Finally, I could come to Korea

Annyeong Haseyo! My name is Olivier, I live in Paris, France.
I’m passionate about Korea after visiting in the summer of 2000. My interest in Korea began a few years ago when I had to do some research about this country in order to write an article for a game. I started to search under some economical and cultural information, but I quickly extended my search to many different areas. For example, I started to read each day the Korean news in French.

It’s only after some months that I realized I fell in love with Korea. Then I started to listen to Korean music. Some months later I began to talk with Koreans thanks to VANK. Then I discovered other artists that I like very much such as Seo Tai-ji, Crying nut, Cherry filter and my most favorite: Jaurim. Now, I saw many Korean movies, I listen almost only to Korean music, I have some Korean friends, and I’m always interested in learning more about Korean culture. This list shows only some of my interest in Korea. It’s hard to say exactly why I love Korea but I can say for sure that I love it very much. After earning enough money from some summer jobs, I managed to come to Korea in August 2004. It was really amazing. I read so many things about Korea from books to the internet, as well as just from friends who I saw Seoul. On one hand, I was disoriented because it’s a foreign country for me but on the other hand, I had the strange feeling of familiarity, so it was very good. ^^

One of my unforgettable memories when I was in Korea took place on August 10th. It was the day of the ETP Fest (Eerie.. Ta[j] People Fest). I was there and it was really amazing. I remember this day very well; I arrived at 2:00 pm at Jamsil Stadium. I remember the long queue to buy an ETP Fest T-shirt. While I waited in line, I was filmed by the Staff . When it was about 4:30 pm, some people went inside a little stadium to wait before we are able to enter the concert area. There, I remember a Korean person came up to me with a digital camera. Initially, I thought he wanted me to take a photo of him but in fact, he asked me to be in a photo with him!

I was really surprised! (And during my travel, around 5 or 6 Koreans asked me to take a photo with them at different places, which was very strange for me). While waiting in line, I also met two Koreans who studied in Boston, we talked about music and other various things. Then we entered the Stadium and listened to the concert for 4 or 5 hours. It was so good! I saw Pia and Seo Tai-ji with my own eyes and it was a crazy evening. Finally, when I took the subway after the concert, I was really tired but so happy. I wish I could share my experience in length, but I strongly recommend you to come Korea, and feel what Korea is really like! You will never forget it!

Thieffine Olivier, student (France)