i just finished dinner with a bunch of my new friends made in seoul these last three weeks….my photo shoot "fixers", my workshop students, and my readers from this online forum …all came to say goodbye and please come back….i will…somehow i got hooked on a city/country i had little knowledge of before i came for this "youth culture" essay….
when you walk down the street here , rarely does anyone make eye contact…it is just not considered culturally polite… like most westerners, i tend to be an eye contact person…so at first, being an "invisible man" is disconcerting… but once you make friends and bond, then eye contact is not only ok, but it becomes very difficult to break the "look"…from men and from women….
i was a little nostalgic this evening walking back to the hotel with my friends who insisted on escorting me back to my room…we exchanged gifts….we reminisced on how much fun we had….i invited everyone to visit me in new york…i promised to come back soon….i meant it….i will try to find more work to do here…..
the two previous posts on "goodbye" and "over?" both just landed squarely on my shoulders tonight…i arrive in new york tomorrow at the same time i leave seoul in the morning…back to the future….as if no time had passed…..but a unique time has just passed…..zero negatives…
i add…i do not subtract….the sum equals a warmth i will never forget….
i already miss you. your teaching was really, really, inspiring and stimulating one. i honestly respect you. thank you, david, your words will be graven on our mind, forever.
jaeyoung
:)))))…
how much Soju can you now drink Mr. Harvey? ;))))))))
cant wait to see the final story :))
hugs
bob
Welcome back David!
Someday, you will have to let us know which country did not hook you, even though they may deserve a second chance in your opinion.
Dear David
Thank you for being our Ambasador, for being so personable and open. For bringing people together and creating harmony.
Thats what the World needs.
Well David, it was great to have you in seoul and as I said, you should make Korea a place you visit more often. Lots to shoot here and nobody is really doing it. Lots of Japan stuff, but not much about Korea. Maybe you can change that a bit.
Dear MR. David.
I heard you leave Seoul today.
I wanted to see you again but …
Anyway, I’ll never forget you and your warm hug and workshop.
Actually I was discouraged in taking pictures before workshop.
I got much courage from you.
I appreciate you very much. ^^
Have a good time.
Bye….
jaeyoung..
please keep up all of your fine work…it was a pleasure to meet you and to see your photographs…thank you for your hospitality…we will soon meet again..
bob….
i think i may have “scribed” at some point about consuming very little alcohol these days, having taken in my fair share those days…
however, in my “seoul searching” days i broke training a bit more than previously pledged…cultural necessity!!
herve….
laughing a bit…and a good question…because i tend to “fall in love” with the culture where i am working at the moment….i cannot think of a single country that i have “written off”….i think that is one of the things i treasure most about this work…the incredible opportunity to “go inside” in a way that few people take the time to do or have the “invitation” to do…
honestly and surely, there are some places i would be more inclined to re-visit than others, but all have some kind of “hold” on me….for example, i do not feel inclined at the moment to do any more work up in the Inuit country, just because i spent so much time there at one point in my life and do not feel that i have anything more to add to what i already did…besides, too damned cold for me!!! but, even there, i would not trade my nights (days) out on the ice with the whale hunters for anything…
w.robert….
i am flattered by your comment…i doubt if i actually am what you say, but it is something that is always on my mind….all of us should always put just a little “brick in the wall” for world peace/education/understanding…the big guys ain’t gonna or can’t do it…we probably cannot solve much or perhaps save anything, but the “nobility of cause” this work of ours can offer could just be a touchstone for maybe one other person…a good day’s work in my opinion…
rafal…
i was so pleased we got to have one last “goodbye”….i only hope you did not neglect your wife and baby too much by coming out shooting with me…anway, all good energy and fun….wishing to see you again soonest…
kyunghee lee….
i was very happy to see the “continuity” of your work and your style…your positive energy is “infectious” (hope that translates!)…
i do hope to return to Korea someday soon…wishing we meet again….
best to all, david
I didnt neglect them too much..but my wife understood. I showed her your photos, and she liked them so she said “go and learn” LOL. I went and did. See you again in Seoul.
Home sweet home… after hard work time for rest and lazy thoughts.
David,
Are you satisfied after your work? I think you are. You wrote such warm words about Seoul. If you are satisfied from country you should have good pictures (or maybe not, I am not expert). I’m not read all comments yet, so I want say hello only.
I intend immerse myself in this in this forest of thoughts.
So I say hello
Martin
hello martin…
i know you are waiting for a review…i have not forgotten…maybe i can do it today…i am in new york, but just for today…
but today(tonight) i must fly to london….and shooting in london and paris for about a week…not back in new york until 10th…so you might have to wait until then …
i know you understand….
it is always nice to hear from you…
keep good thoughts..
david
David,
if you have no time it is no problem. No problem for me. No hurry. maybe someday. At free time. maybe someday i will show you something really good. maybe we’ll just talk about it. i’m busy man too and i understand it like you say. No hurry.
and i have always good thoughts.
good flight i’ll be waiting for new post!
Martin
Dear David,
I always feel nice to come to this blog and read your updates. I hope all the good memories in Seoul stay with you for a long time. Don’t miss Kimchi already..
:)
nasha
Dear David!
I always remember your teahing what shoot a photograph. hotting ……
I Pray your well health, peace, happiness, ……
thanks a lot!!!
I love you!!!!!
(I dont know English …… I am stranded word …… ^^;;)
Good by! See you next ……!^^;