If New Years Eve was any indication, then 2011 is going to be a very different year for me. I unfortunately had to work until 9:00 on New Years Eve, but I was on the train at 9:45 and headed to Daegu. The official Daegu celebration took place at a place called Gukchae-bosang Memorial Park. It was pretty strange considering that there was a stage, a sound system and two big screens set up next to a traditional Korean bell tower. When I arrived in Daegu, the event was already well on its way, but the area didn't really get packed until around 11:30.
Prior to the actual countdown they had singing...
They had dancing...
And they had these guys...
This might be my favorite picture from Korea so far...
Daegu is hosting the IAFF World Championships this summer, which are basically the Olympics in the years that the Olympics aren't held. For some reason this has been chosen as the mascot. I think it's pretty funny, but I'm not really sure why it qualifies as a mascot for athletics.
At midnight they rang the bell...
Which was followed by a laser light show...
And then the grand finale...
I actually ended up making it back to the train station to catch the 12:30 train home. I know, not exactly a crazy New Years Eve, but I had to get up at 6:30 the next morning to catch a train up to Seoul. I'm currently in Seoul and just arrived at my hostel, so I'm taking some time to refresh my legs a little bit before I head out to see what Seoul is all about at night. I'll be posting about my trip when I get back on Tuesday night. I'm also taking this time to upload my pictures onto flickr from my first two days in Seoul if you want to check those out.
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