The Been Briefing

UPDATE: 12:49AM

Tae-han-min-guk

So in the spirit of the World Cup, I thought I'd drop a little of South Korea in your lap. Or should I say 'Corea'??? Tonight the Red Devils beat Togo, and you should so have been here to feel the pulsating ALIVE feeling around Seoul. All the cafes/bars had TVs outside, and people were sitting, standing, eyes glued to the TV and listening to the Korean commentators. Everyone is wearing RED - really and truly a sea of RED... faces painted, heads decked with bandannas and even lit-up devil horns. Loud cheers, groans, and coordinated chants fill the streets. I even heard car horns beeping in unison with the sound. Hilarious...

I was at Brittany and Stefanie's apartment (b/c they have a TV, but also b/c I was expecting a phone call from the states for an interview, and I wanted a backup phone line in case my cell didn't work). Anyway, after my phone interview was over, I joined Britt and her mom in front of the TV. We soon realized that our Korean neighbors next door were shouting "TAE-HAN-MIN-GUK" which means 'Korea' and then waiting for others to do the coordinated clap... Brittany and I stepped up to the plate and provided that. .... Soon we had a block party going on. Everyone in the apartment complex was shouting, screaming, chanting.... and Britt and I had no idea what the heck these people are shouting in Korean. Just the words "A-ssa!" (yes!!) and "FIGHTING!" lol.

But it is still fun. I'm glad I'm in Korea during the World Cup, and I think we might try and go to Seoul to experience one of the games at the City Hall or somewhere. It might be a late night, but, hey, when will this happen again?!

10AM
my tv is tucked away in my closet... so i don't see korean television unless i'm at someone else's apartment.

however, it has not kept me from being exposed to the koreans love of everything football. since the opening of the world cup in germany, everyone around me is keeping me posted on the games and scores. the big one tonight is korea vs. togo. i hear there's to be mad support in seoul; people heading into town decked in 'red devil' gear... armed and ready to support their national team.

sadly, the US lost to the czechs (but i can forgive them, because prague is beautiful and czech is close to slovakia, so it's okay ~ just this once). i hear it was a bad game. dosh!

so here's a salute to the American team, and, okay, i'm trying to rouse an excited cheer for Corea... go red devils (woo hoo)!