A Cultural Bust!

Saturday afternoon, at Cleo's recommendation, Nate and I set out for the grand opening of a week long cultural festival held at a small park in the heart of Samcheong-dong, just north of Seoul's city center. Armed with only a general idea of what subway stop to get off at and a printout, entirely in Korean, explaining where to go for the festival, we set out in search of big time culture points!

Trying to minimize our subway transfers we got off Line 1 at Jongno3-ga Station a few stops short of our intended destination Anguk. Having yet to be in this area during daylight hours, we took a few moments to wander around and snap photos of the all too interesting Jogno Tower and less than enthralling Bosingak, where the city's new years bell is kept.

Bosingak

Jogno Tower

With the sound of drumming in our ears, we were foolish enough to believe that our blind choice of subway stations led us directly to the celebration that we were looking for. We followed the noise to the banks of the recently uncovered Cheonggyecheon Stream where a circle of drummers, adorned in traditional Korean dress, were all banging away on different percussion instruments. After snapping a pair of touristy pictures (meaning we really didn't know what we were photographing but felt like we should) we quickly bolted down stream away from the clamor!

Traditional Dummers

As it appeared that the road running along Cheonggyechon had been blocked off, we further incorrectly assumed that whatever festival we were looking for must be just around the next bend. We stopped a few, unlucky, passerbys in an attempt to gain some sort of directional insight, but gained none. Curiously however one man was kind and honest enough to actually say that he could not help us rather than point aimlessly in any which direction as many Koreans seem to do when flustered!

Cheonggyecheon Stream

After no more than five minutes of wandering we happened upon a small information booth at the stream's edge. Perfect! Inside we were ever luckier yet that the one worker was sitting behind the English, and not Japanese, sign! I showed her our Rosetta Stone of directions and after a confused moment she whipped out a map and pointed us in the right direction. As I had somewhat expected, we were wandering in the wrong direction! However, from our current location we needed to simply wander north, down the bustling Insadong-gil, past Gyeongbokgung Palace and we would certainly find ourselves in the heart of Samcheong-dong. So, we set off on foot!

While wandering through Insadong seemed like a fantastic idea to kinda of get us in the mood to score some culture points, it turned out to nearly double the time of our already extended journey. As I had either overlooked or forgotten, the streets of Insadong are packed, jam packed! If one needed to get through the crowds quickly for some reason, it simply would not be possible unless they had Andre the Giant at their sides to part the sea of humans for them. So, slowly, and impatiently, Nate and I trudged along making only the slightest of progress as we watched the sun threaten to slip behind the downtown skyline.

Making faces in a bamboo forest along Insadong-gil

About halfway down the long corridor, we came across a plaza emanating the sounds of an, wait, all brass band!? No way! This I had to see! Sure enough, stepping into the crowded square (the same one where I took the pictures of the recycled art before) we were greeted by a six piece brass band blowing away, unfortunately for the drummer he was stuck behind the car exhibit. Wait, what? Oh yeah, it appears as if the whole event was for an unveiling of some new car model. Quite the interesting way to garish attention for your product!

Brass Banding It

Anyways, no sooner had I stepped into the plaza and raised my camera for a snapshot did the band suddenly break down into "Oh When the Saints." Now I don't know what forces you believe in but there's something about the power of Nola that always finds a way to let you know she's still with you, no matter where you are in the world, whether it be fleur-de-lis guarding Turkish mosques, a brass band funeral in Ghana or the blowin' of "Oh When the Saints" on a back alley in Korea! Enjoy!

For an encore, the group went on to play a very (un)popular Village People number at which point I decided it best for our sanity to take off in the other direction! We finally escape the confines of Insadong and were back out on the open road where we hustled down to the next intersection to cross over a street running along the eastern edge of Gyeongbokgung Palace. The hustling was entirely unnecessary. We waited at this single light for what had to have been almost ten minutes. No, we weren't stupid and it wasn't a 'go when you're brave enough' affair, that's simply how long it took the light to change in our favor at this four way intersection of two eight lane 'highways.' We did eventually get across the street only to be disheartened by the crowd of literally hundreds crossing the opposite way. . .that's never a good sign when you're going to an event!

