Hardcore Shows, Baseball, Gotta Love Life~

So you may have noticed that I'm sort of delayed on posting again. So here are a lot of pictures covering one and a half crazy weeks. Last weekend, the American hardcore band, Terror, came to Seoul. This was a big deal for the entire Korean punk scene, as they only get a few American bands to stop over in a year. I didn't take many good pictures of this whole event, so for 'real' photographers' photos of these events, check out two local favorites:

Daehanmindecline: http://www.daehanmindecline.com/archive/20090918d.html

MadBean: http://www.madbean.net/bbs/view.php?id=review&page=1&sn1=&divpage=1&sn=off&ss=on&sc=on&&select_arrange=headnum&desc=asc&no=3

It was a great weekend of shows, karaoke, Korean barbecue, and new friends in the local punk scene.
I also went to a baseball game between the DooSan Bears and the Lotte/Busan Giants with June and MiJeong. Baseball is very different here because the teams are not representative of a city, but are sponsored by a company. So every game usually has a 1/2-1/2 split of fans for each team, making for a great cheering atmosphere. All cheering is lead by a section leader. I had to learn a lot of new songs and chants. They also cheer the name of each player who is up to bat, while they are batting, so songs would be different rhythms of things such as "Kim Hyun Soo, Homerun!" or "Pak Dong Ju hit that ball!". It was a great experience.

I'm having a great time. Nuff' said.

Here are pics.



Susie (Another WI student) and I show WI Pride.


Susie and her Ewha buddy, "Kyu" (Susie Q.), in Sinchon's playground area.



Ewhaians out for a friend's bday.

Sinchon

MiJeong and June after the game going the other way on the subway.

The Lotte Giants are the only team centered on a specific city (Busan) so here the fans are holding up their lighters while singing a folk song about their lovely sea-side home. :D

Spirit Sticks. These baseball games are loud!

June and MiJeong. MiJeong is from Busan, but because of her love for June, she was a traitor and cheered for DooSan with June and I. :D

Traitor.

Cheerleaders for baseball?

June Park. (Not really)

Snacks for a Korean baseball game include dried squid jerky, udon noodle soup, and kimbab (Korean sushi rolls). KFC was also a big sponsor inside the stadium.

Jamsil Stadium (once used as part of the 1988 Seoul Olympics).

This stadium is shared by the DooSan bears and the LG Twins.

The following are the Hardcore show photos (somehow I uploaded this whole weekend in reverse, so just be aware of that as you go backwards through this amazing night).

Cliff and Jani, local hardcore kids, Karaoke after the shows.

Ki Seok Seo, lead singer of the Geeks singing Korean pop Songs

Cliff (show organizer) and Ki Seok enjoying the return of their venue rental deposit.

After shows in the US, it's Taco Bell or pancakes, here, it's Korean barbecue. ^^
(Notice Ki Seok being adorable for the two random Korean-Japanese girls that stumbled into the venue as we were leaving, they would follow us the entire night. I never knew their names or why they followed Ki. He's just a teddybear. )

The Geeks

The Geeks

So these are from the Terror show, much larger venue, over 200 people, amazing.

This photo sucks, but look at what the lighting did.

Things We Say mid-two-step.

Same

So I'm having a great time everybody. I miss you all. Hope you enjoy some of the pics. I'll have more tomorrow.

Have a good one~

James

P.S. It's starting to be Fall here too! But I really miss the clean WI air (my tonsils don't like pollution) and Devil's Lake in Fall colors. :( Next week I might go South with MiJin's family to Gwangju for their Korean Thanksgiving ancestor rituals. The countryside is beautiful down there, I'll be sure to take lots of photos (all you guys get to see is gritty Seoul and the inside of venues :( )