Cold. That will be my overriding memory of the 2010 Busan New Year Festival.

The weather was the top subject on the news, with temperatures in Seoul dropping to -12.8°C, and it feeling like -20°C with the wind chill factor. Busan had predictably fared better, with daytime temperatures ranging from -10°C to -5°C, but we also had a wind chill factor to deal with. Heavy snow had fallen in a number of regions, but in the almost perpetually dry air of Korea's second biggest city, the atmosphere was perfectly clear and the only ice to be seen was in the frozen trickles of water and effluent discarded from the occasional shop-front.

With overnight temperatures predicted to fall to -15°C, there were three activity options encompassed within the official Busan New Year Festival - 'Celebrating the Last Sunset' of 2009 at Dadaepo Beach between 4pm and 6.10pm, 'Ringing in the New Year' at Yongdusan Park between 11pm and 12.35am, and 'Celebrating the First Sunrise' of 2010 on Haeundae Beach between 6.30am and 8am. There was also a fourth option - traditionally Korean and outside any official event - climb a mountain for one-and-a-half hours to watch the sunrise - between around 4.30am and 8.30am, an activity so ill-advised it annually claims casualties even in less treacherous weather; the combination of alcohol, strenuous exercise, cold, narrow paths and near total darkness never being a good idea.

I'd already had the Haeundae Beach New Year experience three years ago, and while it certainly was an experience just over two months into my Korean life, it was one I was agnostic about repeating. In any case, the forecast was for cloud the next morning. Again. So I opted for 'Celebrating the Last Sunset' at Dadaepo Beach, on the grounds of temperature as much as anything. Despite the deceptively clear and sunny day, it was still so cold that one could rapidly begin to lose feeling in fingers and toes.



With no subway station, we arrived by taxi - a little late after heavy traffic - and activities were already under way. A samul nori troupe played on Fountain Square and people wrote their wishes for the New Year on a large message wall, though it is unclear what the person who had - in English - inscribed "I believe I can fly" was exactly hoping for. Someone else had apparently written their mobile phone number - perhaps making their aspirations a little easier to guess at.

A quick scan of the horizon soon revealed the obvious flaw in the Busan government's cunning plan. While the city enjoys some coastal areas to the west where the sun sets, Dadaepo Beach's Western horizon was not ocean-filled, but rather mountainous. While the official guide indicated the sunset time at 5.22pm, this would presumably be a little later than it would disappear from view where we were, which seemed to make the experience more arbitrary than it should have been.



Tents to one side of the Square served hot drinks for free, and dispensed Swine 'Flu advice to anyone feeling ill. Inside another tent the Post Office gave out pre-stamped postcards which people could use to write messages before posting them into a giant postbox. On the Square, large outdoor heaters had been strategically placed around a seated area, and people were wisely beginning to strategically place themselves next to them. It was bracingly cold with a healthy wind blowing in from the sea.

A jazz band began to play on the stage, and that seemed like a good plan - what better way to play down the sunset than with some soulful music? But before long they'd switched through various styles to settle into the type of tune popular with Korea's older generation. Gratingly, some began to sing. The band gave way to a Korean drumming performance, which transpired to also be a good accompaniment to the setting sun. Unfortunately, views of the stage were somewhat obscured by the arrival of the Mayor of Busan in front of me, whom then preceded to enjoy a steady stream of visitors offering tribute, standing up.






As the sun set many in the crowd unceremoniously dashed over to the edge of the Square to bid good riddance to one of the worst decades in recent memory. Evidently more still had foregone the music in favour of a more reflective view of the event from the shoreline.




By this time, my toes had long since stopped reporting in, and the anti-shake on my camera was fighting a losing battle against my gloved but increasingly quivering hands. My wife and I sought shelter in a tent which transpired to have the best kept secret at the event - a portable gas fire where people shamelessly removed shoes in a futile attempt to avert the onset of frostbite.

The event ended with fireworks, which exploded above us for our entertainment while beneath our feet the lights of the Square changed colour in some vague synchronisation with the accompanying music. I'd seriously considered leaving after the sunset, mostly because of the cold but with an increasing concern as to how we were going to fight with 500 people for a taxi once the event finished, but stuck it out to the end.




This was a mistake. Predictably, the moment the burning remnants from the last firework faded into the cold night sky, a mass of people moved from the Square to the road as though they were held together by some invisible force, which one sometimes suspects they actually are here. The police cunningly waved us down the path adjacent to the road rather than have us spill out into it in searching for rescue vehicles, so it appeared as though we had something of a walk ahead of us, on feet we could no longer feel. But twenty meters further along, a taxi appeared out of a dark side street as though it had been conjured up out of thin air. This highly improbable and near Biblically-miraculous event seemed to freeze the miserable masses around us to the spot momentarily, so it became our ride home.

