All posts tagged: Chuncheon

Seoulsearching Day 3: Not In Seoul

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(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 …

Legoland or Bronze Age? Why not both?

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 Crown Prince Frederik at event organized by Lego Korea Image source: News1 Kyunghyang Daily reports that over 101 dolmens, 926 housing sites (incl. 9 with high-rise flooring), and a canal, among others, were found on Jungdo Island, the construction site for Legoland Korea (LLK). LLK has since announced that they were aware of the site’s archaeological value, and blueprints show a historical museum had been included in the plan as part of the attractions. Main construction was set to begin this August, with completion aimed at 2016 for the theme park and 2018 for facilities including a spa town, outlet, water park, historical park and hotel. A bridge to the mainland has already begun construction with a 30 million KRW grant from the government, along with archaeological digging for the LLK’s planned historical park. Jungdo Island Image source: Hangang Institute via Kyunghyang Daily Approximately 500 billion KRW (500 million USD) is set as the budget for Legoland Korea. As one of the first recipients of the 2014 Foreign Direct Investment Act, LLK investors such as Merlin …