Festival in Insadong

With a Monday free, and nowhere to be, a trip to Insadong is a nice diversion...especially if you happen upon a Korean festival.

After breakfast and coffee, my buddy Andrew and I headed off for what we predicted to be a mundane afternoon wandering though the art and music quarter of Seoul. Unbeknownst to us, this particular day our expedition would coincide with a Korean Heritage Festival...all the better to enjoy you, Seoul.

We were first tipped off by the unusually large crowds of families out and about, curious for a Monday. Then from the mass of people emerged a 15 foot squeaking afro-clown. Now I was not aware that afro-clowns were so deeply embedded in the cultural heritage of Korea, but these are the kinds of things you learn living in a foreign country.



Another thing I have picked up here as foreign resident is a particular puerile custom popular among the children. Something I would consider to be the Korean equivalent of the Wedgie. It's called the "dong-jip" and involves folding your hands together gun-style and aim the...uh, barrel directly between the buttock of your victim. On this particular occassion the elavted backside of the stilted afro-clown proved to be a challenging and desirable target. It was only a matter of time before the balloon swords he had fashioned for the children were turned against him. Who's laughing now Squeaky?