South Korean Smashers?

[riocosta123]

I'm going to be in Seoul for about a year starting in December and was just wondering if anyone was here.

Also, if someone is over there, do I need to bring a converter for mah wii?

 

[KoreanDJ111]

There are a few smash players around Seoul that are willing to play. Pretty soon they will see this thread and respond.

I'm down in Ulsan, which is 5 hours away from Seoul. At times I make road trips up to Seoul so we could have some type of smashfest going on.

And yes, you need a converter for the wii.

 

[riocosta123]

Awesome! I really want to start a tournament series in Seoul since I'm going to have a ton of free time because the job I have only requires me to work 20 hours a week.

PM me when you're coming up and I can organize something,

 

[QraQ]

In May I'll be heading to Kunsan AFB for a year so im down to smash with any1.
Would really look forward to see how korean smashers get down.

 

[myl197]

Awesome! I really want to start a tournament series in Seoul since I'm going to have a ton of free time because the job I have only requires me to work 20 hours a week.

PM me when you're coming up and I can organize something,

hey man I responded to u in the other korea thread but I'll respond here again just in case: riocosta do u have a cellphone? I have both melee, brawl, 4 controllers, a wii, and a gamecube. Hit me up! 010-5388-9669. Email: myl197@gmail.com

In May I'll be heading to Kunsan AFB for a year so im down to smash with any1.
Would really look forward to see how korean smashers get down.

I'll be here til Fall of 2010 so we'll definitely meet up and smash it up when u get here. Although it's still half a year away.

 

[Composeur]

I just moved from Michigan to Changwon--today is my one week anniversary--and I'll be here for at least a year. It's an hour-ish west of Busan. I'm not that good at melee, at least at this point, but I'm still crazy about it and would love to play whenever I get the chance. I've never really had the chance to play anyone good at the game. If there's enough activity I'll buy a GC to practice with :D

 

[Suspect]

How far is Osan from any of you south korean smashers? i live in Guam but me and my dad plan on visiting there just to shop and what not. I would like to do some money matches or catch a tourny if possible.

oh yea, i only play brawl >_>

 

[riocosta123]

Osam is about 35 km from Seoul according to Wikipedia. You probably wouldn't be that far from me because I live on the edge of Seoul, but the rest of the guys are about a 45 minute train ride from where I am.

 

[Composeur]

Umm so I really really want to buy a GC system, SSBM, and all the fixings...anyone know the cheapest way I could possibly do that?

 

[KoreanDJ111]

Online is your best bet.

I went down to Yongsan, Seoul which has GC's for sale and a bunch of GC games, but no melee. And the GC was 55,000 won.

 

[Composeur]

So you think I should use amazon.com for everything and just suck it up and pay the shipping to Korea? I don't know exactly how much shipping is but I expect it'll be expensive. But I guess if I have no choice...

 

[Composeur]

Well, tomorrow night (Wednesday, March 31) KDJ is supposed to come down to Changwon to play with xyt and me (they're both waaaay better than I am). It's late notice, but if anyone wants to come it'd be great to have a fourth player so we could do teams. I'm sure he'll be here pretty late. Just send me a message!

 

[UchihaJP]

Good to know things are going down in S-Korea~!

Hope to smash with u guys this summerrrr =)

Greetz, from Japan haha

 

[Scuddlefish]

I am in China right now and may go back to Korea before I go back home some time in June/July, so maybe I can see you guys? I play melee btw.

 

[Composeur]

Yes, I'm all about melee. I didn't even realize there might be confusion about that but then I don't acknowledge Brawl. LOL

Anyway, I would definitely love to play as much as I can. Xyt has to go into the military in a week, and he's the only one around here (that I know of) that plays it. So that's very saddening. I'll be here until December.

And curse smashboards for being down! I was in Seoul this weekend and wanted to find someone to smash with, but I couldn't. Naturally.

