and once again i'm playing catch-up. where does the time go? well i'll tell you where the time goes - it goes into planning week long english learning experiences with a halloween theme, it goes into hours and hours of volunteer freelance design work for local foreigner publications, it goes into taking little cat naps here and there because i'm up until 2am working on things. and of course all that shit hits the fan at once, which as i'm sure you can imagine (imagine it! imagine that shit hitting the fan!), causes a real mess.
but that's all in the past now and i finally have a little time to fill you, my loyal readership whom i adore, whom i've neglected so cruelly, in on the various comings and goings in southern korea. i think calling it southern korea gives it a little more charm, like its a little folksy all the sudden. and thats the feeling i get from south (i mean southern) korea: folksy charm. moving right along...
two weekends ago i went to the busan international fireworks festival in...wow, you guessed it! busan! busan is on the southern tip of the country and in addition to being the second largest city it is the major shipping port of south korea. and now you know a little more about the friendlier korea. the busan international fireworks festival is supposedly the largest fireworks show in all of asia, which is boasting a lot since fireworks were pretty much conceived over here in the far east. the show lasts three days and is shot off the coast of gwangalli beach; a pretty unimpressive beach as far as beach standards go, but the neon city lights that surround the sandy coast and the large bridge that cuts through the bay make for a surreal coastal experience. it's pretty in the way that blade runner is.
generally speaking i'm not much for fireworks. maybe its the webn labor day crowds that rub me the wrong way (literally if i'm really unlucky), or maybe its the repetition of seeing the same arrangements and hearing the same songs every year? so i guess i went in with low expectations. we arrived at the beach around 4pm to get a good seat (the show didnt start until 9 but the crowds are pretty infamous) which turned out to be front row right in the sand. we had a little picnic and waited out the day as the people slowly but surely trickled in. and then piled in. and then crammed in. and then it was a massive ocean of bodies, impossible to move anywhere, our 3 spread out blankets were our home. the theme of the fireworks (maybe it changes every year or maybe it stays the same, i'm not sure) was continents of the world. the show was divided into segments, each segment representing a different continent. long story short, the fireworks were amazing. breath-taking even. i may be prone to hyperbole now and then but i actually had goosebumps. i felt choked up at times. the european section was particularly beautiful. golden explosions filled the sky in unison with the "1812 overture." darts of light sprayed out in perfect harmony with the strings of violins. the finale, an ode to busan itself, had the entire night sky so full of phosphorescent light that it completely blocked out the darkness. i took a video on my phone of the first 5 minutes or so - obviously not the best part but it shows the bridge over the bay and the lights and the fireworks and how they all worked together. enjoy. (next up: pictures from the halloween party aka. adorable kids wrapped in toilet paper and a not so adorable me)
0 comments:
Post a Comment