What do you get when you combine a million people, great friends, the beach and a 45 minute fireworks show? A phenomenal time, that's what. The annual Gwangali Fireworks festival is the largest fireworks show in Korea. It's 45 minutes of ridiculous fireworks, lasers and lights put to random English songs. Included in the show were; "Heal the World" by Michael Jackson, "Do Re Mi" from The Sound of Music, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and my personal favorite "Let This Be Our Prayer" by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli. For my money it doesn't get any better than when those two get together on a track (insert sarcasm). We had to arrive about 4 hours before the show started in order to get a good seat on the beach. The whole thing was a logistical nightmare and would not have flied in the US. I was very surprised that no one got trampled in the mass chaos. The show was amazing and was by far the most incredible fireworks display I had ever seen.
The show opened with 2001: A Space Odyssey. I would like to personally thank Jill for her amazing video taking skills. Without her steady hand and masterful technique, this video wouldn't have been possible. Thanks Jill!!
Our group about 3 hours before the show started. I already had to urinate and somehow held it until the show ended almost 4 hours later. Perfect example of perseverance. As a cultural side note, Taylor, the guy right behind me and his girlfriend just to his right are wearing the same sweatshirt. This phenomina is called "couple tees" here in Korea and is commonly practiced amongst young couples.
This picture was also taken about 3 hours before the show. As you can see the beach was already packed and thats only half of the people that actually came. People were getting creative with their seating arrangements. If any amount of sand was visible, the Koreans would try to fit a few people onto it. We had to defend our territory a few times when Koreans would just come and plop down in our area.
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