Seoul Fashion Week 2012 & Busan Toy Museum

Seoul Fashion Week 2012
Busan Toy Museum

Last week I was lucky enough to spend a few hours on Thursday at the Seoul Fashion Week 2012 which was held at the War Memorial Museum in Seoul.

The event went on for a week where the public could witness the fall and winter designs of many designers. There were several shows a day and you could purchase tickets for each individual show which lasted for around 15 to 20 minutes each.

I managed to stick around for 2 shows and took some pictures of the latest fashion styles.

Lets have a look at what was on display:













On Saturday we traveled to Busan for a rather wet day unfortunately :( The plan was to see the fireworks show but due to the rain it was delayed until Sunday... oh well I guess I will see it some other time.

However I did visit Haeundae beach and the Busan Toy Museum Address for the museum: (Songjeong-dong 312-10, Haeundae-gu, Busan, Busan 612-040)

The museum consists of about 5 or 6 floors and has a cafe at the top where you can sit and look out at the ocean. There are various levels starting with movie or tv figures moving up to the next level of planes and automobiles and carrying on up to soft toys and miniature collectibles of all sorts. Price of admission is a little expensive being around 8,000 won for an adult and about 6,000 won for a child.

Well here are some pictures and the slideshow:



















So as I mentioned before we visited the beach. Usually Haeundae beach is crowded in the summer but now it is open and free to all people and seagulls. Here are a couple of pics from the beach:









Well that all for this week. Join me again next week for another adventure! ^^ Until then have a great week! ^^

Osan Airshow 2012 and the Black Eagles

Osan Airshow October 20 and 21 2012
The Black Eagles

So as promised I went down to Osan on Saturday to see the airshow at the Osan American Airforce Base.

The long trip began on the subway and continued on the shuttle bus and then I had to line up for a while to get in. Being a foreigner in Korea I was taken away and had some documents filled out and pictures taken before I could enter the airforce base.

While I was waiting in line some A-10's and F16's took off from the base and flew overhead. It was all excitement from the very beginning. ^^

Getting into the event the crowd was met with static displays of aircraft including a C-130, F15, F16, F4, F5, and many others including the F22!

Moving further down the base there were helicopters on display and an A-10. The event had many eating stands offering all types of BBQ food made by the staff and families of the airforce. I had a taco and it was strange to taste a foreign style BBQ flavour which I have not had for over 2 years now. ^^

The airshow got off to a start around 11:30 with the U2 Take off and then continued there after every 15 minutes with a new air display. here is the time table so you get the idea:

0900:    Gates Open
1100:    Opening Remarks
1105:    National Anthem/Jumpers
1132:    U-2 Takeoff
1140:    F-16 Flyby
1143:    A-10 Flyby
1145:    U-2 Flyby
1150:    Ground Performance (KAPA Drummers/KAPA Dancers)
1215:    C-17 Demonstration
1230:    KT-1 Demonstration
1245:    T-50 Demonstration
1300:    F-15K Demonstration
1315:    F-16 Demonstration
1330:    Ground Performance (Military Working Dog Demo)
1400:    Black Eagle Demonstration
1450:    CSAR Demonstration
1530:    Ground Performance (8th Army Band/ AFOC Honor Guard + Band) 

I took around 2,000 photos for the day and discovered that I badly needed to get my image sensor cleaned as you can see from the spots on my video footage :( However I got that done this week at a Canon store and it cost me 10,000 won so I was quite happy. ^^

This airshow is held once a year so if you get the chance definitely go because you wont be able to see many of these aircraft anywhere else in the world. ^^

Anyway lets check out some pictures and video footage of the show:








































Ok well that it for another week. Be sure to check out Robot World at KINTEX this week it starts Thursday and finishes Sunday (28th October).

Until next time... have a great week! I will be bringing you more exciting things next week! ^^

Cheongdo Bullfighting and Wine Tunnel

This weekend we took a trip to Cheongdo to watch some bullfighting and have a look at the wine tunnel.

Cheongdo is close to Daegu and you can take a train from Seoul to Cheongdo which will take about 4 hours or if you are short on time and have some money to spare you can get the KTX to Daegu and transfer to the train to Cheongdo and save an hour or so travel time.

There is a bullfighting festival held annually but bullfighting carries on through most of the year every weekend (I am not sure about the winter months though). Here is a link to this years festival site (the festival has finished but the link will give you some advice on how to travel there):

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_2_1.jsp?cid=700911

http://www.xn--hq1bj5xh5aw0hv6i.kr/  (Korean Site)

The bullfighting was a little different to what I expected. I thought the bulls would charge out at each other and fight to the death ^^ but it is more like bull wrestling. The bulls have to be guided into position to begin fighting and on some occasions one bull refuses to fight and the match is fore feted.

