Side by Side

Walking throughout Gwangju I always see the ‘pocket gardens’ I love so much. 

They are cared for, kept weed-free, and always look so inviting.  EXCEPT for the corner of EVERY garden that contains the junk heap.  Immaculate and pristine … paired with garbage and debris. 

People in Korea litter quite a bit, so some of the garbage is just wrappers, cups, and paper.  Then you see a chair, a empty 5-gallon metal can, organic remains from last year’s crop, pretty much anything. Larger items require a payment to dump, so people just put things outside their apartment.

Some of the things (in good condition) are taken away by a passerby, but a lot of it is just left in the heaps on the side of the road.

Gwangju is a clean city, unless you are in a part that is not clean. :o)

Here are some photos to demonstrate this ‘Side by Side’ phenomenon.

Straight rows of onions …

Going to the left of the above picture you (even) see organized dirt, and beans on the top right.  But then on the bottom left you have your pile of waste.

Up-close shot.

Another garden:

Beautiful!

Organized.

Oh, there’s the waste corner on the left …

Check it out.

One more garden:

I consider this ‘Side by Side’ phenomenon to be similar to that which is always seen on any good farm in the US.  The tractor graveyard that yield’s part for future need, the old tires that pile up, the junkyard (that might be called another name) that gets started because things have to go SOMEWHERE unless you haul it all to the dump. 

Different countries but some things are the same … these mini farms just happen to be in the middle of the city and can’t hard their garbage quite as well.