기차역 (Train Station) 火车站, 駅

Recently I watched the animated prequel to the 2016 hit South Korean movie, "Train to Busan." Train to Busan was one of the most memorable movies I've ever seen because MJ and I saw it in her own home with the lights off, on our awesome movie projector (that replaced a TV for us). It was a horror zombie movie but more of a thriller with heart-pumping action, and MJ's hands apparently got sweaty. The prequel is called "Seoul Station" and has some of the same themes, but definitely not the real-life pounding action of the live-action. Zombie movies have to be live action to get the real gut-wrenching affect of the real people turning into zombies, in my opinion. Requires lots of crowd actors and a lot of makeup, but worth it in my opinion.

A LOT happens at a train station, and now living in a city where trains basically take me everywhere I need to go, I spend a LOT of time at train stations. Seriously, I don't even take Uber, I can get almost everywhere in the downtown Chicago area by train and sometimes bus.

MJ and I saw a guy wearing a shirt from Osaka called 弱肉強食, or "weak meat, strong eat," meaning the strong will eat the weak, it's a dog eat dog world. (same in Korean and Chinese). Ironic because the guy did not look like someone who would have gone to Osaka to get the shirt, and was doing some kind of drug that MJ identified as possibly cocaine. Kind of sums up the crowd late at night in downtown train stations. Some have weird music playing where bands basically set up shop for what seems like eternity, there are rats that invade the tracks and have made a home. I've been able to ponder a lot about where my life has turned out (come from) and where it's going, all while real trains come and go on the train platform. It's like that crossroads scene at the end of "Castaway" (probably not as memorable for most because Castaway wasn't that popular of a movie) but that metaphor exists elsewhere as well. Wondering where my life is headed next, if my stock portfolio will recover from the latest stock beatdown this week (We had a wonderful day Tuesday, but it was a bull trap! Euphoria only to see it dashed later and provide false hope that the market would rebound and get back in. What a treacherous beast, this market is!) 


I prefer train stations that are outdoors, and on an elevated platform. I know in Japan there are people who make a hobby out of going to all the train stations in the country, which is probably possible in an island country like Japan, but they have a LOT of stations, and many in interesting places. Now there's something America can aspire and learn from other countries, how to maintain train stations. Their train stations are better run than our military bases, in my opinion. All trains running on time, people cleaning constantly, station workers coming around to help out and gently push people into stacked trains. Stations have nice restaurants, some are known for them. Some have great views of the Japanese scenery, it's really a pleasure to ride one of their trains. Chicago train stations look like they haven't been cleaned in years. Not to say that Koreans don't have nice train stations like Seoul station (the name of the Train to Busan prequel that everyone should watch!- It's a pun on "Soul station" where the zombies are like humans with lost souls!) I just haven't experienced Korea's KTX trains as much but from watching Train to Busan they're nice as long as they're not teaming with the undead! 

Btw, Train to Busan 2 is filming and coming out in 2020! 

Fantasize on, 

Robert Yan