NOTE FROM JONAH: These pictures belong to a small series “Two Hours and Twenty Minutes.” The pictures were all taken over the course of two hours and twenty minutes on November 1, 2011 between 3:21 pm and 5:41 in Seoul, South Korea. If you are just joining the series here’s what you’ve missed:

• The Soul of Seoul
• Hello Kitty de la Seoul
• Autumn: Good for the Seoul
• Heart in Seoul

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Although I only had one day to spend in Seoul, and was pretty happy to just hang out in my fancy hotel room, I did manage to sneak out for about a couple of hours to take some photos and grab some Korean food.

And after spending significant amounts of time this year looking at architecture and cultural heritage areas in Asia, I decided it would be cool to see some of Korea’s traditional housing, which just like Beijing’s hutongs, is becoming scarce.

Traditional homes in South Korea are called hanok houses. In stark contrast to the modern areas of Seoul, these houses seem to be in small bundles and have survived modernization sporadically around the city — unlike in Beijing, where the hutong areas are almost exclusively found within the center of the city.

Hanok is a term to describe Korean traditional houses. Korean architecture lends consideration to the positioning of the house in relation to its surroundings, with thought given to the land and seasons. The interior structure of the house is also planned accordingly. This principle is also called Baesanimsu (배산임수), literally meaning that the ideal house is built with a mountain in the back and a river in the front, with the ondol heated rock system for heating during cold winters and a wide daecheong (대청) front porch for keeping the house cool during hot summers.

Like Beijing’s cultural heritage areas, these houses and the small alleys which connect them have been preserved, gentrified and rebuilt. However, I didn’t see anything that resembled Qianmen, a historically significant area south of Tienanmen Square which was redeveloped into a disastrous shopping arcade that looks like a movie set.

Unlike Beijing’s hutongs, the hanok houses within Seoul seemed to be in good condition. While Beijing’s hutongs are cluttered and crumbling, Seoul’s hanok houses seemed to be holding up very well.

Near the hanok houses, I stumbled upon Changdeok-Gunk Palace, an UNESCO World Heritage Area Site. This palace was first built in 1405 and has most definitely been restored.

The park cost 3000 won to enter only (about $3). Compared to other UNESCO World Heritage Areas, this is actually cheap.

Changdeokgung, also known as Changdeokgung Palace or Changdeok Palace, is set within a large park in Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the “Five Grand Palaces” built by the kings of the Joseon Dynasty. Because of its location east of Gyeongbok Palace, Changdeokgung, with Changgyeonggung, is also referred to as the “East Palace” (동궐, 東闕, Donggwol). The literal meaning of Changdeokgung (창덕궁, 昌德宮) is “Palace of Prospering Virtue”. Changdeokgung was the most favored palace of many princes of the Joseon Dynasty and retained many elements dating from the Three Kingdoms of Korea period that were not incorporated in the more contemporary Gyeongbokgung. One such element is the fact that the buildings of Changdeokgung blend with the topography of the site instead of imposing upon nature. Changdeokgung, like the other Five Grand Palaces in Seoul, was heavily damaged during the Japanese occupation of Korea. Currently, only 30% of the Palace structures remain.

The palace and architecture reminded me somewhat of the Forbidden City in Beijing. However, unlike in the Forbidden City, I wasn’t approached by anyone selling anything, no one black market tour guides pestered me and in general in wasn’t too crowded.

The funny thing to me, in comparing Beijing’s hutongs to South Korea’s hanok areas and the palaces which represent a similar culture and design, was just how much more calm the Korean side seemed to be. The Changdeokgung Palace was much less crowded than the Forbidden City, yet, there were still large amounts of people in the area. However, the atmosphere is just so much more calm than in a similar place in China. The alleys of the hanoks also seemed much more calm than Beijing’s hutongs. The houses seemed much bigger than the average Beijing hutong, which might mean, people actually have room to live inside and therefor don’t have to hang out, outside, bringing the rif-raf into the streets.

