Enda Whitney in Seoul

Korean Man: Oh where you from?

Me: Ireland!!

Disappointed Korean Man: Oh? Not America?

Me: No Ireland, in Europe?

Disappointed Korean Man: Oh ok. Bye.  Your friend? American?

I guess the first thing I noticed about being an Irish man in Seoul is that we are not the novelty to the natives that we have found ourselves to be in most of the rest of the world. To be honest, I like it. While most strangers here have such good intentions and just want to hear you try stumble through a few words in their native tongue. I love, however, having many American friends and co workers. When I drop the heart breaking “I’m Irish” to a Korean in order to brush off the awkward hug or stroke of the arm or face by an older gentleman on to the American and still be thankful I am indeed an Irish man in South Korea.

This is also an indication of just how friendly and safe Seoul can be, as well as a wonderful source of entertainment for me. Like most of the westerners out here I am indeed an English teacher and have enjoyed a wonderful professional and social experience here in Seoul thus far. Apart from Hongdae Park , Itaewon,the wonderful film festivals, the museums, temples, parks, sports stadiums , Korean Islands and a trip to an abandoned Insane Asylum that I have been lucky enough to experience in my first seven months, I am elated to share the other passion in my life that I have continued to pursue in Seoul city while working as an English Teacher.

The passion is Stand Up Comedy and yes, there is a great number of comedy nights for English speaking audiences all over the city. I’ll give you some names and locations as you read on.

How or why did I find this scene you might ask? Well back in 2009 in a little University Town called Maynooth, I lost a bet that would bring me to instances in my life that I would have never believed possible, now I can certainly add being on stage in Seoul as one of those instances. The bet was lost and I was committed to an open mic spot at the Ha Penny Comedy club in Dublin. The word spread among my friends that after jumping out of a plane that day( a skydive for charity which brought me to a child centered community project in Lima, Peru), Whitney would be doing a 7 minute debut comedy set in the city. Whether he was funny or not, his possible humiliation would be hilarity enough for it to be worth the five Euro cover charge. The nerves over powered the excitement as it was almost time to get up on stage as a comedian for the first time. The room full of strangers would have induced quite enough panic, but the kicker was that people I would have to see on a regular or even daily basis were enough to make me sick to the point that I could not speak. “Ladies and Gentleman please welcome on to the stage…. Enda Whitney.”

This was the flashback I had as my name was uttered over the microphone at Stand Up Seoul at the Rocky Mountain Tavern in Itaewon. It didn’t matter that over the four years between the two that I had toured every inch of Ireland, played the Kilkenny Cat’s Laughs, Edinburgh Fringe Festivals and even managed to keep the bread buttered from paid performances and opening my own comedy club, I was getting up in front of people I worked with again, people who I would see on a daily basis and I had told stories of my comedy road trips to. “All the way from Ireland, just to tell you a few jokes, Enda Whitney!!!”

“With David O ‘ Doherty and my good friend Chris White at The Edinburgh Fringe.”

As the mic was thrust into my trembling hand on that first night , what I soon noticed as I began to talk while feel out the room and hearing that first induced unanimous laughter, the adrenaline and passion washes away the nerves on stage. The satisfaction of making a room fill with laughter with your simple take on life is a passion that will never die, no matter where I am in the world.

I simply suggest that if you enjoy to laugh or think you would like to get up there and make people laugh that Seoul has a wonderfully diverse set of comedians from all over the English speaking world but from what I see not enough Irish, in fact I think I’m currently the only one.

Not all the open mic clubs are strictly for comedy. For example there is also Bar Carmen in Noksapyeong where anyone is invited to display their talent, whether it be playing the accordion, spoken word or burping the Korean alphabet. If you’re not sure that you want to perform , why not go check out these nights? See what a relaxed and friendly, enjoyable atmosphere there is to enjoy. You will meet great people from all walks of life and see some wonderful venues. The audiences are kind, almost too kind but perfect for people new to the stage. It really is a magnificent platform to try out whatever it is you want to try out.

For me personally, it has brought me to another level of comedy and confidence for myself and has laid an even stronger foundation for me to go and strive to hit the stages with nothing but the love for what it is, maybe even surpass what I have achieved in the past. I have traveled from Edgeworthstown in the County Longford, which had a population of 2000 people give or take on the day I was born to playing clubs that have the diversity of 22 million people.This means I’m reaching audiences that I would have never thought possible beyond the stages of Edinburgh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDe0RjMb8_c&feature=youtube_gdata_player

So if you’re happy in your nappy(dyper) living in Seoul and want to shout about it or just want to vent about the little things about Korea that grind your gears, maybe you just need free therapy because a cocktail of pills that would take down an Elephant doesn’t solve everything, then get up and let her rip in one of the many inviting venues and at worst you will meet some really great people. Here is the list of when and where you can find the laughter. Best way to get involved is just to show up at any of the given nights and talk to the M.C or any of the performers. They’ll all point you in the right direction.

