Buddha's Birthday

This weekend is a huge event for some in terms of it being Siddhārtha Gautama's birthday on Saturday. Even as early as last weekend there were parades along the streets in Jeju-si, creating a traffic nightmare for those trying to get in and out of the city.



There were people of all ages participating in the parade, with many monks both young and old leading the ensemble. The little children dressed up as traditional buddhist characters were especially cute; too bad they had to suffer through the chilling winds.



There were many lit up floats and lanterns being moved along the streets. Otherwise it would have just been too dark to see anything.



A lady along the outside of the parade beckoned me, and as I came to her call, she handed me a paper flower. It was a nice gesture, particularly because there was a candy lollipop attached to the bottom; bonus!

For anyone looking to experience the festivities first hand, I recommend dropping by a buddhist temple, more specifically 약천사 (Yakchunsa) temple in Jungmun.

Follow the leader

Sunday, April 26th: Final round of the 2009 Ballantine's Championship

Having covered most of whom we wanted to in the first few days, it was time for us to track down the leaders and make sure we got enough coverage of them as well. Robert-Jan Derksen of the Netherlands had built up an impressive lead over the first two rounds, but was quickly losing ground on Saturday going into Sunday.


Dropping from an impressive 9 under par to 6 under on Sunday, the change in his game was noticeable, despite being still two strokes ahead of the pack. Saturday was an insufferable day and many of the players in the top twenty dropped back three strokes or more.

Brian encountered some traffic trouble on his way out of Jeju-si, so I was going to meet up with him later on course; I arrived around 10:10 am and went immediately to the Media Centre for the daily update. Once I glanced over the sheet, I saw that Derksen's group had just teed off, so I got under way and headed out to the second hole.

I was a bit more prepared Sunday, having already endured the worst of the wind on Saturday. I brought along my toque, gloves and winter jacket, which I had already packed away for the Summer; guess I should never underestimate Jeju's unpredictableness.

I was taking mostly HD video footage of his group's performance, but took the odd video on my flip for blogging purposes. Here is Derksen's group on the 5th tee, which is my favourite hole on the course:



Dersken was grouped with Pablo Martin of Spain, and 강경남 (Kang Kyung-nam) of Korea. At the beginning of the round Martin was only two strokes behind Derksen, but he ended up tying for 11th, with an even score of 288.

Here he is teeing off on five:



Derksen wasn't looking great out there, but he needed to be great if he wanted to keep his lead. Many players were having a lot better rounds on Sunday than Saturday, and the pace was starting to pick up by the time Kang and Derksen were teeing off on the 8th.



Having met up with Brian on the 7th and Jim on the 9th, we all got together to share one last feast as the journalistic Triforce; it was the last time that Jim and Brian would be covering such an event together, the two legends who started it all here on Jeju.


When we got back out there, the giant screens were replaying Kang Wook-soon's eagle shot, which moved him one stroke back of the lead. The last few groups were coming up on the final holes and it was looking really close. Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño was in group 22 of 25, and was heading onto the 18th hole with a score of 4 under par and tied for the lead. If he birdied the hole, he could win it all:



Els was in the group just behind Castaño, but was two strokes back of the lead; even if he birdied the 18th he couldn't win, but it would put him definitively in third or fourth, depending on how the remaining two leaders played.



As Thongchai Jaidee, one of the leaders tied at 4 under par, approached the green on 18, everyone was holding their breaths; in much a similar scenario as Castaño, he could win the Championship with a birdie:



Kang Wook-soon, who was also tied for the lead at this point, missed his birdie putt, and so there was a playoff. The three leaders went back to the tee on the 18th to play for the title. All three made terrific shots, but Jaidee's and Kang's were within a few feet of the hole; Castaño landed just shy of the green on the fringe. Who ever made their putt would be the winner.

Castaño's putt:



Kang Wook-soon's putt:



Thongchai Jaidee's putt:



And so, Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand took home the title and the grand prize of €350,000.


It had been a long four days of play; Brian and I were both absolutely exhausted and knew of only one last thing we wanted to do before we left:



So with a glass of 17 old premium Ballantine's scotch, we made a toast to our endeavors: "To the good times." Cheers fellows.

Photos provided by Brian Miller

Ernie Els likes chocolate

I was sick on Friday, the second day of the tournament, but was back out there again on Saturday, which proved to be one of the coldest days in months. When I arrived at the golf club I was feeling unprepared, as the wind made the course almost unbearable at times; the players must have been even more baffled by the weather, I don't think the image of 'Korea's Hawaii' quite fits the bill.