But this hectic feeling, which I’ve become so used to I don’t really blink when I see it anymore, is really all over China, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Its really one of Asia’s most defining characteristics for me. The general atmosphere just seems hectic. However, I think many would think this applies to many areas of the developing world.

I’ve often wondering if this feeling Westerners get in the developing world comes from them missing the order and organizational way of life of the West. The order which tells people when to cross the street, how fast to drive, how close to walk to people, where a car can drive (and where it can’t), or to where someone should sell their products. Perhaps when those things change, the perspective from a Westerner might seem hectic.

But I doubt it feels hectic to someone who grew up in this environment where cars drive on sidewalks, bikes bas busses and in door stores are a minority.

NOTE FROM JONAH: These pictures belong to a small series “Two Hours and Twenty Minutes.” The pictures were all taken over the course of two hours and twenty minutes on November 1, 2011 between 3:21 pm and 5:41 in Seoul, South Korea. If you are just joining the series here’s what you’ve missed:

• The Soul of Seoul
• Hello Kitty de la Seoul
• Autumn: Good for the Seoul
• Heart in Seoul

Tweet

Yep. That’s me up there surrounded by cameras in my office — in my new two piece matching Hello Kitty pajamas. It simply pays to be comfortable for long edits.

For those of you who follow me on Twitter and Facebook, you may have noticed an influx of Hello Kitty related posts recently.

Before I moved to Asia I thought Hello Kitty was just a brand targeted at little girls. In an article earlier this year the Swarovski CEO Robert Buchbauer said:

“She’s just a symbol of happiness, and I think it’s very important these days to transmit some positive messages to the people, and I think Hello Kitty is perfect in order to do so.”

But oh how we were wrong. This is no ordinary cat. And I’ve been learning how wrong I was over the past three years since I’ve been in Asia. Now, I would describe Hello Kitty as more of a cult style cultural phenomenon than a brand.

While the Hello Kitty line is certainly made up of material objects, the symbol is more than a bag or key chain here. Even in the most basic of definitions, Wikipedia says:

The Hello Kitty trademark has spread globally; Sanrio earned over $1 billion annually in sales outside of Japan, as of 2003. Although mainly aimed at the pre-adolescent female market, the Hello Kitty product range goes all the way from purses, stickers and pen sets to toasters, televisions, clothing, massagers, and computer equipment. It has a cult-like following among adults as well, especially in Asia, where Hello Kitty adorns cars, purses, jewelry and many other high-end consumer products. Several Hello Kitty TV series, targeted towards young children, have also been produced. Examples of products depicting the character include dolls, stickers, greeting cards, clothes, accessories, school supplies, dishes and home appliances. Her fame as a recurring Sanrio character has led to the creation of two officially licensed Hello Kitty theme parks, Harmonyland and the indoor Sanrio Puroland.

First, understand that in Asia — you can actually get Hello Kitty … everything. Both fake and real Hello Kitty embroidered items exist from toilet seat covers, to credit cards, to keychains, to stickers, to handbags, to the classic stuffed animal to a matching two-piece pajama sets. License plates, iPhone cases, towels and t-shirts are other common items.

Big business around the world have actually caught on to this for quite some time. In a research paper entitled “Hello Kitty and the Identity Politics in Taiwan” Assistant Professor Yu_Fen Ko in the Dept. of Public Communication at Hsih-Shin University in Taipei tell

In the end of 1999, Chunghwa Telecom Co. got on the bandwagon and launched a series of “Hello Kitty Phonecard.” The entire stock of 50,000 cards were sold out in five minutes after the counter windows were open. Meanwhile, Twinhead Computer introduced a special edition of notebook with a Hello Kitty on its pink cover. Apple Computer also promoted a strawberry-colored iMac with a set of Hello Kitty stationary gift. Yue-Loong Automobile even had a Hello Kitty limited edition of March. Makoto Bank issued Hello Kitty credit cards. Furthermore, according to a poll by Chinese Television Network, Hello Kitty was rated the number three most figure person in Taiwan in the year of 1999. Early in the year 2000, McDonald‘s launched another joint venture with Hello Kitty, “the Love for Millennium Meal Package,” 450,000 sets of Hello Kitty to be purchased with any meal option. Again, it caused heated discussions.

