Ever since the mid 90s when a skyscraper in China became the tallest building in the world for a few years, I’ve thought that in order to really understand the 21st century and this post-modern world we live in, you must see and experience Asia. (Right now, 8 of the 10 tallest buildings in the world are in Asia. The other 2 are the Sears Tower and the Empire State Building.)

And Seoul is a good representation of the incredible dynamism of Asia, as well as its frighteing level of consumerism. Case in point, today I roamed around the Yongsan electronics market in Seoul. (It’s the blue and grey buildings as well as street level shops you can’t see in the photo.) Imagine stacking Best Buys five high and spread out over five city blocks and you get some idea of what this place is like. It’s just mind boggling. Too bad I don’t have any pressing electronic product needs, because this place, the largest electronics market in the world, would surely be the place to get it. Prices here can be 20 to 50% less than in other stores in Seoul, and where prices aren’t posted, you’re expected to haggle.

Cities like Seoul and even Beijing and Shanghai make New York and L.A. look like small towns.