 

[soju]

I'll be visiting family in Incheon for the summer so if anyone wants to smash then PM me =w=
Oh I'm mainly a melee player but Brawl is awwright

 

[Ohmu]

I'm glad to see that there are people playing Smash in South Korea - I might be heading down there for a year in the Fall and I'm super-worried I might be in smash withdrawal the whole time :-\

PS: How many of you guys are working as English teachers? And are any of you Fulbrighters?

 

[Composeur]

I'm working as an English teacher, and no, I'm not a Fulbrighter. Are you? Is there a special incentive for Fulbrighters to come to Korea? O_o

And where would you be living if you came here? We need more people! KDJ is the closest to me now that xyt's been drafted > Luckily, he's only like an hour bus-ride away. But ****, just when I was starting to improve a little...

 

[soju]

PS: How many of you guys are working as English teachers? And are any of you Fulbrighters?

Nope I'm still in Highschool ^^

 

[QraQ]

I'll be going to Kunsan AFB for a year May 5th. I only play melee and would like to hit it up with the Korean community.
Lemme know what's up.

 

[Composeur]

Will you be allowed to have a GC on site? Or will you need to travel? ^^

 

[Ohmu]

I'm working as an English teacher, and no, I'm not a Fulbrighter. Are you? Is there a special incentive for Fulbrighters to come to Korea? O_o

And where would you be living if you came here? We need more people! KDJ is the closest to me now that xyt's been drafted > Luckily, he's only like an hour bus-ride away. But ****, just when I was starting to improve a little...

Yeah, I'll be a fulbrighter (the English Teaching Assistantship [ETA] kind, not the Research Grant kind - the ETA is much less prestigious, lol). There's not really a special incentive for fulbrighters to come to Korea, I just applied because out of all the fulbright ETA positions available in all the countries of the world, South Korea had far and away the most job openings. Hence, my acceptance to the program :-) Then again, maybe the massive amount of openings ought to have given me pause...Since you're an English teacher, I'd like to ask you - what do you think of the country and the job? Is it really a good deal, or have you been disappointed? If you were transported back in time and had to make the decision of whether or not to take your job all over again knowing what you do now, would you still go? Also, my program is a homestay - do you think that's a bad idea? I'm a pretty flexible guy, but I'm somewhat concerned about the implications of living that kind of lifestyle.

As far as where I'll be living, I'll be in the city of Goesan, in Chungcheongbuk-do for a six week orientation starting July 4, in which I'll be very busy and probably (but not certainly) unlikely to be able to play, but then I'm told I'm going to be shipped out to some more rural/suburban location to teach for the remainder of my contract (which lasts until July 2011). I don't yet know where, but I'm told it will be relatively far from any city :-( Still, I'm addicted enough to this game that I could see myself traveling up to, like, six hours to play all day and night if I ever had 48 hours off in a row :-) To be honest, I'm terrified at the possibility that I won't be able to play all the time, I don't know how I'll handle it.

Is it really true that there's no South Korean scene for this game? I thought Asians were supposed to be into this stuff! Is there no Korean language website like smashboards? Maybe we just haven't looked hard enough...

By the way, I much prefer Brawl to Melee (mostly because I'm much better at Brawl as a result of investing a lot more time in it against tourney players; I also like its more relaxed pace and focus on cautious, defensive play as opposed to Melee's balls-to-the-wall constant emphasis on offensive options/approaching), but I would happily build my melee skill if that was the only scene that was available to me. I would just definitely /I] need to practice on a GC of my own before I'd be worth anyone's time - I can wavedash, L-cancel, wavedance, and all that bull****, I just haven't learned how to incorporate it strategically into my gameplay since I've rarely played anyone good at that game. My biggest problem with Melee is that there's not a 10 frame buffering window for inputting moves during other moves (like there is in Brawl), so I really have to concentrate on when I make my inputs. (I spent about ten very frustrating minutes the last time I played melee just relearning how to short hop fair - I kept on pressing A during the jump animation. Aargh.)

