Episode 53: In Which DFM Gets A Rose And Koreans Start Dancing In The Street

It's been a long time since I last posted.  I've been terribly busy, so I'm sorry about the spotty updating, but faithful readers will be rewarded with what I hope is a good post today.

It turns out I had learned the name of the "mystery woman" from Episode 50.  Her name is April, I had just forgotten.  Today (Sunday) she invited me to her church with her and her family.  Her father was a former member of the Korean Navy and worked for many years as an Engineer for the Korean Air Force.  He spoke very good English, and is still an avid table tennis player.  DFM loves to hear of people remaining active after they retire.

April's father is one of the church's elders and, like April, seems to know just about everyone.  We had a long chat with the pastor, in his office, before the start of church and almost made him late.  The pastor was very friendly and asked many questions about me.  He also gave me some mushroom juice (it comes in a bottle here), which tastes a lot better than it sounds.

After the sermon, the pastor had me introduce myself to the congregation.  April came up to translate my introduction, but I surprised everyone by introducing myself entirely in Korean instead.  I got a large ovation from the entire congregation who then gave me a rose and sang a song of welcome to me.  (The congregation has at least 125 members I'd reckon.)

After church I was a mini celebrity and it seemed like everyone wanted to come and shake my hand.  I got a lot of practice saying "nice to meet you" in Korean.

After church April and I went to meet "One Piece," Pyeong-hwa, at Gyeongbokgung - another palace in Seoul.  However, it was quite busy when we got there, so we decided to walk around the outside of the wall and see the Blue House (where the President lives).  (To see a picture of the Blue House, click here.)  You're only allowed to view the Blue House from that one angle, so every shot any tourist has ever taken looks exactly the same.

At the Blue House site we ran into an interesting family from France.  From left to right is Sophie Cremezi, PR and Events Manager for the French Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, her mother and father, and finally, her husband Guilhem Cremezi.  Guilhem works for a company that supplies parts to Hyundai/Kia.  He told me that he took the job so that he could travel.  Smart man.  Speaking of smart, the Cremezis know French, English, and a fair bit of Korean.

After the Cremezis departed to have lunch, April, Pyeong-hwa and I went to Insadong.

Budha's Birthday is not for another week or two, but since Budha's Birthday is on par with Christmas over in Korea, there were all sorts of opportunities to "catch the spirit."  Here we were taught how to properly drink tea, the Korean way.

I had to leave April and Pyeong-hwa for a while as I rushed over to Jamsil Stadium to watch a baseball game.  The Doosan Bears (Thom's favourite team) were hosting the Hanwa Eagles in their rather beautiful stadium.  Unfortunately, I showed up slightly late and so the tickets to the "good section" by the team's rabble rouser were all sold out.  Instead I found a seat in the equally packed right field bleachers for less than $4.  

Much like the soccer game I went to, if you want to cheer loudly you need to be sitting in the right spot.  There were pockets of cheering going on in my section, but it was nothing compared to where the "real fans," as I call them, were sitting.

I went to the game by myself, so I had no one to communicate with, but this boy in the Doosan hat and I would exchange smiles and fist pumps every time Doosan did something positive.

Sorry about the poor quality on the video.  The transfer from an .avi to .wmv file is less than perfect it must be said.

There were definitely a lot more people at this game than at my Woori Heroes game, but the cheering somehow  felt less passionate than when the Heroes fans and I screamed our lungs out for a rare base hit by our really bad team.  

To see real cheering though you have to witness Busan's Lotte Giants fans, who Yi Woojin assures me are the best fans in the league.  I'll let you judge for yourself though (click the earlier  link if you haven't already, and also try this one too).

After about two hours at the baseball game I left early and rushed back down town to catch the final hour and a half of the great Budha's Birthday Parade.  A parade is a parade is a parade, but this one lasted over four hours.  There's not much new I can really say since most people have seen a parade before, but never-the-less I have included a few of my favourite images for your viewing pleasure.

After the parade ended at 9:30 PM, a concert started.  It seemed to be a blend of Korean folk music and Korean pop music.  One of the singers was a big celebrity in Korea, and this seemed to get a great many cheers from the younger members of the audience.  

The concert carried on until at least 11 PM, and at one point a mass group dance broke out in the middle of the street.  Some rather drunk old men started getting a little too vigorous in their dancing, so I decided that it was best for my safety to head home at this time and go to bed.

