A First Taste of Autumn in Busan

And so autumn has arrived in Busan.  Well, almost...

Since the beginning of October, until yesterday, the weather here has been like that of Ottawa in late August / early September.  Maximum daytime temperatures were in the area of 20 to 25 degrees Celcius.  Nighttime temperatures were in the mid- to high teens.  Most days were sunny.  Gone were the humidity and the sweltering heat of August and September.

Then, yesterday evening, a strong wind came in from the north, and the temperatures dropped.  Today, the maximum daytime temperature was below 15 degrees, and at the moment, it's 8 degrees outside.  This mini cold snap is expected to last for another day or so, and then temperatures should return to a more normal 15 - 20 degrees for a little while yet.  In Busan, fall truly begins in November, it seems.


I think I felt the cold weather coming...  Yesterday, before the temperature dropped, I was listening to a Tragically Hip song called "Escape Is At Hand for the Travelling Man".  I'm not sure why, but whenever I hear this song, I'm reminded of the beauty of cold but sunny winter days in Canada.  And in Ottawa, when the first cold days arrive in the fall, I start to look forward to the winter, my favourite season.  I'm going to miss the Canadian winter this year.  But I'm looking forward to experiencing winter in Korea.

Ski tracks under snowy trees in Strathcona Park, Ottawa.

A small tree by the frozen Rideau river, Ottawa.

A small tree by the frozen Rideau river, Ottawa.

Snow covered leaves.

The PIFF - Busan's answer to the Bytowne cinema

In early October, the fifteenth annual Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) took place.  This festival is truly international, featuring films from all parts of the world.  And it draws many tourists to Busan.


I am by no means an expert in cinematography, but I find much pleasure in a visually appealing movie scene or in a well-crafted movie plot.  I also find movies therapeutic.  Many films have taught me about how different people deal with life's more difficult moments, and this has often been a source of comfort and reassurance for me.  For these reasons, films are important to me.

In addition, when I lived in Ottawa, I had the privilege of living a few blocks away from the Bytowne, quite possibly the best independent cinema in all of Canada.  Sometimes, I would head there in the late evening to catch a movie before going to bed.  But most often, going to the Bytowne was a social occasion.  I think it's fair to say that going to the Bytowne was almost a ritual for me and a few of my friends, a ritual to be repeated every few weeks, if possible.  During my years in Ottawa, I must have seen nearly one hundred films at the Bytowne.  The most notable of these include David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive", "Le confessional" by Québécois producer Robert Lepage, "No Country for Old Men" by Joel and Ethan Coen, as well as "Snow Cake", a film made in Wawa that very accurately captures the spirit of Northern Ontario, and "Man On Wire", a documentary about funambule Philippe Petit's most impressive exploit.  Thanks to the Bytowne, I have developed an appreciation for unconventional films.



Since I moved to Busan, I have been missing the Bytowne.  But thankfully, during the PIFF, five or six of Busan's cinemas were effectively transformed into Bytownes, and I had the opportunity to see a number of great films.

The first was a French-Belgian production called "Illégal", and it was very difficult to watch.  It told the stories of a number of characters, mostly women and children, who were illegally residing in Belgium, and who the Belgian state attempted to deport.  The film showed how poverty and violence in their home countries forced these people to migrate, and how they then endured violence and abuse in their destination countries as well, both at the hands of various unscrupulous individuals and at the hands of state officials.  Unfortunately, migrants in many countries face these kinds of hardships.

The second was a Spanish film called "Muerte de un ciclista", or "Death of a Cyclist".  It was shown as part of a series of films made in Spain during the Franco dictatorship.  This film told the story of a couple, composed of two members of the Spanish bourgeoisie, who accidentally kill a cyclist one night while driving on an otherwise empty road in rural Spain.  The couple left the scene of the accident, as they were having an affair and did not want to be found out.  But they were then troubled by guilt and paranoia.  In the end, the male half of the couple decided that he should come clean and confess that he was responsible for the death of the cyclist, but his lover, not wanting to lose her social privileges, killed him before he could do so.  The creator of this film was clearly trying to show how the Spanish people's allegiance to the Franco dictatorship corrupted them.  But I think it also spoke to the morality of people benefitting from power and privilege in all parts of the world.

The third film I saw during the PIFF was an interesting romantic drama called "Kites".  The film was made by an Indian director, but the lead actress was Mexican and most of the story took place in the United States.  True to its Bollywood roots, the film featured a number of dance scenes.  And though I thought it was a little over-acted at times, I found it entertaining and original. 