After asking around, I managed to get a Ballantine's sweater to put on; it helped a lot, and was a nice addition to the Ballantine's hat I already had. We got to the course much later on Saturday, around 9:45 am, but soon found out that tee off was delayed due to fog on the course. Play resumed at 10:00, so we had time to figure out who we wanted to follow for the day and get out there.

Brian and I both agreed upon who we wanted to follow: Ernie Els, The Big Easy.


Despite the incredibly violent winds, Els was having a a pretty good round after the first few holes. Near the fifth tee is a small rest area, where they have snacks and drinks, as well as a heater; everyone piled into the small room to get as warm as they possibly could before getting back out on the course, even The Big Easy himself.

When he walked past Brian and I, I was surprised at first, but he went immediately to the service counter and was asking the attendant whether he had to pay or not to get a chocolate bar. She was quite confused at his request, but it was quickly resolved when a spectator stepped in and offered to buy the chocolate bar for him.



Brian and I were both very amused about the whole situation; it's not everyday that you get to see something as incidental as a professional athlete eating a chocolate bar amongst the gallery.



After he finished his quick snack, Els was back out there to tee off onto the 202 yard par 3. The view was impressive, with Sangbansan and the coast rising above the horizon; if the weather had been more co-operating I probably would have enjoyed it.

By this point in time, my fingers were numb and all I could think about was being warm inside the media lunch tent. On the next hole I decided it was time to put away my HDV camera, as the wind was just too much to get anything worth editing.

You can see for yourself as Els loses his hat to the wind on the 6th tee:



We moved quickly across the sixth and onto the seventh hole, trying to keep warm by moving. I started thinking about the worst conditions these players have ever played under, and whether this would have made the top ten; I've certainly never seen anything as fierce in my experience.



Els again on the seventh fairway:



His approach shot onto the seventh green was one of the best that I've seen during the tournament, and under such circumstances it's even more impressive.



Once his group has finished the hole, Brian and I decided that we had enough of the cold and wind, and headed back towards the Media Centre for another glorious buffet lunch.



The feeling of a warm room, good food, and a comfortable seat was bliss; I just wanted to stay there the rest of the day, but I knew we had to press on. Rather than joining back up with Els, we met up with Fred Couples and his group on the 18th green.



He wasn't having as good a day as Els and finished 5 over par for the day. His reaction to the winds explains it all:


When Couples had finished, we took our leave of the day, and meandered on over to the Ballantine's bar outside the clubhouse; nothing like a 17 year old scotch on the rocks after a long, cold and windy day of work.



I was praying that the weather would be better tomorrow, but somehow I knew that was asking too much.

Photos by Brian Miller

Be my Ballantine

With the Ballantine's golf championship being held this past week, I've been running back and forth across the course to get as much footage of the tournament as possible. The last week has been both hectic and adventurous, but I'm glad that things will be getting back to normal.

Now that I've got a moment to get back to my writing and reflect on all that's happened, I'll be giving a day by day account of my experience from the tournament.

Thursday April 23rd, Ballatine's Championship Day 1:

Another early morning for Brian and I. We get to the course in a cab around eight-thirty, and go through a some what lengthy process to figure out where we can get our press passes; turns out that you need a pass to get into the place where you get your pass...sounds silly, but that's how it goes sometimes, even in Korea.

When we finally gain access to the Media Centre, I was impressed at how well everything was organized; there were updates and statistics of every kind, and plenty of access to anything we could have wanted or needed. It was a significant difference from the tournament last week, which had very little information available in English or even accessible online.

Once we had checked the list of groups for the first round we learned that almost all of the ones we wanted to follow had teed off already, so we took a look at the course map and figured out our best option: to join up with Graeme McDowell, Lee Westwood, and Prayad Marksaeng on the 14th hole.

Graeme was Ballantine's Champion last year, and it seemed like as good as any place to start with our coverage of this year's event. Westwood was a new addition to the tournament this year, but was one of the big names invited to draw in the crowds to the exclusive Jeju golf club.

When we finally found them, Brian and I had already setup and got in position, ready for the action. At this point, Marksaeng was leading the group by a couple strokes, with Westwood just behind, and McDowell over par.

There were a few other photographers there with us as well, some with pretty impressive camera gear that Brian was definitely envious of. We exchanged a few hellos, and then proceeded about our task: trying to get some great action shots. The next couple of holes were interesting, with Marksaeng expanding his lead and McDowell slowly trailing behind.


By the 18th hole, McDowell was behind Marksaeng by five strokes. It was their 9th hole, as their group teed off on the 10th for the first round, so McDowell still had time to catch up with Westwood and Marksaeng.

