Korea vs. Japan

Last night went to the World Baseball Classic Championship game between Korea vs. Japan at Dodger Stadium..



I walked up, expecting to hear seminal baseball organs. Instead, I was greeted to the sound of gongs, trippy..



International commentators and translators..



Ichiro started heating up..



So did this drunk Korean dude..



Mark, Scotty, and I decided to cruise around a little. We met up with some friends at a section that was a little more livelier (and contentious)..





And then Korea lost in extra innings :( Hats off to Japan, they played a hell of a game. So to drown our sorrows, we decided to stop by Dan Sung Sa for some grub and soju. There's Mark wondering what the riot would be like in Ktown had Korea won..



I guess we'll never know.

Seoul Recap

Earlier this year I took my first trip to Korea for a filmmaker lab sponsored by the Korean Film Council. It's compelling to think I was finally able to visit my motherland through my art and career. Here's some of the staff at a dinner in Pusan a few months ago..



After 5 months of writing and 2 trips across the Pacific, I was deeply humbled when they announced today my script WINTER WAR won the 2008 KOFIC FDL Award, especially since I was in company of other very talented filmmakers. Variety mentioned it today which can be read here. So with all this talk of Korea, thought it was fitting to recap my 2nd trip to Seoul, exclusively right now! Right away at the park in Hongdae, a Calico sticker from the summer trip..



Next morning, greeted with a classic Korean spread..



If you've never been to Seoul, think New York x 5. The number of skyscrapers are staggering. Just from the plane, it looks as if a hardcore gamer played Sim City 4 with a cheat code! Now, the value of the buildings I'm not too sure about.



Hopped on the subway..



Thought we were ready for unification. Look what I found!



When in Korea, you see tons of these barber shop swirls everywhere.



You would probably think, "Damn, kimchee must grow your hair fast! Why so many barber shops?" Well these aren't barber shops my friend - they're massage parlours. Although prostitution is illegal in Korea, the police just turn a blind eye. Kept it moving, the street food is perfect for the traveler on the run, inexpensive and fast. And pretty tasty too..





Some not so much. Strange fruit you can only find in Asia!



Sunset over the Han River..



Took a cab to Gangnam, Seoul's modern center. Electricity..





Andre and I stopping traffic..



John, who used to sing in a mega Korean pop band popular in the 90's, came with..



Took a ride to Itaewon with my producer friend Stream Lee.



Itaewon is the district adjacent to the US military base, so the area's flooded with Western-ish people. We stayed all but one hour. Day 7 of travel over. Crashed hard and woke up early to head to Tokyo. Stay tuned..