Finally, the fourth film I saw at the PIFF was a Canadian production called "À l'origine d'un cri", or "Crying Out".  This film explored the dysfunctional relationships of three male members of a Québécois family, the son, the father and the grand-father.  The action of the film was driven by the father.  At the beginning of the film, his second wife had recently died, and he was unable to accept this.  So, he stole her corpse from the graveyard and disappeared, prompting his relatives to ask his son and his father to go look for him.  Most of the remainder of the film then centered around them as they journeyed though rural Québec trying to find the father.  The film showed how, even though their relationship was highly dysfunctional, the three men cared about each other very much.  And through the adventure that they lived together, they grew to know and understand each other better, and also to appreciate and forgive each other.  In my not-so-humble opinion, "À l'origine d'un cri" is an excellent Canadian film.  I was proud that this was one of a handful of Canadian entries in this year's PIFF, and I hope that many Canadians will see it.  However, it is often the case that films like this one, though made in Canada, are not see by the majority of Canadians.


On a more general note, having attended the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) a few years ago, I was surprised at how affordable it was to see movies at the PIFF.  General screening tickets cost 6000 Won, an amount approximately equivalent to only 30% of the minimum of 20 Canadian dollars one can expect to pay to see a movie at the TIFF.  My only regret regarding this year's PIFF, and for this I apologize to my Korean friends, is that I did not see any Korean movies during the festival.  Next year, I will take full advantage of the 16th edition of the PIFF to properly explore the East Asian cinematic repertoire.

PIFF plaza, in Nampo-dong, during this year's PIFF.

The 2010 PIFF program, and PIFF tickets.

Baseball in Korea!!!

A few week-ends ago, I was invited by a Korean friend to go to a professional baseball game at Sajik stadium (사직 야구장) in Busan.

On the way to the game, I was explained that there is a professional baseball organization in Korea, named the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO).  I was invited to see the third of five games played by the Lotte Giants, Busan's home team, and the Doosan Bears, a team from Seoul.  I was also explained that the Giants were facing the Bears in the first round of the 2010 Korean pro-baseball playoffs, and that Busan could very well win the KBO championship this year.

In Canada, I was not a big follower of baseball.  Like most Canadians, I followed hockey, and I cheered for the Toronto Maple Leafs.  OK...  Maybe most Canadians do not cheer for the Toronto Maple Leafs...  There are, after all, 6 professional hockey teams in Canada, one in Vancouver (the Vancouver Canucks), one in Edmonton (the Edmonton Oilers), one in Calgary (the Calgary Flames), one in Toronto (the Toronto Maple Leafs), one in Ottawa (the Ottawa Senators), and one in Montréal (le Canadien de Montréal).  And some of these teams have a long history, both as hockey teams and as part of the Canadian cultural landscape.  But I digress...

There are a total of 8 teams in the KBO, three of which are based in Seoul (the Doosan Bears, the LG Twins and the Nexen Heroes).  There is also one team located in Inchon (the SK Wyverns), one in Daejon (the Hanwha Eagles), one in Daegu (the Samsung Lions), one in Gwangju (the Kia Tigers), and one in Busan (the Lotte Giants).  Interestingly, these teams all have English names similar to those of major baseball teams in the United States.  However, the team names are pronounced with a Korean accent and have a Korean spelling as well.  For instance, the Giants are known as the "Ja-ee-eon-cheu" (자이언츠).

Also, all 8 teams have a major corporate sponsor, and the teams appear to be better known for their sponsors than for the cities in which they are based.  For instance, Busan's team is known as the Lotte Giants, and not as the Busan Giants.  Lotte, a very large Korean corporation, is the main sponsor of the team.  The company operates hotels and department stores.  Some food products available at my local supermarket are made by Lotte as well.  I think that the company gets enormous publicity by sponsoring the Busan team.  Though Canada's hockey teams have major corporate sponsors as well, I don't think that Canadian hockey fans would ever refer to their team as the Scotia Bank Senators or the Air Canada Maple Leafs.  However, this may be due mostly to our love of inter-city hockey rivalries (see Calgary versus Edmonton, Toronto versus Ottawa, and Toronto versus Montréal).  But again, I digress...

Since I am not a big baseball fan, I went to see this game more for the novelty of seeing a Korean baseball game than out of interest for the game itself.  But in the end, I found the game to be very entertaining.  It turns out that the Lotte Giants had quite a few sluggers on their team this year, and they could hit the ball rather impressively.  In addition, the fans were so energetically cheering on their team that it was completely impossible not to become hyped up along with them.

