Spring in Busan, Korea

It's officially Spring.  In Busan, Korea, that means Thong Man is back out on Haeundae Beach:

Thong Man is the one with the hat on backwards.  Here he is with a church friend of ours.  I really do miss Korea.

Actually, Thong Man is out there during the middle of winter as well.  He doesn't give a poop.  Enjoy the nice weather.

Slightly Strange Sights

So here are a couple of random shots of things you don't see everyday.  None of this stuff is shocking by any means - just a little...off.

That's quite the unwieldy load in that truck.  You should've seen it move around when it was rolling down the street.  It's an episode of Emergency 9-11 waiting to happen.

This advertisement reminded me of an old joke about three guys at a gentlemen's club.  Carol reminded me that some of our church friends read the blog so I decided not to share that one.  I'm showing restraint in my advanced age.

Ah, nothing like taking advantage of a nice spring day and the sunshine to dry your clothes.  Makes your garments smell fresh and clean - unless you've got a dead fish hanging next to them.  Again, not shocking.  Just a little off.

If you look closely inside the bed of the truck, you'll see a guy actually on the motorcycle talking on a cell phone.

This is one of those claw machines that you put money in and try to grab a stuffed animal toy.  That part isn't strange at all.

What is a little strange are the things inside the claw machine - shoes, belt buckles, a can of STP oil treatment, walkie talkies, a flashlight and other stuff.  Interesting.

Here's a man riding a big tricycle in the subway.

A group of Koreans hanging out on the beach in their thongs - during the winter.  Notice everybody else with jackets on.  Yes.  Thong Man strikes again.  No jumping rope this time.

This is outside a nightclub in Haeundae Beach.  It's a very distinguishable landmark and great for giving directions.  "Yeah, go past the Paradise Hotel, take a left at the big hairy penis and you'll see my apartment on the right."

Enough silliness for now.  Have a great weekend.

Soju and Beer

Here's an interesting sign we saw at Haeundae Beach the other day:

Here's a closer look:

Who wrote this thing?  Otis from the Andy Griffith Show?

Thong Man!

Thong Man is famous here in Busan.  He's been on local television shows and is a fixture at Haeundae Beach.  Google "Thong Man Busan" if you're bored.  Warning, you might burn your retinas.  In Busan, he's more recognizable than the Mayor, Bruce Lee or Robert Downey Jr., well, from the backside anyway.

Koreans are typically very conscious about staying out of the sun.  Pampering their skin and avoiding those UV rays are two of the reasons why they look so young.  Koreans aren't prone to flashing a lot of skin either, sun or no sun.  That's what makes Thong Man so special.  His savage tan makes George Hamilton look like Dracula.  And his "look at me" attitude is something to behold.  For example, to maximize the amount of people that lay eyes on his bronzed posterior, he'll hop on a waverunner and go zipping up and down the beachfront, standing up of course so the masses can gaze upon his cheeky glory.  Amazing.  Don't believe me?  Check it out:

For the record, I didn't take this picture.  It's from one of the travel blogs that chronicle the adventures of Thong Man.

So there he is on Haeundae Beach, throwing the frisbee around with his other scantily clad buddies, or jumping rope right on the boardwalk, in a tight little banana hammock.  The jumping rope piece leaves little to the imagination.  Not that I was closely inspecting but I thought I saw two pigs wrestling inside that microscopic piece of clothing.  Oh yeah, and he does these things in the middle of winter.  It's quite the spectacle.

Needless to say, I will forever treasure these two pictures:

Carol was horrified when I pleaded with her to take these pictures.  We had an opportunity to snap a shot with Thong Man during a random walk on Haeundae Beach a couple of weeks ago but Carol just wasn't mentally prepared.  It took some intense training to break down Carol's walls and prepare her for such an important photo opportunity.  After a month of Matt Foley "down by the river" style motivational speeches from me and a large amount of Red Bull, Carol was now ready to snap some pictures, clenched butt cheeks and all - Thong Man's butt cheeks, not Carol's.

And so on a cold, jacket wearing day while on a quaint family stroll down the boardwalk, I see way off on the horizon, two canned hams.  No, it was actually the famous glutes of Thong Man instead.  He's casually flipping the frisbee to his half naked friends, jiggly parts flapping around with reckless abandon, indecent exposure charges a mere spandex tear away.  Of course, there are the locals, huddled up in their fleece, warm jackets and scarves, gawking as if they're watching a giraffe give birth next to a burning car full of circus clowns on the highway.

