Halloween Party in Hongdae

Who doesn't like Halloween? It is the time of year that men wear makeup, women can dress provocatively and not be judged and you can be someone else for the evening!

That is exactly what we did on October 27! We attended the Ask Now Halloween Party with about 70 others, and it was a night not to be quickly forgotten.

We ordered our costumes online and got a view accessories here in Sanbon, they were well worth it!









Yes, Krista is putting makeup on Jon, eyeliner, mascara and eye shadow




yo ho yo ho a pirates life for me, yo ho yo ho drink up yea 'arties yo ho.........wheres the rum? Krista looks like Julia Stiles in this photo!



We took the train to Itaewon (subway from Geumjeong line 4 to Samgakji then transfer to line 6 two stops to Itaewon) to meet up with some of our friends. This is where the fun started once in Itaewon, the stares that we had been getting on the subway turned to whispers of "Cap't Jack Sparrow" and the shutters started clicking! Everyone wanted a picture with the Captain! We went to a bar to wait for our friends to change, and when we walked in everyone there started clapping! Apparently their halloween party is next weekend, and we're invited, or so said the bartender when he gave us a free shot!

Stacy, Dave and Tanja



At Gecko's



Bam Bam!



From Itaewon we took the subway to meet up with the Ask Now party in Hongdae (Line 6 to Hapjeong and transfer to line 2 to Hongik University). We went to the Carne Station a Korean style buffet, with raw meat that you cook back at your table. This buffet also came with an all you can drink liquor, beer and soju! What more could you ask for.....? Strangely there was no rum for the Cap't............





Bam Bam and his true love.....







After the Carne Station we walked to a bar called Tinpan 2 and chaos ensued....I blame the sneakers.........


What do you see? I see 2 pirates and a shoe? Nice halloween costume!



"Captain Jack Sparrow" was all we heard all night....if you want to be a celebrity in Korea, either be blonde or dress like Johnny Depp, and then if Johnny Depp is around it doesn't matter how blonde you are......



No these girls weren't dressed up for Halloween....



Even men couldn't resist having their picture taken with Jack Sparrow!











If you are wondering, yes this is his real hair........





Krista showing her best Korean smile :)



Tinpan 2



From Tinpan 2 we walked to Gogo's for more drinks



Yes kids, Soju is for bunny rabbits too! (this playboy bunny is holding a bottle of soju)





This guy was nice enough to pose with the "beautiful girl" and couldn't understand why everyone wanted a picture with Cap't Jack and not with a blonde pirate







"picture, picture, kimbap, picture!" Capt Jack


"I speak English!" Kimbap girl

Everyone yelled to us picture picture, because they didn't speak much English. I guess we learned our lesson.



What can I say, Korean women love the hairy chested men!


Bam Bam


It was a who's who in Hongdae, even Harry Potter was there!






A bar in Hongdae






Even Barbie, a Devil, an Angel and Medusa couldn't resist Jack Sparrow!



These fellow foreigners were speaking Arabic!





At Gogo's



Meowwwwwwww



Apparantly The Mask is a symbol for partying everywhere...I'm reminded of boat cruises in Mexico, and lots of tequila..........



Thanks Heff for lending us one of your bunnies for the night!





two pirates and the prettiest girl in Korea!




"will you take a picture?" Cap't
"you are mean Jack Sparrow, she is druuuuunnnnkkkkk." drunk girl's friend



outside of Gogo's



Rocky Horror Picture Show!









Kiss?!








We partied till dawn.....when you party in Hongdae its either about a 30,000W cab ride home, or you wait till the subways run again............at 5:30 am. It makes for a long night, but it was well worth it!

Seoul International Fireworks Festival

On Saturday October 13, 2007 the Seoul International Fireworks Festival was held. This is an annual event, was canceledlast year due to controversy with North Korea (as far as we heard South Koreans were afraid of being bombed by North Korea, and that the fireworks would mask the sound of the bombs.).

Jon, Krista, John, Christie (confused yet? did I mention John and Christie are also from Saskatchewan?) and Stephanie, also from Canada, took the subway from Geumjeong transfer station (Line 1/4) to Singil and transferred to Line 5 to get to Yeoinaru where we watched the fireworks from the park along the river.

We arrived 2 hours early so that we could actually make the subway and get a spot on the grass to watch the event. The subways and busses stopped running in that area for the fireworks. There were people absolutely everywhere. We started off having space around us on the grass and about 30 minutes before the fireworks started, everyone is shoulder to shoulder, basically sitting on top of each other. We have never been in a crowd of this size or density. It's like Craven x 10 or Rockfest x 3, but with everyone sitting on the ground with their shoes neatly laid out next to them! Koreans take their shoes off all the time!


