Kevin and Alicia in Korea

Well, after a snowy moving day (ugh... maybe Seoul didn't get the memo, but March means NO more snow!), Mark and I are moved out of Guro and into Birth Father's apartment. So that means I have time to post about Kevin and Alicia's trip to Korea.

I'm so glad that they decided to make the trek over here... I wasn't sure if they would be able to make it, when Kevin surprised us with news that he had booked tickets in December. I was very excited to say the least.

Anyway, Kevin and Lysh spent a total of 8 days in Korea and we really jammed a lot into those short days. Here's a rundown of some of the highlights.

As with all our visitors, we took them to Noryanjin Fish Market for some crab legs, shrimp, and scallops.

SangKwun came with us that night and he and Kevin hit it off like they were old friends. Here I am with my two brothers. :)

Kevin was in heaven with the seafood, but when we got this tray of sashimi, he wasn't so impressed.

We convinced him that this was his opportunity to try it, so he took a bite and his face says it all.

Ah well... besides the sashimi and the kimchi, he seemed to like almost everything else he tried. I was actually very impressed with how open he and Lysh were in trying and experiencing everything. Their positive attitudes made them very fun visitors to show this country to!

After Noryanjin, we went to a noraebang (private karaoke room). There was lots of singing, dancing, and tambourine playing.

The weather cooperated a few of the days (unfortunately, there were some rainy days). On one of the days, we took them to Gyeongbokgung Palace. Here are some of my favorite shots of them there.

Kevin looks a little nervous by this guard, don't you think?

And here they are passing through the pathway of eternal youth. It says if you pass under this, you will never grow old! Here's hoping...

Another touristy thing we did was climb to the top of Namsan (Seoul) Tower. It's on the top of the mountain and there are stairs leading to the top. It took us about 30 minutes to conquer it!

The climb was well-worth it because we got views of Seoul like this....

Birth Father also took us to a Traditional Korean Folk Village in Suwon. It was about an hour drive outside of Seoul, but very neat to visit. Just seeing the ancient history of this country is fascinating. There are carvings and statues like this throughout.

And everyone in the village is dressed in traditional garb and performing tasks that the people of the time might have been working on. Here's a shot of an older man tending to a garden.

We even caught a performance... there was some major coordination to keep the tassels spinning while dancing and jumping the entire time!

There were also displays of ancient Korean jails and punishments. Let me tell you, if I lived back then, I would never, ever, break a single rule! Not surprisingly, Kevin and Mark managed to land in jail...

Then Mark found himself in ancient Korean handcuffs. Yeah -- they had their heads wedged into a plank so they couldn't run off.

And then Mark decided to try out some of the ancient torture on Kevin.

Luckily, he stopped short of the leg screws. This was one of the worst things I've ever seen -- they would twist the leg of the criminal until they would confess their crimes.

Birth Father also convinced Kevin and Lysh to try on some traditional Korean clothing (hanboks) for a photo op. I think they look pretty authentic!

Afterwards, Birth Father took us to a traditional tofu restaurant with tons of vegetable sides.

There were many other things we did and saw during their visit, but we also went to Busan -- Kevin's hometown. It's such a cool city, right on the beach. The first night we were there, there was a big bonfire on the beach.

We also visited the Busan Aquarium. It was really cool to see all the sea life up close.

Also, since we were SO close to the ocean, we had to visit the Busan fish market. This market backed right up to the ocean. Can't get much fresher than that!

We treated ourselves to a lobster lunch there. Here's the big guy right out of the aquarium.

And here is is bright red and cooked. YUM!

The most important part of the trip to Busan (and in general) was probably visiting the Sung Ae Won Orphanage with Kevin. This was where he spent the first 5 years of his life.

Here he is in front!

And here he is playing with the kids. I think he and Lysh found one or two that they wanted to adopt right then and there! I know the feeling...

All in all, it was a great visit. Kevin and Lysh really seemed to enjoy seeing the country Kevin was born in, and I think this'll be the first of many visits in the future for them!

Metro Olympics 2008

M&K: My brother, Kevin, here in the United States, has been endlessly complaining about his lack of recognition on this blog. So Kevin, quit your whining, this one's for you.

Kevin and his wife, Alicia, spent the last 8 days here in St. Louis with us. Instead of going to the same old St. Louis landmarks, Mark decided a day of drinking and competitive bar games would show them the TRUE flavor of our city. Ever the responsible citizens, we did not want to drink and drive. So we decided to use the wonderful St. Louis metro system as our mode of transportation. Thus, the idea of the "Metro Olympics" was born.

