Lotte World: "The Happiest Place"...in Korea

Lotte World Theme Park (Outdoors Area)

As an avid traveler, I'm always intrigued by articles that describe the best beaches to visit, the ever categorized seven wonders of the world, or the most popular or religious or historical places, etc. As an American and ethnocentric or americentric (just kidding) I figured that the most visited country would be the United States. However, according to the World Tourism Organization, the most visited countries are in order France, Spain, United States, China, and Italy. Surprisingly, the most popular places are mostly child or entertainment centered such as theme parks namely the various Disney World's that dot the globe.

According to an Indian blog I ran into, I was surprised to find out South Korea boasts 2 places that are part of "The 50 Most Visited Places in the World"; Everland (16) --tied with Paris' Louvre Museum! and Lotte World (22) --South Korea's most visited attraction and the world's largest indoor theme park.

http://www.itvnews.tv/Blog/Blog/the-50-most-visited-places.html

Intrigued by this news and the constant reminder from my students of how wonderful these places are, I decided to join Dave and his Korean friends Jae Won & Yuri to venture into the wonder and chaos of Lotte World.

Lotte World Theme Park (Indoors Area)

On a Friday night, Dave received numerous phone calls and texts from Jae Won constantly reminding us that we were going to meet at 9am in Jamsil Station (45 minutes away from Nowon) where Lotte World is located. These constant reminders were met with disappointment since Hagwon teachers are night creatures often waking up after noon. He wanted us to get there early because 9am is when Lotte World opens and Saturday happens to be the busiest day leaving customers waiting in line for 30 min to an hour just to enter. We ended up meeting Jae Won and Yuri around noon. Luckily, we only had to wait about 30 minutes to get entry passes. We even got a foreigner discount. Maybe Korea is picking up on the idea that foreigners are increasingly everywhere and that we should all enjoy Korea's highlights together as opposed to tucking us away in Itaewon (foreigner district).

Dave had been to Lotte World before and wasn't as shocked as I was upon entering what looked like the Magic Castle of Disney World. To get from the ticketing gate, we had to walk through what looked like a mall and ice rink. This was just the beginning. Inside the actual theme park was first an indoor replica of Indiana Jones meets Egypt and Alice in Wonderland. There were caverns, gardens, and a haunted house. Above were hot air balloons circulating the indoor arena of roller coasters, stuffed animal tent challenges, and Dippin' Dots stands a plenty. From inside to outside, you could ride the tram or go through the walkway that leads to the "magic castle". As we walked outside, the park greeted us with an overwhelming scene of families and couples taking pictures of themselves and insane queues at each ride.

According to my students and friends, I had to ride the Gyro Swing. It is a ride that looks like a disc with seats all around it. It moved in a circle and side to side bringing you to the top of its swing and also to the bottom facing any direction at anytime. This was the 2nd most popular ride in Lotte World after The Atlantis, an indoor and outdoor roller coaster. We met up with Jae Won and Yuri who had been waiting at the Gyro Swing for over 45 minutes and were still 45 minutes from actually riding. At each ride were 2 lines; the regular hour and a half line or the speedy line where you pick up a ticket that instructed you to come back in between a specific 2 hour frame to get back into the speedy line. We joined Jae Won and Yuri cutting many other people who had been there for over 45 minutes. One great thing about being a foreigner is that you can pull the foreigner card and no one can get mad at you, but I'm sure cutting in line translates very well. Unfortunately, we didn't get to ride the Atlantis because they stopped the speedy line when we were 20 people away from it. We rode two other rides whose queues were 30-45 minutes. The wave ride was a kiddy ride (a bar of people going up and down pretty slowly to simulate a wave) that actually broke down while we were in mid air. The last ride I rode was the Gyro Drop, a needle that dropped you from the top, but shot you back up rubber band style and dropped you again over and over till you slowed down to a stop. These dropping rides are my favorite because I love the feeling of surprise I get from not knowing when the ride is going to drop me.

After these 3 rides, we didn't ride anything else. Exhausted from waiting in line and filling up on sausages, fries, and smoothies, I was ready to go inside and just look around the indoor park. Surprisingly, the longest wait we had was for the tram which looked empty every time I looked up from waiting in line and saw it go by. In total, we stayed at the park from 11am to 6pm and rode 4 rides. Although it was a good day to hang out with our Korean friends Jae Won and Yuri and finally experience what my students anticipate during their vacations, once was enough. Maybe the next time I go, I'll have to go on a school day in the Winter when I know the lines won't be over an hour wait.

