12 November 2022
Low lap political protest
Walking around the base of Namsan
Today was a morning of two halves.
First, I had no plan and briefly thought of going to Incheon Chinatown, where I have been to before. But it takes 1.5 hours to get there and it looked like it was about to rain. So I just started walking and found myself on the path around the bottom of the Seoul tower, with blue sky.
So my decision was made for me, I decided to walk a lap of the bottom of the park around the tower, and it was great. If you like photos of red leaves you will like today's photos.
THERE ARE TOILETS, it is about 18,000 steps all the way around. It is about 18 degrees today, and not raining yet, but I think it will soon. I think I have answered all my mothers questions? I was not wearing my shorts.
After completing my lap, it was a surprise challenge to get back to my hotel. Most of the city is shut down for political protests.
When I was last here it was election time, with the great 1 vs 2 battle. The red 2's beat the blue 1's, but as is now the case with democracy the world over, that means nothing. And now it is just non stop legal challenges, accusations of sodomy, and people going to jail for not winning, followed by the winner being overthrown and being put in jail for winning.
It was hard for me to get a photo of the main protest street, police were keen to direct me elsewhere, and they were only setting up as I went past as it will go well into the night, with half a million people expected. This happens every weekend, but it has been getting bigger and bigger each week. If they succeed in forcing another election, then what? Same thing again but the two sides change spots on the official protest street?
Oh look, the worlds most valuable company who sold every western government a vaccine that is not a vaccine and the promise of stop the spread that did nothing of the sort, and yet did not refund anyone any of the money they took. Remember when we were told that taking the Pfizer vaccine would stop us from getting COVID? Remember the government telling us the sooner we get the shot the sooner it would all be over? Pfizer knew none of that was true and charged the world trillions of dollars and no one lost their job over the lies. Why didn't they just say from the start, it is not a vaccine, but it will stop you from dying even though you will still get covid. I have had 4 Pfizer shots so far but I did not get what I paid for. I still got COVID. And before anyone tells me they are free, no they cost me more than they cost most people because I pay all my taxes. The value of the Pfizer company doubled during COVID, that's my money! Japan just started their 8th wave, Korea is on wave 5, Australia is on wave 4. The Pfizer tactic was to lie and defend the lie to the point where people forgot what they paid for. It has worked great for them.
And to reiterate before anyone chimes in and accuses me of being an anti vaxxer, I have had 4 shots, I will have more, I want there to be an actual vaccine, I will line up for it, I get a flu vaccine and I would pay for a common cold vaccine. A vaccine is defined as "a substance used to stimulate the production of antibodies and provide immunity against one or several diseases", it is not a substance to reduce the severity of a disease.
But Pfizer, they ripped off the entire world and got away with it.
After a coffee to get going, I found some leaves and decided to investigate, still not knowing where I was going.
I honestly could not make this up. Of course, it is comfort girl related.
Like I said, if you like red leaves you will like today's photos.
There is the tower. The signs show all the different woodpeckers you might see. I have seen and heard lots on my hikes.
I left the trail briefly to go look at the national 1000 year time capsule. I guess time capsules have fallen out of favour with the internet now being an archive of everything including what I had for lunch today.
The actual time capsule.
The light changed to a weird twilight while I was in the local cultural park feeding the ducks.
It was really great light for a while.
But also still smoky.
Back on the low lap trail now and it is time for more leaves and a stream a baby might drown in.
You might get an arrow to the knee.
Around the back of the tower there are bits of wall, who knew.
Sometimes you have the option of leaving the road thing (which is closed to cars) and going on a trail. The problem with the trail is too many slow walkers on the weekend.
The developed bits of the park are however very nice.
Korea relies on Russia for oil and are worried the USA will stop them from buying it, so they are investing heavily in alternate sources of power.
Yes more leaves.
Miles and miles of red leaves.
I am basically finished at this point. There is one last shot of the tower. Under the shed are some ancient ruins, better go investigate more closely.
Yes, quite ancient.
Even though this is only a couple of hundred metres from the normal entrance to the steps up to the tower that I have been up and down 10 times, I had no idea this wall and alternate way up were even here.
OK, it is protest time. These are weather balloons. They tie banners between two of them and attach them to trucks to float the big banners in the sky.
Down the main avenue between the palace and city hall it is all people dressed in red, but I think they are anti government despite the red side being in government. I could be wrong about this! But there were lots more red protesters than blue, they appear to be organised by the union they belong to? You can see big speakers hanging from the crane, this went for kilometres.
A smaller section of blue protesters closer to the palace. The police kept telling me to get lost, which was fine when it was the traffic cop looking guys, but once the all black uniform guys with guns started telling me I decided to leave.
But everywhere I went there was another protest! For all I know these smaller ones, which are still blocking an entire street with their stage setup, might be protesting fishing rights, or better access to kim chi.
I was sent around in a circle a couple of times looking for a path to my hotel, so I stopped for lunch. It is rare that I have an actual lunch that is not muesli bars while hiking. I still have some of that muffin on my face.
As I got further away from the main avenue the protests became less organised. But still disruptive, with temporary fences and cops blocking ways across the road.
I found the best way was to go down to the sewer walk, which is on the left of this pic. Here is a weaker protest group, sitting on the ground like school kids. That is enough photos for now! Maybe later I will get water canon'd.