Eom Yuseong/Sense of Place/Wed 11am

Seoul Station, where some people are delighted with meeting their beloved and where others feel a deep sadness saying farewell. For about a year, it seemed to be dark and somber just like Seoul. When I entered Seoul station for the first time, I was confounded by its huge scale and even I could distinguish nothing since the various sounds, each with its own pitch, were blended. People babbled, dragged out their wheeled suitcases and the announcement informed arrivals and departures of trains. Now I feel much more relaxed to look around as I slowly become accustomed to that place. The left side of the station is lined with an information center and many automated ticket machines, the right side with restaurants and cafes - Baskin-Robbins, a Korean restaurant with a red signboard, Paris Croissant, McDonalds and so on. The smells of their foods waft in and entice me, especially the aroma of hot rice freshly cooked, French fries, coffee and newly baked bread. I usually lick a chocolate ice cream of the sweet and soft which always makes me smile. In the meantime, the big and grey train comes and I feel a sudden chill in the air followed by an uncomfortable frictional sound. Soon I feel happier to meet my loved ones getting off the train or sad to say goodbye.