Gwangju 2015 Universiade

This past weekend we went to Gwangju to watch the Gwangju 2015 Universiade (or World University Games). It’s touted as the biggest sporting event outside of the Olympics. This is because there are athletes from all over the world competing and there are lots of events. The quality of competition is pretty high as well, but with the Pan Am games going on at the same time back in Canada, the teams from North and South America wouldn’t have had their absolute top university athletes. To qualify for this event, you must be between 18 – 28 and enrolled in at least a single, 3 credit course within the nearest semester. It’s been going on since the 4^th and we’ve even been able to watch it, in English, on television. We were pretty excited to get down there and soak up the atmosphere.

As usual, the travel was the biggest hurdle. There’s a brand new KTX (high spped train – 300km/h) station in Gongju (well between Buyeo and Gongju and so we could take that train to Gwangju and it would only be 50 minutes, as opposed to 4 hours! We had no idea how to bus to the KTX station however, and so we had to take a taxi. The taxi cost 40,000 Won. STEEP! The train tickets were 21,300 each for ‘economy class’. The trains were nice, similar feel to flying. We arrived in Gwangju at 8:34AM and headed out to the street to figure out how to get down to the main stadium where we could watch the athletics events. Right outside the KTX station there was a tent set-up with helpful ladies that gave us busing information, and then requested a photo with us. We got on the bus they told us and while it went in the general direction, as it got somewhat close, it made a series of unfortunate turns that led us in the opposite direction of the stadium. After a number of the turns, we gave up hope and jumped off. We got a taxi to the stadium, another 8,000 Won. When we finally got to the stadium and paid our 5,000 Won each to get in for the day, we were surprised at how poorly attended it was. It was a Saturday after all. It was such a big production to put on with many venues and organization, it seemed like a bit of a disappointment. Nevertheless, we got settled in right in front of the action. We were literally standing at the railing watching the long jump competition from 20 feet away. It was awe inspiring to watch their preparation and execution. It must be a heck of a lot of pressure to come all the way to Gwangju, South Korea (from anywhere) just to take 6 jumps into a sand pit and hope you jump the furthest! What was also very cool about where we were watching from is that it was also where all of the coaches stood, so we listened in as the coaches and athletes discussed strategy between jumps. Admittedly, most were not in English, but the ones in English were quite impressive. The minute details and alterations they make from jump to jump gives a whole new level of appreciation. There was a mid-day scheduled break for 3 hours that allowed us to shoot over to where we were staying and drop off all of our stuff. We decided to take a taxi as it was raining. We got to the place and found our room without issue. We booked the place with Air BNB and so you’re renting from an individual, so your place can be in any sort of building. Ours was a small apartment building. He gave us the code to get in and we were more than satisfied with the place. It had everything we needed and then some! A full kitchen and laundry even!

After dropping stuff off, we caught a taxi back to the stadium, where there was also a Lotte Mart. It’s a big department store with a full supermarket, so we headed in to get some lunch and snacks for later. It was quite busy and a very multicultural affair which was cool to see. Our snacks were kimbap, a salad and a variety of nuts and dried fruits. We got back to the stadium in plenty of time to see the events kick off again at 4:00. We stayed until it ended at just after 9PM. We weren’t bored for a minute. Lots of running events, steeplechase, hurdles and most field events also. There were a few Canadians to cheer on, but not as many as we would have liked! The time flew by and at the end of the night we walked a part of the way back to our place, but the rain really picked up and our very mediocre umbrella wasn’t cuttin’ the mustard. We caught another taxi, got in, cleaned up and passed out.

The next morning we were determined not to take a taxi. We were heading to another venue and managed to stumble across a subway system! It wouldn’t have helped us the day before, but maybe we should have researched public transportation in Gwangju before actually arriving. We got out to the Taekwondo venue in good time and settled into our seats to watch the actions. Those seats just so happened to be beside the ‘Team Leader’ of the Canadian Taekwondo team. It was great to chat with him and get some insight into the team and how it all works on the international level. The action was great, with three matches going on at any given time. Just watching closely, you can learn a lot about the strategy of Taekwondo as well as how the event is run. I love learning about these sorts of things! We spent the entire morning there and decided that we’d leave Gwangju a little earlier than originally planned. Around 1:30 we headed back to the subway and out to the KTX station on the other side of the city. We got tickets for the 2:24 train back to Gongju station and Julia grabbed a snack of Tteokbokki. This time though, we couldn’t get seats together and so we were on our own for the 50 minute ride home. Arriving back in Gongju we still had to figure out how to get back to Buyeo, and were determined not to take another taxi. We asked about buses, but as our luck had gone most of the weekend, the next bus to Buyeo was in 3 hours. We went out to the bus stop anyways to try and read the schedule. Maybe we could go to Gongju and then take an express to Buyeo, which run fairly often. While standing there, looking confused, an SUV drove by and then stopped a couple hundred feet past us. A minute later they back up and asked ‘Where you go?”. We said Buyeo. They said get in. We asked ‘Are you sure?’. They said yes. We got in. They were going to Gongju but still drove us all the way to Buyeo. Wow! Talk about our luck turning for the better! We tried to tell them that we lived in Buyeo and were teachers. That didn’t work so well, so after a while we just played up their assumption that we were tourists. They dropped us off right in front of Busosaeng Mountain (3 minutes from our place) and even gave us snacks! Talk about KINDNESS! This ride may have been the highlight of the weekend.

Home in late afternoon on a rainy day. Time to chill out.