The first event was the baseball game. Friday morning we all met Mentors Club outside of the global lounge (Mentors club is the club on campus that pairs up with exchange students and runs a lot of their activities, they also help get the exchange students involved in the campus activities) and boarded about a million coach buses, and all made our way to the Olympic Sports complex in Seoul. The summer Olympics were held in Seoul in 1988, the facilities were beautiful but definitely dated. It was hectic at the stadium, but exciting at the same time. When we got there we were immediately bombarded with free stuff! Students and faculty of the University handed out Yonsei visors, rain ponchos, breakfast muffins, caramel latte drinks, and this year’s Yon-Ko Jeon program book. Also later on they gave everyone a boxed lunch, which was catered by the Seoul Plaza Hotel.
The stadium was packed, and even though it was raining we spent the whole morning singing and dancing to all of the Yonsei cheers while YU and KU played. Before the game started though there was a beautiful opening ceremony with some speakers from each university and some ceremonial cheers and dances from each university’s cheering team. KU scored 3 runs pretty early on but YU still played very well. We left after the 6th inning to rush over to the basketball game, which was held in the Olympic stadium. The game ended with KU and YU tying 4 to 4.
The basketball game was also really cool. It was a nice change to be sitting in a dry, air-conditioned stadium, and also it was nice to watch a faster-paced sport after a few hours of baseball (not that I don’t love baseball!). We were on our feet cheering the whole time, which was certainly necessary because YU won the game, but by only a few points! It was so exciting and when the game was over; the YU basketball team got up on the podium and started singing the cheers with the Blue Knights. After that they returned to the court and picked up their coach and swung him by his feet and his hands. It was quite a sight, and I was told that it’s a YU tradition. When they threw him up in the air (with the intentions of the team to catch him) they actually dropped him! Of course they picked him up right away and dusted him off but it was hilarious, it reminded me of the bar/bat mitzvah chair tradition.
After the basketball game we were starving so the group and I went to a Korean bbq restaurant in Sinchon. Everything was very good, but we were so exhausted that we could barely enjoy ourselves. We headed back to campus and some of us put on a movie. I watched Ferris Bueller’s Day-Off with Andrew, Kia, and Jim and then headed to bed.
Festivities began early the next morning as well, but I decided to sleep in a little bit and then go with Rosie and Andrew to meet up with the group a little later. The soccer and rugby games were held at Mokdong stadium instead of the Olympic complex, because this year the Seoul Design show was being held at Olympic stadium on Saturday and so they needed to find an alternative location. We arrived in time to meet up with the group and catch the very end of the rugby game. Yonsei won! Shortly after, the soccer game started and although the cheering was really fun, the game was kind of a letdown. The Yonsei soccer team was not nearly as good as the basketball or rugby teams were. KU beat Yonsei 2-0, but it was still fun just being there.
We cheered for a bit more and both Universities’ performed in the closing ceremony and we headed back. When we arrived on campus the nighttime festivities were in full swing! The main road through campus was lined with food vendors giving away free kebabs, hotdogs, beer, waffles, and ice cream. Everything was delicious! There were even a few Korean artists who performed on the stage that was set up right in the middle of the main road! It was quite the party, although we didn’t know whom the artists were, it was still a lot of fun to party with our fellow Yonsei students.
The funniest and perhaps strangest part of the night was when Andrew and I somehow managed to get this big group of passed out Koreans to get up and dance. There’s a huge academic building right on the main road and under the awning there was a big group of students laying down, basically passed out—too much cheering and too much drinking! Well Andrew and I just didn’t think that was acceptable and we each stood up on a chair and told them all to get up and start dancing with us! And believe it or not, they listened, they all got up and we all started dancing to the music, which at this point were just fancier versions of the all the Yonsei cheers. When the songs were over all the Koreans rushed over to Andrew and I started hugging us and shouting how cool we are. They also wanted to take pictures with us. It was like we were celebrities to them, or perhaps just saints. This one guy told me in very broken English that he forgot how much fun Yon-Ko Jeon was. Not a bad way to end the weekend. We hit up a pub in Sinchon after the concert was over and then headed back to campus for some well-needed sleep.
The Yon-Ko games were a really amazing experience. Part of what made the weekend so special was having the “big school” experience. HWS is such a special place, but in terms of school spirit at athletic events, nothing can compare to Yon-Ko Jeon.
The following pictures are just a few of the great shots of Yon-Ko Jeon. They were taken at the baseball, basketball, and ruby games. Yonsei University's colors are blue and Korea University is red.
Sounds like Division 1 football here in the USA
ReplyDeletewhere passion and huge crowds are the rule.
Love the pictures.