Can you see any shoes in this picture, if you look hard you will see them!



There were vendors selling kites for kids and blankets to anyone that was cold or wanted something to sit down on. Krista and Christie each bought a blanket for 6000W or $6. I eventually got cold and went to go buy one as well. The young Korean male told me 7000W, and I just stared at him (can you guess what I was thinking?) I said no - they (I pointed in a crowd) paid 6000 and shoved the money in his hand. I'm not sure if everyone gets ripped off or just a male foreigner? Either way, I took my blanket and kept warm.



This is Building 63 the tallest building in Northeast Asia



Does this look crowded to you? Not to us!



If you click the picture to enlarge, and look closely, the lights on the building spell Jon!














Sooooo many Asians (and some foreigners in the mix too)! There was a 5x5 area just behind us that was open. If a group were to sit down, we'd all touching each other. Well guess what... two adults and two kids decided to sit themselves down. Krista was not impressed and basically sitting on their toes. She commented outloud on how irritated we all were (not like the ladies could understand us anyway). Twenty seconds later, they gave us food! They gave us Wagon Wheels (for those of you in Canada) and a Ho Ho / Little Debbie (for those of you in the US), an apple slice and some juice! How great was that! We were a little nicer towards them after :)



The police were out in full force to control pedestrians and traffic - and to ensure there were no riots. Police were blocking all subway entrances to ensure that people didn't flood onto the subway and hurt each other in the proccess.



Krista missed the American and Korean fireworks because she stood in line for the bathroom, for over an hour. Soju, which is drank everywhere, and even on the street was a must for handling the crowds!






Here the long line of police officers were controlling pedestrians so traffic could actually flow through the streets. The Police would block the crosswalks, and then when the light changed they would make a path for you to safely walk across the street.





Jon striking a pose with the cops controlling the entrance to the subway station. All Koreans love spreading a little peace!



This picture does not do the comedy we had seen justice. After the fireworks were over, the subway stations in the area were jam packed with people, the subway cars themselves were overcrowded. Apparently, this lady could not wait for the next subway to come so she decided to push her friend/daughter? in to the car and squeeeeeeeeeeze herself in without getting caught between the doors. It was absolutely hilarious.




This video is of the subway station (which is 3 levels underground), a view from just outside the station and another view from the grass. Soooo many people.



This video is of the fireworks. When you see the bridge, it is actually lit up with fireworks on either side that are set to look like a waterfall. It's a little too dark to really capture how beautiful it was, but you get the idea. The Koreans did a good job.




This video is of the crowded streets while we are on the way to look for food.




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The Walk to School

We have about a 15 minute (there and 20 back home, because it is all up hill) walk to school every day, and we see some spectacular sights! It is always interesting being a foreigner in another country, especially when you stick out so much. People say "hi" and giggle because that is the only word they know, and Krista gets waved at sometimes by kids on busses.....

Its always an adventure, and Korea never fails to surprise us! Enjoy some of the pictures of our walk to school.

This one is just down the street from our apt. It is a view of Suri San (We found out San means mountain). From Geumjeong Station take either the 2 or 3 bus up the hill and stop by Koklan Jungehakgyo.


Krista



Jon walking by the corner store, that everyone affectionately calls "The Sexy Lady" Store, not exactly sure why......



Here is a mechanic shop, there are 2 on our street!



The trucks always make me laugh, they are so little



The time that we walk to school, the other schools in the area are just getting out so we get flooded by young Koreans in their school uniforms.



Alot of students, they all have about the same outfit on, they only thing that really changes are their shoes! No, the students at our school don't have to wear uniforms.



A mountain shop on the corner, they have a sale everyday and we can't wait to get more mountain climbing gear.



More students



Waterfall on the corner



The bus coming to pick up students





2 girls buying some Ddeokbokki. Ddeobokki is sold everywhere it basically consists of rice cakes (not like western rice cakes, they are very doughy) in a very hot sauce. Most of the kids in school will come in with a little dixi cup full and eat it with a toothpick. You can tell who likes ddeokbokki because their fingertips will be red! A little dixi cup portion is 500W.



The big Catholic Church on our walk to school



This is a fire station, for emergencies in Korea dial 119! Our gym is located behind the fire station.



Side view of our gym, Dream Center



Crossing the street





Right where the orange sign is is the entrance to our school! Incase you are wondering, yes, they do drive scooters on the sidewalks sometimes!



We made it!