Clearly, Hello Kitty in Asia has a bit of “Beatle Mania” to it. And its not just kids who wear and use this stuff. I remember a colleague at China Daily who would come into her professional job with a Hello Kitty laptop case everyday. I’m currently traveling in Anhui with a Chinese colleague who credit cards are printed with Hello Kitty images and logos.

In South Korea, the Hello Kitty game seemed to be one step ahead of China, although I’m sure its still a bit behind Japan and Taiwan.

In Myeongdong Market you couldn’t walk ten feet without seeing something with the pink cat’s face tattooed on it. In fact, Hello Kitty is so popular in South Korea — there’s an entire cafe dedicated to it. I meant to swing by this place, but given my extremely short time period in the country, I thought the UNESCO World Heritage Sites were probably more important to see (pictures in next post). However, blogger Natalie Chai did make it there and has shared some photos of the cafe with us here.

These fine images from the café generously donated to the Hello Kitty cause by Natalie Chai. See Natalie’s Web site here and her Twitter feed here.

From booths to seats — even the espresso foam is Hello Kitty themed.

So you might be asking “So what’s the deal? Asians like Hello Kitty. But why do you?” While my admiration of the cat is a bit tongue-in-cheek, I think the visuals surrounding Hello Kitty culture goes beyond toys and material objects.

The visual branding of Hello Kitty is a good representation of Asian popular culture. From the light yet neon-ish color palatte to the round bubbly kitty: these types of symbols, colors, graphic design and general visual atmospheres are used in branding, advertising and mass communication all over Asia. We see the style come up every time there is a global event such as the Shanghai World Expo or the Beijing Olympic Games. Mascots in Asia always seem to have a little bit of Hello Kitty in them.

In America we see the pink cat and move on with our day. However, this is the symbolic, cultural and visual branding for a continent. The influence of this branding and advertising on the daily lives if people in Asia is so immense, that it actually changes the way people see things. This is where things become interesting.

Westerners look at Hello Kitty as cheesy. But the pink cat is not cheesy here, where the large majority of the world’s population lives. In fact, a larger percentage of the world would say that Hello Kitty is not cheesy and is in fact a well designed vibrant product.

In Japan, Hello Kitty actually has a role in politics:

In May 2008, Japan named Hello Kitty the ambassador of Japanese tourism in both China and Hong Kong, which are two places where the character is exceptionally popular among children and young women. This marked the first time Japan’s tourism ministry had appointed a fictional character to the role.
UNICEF has also awarded Hello Kitty the exclusive title of UNICEF Special Friend of Children.

However, to be a bit balanced, the widely popular cat’s legacy has not always been good:

• In 1999, a brutal murder known as the Hello Kitty murder took place in Hong Kong. The popular name of the case derives from the fact that the murderer inserted his victim’s head into a Hello Kitty doll after decapitating her.
• As of August 2007, Thai police officers who have committed minor transgressions such as showing up late or parking in the wrong place are forced to wear pink Hello Kitty armbands for several days as penance.
• During the financial crisis of 2007–2010, a poster of a Hello Kitty pre-paid debit card expanded to roughly 1 meter in length was displayed on the floor of the US Senate by Senator Byron Dorgan as a demonstration of extreme methods used by credit companies to attract “children 10 to 14 years of age”. Though not an actual credit card, it was criticized for its promotional website encouraging users to “shop ’til you drop.”

While I do laugh a little every time I see a man on the street selling Hello Kitty towels, a theme shop in the mall selling only Hello Kitty items or when my Chinese colleague goes to pay for something with her credit card and the Cat comes out of the wallet — this image is as powerful as one gets in this continent.

More on Hello Kitty in Asia

• Official Hello Kitty site here.
• Official Hello Kitty blog here.
• Assistant Professor Yu-Fen Ko paper “Hello Kitty and the Identity Politics in Taiwan” here.
• Natalie Chai’s blog entry about her visit to the Hello Kitty café in Seoul here.

