Hwanghak-dong / 황학동
Sounds of the Market
These sounds of Hwanghak-dong market give the pictures a little more life: look and listen
Hwanghak-dong is home to a permanent full time flea market. It is busy everyday with sidewalk and shop vendors selling absolutely everything. I won’t even try to list what is available. Anything you can think of…you can buy it here. It is crowded with people young and old from morning to sundown.
The Mystery of Old Photos
Personal photos that have become separated from their families are a mystery. There is always a story in the image but it is almost impossible to know what it is.
I found this loose snapshot in a basket in a store at the flea market. Because it is black and white and from the look of the cars in the background, it must be the 60’s. There is a building and statue in the background that look European. I love the kids faces (kids making funny faces in family photos is a phenomenon that knows no cultural boundaries). They look so unhappy in the moment. Maybe they have had to pose for too many photos that day or maybe it’s too hot outside to stand in the sun. The woman is most likely their mom. It is such a good photograph.
The best part is that there is writing on the back. I have trouble reading handwriting so a friend helped me to read and translate it: It says:
“This is the entrance to the Eiffel Tower where you can get off the bus from our place. The building behind is a military school. The statue behind us is far from where we are standing and the building is across a wide road.”
I looked up “Eiffel Tower” and “Military School” and found out that the building they are standing in front of is the Ecole Militaire in Paris. It faces the Eiffel Tower. Here is a modern picture of it including the statue she mentioned. I wonder if they were living in Paris and why? Or maybe they were just visiting. How many Koreans travelled to Europe in the 60s? I am sure it was unusual. How hard was it for a foreigner to use French buses back then?
I hope you had as much fun in Paris as I had finding your picture at the flea market. How did you get separated from your photos? Where are you now? Have I seen you on the subway sitting in the blue seats?
It felt like I was teleported from the flea market to the Ghost movie with Patrick Swayzie and back to the power tool repair man. I really feel like a shredded cabbage and egg toastie now.
Unchained Melody of the Flea Market. Everything is so random and unlinked to each other yet all together in this one places it creates a perfect Melody of sights and sounds.
Yeah, with all the chatter and yelling and different music playing at the same time, it is a fun place. You would like the toasts, only 2$!