Preparing For the Winter Olympics At The Seoul Plaza?

For only KRW1,000 you can now practice your triple Axel jumps in preparation for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games or the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang.  How cheap, no?!

But I didn’t see anybody doing triples that morning when I passed by the Seoul Plaza skating rink where kids were taking lessons and teens warming up the ice with their respective dates.

The freezing temperatures in Seoul have been kind enough to keep the ice frozen and the kids happy as they no longer need to go that far to glide on an ice rink.

I wonder if those kids on the rink taking lessons that day would someday end up as Olympic champions themselves.

And seeing a lot of their moms watching from the benches, I have a feeling maybe, just maybe, they would.

The PyeongChang Winter Olympics are just six years away. I guess they have time to prepare. They just need a lot of W1,000 for the skating rental.

Howling At The Snow Moon!

If we're in the wild, we could probably hear wolves howling at the snow moon tonight because it is Jeongwol Daeboreum, the first new moon of the lunar new year is rising on the winter skies tonight, February 12, a Wednesday. A snow moon.

And according to tradition, twigs gathered during winter will be burned and its ashes are used to fertilize the fields in spring.

In short, there will be fire again. 

It would be my fourth one, I suppose (read blog here). But I'm happy no property would be set ablaze this time. Only twigs and dried branches.

And since it's purely ceremonial, and not accidental, a fire truck is on hand to make sure it gets put out properly. Nobody needs to call 119.

And before the lighting ceremony, a thousand people gathered in Namsangol in Seoul awaiting for the high priest to light up the bonfire. 

Although there would be huge fire in a few minutes, I didn't notice anybody ready to light up a cigarette to simultaneously celebrate the vice. I guess this area has been designated as a non-smoking place, too, where smokers are fined with a W100,000 penalty if caught with a lighted cigarette. (Arsonists, on the other hand, go scot-free.)

And after minutes of drumming and some dancing amidst the strong smell of kerosene, the wigwam-shaped ceremonial tree was lighted!  I could almost hear myself 'burn, baby, burn!', if not for frenzied clicking of the cameras next to me.

 Howling mixed with oohs and aahs seemed to resonate alongside the cracking of the burning twigs, which somewhat raised the temperatures in Namsangol from freezing to the perfect grill-me-a-barbecue kind of fire!

Since this wasn't The Towering Inferno type of fire (which lasted  2 hours and 45 minutes on the screen, and Maureen McGovern's song ringing in one's head after), this was just a five-minute ceremony about burning twigs and the new moon on a Monday.

Just as fast as it burned, it was immediately hosed down by the eager firemen who didn't want any of those flying embers landing on the Korean traditional houses in Namsangol. Tonight was supposed to be a celebration of a tradition, not a real fire drill.

I now hope that those ashes fertilize the rice fields around Korea. I especially would wish they are scattered around strawberry fields to make those strawberries bigger and sweeter. Oh well, perhaps they can save some ashes for the rice fields, too. Although I'm not fond of eating rice myself. (I don't even have a rice cooker at home! Ha-ha-ha!). 

If they run out of ashes, there's always the next year's Daeboreum! In the meantime, let's stay safe and away from fire!

#snowmoon #newmoon #seoul #Korea #winter #jeongwoldaeboreum #daeboreum #fullmoon #moon

Where There's Smoke....

...there's me!


When I saw it, I told myself, "Here we go again".


This has to be the third fire where I saw myself next to. After the Itaewon fire and the other fire in the nearby Yongsan Station one morning as I made my way to work, I stumbled upon a building where there was black smoke coming out.


It was a freezing day and it snowed the day before, so my eyes were permanently focused on the ground as I made my way through a slippery sidewalk towards I-Park Mall to grab something to eat. My concentration to my steps was just interrupted by another pedestrian who was gazing up the windows of a building. I thought she was just distracted from her concentration as well.

                       (A Yongsan fire in the morning.)


And it was a weird distraction. Black smoke! I thought, perhaps, since it was freezing outside, somebody was having a barbecue inside! After all, this building has a few restaurants on the ground floor. 

And what did I do? I  thought of calling the fire department by dialing 119, the Korean emergency hotline. But since this was the third time I saw myself next to a burning building, I hesitated at the idea. How would I be able to explain myself?  Well, if the firemen didn't speak English, finding an alibi would be the least of my problems. Expressing myself in Korean would be. Ha-ha-ha!

