Sometimes you really have to search in order to find sounds that are unique to any one place, geographical sonic signatures. It seems that every city looks and sounds very similar now, which is, of course, very sad.

The bustling city of Seoul is one of the worlds largest cities and with that comes traffic, lots of traffic. The one thing that’s most notable is the lack of Police car sirens, I didn’t hear one whilst I was there. I have to say that I felt the safest I’ve ever felt, whilst exploring any city in the world, and I wonder how much of this was due to the lack of this one sound. I was never aware of any crime or, the possibility that there was likely to be any.

It appears that Seoul is sadly losing its identity very quickly, every other shop seems to be a Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts or, Krispy Kreme (my downfall). It sadly feels far more western than Asian, a clone of any large city in the USA. It does still have a unique identity but you really have to search for this as it is quickly getting buried (and hidden away) under a vast array of American corporate identities.  

This recording was taken at 7am, on Saturday 19^th September 2009, from my 12^th floor hotel room at the Lexington Hotel in the heart of Seoul’s financial district.

Could this be any city in the world? What makes it uniquely Seoul? I sadly don't know.

Latitude 37°32'14.15"N

Longitude 127° 3'18.07"E

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Lots of voices, a busy Street outside the Daehango Arts Theatre, Seoul.

8pm, 18th September 2009.

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The Great Hero Hall, Seoul, so called because it enshrines the Shakyamuni Buddha whose teachings are fundamental to The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism.

This hall is designated as Seoul City Cultural Treasure No. 127 and is the single largest floor hall in Korea.

This was recorded outside this amazing building.

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A courtyard in the beautiful Changdeokgung Palace, Seoul. Cicadas, Birds, tourists. This place could well be a sonic heaven without the infiltration of Seouls heavy traffic in the background. Oh well.

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