Korean Children's Arcades

If I ever were face-to-face with an angry gorilla, these are the guys I'd like beside me

This, by the way, is Marie, mounted atop a giant robot ride.

The morning after I put 500 won in this machine, I found myself 20 years older, working for Robert Loggia. How the hell did that happen?

Yes, I assume that's supposed to be Luigi.

Another giant robot ride

You may have noticed in my previous post that I included a photo of a Starcraft-themed arcade game, and those of you who know me well probably expected me to frequent these types of places a good amount while I'm here. In actuality, before yesterday I had only drunkenly stumbled into one game room, and when I did I was encountered by a tandem of girls with headset microphones screaming Korean who-knows-what at me. There weren't any true arcade "games", but instead some riffs off of the American slot machine, most starring either the cast from Lord of the Rings or various anime characters. I haven't found any of the surreal neon arcades that I imagined would be here (maybe those are only in Japan), but instead have only seen seedy holes-in-the-wall normally occupied by wasted gamblers. There are the punching machines that seem to stand outside of every convenience market in Busan (a whole 'nother post will be dedicated to them when I get around to it), but to be honest, I'm a little disappointed in the arcade game culture here. Marie and I did make a brief stop at the children's arcade in Yongdu Park, and I thought a few photos would be useful.

From the top of Busan Tower...

Marie and I went to Mount Yongdu Park today, simply because she had never been there and I had never been to the top of Busan Tower. Here are some photos taken by my extremely unsteady hands, all taken as the city went from day to night.

A few things that caught my fancy today...

At a two-story batting cage on the outskirts of Nampo-dong, the grotesque visage of Randy Johnson stares you down as a fastball rockets from the pitching machine... the guy next to him? Well, that'd be Byung-Hyun Kim, who many Koreans have yet to realize is the worst clutch pitcher to ever play in the Major Leagues. In fact, one of my highlights of the love motel days was watching a 30 minute highlight reel of Byung-Hyun Kim, Chan Ho Park, and Hee Sop Choi. Of course, Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" played during Kim's clips; even in Korea, you still can't escape that fuckin' song.

In the Mount Yongdu gift shop, a tireless wood engraver makes probably the most laborious caricature art that you'd ever come across. The framed picture, by the way, is of some Korean celebrity who will be the subject of many gag Christmas gifts I'll be sending this year. Keychains, calendars, fans: you name it, and this guy's kisser is probably on it.

In a Korean arcade, I came across a Starcraft-themed top-down shooter that I kind of doubt Blizzard licensed. While I didn't give it a try, it looked pretty shitty; it uses the Starcraft engine and sprites in what is essentially a Xevious knock-off. I was disappointed to see that the Terran bunkers could fly.

Took my first trip to a Korean record store and am now happy to reveal the truth about Mark Shelley's double-life. If only we at KCOU had known, perhaps the "R's" section would have quaked from the sound of Linear.

Seongnamsa Temple (Photos)

Because I said I would!

(Note: If any of these pictures are from either Beomeosa or Tongdosa, chalk it up to my ignorance and a badly-organized "My Pictures" folder)