So...yeah...long post. Sorry :-)

EDIT: I just did the math Composeur and it looks like the place I'll be for my orientation (Goesan) is (very roughly) about 130 miles from Changwon directly, and probably at least 170 miles from it by road :-( But hey, if I were travelling at 60 miles an hour I'd be there in less than three hours...lol though I'm sure with public transportation it'd take way longer. Hmmm I'll see how things shape up. Do you have a setup? I have only one GC controller, and neither smash, a wii, nor a GC...but I was thinking of buying a wii before I left...

 

[riocosta123]

As far as I can tell there's not that big of a smash scene here. There's basically me, KDJ, Marcus and a couple other guys that play Melee (and I'm the only guy who plays brawl ;____. Although, if anyone knows Korean you could ask around/advertise at some of the universities here.

Man, why is everyone fifty million miles away from Seoul?

 

[Ohmu]

(and I'm the only guy who plays brawl ;____.

Well, looks like you and me'll be brawling it up, then...

I'll be teaching at a public high school...I wonder if I could generate a South Korean smash scene from scratch by offering my students extra credit if they could beat me at the game? Maybe I can justfiy it to the school administration on the grounds that it's an English language immersion activity... lol

 

[Composeur]

Long response

Is it really true that there's no South Korean scene for this game? I thought Asians were supposed to be into this stuff! Is there no Korean language website like smashboards? Maybe we just haven't looked hard enough...

So...yeah...long post. Sorry :-)

Do you have a setup? I have only one GC controller, and neither smash, a wii, nor a GC...but I was thinking of buying a wii before I left...

There are lots of jobs here because South Korea is pretty culturally isolated--the crazies to the north essentially make it an island--and is in the midst of feverishly modernizing itself. There's construction going on everywhere, so it's exciting to bear witness to a tradition-bound country catapulting itself into the 21st century. Since English is the international standard for commerce, it's critical that Koreans start learning good English from a young age, and the country has more catching up to do than places like China or Japan. Hence the hunger for foreign English teachers. Of course, that can make a job as an English teacher more frustrating, since you might not have much to work with in terms of the kids already understanding some fundamental English. My predecessor moved to Taiwan when I took his job, and he tells me the kids there speak English WAY better than they do here. Even the kids in big cities here are noticeably better at English than those from small towns. I'm sure you'll have better teaching materials at a public school than I do: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2403261&id=12104653&l=994789f403.

How are you with languages? Korean employs a very logical alphabet, which makes reading it much easier than most languages. Speaking and listening are another matter, though, because the phonemes are totally different than English's, and the grammar structure is, too. Since so few people here know English (Seoul is better than the rest of the country but still not great) you do need to learn more Korean to feel savvy about yourself than you might in another place. If you're open to it it can be rewarding. The misgiving I have about it is that I don't really love the sound of the language and it's not the most useful second (or whatever) language you could learn once you've left here, since it's not spoken anywhere else in the world. Also, the culture isn't really that remarkable or rich compared to Japan or China, and there are some traditions that are just socially backward (stemming from ingrained biases about gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, etc.), although they're rapidly dying away as the more modern generation starts to take over. The cuisine is great, unless you're like me and don't eat meat (and then it sucks). Be prepared for corn on pizza and mayonnaise on anything you can imagine.

It's true that there's no South Korean scene. Video game consoles were banned here until recently, so GCs were never available. If they had been then I'd imagine there'd be a lot more of a scene. Then again, it doesn't seem like Brawl's that big, either. Either way, I'm almost positive we're not missing anything. The scene just doesn't exist.

I have a full setup for Melee, including a GC and four controllers. If you want a GC here you'll need to bring it, since they're not available anywhere. Same thing with controllers and games. I think they do sell wiis here, though I would bring yours and avoid the hassle. You should bring Melee so you can practice it!

Also, once you're here you'll need to buy a big VOLTAGE converter (not just a plug converter), or else you'll fry your console. It's about $30 USD for one. The ones big enough to handle a gaming system are about the size of a GC.

