Tag Archives: Seoulart

Following the herd

I have spent two summers in Seoul and one of the most common sights during this time of the year besides every other person eating bingsu or licking ice creams while holding a portable fan in front of his/her face is every other person wearing linen.

Be it linen shirts, dresses, skirts, shorts, trousers, culottes, jumpsuits, jackets or business suits, in Seoul’s unbearably hot and humid months of July and August, linen garments in every form seem to gain significant space in the Korean wardrobe.

The clothing retailers on Gangnam-daero, in the stretch between Sinnonhyeon Station and Gangnam Station have their store fronts decorated with mannequins dressed in linen, paired with sunnies, straw hats, rattan handbags and open toe sandals. Inside the stores are sections dedicated to all kinds of linen garments ready to be snapped up.

What is it about linen that makes this fabric a classy summer staple? I wanted to know.

Trying on some linen pants at Uniqlo, Seoul

And so I did a little digging and found that linen is made from the fibres of flax plant which are strong, durable and absorbent and dries quicker than cotton making linen garments feel exceptionally cool and fresh.

And the fact that it has been around for thousands of years – in ancient times linen used in wrapping Egyptian mummies served as a symbol of light, purity and wealth and were found in a state of perfect preservation – only reveals how timeless this natural fabric is. Linen also is lint-free, has high natural lustre, resists dirt and stain and becomes softer with every wash. I got my answer, so there was only one thing left to do.

The sketch above is of me trying on some linen pants at Uniqlo. I bought a few and they are every bit as comfortable as I had expected them to be. This summer I am following the herd but in style!

Furrowed eyebrows vs Fall colours

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I saw this guy at a cafe yesterday in the CBD. Dark coloured tailored suit, slicked back hair, serious looking glasses and still like a statue with his nose buried in a book on finance and investing. And just outside the cafe separated by glass windows were trees in the deepest shade of red and in the brightest shade of yellow, branches swinging in the breeze and leaves flying around like confetti.

It was such an interesting contrast and I was glad I had my sketchbook to document that moment!

Tera Rosa sketch

Making sense of most things

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Having moved to Seoul only 4 months ago, I am literally a tourist in my own backyard. Most things I see, hear, feel and occasionally taste is new, different and foreign.

A change like this is exciting no doubt, but it can be overwhelming too. Imagine someone pitching 90 mph balls of new information at you, nonstop, everyday, right from the moment you got off the flight. The only problem is you have two hands to do all the catching!

And you want to catch as many balls as you can, as fast as you can because our first instinct when we travel to a new place is to try and make sense of the environment we are in, even before we start comparing it with the one we just left, praising it, deriding it or adapting to it.

Seocho-gu neighbourhood, Seoul

Being a sketch artist, drawing constantly is how I make sense of my environment. Spending time at any particular place, observing it in a way I would never have if I was walking past, and documenting it on a piece of paper is how I catch those metaphorical balls of information and process them.

Like this random scene I sketched the other day of my neighbourhood in Seocho-gu, a district south of the Han river and found that in the shadow of glamorous looking high rises lining the main thoroughfares, there are these two/three storied honky-tonk buildings in the back lanes, covered with bold coloured signages, housing barbecue joints, fried chicken and beer stalls, underground bars, design studios, themed cafes, bubble tea stores, E-Marts and 7 x 11s, beauty parlours, English learning centres and an automobile repair shop, even.

Pen and ink drawing of a random street in Seocho-gu, Seoul

And crisscrossing the scenery or most sceneries in this city are these ubiquitous overhead power lines flying out in every direction from utility poles.

Usually after the initial curiosity of people upon seeing a foreigner sitting on a foldable stool in the street and doodling in her sketchbook has been met, I am left alone. As time passes, the ripple I had caused by being there, starts to smoothen. The novelty wears off. I am offered a glass of water here and a thumbs up there. Furrowed eyebrows are replaced with nods and smiles. Conversations are initiated and had using hand gestures and monosyllabic English. Soon enough someone clicks a picture.

And just like that I become a part of the scene I was trying to make sense of.

Isn’t that amazing?