Seattle: Visit to MoPOP, part one!

If you happen to find yourself in the city of Seattle and feel like you're lacking in necessary immersion into modern pop cultural awareness, appreciation, and knowledge, you might want to add the Museum of Pop Culture to your list of places to visit. The building is hard to miss, as it's a psychedelic mash-up of molten steel, unexpected angles, accents, and edges along with bold pops of color...not to mention the iconic Space Needle peering out or looming over depending on your mood or angle of approach. Our initial arrival was a little frantic, as we forgot the camera in the car in our hurry to catch our ride-share, and had to cancel the original ride and then get back to the car. In the end, I'm grateful that we went back to grab the camera, as it allowed us to capture some seriously awesome shots (in my ever-so-humble opinion) and commemorate our visit. The Marvel exhibit we went to see, specifically, was a limited run and given the cost of admission makes this sort of outing something we reserve for special occasions and not every weekend, so if we had missed our chance to get photos on this visit the chances of going back before our window of opportunity expired were minimal. We had already procrastinated until near the end of the run, so it was now or never! 

MoPOP is well worth visiting any time, though, as there is a multitude of different exhibits - some long term and enduring, other's passing through for a limited show, but all are excellent.  Given our stumbling over the camera and running in circles for a moment, we lost out on precious time and found that we were remiss when the closing time arrived. The employees and volunteers were gracious enough, but when it's time to close it up they'll make sure you're aware! MoPOP is a non-profit founded by Paul Allen in 2000, so many of the people keeping it running are doing so as a kindness due to their own personal passions, so be polite and courteous when visiting.  There's a lot to see and take in, after all, and as I said- the exhibits change often, so if you've visited in the past you'll find new and exciting things to see and experience upon repeated visits, and the additional time can always allow you to delve deeper into the permanent showcases. Seriously, folks, there's a lot to see and do inside this place, so if you're going to be around for a minute you may want to consider investing in a membership.   

Korea: Craft Fair at Ssamziegil in Insadong

Seoul is a vibrant city of roughly 10 million people and bustling with personality, passion, and variety. From the visor-wearing aunties in their colorful track suits lugging their carts full of goodies to the suited office workers trying not to fall asleep on the subway, the high-fashion youth with perfectly powdered visages and the burly workmen doing construction, it's as vivacious and nuanced a big city as one could hope or imagine with all the fashion, art and entertainment to boot. All the activity and bustling energy translate to a lot of creative energy, too, and there is no shortage of craftsmen and artisans in Seoul. Luckily, South Koreans are very proud of their culture AND their creations, so crafts fairs and historic traditional arts flourish and coincide in peace. 

Ssamziegil, a spiral walking path that works its way through four floors of artisan shops and little restaurants, was one of the several locations I would draw at while living in Korea. Our little shop for Fun Caricature was right on the ground floor near the entryway, a prime location for catching curious tourists on their way to grab some Dongppang (poop bread). Rest assured, there's no actual poo used in the bread! It's a griddle cake with sweet filling pressed into the shape of the poop emoji...a bit silly or juvenile, perhaps, but it's a hit with travelers who would form long lines waiting for a chance at their own selfie with the peculiar treat, even in the freezing cold! The building for Ssamzi (what we called it) is located in the heart of Insadong, in the Jongno-Gu area of Seoul proper. That was, without a doubt, one of my absolute favorite areas in Seoul as there are so many cultural important monuments and so many things of note to see within a readily accessible walking distance of each other. To get to Insadong proper, take exit 6 from Anguk station and you'll be right around the corner. Insadong, in particular, is rife with crafts and art, alongside the Kimchi museum. There are many places you can rent a Hanbok to wear and friendly guides proliferate in the area, eager to lend aid to a confused traveler. It was always a fun location to work at! 

The photos in this post are going to be from one particular day when a craft fair happened to pop up inside the open courtyard of Ssamziegil. I couldn't help but to be curious and poke my head over for a look when business at the booth was slow. Please enjoy this glimpse into what daily life was kind of like when I was working in Seoul! Plenty more photos below~