An Air India 777 sits on the stand
Working at Samsung, and Geumosan Mountain, Gumi, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea - 24th June 2012
For the first time since 2008, Nosher's off abroad for work. This time it's to South Korea and the industrial city of Gumi in Gyeongbuk province, for two weeks working at Samsung. It's an intersting gig in a large office complex, with an even larger canteen which seems to hold about 1,000 staff at a time - oh, and everything for lunch really does come with kimchi, and there are fruity vinegar drinks available from a machine afterwards. There's also airport-style security going in and out, with x-ray machines and everything. This sadly means that photography is forbidden as even mobile phones have to have their cameras taped over. The hotel, meanwhile, is in the middle of what amounts to a huge industrial estate made up of a few electronics mega-corporations - including Samsung and LG - and a whole heap of small industrial business units. On the up-side, there are a few restaurants on the road and there's a convenience store right opposite which sells beer. Which is just as well, as the local TV is pretty appalling (and it's nothing to do with the language barrier), although as it's generally nine hours in the office followed by two or three catching up with London, it doesn't really matter that much. Besides, there's always BBC 6Music on the internet. Anyway, during the two weeks there, the only real time off is on the two Sundays, but there's a chance for a catch up on the Saturday night of arrival with a beer in downtown Gumi with Chris and Hyosoo. The first big trip is up the nearby Geumosan Mountain, which at 976 metres doesn't sound too high, but it rises pretty much straight out of the flat alluvial plain in which Gumi lies. Hyosoo, who's with Nosher and his showing him the Korean ropes, and Chris from work who's stayed on for a couple of days to help hand over the reins, decide to climb it as a Sunday activity, with Chris having already done it the week before. The total hike is about seven kilometers, followed by another two or three walking back towards Gumi, which combined with some fairly vertical scrambling, is intensly hard work. However, the view over Gumi from the top of the mountain is worth it, and the various Buddhist temples and interesting features on the way add to the enjoyment.
next album: Seomun Market, Daegu, South Korea - 1st July 2012
previous album: Stephen Fry Visits TouchType, Southwark, London - 19th June 2012
A Korean Air on the apron at Gatwick
Air India, with Gatwick control tower
At Incheon airport
A traffic marshall outside Incheon airport
Funky bridge on the way to Incheon City
Loads of signs all over a building
Wibbly buildings
Some sort of food production
A DVD shop
The snack shack
At the bus station
The bin cleaners appear
A dude pushes a big wheelbarrow around
Bus station shopping mall
At the bus station services
The bright lights of Gumi
Loads of neon
Chris and Hyosoo
Korean street food
More street food
We continue on the quest for Hite or Cass beer
Another pop-up snack van by night
Chris in a bar somewhere
A street view from behind teddy bears
A urinal with an ash tray and ice
Outside WaBar
Another late-night food place
Gumi back street at night
A first look in daylight at Gumi city
It's a fairly grim view from the hotel window
At the start of the Komosan hiking trail
Chris photographs our route before we set off
Curious stone mounds, like beehives
Several large stone 'cairns' are dotted about
Chris has a drink
Chris and Hyosoo on the trail
Yaksaam temple
A Buddhist bell at Yaksaam Temple
Chinese calligraphy and ornate painting
A seated Buddha
Hyosoo and Chris walk through a temple gate
Temple art
The God of the North Wind plays a lute
A flight of stone steps
Another impressive temple interior
Curious pock-marked 'moai'
A row of praying Buddhas
Surveying the scene
A view down the valley to Gumi
Walkers on the path
Some dude does some moves in Doseongul Cave
Hyosoo and Chris negotiate the narrow path
Sometimes is a real effort to pass
Crowds in a cool glade
A picnic at hanging rock
Chris and Hyosoo on a rock somewhere
Chris and Hyosoo at the top of Geumosan Mountain