The Fabeled Intersection

Not ones to give up on our adventures until we really need to give up, we continued walking towards, or at least in the general direction of this supposed Samcheong-dong Park. The road alongside Gyeongbokgung looked absolutely amazing as all the trees lining the street had begun to glow in the deep yellow of an almost set sun. However, to our right, on the other side of the street, the skyline was filled with a large, ugly, run down government looking building guarded with some uninteresting iron work and a high electric fence. Not sure exactly what this was but it certainly didn't boost the overall attractiveness of the area.

Across the street from Gyeongbokgung

Sunset over Gyeongbokgung Entrance

Eventually we were forced to veer off to the right as the road we were walking along ended at a guard post that didn't look to welcoming. We turned on to what I guess is known as the Samcheongdong Walkway, and continued onwards. Now this newly discovered (at least by us) walkway was quite the pleasant surprise, offering an experience that was truly a world apart from the high rise laden Seoul we have grown so accustomed to. Intimate and architecturally captivating storefronts lined every side of the walkway and seemed to come in only three varieties. At first there were mostly modern art galleries, often composed of only one room and just large enough to house a desk along with the single exhibit (was was sometimes indistinguishable from other previously made smudges on the walls). As the galleries thinned, the trendy, overpriced cafes became more prevalent with a sprinkling of chic boutiques selling everything from, well, really just shoes, hats and jewelry! Even while exuding an uber-trendy and ultra-chic aura, Samcheongdong managed to retain a truly authentic, down to earth atmosphere; much more akin to Magazine St. in my beloved New Orleans than anywhere comparable in New York or L.A.

Fall colors along Samcheongdong Walkway

To add to the artistic experience, everyone and their mother traveled with a clunky, yet modern digital SLR hanging from their neck that they used to shoot a series of all too cliche photos of women standing in doorways and dying flowers wrapped around rusted iron work. It was cute. . .but almost in that kitten in a hat type of way. . .yeah.

While we were both starving, Nate and I decided to plug onwards, hoping to find our coveted festival before the last rays of natural light disappeared over the turning trees. We had already lost the sun and the sky was darkening quickly. At the top of another hill, somewhat removed from the commercial strip below, we ducked into a corner store to split a litre of Purple Jazz Juice; a mixture of all the dark berries' juices. . . mmmmmm! This particular convenience store was not at GS nor 7/11 but rather a small store front attached to living quarters of about the same size. The reason I know this is that the 'clerk', if you will, sat on the floor just inside an indoor doorway in what looked like the floor of his kitchen, while Nate and I were left unbothered to wander the single aisle of snacks.

On my way out, I turned around suddenly thinking that this kind man might be symbolize our last hope of finding Samcheongdong Park and we seemed to have come to the end of the road. I showed him our 'map' and smiled, indicating that the park was simply around the corner and up the hill another 100 meters! No way! We thanked him and took off, partially refueled by Purple Jazz. Sure enough, just up the hill we came to the entrance of a public park which people were retreating out of by the dozens. Stepping inside it was evident that we were certainly too late for whatever festival had occurred earlier in the day. Not willing to turn around just yet however we thought it best to wander the park for a bit in search of something, anything 'worthwhile.'

Not far inside we spotted a sign indicating the way to 'prospect point,' now that sounded like a worth goal! We began headed upwards following a series of smoothed dirt paths alternating with steps made of logs. As we climbed, we were soon engrossed in a fiery surrounding as the leaves both above and below us turned a deep crimson, accentuated by the last glimmer of daylight.

Samcheongdong Park

We ascended gradually winding back and forth as the path grew steeper and steps taller. Every 100 meters we were reminded of the distance to the point yet each marker grew increasingly distant from the previous one! Finally, just as the last ray of light fell over the horizon, we made it to long and narrow path running along what I believe is the Old Fortress Wall of Seoul. Here, the past sharply contrasted with the present as we were able to make out a relatively modern looking bunker/outpost hidden behind a row of fences on the peak of a hill along which the fortress wall runs. Only a few dozen meters ahead we arrived at a wooden plateau set into a flat granite face, Prospect Point, on which a pair of cameramen had taken up seats, inevitably capturing the night sky in some appropriately over-artistic manner.

Prospect Point at Night

We rested at the Point just long enough for our bodies, dripping in sweat, to dry off to a shivering chill. . .at which point we decided we had better start making our way back down. Now I don't know what rules 'real' climbers go by, but I'm pretty sure that hiking at night, without any source of light falls into the realm of stupid! Yet this is what we had to do, having no alternative but to stay at Prospect Point until dawn! We slowly and carefully felt our way back down the path and managed to avoid any major injuries although I did reaggravate my left knee that I injured one Sunday a while back and have yet to allow to fully heal as I amble on through the second half of SSFL's fall season.