I broke out the camera with great urgency, like I was about to snap a shot of the thought to be extinct dodo bird.  I handed the camera over to Carol and hoped for the best.  In my best cool walk, I meandered over to Thong Man.  Not normally star-struck, I have to admit that I was a little nervous.  I felt like I was asking a girl out to the prom.  We started out with small talk.  Thong Man immediately disarmed the situation by flashing a big smile.  No problem with the picture.  He was so cool and cheerful.  I did my best not to gaze my eyes in a southerly direction.  I didn't want him to think I was a stalker or something.  Thanks a bunch Carol for snapping the pictures.  You get the special wonton tonight.

Seriously, I admire the heck out of Thong Man.  That's attitude right there.  Thong Man, if you ever run across this blog, know that I have much respect for you and your crew.  You should have t-shirts printed in your honor.  Maybe with a logo that shows off that attitude.  Something like "No Fear."  That's actually kinda catchy.  I gotta look into that.

Along with the great attitude and the ability to really enjoy life, one other thing that Thong Man reminds me of - and this is important now - is that all it takes is ONE.  One other friend.  You see, Thong Man isn't alone.  He's out there with one or two other thong-clad friends.  When you've got just one friend, it makes everything right.  You can do your thing with your friends, no matter what that thing is - Dungeons and Dragons, volunteering, traveling to Korea to teach, hanging out, or wearing thongs on the beach and playing frisbee.  Napoleon Dynamite is a pretty dorky dude.  But he had one friend, Pedro.  And with that one friend, everything was right in the world.  All it takes is ONE.

Thong Man, I salute you!

Favorite Things About Korea - Part II

Although life out here in the Far East can be a little strange compared to hanging out in the good ol' US of A,  there are many, many things to like about being here in Korea.  I did a previous post on some of those things.  The first list included:

- my team at MSCO Korea
- bulgogi
- optional red traffic lights affectionately called "might lights" cause you "might" stop at them
- cheap taxi fares
- Asian pears
- clean subway
- police rarely give out traffic tickets
- kimchi
- coffee shakes
- paper lamps
- spicy octopus
- the many sights in Busan
- people respecting their elders

Here's a few more items to add to the list:

- Our church.  We go to the English service of Sooyoungro Antioch International Ministries (AIM).  Great people there and a very diverse crowd.  We recently attended a wedding of two of our friends that met from the church.  There were over 20 countries represented at their wedding reception.  Pretty cool.

The music is awesome at AIM.  The English service is in a brand new building in Suyeong.

I volunteer to do the Children's message near the beginning of the service.  I really enjoy doing that with the kids.  The things that come out of their mouths!

The Children's ministry started out with 5 kids.  Here I am doing the Children's message with 16 kids.  Now it's up to 40+.  Pretty cool.

- Nice toll booth workers.  They dress up, smile and actually give you a greeting.

- Samgyupsal.  This stuff is awesome!  You take this very tasty grilled pork, throw it in a lettuce leaf, add some sauce, garlic and kimchi and you've got the perfect bite of food in your mouth. There's something about that grilled kimchi.  Samgyupsal is kinda fatty but man is it tasty.  Even CJ, a very picky eater, likes this stuff.  That tells you something.

- Girls holding hands.  Here's a pic of Carol and Ms. Sin from the Korean American Busan Association (KABA) holding hands.  Sometimes when Carol is around some of my staff, they'll unknowingly hold Carol's hand.  I think it's very cute.  Ms. Sin is great, btw.  Although we can only speak a handful of words to each other, we still have a blast together.  She's a dancing machine too.

- Gotta love all the high heels.  Check these out:

High heels at a museum.

High heels at a temple.

High heels at another temple.

And high heels even on the beach.  I've even seen girls wearing high heels in the sand at Haeundae Beach.  That's what you call dedication to fashion.

- The kissing camera at sporting events.

Here's how the kissing camera works at basketball or baseball games.  When the kissing camera is on, the two random people they spotlight on the big screen TVs are supposed to kiss each other, whether they know each other or not.  Laughter from the crowd ensues.  Depending on the enthusiasm of the kiss, a restraining order might follow as well.

- Inexpensive car wash/wax.  Only 25,000 won (about $22 US)  to get your car washed, waxed and vacuumed at Homeplus, and that's for an SUV.  Excuse me, 24,000 won.  It costs an extra 1,000 won for them to shampoo Jake's car seat.  Can't beat it with a stick.

- Blazing fast internet.  South Korea used to be the most wired country in the world.  If I have my facts straight, Singapore is now #1.  Still, pretty smooth sailing on the internet.

- 24 hour McDonalds and home delivery.

