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Hello. I'm checking in from South Korea. I didn't bring my laptop, the relatives I'm staying with don't have stable wifi, and the room with the modem in it is unbearably hot.
As a result, I avoid it at all costs, and spend most of my free time when at home watching MBC/OGN (turned out to be channel 510 and 511 respectively).
Anyway, thoughts...I really like Seoul from an outsider's perspective, especially coming from California. Because it's earthquake country, we don't get the kind of population density and crowded madness that you see in these kinds of metropolitan areas. However, it doesn't have the cultural diversity that a city like New York would have, but has a cultural unity that really gives the city an organic feel, as opposed to the often cold one one could get from such a city (as NY).
Everyone interacts with everyone on some level...you can stop and talk to little kids (in Korean) and they'll stop and reply. More importantly, you won't get stares from everyone immediately suspecting you of being a pedophile. I mean, it's not like magical; the point I'm trying to make is that the city being unicultural lends itself towards a more connected feeling or something...it's hard to describe. Again, though, this is from the perspective of a person observing.
The subway system here is fucking amazing. It's efficient, easy to understand, and is really smooth and just...fun to ride on. Once again, due to California being earthquake-prone, we don't have such things.
The food so far has been pretty good...it's nothing absolutely exotic and foreign to me, having grown up in a Korean household with first generation immigrant parents.
The city is just fascinating to see. It has a noticeable character. Whenever we're driving around, it's fun just to look out the window at the huge apartment and shop clusters and whatnot.
On the flipside, however...
The weather here is fucking terrible. I'm from socali, so I'm for the most part fine with heat. However, I can only stand a nice, dry, desert heat. It is humid as fuck here. Even walking out to a local restaurant is a fucking nightmare.
The Koreans here...I knew before I came here that it would basically be a city of fobs and Korean ahjumahs/ahjushis, but god was I not prepared for that. The older people are whatever, but the young people are so like...superficial/vain.
I heard it's a mass-oriented mindset kind of thing...the cultural unity lends itself towards this kind of thing, where one on the inside fits in perfectly fine and life goes swell, but you have to fit yourself in, or whatever. I dunno.
It sucks because I end up feeling awkward whenever I go out with just my cousins. We're all full-blooded Korean, but can barely speak enough Korean to get by. I dress in metal band shirts and have a beard...I basically look like a bum. My relatives said I'd stand out because of the beard...but after they said that, I've noticed people doing double-takes passing by me and shit. lol.
I managed to catch the MSL group with Fantasy and Jaedong in it live at the MBC studio. That studio is fucking TINY. They use some intense trickery with a very wide angle lens in all of their panning shots. You can catch me in some of the VODs. I made a sign, which I'll post pictures of later when I manage to edit through my photos.
I never understood why people said the MBC studio is as underwhelming as they said...but now that I've been there...like damn. It's...not as cool as it looks in the VODs.
But still...I got to see NaDa, Fantasy, Jaedong and Leta all in the same night. (:
I even saw Kangmin...even though the commentators are in a different room, he stepped out to talk to one of the crew. lol.
In the VOD before Horang2's game, if it includes that part where the camera dude showed some girl in the audience that looked like Horang2 and did the split shot, if you see the little Asian peace sign coming from the side of the shot of the girl, that's me. haha.
I'm planning on hitting up some more MBC PL matches, and I want to try to make it to an OGN one...but it'll depend on the other shit to do.
Ok, I'll stop now. -___-
It's been fun so far...just the weather has been fucking horrible...but still fun.
I'll update later with photos. (:
 
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Let's hang out together in stadiums if you want. I could introduce you Kang Min after his broadcast and So Rim too.
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5/5
I wanna go to Korea too
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On June 20 2009 20:55 GoSu wrote:
Let's hang out together in stadiums if you want. I could introduce you Kang Min after his broadcast and So Rim too.
Lolol, gotta take this guy up on his offer PH.
