Well, the new K-League season is in full effect, with typical results for Daejeon Citizen: 5-2 loss at home to FC Seoul, 3-0 home loss to Gyeongnam, 2-2 away draw with Gangwon (courtesy of horrible defending at both ends). Despite the poor start, Liam and I still crafted the foolhardy plan to fly to Jeju Island for one day to watch the away game against Jeju United F.C. Last season, we made a weekend of it (Part 1 / Part 2), but this year we flew in Sunday morning before the game.
I was flying out of Cheongju "International" Airport, a small airport about 45 minutes outside of Daejeon. As my flight was at 7:50, I was in a bit of a bind. The first bus would get me there at 7:35, which would be cutting it mighty close. A cab would cost a fortune. My only option was to catch the train at 5:50 in the morning, which got to the airport at 6:45 or so. The funny thing was that the stop was truly in the middle of nowhere. I couldn't even see the airport. I had to walk back across the tracks, up a hill, and then down the road about a kilometer.
We met around 9 A.M. on Jeju and found to our satisfaction that the airport convenience store sold Guinness. With that sorted, it was time to find a hotel. The lady at the information desk at the airport was very helpful, not only finding us a hotel with 30,000 won rooms but also arranging complimentary transportation. From there, we grabbed a couple more beers and headed to the bus station. We had to get to the south side of the island where the World Cup Stadium is, and we were also meeting a few friendly foreign Jeju fans at Gecko's. Gecko's was delightful, with good western food and good beer. We set out for the stadium.
The great thing about Jeju World Cup Stadium is that it's right next to an E-Mart (which is like Target or Wal-Mart). We were spared the indignity, therefore, of drinking cheap Korean beer from the stadium. As we walked into E-Mart we were greeted by the sight of the Holy Grail: 3,000 won cans of Guinness, already chilled. We grabbed a handful and headed to get our tickets.
Unlike the handy Guinness, the ticket process was a nightmare. We went to one stand, only to find that they didn't actually sell tickets. We had to stand in a long line at the main ticket window, consuming Guinness all the while. By the time we got our tickets, the game had kicked off. We hustled to the Daejeon section, only to find that they had sold us the wrong tickets. Luckily the force of our personality let us through, though we had to climb a 10 foot barricade to join the 20 or so fellow Citizen fans.
As for the game itself, I'd direct you to Liam's excellent recap on his blog. In short, we played terribly as always, lost 2-0, and had a man sent off. The crowd greeted the team with a less than complimentary response. Striker and captain Park Sung-ho looked like he was ready to leap into the crowd and kick some ass, though he was prevented by his team-mates and a 10-foot safety moat.
We decided to find the player bus to seek autographs and/or drinking buddies, but apparently they high-tailed it out of the stadium, as you'd expect after such an abject performance. On the plus side, we did get a picture with Mr. Kim Gwang-sik, the chairman of the club (see below photo link).
The rest of the day was a bit of a blur. Suffice it to say we returned to Gecko's for dinner and called it an early night after catching a ride back to Jeju City. I woke up at 7:30, ate some McBreakfast, bought some Jeju Orange Chocolate, and caught a plane back to Daejeon to start my work day.
Photos!
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