I really shouldn't have this one on the list because we have yet to take advantage of Mickey D's after hours or called out for delivery.  

I gotta share this next thing with you cause it's so dang funny.  A little sad but pretty dang funny.  This is an actual Facebook update from a friend out here in Busan:  

"As if I didn't feel guilty enough ordering McDonald's, I find out that my order is over an hour late because the delivery boy had an accident with his scooter and was sent to the hospital.  Dang!  At least he is okay...and the food was hot."  I busted a lung over that one.  I do hope the delivery boy is okay though.  BTW, Koreans on scooters - not one of my favorite things.

- Dry cleaning is delivered to your house.  Nice.

- Cheerleaders at sporting events.

Cheerleaders at a Lotte Giants baseball game.

Cheering at a Sonic Boom basketball game.  Where are the blondes?

- Busan Foreign School.  A lot to like about the school.  CJ's been lamenting lately how there's no way his next school can hold a candle to BFS.

- Doenjang chigae.  Carol and I both love this spicy soup.  It's served piping hot with white rice on the side.  It's got tofu, veggies and sometimes, seafood in the soup.  The base is made of bean paste.  I'm really hoping Carol learns how to make this soup before we leave.

- Cherry blossoms.  Just gorgeous.  Wish they could stay longer.

Cherry blossoms with our building in the background.

- Spending time with the kids at the orphanage.  Those little ones are just a ball.

These pics are from a recent ice cream party we had with the kids.  That's Set Byul in the middle, the half Russian, half Korean girl.

- Movies are inexpensive and the concession stand prices are reasonable too.  You pick your seats when you purchase tickets.  This way, you don't have to stand in an extra line to grab a good seat for a popular movie like you do in the US.

- The overall innocence and cuteness of it all here in Korea.  Here's an example:

You can wear hats like this, no problem.

This guy was wearing this hat and his buddies weren't even laughing at him.  Very common.  Couples wearing matching outfits, girls holding hands in public, the popularity of cartoon t-shirts and Hello Kitty gear are other examples of the cuteness and innocence of Korea.

- When picking someone up from the airport, you can just park your car right in front of the terminal and just leave it there.  I'm sure it's illegal but no one messes with you.

- We can step out our front door and walk to the world's largest department store, visit the Museum of Modern Art with pieces from Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Picasso and other masters, partake in a luxury spa, geek out at the Apple store, run to Haeundae Beach and APEC Nurimaru Park or grab McDonald's for the boys and Korean food for me and Carol right across the street.

Yeah, we're gonna miss Korea.

Toga!

Carol and I are pretty social creatures.  We enjoy having people over the house and have been known to throw a party or two.  Almost a year ago, I talked about throwing a toga party.  Carol's response was, "You can't throw a toga party in Korea!"  Those at my work know that you shouldn't tell me that I "can't" do something.  The "can't" word is supreme motivation for me.  Unbeknownst to Carol, the gauntlet was thrown down.  And yes, I did feel a little funny about typing the word, "unbeknownst."

The thinking went like this.  What type of event would attract a lot of people in Busan?  Beknownst to me (okay, I'm getting carried away with that word and it's derivatives), there's a large English teacher population here in Busan.  We thought a toga party would be something the Busan crowd could sink their teeth into.  And of course, the Naval Aviator in me thought what the heck - toga party!

So there's some of the background behind last Friday's fundraiser.  The main reason for throwing the party of course was to raise money and awareness for the two causes I wrote about in my  most recent blog post - the Sung Ae Won Orphanage and Habitat For Humanity.

Mission accomplished.  Over 400 people attended the big toga party fundraiser last Friday at the Novotel Ambassador Hotel in Haeundae Beach.  We had people travel from Daegu and as far away as Seoul.  We raised over 9 million Korean won (about $8,000 US dollars) for these two organizations.  This money will go a long way towards improving the quality of life for the children at the orphanage and some people in difficult housing situations.  People have already told me that we have to do this again next year.  I will definitely pass that on to my replacement.

Busan's English radio channel, eFM did a radio interview with me about our two causes and the fundraiser.  That's Ashley Kim, a radio personality from eFM.  She was incredibly nice.

Bobby McGill on the left is the Editor of Busan Haps Magazine.  This is a great magazine for foreigners.  I wrote an article for the magazine to help get the word out about our two causes and the big event.

The party was held in the Novotel Ambassador Hotel.

The hotel is right on Haeundae Beach.  From the Grand Ballroom, we had a nice view of the ocean.

Here's the banner in front of the hotel.

