Scott, John, Kevin, George, and Jeff go where no a capella group has ever gone before!
Hello Rockapella people! Well.... we packed our largest bags and intentionally stashed ourselves in big metal tubes for 12-18 hours at a time again this past November. Here's the tale........
This time it was Seoul, South Korea, followed by familiar Singapore. Then two days at home and off to Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Never a dull moment.
Part 1: Rockapella debuts in Korea
Heading out on multiple flights from multiple corners of America, we found ourselves in Seoul, South Korea for the first time.
For the big debut, an appearance at the biggest pop radio station in the city was a must. A unique spin at this station was that the listening citizens of Seoul could send text messages to the radio host directly and they'd appear on his computer screen to be read on the air. We sang a few songs, and after each, the listeners sent in messages like "Wow - great. I can't get out of my car"..."You're making me late for class and I don't mind"...and my favorite, from a pregnant lady: "my baby is dancing!". This was a good sign of things to come...
Seoul, Korea - Morning pop radio!
The show, in a large former Olympic site, was quite full, and people were wildly enthusiastic. A local Seoul a cappella group opened for us, then we hit the stage and took no prisoners. Too bad a couple of the mics weren't turned on for 20 seconds. But it didn't seem to matter... we suspect we'll be back for more than one show next year!
Rockapella's venue in Seoul, South Korea. Former Olympic space...
Visible onstage is the opening act a cappella group doing their soundcheck.
After the show, we were introduced to a real Korean "barbeque" spread - round wok-shaped grill areas where you fry pieces of fatty pork, then place them within assorted leafy vegetables and apply vinegar-y toppings. Korea is also the home of the notorious kimchee--hot pickled cabbage-- which is eaten with virtually everything. A serious evening of eating for us all. Fred the sound engineer was hoping for pizza, but was a trooper and suffered through it all.
Korea BBQ- one bite at a time...
The next day we had off, and the promoter, a smart enthusiastic woman, drove us like a baseball-crazed Bostonian over to the ancient Korean imperial palace for some tourism. This place was huge....sprawling grounds and lots of traditional wooden buildings, including a throne room and all sorts of rooms-of-state, supplemented by a huge garden area with even more buildings. All the roofs were painted in bright apparently authentic colors, which only the emperor was allowed to have on his home, and the fall foliage in the garden was perfectly timed. The place has partially burned down several times over centuries and been re-built. The history of the Korean monarchy is quite interesting, and in the 20th century is deeply tied to the former Japanese empire and its various conquests.
Imperial Gardens reflecting pool/Koi pond
That night was an even more over-the-top eating fiesta. We were taken to a famous traditional Korean chain restaurant where you sit on the floor and a table of small bowls containing all sorts of food is brought in and placed in front of you (the entire food-covered table at once!) Performing throughout the evening on the stage next to us were traditional Korean dancers and musicians. Though some of the flavors were somewhat....funky...it was a great end to our first trip.
Korean fiesta!
Wanna see other pictures from the Asian tour? Click here
Wanna read more about Jeff and the band's tour through Europe and Asia? Check out Jeff's other journal entries:
Part II: Singapore Sunburn and Epic Flying
Part III: Zie German Phase
Part IV: Stuttgart
Part V: Visiting the Father of France
Part VI: Snowy Munich
Part VII: The Best for Last
