Cityscapes Searching for lost jumbo jets in Korea
Jumbo 747, a historic 747 reused as a restaurant in Namyangju, sits abandoned in 2010. / Courtesy of Ron Bandun.By Ron BandunOne of Korea's costliest short-lived fads came about 20 years ago, when old decommissioned airplanes began appearing across the country as restaurants. Like all fads this one was bound to die soon, as the novelty can't replace dining experience quality, and the damned things are impossible to keep clean.I first inquired about this phenomenon on eslcafe.com almost 10 years ago. The exact exchange is erased, but someone replied something like “There's Jumbo 747 in Namyangju, but don't bother going because it's abandoned now.”“You obviously don't know me,” I responded, or just thought it in my head. I gathered the Vervonauts, Korea's first named urban exploring crew. On April 4, 2009, we departed at Sangbong Station on the Gyeongchun Line, which at the time was an overcrowded run on a Mugunghwa train. One Vervonaut was visiting from Japan and was quite shocked at how boisterous Koreans could be on a train. From Pyeongnae-Hopyeong Station wh
Jul 10, 2018