Nosher at the top of the mountain
Hyosoo roams around
Offerings of water are made
Chris stands out on an outcrop of rock
Hyosoo looks out over Gumi, one kilometre below
Hyosoo tops up our water stash at a spring-fed tap
A Buddhist temple defended with razor wire
We take a break
Back at the bottom, there's a picnic in the river
The statue of some dude by the lake
A small green car covered in pompoms
A back alley
We stop for a full-on Korean lunch
We get stuck in to a good spread of Korean food
Outside, a new-but-retro bus trundles around
Korean restaurant signs
A look back at the peak just climbed
Back in the hotel room
Industrial estate action
The Gumi Century Hotel, on the right
A giant bowling pin
Another light-industrial back alley
A row of harware shops
A pile of power tools on the pavement
The whole area around the hotel is like this
Looking down the street to the hotel
A one-way street
Some dude actually visits one of the shops
A whole stack of fans and ducts
A wet street in the evening
The Gumi Century
Nosher's local restaurant
The Family Mart over the road, source of Cass Red
Samsung's factory looks like it's on fire
The film 'Source Code' is going on somewhere
Hint: you can use the left and right cursor keys to navigate between albums, and between photos when in the photo viewer
An Air India 777 sits on the stand
An Air India 777 sits on the stand
A Korean Air on the apron at Gatwick
Air India, with Gatwick control tower
At Incheon airport
A traffic marshall outside Incheon airport
Funky bridge on the way to Incheon City
Loads of signs all over a building
Wibbly buildings
Some sort of food production
A DVD shop
The snack shack
At the bus station
The bin cleaners appear
A dude pushes a big wheelbarrow around
Bus station shopping mall
At the bus station services
The bright lights of Gumi
Loads of neon
Chris and Hyosoo
Korean street food
More street food
We continue on the quest for Hite or Cass beer
Another pop-up snack van by night
Chris in a bar somewhere
A street view from behind teddy bears
A urinal with an ash tray and ice
Outside WaBar
Another late-night food place
Gumi back street at night
A first look in daylight at Gumi city
It's a fairly grim view from the hotel window
At the start of the Komosan hiking trail
Chris photographs our route before we set off
Curious stone mounds, like beehives
Several large stone 'cairns' are dotted about
Chris has a drink
Chris and Hyosoo on the trail
Yaksaam temple
A Buddhist bell at Yaksaam Temple
Chinese calligraphy and ornate painting
A seated Buddha
Hyosoo and Chris walk through a temple gate
Temple art
The God of the North Wind plays a lute
A flight of stone steps
Another impressive temple interior
Curious pock-marked 'moai'
A row of praying Buddhas
Surveying the scene
A view down the valley to Gumi
Walkers on the path
Some dude does some moves in Doseongul Cave
Hyosoo and Chris negotiate the narrow path
Sometimes is a real effort to pass
Crowds in a cool glade
A picnic at hanging rock
Chris and Hyosoo on a rock somewhere
Chris and Hyosoo at the top of Geumosan Mountain
Nosher at the top of the mountain
Hyosoo roams around
Offerings of water are made
Chris stands out on an outcrop of rock
Hyosoo looks out over Gumi, one kilometre below
Hyosoo tops up our water stash at a spring-fed tap
A Buddhist temple defended with razor wire
We take a break
Back at the bottom, there's a picnic in the river
The statue of some dude by the lake
A small green car covered in pompoms
A back alley
We stop for a full-on Korean lunch
We get stuck in to a good spread of Korean food
Outside, a new-but-retro bus trundles around
Korean restaurant signs
A look back at the peak just climbed
Back in the hotel room
Industrial estate action
The Gumi Century Hotel, on the right
A giant bowling pin
Another light-industrial back alley
A row of harware shops
A pile of power tools on the pavement
The whole area around the hotel is like this
Looking down the street to the hotel
A one-way street
Some dude actually visits one of the shops
A whole stack of fans and ducts
A wet street in the evening
The Gumi Century
Nosher's local restaurant
The Family Mart over the road, source of Cass Red
Samsung's factory looks like it's on fire
The film 'Source Code' is going on somewhere