Among the highlights of the experience were the songs sung by the crowd at various points during the game.  It seemed to me that everyone in the stadium knew the words and chorus to at least 10 songs.  Some of these songs were sung at specific moments in the game, like at the beginning or at the mid-point of an inning.  These songs were amusing to me, as I recognized many of them as Korean cover versions of songs that I know well.  Among the melodies I recognized were those of a song by Twisted Sister ("We're Not Gonna Take It"), another by Joe Dassin ("Les Champs-Élysées"), one by Quiet Riot ("Come On Feel the Noise"), and one by Four Non-Blondes ("What's Up").  Other songs were sung when specific Busan players came to bat.  For instance, Busan's main slugger Lee Dae Ho ( 이대호 ) was greeted so loudly by his fans that I wondered how they could scream as they did without damaging their vocal chords.  There was also one Mexican player on the Busan team.  His name was Garcia, but the crowd called out "Ga-roo-see-ya" when he came up to bat.  In Hangul, the Korean language, it is not possible to put the consonant "r" in front of an "s"-sound without putting a vowel between them, hence the "Ga-roo-see-ya" pronunciation of "Garcia".

My friend also explained to me that the residents of Busan are known throughout Korea for being pretty rowdy baseball fans.  I witnessed this first-hand when, fairly late in the game, a Busan player was involved in a controversial play.  More precisely, at one point in the game, a Busan player was at bat.  He successfully batted the ball, but it popped up high and struck one of a group of large balloons that were tethered to one side of the stadium.  After striking these balloons, the ball fell onto the field.  The umpires did not seem to know how to deal with this occurrence, and they debated the matter for quite some time.  During this time, the crowd was becoming rather restless, so much so that a message asking fans not to throw anything onto the field was posted on the stadium's video screen.  In the end, nothing regrettable occurred, even though the umpires ruled against the Busan player who's pop fly had struck the balloons.

Unfortunately, the game that I saw was the beginning of the end of the Lotte Giants' 2010 post-season effort.  They lost the game, and then were eliminated altogether by the Doosan Bears a few days later.


Yesterday, the 2010 KBO post-season has come to an end.  The SK Wyverns have won the 2010 KBO championship, winning four straight games against the Samsung Lions.

A Giants' player takes off towards first base.

The umpires debate a controversial play with a pair of Busan players.

Busan fans share their opinion about the play.

The crowd is asked not to throw trash onto the field.

At the center of the controversy - baseball-shaped balloons.

A Doosan Bears' player at bat after play finally resumes.

Korean stadium food - dried squid.

The Korean Landscape, and the KTX

During Chuseok, I rode the KTX train from Busan to Seoul.

KTX stands for "Korea Train eXpress".  It is a high speed train that services a number of Korean cities.  It covers the distance between Busan and Seoul, approximately 410 kilometers, in a little less than 3 hours.  It takes the train about one hour to run from Busan to Daegu, a distance of about 115 km.  The 295 kilometers between Daegu and Seoul are covered in less than 2 hours.  Between these latter cities, the train can attain speeds of approximately 300 km/h.  Pretty impressive, I think.

Taking the KTX from Busan to Seoul is great fun!  The train rolls very smoothly, so smoothly that you hardly realize that it is travelling at speeds in the area of 300 km/h.  The only indications that this is happening are an occasional faint whistling noise, probably the result of the air displaced by the speeding train, and the speedometer reading displayed on the LCD monitors attached to the roof of the passenger cars.  Plus, taking the KTX is an inexpensive and uncomplicated affair.  I had purchased my KTX tickets early, as I was warned by my colleagues that Chuseok is a busy travel period.  But normally, I believe that it is possible to simply go to the train station and buy a ticket for the next departing KTX train.  Boarding begins approximately 20 minutes before a scheduled departure.  However, just minutes before the train leaves, people are still boarding.  At the scheduled departure time, the passenger car doors are closed, and the train leaves.  It's that simple...  No line-ups, and no pointless "security"-related delays.

On the way to Seoul, I saw for the first time the Korean countryside.  I found it beautiful!

Korea is a mountainous country.  My significant other, an Edmonton native who compares all mountains to the Canadian Rockies, would certainly use the term "dwarf mountains" to describe them.  But I am from Ontario, a province not known for large mountains, and I find Korea's mountains impressive.  In the valleys, it seems that every square inch of land is either inhabited or cultivated.  Between the cities and the villages are located farms of various types.  I believe that I saw cows in a few of the fields, but most are used for vegetable cultivation.  Some fields bear fruit crops, sometimes sheltered under plastic tarps.  Others bear vegetable crops,  sometimes sheltered in small greenhouses.  I think the purpose of the tarps and greenhouses is to shelter the crops from the winds and heavy rains that come during typhoon season. 

