G-Design Festival

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After the weekend of touch rugby we received an email from Rick in personnel about an opportunity to attend the G-Design Festival at the Kintex Convention Center nearby in Ilsan. As EV teachers and administrators we would receive "free tickets" to the festival because we are a government subsidized company. After reading through the email, I told Shauna we should do it, if we could return in time for our 1:00pm shift? Shauna agreed to the G-Design Festival, if we were back on campus in time to work.

By the end of the day we had signed up for the trip to Ilsan the following Monday for the G-Design Festival. There was a small group of people attending from the ODP (One Day Program) and several administrators. Only Shauna and myself came along with from the OWP (One Week Program) teachers.

Our instructions for Monday came from Rick via email; Meet at English Village's back gate were you will be picked up by the EV Shuttle bus. The bus will leave at 10:00 am and it should take twenty minutes to arrive at Kintex Convention Center in Ilsan. The Festival begins at 11:00 am and the return shuttle will leave Kintex Convention Center at 12:15pm. Everyone who returns on the shuttle should be back at EV by 12:35pm.

G-Design Festival
Design Make Me Well
http://www.ggdf.co.kr

What we didn't know was that G-Design Festival meant "Green Design" meaning alternative methods of everything from refrigeration, to bicycles to home products and outdoor venues. The festival was to celebrate designers and their new products to possible buyers of greener products for the planet. Nevertheless, we climbed onto the bus with nine other teachers and five administrators on Monday morning at 9:55am. The bus as mentioned in the email departed exactly at 10:00am for Ilsan. Twenty-three minutes later we arrived at the Kintex Convention Center. All of us departed the bus, walked across the parking lot and into the convention center. Rick ran around talking to this person and that until we were admitted into the hall, eight minutes later. We were ushered into an area of awaiting chairs and told to sit down. Looking around it looked very formal and we were definitely out of place amongst the suits. All of us looked just like the average tourist would; camera, bags, shorts, t-shirts and sunglasses. We didn't fit into this zoo of television cameras, newspaper reporters, press writers and business people.

"Do you think its necessary that we sit here for twenty-five minutes until they get this thing going?" Kurt asked of me when we sat down. "Honestly, I think we should get out of here, pronto! We only have a bit over an hour before we need to be back on the bus," I replied as I set down my pamphlet and started to escape. The others around us, overheard our plan to escape this formal greeting atmosphere and run for glimpses of whatever was awaiting us on the convention floor space. "I'm with those guys," I heard Kristi state as we departed the suited area. Strolling to our left outside the conference area the nine of us browsed over a bicycle storage locker and its usefulness in Korea with its limited space.

One of the few things I actually viewed that worked. The bicycle locker housed one, two or three bikes. And moved the bike from a two tire stand into a one tire rotation of the bike ninety-degrees. And it came in five different colors for a measly 1,000,000 won ($1000 CAD) but I suppose if I had limited storage living with my grandparents, parents and siblings (if I weren't married that is) then a bike locker turning storage device might just be what we need in a household of six or more people!

We moved down the aisle people breaking left and right seeing things other people weren't. The group eventually dissipated into three or four small groups until Dominique spotted us checking out the wooden jungle gym sets made from recycled wood fibers and plastic. "Guys, Rick, says you need to be back in the conference circle in ten minutes. We need to be there for the opening ceremony. This was the agreement; foreigners enter free if they attend the opening ceremony!" "Great! Glad we can all be their poster boys and girls!" I stated sarcastically to no one in particular. Laughter erupted out of everyone standing around me, "it wouldn't be any other way in korea!" Kurt stated as he checked his watch. Then Shauna pulled her arm up to her stating, "Aaron, we've got six minutes then we need to be back on the other side of the hall." "Okay, I'm going to check this out over here and then I will make my way back around to the sitting area. Keep a chair open for me just in case I need to dive through the camera crews!" I laughed with a huge smile.

Checking out some posters I saw both Shauna and Kurt head in the other direction, on time as usual. However, I know I am never on time, so why start today, I thought and continued looking at environmental posters on the wall. After glancing over seventeen posters turning left I headed around a wall of stagnant looking flowers, walking quickly past a field of rice, a couple carnival looking games and up the last aisle until I spotted a couple of bicycles with bamboo frames? Bamboo, mountain bike frames? Crazy... But I could hear the microphones around the corner being used and decided I didn't have time to check out the mountain bikes. Quickly I grabbed up a packet of information to look at during this ceremony thing because none of us knew how long it would last. I thanked the guy in English, forgetting where I was heading off to the entrance to the conference meeting grabbing an empty seat next to Shauna before anything started up. The place was now a beehive of activity as everyone was asked to stand up.

The Korean national anthem was played, I tried recording it on video on my camera but I started forty-seconds into it and it just didn't sound all that pleasing so I deleted it after sitting down. They introduced a bunch of people who had something to do with the festival. Pictures were snapped, people were praised then at last the mayor of Ilsan was announced. He walked up in front of everyone bowing as the others did in front of the group. Photographs were taken, reporters wrote notes and Kurt said, "Okay, I think it's time to sneak out of here after this guy says a couple of words. Just duck and go, one at a time out the back. The same direction we came in." "I agree. Aaron go first since you are in the aisle seat," I heard Mike whisper to me. "Perfect, glad I could make this engagement," under my breath I replied as I stood up bent over sneaking back the way I had just come seven minutes before hand. Every single foreign teacher we came with snuck out the back one after the other to avoid the remainder of the press conference.

"Everyone split up and do your thing. You have Forty-five minutes before the bus is suppose to leave Ilsan and if you are catching it back, I think you should give yourself a five minute leeway time," Mike said as we all regrouped before departing back amongst the G-Design expo tables. "No problem, Shauna's my clock watch person," quipped I. "We'll be on that bus for sure, since we work at 1:00pm," Shauna explained to Mike reminding me of our time constraints.

"Since we have forty-five minutes, come check out the bamboo mountain bike with me. I want to take a closer look at it and speak to the designer. He speaks English good," I said laughing. Shauna and Mike were rolling around, "He speaks English good, does he? Sounds like you've been teaching at EV too long, already!" retorted Shauna as we walked around the corner back to the bamboo mountain bike display. As Shauna and I spoke to the designer about the concept of the bamboo bicycle we were photographed by a local Metro Seoul photographer. The following day, on September 14th, the photograph was published in the newspaper stating how foreigners were interested in the green design of a bamboo bicycle.

This image can be viewed if you search through the archives for Metro Seoul Newspaper at

www.metroseoul.co.kr

The thick green banner at the top of the screen - press the last set of characters to the right - this will take you to the Archives page. Once here plug in; 2010 / 09 / 14

Next press the button with the arrow on it, to the right of the date.
This will bring you to the archived day you are searching for.

The photograph is in the middle of the page.
It is the last page in the second row.

10 - Metro - Jpeg - Pdf
Click on Metro, Jpeg or Pdf, for the image to appear.

* To View Metro Seoul Newspaper archives - You Must Have Adobe Acrobat Reader version 9.4 or higher *

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Photos

Bus Ride
The EV Teacher and Admin Group

In Attendance
Mike, Kurt and Shauna

The Others
Kristi, Laura, Che, and Dominique

Entrance
Following Rick into the hall

CTopos
Architecture Ideas for bridges

Eibe
Jungle Gyms

Model City
A greener condo community

City Landscape
Green Renovations

Eaglider
Personal Transportation

Bikan
Bamboo Bicycle Concept

Printing Process
New techniques