On Saturday Sept 29th I was lucky enough to witness a strange and interesting event. As a tribute to Michael Jackson on what would have been his 51st birthday, people gathered at various parts of northern Seoul to suddenly break into synchronized dance.
If you view the video I've put up - video I took myself - then you'll see two of the flash-mobs that occurred at two different locations around GwangHwaMun. It all starts with one man dancing to the song Beat It, and then people joining in to become a massive coordinated spectacle usually reserved for the realities of musicals. Simply put, I thought it was cool as hell.
If you look carefully in the video you should be able to see various people dressed in ways that pay homage to Michael. As well, you can spot the odd person dressed like an animal ... for the hell of it I guess.
While I was on my way to the first dance mob I ran into a gentleman who was obviously a big Michael Jackson fan. He wore a hat and single shimmering glove. He seemed truly pleased to see me, though we'd never met before. He shook my hand and greeted me.
"Michael Jackson - king of pop!" He shouted.
"Yeah," I replied and smiled.
"Fucking Bush!" he shouted louder, "Obama, good! ... Fucking Bush!!"
I'm not sure what the connection was between his first comment and the next, but he was certainly passionate about both. All in all it was a day about people doing something they were very passionate about. The world needs more of that.
2 comments:
the movement started in sweden with some dance group whose name i can't remember. ive watched videos of the responses in various cities on youtube. it's really cool you got to witness one in person. i feel so fucking removed from the world.
since you're white i guess that guy assumed you're american or something.
I'm whiter than white, and while living in Korea, I suppose I am American by default. That's too bad. I'd rather be mistaken for Australian, or British, or a polar bear.
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