Episode 52: In Which DFM Runs Down The Middle Of The Road And Has A Korean Hair Cut

The day of my big half marathon has arrived.  In the past I've been more than able to run the 21 kilometers that make up a half marathon, but I have always had trouble running quickly up the hills without suffering excessive and debilitating fatigue.  Regular readers will know that I have been trying to solve this problem by hiking up the tallest mountains in and around Seoul since I arrived here in early March.  Today we will see if my "all hiking no running" method of training will pay off.

Running is big business in Seoul, and from what I have heard there are three major companies that put on all the races in Seoul.  They're quite good at it and this race (and from what I've heard all the others) are quite organized, so no complaints from me.

Of course there was the obligatory group warm-up involving Korean calisthenics set to music, but there was also a performance by whatever this dance troupe is called.  I mistakenly thought it was the group warm-up and tried dancing with them, but then I realized something must be wrong as the moves were far too difficult, and I was the only one doing them.

This is the best thing I've ever seen at a running race, apart from the porta-potty.  It's a bag check, where each runner is given a large plastic bag with a draw string in which to put all his/her belongings.  The bag is tagged with a number, and then an identical tag is placed on the runner's race bib so that he/she can collect his/her belongings again at the end of the race with no hassles.  Like all things in Korea the system operated with incredible efficiency.

During the race there were water stations about every two or three kilometers.  Towards the middle of the race they started handing out banana thirds and wagon wheels cut in half.  I also noticed some Gatorade starting to come in after about seven kilometers (they know what they're doing here all right).

I expressed amazement at how many volunteers the race brought out, but it was suggested to me that perhaps they weren't volunteers (refer to my earlier statement about large companies putting on the races).

I spent the first part of the race running with my new friend Dave, from near Glasgow, Scotland.  He couldn't believe how many people there were in the race (over 3000 if you add up the participants in the 4.19 km race, 10 km race and half marathon), and so I told him how the drivers of Seoul refer to racers as "runners pollution."  He got a kick out of that.

At most races I've been to, the race organizers might close one lane along the edge of the road for the racers, but at this race the police shut down the middle two lanes of a major road and we had to race with traffic on both sides of us.  Sometimes the scooter couriers would get impatient and use our lane, which made things interesting to say the least, but I have a lot of practice dodging scooter couriers just from walking on the sidewalks here so it wasn't a big problem.

So, how did I do?  Quite well actually, all things considered.  I don't know where to find the official results, but by my unofficial count I was in the top-50 out of over 400 half marathon racers.  More importantly I ran my fastest ever half marathon (even faster than my non-mountain half marathons).  Even Dave beat his PB, so it was a good day for both of us.

I would say that my training was a massive success.  At the turn-around point after the first mountain I was in 80th place, but on the way back up the mountain I passed over runners.  I ended up passing more runners going up the two hills this race than down, which is a first for me.

I should mention here that I received a lot of attention in this race because I was a foreigner.  I was the first foreigner through each of the water stations and all of the volunteers would jump up and down and yell "fighting!" or "welcome to Korea!"  Children would say hi to me, and try to practice their English, and many of the other racers would wave to me or tell me I was doing great.  Others just yelled "fighting!" too.

The only downer was that about 17 km in my tendinitis flared up in my knee again.  I was able to run through it, but I know from experience that it won't feel too good tomorrow.

In an attempt to save myself from some DOMS I went to the sauna with Lee after the race.  I was there for three hours and even had myself a hair cut from the barber who works there (if only I had known about him before!)  I was looking pretty scruffy after two months without a hair cut.

Episode 51: In Which DFM Gets Caught In The Acid Rain Without His Coat And Becomes A Korean Busking Groupie

In 1988 the 24th Summer Olympic Games were held in Seoul.  To commemorate the games a giant park was built around many of the venues from those games.  I thought I'd do my tourist's duty and check out the park today.

On my way out the door I took this picture.  Perhaps I've mentioned it before, but I live at the base of Hooker Hill where all the prostitutes hide inside of non-descript buildings and jump out to offer to "love you long time" whenever you walk by (they have CCTVs fixed on the street, so they can see you but you can't see them).  As if that weren't wild enough, I recently looked across the street for the first time and realized I also live right next to a transgendered bar.  Itaewon is the center of all things that the government has made illegal, which is also why it has the highest percentage of gay bars anywhere in Seoul.

My main goal was to visit the Olympic Museum at the park.  Unfortunately I was not allowed to take pictures inside the museum, but that's okay since there wasn't much to show.  That's not to say I did not have a good time though, but the museum was more about information on past Olympiads than showcasing historic items.  There wasn't anything there that you couldn't find in a book, but since I'm a huge sports history buff I had a great time re-reading all the information I already knew, but in Kongrish.

