the narwhals

A large part of my first two months in Korea were consumed by… you guessed it… Ultimate Frisbee.  Before our arrival, nay, before our acceptance into the EPIK program, Stuart and I had already done research and found an Ultimate league in the southern half of South Korea.  Not yet knowing where we would be living, Stuart and I signed up and hoped for the best.  Despite living in Daejeon, we were placed on a team based out of Ulsan (3+ hours away by train) since they needed numbers to make a team.  Thus, Stuart and I became Narwhals.

This league, called ROK-U (Republic of Korea- Ultimate) took us all over the peninsula for the better part of March and April.  We travelled to Daegu, Busan, and Gyeongju for games spread over five weekends, including playoffs (which proved that Ultimate is an expensive habit).

The Ulsan Narwhals

 Our team, the Ulsan Narwhals, was not, to be quite honest, the most skilled team in the league.  But they sure did have a lot of heart.  Out of our 12(?) game season, we won 3 games (one of which was a forfeit by the other team, who could not field enough players).  Two of our other games we should have won, but we were missing half our team and had to play savage the whole day (for those of you who don’t know what that means: everyone had to play every point of every game that day), so we wore out a bit by the end of games.

The playoffs were a real piece of chaos, if you ask me.  It was freezing cold and positively pouring with rain.  Really, it was a matter of desire to keep playing.  I surely didn’t have much of that!  Needless to say, we lost of playoff game, although we didn’t try to, and were out of the season.  In terms of final placement in the league… I’m not too sure where we ended up, but certainly in the bottom three teams.

Although the play on the field was sometimes lacking, the energy and the friendships built off the field were incredible.  Stuart and I made some (hopefully!) lasting friendships with some of our teammates.  After games, we would eat dinner together (team favorites: Shabu Shabu and Indian food!) and often share some ice cream too.  Currently, Stuart and I are planning a trip down to Ulsan to meet up with our friends and possibly throw a disc around too.

Another part of the joy of playing league was the opportunity to travel around Korea and to being seeing some sights.  Admittedly, Stuart and I did not explore Daegu, but seeing as Daegu is the closest city to Daejeon, we trust that we will find time to get there.  We did spend the whole weekend in Busan when we played on the beach there.  We ended up watching some local rugby games with some friends from South Africa, talking a long walk on the beach, and eating Indian food (our favorite) with more friends.  The games on the beach the next day were absolutely painful, so we were glad to have done some sightseeing the day before.

Anapji Pond

Of the places we travelled for league, Gyeongju was my favorite.  The capital of the old Silla kingdom, Gyeongju is rich with history.  Before our Sunday morning games, Stuart and I ventured to Anapji Pond to explore the temple there and have a relaxing morning.  Then, we walked across the road into a park where we walked through forests and found various monuments.  It was a delightful day and many people were out and about on bicycles enjoying the warm day.

Although I enjoyed playing on the league, I must admit I am glad that my weekends are my own again.  Weekends are a needed time for relaxing, and, yeah, a smattering of travelling as well.  Without Frisbee, we’ve been able to do and see a lot more.