The Park

Trash "Sseuleki" Yang-Moses in all her glory


This weekend the Korea-Japan Oi/Punk Festival will dominate the better part of two days in the lives of local scene kids. The fest is on Saturday from 6pm to 6am with something like 20 bands.

Anyways,
It was a quiet Friday night, thought I'd just meet Jeff to hang out in the park. For about an hour and a half the park was strangely quiet and we didn't see anyone else we knew...
Until the bands from Japan and their Korean counterparts showed up arriving from the airport and the place turned into a zoo. The following pictures detail this crazy night (in no particular order) in ....

The Park, Hongdae

Skinheads playing on the playground

(So it was new to me too (being from the Midwest I suppose) that not all Skinheads are racist! Turns out there's a vibrant sub-culture that has nothing to do with Nazis (most of the time) and is more about Oi and punk music, the working class, and general hooliganism)

Verv relaying some Skinhead history

Jeff

International skinhead camaraderie

(they chased each other around and half-fought most of the night)

Drunk Ajusshi

MiJin leaving on the Subway

Skin advertising for Jinro Soju in front of KiSeok, who's Straight Edge, haha

Ki, Trash

Ki, my Straight Edge Hyeong :D

Tonight's the fest...I suppose I'll sleep(?) before I go since most of the bands I want to see are after 12am...it's ok, midterms are done, I can afford to sleep in on Sunday.

Have a good weekend everybody.

James

Independence Hall of Korea--Cheonan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-S0qJS9mG4&feature=related
(that's MiJin taking her textile work to the frame maker's shop)


Hey everybody!

I have Tuesday-Thursday off, so I took the chance to head a little ways out of Seoul to visit the city of Cheonan and the "Independence Hall of Korea" Museum. The museum covers Korea's long struggle for independence from foreign influence and colonization.


Seoul Tower from Seoul Station platform



Finally got cold enough to get the colors changing

Independence Hall of Korea

Everything in Korea has a goofy character associated with it

(even independence struggles where thousands were tortured, murdered, raped, etc.)

?

"Statue of Indomitable Koreans"

Project that uses the handprints of Korean visitors to create the image of one large handprint

"Righteous Armies" --exiled Koreans who fought Japanese Soldiers in Manchuria, China

4 Ajushis (Older men) in suits, on a 4-person bike

Just took the picture out of reflex, so good

Yu Gwan-Sun, Patriotic Martyr and Mascot of Cheonan, her hometwon




I'm half-way through the semester and loving it.

See you all soon.

James

Football (not that one) and Punk Rock a.k.a. I Swear I'm Not British

This weekend I went to a soccer game with my new pal Verv for his birthday. After that I went to a Battle of the Bands in Apgujeong to see ...Whatever That Means. They came in 2nd...but that's because the band in first brought more friends to vote for them, haha.

I've decided that I love it here.

So there's that.

Enjoy pics, miss you all, have my plane ticket booked for Dec. 20th to visit WI.
Stay Warm.



From atop the mini-mountain Ewha sits on



Ewha Campus Complex at night

Ewha soccer field/track

Soccer Game

Verv: Hooligan

Section Cheering Leader

World Cup Stadium (is quite hard to fill for a regular game, it was rather empty)

Translation: Oo oo oo oooooooo oooo ooo ooo ....Seoul! I Love You!

Did we need the words posted? haha

Ajummas!

Anthony

Battle of the Bands

The Rance, Awesome Korean Punk Rock

...Whatever That Means

Midterms this week.

Yikes.

~JH