Being Silly in Line Wearing Devil Ears

Animal Ears are Very Popular to Wear Around the Park
Yuri, Me, & Dave

Couple Tees?

Dave & I & Yuri & Jae Won

Waiting in Line Thirsty & Too Cool in Shades

Me, Yuri, & Jae Won & Dave & Jae Won

Waiting for Entry Passes & Entrance to Lotte World Outside

Waiting Over an Hour for Gyro Swing & Lunch

So Korean: Sporting the Devil Ears

Dave & I

Boryeong Mud Festival

Official Event Flyer for Annual Boryeong Mud Festival

I arrived about one year ago. Unfortunately, the week before I arrived, the annual Boryeong Mud Festival was in full swing and many of my new co-workers spoke only about their wild and crazy experience at the mudslinging festival. I vowed that this time next year I would be there and so it was...

There are two weekends dedicated to this festival. My friends and I went the 2nd weekend. I was a bit sad because I wasn't the one who planned it. I thought all of the hype would be dedicated to the first weekend and that the second weekend would be the bare leftovers. However, torrential rains ruined the first weekend, although I'm sure many people still had a ridiculous time. Luckily, the second weekend experienced very little rain during Saturday and was gorgeous on Sunday.

Thanks to Mike Santos, who organized everything from bus pick-up to hotel accomodations, we only had to transfer money and were on our way. We were picked up by a charter bus in Itaewon (foreigner district in Seoul). Looking around the bus, I saw versions of me and my friends. We were all foreigners searching for the "best of" and taking advantage of what Korea was offering at the moment; mud, beach, and booze.

Three hours later around 2pm, we arrived in Boryeong, the city host of the mud festival located at Daecheon Beach. Thankfully, our hotel--really love motel (hourly/daily rooms available for you can guess what). There are no beds, but there are "yo's"--traditional Korean mattress. As any packed foreigner directed event, we ran into some complications. For instance, our room was already filled with 5 other foreigners. With Julie's firm Korean, the hotel manager gave us a better and bigger room. Unknowingly, we were in the same hotel as my other training friends. The foreigner community is surprisingly really small. At major foreigner events or foreigner concentrated areas (Hongdae, Gangnam, or Itaewon), you are bound to run into someone you know.

Ready to get the day started, we began with a meal of mandu and kimbap. Then, we hurried to the main area filled with blow up slides, pits, cages, and wash-off showers. We ran into yet another friend of mine; Jessie & SLP (her academy) friends. Samantha, who had rode the bus with us motioned us over asking if we've tried anything. "Let me show you the way." We pushed us into a "mud prison" where workers threw buckets of mud at us. Best initiation I ever had! Worried for my contacts, I rushed over to the wash-off showers. Next, we went down to the beach where there were mud painting set-ups. Then, we went for the mud pits. Somehow, by the end of the day, with beers & long islands in tote, we lost our friends! Dave Fallarme, Dave Beliveau, and I went to the colored paint tent and were covered with colored mud; orange, blue, and green respectively. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures because Julie and Mike had the camera. Although we lost our original group, I found more of the SLP crowd who found the culprit of the weekend, long island iced teas in a bag for only 3000 won! One bag and I was done. From various friends retelling the story, I apparently tried to attack my friend Sam for a hug, fell in the bath tub, and then passed out for 4 hours. When I woke up, I couldn't drink anymore and just wanted fried food and pizza.

For the rest of the night, it rained heavily. The rain didn't get us down because we still managed to get to the noraebang (karaoke room). However, the next day was absolutely gorgeous. It was really hot and sunny. We decided to stay clean on Sunday and just enjoy the beach. We all got bratwursts that Dave and Dave had apparently eaten while I was blacked-out. We ran into all the friends we had seen the day before laughing about yesterday's antics. By 3pm, we were back on the bus to Seoul. Boryeong Mud Festival--Check!

Boryeong City & Daecheon Beach



Group Muddy Shots: Awesome & Sexy Poses
Dave, Julie, Michael, Me & Dave

Waiting in Line for the Mud Pit & Dave to Get Dunked

Super Muddy & Lovin' It!