Seoul at night looking towards Namsan Hill/Tower

Back down on the safety of flat land we decided that we had scored enough cultural points for the day and that a good, hearty, non-Korean dinner was in store. Thus, we rang Cleo, who had expressed interest in meeting us in Itaewon that night, and told her to get moving, we were ready to eat. Well, apparently young females around the world operate on the same 'as soon as I'm ready' schedule, which is way, way longer than you would ever intentionally wait. Nevertheless, Nate and I fended off the urge to just plop down in a ritzy cafe after checking out one of the absurdly overpriced and unimpressive menus given to us by a disdainful (was he French) waiter.

Thus, we slowly made our way back to the Anguk Station where we took Line 3 to 6 and hopped off at Itaewon, hours before Cleo would eventually arrive with her friend, Ji-Young. To kill the time, and subdue our hunger, we darted into an Iranian kebab house where we snacked and rested on their perfectly plush couches. Finally, hours after descending Prospect Point, we met Cleo and Ji-Young in front of the Hamilton Hotel where we agreed to eat anything so long as they decided. Having both spent time in Europe they decided to try out a Bulgarian restaurant at the top of the hill behind the Hamilton. Having never tried, nor even really heard of, Bulgarian food, Nate and I agreed to give it a whirl.

While it certainly was a pleasant surprise to start a meal with french bread and butter, versus kimchi and radish, my meat lasagna was substantially less than substantial. . . .to say the least! The lasagna bolognese itself was fantastic! Oh how I had been craving thick wide noodles soaked in marinara and held together firmly by layers of melted cheese. However the dish that it was served it was notably smaller than the bowl that I eat my cereal out of in the morning. . .thus, I left dinner far from satisfied!

No worries, on our way back down the hill we passed by a dejected looking chef sitting on the curb outside. Truly curious, I asked him where the eating was good and he flamboyantly sprung to life, guiding us into a a small pastry shop down a small side alley. Here we relaxed for a while while sharing a pecan and chocolate cream pie. Nate was enticed into a 'warm gooey' chocolate pecan cookie that was apparently 'fresh out of the oven,' though it had grown crisp by the time it made it to our table and was still apparently 'fresh out of the oven' as we left almost half an hour later! Not the best sweets I've ever had in the world but you gotta admit, the guy was a great salesman!

We capped off the night wandering from Woodstock, where an incredibly interesting trio was replaced by a horrific sounding one that literally drove me out of the venue holding my ears. Swinging by Stompers, where I had read about a battle of the bands, we decided to not stay long as the place was literally overflowing with young musicians grasping their instruments for dear life trying to stand their ground and get in close to the stage. Finally, we made it to a back alley where we located the once elusive Wolfhound and plopped down, exhausted on a comfy pub-like bench. We spent the next few hours battling sleep while watching all sort of rugby and soccer matches, cheering along the Irish patrons in the pub while jeering the Canadians! Ahh, how fun it is to be American abroad sometimes!

V for Victory as we finally found the elusive Wolfhound!

While we never did find out traditional festival that we set out for, I'd say we managed to rack up more than enough culture points as we wandered from Cheonggyecheon, through Insadong, along Gyeongbokgugn, through Samcheondong, up to Prospect Point, back down to Woodstock and across the pond to a quaint Irish Pub, the Wolfhound! And we did this all while remaining in the confines of downtown Seoul. . .what an interesting city this is!

Insadong and Cheongju

Whew. . .well that was quite a week! My dad leaves Korea today to return to the States after coming to visit Seoul for the past six days and what interesting adventures we had! Before diving into our fun filled week however let me try to catch up by starting where I left off, at last weekend.

Again, working all week and having soccer games on Sunday leaves Nate and I only Saturday to explore the city. So what we've been doing is simply picking a destination or area highlighted in LP (or recommended to us by others), hoping on the subway and going to check it out!

Last Saturday we settled on Insadong, a small foot-traffic only neighborhood nestled in the heart of downtown Seoul. From what I understand, Insadong has long been an arts and cultural center for Korea. The area also incubated the largest independence movement against Japanese colonization of the peninsula during the early 20th century.

