Weekly Errands

After waking up, I started on my weekly administrative tasks. I wrote two daily blog posts, updated my finances, and cleaned my room. I still need to find some time to run a few more errands, but I’m having a little too much fun lately and keep postponing them. I’m sure I’ll get around to them soon enough.

I really want to do a cool photoshoot with a professional photographer here in Seoul, so I wrote down some ideas and reached out to a few freelancers on Instagram. Let’s see what comes out of it!

N-Seoul Tower Run

After lunch, I took the bus to Namsan — the southern mountain of Seoul. There’s a walking circuit around the mountain, and in the middle stands a big tower that gives you views of the entire city. I went up last time, and while the view was nice, the tower itself was a bit underwhelming. The walking trail, however, was great. So I figured it would be fun to combine exploring and running again.

It was a little chilly today, but I was dressed well and quickly warmed up once I started running. I was expecting the route to be a 7km loop around the mountain, but after 2km the road ended — so I had to improvise. I decided to climb up the hill, take some pictures, and make my way back down. It was pretty busy at the top, so I had to dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge around all the tourists. Still, the views were amazing. I loved the trees, and the short trail sections made for a fun run.

It was another successful (read: efficient) run-and-explore combo.

DDP – Ultra Convenience Store Seoul

In the evening, I went back to the Dongdaemun Design Plaza to visit an exhibition I saw being set up when I was there last week. It was called Ultra Convenience Store, and it looked pretty interesting. I met up with Katherine again since she wanted to join, but when she saw the ticket price (₩20,000 - €12,-), she noped out immediately, because she isn't much of an art person.

I thought it would be something like Omega Mart, but it turned out to be quite different. There was a lot of text (all in Korean), but with some digital translation, I got the gist. The exhibition was about how the way we buy and view products has changed over the years — focusing on marketing, identity, and how people express themselves through their purchases.

It started with a section where you could create your own booklet. You picked three pages from a large collection that reflected your personality or interests. Then you gave your chosen pages, cover, and binding to the staff, who assembled your booklet for you to pick up at the end. It was all about “defining your own identity.”

The next section explored influencer marketing. There was a big hall filled with cube-like rooms, each hosting a mini exhibition. A group of minor celebrities — among them a drag queen, an athlete, a comic writer, a singer, and more — had each created an art piece and a small product line tied to it. For instance, one room had a dinner table installation based on an artist’s memories made while dining with friends, paired with a cookbook she made. The message was that by buying the book, you could share in her good memories — like performing on a big stage. The question was: Is this art or marketing? And does attaching a celebrity’s name to it automatically make it meaningful or valuable?

The final section was about expressing yourself through what you buy. When I entered, I was given a token for a room filled with gacha machines, each containing keychains of newly designed “characters.” The idea was to choose the one that best matched your identity and try to win it.

I spotted my favorite right away, tried my luck — and failed. Without thinking, I went back and bought five more tokens (about €1 each) and tried again. Still no luck. The attendant must’ve felt bad for me because she came over, opened the machine, and handed me the keychain I wanted. Without realizing it, I had played right into the exhibition’s message — blinded by the urge to express myself, I had spent money on something completely frivolous.

Even though it took a bit to understand what they were trying to convey, I was really impressed by the storytelling of the exhibition. I loved the absurdist design, the humor, and the interactive elements. And of course, you could buy all the influencers’ products in the gift shop — again blurring the line between art and commerce.

Closing the night off

After the exhibition, I met up with Katherine again for dinner. We caught up on what we’d done over the past few days, she roasted my Bumble profile, and we had a good laugh. Instead of taking the metro back, we decided to walk and talk again.

Another beautiful Sunday — getting errands done, going for a run, seeing some culture, and catching up with a friend. During dinner, I realized I didn’t need that cookbook to make cool memories like that. I can make them myself.