Chosok and Lotte World

Happy Chosok,

Chosok is the Korean Thanksgiving. There is no turkey in this country but there is all the Kimchi you want to eat. More particularly Chosok is a day of rest where Koreans visit their ancestor's graves and offer up their harvest. It follows the lunar calendar and usually falls on the first full moon of fall. In short we all got the day off. In keeping with my theme that many things in this country are not what they seem at first glance, I decided to risk my life and go to a Korean amusment park.

Lotte World was a very unique and somewhat bizare experience. There is a castle of course (que Disneyland music with a Korean twang here). In addition, instead of two mice there is a male and female raccoon. Another WTF moment came when I went to board a roller coaster. There was the routine ruler tacked to the wall. Instead of stopping half way up the wall, as is normal at American amusement parks, this ruler went all up the wall. After handing my pass for inspection, I was politely yet briskly wisked toward the wall for a measurement. Evidently this ride has a maximum instead of minimum height requirement. Imagine a cartoon balloon forming over my head with the initials "WTF." Needless to say, I barely made it under the maximum height requirement and was able to ride the ride. There were also shows, as is normal at most amusement parks. Once again, WTF entered my mind. There was a mix of a pirate ship, traditional Asian dance and of course the knock off Mickey and Mini Mouse characters (e.g. the male and female raccoons). I have included pictures of this place to better explain my description. I also should add that it was Oktoberfest, hence the Korean polka band. I have less than a week remaining. It has been one long strange trip and it is not over just yet.