Hopefully you'll end up in my province! I'm sure you'll learn to love Melee ^^

 

[QraQ]

Where is everyone?
I live out of Kunsan AB and can get to Kunsan City relatively easy. I would like to play you guys especially KDJ if you're down. Lemme know my AIM: dv8tionmaker Yahoo: dominic.ojinnaka@yahoo.com

 

[Devil Ray]

hey, i'm going to be in korea this week and i'll be working as an english teacher for a year.

i've been going to tournies for several years, i'd say i'm close to xyt's level, and i'll be bringing a controller with me. i doubt i'll find ppl to play, but i'll be living in the anyang area. i'm about 40 mins away from seoul.

 

[Composeur]

God, it sucks that there's a handful of us and we all live so far apart. It's not that big a country, though. I feel like there must definitely be some people in Seoul that play smash. Anyang is much more conveniently located than Ch'angwon is, anyway. I'll let you know next time I'm headed up that way. And if you even go to visit Korea's second largest city, I'm pretty close to Busan. Cheers, and welcome to Korea!

 

[Devil Ray]

yeah, i'm going to miss playing in Chicago. we had a lot of good players and i could drive to a number of smashfests every week. really fun area for melee

if it helps, i'll be working in Pyungcheon. I don't know if i can fit a cube in my luggage, but there's a chance. I suppose i can bring a melee disc and memory card. anyway, we'll see how it goes and i'll check in regularly. hope to see you guys at some point!

 

[riocosta123]

Man, anyone who wants to play with me should PM me. I live in Seoul but if I have a free weekend I'm sure I could get away from the old lady long enough to travel. I can play both games, but I can actually give you professional level practice in Brawl (I was on WA PR for a little bit).

Also, my Wii/converter just died ;-;

 

[myl197]

To everyone arriving in Korea soon/here already, here's my contact info:

cell: 010-5388-9669

email: myl197@hotmail.com OR myl197@gmail.com

AIM: yslee197

I'm in Seoul in a place called Seobinggo Dong and as riocosta123 was saying, there's him, me, and a few others at the moment in the Seoul area and a few others (I think) in different regions of the country.

 

[Devil Ray]

*fist pump* i will be in the motherland soon.

 

[myl197]

Also, does everyone here have facebook?

My facebook name: Marcus Yoon-Soo Lee

 

[QraQ]

Unfortunately I live near Gunsan City so it looks like I'd have to travel to play anyone. Sucks

 

[Devil Ray]

my info:

name: ray chun
working at Pyungcheon, near anyang
email:raychun2@gmail.com
don't really use facebook, i think it's bleh
i only play melee

once i get settled in, i'll definitely make sure to get some games in

 

[mecatomato]

Unfortunately I live near Gunsan City so it looks like I'd have to travel to play anyone. Sucks

Korea has a good transportation system. So.. i guess why not. lol

However, going to Marcus' place is always an Adventrue hahaha

Suh Bing Go is definitely a good place, but public transportation is so.. weird.. >_>

Also, does everyone here have facebook?

My facebook name: Marcus Yoon-Soo Lee

I have Facebook.

 

[Devil Ray]

i have arrived in korea. i'll be checking into my hotel for training tomorrow, and i'll have a week of that. I think i can make Seobinggo in one train ride from anyang, so i should make it for smash sometime.

 

[Composeur]

Name: Alexander
Facebook: facebook.com/KyleAlexander
e-mail: k.alex.cronin@gmail.com

Location: Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-Do, about 45 minutes west of Busan, in the god**** southeast corner of the country.

 

[KoreanDJ111]

I live down in Ulsan. Just send me a PM if you wanna travel down and if I got free time. Probably let me know ahead of time and if we can smash on weekends. Not much time left in Korea since I'm leaving July 31st. Gotta make the best out of Korea while I still can.

 

[Devil Ray]

hellooooo, just passed my training exams. i'm super lucky that i did. i'm going to try to meet up with people sooon, i'm in major withdrawal. but yeah, chung-daum learning's training program just killed me. i need to rest up.