Last Saturday I got the chance to go see South Korea and Brazil play an international friendly match at Seoul's World Cup Stadium. Although baseball has gained a lot of attention in the last 10 years in Korea, soccer still is the king of sports here. The national team supporters are affectionately referred to as the 'Red Devils'. So my girlfriend and I put on our red shirts and made our way to the stadium. We joined a record-setting crowd of 65,308 in hopes that Korea could put on a good show against one of the best national teams in the world.
The scene just before kickoff
Record crowd for Seoul's World Cup Stadium
The first half of the game was very closely played. The Korean team played aggressive, deciding to go with the strategy of playing very physically. Late in the first half, with the score still 0-0, things started to get a little chippy between the Korean team and Brazil, specifically Neymar. It seemed that they were targeting him specifically, trying to use their physical play to take him out of his element. It didn't work...
Neymar put the Brazilian team up 1-0 going into the half. Shortly after the start of the second half, Brazil used a quick counter-attack to get past the Korean defense. Oscar was able to get the Korean goalie to bite on a fake and then chip the ball over him to give us our final score, 2-0.
I was really hoping to see Korea score even just one goal, simply to see the reaction of the crowd. They were very enthusiastic the entire game and aside from one successful attempt at 'the wave' they stayed focused on the action for the full 90. Korea did have a handful of scoring opportunities, with this one probably being the best...
Overall it was a great night. We met Brandon and his girlfriend for dinner near Hapjeong before we all went to the match. I've been lucky to be able to go to some great events recently and I'm looking forward to continuing that trend here in the next few weeks. Now I just need to add a playoff baseball game to the list.
Last weekend I went to the biggest event I have ever been to. And it is the biggest event I likely ever will go to. Can you imagine a time in your life when you might be at a park with anywhere close to that many people? Just to put it in perspective, JerryWorld, aka Cowboys Stadium, made huge headlines when it hosted its first regular season NFL game with a record-breaking crowd of 105,121 people. So we'd need Jerry to build 11 more stadiums to host the number of people who were at the park on Saturday.
The gorgeous Seoul sunset
A view of the mountains behind the city
I went Jennifer, her sister and her sister's fiance and luckily we decided to get there about 4 hours before the show started. Getting there 4 hours early got us a place to lay out our blankets and set up shop. After that it was standing room only. I literally couldn't see the end of the crowd. It stretched about a mile down the Han River. Oh, and there were people on the other side of the river watching also. Did I mention there were 1.2 million people there??
Getting there was insane. We took the subway and every transfer getting there was more difficult than the one before. I've never been crammed into a subway car like I was that day. So many people had their cameras out taking pictures and video of the crowds in the subway. And if the people of Seoul think it's a big crowd, then you can trust that it is. And remember, we left for the park more than 5 hours before the show started.
A small sample of the crowd hours before the fireworks started
Some of the action. Pretend the tree is there for 'artistic' purposes
The fireworks were amazing. And lasted almost an hour and a half! Yet the entire time I just kept thinking, 'How are we getting out of here?' The subway station closest to the park was closed off. The police were diverting the crowd in three different directions, to three different subway stations. So as the crowd divided into thirds, each walking about a half mile or more to the closest station, it looked like a mass exodus from a movie scene. We got extremely lucky because just as we were about to queue up at the subway station and be packed into the train, we saw the bus that goes right back to our neighborhood and not only were able to get on but also get seats.
All in all, it was a great experience. Was it a little bit of trouble? Yes. Was it as much trouble as you'd expect with that many people all in one place? Not at all. The city did a great job making it enjoyable and as easy as it could have been. Thinking about going next year? My advice is to show up hours early, pack a picnic and get comfortable. Enjoy the day and the fact that you're participating in a historic event. And then try to get lucky and get a seat on the bus for your trek home.
Last week I got my first visitor during my time in South Korea. The one and only Jordon Holmes came out during some time off from work and stayed for a week. Now this is no easy task, just a quick 14-hour flight. Luckily there is now a direct flight from Dallas to Seoul, which makes the travel that much easier.
We had a great time while he was here. But as we usually do in these situations, I spent months looking forward to his visit only to feel like it went by really quickly. I was very fortunate that his trip coincided with a major holiday here in Korea, Chuseok. So I only had to work one full day while he was here. I was able to meet him at the airport when he came in, and within the train ride from Incheon to Bucheon he got to have his first cool experience. An elderly Korean man sitting next to him grabbed his leg, and in near-perfect English said, "Welcome to Korea." The people here really are about as kind as I've ever met. And they genuinely care that we enjoy their country.
I did my best to show him around Seoul and my city, Bucheon. We visited Gyeongbokgung, a Korean palace, and a traditional Korean neighborhood called Insadong on the first full day. Actually, on my very first day in Korea back in February, I did the exact same thing (see more here). It was a cool thing for me to see him enjoying it all and definitely brought back a lot of memories for me.
The next day was Chuseok so we were limited in our adventures due to most places being closed. So we got together with Dawn, Tamara, Jamie, Micah, Michelle and Ross to eat together and spend some quality time. We found a western-style bar that was open that night as well.
On Friday we spent most of the day resting before we went to Jamsil Stadium to catch a game between the Doosan Bears and LG Twins. The coolest thing about this game was that Jamsil is the home stadium for both teams so the crowd was huge and very divided. That plus it being the home stretch of the regular season and both teams fighting to save their playoff spots equals huge and loud crowds. They sold about 5,000 standing room only seats to the game, so even the aisles were crowded with 2 people sitting on just about every step. We got lucky and got one of the last good spots in the very back of the stadium. Two floor mats, snacks and some beers were enough for us.
