A Hole in the Ground

In the beginning there was only darkness.

Then we switched on the lights and found ourselves in a basement in Busan, South Korea. Like many other basements in Korea, this one was abandoned and unloved. Smiling Lolita and myself [Meanguy2] had just embarked upon a project of spontaneity brought about by coincidence and good fortune. As the ink was drying upon the lease, we were now the proud tenants of a 30-pyong (99 sq. metres or 118.62 sq. yds) basement and all for a ridiculously low rent. It was too good to be true!

This is the start of our dream, this blog serving initially as a record of what is and what ultimately will be. We have given a name to the place we shall give birth to our ideas - 1212. It is here that we hope our many projects shall come to fruition and that we might bring to life a world of our imaginations. If ever there was an aligning of the constellations, the planets, or whatever, then this is that day.

Tonight, we spent our evening looking over the basement, taking photos, and working out what needed to be done. All things considered, the area was in very good condition compared to what many basements in Korea are like. It was empty and required only a fair amount of work for us to turn it into something more like what we had in our heads. Ideas for the moment range around using the space not only for storage, as originally intended, but as an art workshop, classroom, tattoo parlour, bar. There are a multitude of possibilities stretching out before us that are only limited by our imaginations. Fortunately, neither of us are lacking in that area!

Tomorrow we will start work on out project. Current estimates are around three to four weeks before we are finished providing all things go well. As luck would have it, the previously tenants have left us with all the tools (and then some) necessary for us to get up and running. The basement area itself has been divided into one large area and a smaller area that was probably once used as some sort of private office space (we think the previous occupants may well have used the area as a dance hall of some sort due to the wall-length mirrors and hip-hop graffiti covering some of the walls). We will keep the separate area as it is and turn it into a private living space.

Our ideal goal would be to get the place ready before New Year’s Eve so that we could hold an opening party. Whether we will make such a deadline remains to be seen.