Westwood on the 18th fairway hits a nice shot onto the green:



Graeme McDowell doesn't do so well, and lands in the bunker near the green on the 18th.



However, he does make an impressive recovery from the sand trap onto the green.



The group moves onto the first tee to complete their final nine holes, Brian and I take a glance at the leaderboard to see where the rest of the big names are at. We watch Westwood, MarkSaeng and McDowell tee off on the 1st, and then decide it's time to move onto to something else.



Brian spots a large gallery around the green on the 9th hole, and we move in to see what's got everyone's attention:



The course is very well kept and has an equally impressive background with both Hallasan and Sanbangsan along the horizon. We spot Korean sensation Seung-yul Noh, his ball lands in bunker on the 9th green; he makes the difficult shot look easy, getting his ball within a few feet of the hole.



At this point Brian and I are getting very hungry, and he's also got to be back to Jeju city for class in an hour, so we scurry off to the media lunch tent. When we get there we find the most glorious buffet waiting for us:



I make a few trips to the buffet table and enjoy myself while Brian crams down as much food as possible before bolting out the door for the clubhouse.

Later I attempt to catch up with Ernie Els but find that I've gone the wrong direction and am no where near where I should be. With my time running out, I get the shuttle from the golf course to the Shilla hotel and grab a cab home; Ernie will have to wait.

Photo by Brian Miller

오베라!

In one of the most exciting games of the year, and definitely Jeju's best game this season, No. 19 (오베라) Jobson Leandro Pereira De Oli, scored two goals and assist; it was the perfect way to mark Jeju United's 300th win.


Photo by Brian Miller

The only problem was that there was no one there to see it, except a few us of foreigners and maybe a hundred or two Koreans:



It was Wednesday, so the likelihood of anyone showing up from Jeju-si, or even Seogwipo, was very small.

There was a dedicated couple of kids cheering hard, whom only took a slight break during intermission; the regular guy with the drum wasn't there, but I guess his replacement showed up. The echoing from the drum was the most dominant sound in the stadium, and certainly helped towards our somewhat lacking cheering section.

We had our third string goalie in net, and he was putting on quite a show.



Jeju was coming on strong in the first, and scored their first goal with an assist by 오베라 (Oh-bay-lah)



Gwanju had some opportunities, but couldn't get past our keeper.



On a timely penalty shot, Jeju scored its second goal and was looking for more.



Our third goal came only minutes after Gwanju managed to get past our keeper. It was some beautiful footwork by 오베라 to get past their defenders and score.



It seemed like we were still celebrating our third goal when 오베라 struck again with a similar move, putting the game away.



I thought the victory music from star wars was a nice touch:



Well unfortunately it wasn't a K-league game, so the goals and the win don't really count for much other than towards the Peace Cup quarterfinals, which Jeju has a legitimate shot at; I'm not sure what the winners of the Peace Cup get, but it's better than nothing I suppose.

산방산 (Sanbangsan)

After going to the Haenyo festival the weekend before last, I finally had the chance to check out the buddhist temple that is built into the side of Sanbangsan.

It was an eventful day with the festival as well as checking out the Yongmeori Cliffs, but the best part was the few minutes we spent just chilling on the beach on the way to the cliffs.


It felt great, just lying there in the sun, enjoying the fresh sea air; it felt like summer, and that's exactly what I've been needing.

The temple isn't very far from the bus stop. You only need climb a few sets of stairs and show your registration card to gain access to the temple grounds and the sacred cave above.

It's a bit of a climb, but nothing you can't manage in an half hour or so. On the way up we spotted some buddhists ascending with their praying gear. They're many who come to the sacred cave above to pray there.


There is a small area for seating with fencing above to protect climbers and worshippers from falling rocks. From the ceiling of the cave falls droplets of water into a constructed fountain pool, where anyone thirsty can have a drink.

Supposedly the legend goes that a baby girl was found on the top of the oreum, and was then raised by the local people. She grew to be a beautiful woman and fell in love with another villager, but a Prince desired her and killed her husband in envy. She returned to the oreum and cried over his death, turning into stone, yet her tears continue to flow even now.

The view is absolutely stunning and worth the trip for its serene moments of solitude. Again, it's one of those things that is best enjoyed by exploring it yourself.

Photos by Brian Miller

Close...but no goal

Well it was a close game, but Jeju United couldn't convert any of its chances. They had at least five legitimate opportunities to score in the first half, and then lost almost all momentum when Ulsan scored in the final minute of the first half.