UPDATE 7:46 PM, NOV. 10, 2011

This just in from photographer Jojje Olsson (Twitter, Web site). After writing this post Jojje alerted me that a NEW Hello Kitty restaurant is coming to Sanlitun, Beijing — THIS DECEMBER! On Weebo, this advertisement has be re-tweeted 2,700 times! You know where I’ll be, this December!

NOTE FROM JONAH: These pictures belong to a small series “Two Hours and Twenty Minutes.” The pictures were all taken over the course of two hours and twenty minutes on November 1, 2011 between 3:21 pm and 5:41 in Seoul, South Korea. If you are just joining the series here’s what you’ve missed:

• The Soul of Seoul
• Hello Kitty de la Seoul
• Autumn: Good for the Seoul
• Heart in Seoul

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I don’t pretend to know much about South Korea. However, I do know something about foliage. But, I didn’t expect to see nice foliage in Seoul.

This less than 24-hour trip to Seoul happened to come right at a moment when the leaves were changing.

As someone who grew up chasing color and light in trees and avoiding pesky leaf peepers from New York (as they are called in Vermont) this was a really nice treat.

Outside the Changdok-Gunk Palace I decided to take a walk in a park. Golden leaves covered the ground within the park and even on the cities well built sidewalks.

I was surprised at how colorful this environment actually was. But what made it better was how people were acting in the park. The general feeling of the area was calm. Children played in leaves, adults laid under trees chatting and the classical architecture of Korea was highlighted by the colors of the trees around them.

I didn’t see any leaf peepers from New York, although I was probably the closest thing around. It was just an ordinary day. People went about their business in a normal fashion, with the occasional person taking a picture.

If you were to go to a foliage area in Beijing right now, you would be surrounded by Chinese men with enormous cameras and large groups being lead around by a group leader with a flag.

The peacefulness of fall actually existed in Seoul. Although I grew up in this kind of colorful and peaceful environment by being in China the past three autumns I had almost forgot how nice fall can be.

NOTE FROM JONAH: The following pictures in the next five posts were all taken over the course of two hours and twenty minutes on November 1, 2011 between 3:21 pm and 5:41 in Seoul, South Korea. If you are just joining the series here’s what you’ve missed:

• The Soul of Seoul
• Hello Kitty de la Seoul
• Autumn: Good for the Seoul
• Heart in Seoul

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I don’t pretend to understand South Korea, or for that matter — China.

However, after spending 22 hours in Seoul this week I was truly shocked by how different it is to China. Sure, its another country and perhaps those ephemeral borders aren’t so ephemeral. But in my extremely short time in the country, I was just shocked by how “with it” the capital city seems to be. Also having just made a video on North Korea, it was shocking to see just how far South Korea has come. I certainly wonder if the skinny guards on the northern size of the DMZ glance to the South thinking “I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks.”

On the South side of the DMZ — you see color. They dress to impress. You see this in Shanghai, but there’s more of a mix there. In Shanghai you can still see people in more traditional Mao era clothing. Beyond being well dressed, the Korean population seemed calm and collected. People were not shoving to get on the subway and were queuing for taxis. In 22 hours in Seoul, I saw one person spit — and he was a Chinese tourist.

Chinese spitting is one thing thats still hard to understand. Especially when I see this behavior close to a border. Why do people on one side of the line frequently spit, while those on the other have learned how to exist without constantly hacking up flem and leaving it on the streets for all to enjoy?

While Seoul’s population of 10 million doesn’t stand up to some of China’s biggest cities — its nothing to sneeze at and while examining how a city functions, its always interesting to see how so many people get around in small confined areas.

I think you can tell a lot about an Asian country by what happens when you first leave the airport.

