Hongdae Free Market

Last Saturday, waking up from a dark night of the soul and feeling very much like pulling up the covers, laying in bed all day and quietly weeping about the pointlessness of life, I instead dragged my sorry self out of bed, whipped up some hot cakes (yum!) and headed out to Hongdae.  I've been wanting to check out the Hongdae Free Market (a little market for handmade goodies that runs every Saturday and possibly Sunday) since arriving in Seoul, but it's my husband's idea of hell so I haven't quite been able to get there.  But this Saturday my poor husband had to go off on a work trip, hence I got to visit the market in Hongdae.

Hongdae on a Saturday is heaving!  If you are looking for a peaceful escape from the city, this is not the place to come.  It was hot and oh so sticky and crowded.  But it was also wonderful to see all the cute little handmade things.  The attention to detail that you see in traditional Korean crafts came through loud and strong in the work of the artisans at the market, and I picked up a few little treasures (more on that tomorrow!).  Plus it's always nice to see crafters at work, and to meet the people who make the stuff.  So despite the crowds and the heat and the sweat I'm glad I went.  The hot cake/market combo definitely helped pulled me out of my malaise...

[Credits: amazing ink drawings by artist Go Eun Young; unbelievably cute pincushions from Jin Hyo Jung and Kang Eun Soon]

Road Trip: Busan Fish Market

On our recent-ish road trip down south we stopped at one of the big fish markets in Busan (it's a seafoody kind of town so there's a few of them).  I could have happily spent hours there with my trusty Canon, snapping away, but I was traveling with Mr Attention Span Of A Gnat, Mr Impatient, and Mr Why On Earth Are You Taking A Photo Of That so it was not to be.  Which may have been for the best as some of the stall holders were not overjoyed with my photographic interest, so moving on quickly proved fortuitous. 

Anyway.  Look at the colours!  Notice how all the fishmongers are women?  And they wear the most amazing outfits - bright pink rubber gloves, aprons in vibrant green and orange and red, layers and layers of clothing in floral patterns and blocked hues.  And then there's the giant crabs and long fish, and those strange things that look a bit like dragon fruit but clearly aren't.  Plus sting rays!  Yes, sting rays!  Have you ever seen a skinned sting ray before?  Plus those rainbow umbrellas, and the pink and blue plastic trays everything sits in (I am most definitely getting me some of those).  Wonderful stuff.

There'll be some more fish market magic somewhere on my Flickr, if you are so inclined.