve stopped using the card years ago but don’t want to buy a new transport card.

Seven years later, I’ve found my old school uniform!

And an old picture!

And some old shoes!