The Dave's & Me

Passed Out & the Orange Mud Man

Ajuma Aerobics

Nate Watching Ajuma Aerobics While I (purple tee) Try to Keep Up

Living in Korea as a young foreigner leaves very little room for thinking about the important things in life-mainly keeping healthy. Because of Korea's 24/7 work ethic, the city of Seoul never sleeps leaving us poor English teachers spending our money on soju, clubs, and dinners out. Like my life back in the States, my work-out routine is cyclical like the seasons. I tend to work out a lot in the Winter because I am usually a member of a gym and there is nothing better to do. I continue working out in the Spring hoping for a decent bikini body, yet giving up anyhow because there is just no way to lose all the weight from Winter hibernation. Nevertheless, the Summer keeps me active and in decent shape for the Fall where I tend to jog more and more outside as it gets cooler. One of my favorite things to do is jog outside. However, because Seoul's air is so polluted, it is very difficult to jog on the path next to the river, which runs parallel to the highway. The city of Seoul cares a lot about the health and well-being of its citizens. They were clever enough to not only create a running/biking path along the river, but also place exercise machines every 500 meters or at least under every underpass. Furthermore, the trail is dotted with food vendors cooking up menus of noodles, rice, and other quick eats.


On one of my jogs, I noticed a large group of women exercising led by an instructor. They were actually doing choreographed routines to music. The women's ages ranged from child to gray-haired senior citizens with the average woman being between 40-50 (which is only a guess since Korean women are obsessed with skin products and plastic surgery coupled with healthy diets). Back home, my mother would go to aerobics classes using a step to pretty fast music. This Korean outdoor aerobics class was much faster. They were dancing to a very fast pace and would end each dance with a pose striking the right hand in the air and placing the left hand holding the hip much like you would see in a girl group pop music video. Intrigued, I decided to join in. Still unable to communicate past ordering food or giving directions in a taxi, I was nervous to join alone. I recruited a girl friend from work (Hannah) and her guy friend (Nate) to join me.

When we arrived at 8pm, the class had already started. The class was stretching to slow pop music while counting 1~10 in Hangul out-loud. We situated ourselves at the back hoping to be unseen and of course to avoid embarrassment. We were non-Koreans with very little rhythm desperately trying to keep up with the quick beats and complicated steps. The class lasted an hour covering 8-10 dances with 1 instructional practice dance. Nate gave up after the 5th song. First of all, he had no idea that he was being dragged to a female dominated exercise class. He was wearing a button-down shirt and khakis that he had worn teaching that day. Furthermore, flip-flops are not friendly to fast-paced aerobic dance classes. By the end of our class, my arms were so tired and my back was drenched from the humid July night. I couldn't believe that I could hardly keep up to women who were much older, had had children, or had worked a full day that day. I am in awe of powerful women like this. Although they kept staring at us, I'm sure they were glad to see not only foreigners joining their class, but young people.


Walking away from the scattering mass of women going home, I hear "Is this your first time?" Shocked to hear such clear English, I turned around to find a young Korean girl. Her name is Kim Hye In (김헤 인). I found out that she is a year younger than me. She had just graduated from Ewha Women's University in Seoul and was completing her 6 month internship at Burson-Marstellar, an international prestigious public relations firm. We hit it off. My own internships in NYC were connected with BM and of course we were both communications professionals. We exchanged cell numbers and promised to meet again later that week at aerobics class.

Despite my embarrassment and awkwardness, this experience was another step toward integration in my new home: Korea. I hope that Hye In and I continue to meet and that more of my friends will join me in "ajuma aerobics." I know this experience only leads me to try more new things during my stay in Korea. Next awkward yet hopeful attempt: interview the aerobics instructor for an article!

This is an Outrage!

Vogue Magazine

Imported To Korea

One of the major joys of my life is lounging with a cool drink and reading either fashion magazines or celebrity gossip magazines. Living in a new place, one tends to acclamate as much as possible to one's surroundings. Korea has provided me a steady job, a comfortable apartment, delicious food, and plenty of entertainment (bars, casino, theme parks, cultural sites). Seoul is a lot like New York City with its fast-paced cosmopolitan nature, so with all the hustle and bustle I tend to want to slow down and relax. On a trip to Kyobo Bookstore (equivalent to Barnes & Noble), I find a very large section of international magazines in Korean. Elle, Glamour, Vogue, Cosmopolitan all priced under 10,000 won. After living here for more than 10 months, I unfortunately still cannot speak Korean. Viewing pictures is nice, but I also like to read for content. I search a different section of the bookstore to find only 1 half shelf of international magazines in English. Success!



I scan the magazine for the price...Ouch! 89,000 won for an English language Vogue. As much as I can defend the import export industry, this is an outrage. In the US and probably almost any other country, magazines are duds after a week or a month depending on its circulation. They are tied up waiting to be picked up by sanitation workers. Whether it's the US or world recession, Korea's high price to import, or Vogue's eternal place as supreme fashion magazine enabling it to set the standard whether its pop culture, fashion or price, this is an outrage!