Soccer and Seoul: ECUADOR VS. KOREA

This weekend I went to Seoul with some friends. We booked rooms in the Seoul Motel, a classy establishment in the foreign-frequented Itaewon district. In Itaewon you can find a wide selection of international restaurants and stores, clothing in sizes larger than a 2 (advertised as "big size") and you can hear English - a lot.

When I walk around in Korea I can tune out people's conversations. The small amount that I understand is not sufficient to eavesdrop. A foriegner here can breeze down a street while chalking up all Korean speech to white noise. But not in Itaweon. A group of women in front of us were dicussing why their group of friends did the right thing by not rushing into marriage like Sue. A couple behind us was talking about a restuarant. A Nigerian woman was asking Delaine who braids her hair, and offering a card for her salon. This actually felt a little overwhelming after being so used to simply ignoring the conversations happening around me.

We went to eat some Greek food, then headed to a bar on the aptly named "Hooker Hill". As we walked up the hill, we saw scantily clad women sitting on stools, the doors of various venues left open just enough to give people a peek of what they could pay for. At the top of the hill, we arrived at our destination, a country western bar that was full of real American cowboys. After a couple vodka-cranberries, I decided to ask one of the cowboys to two-step. He had a good sense of rythym, and soon enough I was two-stepping around the center of the room as my friend filmed my first western dance experience. Surprisingly, the same cowboy had followed my guy friend into the bathoom and asked him, "What's the deal with your lady friends?" and commented that I was a "mighty fine lady."

The next stop was Caliente, a Latino-frequented latin club (as opposed to a Korean salsero venue). We danced until they kicked us out and the lights went on. Then we went to Hongdae and hit up a place called Gorilla before crashing into bed in Itaewon.

On Sunday we went to Myungdong for some shopping. A youth-culture haven, this shopping district has a ton of international stores ilke Zara and Forever 21, Korean beauty product stores with hawkers out front who drag you in by the arm and give you a basket with free samples in exchange for browsing, as well as the typical Korean street vendors selling everything from belts to shoes to faux acid washed denim leggings to couple cell phone charms and earrings.

But the real reason for going up to Seoul this weekend was to see the World Cup warm up friendly between Ecuador and Korea. I was horrified to discover that I had forgotten to pack my Ecuadorian flag, but luckily I remembered my 2006 jersey and collection of red blue and yellow accessories. As huge crowds of people spilled out of the subway at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, I saw a Korean guy wearing the same jersey as me. Ecuador! I yelled to him... and then he bowed at me. We were wondering if he just randomly likes Ecuador. There are lots of Ecuadorian Koreans, but I still wouldn't have expected someone from Ecuador to bow so automatically - however I bow all the time in Korean contexts so I shouldn't judge! But everyone else we saw was wearing red and white, the Korean colours.

Korean fans are crazy! Their energy was infectuous. The crowd had a band with drums that led cheers. They shot flares in the air, they raised a flag up AND down over themselves. And their cries of "dae han min guk" (Korea's official name) almost never let up for the entire game. When we arrived at our awesome front and center seats, there were large pieces of red or white cardstock, and a Park Ji Sung mask to wear on the back of your head.

But for the size of our small group, we did a pretty good job of cheering. We attracted the attention of a small group that started yelling Ecuador back at us. And that was how I met two Ecuadorian guys from Toronto who are teaching English in Seoul. There were also a few pockets of Ecuadorian fans on the other side of the stadium, visible with their yellow jerseys and balloons, and one lone flag.

The Mind

I was having dinner with my friend Sunny on Monday when she brought up the concept of the mind. "Ask any Korean person where the mind is, and they will point here," she said, placing her hand on her heart. "If you ask any western person, they always point to their head." I decided to test this theory last night over dinner at an Italian place with Alexander (Chan Hui). When I asked him where the mind is, he gestured to his chest.

Sunny is a cultural interpreter. She is Korean, but also lived in California, and has many friends in the international community here in Daegu. She knows Korean and North American culture intimately and is fully bilingual. These cultural interpreters can provide incredible insights into a culture. Sometimes you need to ask someone to explain something to you. Why does my friend think I want to meet up with him when I say, "I am bored"? How much money should I bring as a wedding gift? Why are some people so shy and embarassed to talk to foreigners? Is it just me, or are Korean gender roles strikingly similar to Latin American ones? Through friends like her, I have learned a lot about Korea, and become much more in tune with and sensitive to cultural differences. Having friends like Sunny has allowed me to function more smoothly in Korean society.