Guisin-dong (Seoul Villages)

Guisin-dong

When Guisin-dong engulfed me, I was on my way back from Professor Bae's place, in Suyu. It was about four bottles of makgeolli past midnight. The streets were cold, dark, and empty. My phone was dead, my head buzzing foreign ringtones.

Then a big truck came, blinding me with its massive headlights. Well that's what I first thought, with that crazy old mechanic sound... until I realized the light came from the sun.

Here I was, standing in the middle of a completely different street, in the middle of a bright summer day.

***

"Can I borrow you a second?"

At least this street is not empty. I turn to face a thin man, about my (middle) age and height, in a not too wrinkled beige linen suit. He smiles kindly and his eyes radiate intelligence, but still he doesn't make much sense:

"Sorry. You're not from here, I gather. I just wanted to have a chat, if you don't mind of course."

"Uh. Sure, sure. Excuse me if I'm a bit lost. Actually, I just woke up, and I can't even remember falling asleep... What time is it, by the way?"

"Oh here, it's always noon. Until it gets dark, that is. And you're not lost: this place is. Where are we, by the way?"

Uh-oh. This is not your usual hangover. The buzz in my head is still fresh and playful, so I mustn't have slept for such a long time. But this guy, my friends, this sober fellow is either in the early stages of dementia, or as ripe for the straight jacket as they can be.

"You're not from here either, I gather. Obviously this is Suyu-dong, Gangbuk-gu, Seoul, though I can't tell you for sure exactly where."

"Suyu-dong! It's been such a long time... and a long haul: yesterday we were over Sillim-dong."

"Wwrrright (it keeps getting better). Amazing indeed. Myself, I live near Sadang. Pretty far from here as well."

"You don't get it: you're in Suyu-dong, but also in Guisin-dong."

Looks like I got myself a Class A madman.

"Guisin-dong? What do you mean by "ghost" neighborhood? Are they redeveloping the area or..."

"Guisin-dong is the place where we spirits land. A place that changes locations every day."

Okay, that's it, I've had enough. I'm tired. It's too hot. I need a cab. And a drink.

"Look. That's a great tale, and I'd love to hear more of it, but I need to go. Nice meeting you. I presume you have no clue where I could get a taxi around here, I can't hear any traffic..."

I've already started walking straight ahead, in the opposite direction to an unknown mountain, about one or two kilometers away. The weirdo's following me with his nice smile and all.

"There are no taxis in Guisin-dong. And you don't want to ride the local Village Bus: the driver is a genuine lunatic. Over twenty people drowned with him in the Han River when he had that accident, but only he ended up in this place."

"Sure. And what did you do to land here? Heck - how about me? What's my crime? Did I drink myself to death?"

"You don't necessarily have to commit a crime. And as far as I'm concerned, I'm just in transit. I don't know about you but I told you: you don't look like you belong here. Sometimes this place swallows a living person during the Transfer, just like that."

"Good for me. Now the way out, please?"

"There's no way out. Guisin-dong decides. Just like it decides where it moves every night. And if you stay overnight you stay forever. That's how things work here, I'm afraid."