On Sunday night a devastating firedestroyed the 610 year-old Namdaemun “Great South Gate” in Seoul, South Korea [video]. Luckily no one was hurt but it’s sad to hear that the blaze may be have been started on purpose. The loss is even more painful as gate was the countries no. 1 national treasure and one of the few to survive foreign invasions. The Cultural Heritage Administration has said that it will take at least three years to restore at an estimated cost of $21 million.
I feel somewhat lucky to have visited Namdaemun last September when I was in South Korea and took a number of photos of the magnificent structure with its colourful paintings on the underside. What struck me was its isolation, surrounded by the towering skyscrapers of modern Seoul making it even more of a landmark.
No doubt people will be pointing the finger of blame over the disaster but no amount of postulating is going to bring it back…
Update (12/02): Looks like an angry old man with a history of arson was responsible. “Chae”, 69, had already been convicted in 2006 of trying to set fire to Changgyeonggung Royal Palace after some sort of land compensation dispute. He is now in police custody.
Having being born in August 1984 I fall squarely in the year of the rat (a wood rat to be precise) according to the Chinese lunar calendar. A single cycle takes 12 years to complete and with the 2008 lunar year just beginning we’ve now moved into the year of the rat which, according to superstition, will be particularly unlucky for yours truly (good thing I’m not superstitious!).
I find Wikipedia’s definition of rat people attributes particularly amusing:
“Being the first sign of the Chinese zodiacs, rats are leaders, pioneers and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking. Rat people are endowed with great leadership skills and are the most highly organized, meticulous, and systematic of the twelve signs. Intelligent and cunning at the same time, rats are highly ambitious and strong-willed people who are keen and unapologetic promoters of their own agendas, which often include money and power…
Behind the smiles and charm, rats can be terribly obstinate and controlling, insisting on having things their way no matter what the cost. These people tend to have immense control of their emotions, which they may use as a tool to manipulate and exploit others, both emotionally and mentally. Rats are masters of mind games and can be very dangerous, calculative and downright cruel if the need arises. Quick-tempered and aggressive, they will not think twice about exacting revenge on those that hurt them in any way. Rats need to learn to relax sometimes, as they can be quite obsessed with detail, intolerant and strict, demanding order, obedience, and perfection.”
Perhaps there is something in all this nonsense after all?! I found the last point particularly apt!
For goodness sake America sort it out. The rest of the world is relying on you to elect someone who will end Bush’s rain of terror and downright stupidity. If you don’t there is only one direction the world is going and it isn’t pretty.
The London Underground (or the “Tube” as we like to call it here) has arguably the most iconic map in the world. The circuit-diagram style map invented by Henry Beck in 1933 paved the way for the way in which most modern metro/subway systems portray their transit networks today. Its success in aiding the traveller to find their way from A-to-B is a testament to it’s simplicity and as the saying goes “it it ain’t broke, don’t fix it“.
As the underground has expanded and changed over the years so Transport for London have updated and tweaked the map. Fair enough, but unfortunately it appears that their designers have got a bit carried away and with every new version it seems to be getting more and more complex and cluttered.
For an idea of what I mean just compare the 2004 & 2008 editions of the map:
London Underground Tube Map 2004
London Underground Tube Map 2008
I think you’ll agree that the differences are striking. The main things things which come to my mind:
Adding background shading to show the zones is irrelevant and distracts the eye; when was your decision to go somewhere last influenced by what zone it was in?
Adding the blue step-free access signs only helps a tiny fraction of the maps users and actually removes detail as you can no longer tell which stations are interchanges; why not have a separate map showing disabled access provisions?
The new “London Overground” lines are a glaringly poor addition; they feel like they have been drawn around the existing map rather than integrated with it - is trying to bring together over & underground maps really a good idea?
The tiny red symbols, indicating “Check before you travel” in the key, are completely pointless and only add more visual clutter; they look more like crucifixes to me!
So there you have it - how to ruin a design classic in four easy steps!
Despite London’s large Chinese population, finding good authentic Chinese food at a reasonable price is somewhat difficult - China Town is OK but generally expensive and the quality/hygiene questionable. However, when you scratch beneath the surface, there is the odd gem to be found and sometimes in the most unassuming of places. One such place can be found south of the Thames not far from where I’ve been working and over the past year has become a popular haunt for Friday lunch of almost mythical proportions. One of my colleagues has kindly written a review which I thought I might share (complete with my iPhone photos) -
An unassuming blue building at the Elephant end of Walworth Road - Indian Cafes, ropey B&Bs, the world famous Ivory Arch nightspot. Not necessarily where one would expect to find a restaurant of any true quality, but then life is full of unexpected pleasures. At the far end are a set of doors that would not look out of place along the Great Wall and behind them lie sublime culinary delights not of this world.
The Dragon Castle menu has all the regular Chinese restaurant favourites - sweet and sour chicken, crispy duck etc - and some unusual but tantalising specialities, but the real draw is the dim sum. The highlight is the scallop and coriander cheung fun - juicy scallops and fresh coriander wrapped in a sheet of glistening cheung fun. Other favourites include the Vietnamese spring rolls, beef balls, sesame prawn rolls - a far cry from the usual sesame prawn toasts. The dumplings are a real treat, steamed or fried, pork or prawn, or both for that matter - I am salivating just thinking about them.
The dim sum specials menu has just been updated with some truly delicious new ideas - mixed seafood dumplings and honeyed venison puffs are the star attractions.
You might think that all this is sounding a little pricey for lunch, but amazingly no matter how much you order the bill is never above £15 per head - perhaps this really is some magical realm!
So go, go now and try some of the joys that I have mentioned, and some that I have not, but make sure you get there by 5pm, because that’s when the dim sum chefs knock off.
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