The second half looked very promising, but again, Jeju missed out on several chances. They scored a goal, but it was later called back for being offside. The same could have been said about Ulsan's goal in the first, as it was equally debatable.

The most exciting part was the final five minutes after they had their goal called back. Jeju was pulling out all the stops, but still couldn't manage to tie it up. Brian's photo pretty much sums up the match:


A very painful and annoying match to say the least. Their next game is on Wednesday at 7:00 pm in the World Cup Stadium in Seogwipo. The only problem is they're facing #1 ranked Gwanju, however, Jeju's first game at home was against Gwanju and was a 1-0 win for United. Hopefully our boys can keep them at bay once again and emerge victorious...

A Furey filled event

This past weekend was the 5th International Ultimate Frisbee Tournament on Jeju. With a series of games on Saturday and Sunday, several teams from Jeju competed against other teams from mainland Korea, China, Japan, and beyond.

For anyone involved with the event, it was also a time of remembrance for the late Nathan Furey, who was actively involved with the frisbee community. The team jerseys for Jeju were designed in his honour, with proceeds going towards his family.

On Sunday, I went to the final day of games at the arena near the Korea baseball hall of fame. When I arrived, the Jeju teams were waiting to start their semi-finals in the B division.

There were four divisions, A, B, C, and D, each categorized by the level of play of each team and organized accordingly. There were also games being held earlier in the day at another field complex out in Jungmun, but I didn't make it out to that. Our Jeju team won the C division there.

There were several other teams playing when I arrived, covering two of the fields within the arena complex.



I knew a few of the people competing in the tournament and went to greet and wish them luck as they warmed-up for their match. The weather was perfect for the tournament, a slightly overcast day with enough sun to keep it shining all afternoon.



T-shirts, frisbees, snacks, and beverages were also available at a nearby tented stand. T-shirts were selling for 15,000 won with 5,000 from each going to Nathan's family. They came in three different colours: black, red, and white, and two types of fabric: cotton and the air-coolant active wear fabric. Brian picked up a black one:



I opted for the more active wear in white. Here is the front design of the t-shirt, which is three silhouettes of Nathan from photos of his frisbee play:



Some kids from local schools showed up to watch the tournament. There was also some cameramen that came with them, following them throughout the afternoon.

For about an hour or two there was several different events held to show the kids how to play frisbee and the various skills involved with the game. Volunteers from the tournament participated in the activities with them.



It was a good way to get the kids more involved with the sport, since there isn't really any frisbee sports anywhere on the island besides the group involved with the tournament. The kids were throwing the frisbee to one another, doing sprints and attempting to catch them while running, and there were competitions for the furtherest frisbee throw.



All of the kids seemed really excited about it, especially when prizes were brought out. I estimate around forty or sixty children showed up, probably most from the area where I teach in. I thought I heard my name being shouted, but didn't see any of my students in my observations.



As the semi-finals started up, I grabbed my HD camera and took a position up on the exterior wall to get an overview of the matches. The closest to me was team Jeju Juno, whom was competing against team Zolla. It was interesting to see how ultimate frisbee is played, as I've never seen it in action before.



Team Juno seemed to be making some progress early on against Zolla and scored first to take the lead.



Zolla made a few attempts, but the defensive play of Juno was equally impressive and more than enough to keep their lead.



For a while, Juno had struggled a bit against their competition's defense, but definitely were doing better. Some very quick thinking and well timed throws/catches gave Juno the edge they needed to win.



It didn't take long before Juno had developed a big enough lead to run with and never look back, securing their spot in the B division finals.



The match between the other Jeju team in the semi-finals, Guambats vs. Jeju Hyojeong, was a lot closer. Guambats took an early 6 - 2 lead, but Jeju managed to come back tying it up in the final half, but the Guambats scored the final point to move onto finals.

It would have been awesome to see an all Jeju final, but things don't always go the way you want or expect them to.



All of our teams were wearing the red t-shirts. I'm sure there will be many leftover, so if anyone is looking to buy one, you can probably get one at Bagdad cafe in Jeju-si, which produced the t-shirts for the teams.



The final match of Jeju Juno versus the Guambats was a close one, with Guambats scoring first, however, not long after Juno was in control once again and won the match. It was a really well co-ordinated effort, and everyone was pleased with the results from the tournament.



There was a few group photos after the match and some closing ceremonies. Afterwards many people went out to Gecko's for some dinner and drinks. In all, it was a successful tournament and a great Sunday afternoon of fun and games. Congratulations to all the winners!


Photo by Brian Miller