Tony’s Aussie Bar and Grill is on every Wednesday in Itaewon from 9 to 11pm.

Bull and Barrel is on every Thursday in Itaewon from 9 to 11pm

Stand Up Seoul is on the first Thursday of every month in The Rocky Mountain Tavern in

Itaewon from 9 to 11.30pm.

Barrel of Laughs Comedy Club in the Bull and Barrel in Itaewon on the last Saturday of every month from 10 to 11.30.

COMB: 210 pub near Seohyun Station.

Bar Carmen is on the last Sunday of every month in Noksapyeong.

Seoul Gaels

When the Seoul Gaels got started, it was just two men talking in a bar in Itaewon. Fast forward 11 years, the club is now entering its second decade as a formida­ble group of 65, having been crowned champions of Asia three times, and is now renowned as a top competitor across the continent, in both the women’s and men’s competitions.

The idea for the club came in September 2002, just ahead of the Asian Gaelic Games, the pinnacle of Gaelic games in Asia. There were just six members at the club’s first practice that July. But word got around, membership grew and after a little more than two months of practice, the Gaels came home with the tournament trophy, having beaten two-time champions Japan and regular finalists Singapore – this would be the first of their three-year reign over the event. As proof of the Seoul Gaels high-standing across the continent, in 2011 the Gaels were given the honor of hosting the AGGs, which were held in Suwon. This tournament proved to be a huge success, both on and off the pitch.

For the uninitiated, Gaelic football is a field sport full of speed, agility, skill and passion played by two teams of 15. It is a game quite similar to Australian rules – think of it as a combination of association football and rugby.

Last year, there were 65 registered members in our club, and a fair percentage of those members were non-Irish. As our club chairman, Thomas Gaughan says “When you join the Seoul Gaels you become a part of an expat family, not just Irish but North Americans to New Zealanders and everyone in-between.”

Our international players have brought a lot to the club in the past. Players who have a history of playing sports, such as soccer, rugby, basketball, and even volleyball tend to pick-up Gaelic football very quickly. It’s true to say, our non-Irish players are often some of our best.

Like the GAA, the Seoul Gaels is more than just a sports club. The friendships begin on the training field and are further strengthened over a drink or two at many of the club’s social events. The club engages in many sporting days, ranging from friendly games, to big tournaments. The Gaels organize lots of social events, such as, St. Pat­rick’s Day outings, hiking day-trips, club barbeques, fund-raisers, end-of-year banquets and lots of social nights out in between. These events are organized by the club’s social committee to ensure that members, new and old always feel welcome.

This year Seoul Gaels is advancing further, as it has formed an underage team. This initiative has been led by our Development Officer, Conor Melvin. The juvenile team is made up entirely of Korean native children. They seem to be really enjoying the sport, and are improving their football skills at every training session. The establishment of a young Seoul Gaels team is a great achievement for the club, an achievement all members are very proud of, as the Gaels try to integrate more and more with the local community. This summer, the kids’ team travelled to Ireland, where they visited the western part of the country – there, they saw the beautiful sights the west has to offer, they studied English, played Gaelic football, learned how to play Irish instruments, and experienced Irish culture first-hand through a home stay experience.

The senior Gaels’ squad is doing very well this year. In June, the club competed in the All-China Games in Beijing, where the men were crowned champions of the B competition. Seoul Gaels also competed in the Korean Gaelic League, where the men’s team retained their winning title for the third year in a row. The men won all three rounds of the tournament, which had been held in Busan, Ulsan, and Seoul respectively. Our ladies were gracious runners-up in the event, and a fantastic display of football was shown by all teams.

The season culminates with the Asian Gaelic Games in Kuala Lumpur in October. Seoul Gaels are strong competitors at this event, and many of their members, both men and women, have been named All Stars or received MVP awards over the years. Seoul Gaels are very excited about participating in the AGGs this year. The 2012 games proved a great triumph for the club, with the men winning the Plate, and the ladies reaching the final of the A competition.

But beyond the tournaments and the trophies are the lasting friendships and sense of community that Seoul Gaels members say they get from being part of the team.

