Songdo

Nestled in the shadow of the steel giant POSCO is an area of town called Songdo. It's one of the weirdest places in Korea I've ever seen, which is saying a lot when your local market sells whale baleen and frozen dog. The beachfront is dotted with cafes and coffee shops, par for the course here in Korea. What makes the area different from any other I've been in is that right next door to a brand new coffee shop is an abandoned building. And not just once, like up and down the strip. Coffee shop, abandoned, falling down, roof caved in building. It's bizarre. Re-development in fits and starts. Why not bulldoze the whole thing at once? I don't know. Not to mention the fact that POSCO is probably 1000 yards up the coast and people were fishing in the water. I'm sure that POSCO is on the up and up when it comes to safety and disposing of their waste, but when I ask my students if they swim at any of Pohang's beaches, many turn their noses up and say "Dirty." No swimming, but eating the fish is totally cool. I don't know, it's a weird spot. But it's got a cool statue of a famous Korean swimmer, I think. And the coffee shops that are up and running are really nice looking.
You might notice some changes here at my little blog. Running across the top is my instagram feed and now my pictures all have borders around them which was like a ten hour project where I had to learn a little bit of CSS which is like having to learn a little bit of French or a lit bit of Spanish. Anyways, here's 10 pictures and some foolish comments.

Hey Neighbor

These buildings practically share a wall.  One is a fully functional coffee shop .  The other looks like a meth lab exploded inside.  The tanks out front suggest it was once a seafood restaurant that just got left behind.

Squid

It isn't seafront property if there aren't sea critters drying in the sun.

Songdo Swimmer

I don't know what this statue is about, but I like it.

Statues

Sara doing her best.

The Beach

It's such a lovely beach with the steel plant behind it.

The Dock

A little dock for boats or for fishing.

The Beauty

Loving this little beach trip.  There was a little poodle playing on the sand.  It walked up to Sara.  Sara said hello to the little puppy and then reached down and touched it's nose, like you do.  Without acknowledging her presence, the owner walked up, picked up the dog, and left the beach.

Fishing

Yeah man, those people are fishing.  White fish with a slight metallic tinge.

Destruction

More destroyed buildings, modern high rises growing in the background.

Sadness

Sara saddened by the destruction.  There were like dressers and furniture in here.  I have no idea what happened, natural disaster, or just migration or what.  Regardless, there's some ocean front property if you don't mind a little wreckage.