And finally, some party pics!  I wasn't exactly sure how many folks would come in togas.  As the night progressed, there were definitely a lot more togas than non-togas.  We did attract our normal suit-wearing crowd, which was expected.  Here are some of the MSCO Korea crew looking good in their Greek gear..

Lots of dancing and only a couple of wardrobe malfunctions.  I thought I saw someone's tonsils once.

That's me, Kristin, Nick and Maria.  We couldn't have done it without the help of some awesome folks like these three.  Initial setup, decorations, prepping food, tending bar, manning the door, selling raffle tickets, running the coat check, etc.  There was a lot of behind the scenes actions to make this thing happen.  Thank you so much MSCO Korea, Busan Foreign School, DK, Pier 8, Busan Storage Facility, Costco, Commissary, Chinhae MWR, USO, BOSS, Navy League and all of the other volunteers and donors.  You guys rock!

Tessa is the Habitat For Humanity Coordinator for BFS.  She's also CJ's Science Teacher.  She's a tough teacher but we wouldn't have it any other way.

Definitely the most creative togas of the evening.  The Jolly's came as the Canadian Bobsled Silver Medalist and of course Princess Leia.  Total awesomeness.  May the force be with you.

We were honored to have the Director of Sung Ae Won Orphanage say a few words.  A very sweet lady.

Sal won an iPod during the blindfolded musical chairs game.  Sharon is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet.

Carol and Ms. Kang looking like precious metals.

Mr. Im surrounded by interns.

Wendy, Carol and Kemmeh.  As always, the ladies were looking really good.

Bunky, XO of MSCO Korea and Commander Melinda Michael, XO of Expeditionary Port Unit 111.  It's the Executive Officer (XO) picture.

That's David Kim on  the left.  He did some heavy lifting to make this fundraiser happen.

Ice luge!

Double ice luge.

Thank you USO for your support!

Yum.  Wine in a box.  Hey, we had 400+ people to entertain.  Cut me some slack.

The beloved Filipino Group.  One thing about our Filipino Group from church is that you don't need anything at all to have fun with them.  Get three of them together and it's all laughs and an instant party.

Donning a toga for the kids.  For the kids man!

Frances and Derek - we're gonna miss you!  So is the Fuzzy Navel.

The smile on this guy's face is because he just won the grand prize - 500,000 won.  We raised a nice chunk of change from the raffle tickets.

Here's Steve winning the Best Toga contest.  He had the home crowd (Busan Foreign School) rooting for him.  Congrats!

Surrounded by some exotic Cleopatras.

Members of the Korean American Busan Association (KABA).  Thank you so much for your support!

Mr. Yun and Technical Sergeant Daisy Galan.  She was a finalist for Best Toga.

Amber is on the left.  She helped out a bunch with the party decorations, raffle tickets and other things.  You should check out her article in the latest issue of Busan Haps.  Here's the link:  Underground Art

Ms. Yi is the Vice President of People To People International.  Her organization does a lot of great things in the community, including supporting North Korean refugees.

Okay, I admit it.  I was vexed by the amount of body hair on some of the dudes.  Some of those guys don't need to spend a cent on sunblock during the summer.  Just saying.

At the end of the night, there were folks jumping rope, playing football with wigs and other interesting acts.  Folks didn't want to go home!  

Kemmeh and Emmekah

I'm reminded of the Academy Awards.  "And I'd like to thank..."

Just a great night!

I'm a huge fan of doing something you've never done before.  For many of the Korean guests, this was their first time donning a toga.  For all those college grads out there that never had a chance to attend a toga party as a student, this was the perfect opportunity for some college redemption.  Those people can now say that they've truly graduated.  For many, the toga thing was old hat.  Some looked incredibly natural in this environment, as if they were Julius Caesar himself.  BTW, such a great historical figure and he gets a salad named after him.  Sheesh.

There was the wallet that was lost.  Then found.  Then lost.  Then found again.  There was the girl who punched her boyfriend and was wondering why she was all alone.  The bananas in the elevator, the upside down ice luge and the Cape Jacob boys having a great time.  It was definitely a memorable night.  Lots of fun while helping out two important causes.

Our adventure in Korea never ceases to amaze me.  Just when you think it's a pretty conservative country, it shows us a thing or two by cranking out a very less-than-conservative bash last Friday night.  One last point.  Why toga?  Because it's a celebration of life.  Just throw what the heck cloth over your shoulder and enjoy life with no worries about what the other guy might think.  Hope this won't be the last.

Thanks again to all of those that helped make this happen.  And remember, if you've got some time to spare, come on out and spend some time with the kids at Sung Ae Won.  They'll love you for it!  Until next time -- C2