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| A group of old men play janggi, or Korean chess, outside the northern walls of Tapgol Park in central Seoul, Oct. 25. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
By Lee Suh-yoon
Every day after breakfast, Lee Ki-hyuk, 73, leaves his home and takes a 30-minute subway ride to a small lot nestled between the walls of Tapgol Park and Nakwon Instrument Arcade in Jongno-gu, downtown Seoul.
A former public servant, Lee has lunch at a free canteen for the elderly run by Buddhist monks on arrival. He then settles himself down on a plastic stool in between his peers to watch a good game of "janggi" (Korean chess).
"I play too sometimes but I'm no good," Lee says, fingering his military honors cap with one hand. "We don't usually bet money because that just starts fights."
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| Two men play each other on a janggi chessboard as others watch. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
The scene replays itself every day here outside the northern walls of Tapgol Park. Old men like Lee, retired and with more time to spare than money, chat and sit hunched over chessboards.
When bored with watching the games, Lee takes walks inside Tapgol Park or up and down Insa-dong's main tourist road. "Tourist-watching," Lee claims, is now a hobby.
"Time passes really well here and watching people just come and go really lifts my mood," he says.
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| Kim Yeong-joong, 77, dyes his hair at a barber shop near Tapgol Park. He says he is a regular customer here. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
Apart from its accessible location near Exit 5 of Jongno 3-ga Station, which is crisscrossed by three subway lines, the area is perfectly furbished for elderly men stuck in retirement.
Affordable food and beer establishments line the road, punctuated by dodgy Oriental medicine stalls and 200 won coffee machines that distract passersby. Inside barber shops, old men comb back their hair in front of the mirror after their 4,000 won ($3.50) haircuts.
Money is offered too. A handwritten poster on a signpost offers a part-time job as senior parcel deliveryman, while a placard on a pawnshop reads: "We buy your gold teeth."
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| A man smokes outside the wall of Tapgol Park. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
Old women only wander in occasionally in twos or threes, generating much attention if they happen to ask for directions. An alley full of motels branches off the main street.
Higher up, on the second and third floors, signs indicating saju (Korean fortune-telling) businesses, seedy DVD rooms, and dabang (old-style coffeehouses) beckon passersby. Many — like the accordion-playing club, trot-singing classroom and pansori (traditional narrative song) research institute — cater to the musical hobbies of its visitors.
At the entrance of this main street, starting at Exit 5 of Jongno 3-ga Station and running parallel to Tapgol Park, is a huge glass-walled shop selling hearing aids. Across from it is a small kiosk that prints out funeral portraits or photos of grandchildren from one's smartphone.
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| Customers await their turn at a photo kiosk that can print out smartphone image files, at the main road near Exit 5 of Jongno 3-ga Station. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
The seniors on the main street are dressed better, with vivid suits and leather shoes replacing the dark functional clothes and worn-down sneakers of the chess players.
Kang Jung-seok, 78, wearing paper flowers on his hat and jacket, says he is a frequent shopper here.
"There's a lot I want to buy but I'm a bit short on money now," he sighs as he stretches out his fingers to show his bulky rhinestone rings. "I also come here to drink and do karaoke with my friends. It's all here, except for dancing. For that, you have to go to Jegi-dong."
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| A man walks past a wall painting of Song Hae, a famous MC and trot singer popular among the older generation, near Tapgol Park. The main road leading out of Exit 5 of Jongno 3-ga Station is named after him. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
Just a 10-minute walk east of Tapgol Park is Jongmyo Park, which once teemed with hundreds of seniors. But that was before the park was "cleaned up" to accommodate visitors to the UNESCO heritage shrine in its center.
Elderly men have reclaimed a few patches on the park's outer rim, where they can quickly step out to the adjacent road for a smoke. Here, the favored board game is baduk, or go. To the side, a man in his 70s gives an impassioned speech, a lecture almost, on the viability of THAAD missiles, citing U.S. President Donald Trump and Henry Kissinger.
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| Old men play baduk on the fringes of Jongmyo Park, Oct. 25. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
Kim says there's a reason why the seniors stay outdoors, congregating around chessboards and benches next to parks.
"There is a community center for the elderly down the road but it is better to be outside," he says with a smile. "It feels freer, and that matters to me because my time is approaching."
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