I finished up at the museum early, so I decided to take a stroll through the magnificent Olympic Park afterwards.  The Park is situated around a tributary of the Han river, and because of all the rain for the last five days the grass was especially green.

Of course, one can't have a cultural event without including some works of "art."  In Canada we just substitute physical art (sculptures, etc.) with Native dancing, so there's really nothing different going on here.

It must be said that some of the pieces were rather interesting.

However, some were just plain... well, as Strong Bad would say, "Iranian art is weird, man."

Germany's contribution to the park was this homage to mechanical precision.  There're even a couple of rulers in there, how fitting is that?

Raise your hand if, like me, this is the first time you've seen a four-person quadracycle.

I wish I had more time at the Olympic Park, but sadly I had to go to a meeting with my boss and coworkers.

I remembered that Friday at 5 PM is the time for subway station performances.  I hustled over to the busking section, but no one was there.  I shuffled away disappointed, but ran into my two busking friends at the escalators.  I helped them set up and we shared a limited conversation in Kongaleserish - a combination of their Kongrish and my Englean - before they started playing.  We exchanged e-mails and they expressed sorrow that I would be leaving Korea soon.  I promised them I would hurry back.  On an unrelated note, would you believe that the man with the guitar is 38 years old?  Asians have the best anti-aging genetics in the World.

Episode 50: In Which DFM Gets Interviewed For A Korean Newspaper And Is Treated To Dinner At The Hilton Hotel

There are five major palaces in Seoul, but my Lonely Planet guide said that Chandgeokgung was one of the best.  I was informed that the only way to explore the palace was by guided tour, so I tried to rush over for the last tour of the afternoon.  When I arrived it turned out that on Thursdays there are special performances so there are no tours.  I was allowed to tour the palace grounds on my own, with an English map/guide (my favourite way).

This is the inside of the king's throne room.  The outside of this building looks as though it is two stories tall, but when you look inside you realize that it is just one giant room.

I'm not sure why, but many of the buildings had raised hallways, set on pillars.  At one point I saw a group of elderly Koreans try to walk under one of them and a little old lady stood up too soon and bonked her head.  Ouch!

Many of the best views were to be found behind the buildings though.  Here, the terraced wall had many plants and trees and even sculptures growing on it (the sculptures were just placed there though).

This is the magnificent foliage along one of the main pathways.  I thought it could not get better than this, but I had yet to reach the Secret Garden.

When the palace was in use up until the early 1900s, the Secret Garden was off limits to anyone but the Royal Family and perhaps only the highest of government officials.  It has some of the freshest air in Seoul, and you can't help but feel honoured when you stroll through it.

I wish I had better lighting, but this is the impressive Royal Library at which the king and Crown Prince would have studied classic literature.  Sometimes government exams were held by this well shaded pond and I could only imagine it was one of the Royal Family's favourite places (it was one of mine).

The reason there was no tour was that a special performance of Korean traditional art was going on in the Secret Garden today.  There was some "interesting" traditional music that I'm pretty sure won't be joining the Hallyu (Korean Wave) anytime soon, but the highlights were the Jeongjae dance and the Pansori opera.

The Jeongjae dance I saw featured many women in brightly coloured robes, twirling and whirling in unison as they played a traditional game.  The goal of the game was to throw an object through the hole in the screen behind the dancers.  Any dancers who missed were punished with a stroke of black paint to the face, while those who were successful were given a large flower.

Pansori is a traditional opera which features multiple characters, but only one performer.  The performer seems to usually be a woman, and there is a male drummer who will randomly interject with sounds of wonder and awe (I'm sure there was a reason for his interjections, but obviously I couldn't figure them out).  I consider the performance a success because the parts I found humourous also seemed to be humourous to all the Koreans as well.  It is the sign of good art when it can communicate with everyone regardless of language.

After the presentation, any guests could dress up in the traditional costumes and have their pictures taken.  The magic was lost though when some of the overly tall white tourists tried on the costumes, it must be said.

After the presentation was over I went back to my stroll through the Secret Garden, but I was soon approached by Ji-eun (on the right).  I can't remember her whole story, but she was a journalist somehow connected to the Ministry of Culture in either Seoul or Korea.  She said that she noticed I seemed the most interested in the performance of all the foreigners there (I'd say so as well), and she wanted to interview me for her report.  Later she took my picture and said that I might make it on to her company's website with my article.  I'm still stunned by it all actually.

