Study is picking up pace – all the prep work is paying off. Finally spending some time on the streets and underground – Seoul is very much a city that moves by subway. It feels good to be surrounded by people – listening to, and adjusting footsteps to the local rhythm. I sometimes wonder what its like to follow our team for a day. We could be hustlers, pickpockets, undercover somethings maybe? Always trying to see things from a different angle. Getting ahead of people, falling behind, moving from carriage to carriage. Engaging, disengaging. A visit to the main railway station – signage and infrastructure noted. What is the real user experience of doing y? Did I really see what I think I saw? Double takes. And the occasional surprise when the footage is reviewed.

Yes it all looks good online and in the brochure – what would you expect? And the reality? The pre-home out of the box experience, the niggles, the set-up, the broken promises. We start with dumb questions (well they were smart in an earlier iteration). Progress is asking less dumb questions. And we still have a few days to move up the smart-question-scale, then our opportunity for asking is gone.

To be closer to collaboration partners staying in guesthouse rather than downtown hotel. Room comes with American Forces Network which appears to be aimed at 16 year olds. Oh – it is? Upside of staying here? After 3 days of an ear & throat infection, finally getting energy back. Tomorrow should start with a pre-breakfast hike to the summit of an admittedly modest hill for the local view of the Seoul skyline.