As I logged in for work this morning despite my usual habit of taking off for national holidays, I realized I had no 4th of July-ish plans in Seoul. I’ve been sitting in my apartment reading Walt Whitman’s praises of America in Leaves of Grass, which I’ve mostly read on the Seoul subway and local bars. I also balanced that out today by re-reading Allen Ginsberg’s “America.” Both are worth reading if you haven’t already done so.
I had hoped that the US Embassy would have some sort of event, but their website lists nothing and no one responds to questions on their Twitter account. Looks like I’ll end up in an expat/Korean hipster neighborhood for a burger and local microbrews (who needs fireworks anyway?).
This time last year I spent a long weekend in Boston and had an obscured view of the fireworks. That weekend was full of revolutionary history as I walked the Freedom Trail in some excessive heat and prayed for air conditioning or a pool full of ice.