The crowd was loud
And there were a lot of people
On the weekend we played screen golf and disc golf. Yes, we found a disc golf course in Korea. Now it only had 3 baskets up and there was no set holes, but that didn't stop us. We made up our own course and played for a few hours. I hadn't thrown a disc in over 7 months, and Jordon has really just started playing in the last 7 months, so it was our first time ever to play together. Screen golf is huge, no let me correct that, HUGE in Korea. There's one in my building, one in the building next to me, one in the building a block down, and you get the idea.
Look at that form!
"I'll bet you a hundred bucks you slice it into the woods." -Al Czervik
The view from the first 'tee box'
Pretty decent baskets
On Monday I had to work the entire day so Jordon used that time to visit one of my classes, get some souvenir shopping done and rest before his trek back to Dallas on Tuesday. Overall it was a great time. We ate an insane amount of Korean food, all of which Jordon appeared to like (He's already found and gone to a traditional Korean restaurant in Dallas). It made me want to have everyone from the States come over to visit. So seriously, ever wanted to visit Asia? Mi casa su casa.
I spent the weekend visiting some friends of mine in Cheongju, which is about a two hour drive from my home in Bucheon. Micah and Michelle are headed back to the states, which is really good for them, and really bad for us here in Korea. They've become very close friends of mine and I know we'll be friends for life. I understand their situation, but inside I'm throwing a pity party.
So my new friend and I went down to Cheongju on Saturday, which was a first for a couple of different reasons. Big news here folks....I got to drive a car in Korea for the first time! It had been almost seven months since I drove a car, so this was a bit of a big deal for me. Luckily for me, Jennifer was feeling tired so she asked her copilot to step in and take over.
When we got there on Saturday, we had a chance to visit Suamgol Village. It was previously a very rundown neighborhood which was surely destined for being replaced by an updated apartment building. But some artists stepped in and provided a way for the neighborhood to attract some attention and more importantly, preservation.
The view of Cheongju from Suamgol
Overall, it was a great weekend. It was my first road trip with Jennifer. I got to spend some good time with Micah and Michelle before they abandon me. I got to catch up with my good friends Deborah and Cathal. The weather was terrific. We had a trip to the noraebang. And did I mention I got to drive?!?
Tomorrow morning I will begin a new term teaching English in South Korea. It will be the 4th of the 6 that I am contracted to teach in a year with my current language institute. It's hard to believe I've been here for half a year already. It's even harder to believe I haven't seen my family or friends in over 6 months. For some of my friends in Colorado it's been over 10 months.
I still remember waking up at 3:30am on February 13 to head to the airport in Dallas. Truthfully I think I slept about 20 minutes that night. My mind was racing with excitement, doubt, nervousness, expectations, fear and questions. As Big Chiz drove me to DFW, my twitter feed was filled with reports that N. Korea had successfully tested a nuclear weapon. That did nothing to help settle my concerns.
With that said, I can't believe how fortunate I've been living here in the second biggest metropolitan area in the world. I have learned a tremendous amount about life outside of the American bubble. I have learned an immense amount about myself. I have met and befriended some amazing people, both native Koreans and other foreigners teaching here. I feel like my experience has far exceeded anything I could have expected before I came.
Here is a picture dump that highlights my time here so far....
Korean Palace Guards
Korean Palace - Gyeongbokgung
Picture taken in February
Same location, taken in May
Namsan Tower at sunset
View of Seoul from Namsan
My first basketball game in Korea
My first class in Korea, still one of my favorites
My apartment building
My school's building
My first KBO game
Typical scene in my junior classes
Reenactment of a royal ceremony at a Palace
First visit to the Korean countryside
My first Korean wedding
One of many nights out with friends
A common scene
Hanging in Itaewon with the besties
And their men, in their usual buffoonery
I'm really excited about what the next six months will bring into my life. I know the time will fly by, just like the first six months did. In two weeks, I'll have my first visitor from the States, Mr. Jordon Holmes himself. I'll also be taking a few international trips in the next six months. More than likely, I'll be signing another contract to teach another year here in Korea. If I'm having this much fun, how could I leave?
Last weekend we had a little bit of a long weekend so I met some friends in Seoul for the night. My friends from Cheongju and Wonju came into town, as well as a new friend from Busan. We decided to rent a private room in Itaewon so that we could have a great night out and not have to worry about traveling home in the middle of the night.
Micah had the great idea to visit Seodaemun Prison and play tourists for the afternoon before the recklessness commenced. By far one of the most enjoyable aspects of being in Korea has been learning about the country's long and painful history. It gives you an understanding of how hard the people of this country have worked to make it to the point where they are today. USA's history is at best about 500 years. Korea is close to 5,000 years. Quite a bit of that time has been spent trying to get the invading Japanese the hell out of here. In 1908, while occupied by Japan, the Japanese built Seodaemun (at that time called Gyeongseong Gamok) to house Korean independence fighters. And when I say house, I really mean brainwash, torture and kill.
Modern-day Seoul built up outside the prison walls
Korean Independence Fighters
During the tour of the prison, there were examples of how the Korean prisoners were tortured. Some of it was crazy to think about. Water torture, mental torture, sticks under your fingernails, unspeakable things done to the female prisoners, and a crazy box filled with inward-pointing spikes that Japanese guards would shake while prisoners were kept inside.
I was already aware of the purpose of the prison, and understood some of the things that took place there, but as soon as we walked in the doors I was overcome with a somber feeling. It was eye-opening and considering this prison was used less than 70 years ago, it's simply amazing to see where this country is today.
We were really lucky to meet our new friend, Lana, who was volunteering at the prison as a guide. Her English was terrific and she really helped us understand the magnitude of what we were experiencing. I had a great time learning even more about my new home away from home, and I look forward to being able to continue to learn more.
