ladies of the street

Okpo is definitely a small town that has a "seedy" side to it. I guess it is to be expected when there is a large population of single (and not so single) men that are away from home. No offense to the male population out there - just stating it as I see it. Even alot of the Korean men that work at the shipyard only live here during their workweek and then return home (to somewhere else in Korea) for the weekend. There are bars and "foreigner's clubs" to be found on every street, with colorful names like
the Singing Chicken,













Elephant House,















and Gangster.


The harbor area is heavily lined with bars and restaurants.....if you eat in that area, you will return to find numerous "business cards" from young ladies in the windshield of your car.




But I am not talking about those ladies.

I am talking about the mostly older Korean ladies that line the shopping street (or tree street or umbrella street - it is called by all of the these names by all the expats - I have no idea what the street name really is) every day to sell their goods. Their goods range from fruits to vegetables to grains to roots and barks. We do have an official market area that is covered and lined with shops and stalls. However, these women line the sidewalk outside the market. They set up shop with their bowls and tubs of goods,

all the while sitting on a stool, squatting or even sitting on the ground. They are there in the cold, in the heat and usually in the rain. I think they even have their "own spot" because I have seen people inquiring about an absent peddler. I love that when I smile at one of them, the smile is usually returned. I have often wondered about them. Is this from one of the many vegetable plots you see wherever there is a spot of dirt or flat land? Or did they work in the larger fields at one time?

Most of their faces are brown and lined,

very unlike most of the Korean women that are constantly covering their faces with masks, large visors and/or sun umbrellas to keep their skin from the sun.

You see them chatting among each other, but their hands are constantly busy. They can be separating garlic cloves.

And even peeling them.

Or peeling radishes
so they are ready to chop up for kimchi,


or maybe it is already grated.






Whatever their styles
or their stories,

these hard working ladies are part of a way of life in Korea.