Seoul Searching

one of the most beautiful things about having your own company is the ability to set your own hours. i cannot stress how TOTALLY underrated this is, if not just for the sheer luxury of wearing pore cleansing clay masks while working!!


but seriously...

for reader edification: my typical routine used to consist of 12 continuous hours at the desk/meeting clients in the hedge fund industry. after work came dinner, maybe some cello, and maybe gym (but probably not) then rinse & repeat. to break from this pattern that many in the industry are beholden to, it was not uncommon to take the last flight out to taipei or singapore on friday night and come back to hong kong on sunday. in retrospect, this kind of lifestyle likely knocked a few years off our lives but i was happy. i would probably still be doing that now if i weren't a) busy doing work on weekends and b) taking a 100% cut in salary. 


it's all good. now i am even HAPPIER because i can prolong these out of town trips and better appreciate the cities i travel around. with this newfound flexibility comes the desire to impose order however. ironic, because back when that set schedule ruled my life, entropy seemed inevitable and deviation a necessary evil. these days, i am the one to initiate 8am meetings, just to make sure i don't end up in bed all day!


to recap korea trip: spent 6 days in the land of great fashion, kimchi jiggae, and NTZ NTZ (house music).  became acquainted with the jihachul (subway) system for the first time and used it to get around seoul for my meetings. it wasn't my first time in korea but felt certainly like a new experience compared to my college orchestra tour in 2008 (spent playing concerts while jetlagged) and lunar new year 2010 (spent mostly in a hotel room watching the olympics on TV because it was too cold to go outside). after another 2 year hiatus, i was able to scrap up just enough from elementary korean class to haggle for street jewelry. can i get a "뭐, 뭐"?
 
the photos are from mostly apgujeong and the rings were acquired in kangnam and hongdae. apgu was replete with plastic surgery clinics (and billboards with shocking before & after pics) but also had a fair bit of cute boutiques and coffee shops. kangnam, the "fancy" part of town, felt a lot more commercial this time around.  A new favorite is hongdae, which was relatively out of the way but totally worth the trip. you could say it's a mecca of spunk and freshness; not surprising, korea's top fashion/design/arts school calls the area home. all in all, a productive and satisfying week with work/fashion, food, friends, and music. until next time, 다녀오겠어~