Or at least, that was the theory. A friend had phoned to warn us that it had just taken her thirty minutes to drive a mile in our area, and sure enough it wasn't long before we encountered the heaviest traffic jams I've ever seen in this city - and there was much to compare it to. Our progress became slower and slower, while the taxi meter - being based on movement and, crucially, time - ticked higher and higher. We discussed in English how far we could let things go before financial prudence demanded that we abandon the pervasive warmth of the vehicle and set out on foot in an unfamiliar district far from the navigable comfort of the nearest subway station. Even our driver saw the futility of the situation and volunteered to let us out whenever we wanted to go. Somehow though, we saw it through most of the way before our stop-loss kicked in and we were forced to hit the streets less than a mile from our home. I still hadn't completely warmed up.

Happy new year! It would make sense that 2010's first post would be an events post. Without further ado, here goes the best, brightest, or just most interesting things to check out this month. For more about the national holidays of 2010, check out korea4expats excellent page on holidays to look forward. Hat tip to 10 Magazine who provided information about some of the events.

January 1-24: The Hi Seoul Festival continues the winter edition in downtown Seoul through Seoul Plaza and Gwanghwamun Plaza. I've already blogged about the proceedings, and is worth visiting for an afternoon / evening. Worth seeing: 'Fractal Turtleship', and the ice skating rink in Gwanghwamun Plaza.

January 1-31: The Boseong Tea Fields are lit up with holiday decorations all month long. If you're in the mood to get out of Seoul, check out the celebrations down in Jeollanam-do at http://www.boseong.go.kr/en/.

January 1-31: The Andy Warhol exhibit at the Seoul Museum of Art. I've already blogged on the exhibit, and it's worth checking out if you don't mind the bad English explanations. 12,000 won gets you in; City Hall station, lines 1 or 2, exits 1 or 2 are closest.

January 1-31: From Monet to Picasso - masterpieces from the Philadelphia Museum of Art are featured in Seoul at the Hangaram Art Museum. Some details from the Seoul Art Center are available here; 13,000 won admission. Take line 3 to the Nambu Bus Terminal, then take exit 4 or 5 and walk about 15-20 minutes. You can also take local buses 12 or 4429 if you're in the area.

January 1-31: Masterpieces of Italian Renaissance Frescoes - 51 frescos by 21 authors freed from the walls they were painted on are now yours for the experiencing at the Seoul Art Center. Call 02-3471-2020 or see http://www.frescoart.co.kr for more information (sorry, but no English for us non-Koreans).

January 9-31: Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice festival - the first area that freezes over in winter, and claiming some of the thickest ice in Korea, over a million visitors will visit this festival over its three weeks. Also known as the Nara Festival. Sancheoneo means mountain trout, which supposedly only frequents the coldest and purest waters in the country. This is the place to try ice fishing with your bare hands - not quite the Polar Bear Plunge, but still something quite daring by nature. Get to the Hwacheon bus terminal via the Dong Seoul bus terminal in east Seoul (Gangbyeong station, line 2), or go with the Adventure Korea group to pay one price and have all the transportation and other things taken care of.

January 12 & 14 - 6:30-8pm: Registration opens for the Seoul Global Center's first evening Korean classes. Absolute beginner classes begin on the 26th and are every Tuesday and Thursday. Running for 8 weeks, the class will cover the Korean alphabet and some basic expressions, vocabulary, and grammar. Register in-person at the Itaewon-Hannam Global Village Center (Itaewon station, line 6); phone and e-mail registrations aren't accepted. For information purposes only, call 02-796-2459~60 or e-mail [email protected].

January 12: The Melting Pot Creative Workshop - get together with your fellow creative souls and shoot the breeze or your ideas for a new Celtic-infused ska band. Roofers in Itaewon - call Simon Magnus at 010-8672-1166 for more.

January 18: Green Day in concert. While it seems overpriced to yours truly, the punk rockers are making a trip to Seoul. Olympic Park, Seoul (line 5 or 8), 8pm, 88,000 won for the cheap seats.

January 22-31: Taebaek Snow Festival - between the Polar Bear run, ice climbing competition, and an opportunity to participate in a Guinness World Record attempt, what more do you need? Leave from Seoul's DongSeoul Bus Terminal, then take a local bus to the entrance to Hwangji Pond. Check out their English website for more.

January 23-24: The Vienna Boys Choir - definitely worth taking a date to, or claiming you sounded like that when you were a little boy. Seoul Art Center, Nambu Bus Terminal (line 3, exit 5), 02-580-1301, 30,000 won and up.

January 28-31: Inje Ice Fishing Festival - just in case the other ice festivals sounded boring, this one promises a bowling and soccer competition on the slick surface. Check out http://www.injefestival.co.kr/ for more, though it's entirely in Korean. According to korea4expats.com, almost two dozen buses a day leave for the area from Seoul, although you'll need a city bus to get to Sinnam, which comes less frequently.

© Chris Backe - 2009