Soccer Craze

The Korea Professional Football League (K-League) is South Korea's only fully professional association football league. At the top of the South Korean football league system, it is the country's highest and most prestigious level of football competition currently contested by 16 clubs.

At present the K-League is the only professional league in Korea. It contains sixteen member clubs.

Below the level of the K-League there is the National League, a closed semi-professional/amateur league with fifteen clubs, established in 2003. The third level of football in Korea is the Challengers League.

There is, at present, no official system of promotion and relegation between any of the three leagues. However, beginning in 2006, the champions of the National League had been eligible for promotion to the K-League provided they had met certain criteria.

It has always been a wonderful match, when taking place on weekends or on some special holidays in Seoul. I must say Korean people love soccer and they are crazy for it. During my stay in Korea i have a number of opportunities to watch Soccer games. and every time i had  a more fun. the support of the different teams from far and near of Korea made it more attractive and put  lots of fun in it. 

Soccer match, FC Seoul vs Suwon, meeting time and place:
Tomorrow Saturday at 6:00 pm, 
World cup stadium station line 6, exit 1,

It was more than fun to watch this soccer game with my Seoul International students. Currently Korean People Love soccer as much as they love Baseball especially after winning the Silver medal in 2012 London Olympics. So the stadium was full of spectators with more enthusiasm and energy.

 This game was the first game played in Korea after the London Olympics and was between two tough teams of Korea Seoul and Suwon. Many international players were playing from both sides. So it attracted many people including foreigners. I had a great fun with all friends during all this time and enjoyed the moments in real ways. 
In spite of the fact that Suwon won this game 2-0 but it was a lovely game. Thanks to Seoul global center for this opportunity.

Korea in Motion Festival Flash Mob

Korea in Motion Festival is the biggest festival of Korea starting on September 1, 2012. The Korean Tourism Organization is arranging different kind of events to attract the attention of the people. 

Korea in Motion (KOINMO), the annual celebration of Korean traditional and modern performances, is set to take place in Seoul during the entire month of September. 

Marking the 7th year, the KOINMO will kick off with an opening ceremony on September 1st at theCheonggye Plaza Outdoor Stage. The ceremony will feature K-pop group and this year’s KOINMO Promotional Ambassador, ZE:A. Then, the festival will present over 30 steady-selling shows representing diverse genres and topics – among them Korea’s leading non-verbal performances “Nanta” and “Jump” – at theaters across Seoul throughout the festival period. 

 Tickets for all participating shows will be sold at more than 50% off original prices during the festival period. Called “Rush Tickets”, the special discount tickets will be available for purchase at the KOINMO Ticket Booth set up in T2 Madang (Yard) in front of the Korea Tourism Organization Headquarters. 

Furthermore, participants may collect stamps after watching a KOINMO show, purchasing a KOINMO product, or staying at a KOINMO-affiliated accommodation facility in a special stamp book to win souvenirs. Detailed information on the Stamp Rally event is available on the official KOINMO Homepage. 

Today Aug26, 2012 was the second flash mob with foreigner arranged by KTO at Hongdae around 2 PM. It was really a nice and awesome opportunity to dance on “Korean in Motion” song. We had a practice at Catholic Youth Center followed by a tasty dinner. We have lots of viewers in Hongdae streets and they show a deep interest in our flash mob. Overall it was an event full of energy and fun.

More info

< 2012 Korea In Motion (KOINMO) Festival> 
* Opening Ceremony
☞ Date & Time: September 1, 2012 / 18:30-21:10
☞ Venue: Cheonggye Plaza Outdoor Stage
* KOINMO Performances
☞ Shows: http://www.koreainmotion.com/eng/rushticket/rushticket_01.asp
☞ Period: September 1 – 30, 2012
☞ Rush Tickets: 50% off original ticket prices
☞ Rush Ticket Purchase: KOINMO Ticket Booth, Korea Tourism Organization T2 Madang (Yard)
☞ KOINMO Homepage: www.koreainmotion.com (Korean, English, Japanese)
KOINMO Blog: http://2011koinmo.blog.meKOINMO Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Koreainmotion
KOINMO Twitter: https://twitter.com/2012KOINMO

* Stamp Rally: http://koreainmotion.com/eng/openyard/openyard_02.asp (English)

☞ 1330 tt call center: +82-2-1330 (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese)

Seoul Town Meeting 2012

The Seoul Metropolitan Government held “The 2nd Seoul Town Meeting 2012” in the Global Lounge of Yonsei University on Thursday, August 23. Mayor Park Won Soon and more than 100 international students and foreigners participated in the meeting. Various topics were dealt with and the students’ policy proposals concluded the event.

