Ubiquitous Media Street of Gangnam
Gangnam is one of the main business districts of Seoul. It’s big, it’s bright, it’s loud, it makes you want to look up. It’s hilly and at the highest points, there is so much sky – between the skyscrapers, and reflected in their glass facades.
The weird Irish dude at the hostel explained to me that although Gangnam is quite boring to live in and extremely expensive, it has become hugely popular for young couples and families. Why? Because it’s where the good universities are. And to get in the right university, you must attend the right high school, so you must attend the right primary school, so you must attend the right kindergarten, so you must be born and live in the right neighborhood. Korean yuppies secure their mortgage in Gangnam long before they even start trying to conceive a baby – and that’s just the beginning of the burden that is put on a child and their education. For more on that, I suggest you have a look at this article at Matador Abroad, written from the point of view of an English teacher witnessing daily what kids of all ages go through in the Korean school system.
tall buildings, large horizon