To get to Insadong we took the subway, three lines in all, to the Jongno 3-ga Station. We wandered the area around the station for a short while checking out the numerous movie theaters in the area. We concluded that Piccadilly Cinemas was by far the nicest and it seemed to have the greatest selection of English movies. . .although none to our liking at the time. I think we'll wait until the new Bond comes out in November before testing the waters of a Korean cinema!

From Jongno we wandered towards the sun and in to Tapgol Park. This small green area is surround by what look like ancient walls and entrance is granted only through a grand gate facing a busy four lane street. Inside the park all the outside noise seems to subside as we were immersed in a beautiful landscape of sculptures, trees and walkways. The centerpiece of the park is a giant pagoda like building that seems to offer no purpose other than shade!

Pagoda Park

Just behind the pagoda in the back of the park is a massive class structure that towers at least 50 feet into the air. Contained within is a giant stone tower, known as the Monument of Wongaksa, that dates back almost 600 years. The base of this monument is made of solid granite while the tower itself is carved from marble! It truly is an impressive structure that had both foreigners and Koreans clicking their shutters.

Wongaksa Stone Pagoda

Noticing a solo guitarist taking a load off in the park's grounds, I inquired as to where we could find the Nakwon Music Arcade. He suggested exiting the park, taking a left at the intersection and looking for a building that went over the road. This sounded easy enough so we set off in search of this supposedly massive music warehouse. We tried to exit Tapgol from the North side but soon realized that traffic was regulated by the one open gate through which we entered.

Back out on the street we managed to find the arcade with little problem. Just as the man suggested, we encountered a giant building that created a bridge over a small back road. Even though the description fit perfectly, as the surrounding buildings were all seemingly packed with instruments, the 'arcade' that we were looking at showed no signs of life or vibrancy one would expect to see at a large music store. Instead, the building was of the 'big block' variety with very few windows and no markings other than dirt on the sides of it's white exterior. Even so, we decided to check it out and wandered up the few flights of outdoor stairs to what apparently was an entrance.

Inside there was no question that we had arrived at our destination. The long building was literally filled to the brim with any and all types of musical instruments and supplies that once could imagine. On each side of the building were shops that couldn't have been bigger than 15'x15'. In the middle passage were more 'stalls' lined with musical equipment, staked to the ceiling, leaving only two narrow walkways, one on each side. We wandered the arcade for a half an hour or so just checking out the different displays from afar. The whole atmosphere is really overwhelming and I wouldn't know where to begin when purchasing anything as it seems as though one's options are literally endless. No clue how the middle stalls really demarcate their boundaries, or, if there are any!

Nagwon Music Arcade

From Nagwon we headed towards Insadonggil, the main road running through Insadong on which the majority of its famous tea shops and art galleries are situated. We knew we had arrived as we stepped out of a narrow alleyway into a bustling street just teeming with people. We wandered up and down the pedestrian only passage, checking out the vast array of Korean 'knick-knacks' on display by the numerous vendors as we went.

Noticing a large crowd of people gathered around, we pushed our way to the front to see what was happening. Just kidding, no need to push past Koreans as we can simply stand in the back and observe all that is going on. It turns out that the crowd had gathered around two ice cream vendors who put on a hilarious show of tricks in distributing their goods. Having watched for at least a few minutes I decided that a) I needed ice cream and b) we needed a video of the hilarity. So, I handed my camera to Nate and stepped in line. . . .check out the result below! Needless to say the ice cream was fantastic and the show was well worth 2,000won.

I-Scream!

As we were standing around watching the ice cream demo, Nate was approached by a woman who was ushering her husband to stand next to him, holding the couple's newborn in arms. At first Nate was confused, believing that he was in the way of a picture, only to realize that he was in fact the picture. The man posed for a few snapshots next to Nate for reasons that we're quite unaware of but somehow justifiable for Koreans!

Nate with Korean Robot!

We continued to wander the main drag dipping in to plazas here and there to see the different sights. In one open court yard we saw a large stage set up for a performance that people had begun to gather for. Kids stood around playing a game that remind me of pogs where they slammed a piece of something on their friends' something in hopes that the second something would flip over. . .looked fun! Here's a picture!

