Seoul + Suwon = One SUPER Seollal

This blog is a little late...about a week late to be exact. Things have been pretty crazy lately, but I'll save that for another day. For now, I'm going to give you "The best of Seollal".

We had a GREAT Lunar New Year! Last week we only had to work two school days, and then we were off for the rest of the week as all of Asia celebrated the Lunar New Year. Honestly, in my opinion, this holiday needs to be a world holiday. It never ceases to amaze me just HOW MANY holidays Korea has...not that I'm complaining!

Wednesday morning of our vacation, Kristin and I got up, walked to the subway and took the subway to the KTX station where we met up with Katlyn, Trina, and Lauren (a girl from Katlyn's school). We all headed up to Seoul and made our way through crazy subway traffic to our hostel in Hongdae, the big university district in Seoul. We had just enough time to check in, drop off our bags, sit down for a few minutes before we were up and back on the subway and off to the IBK Jump Theatre to see "Jump". Jump is a Martial Arts comedy show. I was a little worried, because it was my idea to see it, and I was hoping it wouldn't be lame. I seriously was NOT disappointed, and would recommend it to anyone looking for some fun in Seoul! Here's a little synopsis:

Set in an average Korean home, JUMP is centered around a typical, but dramatically agile, Korean family – from the authoritarian grandfather, drunken uncle and Tae Kwon Do-chopping mother to the awkward girlfriend’s suitor.

Each member is a martial arts expert, possessing championship level Tae Kwon Do, Tae Kyun and gymnastic skills. They enjoy nothing more than challenging each other to martial arts showdowns, displaying their awe-inspiring expertise.

The plot thickens when two burglars break into the family home in the middle of the night – one a sleek, mean villain, the other a plump, bumbling idiot – complete with rather scary hair! When the family discovers the intruders, a mighty battle ensues. What follows is an incredible display of acrobatic and martial arts skills, with a healthy dose of slapstick humour…

In the middle of the performance, the drunken Uncle came into the middle of the audience and came right back to our row of Waguk girls. He pointed straight at Katlyn, ran back up to the stage and exclaimed "I LOVE HER!!". Katlyn was then pulled up on stage and had to fight the mother! Kristin and I were DYING with laughter. It was hilarious! Afterwards, we made Katlyn go get her book signed by the cast and I took this lovely picture of her and her new Korean love.

After the performance we headed to Itaewon to the "Rocky Mountain Tavern", a Canadian restaurant and bar! We pigged out on poutine, burgers and all sorts of other delicious foods from home! This restaurant also plays all the NHL hockey games! I was in heaven, I haven't watched a hockey game in a while, so it was just awesome to be able to sit and eat and talk and watch hockey. A great way to end a great night. We called it an early night so that we would be all ready to go for the next day.

Thursday we made our way to "Korea Folk Village". I was expecting a small little place, but this place was massive! It was kind of like a pioneer village, but with all Korean houses...obviously. There were a ton of people there, and special games and activities for Seollal. It was awesome, and I would definitely want to go back when the weather starts warming up! That night we headed back to Daejeon and met up with some of my co-workers. Andy had been convinced that it was "New Years Eve", and was disappointed to find out that he had actually missed it and it was in fact New Years day. But it was a great night nevertheless.

Friday we took it easy, had a relaxing day in, watching movies, etc. Then on Saturday morning I headed to Cheong Ju to spend the day with Katlyn and Heather. We did a bit of shopping, and then spent the afternoon relaxing in "Hi, Hello" Cafe. This cafe is AWESOME. It is amazingly decorated, and has a bunch of different lofts full of pillows where you can just chill, hang out, drink coffee, and read! All things which I LOVE to do. So it was definitely a nice afternoon. We headed to Bon Bon's for dinner and then out to Pearl Jam to meet up with some of Katlyn's co-workers.

And that was pretty much my holiday! I stuck around Cheong Ju Sunday afternoon and had dinner with Robs and then made my way back to Daejeon.

Only 4 more days until Kim arrives! I can't wait! It's going to be a BLAST having her here!