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On June 20 2009 21:50 LaLuSh wrote:Show nested quote +On June 20 2009 20:55 GoSu wrote:
Let's hang out together in stadiums if you want. I could introduce you Kang Min after his broadcast and So Rim too. Lolol, gotta take this guy up on his offer PH.
Agreed, I hope I get a chance to meet Kang Min some day.
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HonestTea
5007 Posts
Enjoy your time, but remember, when you're in Korea, YOU'RE the FOB.
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On June 21 2009 00:14 HonestTea wrote:
Enjoy your time, but remember, when you're in Korea, YOU'RE the FOB.
Haha true that. Man I wanna go to Korea now
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Why I love Korea is because of the fact you can basically get to anywhere without a car....subway and bus were so convenient for me 
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How hot is it in Korea? I hear this summer is gonna be a record high in Korea.
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On June 21 2009 01:00 omfghi2u2 wrote:
How hot is it in Korea? I hear this summer is gonna be a record high in Korea.
lol summer is always hot in Korea. But it's not like scorching there.
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On June 21 2009 01:00 omfghi2u2 wrote:
How hot is it in Korea? I hear this summer is gonna be a record high in Korea.
Currently, it's raining. Now, everyday we will have a lot of rain. After the rain finish, the weather will be horrible... really really hot. The weather we got last week was nothing next to will come soon... TT. Air Con powa!
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Yes, it is humid as fuck here. Holy shit, I've never felt stickier in my life.
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You feel the same in New York, not as bad I think.
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hmm is it me or is the weather not that bad? I mean im from SoCal too but I guess i havent see the worst of it yet..
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Korea (South)17174 Posts
summers are indeed a bitch
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The humidity is because it's the monsoon season so you better get used to it because it doesn't let up. It's really cool in New York, I don't think it's gone above 70 yet and whenever it feels like it's about to get hot, it rains ^^
It's different for an MSL or OSL final, when I went, it was in a totally different place that was fucking far from where I lived, like 2 hours on the train and the place was huge and the lines to get in were so long.
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"
Everyone interacts with everyone on some level...you can stop and talk to little kids (in Korean) and they'll stop and reply. More importantly, you won't get stares from everyone immediately suspecting you of being a pedophile. I mean, it's not like magical; the point I'm trying to make is that the city being unicultural lends itself towards a more connected feeling or something...it's hard to describe. Again, though, this is from the perspective of a person observing.
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I feel ya, I feel the same when I'm back in China.
Glad you had fun!! (:
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I agree with you about the hate on humid weather. Chicago right now is just as horrible. I nearly passed out helping my girlfriend move today.
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On June 20 2009 20:55 GoSu wrote:
Let's hang out together in stadiums if you want. I could introduce you Kang Min after his broadcast and So Rim too.
haha I'll definitely take you up on that.
I don't know when I'm going to go to MBC next, though. I want to go today for Samsung vs Hite, but I have no idea if we're actually going to go.
On June 21 2009 00:14 HonestTea wrote:
Enjoy your time, but remember, when you're in Korea, YOU'RE the FOB.
Definitely...but it's different for Korea. The US is a country that thrives on diversity, and that diversity is both commonplace and a staple of the country and its communities. Korea is a country of Koreans...
On June 21 2009 01:02 GoSu wrote:Show nested quote +On June 21 2009 01:00 omfghi2u2 wrote:
How hot is it in Korea? I hear this summer is gonna be a record high in Korea.
Currently, it's raining. Now, everyday we will have a lot of rain. After the rain finish, the weather will be horrible... really really hot. The weather we got last week was nothing next to will come soon... TT. Air Con powa!
Fuck the rain, man...fuck the rain.
We went to that traditional Korean village place while it was fucking raining, I tried to take photos, and I fucking got owned. Water leaked into my lens and now the auto-focus motor won't fucking work anymore.
That was a $300 lens...T_T.
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NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
Roll on Winter - I hate Summer here because the commute to work is so stuffy. The Winters are awesome though - I don't think we'll get as much snow in Seoul as we used to when I lived further down South, but that's okay because I prefer not to be stuck inside when it's colder.
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EPT