Korean 'Pogs'

Recycled Art in Insadong

At another small plaza there was a group of people painted blue performing something on a small stage. Not quite the blue man group but it held our attention for a minute or two. More interesting however was the man in the back of the plaza who was pounding out some sort of treat with a giant mallet that left a resounding 'CRACK' echoing throughout the plaza.

When a Mortar and Pestle Just Won't Do!

As we made it to the Northernmost end of Insadonggil we emerged into a large plaza covered in bright colors. It turns out there was a sidewalk chalk competition going on for both professionals and amatures. One part of the plaza was roped off for professional use only and some of the drawings were truly impressive, taking on three dimensional picturesque qualities. . .and to think, with only chalk! The other side of the plaza, centered around a large statue of a paintbrush was the 'amature' area where anyone could pick up some chalk and leave their mark. While I was tempted to engage, I didn't feel like trying to find a clean slate to begin with as almost every inch of canvass was already filled in!

Chalk Art Day!

About halfway up Insadonggil, which runs for no more than three-quarters of a mile, we stopped at an Information office. Inside we were given a great map of the area and a larger one of all of Seoul. Nearing dinner time we asked the women at the help counter if they could suggest a place to eat. Of course the quickest one responded with "there's a MacDonald's down the street!" Ha, sounds tempting, but no thanks, we've heard Insadong in the place for a traditional Korean mean. That being the case, they directed us, on our newly acquired map, to a small back alleyway where three different restaurants were located. We thanked them and took off in search of food.


Finding this hidden corner we did in fact have a selection between three restaurants. We decided to go with the one that looked the most traditional in its design perhaps for this reason but really just because! We were asked to take our shoes off while entering the restaurant but were fortunate enough to be seated at a table with chairs rather than having to deal with sitting on the floor (which really just doesn't work for me). We spent a great deal of time mulling over the menu, which had quasi-English descriptions, before settling on the Hanjeongsik, a feast of traditional side dishes that offer a sampling of all that is Korean!

Our Dining Venue in Insadong

American v. Korean Shoe

We waited for no longer than a few minutes before dishes began to be brought out. Every few seconds we would be brought another small steaming hot plate with some unidentifiable food item on it. All in all we had around 20 or so dishes each with a unique item. The picture below was taken before we had everything as I was unaware that more food was yet to come.

Dinner. . .with more dishes to come!

We gingerly picked out way through the strange dishes and stopped only once our hunger had subsided but before we had finished everything. . . .not because we were too full but because a few of the dishes were too. . . well. . .unpalatable! It was a great overall experience and something that we can at least say we've done now, though I doubt I'll ever return for another helping of Hanjeongsik. I'll stick to the more recognizable main courses rather than a barrage of partially satisfying side dishes!

Give this place a try for 'interesting' Hanjeongsik

More Public Art in Insadong

After dinner we headed towards the enormous Jongo Tower on the Southwest corner of Insadong. Although someone told us that it was simply a large corporate headquarters, LP seemed to imply that they had a World Food court worth checking out. We did in fact find the food court but only as it was just closing up.

We crossed the street drawn by the lights from a large temple like structure that turned out to be Bosingak, a pavilion that houses the large city bell rung only on special occasions. From here we followed the crowds, and a number of police officers standing ready with riot gear, to a more lively area that seemed to be filled with restaurants, bars and boutiques.

The City Bell at Bosingak

We slid into a 'trendy' looking place called blue room only after we were assured that we didn't have to pay cover for a place that looked like they might demand 20,000 once you were part way inside. It ended up to be more of a restaurant than anything else so we took a seat and enjoyed some refreshments while people watching both the crowded setting and the street below.

All of a sudden out of no where the Blue Room erupted in lights and sounds. It turned out to be a techno-Korean version of Happy Birthday played over the loud speakers as a cake was brought to the table of some young women sitting near us. We applauded along with them as the music died down which, of course, they found absolutely hilarious. No sooner had we turned our attention away did the birthday girl come over with an enormous piece of cake, almost a quarter of their whole thing, to give to us.

Birthday Girl!

We thanked her profusely and dug in. Heck, it would have been rude not to right!? In exchange we sent her a birthday drink at which point we were beckoned over to take pictures with the birthday crew. We again thanked them for the cake, wished the birthday girl (at least we think it was her birthday) a happy day, and went about on our way! The Korean birthday song and shared celebration was a fantastic way to end our day of exploring Korean culture. . .kind of a melding of the past and present wouldn't you say!?

