Camera phones can make a photographer out of anyone.

Samsung has a new phone...with a THREE megapixel camera. LG and Panitec/Curitel have similar ones out as well. The only problem is the things are about 700,000 won (600USD). So, I'll wait a bit until I get a new phone/dica (digital camera, as they abbreviate it here). For now, I'm having fun taking pictures of interesting things I see in this crazy place. Like this address plate. It says: 21, Yangmalsan, 5 gil or: building 21, sock mountain (area) 5th road.


Building address in Yeouido aka Sock Mountain.

I asked my boss (pictured below) about why the heck a road is called Sock Mountain...it didn't make much sense, even for this place. He told me that Yeouido use to be called Sock Mountain...why? No idea. Now the place is full of investment houses, the National Assembly (parliament/senate/capitol building) and (following the money) bars and brothels...no sock factories.


My boss mixing SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY and Korean beer.

The whole office went out last night for 오겹살 (oh-gyup-sal, or 5-layers-o'-fat-pork). We have a new company member and, true to Korean form, that's a great excuse to have food and (a lot of) drink. My boss, please forgive him, brought the bottle of 1950 Macallan single malt Scotch I got him on my last trip back and then (oh my God, I can hardly believe he did this!) proceeded to fill shot glasses with it and drop them in glasses of OB (Oriental Brewery, a local malt-maker) lager. Unreal. Now, my grandfather worked for Seagram's (and has Scottish heritage) and two of our suppliers are right from Scotland and if they saw such a travesty they probably would have throttled him--hence the pixelated face, a little taste of the witness protection program tactics he'll have to face for such an injustice to Scotsmen everywhere. (Oh, FYI, only single malt whisky from Scotland can call itself 'whisky' minus the 'e', all others are properly spelt 'whiskey'.)

Good thing I had my cameraphone at the ready to take these breathtaking shots, eh?