There is a weird feeling when I travel outside my country that I cannot explain. Except for the joy of the moment and the enthusiasm of the exploration, there is something that contradicts these feelings. Maybe it’s the little touch of fear of being in an unfamiliar place, or maybe it’s knowing that I am probably not going to walk on these roads again in my life. Of course these feelings are impalpable but existing and I know that I am too hypersensitive and romantic (killer combination btw).
Now for our South Korea trip, there is one word to describe the situation above all others: COLD. I couldn’t imagine that walking on the streets of Seoul is like walking inside my freezer, especially since I had filled my bag with the usual clothes that I am wearing on a usual Mediterranean December….huge mistake. When we arrived there the temperature outside was something like -17℃, which means that for the rest of the trip, I was walking around wearing leggings under my pants and at least 3 to 4 shirts.
Besides the unbelievable cold, I liked South Korea. For sure S. Koreans are some of the most stylish people I’ve ever seen. You can see the younger people walking around wearing extreme outfits, and most of them wear local brands. The feeling that I had was that their outfits blend in with their country’s tones and colours: brown, black, grey, white, dark blue, dark green, ochre are very common colours in the Korean urban environment, so you can see them everywhere, it’s like the whole city has a colour identity.
The way I saw it, S.Korea is a meeting point between the cultural past and the evolving present. You can find buildings, that were built some decades before, between cutting edge buildings of the last few years and at the same time you can see huge empty malls and fully crowded flea markets.
In conclusion, I think that South Korea is a modern, tech and commercial giant that under the westernised skin remains an Asian cultured country that tries to modernise its identity under the pressure of globalization and the menace of the aggressive neighbour.
If you are desperate to see some additional photos, you can also check out my portfolio page for South Korea, here
대단히 모두 감사합니다
*The following pictures were taken on HTC Desire 816 and have not been further processed.
Babis Giannikakis takes photos 