Demilitarized Zone

A United Nations/ROK soldier observes a North Korean bunker in the DMZ. Though all South Korean men are required to serve two years in the military, only tall, muscular soldiers are selected for service in the Joint Security Area.

Suwon

Neon is thoroughly loved in Korea. Even rural villages are not immune to its charms.

Seoul

Surrounded by skyscrapers, Namdaemun Gate, built during the Joseon Dynasty and completed in 1398, is now in the center of a traffic circle.

Seoul

Plastic food displays are an immense help when it comes to selecting a meal at sprawling, 24-hour Namdaemun Market.

Seoul

A typical side street in a Seoul shopping district.

Suwon

Getting straight to the point on Suwon's main shopping and dining street.

Busan

Know by Koreans primarily as havens for illicit affairs, ubiquitous yogwan, at around US$40 per night (less by the hour), are havens for foreign budget travelers. Communal toothpaste, porn collections displayed in corridors, and mirrored ceilings are standard features.

Busan

I lived in Bugok Samsung Apata in Busan (then known as Pusan) from 2000-2001. Surprised I could remember which apartment was mine? Yeah, me, too.

Seoul

A side alley glows at night in the art district of Insadong.

Seoul

Street food in Chong-no 3-ga, including tteokboki, attracts winter shoppers eager for a hot snack.

Seoul

Korean takeout delivered by motorbike is fantasticly convenient: your meal arrives at your door within minutes, in real dishes, which you place outside your door when you finish eating. These empty containers await orders outside an Itaewon 2-dong resturant.

Seoul

A menu in Itaewon. "Blind Gut", anyone?

Iksan

Korean meals always incorporate pan chan, small, varied side dishes; part of the fun is that you never know what you're going to get. This restaurant, famous for its rice, provided more than 20 types of pan chan to accompany our meal.

Seoul

Creative restaurant menu English at Coex Mall

Seoul

Funerary stupas, Bongeunsa Temple

Seoul

Lotus lanterns, Bongeunsa Temple

Seoul

Baby buddha drinking fountain, Bongeunsa Temple

Seoul

The first snowfall of the year at Bongeunsa Temple, Seoul

Seoul

Wishful thinking in a country where the average man is 5'4."

Seoul

They may wear uniforms from the age of 5, but Korean kids act like kids.

South Korea

It had been several years since I'd spent 13 months in Korea as a Fulbright Scholar. I hadn't had the opportunity, or, frankly, much interest in returning, but an opportunity to do several months of consulting materialized. Memories of kimchi chigae, Dance Dance Revolution, and debauchery in Itaewon prompted me to actually look forward to my return to "The Land of the Morning Calm," a moniker that often seems a misnomer, particularly during rush hour in the world's most densely populated country. Korea has changed a lot since I last lived there, though some things have not changed at all, which is somehow comforting even though many aspects of life on the peninsula constitute major frustrations for foreigners in this exceedingly homogenous country. A particular frustration is that life is so rapidly changing that coming to an understanding about anything is nearby impossible, because by the time the aha moment arrives, chances are that things have already changed. At the same time, traditions that have been sustained for thousands of years can still be glimpsed among the neon signs and skyscrapers. These photos were taken during my three-month return to Korea in Winter 2007.