Agricultural and / or industrial installations along the KTX route.

Farms and mountains along the KTX route.

More farms and mountains along the KTX route.

For a short while, the KTX runs along a road.

Mountains and greenhouses along the KTX route.

The KTX passes through a tunnel.

Still more farms and mountains along the KTX route.

A village by the KTX tracks.

Passing another KTX train heading in the opposite direction.

Apartment buildings along the KTX route, possibly in Daegu.

In closing this post, I feel the need to express an opinion that will not be very popular, I fear, with my Canadian friends.

Having travelled on the Korean KTX, I honestly believe that it is a national embarrassment for Canada that no similar high speed train system has yet been built in that country.  It is true that Canada is a much larger country than Korea, and a Canadian high speed train would have to cover distances that are much greater than those covered by the KTX.  However, a large portion of the Canadian population lives in the Québec-Windsor corridor, and it would make a lot of sense, in my (not-so-) humble opinion, to build a high speed train in this area of the country.  The major cities in this area of Canada are separated by distances that are comparable to that separating Busan from Seoul.  For instance, Canada's largest city, Toronto, is separated from Canada's capital, Ottawa, by a distance of approximately 450 km.  Canada's second largest city, Montréal, is approximately 160 km away from Ottawa, almost directly to the east.  A high speed train system capable of reaching speeds in the area of 300 km/h could reduce the overland travel time between Ottawa and Toronto from approximately 5 hours to approximately 2 hours.  A similar link between Ottawa and Montréal would reduce the travel time between these cities from 2 hours to about 40 minutes.  This could make plane travel between these cities virtually pointless.  Furthermore, I am convinced that the expense of building a high speed train in the Québec-Windsor corridor would be far less than the cost of the KTX.  Because Korea is so mountainous, a large number of tunnels had to be built for the KTX.  I estimate that there are approximately 50 tunnels on the KTX line between Seoul and Busan, and though many of these tunnels are only a few hundred meters long, others are 1-2 kilometers in length.  In contrast, a large part of the Québec-Windsor corridor is located in the Saint-Lawrence lowlands, a gently sloping, essentially flat geological formation.  Construction of a high speed train in this terrain would be a leisurely promenade in the park in comparison to the construction of the KTX in Korea.

Sadly, if the construction of a Canadian high speed train system is undertaken in a political climate similar to that in which the city of Ottawa has recently attempted to expand its inner-city light rail transit system, the following fictional (and cynical) scenario can plausibly occur....   After years of debate and negotiation, the municipal governments of the cities of Montréal, Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto, London, and Windsor agree to form a consortium for the development of a high speed train system linking their cities.  The consortium is formed, and a route is selected for the tracks.  Following this, private sector players are invited to bid on the train construction contract.  Bombardier and Siemens both tender bids, and Bombardier is selected to build the train.  The consortium signs a contract with Bombardier, and construction is scheduled to begin on the London-Windsor link first.  The consortium elects to build this link first as it traverses a less-populated area of the selected train route, and thus can be completed with fewer expropriations and using simpler construction techniques.  Before the London-Windsor link is even started, elections occur in Ottawa.  During these elections, the high speed train project becomes a hot-button issue.  One mayoral candidate, Mr. Barry O'Lion, promises to initiate an overview of the project if he is elected mayor.  Mr. O'Lion is indeed elected.  After assuming his post, he begins arguing with his train consortium colleagues that the Toronto-Ottawa link of the high speed train should be built first, as this will be the most profitable link of the train.  Since the other members of the consortium insist on building the London-Windsor link first, Mr. O'Lion withdraws the city of Ottawa from the train consortium.  In doing so, he has the full support of the Ottawa electorate.  As a result, the consortium falls apart and the entire high speed train project is cancelled.  In light of this, Bombardier sues all members of the consortium for breach of contract.  The court awards Bombardier 40% of the original contract price.  In the end, Bombardier is paid a huge sum of money for essentially doing nothing more than a cost estimation.  This sum, in the hundreds of millions of dollars, is paid out by the taxpayers of the cities involved in the consortium.  No high speed train is built in Canada.  In the mean time, the KTX in Korea is improved and expanded.  The time to travel between Seoul and Busan is reduced to less than 2 hours by a new Busan-Daegu link and the introduction of trains capable of reaching 420 km/h.  Also, the KTX system is extended to 7 more Korean cities.

Yup...  I'm pretty cynical about Canadian politics these days.