The Seoul Town Meeting was launched in 2000 and 2012 marked its 13t

h anniversary. So far, the meetings have offered opportunities to for foreigners from diverse backgrounds to talk about the discomforts they experience here in Seoul and ways to improve the daily lives of foreigners living in Seoul. The latest Seoul Town Meeting was combined with “The 5th Seoul International Student Forum (SISF),” which worked for two months in July and August 2012, to present policy changes for the city of Seoul. SISF has been run by the city since 2008. Selected international students in Seoul are required to experience the city administration for two months and to then present their innovative ideas. The goal is to create an environment that foreigners find comfortable. As of the end of March 2012, there are 30,000 international students in Seoul.

The Seoul Town Meeting was finished off with the policy presentations on 6 topics by the 100 international students, who had been divided into 6 groups, that saw and experienced plenty of Seoul’s administration for the two months of July and August. Each team came up with their respective policy ideas through a lot of preparations and meetings.

Seoul International Students Federation SISF 2012 session ended with a meeting with Seoul Mayer this Thursday (Aug23, 2012) 4 PM in Yeonsi University, Seoul South Korea. In SISF the international students along with Korean friends were divided into group of 6, each containing around 15 members. Their role was to indicate a problem in Seoul city and to address that problem. The entire groups put their energies in solving the problems of Seoul to make it a smarter city. We have many official visits and visits for fun and entertainment. In these visits we explore the main organizing bodies of Seoul.

My Team "Group C" members were Khaled Fazily,Nelly Ivanova,Chimi Wangmo,Minseok Kim,SooAh Cho,Zeyuanyu Long,Seowoo Lee, Ju-Yeong Lee, Jingqiu Liu, Jen taie and Rie. I must appreciate their efforts for making our project done. We have submitted our proposal on how to make Seoul smarter in terms of connecting the Seoul Global Centers.

It was a nice opportunity to address the problems to Seoul government, especially in front of Seoul Mayer. He is a nice man as he listen all those problems with indications and their possible solutions very carefully and appreciate these efforts and he promised to solve all those problems very soon. Meanwhile we put him in a flash mob in Uppa Gangnam Style song. And he danced with the SISF 2012. We have lot of fun, games, foods and talent show. That night was special.

Chuncheon

Chuncheon has always been one of this writer’s favorite weekend getaways. Nestled in the rugged snow-capped peaks of the province of Gangwon-do, this warm and inviting provincial capital is a land of mountains, lakes and rivers. A mere hour and a half from Seoul (by either bus or train), it gives world-weary Seoulites a place to escape the urban jungle for a day or two, rejuvenate amidst beautiful scenery and - perhaps above all else - eat good food before returning once again to the daily grind.

 I always love to escape from my daily routine for a day and enjoy the natural beauty of this place. This time with my International friends to enjoy the beauty of this part of Korea just after the finish of the Seoul town meeting on 23 August,2012. 

In the winter, there’s perhaps nothing more romantic than taking the train from Seoul’s Cheongnyangni Station east into the mountains of north-central Korea. Chuncheon sits on a large lake, as you’ll no doubt notice as your train pulls into Chuncheon Station.

 Sure, nowadays, there are much more glitzier ways to get from Point A to Point B. But Cheongnyangni Station, located in the northeast part of Seoul, gives you a chance to experience train travel like it used to be just a decade ago. Yes, it’s a bit dingy compared to the glass and steel of Seoul and Yongsan stations, and don’t bother looking for the Starbucks. It’s a humble station headed to humble mountain towns in the Korean interior. And in its simplicity is its charm. 

It’s best to take an early morning train, preferably around dawn. The train will chug along the Bukhangang River, amidst splendid mountain scenery. In the early morning hours, the river and reservoirs (resulting from large dams) are shrouded in fog - a beautiful sight indeed. 

In addition to mountains, however, the town was blessed with fast flowing rivers, a blessing that did not go unnoticed by civil engineers, who - starting in the 1960s - proceeded to build some of Asia’s largest damns and hydroelectric plants in the area. This turned Chuncheon from a mountain railway junction to a city of lakes. Today, the town is surrounded by Uiam Lake to the west, Chuncheon Lake to the north and, further east, the massive Soyang Lake, which is so large to almost qualify as an inland sea. Home to numerous resort islands, including Namiseom, Jungdo (of which there are actually two) and Wido, the lakes provide visitors with tons of water sport activities in the summer months, and beautiful vistas in the winter months. Downtown Chuncheon, which sits on Lake Uiam, is a relatively large provincial capital and a major educational center, with several universities. It’s a pleasant enough place to walk around, and although by Korean standards, it’s relatively new, it does have a few historical sites of interest, including a number of Korean War memorials and two old Catholic churches founded by Irish missionaries in the mid-20th century. 

 Although it is favorite place of winter but no matter which season you visit it, you will found a charm and love. We had an MT here, probably the Last gathering of Seoul international students gathering of this session as everybody is goanna be busy at the end of summer vacations. 

 we had nice travel in train and book a resort, having much fun, gossips, sharing experience at Seoul and Korea. Many of my International friends drink a lot in night and start dancing and playing. We spend a night and full day and made new and interesting memories.