Seoul Vlog: A Walk Beneath the City

[@blackpearl2243]

wow I am the 1st. 일등 이네요. 마이크 아저씨 안녕하세요. 아저씨 목소리 너무 편안해서 아이들과 종종 본답니다. 어느날 서울 어딘가에서 만나기를 기대해 봅니다.

[@MikeFromKorea]

감사합니다! 저를 보시면 꼭 인사해 주세요.

[@OldDunc]

Man, I *love* that corridor! I walked there between Euljiro-4-ga and Euljiro-1-ga daily on my annual visits to Korea between 2014 and 2018. (But I also explored the area above ground.) I didn't know it extended so much further; that's something to explore when I go back, next year I hope. I recognize some of the shops; the absence of chains is one of the things I like about it. About the apparent lack of business in the shops. I noticed that, as with shops in Sang-il Dong. My host said that they do most of their business by phone and delivery. Maybe that's true in Euljiro as well? Thanks for this video.

[@MikeFromKorea]

Many people are unaware of the scope of the place. That's a good point about the shops. That could be the case. Nothing I read in prepping for the video mentioned it. I'll have to dig around some more and see what I can find out.

[@OldDunc]

@@MikeFromKorea One thing I'm curious about: there used to be a stretch that was lit by green lights, near the Euljiro-2-ga station. Is it still there? It doesn't seem to be in the video.

[@MikeFromKorea]

@@OldDunc I went through the whole thing again today and didn't see any green lights anywhere, so I guess that's a no.

[@OldDunc]

@@MikeFromKorea Ah well, things change. Thanks.

[@SJDKFASEFAFS]

마이크님 영상 잘봤습니다 😊 항상 건강하세요 기회가 되신다면 해방촌과 남산공원도 한번 소개 부탁드려요! 지난 10년간 몇 안되는 도시재생사업의 성공 사례라고 생각되는 동네입니다 ㅎㅎ 외국인 분들도 많고 루프탑에 앉아 남산타워를 조망하면 근사한 장면이 나올 것 같네요

[@MikeFromKorea]

감사합니다! 남산공원과 소월로에서 해방촌을 보여드리는 영상을 찍었어요. 그 영상은 눈에 관한 것이었어요. 나중에 그 장소들에 대해 더 자세히 다룰게요. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXSkp6ZniLt2ntk

[@SJDKFASEFAFS]

@@MikeFromKorea 눈오는 날의 남산공웜 근사하네요 못봤던 영상이네요 감사합니다. 날씨가 점점 더워지네요 무리하시진 마세요~^^ 다음 영상도 기대합니다

[@TV-pi3tn]

한국의 예전 을지로 역사에 대해서 잘 아시네요^^ 고맙습니다. 예전 정겨운 시절이 떠오르게 해주셔서요 ^^ 행복하세요~~

[@MikeFromKorea]

감사합니다!

[@Dublintaxitours]

Arriving in Seoul Friday....if it's raining then I know where to go...5 weeks si it's bound to rain at some point ☔ 😂

[@MikeFromKorea]

Well, you're in luck! We're expecting rain this weekend :-)

[@강원도사랑]

오늘 하루도 수고 많이 하셨습니다! 날씨가 많이 덥습니다! 건강 관리 잘 하십시오!

[@MikeFromKorea]

감사합니다!

[@Mudskipper9876]

Very interesting video. Thank you for the information about the yellow stripe on the floor, and showing the variety of shops along the way.

[@MikeFromKorea]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jennifercorvec2452]

It makes me think about the underground stores in the Jamsil subway that connected it to the Lotte Department Store back in 1997. The stores and floors were always so sparkling, white and beautiful. Everything sold was of very high quality, even if you just bought nail clippers. And the Korean mechants weren't aware of possible shoplifters at all! So trusting back then...I know some Westerners took advantage ànd stole things. Are they more careful now? This was hard for you to explain. Thank you! ❤ I feel like I was walking here in Seoul just now, after watching...

[@MikeFromKorea]

Thank you! Merchants are very aware of the potential for shoplifting and always have been, as far as I know. These days, they get an assist from the CCTV cameras all over the place. Last year, a convenience store in my neighborhood taped up a printout of CCTV screen captures showing an old man swiping an ice cream bar from the outdoor freezer. I expect they wouldn't have done that if it were a frequent occurrence. Yes, it happens and they know it happens, but it doesn't happen at a rate that rises to a problem. If that were the case, the self service shops that are popping up everywhere, stores that have no staff at all, wouldn't be possible.