We retired rather early a) so that we could catch the subway home (which closes around midnight or before) and b) because I had to wake up early Sunday to get to my soccer game in Cheongju, a good two hour bus ride away.

Saturday morning I managed to drag myself out of bed by 9:00am, shoveling a bowl of 'frosted flakes' down my throat for sustenance before packing up my soccer gear and heading downstairs. I had intended on hoping in a cab but stopped to grab a bowl of ramyeon on the way out. . .just in case I didn't get another chance to eat before my 2:00pm game. I made it Hagye Station in due time and managed to ride Line 7 directly to the Express Bus Terminal, arriving no later than 10:30am. This I had planned on, allowing myself a solid half an hour to find the ticket booth for Cheongju.

As I arrived at my destination, I realized that there were in fact two separate terminals, both seemingly bearing the name, 'Express Bus Terminal.' Luckily, I had double checked our Han River Harriers message board the night before to find more specific directions posted by a fellow teammate, Nikki. Aside from being an excellent soccer player, Nikki has been extremely helpful in offering direction and guidance, although primarily soccer related. It was interesting too to find out that he had attended Tufts only a year or so before I did (for a semester only, thank goodness) which explains his near flawless English.

Anyways. . .Nikki noted the skepticism about finding the Cheonju ticket booth in my message board posting and kindly posted these more thorough directions....

Adam,

The Chungju ticket office is across from the huge bus complex (where the buses are sitting outside). There are 2 bus complexes at Express Bus Terminal. You have to go to the one that is NOT next to Shinsaegae.

If you get lost, just ask someone that you want to go to Cheongju and they will guide you to the correct ticket booth.

if you have any problems, call me at 010 5040 6916.
Thanks

Alas, when I arrived at the bus terminal the first thing I noticed is that I was scanning a board for destinations direction next to a sign reading 'Shinsaegae,' the place where I was not supposed to be! Even so, I found a Cheongju ticketbooth and the corresponding bus just outside. This caused my great anxiety as I was instructed to meet at 11:00am sharp so I didn't want to miss anyone or be waiting in vain in the incorrect location. With time to spare, I ran out through a couple of parking lots and across a small road to the second bus terminal where I managed to find another ticket booth for Cheongju. At this point I figured I was just plum outta luck!

A great idea then struck me; why couldn't I just continue to run back and forth between the two waiting for someone to show? It only took about two minutes to make the trip so worst comes to worse I'll meet somebody by 10:58am or so, I figured! I immediately implemented this plan and took off back towards my original station. Once again coming to the Cheongju booth and noticing the 'Shinsaegae' sign in plain sight, I started to think that this was not the place I should be waiting. . . .so I took back off across the parking lot for the second terminal, a second time!

Luckily, as I burst through the front door I was blinded by the neon teal glow of our uniform, worn proudly in full by team manager and star sweeper, Ammar! Ammar was accompanied by Martin, the bloke who introduced me to the team and then subsequently made a swift departure from DYB! The three of us waited a few more minutes for others and then decided it was time to head towards the 'gate,' or whatever you call the area that a bus leaves from!

The Han River Spitfires!
(Thanks Todd's Dad)
(P.S. Joseph to my left is on his toes and in no way is taller than I)

Coming up to the ticketbooth we found Nikki already waiting with Craig and Alex, two of our loyal Cannuk teammates. As this game required extraneous travel, the team agreed to cover players' travel costs who were willing to make the trip. In turn, Nikki, a strong leader, decided it would be best if we saved on bus fare and crowded as many people as possible in to cars. Turns out, one of the cars going had three free seats. . . uh oh! Don't get me wrong, I'm a team player but I'd much rather ride on a bus, even a dirty crowded bus (which this was not) then in a car jammed between two other players!

Nikki decided that the two shortest guys, Alex and Craig, would automatically get in the car while Martin and I were left to rock, paper, scissors it. . .the way all important decisions are made in Korea. They don't mess around with any of that silly 'best of' crap here either. . .it's simply one, two, shoot and that's that! Turn out Martin was quick on the draw and I sulkily headed off behind Nikki and the others! Luckily, just as I turned to leave, one more of the 'short guys' showed up! Nikki turned around, tossed his bag to me, and told me to wait at the ticket booth! What great timing!! Thanks to whoever that late comer was, and for my Kuhnmuench genes!

