Contrasts

As anyone who's been here knows, Seoul is a city of contrasts.

I've mentioned the amazing subway system as well as incredibly reliable cell-phone coverage -no dropped calls, even underground!- and yet... this is also a town where vendors sell socks and chickens from their trucks. After a while, you get used to the perpetual juxtaposition of old and modern, but it tends to take visitors and newcomers by surprise.

The other day, while walking around my neighborhood, I stumbled onto the following scene:  

Very modern shopping complex and luxury apartments:

and then, directly across the street, this contraption (not sure what it does exactly, but it seemed to emit heat):

Generally, it feels like my life here spans multiple decades -several of which I've never even lived through. Be it fashion, food, music, architecture, or local customs, things are always interesting and usually never quite what you'd expect.