[@moneymoy]

Wow, great video! I've walked through several sections of what you showed here but never knew they were all connected.

[@MikeFromKorea]

Thanks! I learned early on that they were connected because a friend told me about it. That was a handy tip.

[@iGoBart]

Catching up on older videos!

[@MikeFromKorea]

Cool :-)

[@jamierudberg4843]

So cool Mike thanks for sharing this here on KZbin! Amazing that you've been living in Korea since 1993, while I just got here only 4 months ago! I can't imagine the amount of changes and progress you've seen with Korea in that whole time!!

[@MikeFromKorea]

Yeah, I've seen a great deal of change here, but it's mostly only noticeable in hindsight. You look up one day and realize people are doing things they didn't used to do. Like women smoking on the street, or people showing off tattoos. Even the physical changes aren't always apparent until they've accumulated. The massive New Town projects are noticeable, sure, but most neighborhoods evolve one building at a time. I so wish I had taken more pictures in my first couple of decades here so that I could compare now to then. But we didn't all have high quality cameras in our pockets back then.

[@elblanco5]

If I recall, the area under myeongdong used to have a bunch of vintage record stores and currency collector shops (coins, bills, etc.). I think most of them probably didn't make it through COVID, but I really wanted to spend some time in those classic vinyl places.

[@MikeFromKorea]

I believe you're thinking of the Hoehyeon Underground Shopping Center which is between Myeong-dong and the Shinsegae Department Store. There are still at least two LP shops down there. There may be more, though. I haven't walked through the whole place in a while. EDIT: Not sure how many of the currency shops are still there. I've never paid much attention to them. naver.me/G6DBEW8d

[@elblanco5]

@@MikeFromKorea is that also near a Chinatown area? I think that's the mall. Or I'm mixing them up.

[@MikeFromKorea]

It's close to the Chinese embassy. But yeah, that's the mall. It's always been the spot for bank notes and coins because it's right outside the old Bank of Korea building. upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Kr-china-embassy_201604.JPG

[@elblanco5]

@@MikeFromKorea ahh, that sounds right. There's an interesting coffee shop across from that embassy that used to be the old embassy, or so I hear.

[@RayMin-kt4iw]

Hi Mike, really love these videos. Thank you, always look forward to new videos :)

[@MikeFromKorea]

Thank you. And thanks for watching!

[@GuNdAmWiThYoU]

정말 좋은 비디오! 영국에 살지만, 여전히 토종 한국인인 나보다도 한국에서 다녀보신 동네가 더 많으실거 같다!

[@MikeFromKorea]

감사합니다!

[@Domichoi_journey]

날씨가 무척 덥습니다. 도시는 더욱 뜨겁습니다. 건강조심하시고 올려주신 영상 잘보고 응원합니다.🙏❤️

[@MikeFromKorea]

감사합니다! 건강하세요.

[@Dunderkim]

언제나 지리는 선곡. Your choice of BGM is always SICK.

[@MikeFromKorea]

Thank you!

[@sandihunter1260]

Thanks, that was really interesting. I went through part of it when I was visiting in May. Toronto has something similar in it's downtown due to the cold weather.

[@MikeFromKorea]

I first learned of it, and how long it was, soon after I moved to Seoul through a Korean friend who walked it regularly. I didn't realize then how great of a tip that really was.

[@hre2044]

Awesome

[@MikeFromKorea]

Thanks!

[@--ee6dm]

Thanks for introducing the Eulji underground's world even I've never been there in Seoul. It's cool your ending image.

[@MikeFromKorea]

Thank you!

[@beatlemania8273]

I was kinda excited because I thought you would use the entire Fleetwood Mac song in the beginning lol. I think we share the same taste in music as you can see from my profile picture. Love your videos, and I wish you did more older historic places like Joseon dynasty or before. I think the Jeongdong area near the City Hall is a great start for late 19th century and early 20th century. I also hope you do museums too, there are several great free museums in Yongsan. Hope you stay healthy in this sweltering heat.

