International DJ Fest, Seoul, May 2010

Anyang haseyo!

This was the weekend I had been waiting for. Great mates, great beats, great sun. The perfect way to welcome summer.

Here is the article I wrote and submitted to our local foreign magazine publication, the Gwangju News. I hope you enjoy ... ...

A Day at the Park

By Julian Raethel

Photos by Stefan Potgieter and Julian Raethel

The Nanji Han River Park in Seoul served up a real treat for music and festival junkies on the bright blue Saturday that was May the 8th. The 4th annual World DJ Festival dropped into full swing and there was no stopping the momentum.

Set against the beautiful backdrop of the Han River and the city behind it, this was the place to be. Over 60 local and international acts rocking four stages over 15 hours. Obligations be dammed, there was no holding back. Upon arrival in the mid-afternoon, it was certainly difficult to predict how many party-goers would show up. But as time progressed, and day turned to night, it was clear (or unclear for many) that there was a serious crowd to soak up the atmosphere. Facilities were excellent and all fears of missing out on a ticket were soon subsided with a warm smile from a friendly staff member.

As entry was swift it was irresistible for the body to start moving to the sway of the main stage. Korean artists, Soul Company hit us like a sharp slap in the face. What a welcome! Their ferocious and raw hip-hop energy made for one of the day’s highlights. Followed by an amazing performance by the powerful Brazilian drummers on the field, whose sound had the whole park mesmerised.

The acoustics were in top condition, given the circumstances of the park layout. Both the Main and Jager stages were right next to each other, separated only by stalls of food and liquor. Incredibly, no cross-feed of sound was evident. Very impressive.

The Fest Village added a nice cultural touch to the event. The area was riddled with traditional Korean music, makeup and other little surprises that provided a nice breather from the madness on the other side of the park.

As the day wore on DJs Limzi and Mackay are certainly worth a mention on the Jager stage. Ex-pat Irish DJ Mackay, who lives in Seoul now, created a very energetic vibe with his dirty hard house, weaved with funky electro rhythms. Definitely the recipe needed to get the day crowd jumping.

In the Black Zone, DJ Freekey was the pick of the bunch. His selection of smooth hip hop beats with some nice remixes brought the crowd to where it needed to be.

Headlining act The Freemasons played at the ridiculous time of 4.30am, just in time for the festival to reach its climax. Some roaring electronic grooves helped set the crowd on fire at the wee witching hours of the morning.

The 4th Annual World DJ Festival could hardly be denied as a roaring success. As one enthusiastic punter stated clearly, “great mates, great music and a wonderful way to welcome summer.” Let’s hope that the organisers roll with the track they’ve laid down and keep building on what was seen over the weekend.

My very interesting weekend by Helen:) x

This was the first weekend I had without Julian. (He went to the International DJ Fest in Seoul).
It was quite relaxing I must say..maybe I need more weekends without him....

Friday:
One of my Korean Co teachers mentioned to me about the gym she goes to and the aerobics class on offer, of course being the gym bunny I am I had to try it out!
Turns out it was not quite what I expected. I walked in the door and I was told to remove my trainers, which I thought was weird cos what was I meant to do the class in? barefeet? But neverless I was given a pair of someone elses trainers...ewwww. I was absolutely gobsmacked at what the women here wear to aerobics..it reminded me of something from 'Footloose'- Headbank, 3/4 tights (some wore little skirts over the tights), leg warmers, tanktops and here I am rocking up in my t-shirt and shorts..straight away I didn't fit in!
The class started smack bang on 8pm and the instructor who was this cute little asian lady with a face caked full of makeup and red lipstick shouted something in Korean and everybody cranked out these amazingly fast paced dance moves. I was so confused I had never done moves like these before! The ladies in front of me looked like professional dancers they leaped, hopped and thrusted like professionals. I tried to keep up with the lady in front of me..but of course I was like 10 beats behind her..so i just took the whole experience with a grain of salt and of course all you could do was laugh. The main difference I find with Western Les Mills style classes and Korean classes is, Les Mills is more high intensity, aerobic and strength moves whereas the korean class was more about dance and little bit of aerobics. To be honest my heart rate did not even go up. Maybe it was because I spent most of my time tripping up over my own feet. When the class finished everybody gathered around to share cans of cold beverages, some ladies just stripped off and walked to the showers. My co teacher asked me if I wanted to go again on Monday but how do you say it politely in Korean "no" I think I'll pass.....

Saturday:
The gang that didn't go to DJ Fest decided to visit a jimjilbang (Korean Public Bath house). We went to the Hyundai Wellbeing Land in Buk Gu. When we got there we were notified it was 6,000won per person for the whole day - A bargin! We were given horrible orange pants and orange t-shirts to change into. The boys had nicer ones- a grey t-shirt and navy pants. When the girls got into the changing room we were told to strip off all our clothes and shower together..none of us were keen on that idea. I dont know how the women do it here, every woman just walked around naked as if it was the most natural thing to do. Maybe that is the main difference with Western Women and Korean Women..then again they all had nice figures. We just changed into our ugly clothes and headed upstairs. Upstairs looked like a big hall with dozens of doors. Each door comprised of a room heated to different temperatures ( I guess these were the Steam rooms). My favourite room was the one heated to 56 degrees, inside was a dark room the floor was covered in small stones and they were hot hot hot! The idea was to lie on them and let the hot rocks do their thing. It was really intense to begin with, but once you lay there long enough your body would soon get used to it. There was a man fast asleep when we got in. We stayed there for 10 minutes and left with sweat drenching our clothes and sweat pouring off our forehead. Christina mentioned we had to see the ice room. That was literally what it was! a room with ice on all sides and even a snowman- it was freezing but so refreshing after coming out of a 56 degree room. Next some of us desperately wanted a massage. It was 20,000 won for 30 mins. I hesisted paying that but decided it was way cheaper than back home and exactly what I needed. I had a little lady massage me..and my gosh I didn't realise how much pain my back and neck was in. She was amazing but the 30 mins was hell to me (in a good way!). The Hyundai Wellbeing Land was famous for its Public Bathouse but none of us girls were keen to get naked with each other (yet). I think I will go in my own time and get naked then..but for now..im keeping my privates private!!!!

Sunday:
Today we just wanted to relax. We agreed to meet at Yang-don markets and check out the local produce. There was literally ( I kid you not) hundreds of stalls all selling the same thing..live baby octopus, eels, fishes, dried seafood, kimchi,animal guts and intestines..even live stock..some of the ducks were way too cute to be bought and slaughtered at home:( then Jarrod reminded me we did have duck last night :(

We didn't buy anything, though it was very interesting! There was so much to buy and see..maybe next time I'll buy an octopus for a pet??
We wandered 'Downtown' from Yangdon it was a good 20 mins walk in the sun. We had lunch at a beautiful restaurant Lawerance took us to..I had my favourite korean meal- Bibimbap (rice tossed in mild hot sauce and assorted fresh vegetables -YUM!!). It was only 5,000won which I thought was amazingly cheap- NOTE: must take Julian. The day ended with us going to the board game cafe - you must buy a drink to stay there for a minimum of 3 hours. We got monopoly and played for 2.5 hours..NOTE TO SELF: Never play monopoly with Foregieners as everybody has their own rules from back home...in the end with much debating and arguing we decided Laurence was the "winner" to avoid any tanties being thrown.
What an eventful weekend! And I even made the effort to find a payphone on the way home to wish my mum a Happy mothers day.
H x