       (I thought somebody was having a barbecue in there.)


So, I decided to stand there, right next to the building, pretending to wait to cross the pedestrian lane, although this wasn't my crossing. I thought that if I stood there and waited for somebody to run out of the building while screaming 'Fire!' and without any burned barbecue in hand, I would readily dial 119, and just blurt out 'Yongsan Station blah-blah-blah'.  After all, how many buildings within the perimeter would have black smoke coming out of them?


I must have stood there for about 30 seconds. I heard no scream. And no smell of burnt barbecue. But still, the black smoke was non-stop. Then, a man coming from the alley next to the building also noticed the smoke and took out his cellphone. Whew! Time to move on! I wasn't needed here anymore.

                             (A Yongsan fire at noon.)


And as I made my way into the mall, I looked back at the building and didn't see smoke anymore. Was it really on fire? Did the man actually call the fire department...or was he just ordering pizza?


Oh well, it must have been a false alarm, I told myself. Time to concentrate on the slippery sidewalk.


After an hour, I was back at work and was talking to a colleague facing the window towards the I-Park Mall and when I heard myself, "Ow my gaaad! Fire!"

      (It's either it was a barbecue party gone haywire, or somebody not invited got pissed.)

Those should have been my words when I saw the black smoke an hour before. But now, as I was seeing it from my 21st floor window, looking down at the black smoke, which had become so thick, I realized it must have been one hell of a barbecue!


My colleague and I stood there and watched. By now, there wasn't just black smoke, there was fire coming out of those windows as well. And luckily, there were fire trucks, too. Did that man actually call for help? Because I didn't believe it took an hour for the fire department to respond. Or maybe, he actually called for pizza. I wonder what flavor he ordered? Ha-ha-ha!


Oh well. My third fire in months, and I assure the fire department I have nothing to do with them. Ha-ha-ha! 


Seriously.


Hopefully, the next time I see smoke, there better be a real, yummy barbecue. Back to the slippery sidewalk.

Tracks And Field

After the heavy snow from the day before, everything turned snowed white, minus any dwarf.  But minus eight degrees. Ha-ha-ha!

It was pretty to look at if you're watching from the window; but freakin' dirty if you're on the sidewalk.

And to me, if it's pretty to look at, it should be pretty to take a picture of. So, I went out in the freezing noontime with my icy camera and headed down to the tracks of the Yongsan Station.

                                          (A train running in the middle)

I figured those frozen train tracks would look very interesting amidst the snowy field of the station.

                              (Trains on the tracks)
And while I stood there above the Yongsan Station, looking down at the cold tracks and with the icy winds blowing, I bravely held up my point-and-shoot camera on my exposed right hand just trying to steadily capture a field of frozen tracks which looked like black steel threads properly aligned and spaced on the snow.

I would have stayed longer, but the -8'C temperature reminded me that I was in the area to also grab lunch, not hypothermia. Ha-ha-ha!

So, I just headed indoors, and started thawing my digits and my digital camera. I thought the next time I see tracks, I'd be in a train, warm, cozy and heading home.

Snowin', Freezin' And Not Complainin'

It was the heaviest snowfall this winter so far. And the most freezing of the temperatures by far.

Tuesday started just fine. Hot choco and cereals. Ha-ha-ha!

But the Tuesday outside my window didn't. Cloudy, dark and very cold.

And then, right in the middle of the afternoon, the clouds got darker and heavier.

Suddenly, it was a free-for-all blizzard with snowflakes flying all over the city and blanketing everything white.


From my window, it looked like a ton of fresh snow was being scattered all over Yongsan-gu in preparation for snowboarding festival. 

But as the snow finally covered the neighborhood, no snowboarder was in sight. Only cars stalled in traffic.


For a moment, all this snow, which made everything looked fluffy white and nice, made me imagine myself enjoying a hot cup of chocolate by my fireplace. 

But with the thickness of the snow on the sidewalk, almost everyone was cursing the weather (and maybe the Christmas song, Let it snow).


Trying to get home was the most irritating part. Everyone was trying to rush, carefully navigating the sidewalks which were now slippery, wet and dirty.

Well, even with my shoes wet and a night in town ruined, I couldn't complain. I just reminded myself that the Inuits of the Northwest Territories of Canada endure winter nine months in a year. This is just a couple of days during the week.

I'm sure no one ever heard the Inuits complain about their weather. I guess no one should hear me either. 


"Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful. And since we've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...."