Weekly Photo: An 인현 kind of day

Tour Guide: Kinda.

After spending some time in Busan with Barun and a group he was chaperoning, we wandered out by Gwangalli Beach. We came upon a street musican playing spanish guitar, which we ended up dancing to. The locals applauded us and asked us to stay, but we wanted to tour a bit more. 

We looked around for a bus stop, but couldn't find one anywhere. On the road beside us there was this massive dwelling, all boarded up, but there was a way to climb in. I hopped up, but Mack saw two men dresssed in military clothes walking on the platform above us. She hissed, "Leif, Leif, someone's there, get down!" I called down, "I know, I'm talking to them." 

It turned out to be a couple of University students from Seoul who grew up in Busan. I helped Mack up and to our surprise the place turned out to be a massive sports complex, at some point, anyway. The two guys had fond recollections of going there with their families in their youth, and they shared their stories. They'd just come to visit and reflect on old times. I guess since it closed down, the place had become a mecca for muralists, the work of one pictured above. 

After we explored the facility in all its splendour, videotaping it for posterity, the students generously brought us to the subway station. We spoke about 인현 (in-hyun), the Korean idea that people meet coincidentally for reasons unknown, but their chance encounter is still profoundly important. I feel like this was an 인현 kind of day.


Photo and article by Leif Erikson

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