Wonju Tattoo: Photos and Videos

As promised in a previous entry we said we would give you some photos and videos of the Wonju Tattoo Festival.

The local Korean Marching Band

Ladies from New Zealand dancing while the beautiful sound of bagpipes filled the stadium

A packed stadium

The presenter of the show



Now for the videos, all the music you hear is from the people marching so keep in mind they are rocking their instruments while also making awesome formations....It takes incredible coordination. The sound on these videos isn't ideal but it should give you a taste of what we saw:

The local Korean band starts off the show



The Philippines were by far the stars of the show:

The Mexicans were also good fun!

Unfortunately my battery ran out so I wasn't able to record the USA and the Korean Army which were phenomenal. All in all the Wonju Tattoo Festival is just good old fun and I really hope that they decide to keep to keep the festival going because it would be a pity to loose such a wholesome and fun festival!

Post by Claudia



Where we watch(ed) the Korea games

So, we've already done an entry on watching soccer games in a sports bar in Wonju and also about going to city hall in Seoul and watching a game amongst tens of thousands of other people(here).

Now I want to show you where we watched some of the other Korea games here in Wonju. There is a sports arena, that belongs to the military's marching band, called Wonju Tattoo, and it has a huge arena, a baseball field, a soccer pitch, a running track and several other amenities. The arena is often used for big events such a public holiday celebrations (when they are called for) and also World Cup soccer game screenings.

What they do, is build a relatively small stage area, bring in a huge crane, and let the crane hold up a very large screen. The screen is rested on and secured to the stage, and that's it. Now you're ready to project your soccer game onto the screen. The awesome thing is that this whole process only takes them about an hour to set up and an hour to break down.

The crowd will usually sit/stand on what is the running track and the basketball courts. There is enough space for at least about 5000 people, although it seems there arent that many die hard soccer fans in Wonju. If it does rain, as it so unfortunately did during our loss to Uruguay, people tend to huddle into the stands of the adjacent arena. The only problem is that from this angle you're watching a reverse projection of the game, which isn't really an issue, as it beats standing in the rain!

Pity our World Cup campaign is over. Koreans really are one of the most hardcore soccer fan nations (when it comes to the national squad), and it was really an amazing experience to be a part of all the festivities and cheering and chanting; and Korea has no shortage of chants which everyone from the youngest to the oldest sing along to!

Good Bye Korea, it has been awesome!

Post by Oliver

Shoe Shopping

Ok, so for those of you who have been following us and/or have read previous posts, you might remember that we started exercising at the Wonju Tattoo sports grounds. We started playing Basketball and Badminton, and now we have started running as well! For anyone who knows us, this might seem a bit out of place, but its true.

Unfortunately for me, both the pairs of shoes that I brought with have the cushioning of a kimchi pot, and the need arose for me to get proper sports or running shoes. Also, with the first paycheck having just been cashed I figured why not, let me buy some shoes...

Not as easily done as it is said. In SA I could just pop down to the local Sportsman's Warehouse or Totalsports and buy a UK size 12 shoe. Let me just say, Koreans are a lot smaller than I am...

We made the mission to one of the bigger shopping outlets in Wonju, where there is along row of shoe store after shoe store after shoe store, everything from Nike to Adidas to New Balance to some local brands. We walked into the first store, picked a shoe and asked for it in my size...no.

Next store: Walk in, pick a shoe, ask for it in my size...no.

Next store: Walk in, pick a shoe, ask for it in my size...no. Ok. Ask for another shoe in my size...no.

Next store: Walk in, pick a shoe, ask for it in my size...no. Ok. Ask for another shoe in my size...no. Ok. Ask for ANY shoe in my size...no.

This is what it looked like for about an hour, until we found one shoe in the Adidas store that was half a size too small for me. Oh well, it's the best I was gonna get.

So I parted with my 79 000 Won and got my new pair of 1/2 size too small Adidas running shoes.

Sorted.

And because these shoes are so awesome, being the only pair in my size in the world (well, all the stores we went to, at least) I figured I would show you the awesomeness by showing you this picture of my shoe floating up in the clouds. It really did float...

Post by Oliver