For example, in most cities in China when you get outside of the airport, you will be approached by black taxis (illegal, or freelance drivers) and there will be a place to pick up real taxis. Real taxis will use their meter, however, they might not go the quickest way. In India, upon leaving an airport (or train station) you are bombarded by begging children, yelling tuk-tuk drivers, black taxis and a hogwash of third world rif-raft. In Southeast Asia, tourist related organizations prey on those getting off planes. Hostels, organized tours and resorts are waiting like fisherman, every time a plane lands.

In South Korea, I was approached by … no one.

I went to a cab line that moved swiftly. I showed the driver an address (written in Korean) and we proceeded to go straight their, sans scams, mafan or delays of any kind.

An iPhone based guidebook I had read said Korean drivers “are reckless and the streets are plagued with seemingly perpetual traffic jams” and you should avoid using them. Granted, I think this may have been the worst guide book/ap I have ever seen, but after having lived in Asia for a number of years, I found the driving to be about as safe as it gets. Traffic exists, but nothing compared to Beijing or even LA.

The “togetherness” of Seoul went beyond the clothes and traffic. The details were there.

While riding in elevators, I didn’t fear for my life … a possibly unjustified fear I have in China every time I set foot in an elevator that somewhere on it has a sticker that says “made in China.”

Is it fair for me to trust something more that is made in Korea than China? Are wages higher and therefor reflect in better workmanship? Our perception of a product’s quality based on their origin is interesting. I know I trust Japanese made cameras before say, Chinese. However, I hadn’t really considered too much about Korean products and their quality factor.

It was these little things that seemed to be nicer. Things seemed more legit and certainly less fake.

The tap water at my hotel tested good enough to drink. I ate raw oysters on the street in a busy shopping district. This is something I probably wouldn’t do in most places in China. In general, raw seafood and Asia (with the obvious exception of Japan) don’t always mix well.

The feeling in the streets of Seoul was also much different than in other parts of Asia. I saw young girls drinking beer and smoking cigarettes in the in the streets, acting independently of men and seemingly free from some of the other social pressures which often change the behavior of the female population in North Asia.

The shopping culture I associate with Shanghai and Hong Kong was here in full swing.

In the very famous Myeongdong Market, you can buy almost any main brand western item from North Face to Adidas. DVDs even looked real — and cost similar to the price of a United States DVD (roughly $14), opposed to in China where DVDs are always fake and usually cost about $1.50 (and might be in the wrong language).

This area actually fits the stereotypical notion of what westerns think Asian shopping areas are like. Neon signs lining the streets actually creating enough light to illuminate the ground for shoppers.

And while the maze of streets is lined from top to bottom with outlet stores, hip brands and restaurants — the actual street filled up with small vendors and street food. I thought this was a great balance and made the market very lively. I also noticed some of the strangest street food I have ever seen. A lot of really weird looking things.

My hotel room was said to be a boutique 5-star resort. A couple times a year in Asia I try to visit a place like this. I book a nice hotel room in some country, and see what US $300 will get me. And here in Korea, it actually does get you something that you might pay $1000 for in the US. For 2300 RMB my room had a private relaxation pool, two showers, one bathroom, separate living room, office, bar and coffee center, wardrobe room, and a bedroom with a king size bed. The entire suite was 70 square meters and was surrounded by 180 degree views over looking Seoul, with remote controlled curtains.

While $300 isn’t exactly cheap, this room could have been at least four times as much in the West — and with this view, pending which city it was in — even more. With boutique hotels in Asia you usually get more bang for you buck than in the West, but often some of the details are missing. Here in Seoul, the service and standards actually matched what I would expect from the west.

The icing on the cake for me, in how “with it” Korea seems — is WiFi access. The city has created a network which actually covered everywhere I went (granted I didn’t make it to the outskirts or even close). The internet and communication has become so much a part of our lives (some of us … more than others) its really nice to see a city take the initiative to create access for a moving population that is so expansive.

I don’t pretend to be an expert on culture here. There’s are just mere observations from spending 22 hours in this city. Now that I have a taste for Korea, I would love to go back and travel to more rural areas to have a look at how quick some of these factors fade, as you move away from the capital.