Jenny's Bread & Hongdae's Streets

As you might have gathered by now I spent a good amount of time in Hongdae recently, and instead of posting everything in one shot I'm breaking things up. In this post, I'm going to take you to one of my favorite lunch spots, Jenny's Bread. I have been to this place several times, and you can catch a 2010 post here and a 2011 post here.

I think the challenging part is finding the location, however it is quite easy. Instead of the plain looking shop that marks the side-street entrance, there now stands a juice place. So if you see this juice-joint, take a right and head up the hilly street.

As things curve and you go up more, you will come to the first left. Take this and you'll soon see Jenny's Bread on the right.

The place wasn't too packed, just a few folks enjoying a good meal. I had the mushroom sandwich lunch special. This means I got their usual pumpkin soup, which was scrumptious!

The sandwich was as delightful as usual, with home made fries on the side. What's great about this place is the freshness in the quality of their dishes, and the care to which they understand taste. Even the ice-tea came to me unsweetened and was very refreshing.

It was a great meal, indeed and I enjoyed seeing a street cat and trashed shoe on the way out.

I meandered back into the crowded streets of Hongdae, passing the park that has an open arts-and-crafts market every weekend.

I really enjoyed the above hand-crafted jewelry and bought myself a ring. I hope to come back again and find this vendor so to be able to unload the cash.

Hongdae is always full of surprises and new places are popping up everywhere.

Now for some bonus black-and-white shots:

Sketch & The City 2012: Spring Outing

The view: A crowded urban exterior in the place called Itaewon.

                                The set up: Easel, art pad, watercolor pencils...

The progress:

Other view:

On Saturday, May 19th, I participated in the first Sketch and the City event for 2012, near the Jankura studio space in Itaewon. I came a little late but had enough time to set up and make something. It was a lovely spring day, with a cool breeze and sunny weather. 

People passing by enjoyed admiring the works in progress, making comments and saying "Wow!" It was a good time and gave me practice.

The final work:

Using watercolor pencils has been a fun new tool I've picked up, but I kind of missed using paint during this event. However, I'm still getting the hang of this medium, so we'll see.

Even if you don't have much experience with drawing or painting, I recommend joining the Sketch and the City events as a way to enjoy the Seoul scene.

Walking Past the 1st Shop of Coffee Prince Cafe

Yes, I have seen the drama, "The First Shop of Coffee Prince" or 커피프린스 1호점. Out of the select number of dramas I have seen, I did enjoy this one. Mostly because it was fun to watch the character get all muddled over starting to like a boy, who was really a girl. Need help knowing what this drama is about, go here.

When dramas finish their run of episodes they leave behind the places they shot at or built along the way. There are whole "villages" around Korea where you can go and see famous drama filming sites and sets. So it is with the cafe that was created and left behind in the Coffee Prince drama.

In Hongdae you can still come by and see the shop, even go inside and enjoy a cup of coffee. Tourists flock to this site to see in person their beloved drama. In fact, as I approached the cafe two Japanese tourists were in front of me.

Today the place looks like and old cafe, with the greenery getting the best of the structure. Things could use a cleaning here and there, but perhaps that's not necessary.

How to get to:

View 1st Shop of Coffee Prince in a larger map


It's along the way to the Design Museum, which I talked about in my previous post. I would recommend swinging by and admiring the cafe, along with all the drama fans inside.

Fantastic Baby? Or Fantastic Chicken?

The students have been singing a funny song in class. Another infiltration of Korean popular culture in the classroom. So I started to wonder what the source was, as I am kind of out of touch with Kpop these days. Turns out they were singing a parodied song to "Fantastic Baby" by BigBang in the tune of "Fantastic Chicken."

After having watched both videos I find the "Fantastic Chicken" a lot more amusing. Of course it's hard to get over the new looks of the BigBang members, and their cuteness. Here are the videos so you can see for yourself...

Fantastic Baby - BigBang



Fantastic Chicken - SLRHYMO

Alternative Space Loop: Contemporary Art Space in Hongdae

With a name like "Alternative Space LOOP" and a location tucked in one of the neighborhood streets of Hongdae, I couldn't help but be enticed to visit. It was a little tricky to find (directions at the end of the post), but with a bit of map viewing beforehand I was able to find my way.

I arrived just as the gallery sitter came to open the doors and put out the signs. So perhaps, I was early or maybe she was late. No matter, I took in the scenery of a small residential area with a gallery tucked in and also a neat little cafe.

Currently at Alternative Space Loop is the show, "2012 Henkel InnoArt Project" which is defined as:

Through the 2012 Henkel InnoART Project, we aim to introduce ideal examples of co-existing and sharing with other beings. ...The goal of the project is to introduce this instant bond that allows for the acceptance and understanding of other beings. What is important here is not ‘the state of bond’ but ‘the endeavor to achieve a bond’, which will be accomplished through cooperation on many levels. For example, a sort of collision generated by the combination of a corporation and an art community, an education community and an art community, two different genres, or two different age groups and a new type of experimental art created from such combinations are to be put on display.

From this I am going to take that the artists were trying to convey different ways of "co-existing" and how that is achieved. So then when I first walked into the building I was greeted by the sounds of muttering, images of video art on the wall and two desks empty but with what appeared to be left-overs from a performance piece. I was intrigued.

Notice the "dots" on the wall, this carried itself elsewhere in the downstairs exhibit. But I wandered upstairs and found that there was a nice cafe, with cozy places to sit and walls full of Art books and magazines.

I definitely feel like going back, solely for the purpose of sipping something cool and checking out some of their books. I then meandered upstairs to find closed doors, but shelves of DVDs. I think they were the gallery's archives.

I then proceeded downward to B1 to see the rest of the exhibit, which consisted of sculpture, installation, photography and painting.

As frequently pointed out, many of us incorrectly use the word ‘wrong’ in place of ‘different’. We often subconsciously think that what is different is wrong or negative. The purpose of this project is to recognize the state of being different as is, to demonstrate the importance of keeping a moderate distance from others based on this recognition, and finally express the underlying value through an artistic language.

I'm starting to see the message or language used in this exhibition. The dots that are placed here and there obstruct the main painting or photograph, but in the end makes it different and unique. Yet at the same times ties in with the other works.

I enjoyed the following work as it was a deconstructed image of the Korean peninsula. It definitely had a more translatable feel to it.

What I liked about the sticker dots were that you can see they were placed above the picture. Not just part of the print, but almost another layer to the piece. The pieces in the center of the room, seemed to evoke thoughts of juxtaposition.

Details:
Runs from 3/29/2012 - 5/24/2012. So just about one week left.

Location and Contact:
335-11 Seogye-dong, Mapo-Gu
Seoul, Korea
loop@galleryloop.com

How To Map:
- Head out of exit 8 from Hongik station
- Go towards the loop and head left.
- Get to another loop and turn in right with a Family mart on your left. Go up this street for a while.
- When you see on the a cafe called "Free Heart" you want to turn right into the alley.
- Keep going and you will see the obvious structural building pictured above.

:)