I told everyone I would go to Korea when I graduated. I wasn't lying. I hope you enjoy reading about my first adventure as an adult as much as I enjoy having it. (In case you were wondering, the title of the blog isn't an acronym for anything. It's from one of my favorite songs. See first post.)
I took my vacation earlier than most people so that it would line up with Annie's winter break. Because of that, all my friends were gone during pretty much the same two weeks. Luckily, my friend, Alicia, needed a babysitter for her kitten while she was gone. The kitten's name is Chingu (친구), which means friend in Korean. She was about 8 weeks old when I had her.
She was a bit of a handful but it was really fun having her around while everyone was gone. There's not a whole lot to say, so enjoy some pictures :).
As you may or may not already know, a Kpop group called Girl's Generation had a big influence in my decision to come to Korea. Basically, they're what got me interested in the country in the first place. So, naturally, one of my goals while I was here was to see them. As luck would have it, they were promoting their new single "I Got a Boy" in Seoul while I was there with my family!
The promotions aren't concerts though; they're tapings for music performance shows. When a Korean artist/group has a new single, they perform it on these music countdown type shows for a while. The interesting thing is, you don't have to pay to attend the taping...you just have to be a REALLY devoted fan. Essentially, it's first come, first served, and the fans run everything. The day of the taping, you have to go to the venue with the artist's newest album and find the fan who got there first. This person is in charge and will put your name on a list. They only allow a certain number of people in, so if you get there early enough, you're in.
The show I wanted to see (Mnet Countdown) was the day after the album released. I was a little worried that they'd be sold out, but there were plenty.
I painted my nails the night before. It says 소녀시대, which is Girls' Generation in Korean.
The day of the show, I got to the venue around 5:30am, which seems unnecessarily early but I knew it wouldn't be. It took me a while to figure out what to do. I met three people from Finland (Sarah, Freddie, and...I can't remember the other guy's name). Eventually we figured out (with the help of some Korean girls) that the first fan for Girls' Generation had posted a sign on a lamp post. It said to take a picture next to the sign, text it to him, and he would tell us what numbers we were on the list.
As I feared, we ended up being numbers 113-116. Girls' Generation were actually performing two songs that day: "Dancing Queen", which they had recorded in 2008 but never released, and "I Got a Boy", which was brand new. We were told by another girl that the first 50 people would get to see "I Got a Boy" and the first 150 would see "Dancing Queen". We were pretty bummed because we really wanted to see "I Got a Boy" but we also just glad to be able to see them at all.
The text said to meet outside at noon, so we sat around waiting for a while. Finally, we went outside and the first fan was there calling out names and lining us up. They checked to see that we had the album and then wrote numbers on our wrists. I guess the numbers were meant to tell which performances you could see/what order you would be allowed in. I think the people farther ahead of us were told a different meeting time but they told the four of us to meet back again at 2.
The guy who's name I can't remember went back to their hostel for a bit to rest and Sarah, Freddie and I just waited around again. Probably about an hour later, we were approached by another fan who said something along the lines of "Hey they're doing performances up there now if you want to try to go check it out." We decided we might as well give it a try, so we took the elevator (Freddie is in a wheelchair) up to the next floor. Here's where the miracle starts. Everyone was lined up like sitting on the floor and then the line continued up the stairs. Well, obviously, we couldn't take Freddie up the stairs, so the employees just pointed like off to the side and had us wait there. They also gave us the fanchant (small sheet of paper with the lyrics, along with things you're supposed to yell in bold). Then, when they were ready to start the performances again, they opened the door, pointed to us, and said "first". It was the absolute best possible scenario. We weren't even supposed to see that performance, and we got to be right up against the ropes. When I walked in, I was stunned. The girls were just hanging out on the stage right in front of us. They're much smaller in person and even more beautiful. We saw them perform the full song twice and then they did it once like from the middle. Between performances, they'd wave to us and talk a little. It was better than an actual concert in some ways-much more intimate.
