Now You See It, Now You Don't

I was pretty happy to find that there was a McDonald's 10 minutes from my house and school when I moved here. Ironically, my only visit was the first morning that I started teaching. After that, I never darkened their doorstep, even for the french fries I used to crave in the US.

I took this picture over the summer in the middle of the roadwork season (and passing white trucks). But, with 2 floors, this McDonald's was seldom busy. And, as has been pretty common around here, one day it was closed, newly painted red, and pretty much gutted. It was a hot topic in my classes because everyone was so interested in what it could possibly become.
Turns out, the transformation became this shinning glasses store. Unfortunately, this store has been pretty empty too. Do you have one of those places in your town? No matter how many changes the poor building goes through, nothing seems to "click". This building is a great example of "location, location, location", but something seems to be missing. Maybe the fact that eye glass shops are a dime a dozen.

Anyway, this night shot was right at Christmas time, during their grand opening. And, this last picture makes me so happy! It seems to be traditional for "someone" (maybe even the store itself) to send these tall tri-pod looking frames covered in flowers and banners as a way of saying good luck. This opening must have been a pretty big deal. There were over eight of these "flower frames." It was springtime at Christmas in Jeonju.