■ People with determination met in the food alley Jongno 5-ga, Jongno-gu, Seoul, densely packed with flashy electronic billboards and high-rise buildings. In the middle of it all, across from the Narae Bridge on Cheonggyecheon, there is an old alley with 40 years of history hidden in the Shinjin Market. Since the Dongdaemun Market opened, restaurants have started to gather one by one in the alley, and now there are about 30 of them. A grilled fish restaurant and a chicken kalguksu restaurant face each other across the 100m alley, and have been in business for decades. These people have been quietly doing business despite the economic crisis and the winds of redevelopment. We hear about their single-minded lives of business, quietly sticking to one product, regardless of the changing tastes of people. ■ The scene of life that never ends 12 p.m. The savory smell of grilled fish, riding on the thick smoke rising from the alley, tempts hungry people. Mr. Lee Deok-geun has been serving customers at the same place since the days when the price of one fish was 130 won. Although grilling fish all day long from dawn to dusk can be tiring, he cannot rest even for a day when he thinks about the regular customers who come here on purpose. Even today, there is a long line in front of the store to taste the grilled fish that has retained its old flavor, grilled over charcoal briquettes. ■ A bustling market full of people After losing his job during the IMF crisis, Mr. Park Bong-nam, who only knew how to cook, took on a new challenge: a restaurant. There were many difficulties for a while after opening, but now, 10 years later, the maze-like alleys of the market are as clear as the back of his hand. Ms. Yoo Mi-hwa, who has been running a restaurant in the alley right below for 10 years, is always bright and energetic. The three-line poems she has written one by one over the past few years have now become thick enough to be a book. The store is filled with poems she wrote herself. On the last day of filming, she hands over a small gift to the production crew... ■ The final destination of the long-distance train that has been running hard, and then the chicken noodle restaurant that takes up half of the alley along with the grilled fish restaurant, is crowded with foreigners in groups of three or four or five. Now, the alley has become so famous that it is even featured in travel magazines that it is always crowded with customers who come after hearing about it. Ahn Bok-soon's store, which started with twelve tables 30 years ago, is one of them, and it is hard to find an empty seat during meal times. At this point, she might have wanted to open a branch and expand the store, but she did not do that. She wanted to run this one place, this one store, with all her heart and soul. Instead, she has another desire. She wants to pass on the store she devoted her youth to her children, and then the next generation to continue this restaurant for a long time. Documentary 3 Days [Life on the Road - Jongno 5-ga Food Alley] 20120311 #FoodAlley #AlleyRestaurant #Jongno