As Thomas Gaughan, the current club chairman, said, “The Seoul Gaels gives you a family when you’re so far away from home.”

Training takes place every Saturday, in various locations around Seoul. Our season runs through to October. New members are welcome to join at any time throughout the season, and the club guarantees that they will have fun, improve their fitness and make lifelong friends.

For more information about our club, training details, etc., please visit our website at http://seoulgaels.weebly.com . Or check out our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/#!/seoul.gaels. Or email us at seoulgaels@gmail.com.

Korean Society of Ireland Family Day

by Conor O’Reilly, Chairman of Irish Association of Korea

During the summer while home visiting Ireland myself, my wife, and daughter were fortunate enough to attend the Korean Society of Ireland’s summer picnic. The event took place on a Sunday afternoon in Lucan in west Dublin. It was a great family day out, and fun way to get to know the Korean community in Ireland.

   

If you are familiar with Korean style picnics you’ll know that they involve plenty of food and of course games. There were some Korean staples on offer, such as samgyubsal (삼겹살), bulgogi (불고기), and of course kimchi (김치) and kimbap (김밮), and plenty of Korean style snacks. What really makes the picnic (소풍) is all the good natured competition.

Popular activities included a tug-of-war, skipping rope, and a massive kids relay which made the London Olympics look like a picnic in Lucan…

In the tug-of-war, there were three battles. The first one was made up of all Korean women. The second saw the Korean men shape up against Irish men. In a best of three the Korean men won the first by a landslide, and I think it was here that the Irish team realised that the Korean team were taking it kind of seriously. With this in mind, the Irish team turned around and won the next to battles. The final competition saw a whole cluster of kids step up to battle it out. There was some serious tenacity on show, but fortunately no tears, as the team standing to my left at the time won their two battles easily.

In the skipping rope, there was a long piece of rope where two people held either end and swung it around in wide arching loops. People would then join in hoping as the rope passed under them, with more people attempting to join as time went by. There seemed to be a lack of experts on hand this Sunday, but most people gave it a shot in the name of good fun

To finish off there was a mass relay of all the kids. Two teams were chosen and track made up of adults was made. The race was a epic encounter with one team streaming ahead in the early stages, but as time passed by they began to slip back further and further only to be caught by the opposition. After a few laps of back and forth it was a neck and neck finish for the team who originally let from the start. I think they had orange bibs…

This is just and exmaple of some of the activities on show. There was a bouncy castle, music, and even a raffle (I won two bottles of wine!) All in all, it was a great day and especially to get out and to meet some of those busy promoting Korean culture in Ireland.

Unfortunately no links were available online for the Korean Society of Ireland

Daegu Fianna

Founded in 2007 by Leo Corbett, Daegu Fianna Gaelic Football Club has firmly established itself on the Korean Peninsula. Competing against Laochra Busan and Seoul Gaels in the Korean Gaelic League, in both the men and women’s competitions, the club has acquitted itself admirably in its six-year existence. By registering with the GAA in 2011, Daegu Fianna officially became a GAA club.

That year it took part in the Korean Gaelic Games and the Asian Gaelic Games (AGG), which were both held in Suwon. Daegu competed in the B division at the AGG and got to the quarterfinal stage, only to lose by a point to a well-established Abu Dhabi Celts team. Since then, the club has competed in the Korean Gaelic League, which began in 2012, and has performed well in its two-year existence but has also grown in size. From having the minimum for both men’s and women’s teams early in its existence, this year the club has doubled its player numbers. Crucial to this expansion has been the welcome introduction of new recruits from all over the world. Players from countries such as Canada, South Africa, America, England and Scotland have learned the game of Gaelic Football this year, alongside the many Irish people in its ranks. Indeed, out of 22 women on Fianna’s women’s team, exactly half of them were non-Irish this year.

Along with some of the Irish people who had never played the game back home it proved to be a fantastic experience for all involved. Of course, with all of the training being done to improve skills, there was also plenty of time found for one of the most important aspects of the club, the social part.

In 2013, Daegu Fianna have had three social nights (along with many a post training beer), with a further night planned for the end of year awards. The highlight so far has most definitely been the fundraising night, where there was a raffle of Irish goodies, a darts tournament, live music by an Irish band, and a human auction; rest assured nobody was hurt in the process of the latter.

For the forty-five or so members of the club, it has been a memorable year. If you want to join in the craic, then drop us a line at pro.daegu.asia@gaa.ie or check us out on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/4968316925/