When we walked out, we discovered that No-Name guy had also somehow made it in, although he was toward the back. Then it was time to wait again, until 2. This time, Sarah and I actually did end up having to line up on the stairs. No Name guy made a fuss about pushing the wheelchair this time because he thought he'd be able to go in first that way. In my opinion, it was kind of a shitty way to act. Anyway, the setup for "Dancing Queen" was a little different. The fans were able to get closer to the stage (for "I Got a Boy" there were cameras separating us). They performed the song twice and the second time, they dropped confetti. (Side note- because of the different set up, Freddie and No-Name guy actually ended up going in last, behind the camera equipment. I felt bad for Freddie but serves No-Name right for trying to use his friend's disability to his own advantage.)
So, in the end, it was pretty much a day-long ordeal but it was 100% worth it!
Here are the performances I saw. The way they edited it, "Dancing Queen" is first.
During my vacation in January, my dad and sister came to visit me in Korea for two weeks. They were interested in seeing Seoul, so we spent the first week there, and then went back to Daegu. My dad became obsessed with "Gangnam Style" shortly before coming and often asked random Korean people if they knew it, before proceeding to sing it (badly) and do the dance. Most laughed and some actually joined him. Anyway, that obsession is what led to us actually staying in Gangnam in Seoul. We spent most of the week pretty much just exploring the area and trying out different restaurants.
Outside Incheon airport right after they arrived. Annie wasn't used to the lack of personal space in Korea and start cracking up when a Korean lady lined up super close to her for the bus terminal.
Our first meal together in Korea. They gave us aprons to keep our clothes from smelling like meat.
Our first restaurant sitting on the floor.
Korean barbecue with a turtle grill.
Also in Gangnam, we went to Coex, a huge underground mall. There, we went to the aquarium and kimchi museum. It was actually a pretty impressive aquarium. Here are some pictures:
Kimchi Museum...that's not a real person.
Annie and I went out a few nights in Seoul, too. She could legally drink here, so that was cool.
We were in Seoul for New Years. They had these big balls lining the streets and guys would give you markers to write your new years wishes on them. At midnight they were released into the sky. We didn't see that though, because we met some people from Daegu in Hongdae.
New years drinks!
This place was kind of cool. You get your own little room with a TV and MP3 speakers. We were later joined by a SUPER drunk Korean girl and her guy friend. She was a mess but really nice and kind of funny.
At most coffee shops in Korea, you can find dessert waffles like this. Annie and I made it our goal to have one every day they were here...
We also went to other places in Seoul like Itaewon and Insadong. I'll add more pictures later when I have my camera. Annie probably has some too. For now, here are some random pictures we took of ourselves...
After a week in Seoul, we took the KTX back to Daegu. It was nice because Daegu was a lot warmer than Seoul and I'm more familiar with the city. In Daegu, we went to more restaurants and visited Palgongsan Mountain to see the big Buddah statue. We accidentally went for a hike before we figured out where the temple was...
Buddah statue at Palgongsan
We also tried this virtual reality thing that I had walked by tons of times but never did. We ended up doing it more than 10 times while they were here. Annie and I LOVED it. My dad only did it with us like twice. It was this little four person cart thing and you choose which ride you want, they give you 3D glasses, and the thing moves around with the video. The best ones are the roller coasters.
Outside the virtual reality thing. The Santa chipmunk dances...
As fun as that was, probably the best part was dinner and drinks with my friends. For my birthday, my dad treated everyone to barbecue one night. After that, we went to Traveler's (the big foreigner bar) for drinks. My friends really liked him and Annie and it was just a really good time.
Just 13 of my closest friends...
It was really great to see some of my family, especially right around Christmas and my birthday, and I'm glad they got a chance to see what I've been up to and meet some of my friends. It would have been better if Seoul had been warmer, but overall, it was a good time.
Speaking of "Gangnam Style"...I present PSY's newest hit:
So I've royally sucked at posting anything. I've been kind of busy the last few months but also I've just been a bit lazy and then it seemed daunting once more time started to go by. Anyway, I'm going to start writing posts for some of the stuff worth talking about since January...here goes.
So for those who have been waiting to hear stuff...sorry!