Soon after we ran into Han Pyeong-hwa (left).  Han means one in Korean, and Pyeong-hwa means peace, so she told me her nickname in school was "one piece."  She learned to speak English in The Philippines, so she spoke with a slight Filipino accent (which I found slightly humourous, in a charming way).

Before I left the palace I also met an incredibly friendly woman whose name I have not yet learned (she told me her face was her business card, second from the left).  She teaches English teachers at a Seoul University, and is the most remarkable person I've met so far.  On this day alone she met me, Pyeong-hwa and Ji-eun for the first time and invited us out for dinner with her at the fabulous Hilton hotel.  Ji-eun had a deadline to meet for her article, but Pyeong-hwa and I agreed to come along.

On our way to our table she stopped and introduced everyone to a random Korean couple who were celebrating a birthday.  The couple invited us to have a picture taken with them (not the picture I have shown above).  It was her first time meeting this couple too.

Later two more of the mystery woman's friends came and joined us (the two women on the right in the picture above).

The service at the Cilantro's restaurant in the Millenium Hilton Hotel in Seoul defies description.  We were waited on by no less than three Korean servers who all spoke English, and our host was so well known by everyone at the restaurant, that I'm pretty sure a fair bit of what we received was complimentary.

Long story short, my host loves to travel and she has invited me on a five day tour of the Korean country-side with her next weekend (my last).  Our accommodations will be taken care of as we will be staying at the homes of her friends along the way, and I have been assured that the scenery is among the most beautiful in Korea.  I also mentioned that I planned to visit Scotland next summer and she said that she would be living in London at that time and invited me to stay with her and her husband, and told me that she would give me a tour of London (she has lived there before, as well as Vancouver, Montreal, Halifax, and Philadelphia).

My last two weeks look like they will be busy, but may very well be the best of my entire stay.  Now I wish I had more time.

Episode 49: In Which DFM Has A Special Moment Involving Candy And A Child And Gets Adopted By A Korean Family

Today was supposed to be a picnic day.  I was told to wear something "relaxed" so I showed up in my track pants and T-shirt, but the picnic got cancelled because it was too windy out.  Luckily I suspected something like this might happen and I brought a change of clothes.  My mother would be proud.

All the kids were in their red sweat suits in preparation for the picnic, so they were all confused about the protocol and seemed to be extra wild.  They were still as cute as ever though.

Just some extra pics I threw in here because they make me smile.

Some of the five year olds have started taking Tae Kwon Do.  A few of them will do random demonstrations like this guy, but mostly they just try to punch me in the leg or stomach or testicles.

There is one class of five year olds that is especially wild, and this table is usually the center of all of the action - if someone is crying you can bet it came from this table.  Usually the boy on the left of this picture has taken some one's crayon or scrunched up her picture.  Today though, the girl on the right figured out that if she used her teeth she could take apart the plastic cases on all the crayons, lose the ends, and break the crayon inside.  Soon the whole table joined suit; it was a disaster.

There's nothing special going on here, but I like how the boy doing the splits is perfectly framed between the two heads in the front.

If John Kimble were teaching this class the caption would read, "how many whistle blows?"  "THREEEE!!!!" (I wish the teacher were holding up two fingers instead).

Hurray!  Home time!

I didn't get a picture at the time because I did not want to ruin the moment, but this girl above (picture taken on a different day) was waiting for her bus after school, and she tried to formulate her own sentences using very limited English.  She said "candy," and then pointed at her back pack and said "bag," which I took to mean that she had candy in her bag.  Then she took some candy out and gave me a really tasty lollipop.  As an English teacher it felt good to see her trying her best to communicate with me when before she could not communicate at all.  I'm now motivated to learn even more Korean so that I can experience this joy too.  I also realize that I need to learn some more verbs.  The whole moment was something that a picture could not have captured even if I had taken one.  I think it is best summed up with the statement, "you know Peggy, I think they like me.  More importantly I think they like English."

After climbing I was invited to Sung Bok's home for another Korean meal.  Apparently my visit was a big deal, and his mother prepared a feast for me.  I felt bad that I couldn't eat it all, because she had obviously worked very hard on it.  His father told me that because of me his whole family was studying English very hard and that this made him happy.  He also told me that I was now part of the family and was welcome in his home any time, for the rest of my life.

After dinner "the men" went out to play billiards.  Many Koreans play a form of billiards called "three cushion."  There are no pockets, and you can strike any of the balls as long as it hits three cushions before... actually I have no idea how it's played.  Sung Bok's father played three cushion with the pool hall's manager, while Sung  Bok and I played your standard six pocket version of pool.