The original intent was to play 10 games at three or four different bars, but as the day wore on (and Mark and Kim were getting solidly crushed at every event) we only ended up playing 6 games and visiting three bars.

Here are some pictures highlighting the day's events:

Kevin and Alicia showed up with team t-shirts and sweat bands for all. They got themselves these cute t-shirts that said "It's not my fault I'm AWESOME."

And, well --- to our chagrin they got us pink shirts that said for Mark: "shortie" and for me, something about being cranky but cute... Thanks guys.

After some mimosa's and breakfast, our first event was beer pong. As evidenced by this picture, the Roaches won 2-0. Kevin broke it down to his favorite singer, Nelly Furtado. Is that the air guitar we see?

Riley was on Team Pink, but after eating a ping pong ball, he was disqualified. He got so angry about being thrown out, his teammate Mark had to restrain him. It was not a pretty sight.

We took the Shrewbury MetroLink to the Maplewood exit and after a "short walk" made it to the first bar, Schlafly Bottleworks. We started with a game of pool. This was a nailbiter! On the first shot, Kevin almost knocked the 8-ball in, but it clung to the edge of the corner pocket. Alicia took charge knocking in a majority of her team's balls. After knocking in a stripe, Kim's cue-ball ricocheted into the black ball and amid tears and shrieks, all was lost for team Johnson.

Desperate for a victory, Team Johnson was determined to win the next event: fooseball. But that dream would not be fulfilled due to some questionable game play by Team Roach. Team Roach won 5-3. They, ahem... spun... into victory.

Starting the day off 3 and 0, Team Roach is all smiles.

Mark is still in shock. Both about the losses and the fact he's wearing a pink shirt in public.

We then took the Manchester bus down the street to one of everybody's favorite bars, Nick's Pub. We were the only ones in the bar and took full advantage of the facilities upstairs.

A very animated game of shuffleboard included: a hate crime by Alicia, aggravated assault by Kevin, and another crushing defeat of Team Johnson, losing the series 2-1.

Realizing that games of skill may not be their forte, Team Johnson suggested a game of luck: Pull Tabs. We purchased $20 worth of tickets and divided them up...

Well --- the gods were not on Team Johnson's side this fateful day. The Roaches won AGAIN with $18 to the Johnson's $1. This is the most money we expect this social worker to ever see in his lifetime. ;-)

FINALLY, after years of practice at Lacledes, the Johnsons were able to clinch a victory in an old favorite: Photo Hunt. In a fit of ecstacy, Kim hopped on Kevin's back for a victory lap.

But the joy was not to last long as Kevin miraculously managed to hit a double 11 to win in darts.

He took two laps around on Mark's back.

Realizing that skill and luck were not on their side, the Johnsons realized their only hope for winning was to get the Roaches drunk.

AND IT WORKED.... on both teams.

Alicia, still in competitive mode, challenged us to a fist eating contest.

She was the only competitor.

Drinking took its toll and we decided to end the competitions/beat down early. We concluded the day by taking the bus to Lemon's on Gravois and sharing some chicken wings and pizza.

When it's all said and done, we're still family and are able to put our differences aside.

........ until next year's Metro Olympic follow-up in Seoul..............

It was a great day and we really enjoyed getting to hang out with Kevin & Alicia. And to all the St. Louisans out there reading this blog, you should really consider setting up your own Metro Olympics. It was a blast... just don't ask The Johnsons to be on your team.

Update for the heck of it

K: I received an email from Lindsey today telling me that she checks this blog at least 2 times a week and that I'm slacking. So here's a quick post --- dedicated to Lindsey.

It's been over a month since I've sent my brother Sang Kwan the last email in which I asked if he was planning to marry his girlfriend. I still haven't heard anything back! I sent another email today "just checking in" saying that I hadn't heard from him in awhile and was a little concerned. I'll keep you posted...

OH and since I'm talking about my brother who lives in Asia and his alleged wedding cold feet, I should probably add an update about my US brother, Kevin and his impending wedding plans. I got an email from Kevin yesterday telling me that he and Alicia have set a date - March 29, 2008. And the wedding colors will be black and pink. How exciting.

A funny note about Kevin: he swears that now that I've found my "real brother", one day I will cut him from my life forever and go live happily ever after with my ty quan do champ brother, San Kwan. He tells in a really dramatic fashion with a long narrative about him sobbing until he hiccups in the corner. Makes me laugh - like I could ever give up Kevin's hilarious jokes (well, at least 40% of them are at least moderately funny)...