You can also bet on the winner and we put down some bets and won 100% but the odds are quite small for example 1.3 or a little more so for 1,000 won bet if you win you would receive 1,300 won so about 30 cents for every dollar bet.

Here is a full fight:



And some action pictures:

















After a few matches here we went to the wine tunnel which is about a 10 minute drive from the bullfighting stadium.

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=1144981

The tunnel must run for a kilometer or so and has an area where you can sit and enjoy the wine with some cheese. The wine tastes very fruity and strong with several changes in flavor as it crosses you pallet.

Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment:

















Well that's all for this week. Next week is the big airshow at Osan. I am definitely going so see you there! ^^
http://www.osan.af.mil/library/airpowerday2012.asp

Have a great week and see you next time. ^^

2012 G Global Aviation in Ansan

2012 G Global Aviation in Ansan
6th of October 2012

This was my second year at the Ansan Airshow. This year the show had developed a lot from last year in terms of the stalls selling food and merchandise as well as the convenience store CU being there in several locations offering the convenience of refreshments.

The show remained fairly similar to last year. What confused me the most however was that the most exciting aircraft and displays were held during the weekdays of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and as soon as the weekend started those planes disappeared. Yes I am talking about the Black Eagles flying team, the F-16, U2 and A-10 were all there during the week but were disappointingly absent from the weekend show. Frustrating, but not to worry if you want to see those planes and more be sure not to miss the Osan airshow on the 20th and 21st of October at the Osan Airforce Base. I will be definitely going, perhaps both days if I am lucky. ^^ Anyway you are probably wondering about it so I will point you in the right direction with this link. Keep in mind its a US Base so you probably wont be allowed to take in large bags or refreshments and you will need you Korean ID card or if you are a foreigner you need your passport. If you have a Alien Card I would still bring my passport along just to be safe.

http://www.osan.af.mil/

Well here are some pictures and videos of the Ansan Airshow:





























Well that's all for this week. Don't forget to visit the Korea Electronics Show at Kintex during this week if you get the chance (from 9th Tuesday to 12th Friday). I will hope to get out there later this week. ^^

I hope to bring you something exciting and unique this weekend so stay tuned and I will see you again next time. ^^

Have a fantastic week! ^^

Gangnam Style & 12th La Festa Degli Angeli Regular Concert

Gangnam Style
12 La Festa Degli Angeli Regular Concert 8th September 2012

This week I am reaching into the archives to bring you something a little different as it is Chuseok and I am having a good break before the busy month of blogging ahead!

Well it seems that I cannot ignore PSY Gungnam Style anymore as it seems to have taken the world by storm. I don't quite understand it myself but people outside of Korea have taken to this song like a duck to water so to speak. If you have no idea what I am talking about check out the video clip below:

At 344,000,000 views as I post this... I don't think I have ever seen anything like this on youtube before...



So as I spend almost everyday working in Gangnam I made a couple of quick video's to show you what its like there. The first one is a little shaky but the night version is much better ^^





There is also another famous street close to Gangnam called Garosugil Street. It is famous for its fashion, coffee shops and that you will generally only see young fashionable people on that street. So if you get a chance get down there and see all the beautiful people.

Sinsa Station Exit 8 walk up the road and take the first big street on your left (you should see an S-Oil Service Station to your right on the opposite side of the road. ^^



12 La Festa Degli Angeli Regular Concert 8th September 2012

My lovely friend invited me to this event as she was one of the pianists.  (정원호)

This was a wonderful performance put on at the university so I will share with you a few videos if Gangnam Style is not your thing ^^




































Well I hope you enjoyed that ^^ I guess it will take a while to load this page with all those video links... : /

Well this month is going to be a special time for you if you like air shows! There are two on this month and the first is at Ansan this weekend! It will cost 4,000 won to get in and about 6,000 for a taxi from the subway station or you can get the bus:

http://www.korea4expats.com/events-in-korea-G-Global-Aviation-in-Ansan-3-7-Oct-2012-Ansan-Gyeonggi-do-6431.html

I will be there perhaps just one day or maybe two if I feel excited about it. I will keep you posted on the Osan air show later this month.^^

Until then have a fantastic week (short week if you are in Korea).^^ See you next time!