This past Saturday was the 11th Gwangalli Eobang (Fishing) festival at Gwangan Beach (right down the street from my apartment). I went there in the early afternoon and met up with some friends from work. It was a beautiful day and there was so much to see.
I started by walking past an area set up for kids. There were big blocks that the kids could use to make forts and hideouts. Many kids were using makeshift see-saws in the sand. It was great to see so many children having a blast together in the sand.
There were numerous little huts that displayed historical artifacts related to fishing. Others showed little scenes of different methods or types of fishing. This area of Korea is a HUGE fishing town (I believe it’s the largest sea port in all of Asia) so fishing here is a big deal. 
The highlight of my day was probably watching the fish catch. There was a big inflatable pool filled with water and different types of fish (eels, trout and this brown fish that’s common here). People (mainly kids) would go into the pool with their arms in the air. When the referee blew his whistle, they would try to catch the fish using only their bare hands. Once they caught a fish, they were told to exit the pool and they could take their catch home and eat it for dinner.
The catching was hilarious to watch! Many of the big ‘macho’ boys would scream in fear when they touched a fish and tiny little girls would be able to catch huge eels in a matter of ten seconds.
There was this one little girl who was one of two people left in the pool and couldn’t seem to catch anything. She was joined by a boy who also was having tough luck. After a while the boy caught something and left the pool. When the girl realized that she was in there, surrounded by fish and all alone she stood in the middle of the pool, let her head fall backwards and started bawling. Her mom was at the edge of the pool trying to get her to come out, but she wouldn’t budge…. sad as it was for the poor girl, it was absolutely hilarious to watch! Ahh kids, gotta love ‘em!
After we walked around the rest of the festival and looked at all there was to see, we settled at the ‘beer tent’ area and ordered some beers and snacks. We were joined by some other co-workers and friends and we got a nice group together.
Sitting on the beachfront under an umbrella on a beautiful day with the ocean right in front of you doesn’t get much better. We began playing some drinking games and several hours later moved our group to the convenience store across the street (where the beers were cheaper). This continued for about five more hours until we decided to grab dinner. 
As we were about to leave for the restaurant, the fireworks started and they were beautiful! I feel so lucky to live in a town where there’s plenty of things to do and see and something always happening.
We made our way to a Korean BBQ (or Galbi) restaurant and dined on freshly cut pieces of pork and beef cooked to perfection in the middle of our table. There was also an interesting egg dish… very similar to an soufflé and very tasty!
After dinner we decided to go to an area nearby where there are many bars and clubs. We went to a few different bars, played some darts, had some more beer (yes, I was feeling good at this point) and then went to a Noribang. This was my second time going to a Noribang and it was also a pleasing experience.
A Noribang is a room you can rent out that has a screen, speakers and microphones (and usually a few tambourines) and you can sing Karaoke with your friends to your heart’s content. Sing we did! We left at around 3am to come home and stopped for a falafel on the way home.
Needless to say I didn’t make it to church for Easter service the next morning….
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