My friend, Ryan, whom I met freshman year at the University of Montana, came to visit with his girlfriend, Marita. I was their first stop on a trip to Southeast Asia. They arrived just after Christmas and left just after New Year's.
My friends in Dangjin had scattered plans. Some were going to Seoul, some were going to Busan for the sunrise. New Years is celebrated at dawn on New Year's Day in Korea. Everyone heads to the beach at dawn on New Year's Day and watches the sun rise. That was something I wanted to do, but Busan is on the very southern tip of South Korea and I just didn't have the funds to get there.
Ryan and Marita had been staying in Seoul and I met up with them during the day on New Year's Eve. We went to the Seoul World Cub Stadium and we couldn't actually see the stadium, we didn't have access to that, but there is a ginormous shopping center, with clothes, electronics, groceries, food court and a movie theater there. If anyone is interested, which we weren't. It's really no fun to shop when you weigh a good 50 pounds more than the country-people and you're a foot taller than them. Won't be doing a whole lot of clothes shopping in Korea.
We also went to Namdaemum Market - an overwhelmingly huge outdoor and indoor market selling everthing imaginable: food, art, clothes, jewelry, luggage, socks, seafood, kitchen stuff, everything.
After some food and "pre-funking" at Ryan and Marita's hotel, we made our way to Itaewon. Itaewon is an area of Seoul that has a huge shopping district and many foreigners also tend to congregate there. If you miss the Western world, you head to Itaewon. It's also a place where a lot of military men and women hang out, as a base is nearby. It also has an English bookstore and a foreign market where shoppers can find macaroni and cheese and other familiar foods.
On the subway on our way to Itaewon, a crazy old man would not stop talking to us. He looked Marita and me up and down and patted the seat next to him with a big, goofy grin on his face. I shook my head with a smile and said, "Aniyo (no), but thanks."
I swear to god he was practically licking his lips. He kept talking to us, none of us understood what the other was saying.
I was convinced he was drunk or on something. It was fairly early in the evening and he was well-dressed, so I have no idea what the deal was.
He looked at Ryan and kept saying something. I finally figured out that he was asking Ryan if he was married. Ryan said, "No." and then the guy pointed at Marita and me and essentially asked, "Which one is yours?" Ryan put an arm on both Marita's and my shoulders and said, "Both."
The Korean guy let out a raucous laugh and yelled, "Lucky!" Ryan just started laughing.
Thank god Itaewon wasn't a far ride on the subway.
We finally get there and decide to start bar-hopping. My friend, Teddy, was already at a party in Itaewon and we were supposed to meet up with him and his friends later.
We get to the first bar and I don't see a single Korean face in sight, except the bartenders and the women hanging all over the military men in the corner.
One white chick wearing a short, very low-cut silver sequined dress was playing pool with a big group of men with big, dopey grins on their faces. Every time the girl bent over to play pool, the bar got a show. All the guys had perma-grins on their faces and every time I caught their eyes, they had this wide-eyed, happy smirk on their faces. Geez, boys. Never seen cleavage before?
A chick at the table next to us decided she wasn't going to wear underwear despite how short her skirt was. We all had that unfortunate discovery. Didn't anyone learn anything from Britney?!
We decided we had enough of a show there and moved on to the next bar. The next bar was much more relaxed and we stayed there until midnight. I'd heard somewhere that at midnight there would be a big fireworks show and, as per Korean tradition, a bell would toll 33 times to ring in the New Year. We went out on the street with the rest of the revelers and heard no bell and saw someone's amateur fireworks show. I found out later that the bell was rung 33 times, just not in our vicinity, but I never did find out about the fireworks.
Afterward, we went to an Irish pub, the Wolfhound, where I had a very hungover breakfast on my birthday. The Wolfhound was absolutely packed. We stayed there just long enough for everyone to pee and for some scumbag to grab my crotch as we were trying to leave. I smacked the P.O.S. I would have liked to have hit him harder, but there's only so much reach one can get in a sardine-crammed bar.
After being fondled by a pathetic Western loser, Ryan and Marita and I went to a Hof to get some air and food. A Hof is a magical place that I frequent often since landing in Korea. Hofs are a bar/restaurant. It's a sit-down-at-a-table establishment that's primary focus is to serve giant pitchers of beer and appetizers. Hofs bring me great happiness.
The three of us went to a Hof nearby the Wolfhound, had a pitcher of beer and some fries. By then, Teddy had called and said he would meet us at the second bar we went to that evening.
The three of us made our way back to the bar, I can't remember what it's called. Teddy & Co. weren't there yet. But Marita and I decided to play darts, but the dart boards were already taken. So we asked the military boys who were playing if we could play with them. These guys had brought their own darts, so we really had no chance. So while Ryan kept the table and our coats company, Marita and I got our butts kicked by a couple of the U.S. Armed Forces' finest. But we didn't completely embarrass ourselves thanks to a generous and completely unbiased scorekeeper (had no idea who he was, but he was a friend of the military boys who was all about giving us extra points).
Eventually Teddy and his friends showed up and we all moved on to a different bar. The details get a little fuzzy after this point. I do know that I was adament about Marita and Ryan drinking soju. I hate soju, but it's a quintessential Korea experience and I had to make sure Ryan and Marita did not get on the plane without having had at least one shot of soju. Unfortunately, I made them drink a bottle of soju between the three of us.
I know I've said this before, but I absolutely hate soju. It's made from sweet potatoes and it's about 2,000 WON a bottle (about $1.70). It's absolutely F-O-U-L. It gets you crazy messed up, crazy fast and the hangover is out of this world. Yet, it always sounds like such a great idea at the time. I wonder how many times I'm going to say that this year?
Nonetheless, I made Marita and Ryan take shots of soju. Marita took them like a champ (gotta love those Norwegians) and Ryan whined a little bit, but I reigned supreme.
By the time we stumbled out of the bar it was about 5 a.m. Teddy & Co. headed home and Ryan, Marita and I hailed a cab. It took awhile for a cab to actually stop for us. And then the guy wanted (and succeeded) to charge us 30,000 WON for a 5 minute cab ride. I drunkenly yelled at the cabbie saying he was charging way too much for the ride, but he ended up getting the 30,000 WON anyway. He probably deserved it for dealing with assholes all night.
Ryan later put it into perspective; the cabbie was in Itaewon at 5 a.m. on New Year's morning where he most likely had been dealing with drunken assholes and military-persons (no offense to military-persons) all night. Some of said drunken assholes had probably walked out on paying their cab fare and the cabbie was probably plenty fed up with Waygooks and Meegooks. We were lucky just to get a cab. A few passed us by before this guy actually stopped for us. But still, 30,000 WON for a 5-minute ride?!!
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