The deep, quiet peace in the geography I could navigate blindfolded.
My Second Identity
This neighborhood is where I’ve lived virtually my whole life; it is my constant. To my nieces and nephews, I am simply “Auntie [Neighborhood Name],” the designation of this place having long served as my secondary name, like ‘Auntie SoHo’ or ‘Auntie Brooklyn.’ While it’s the vault for all my memories, I confess I know little of its modern pulse—the hot spots and insider knowledge held by the younger crowd. But that level of knowing is irrelevant. There is a deep, quiet peace in the geography I could navigate blindfolded.
The Constant Cheer and Natural Pulse
It is also unique here because the neighborhood, having once hosted the Olympic Games, holds an annual marathon. Thanks to that legacy, the area is always vibrant, and the cheers from the sidelines often feel powerfully uplifting. It is a place of frequent large and small events, from concerts to major sports games. It’s a place that never has a quiet day. What immense luck that is! When I walk home late at night after cheering, I get to savor that incredible energy all the way to my door.
However, the intensity of city life is easily balanced here. Because nature and parks seamlessly interweave with the city, I can always escape the noise and take a deep breath of grass and earth whenever I need to.
Aging Backwards: A Place That Grows
They say that what looked big in childhood feels small when you grow up. But not here. As I age and as the neighborhood ages, it seems only to grow grander and younger simultaneously. This was just a brief thought about my town—the place that has held and embraced me.
The area has evolved—it’s bolder, denser, more refined—but I still walk the same old lanes that were once charmingly rustic.
And still, it holds me.
Much of what once stood here is now preserved in archives at the Seoul Museum of History.