My first wedding in Korea and their are so many differences to what I’ve been used to in the states. First off, I got the invitation 2 weeks before the date… but as i learned attendance is a mass kind of thing. About 300-500 people are average for a Korean wedding and it lasts only about an hour or two. Sad but true… it’s all about the benjamins. Each guest, depending on status, relationship, etc. is expected to give a certain amount. In my case, 100,000 KRW ($100).

This particular wedding was in a hall, not a church which is on par with many ceremonies in the states. First, TK – the groom – trots down the walkway to the ovations of a standing room only crowd. Then his lovely bride is escorted down the aisle by her father… BUT as she approaches the alter, a low flying cloud of smoke emits from under the tables followed by bubbles floating out from behind various flower ornaments. It’s part night club – part luxary nuptial! Very odd I tell you, but typical enhancements to the korean wedding.

The cermony begins and those who don’t leave to go being eating, are left standing room taking phone calls and walking in-and-out of the hall. WHAT? I’ve even been told that at some weddings, the audience sits at their dinner tables and begins eating just as the ceremony begins… WHAT?

Odd I tell you. The bonus to this wedding was that TK’s wife is a flight attendant for Korean Airlines to this was a wedding full of bright, smiling faces with the most appropriate manners i’ve ever seen. All in all, it was all good!!

A day of games, drinking and teambuilding. All good with pictures to come…

a surprise for my eggi. a night with her and her favorite musical artist… Alicia Keys. Not at an arena. Not at a concert hall. In a ballroom of the mall! It was little bazaar… kinda like being at a wedding with a giant stage and a couple thousand of your closets friends. The acoustics were crap but the intimacy was pretty solid.

Some people live for the fortune. Some people live just for the fame.

Some people live for the power yeah. Some people live just to play the game

Some people think that the physical things define what’s within.

I’ve been there before But that life’s a bore. So full of the superficial

Some people want it all But I don’t want nothing at all. If it ain’t you baby. If I ain’t got you baby

Some people want diamond rings. Some just want everything. But everything means nothing

If I ain’t got you.

Gave my first speech here in Korea at the “Cool Marketing to Youth” conference and got to meet my arch nemisis… the Marketing Director for adidas and let me tell you, we couldn’t be anymore different. First off, word on the street is that he’s an ASS and the conference director confirmed when she told me that if he didn’t speak before me, he wouldn’t speak at all. So Korean! This 50 year old, suit wearing, ugly presentation carrying, poor execuse for a marketer was sad in so many ways… BUT the fact that right now, they’re the hotter brand in Korea could be even sadder.

Highlights from his speech include taking partial credit for the track suit craze as well as the immortal words of, “To be a cool company, you have to look cool, act cool and most importantly live cool.” I was floored and almost fell out of my seat.

Not that my talk was that amazing but i think it was clear that substance and style were both winning combinations for me. I did get off to a rocky start with a slew of technical difficulties. I got a bad clicker-thingy so everytime i wanted to move ahead, it wouldn’t work. My video’s would only play sound. So with this rocky start, I definitely got a little nervous and then almost fell off the stage! That’s when I had to pull it together. Have the poise of Jed Barlett. Speak with the passion of L.L.Cool J.

Black Jack at Walker Hill with David Chin. 50,000 KRW per hand ($45) and we managed to walk away cash money winners… 1,900,000 KRW. SWEET!

The next step with Eggi… meeting the work peoples. Dinner on the roof with her team and their significant others. A beautiful night with clear views of much of Kang-Buk. Bar-B-Q Korean bacon on the roof with a dash of wine and beer. This whole korean girl thing is definitely interesting. Half of the group could speak english which definitely made it a little awkward at times… both for them and myself. But at the end of the night, I’m pretty sure everyone had a good time. I guess it’s just one of those things that will get better and better…

Threw my first fashion show in Korea. It definitely could have gone better. Had to cram two seasons into one. Of course, too many people showed up. Air conditioning was crap. Draps didn’t match. My models were way too thin. Lighting rig hung too low. Sand was too wet. The devil truly is in the details! ugh… at least the product looked solid.

Another lazy sunday in Seoul… on an even more beautiful autumn day. An afternoon reading magazines and studying my Korean at my newly discovered hideaway… the Star Library. This is an amazing *book store* that’s more like an asian oasis with Latte’s. It’s becoming such the hangout that on this recent trip, they’ve actually cleared all the books off the main floor and replaced it with tons and tons of couches and chairs!

Then it was off to Kangnam for some chicken and Turkish ice cream with my Eggi. Things are starting to shape up over on this side of the planet :)

A chilly autumn day in Seoul. The crisp air with a strong sun struggling to bring warmth as winter begins to push through. The perfect season, just after the deathly heat of summer and the bone chilling cold of winter. I love it. And a perfect day for some culture. So we headed to the Seoul Museum of Art (just art, not modern, contemporary or anything :) and say the Chagall Exhibit. Now many of you know that I’m an avid museum fan (not a pro) but this was insane. The rarity of such a strong exhibit in Seoul brought people out of the woodwork. I’m taking 50 people que outside the museum, 100 people in the lobby and then pretty much one long que through 3 floors of exhibits. Wall to wall people fighting to get just a glimpse of the Magician of Color. Insane. It was almost worse than the track and difficult to really enjoy the work!

Still, we had a great time and it put a smile on Eggi’s face :)