Koreans do entertainment right.

When not threatening to blackmail korean academies, Nami and I have found ample opportunity to observe and immerse ourselves in the local culture. For example, we have eaten shaved ice sundaes, delighted in not having to tip at restaurants, and bought coffee for the price of a good meal (Nami says this sentence lacks parallel construction. pshh.) On Sunday, Nami's family brought us to the Olympic grounds to see "freestyle soccer." Ooooo soccer, we thought, and freestyle too...that must mean, like, not choreographed? We really had no idea what the hell we were going to see but we expected some sort of green field with food vendors...and possibly beer. Oh how misguided we were.

We entered a big fancy building to find that the venue looked more like a rally space than a field. There was a stage, blinding flood lights, and rows upon rows of folding chairs. We took our seats....where were they going to play soccer? On the stage, some old guys talked for a really long time...in korean. I zoned out. An 80 year old guy did a split and punched through a wooden board. Nami and I yawned. that was vaguely impressive. where was the beer? It had been an hour and I hadn't seen a soccer ball. We ate some bbang to pass the time.

Then, someone hit the lights. A comedian came on stage and there was a burst of confetti. The second hour was so good, we forgave them for all the boring crap they had put us through. There were musical performances! And pyrotechnics! smoke! pulsating light! boy band choreography from circa 1998. Hip Hop! Fun for all ages! (See below for visual aid)

My personal favorite performer was the guy who made his lower body look like rubber with his little jig. He also kind of looked like Nami's mom from far away. Incidentally, Nami's mom, who was next to us, was dancing in her seat.

Honestly, I was so amused that I wouldn't have even cared if they just skipped the soccer part. I had kind of forgotten about it at this point anyway. BUT, the soccer did happen. The performances ended (for the time being) and the competition started. Every contestant kicked a soccer ball into the audience. Nami's mom got sidechecked while vying for a ball. No one was hurt.

So, freestyle soccer is actually like doing tricks/juggling a soccer ball. You might have already known this and think we're stupid. Get over yourself. Anyway, all the contestants were young (ages 14-25). They played music while the kids performed...sometimes American rap songs containing curse words and derogatory language but no big deal in a room full of korean-speakers. Here's a video of the guy who came in second. He acted like an arrogant rockstar but girls were screaming in the back of the room so I guess that works well for him.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that there was a halftime show of breakdancers and a globetrotter (freestyle basketball...which nami and I agreed we liked better).

The whole experience was EPIC. We stayed for all of it (4 hours) and were one of the last to leave. Koreans do entertainment right.