A brief pause

Everyone,

Be advised that my stream of art photos from South Korea will stop briefly.

Later this week, I am returning to Los Angeles, to take care of a few items at work that require my in-person attention. But as my meditation regimen is far from over, this return will only be temporary. As soon as I am able, and most likely before Election Day, I will be back in Seoul to continue where I left off.

At that time, I will be even more aggressive in chasing down all kinds of art all over South Korea. As my meditation will continue at a slower pace, I will have more time to travel - and that means I will finally get to drive over to Gyeongju, the ancient capital. (Remember when I initially announced my travel plans - and previewed the most delicate stone pagoda you've ever seen?)

As for voting in the elections, there will be a way for me to vote - though it will be far from graceful, and possibility of tampering exists. I will have to fax in my marked sample ballot to the Los Angeles County registrar (I must also include a sworn affidavit with signature in that fax), where a poll worker will transcribe my votes onto a real ballot. There is a good chance that my "No" vote on the California gay marriage ban will be "mistakenly" transcribed as a "Yes" vote, "in the name of God" - while this is unlikely in San Francisco, it's very possible in heavily Catholic Los Angeles. I do expect my vote for Obama-Biden to count properly, however. But even with this, I must vote; it will otherwise be a disgrace for the South Korean President and the Moonies to spend billions of dollars (the very US dollars that South Korean banks and businesses need) buying votes in America, and for me to not cast my vote at all.

Looking forward to giving you several more months of great Korean art.

UPDATE: I will most likely visit Hong Kong as well, when I come back to Seoul. Flying 15+ hours from Los Angeles for just a few nights in Hong Kong is a lunacy, but flying a few hours from Seoul makes a lot more sense. Besides, when Seoul freezes, Hong Kong will really help. Also, if I stick around in South Korea for too long, the McCarthyism will poison me, so I need to step away once in a while! Expect some Cantonese art if/when I get to Hong Kong.

Even more North Korean art

Here's something not so socialist: an automotive billboard ad.

The woman on the right, in traditional Korean dress, is typical of North Korean posters and billboards, socialist or otherwise.

The car is made by Pyeonghwa Motors, which is a joint venture of the Unification Church and a North Korean government company. This particular model's name translates to "Whistle."

Wikipedia says that the company's annual output is at most 400 cars, because there is very little demand for cars in North Korea (besides, gassing up will be a challenge too). Nevertheless, it is significant enough that South Korea's president visited the factory during his Pyongyang visit last year.