[@MikeFromKorea]

Thank you! I'll get around to some of the older stuff eventually. My interests in the past year or so have been more on the post-Korean War era just because I pretty much ignored it for years. I was always more interested in the old kingdoms (particularly the Three Kingdoms era) and the Korean War. I didn't fully appreciate just how much Korea had gone through in the years before and continued to go through in the years after I arrived. I'm particularly fascinated by things that happened right under my nose without catching my attention. So much to talk about, so little time.

[@beatlemania8273]

@@MikeFromKorea If you're current interests are in the post war period I bet you are excited about the Blue House being open to the public now. Can't wait to see your video on that and also all the great insights into historic places outside Seoul. Hope your channel blows up, you deserve so much more viewership and subscribers.

[@MikeFromKorea]

@@beatlemania8273 Thank you!

[@nigelcowie6883]

Great video, as always - and great choice of music, also as always.

[@MikeFromKorea]

Thank you!

[@fistandantalasmajere1671]

I've walked that. I was like when does this end? but i kept going out of curiosity.

[@noseefood1943]

How do you skirt copyright songs?

[@MikeFromKorea]

I license it from lickd.co, so it's all aboveboard. In any video where I use it, you can find links to the tracks on Lickd. Without a membership, it's $32.00 per track. With a membership of $15/month, that goes down to $8 and you get access to a large library of generic tracks.

[@johnhutchinson9030]

Sorry one more thing. Is Yongson Electronic Market still operational.

[@MikeFromKorea]

Yes, it's still going. It's not quite what it used to be, though.

[@johnhutchinson9030]

How hard is it for the handicapped people to get around especially getting on and off subways.

[@MikeFromKorea]

I can't say anything definitive, as it's something I've not focused on. I know that buses are equipped to handle wheelchairs. Subway stations have a number of accessibility facilities, and I've seen people using them and even staff assisting. I've noticed those yellow tactile strips in various places, even on some sidewalks. Many buildings these days have ramps.Some of the bigger hillside parks these days have installed ramps to get up to the hilltops. The most I can say is that facilities exist. I just can't speak to how effective they are.

[@lucidgravityy]

여자분들이 한국 오시면 옷 쇼핑은 꼭 고속터미널역 지하상가에서 하세요. 거기가 가장 저렴하고 옷도 많습니다. 유투버 분이 영어로 이걸 번역해주시면 좋겠어요. 이 영상을 보는 외국인 여성들을 위해.

[@MikeFromKorea]

제 아내도 가끔 거기서 쇼핑해요. 댓글을 영어로 올릴게요.

[@MikeFromKorea]

The commenter asked me to translate the comment to English for non-Korean speakers: Women visiting Korea should definitely go clothes shopping at the underground shopping mall at Express Bus Terminal Station. It's the cheapest place with the most clothes. I replied that my wife goest there sometimes.

[@NADOYAGANDA]

동대문역사문화공원역......도대체 누가 공공시설에 이렇게 어렵고 외우기 힘든 용어를 결정했는 지 모르겠습니다. 아파트는 한 술 더 뜹니다. 외래어 3~4개 연속하는 이름도 봤어요. 이번에 분리되는 경기도도 희한한 이름을 채택했더군요. 국민 전체가 익숙해지려면 한 세기는 걸릴 것 같습니다. 합리성을 잃어버리는 작명과 결정 들 반대합니다.

[@Callmehvivi850]

Can you make a video on how you met your wife please?

[@MikeFromKorea]

I'd prefer to keep the videos here mostly about Korea rather than about me. And besides, there's nothing interesting enough about how we met that would make for a whole video. A friend invited me to a movie. When I arrived, she introduced me to my future wife. The three of us saw Armageddon, then she and I sat in our friend's kitchen all night talking. And that was that.

[@ye-richoi5320]

This architecture has been built by very famous female international architecture who died about 10 years ago❤

[@MikeFromKorea]

Thanks for letting me know. I didn't see the architect mentioned in any of the web pages I looked at.

[@Yeuxderiirii]

Her name is ZAHA HADID

[@ThisOneWalks]

@@Yeuxderiirii Ah, I see. You were talking about DDP. I misunderstood that you were referring to the Underground Shopping Center. Yes, I'd heard that before.