mcountdown! and other stuff...

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Ok so HARRY POTTER. The place that we went to see it was Megabox in Coex, a large shopping centre that has everything in. Didn't cry but was sad that it's all ended.

We went to Mnet Countdown which for people who are not familiar with k-pop (or Korean pop) is a sort of Top of the Pops, variety show type thing. Each band or singer had one or two songs they performed which was quickly succeeded by the next band or singer. It was filmed in a reasonably small studio where it was aired live and then people at home would phone in. Whoever got the most votes would then sing their song again. It was a really good way to have a quick snap shot of the k-pop scene, who was current and who were the top dogs. A few songs I recognized as they're played constantly in shops and on the radio which was nice! K-pop is so massive here, and people are really obsessed with it. Pop stars are not just singers, but actors, presenters and generally all rounders. It was a great experience, and I heard that it's free, you just have to queue for hours to get in. There are also shows for other types of music such as rock, indie etc etc. Definitely I would recommend going, just to sample a bit of contemporary Korean culture and to understand what K-pop's influence really is. Plus the men were beautiful. You can see the 'look' that girls are trying to achieve. I hear that most fashion trends come from things like Korean dramas (which are VERY popular here) and a lot of the singers are from Korean dramas. They're all VERY skinny and wear heels day and night, they're very cutesy and have perfect skin and are very proper all the time. The younger bands have the whole 'ohhhh i'm so innocent' look about them which gets a little annoying.

We also stopped by the river one evening which was quite pretty, the light show wasn't on when we passed but apparently it's really nice. And we also went to Gongbukgung (excuse the spelling, can't be bothered to look it up!) palace which had a contemporary art gallery inside. Because of the rain everyone was feeling a bit miserable but it was really pretty. I'd probably recommend going in the rain because 1) it always rains anyway and 2) it's much quieter at rainy times. I'm saving money by eating sushi in the day and then spending about 3-5000W at dinner. My allowance is about 10000W a day and I'm generally spending a bit lower then that which is good seeing as I need to save up for a hotel in the time school finishes and Sam comes. I'm planning on staying in central Seoul, somewhere like Itaewon or Hongdae as it's much easier to get around and it's full of life.

Tonight we chilled at a pool club in Naksungdae, near the subway which was 9000W/hour and we got free drinks which was nice! The place was really dingy and dirty (smoking inside sigh) but we weren't that bothered. Plus it was pretty cheap as there was like 6/7 of us playing. Stayed until about 1.30am and got in a cab with a reasonably pissed off taxi driver.

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