alternative space: capitalistic realism in Gwangju
| Jung Jae-ho, the illustrator, painter, and also molder of urban Korean cityscapes and spaces who blogs at 이곳에서 얼마나 오랫동안, has his works on display in two exhibitions at the moment: in "In between Past and Present" (2006.6.30~7.23) in the Geumnam Street gallery (see map) of the Gwangju Art Museum, and in "Propose 7" (2006.6.29~7,16) in Kumho Museum of Art. This time I won't use any of Kim Jeong-ho's paintings but a photograph that he took of the annex gallery of the Gwangju Art Museum in Geumnamno, located harmoniously alongside a travel bureau, gym, coffee house (tabang), a makkôlli drinking place, a convenience store, and a mudfish stew (ch'uôt'ang) restaurant. People's art, beginning from the location and the outward presentation of the gallery in a style that is truly capitalistic realism of contemporary Korea, or as Kim Jeong-ho says in his blog entry, a truly alternative space compared to the self-proclaimed alternative spaces in Seoul.  Geumnamno annex gallery of the Gwangju Art Museum Categories at del.icio.us/hunjang: art ∙ urbanspace ∙ cities ∙ housing ∙ Koreansociety |
Antti Leppänen, 1:18 PM 
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Comments to note "alternative space: capitalistic realism in Gwangju" (Comments to posts older than 14 days are moderated)
So that's Kumho Tabang. A lot of the tabangs in Gwangju city are for old guys to hang out in. Play paddock and what have you. I'm assuming it's Gwangju in the Cholla province. If its the Gwangju in the Cholla province then there is a lot of young coffee girls running around on motorbikes or auto bikes in the suburbs. Particularly in the areas with motels.
Found this on another site. it's interesting
Teahouse Girls
You will notice teahouse girls on just about every street in any Korean City from late morning until about midnight every night. They buzz around on little motor scooters by themselves or they are driven around by a male driver. On the surface, it appears they are delivering tea to customers who phone in their orders and sometimes this is the case. Many other times they are delivering some of the best pussy you'll ever have. The rate for buying a bargirl out of the bar was stated in Chapter one.
The ticket price to buy a teahouse or tearoom girl out any time of the day or night is considerably less. You can buy a little sweetheart out of the tearoom for 20,000 won an hour. This is much less than the $100.00 and hour you would pay in the bar. What are other factors to consider before you pursue this avenue? You must live offbase or be prepared to spring some bucks for the hotel. You should learn a little of the local language because these girls seldom speak any English. Those are really the only drawbacks to this kind of adventure. The girls are less inclined to rip you off than bar-girls are because they aren't used to dealing with many Americans and most seem to like the round-eye males when given half a chance. I highly recommend you find a few tearooms and learn to drink a cup of ginseng tea or coffee. You can have a lot more fun for a lot less money and the whole experience will go a lot easier on your nerves too.
It isn't terribly hard to find a tearoom. They are all over. The Korean word for teahouse or tearoom is Ta-bang. Ask any DF walking down the street where the nearest one is and he will probably be glad to oblige. This could turn out to be one of the smartest things you do on your tour here. The guys who have been here a while already know the benefits of this action. They guard their favorite tabangs like most men guard their favorite fishing hole. You will have to get out and beat the bushes on your own or with a friend to find a tabang where you can hit the ball deep. The effort expended will come back to you ten times over before it's all done. You will like spending 1000-2000 won for her drink in the tearoom as opposed to the ridiculous prices in the bars. Your wallet will love you and you will be happy with yourself for having a little initiative. Good luck and good hunting. You have a better than even chance of success.
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