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| south korea |
| new years 2003 |
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| I had just returned from Jeju island that morning, December 31st, 2003. I met up with Soutthida in Itaewon and we took care of the rooms and stuff at a yeogwan in Itaewon. I took a nap, as I was completely exhausted and suffering the effects of a cold. Later on that evening we all met up for drinks at Gecko's in Itaewon. It was Glyn, Soutthida, Kate, Nadine, myself, one of Glyn's friends whose name I don't remember and an Irish girl whose name I don't remember either. It was fairly laid back for us, the place was packed to the brim though, we hardly had enough chairs for all our friends. Kate had just picked up a tailor-made jacket in Itaewon and was modeling it for us. After a few beers, we headed to the Outback Steakhouse for dinner, but the wait would've been a couple of hours, so we searched for an alternative. It was getting late... |
| Everyone at Gecko's in Itaewon, getting in the early drinks and Kate sporting her new custom-made coat. |
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| We ended up at a Korean restaurant for dinner much to the dismay of several people for gimchi and grilled meat before heading to the subway station. From there it was numerous transfers and "movalators" to the Jongno area of Insa-dong. There was going to be fireworks and a concert near Bosingak, which houses a huge ancient bell that they were going to ring at midnight. The subway journey was fairly uneventful, I don't remember much of it though, I think we were pounding the Soju at the shikdang beforehand. |
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| There were thousands of people on the streets shooting off fireworks and drinking rice wine. There were children and their parents packed together into crowds all over the streets. We weren't expecting so many people and somehow lost Glyn's friend (whose name I don't remember) along the way to Bosingak. Happy Walking! There was this incredible feeling in the air, electricity, we followed the crowd down Jongno until we couldn't get any further. There was a huge screen broadcasting some concert and some people speaking...and then before we knew it, MIDNIGHT! Soutthida managed to capture the sky above us in the few minutes just before...suddenly the sky was ablaze with fireworks, mostly sparklers and roman candles (people had handfuls of ten or fifteen) and the ensuing madness went on for about 30 minutes. Everywhere we looked there were sparks shooting off and ashes raining down on us. We tried to get into a Family Mart for some brews but they had locked the doors and weren't letting anyone inside. The owner had even put up steel bars in front of the windows to stop the crowd from being pushed through. We got stuck in this crowd and were separated and almost crushed to death. If it wasn't for Kate ploughing through and pulling everyone out together...we would've lost a few. |
| One roman candle... |
| Three roman candles... |
| Fifty(?) roman candles... |
| Madness ensues...MIDNIGHT! |
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| Glyn found some people sharing makkeolli and joined in, getting tanked in the process. The police were out in full force, riot gear, there were hundreds of them, everywhere. |
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| Someone brought some noisemakers and we all (well at least Glyn and I) were going nuts...look at me it looks like I'm gonna to have a jammer. |
| After regrouping, we got back on the subway and headed back to Polly's Kettle in Itaewon. The place was packed with GI's and sleazy looking English teachers (not us). After a few kettle's of Soju each we moved on. As you can see the alcohol was starting to have an effect on me (droopy eyes) and Glyn damn near passed out...only 2am...gotta keep it together buddy! |
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| Next stop was Stompers in Hongdae. The place was packed to the brim with GI's and skanky hoes (not us). The cover was 15,000 won and included a free drink. I was feeling really tired by this time, around 4am, and spent most of the night off the dance floor. I took a cab home around 6am and passed out. A new year...almost always starts the same as the one before. |
| I should mention that many of these photos are Soutthida's and not mine. Check out Soutthida's New Years 2003 photos. |