The bus ride turned out to be a great deal as I hopped on, put my headphones in and passed out! Others had warned against such a strategy as sleeping before the game could lead to lethargy but I am a sure believer otherwise. . .especially when I had to wake hours early just to get a taxi. . .to get to the station. . .to get to the buses. . . to get to Cheongju. . . to get a taxi. . . .to get to the pitch!

I awoke two hours later to find myself in the beautiful town of Cheongju. . .which looked exactly like any smaller, overdeveloped city, bursting at the seems with everything but arts and culture. . . .not quite like a stroll through Insadong! Nikki hailed a cab and the four of us bussers climbed in. . .or tried to at least!

I was the last one in the cab and apparently the driver miscounted as he lurched the car into gear and took off down a hill just as I stuck my left leg in the door. At this point instinct took over and I somehow managed to hang on to the room with one hand and the door with the other, just barely pulling myself into the cab before he lurched to a stop suddenly enough to fling me from the vehicle had I not managed to wrangle my way in. . . .that was my warm up for the day!

It had been rumored that the Cheongju field was full sized and oh how happy I was to see such a grand pitch as we pulled up to the stadium. . .yes stadium! Now I'm not talking Old Trafford here but the field was located in the center of a rather large, yet run down, stadium. The infrastructure actually reminded me more of Turkish ruins than anywhere else I've been but that might have just been because of the concrete slab seating. This actually stood in stark contrast to the relatively new looking press box area at half field that we took up as our changing room!

Cheongju Stadium from the Grandstand
(Thanks Alex)

I couldn't wait to get out on to a real sized field after a couple weeks of playing on our home pitch in Apgujeong which couldn't have been more than half the size! Although the field was turf, yes my knee through upper thigh area are still angry at me, it felt amazing to be able to just run in an open field again! Playing in Apgujeong just feels so constrained as it is almost akin to packing a full 11 v 11 match into an indoor field! I had been planning on the full field and hoped that my endurance from days of yore would prove to be a valuable asset!

75 minutes or so of playing time later (I think I only rested for the first 15 min of the game) I walked off the field content with our 1-0 victory against one of the top teams in the league! Well I didn't get the goal I had hoped for (as no non-Korean has scored yet for our team) I did put in what I felt to be a solid performance playing primarily center midfield, a position that I am notoriously bad at! I had a great time though making run after run up the middle and of course, always dropping back to cover my man on defense. I don't think I stopped running the whole game and only began to collapse with a few minutes left.

It was a great feeling to have eked out a victory, especially after traveling so far to play the game! It would have been a muuuuch longer day however if the score had been reveresed!

On the return, our bus crew managed to almost double in size as noone wanted to cram into a car, especially post game! Having 'opted out' of a free ride we had to buy our own tickets but for 6,000won, I'll take a reclining individual seat any day! We had a few minutes at the bus station before heading back so I dove into the Subway. . .as in sandwhich shop, not transportion! Now the win was great but slamming a foot long down in about five minutes was perhaps the most satisfying part of the day. . . .especially when followed by fountain Pepsi. . . with refill. . . .mmmmmmmm! It doesn't get much better than this in Korea!

I was on the bus no more than five minutes before I was again out like a light, only waking briefly during the trip to find my neighbor equally asleep but uncomfortably close. . . I though about moving him but figured the closer he got the worse I had to smell and that he would be moving in no time. . .this happened almost immediately after I thought it!

I was kindly wakend two hours later by my teammates as we pulled into the Express Bus Terminal from which I found my way in to the subway and back up Line 7 to Hagye Station, arriving at around 8:00pm. I had a great time over all and to be honest, the win was definintely worth the 11 hour journey!

After each of our games, Martin kindly takes the time to offer a full game recap on our message board that is followed by a poll on which the team selects the "Man of the Match." Well, it sure felt great to check the message board a few days later to find that I had received top honors for my Sunday performance (and no, I did not cast myself the deciding vote)!! As I said, I didn't get that goal but I sure played solid and ran my little (or half, to be more precise) heart out! Guess that just goes to show that hard work can get ya something at least! I'm still holding out for the first way-guk goal though. . .my odds are 5-1. . .second highest on the team! I'll let you know how that goes!

Man O' the Match!

And so. . .that was last weekend's adventure. . . now. . .to get to the week that followed. . .and oh. . .what a week it was!