Peace Museum

I couldn't find the Peace Museum, so instead I wandered around Insa-dong, a quaint shopping area that has big appeal with tourists because of it's many souvenir and antique shops.





This shop had some nifty erotic pieces and lots of other things which may or may not be antiques.



I had a fun conversation with the shopkeeper who spoke enough English to ask me what I was doing in Korea, but not enough to understand "artist residency", so I drew a picture.



Then he looked up the English and Korean for "artist" on his iPhone, and we took turns practicing our new vocabulary word. Learning is fun!




Later I met with Won-Seok Koh, the curator of Space Gallery. He told me lots about the history of the gallery, which played a crucial role in Seoul's 1970's avant-garde art scene, and of the building, which was designed by the "father of modern Korean architecture" Swoo-geun Kim to house his architecture firm.



I'm not necessarily an architecture junkie, but I thought this space was really wonderful---inviting red brick with very low ceilings to make short people (something I have in common with most Koreans) feel comfortable and human. As opposed to uncomfortable and inhuman, or cold and short, or inconsequential and ant-like. Anyway, the roof garden offered a great view of the city.




After our meeting I wandered around the neighborhood a little more.