The Seoul Train
...me bravoing my life...
The name literally means, "The people who play." I like the name. I find it unique and refreshing compared to the "Rolling Stone", "The Doors", "Woodstock" and "Oregon Trail" named bars lurking in its vicinity. The foreigners I know refer to this bar as just "The Bar". At first reference I wondered if this was actually its name and I passively accepted it. Recently I actually took the time to decipher the half broken, sloppily artistic sign hanging above the bar entrance. It is written in some form of Korean calligraphy and was nearly incomprehensible for this 한국밀 beginner. But, that's what it says and its meaning assisted in giving me an even more positive out look on the bar. That is, until the other day...(dramatic effect attempted..)
This place is quite hip when it comes to foreigners and weekends. Fridays and Saturdays are absurd in this basement, one room, dimly lit dive. The wood tables and benches are then packed with people and standing room is tough to negotiate. In the corner a DJ can be barely seen through a certain cigarette smoke fog and the center of the room acts as a stage for gyrating bodies of all sorts. Drinks are relatively cheap there but the main attractors would be the woody, rustic-hippy atmosphere and the music. Like several other bars in the 신촌 area the "DJ" (man standing confused infront of a wall of records and CDs. No turn tables.) not only will play what you request but actually encourages the customers to do so. Small scraps of paper and pens are always readily available.
I spend my weekends doing other things and usually opt out of the mayhem that is a Friday/Saturday evening at 놀이하는사람들. But, do to its proximity, I sometimes drop in with friends during the weekday, especially if we are hanging out in my hood (that would be neighborhood). For instance, when Chloe was my prestigious guest Jay and I took her down to the place where people like to have fun:
And fun we had. We took some class pictures. Check them out:
No explanation needed. A little Carleton College energy graced that evening in 놀이하는사람들 .
So, now you know a little about the place that serves as the setting for the shit that went down the other night.
Jay and I are having are share of problems- problems that bless themselves indiscriminately on relationships one and all. The other night I was up late watching Australia out play the Azzuri and after a text message or two, decided to go meet Jay and her room mate for a late night beer. Jerry, her room mate, is also my coworker. Great guy, good friend of both of us. I meet them at 놀이하는사람들 and the three of us comprise nearly half of the people in the bar. The other five people are either current or off duty employees or their significant others. They are having their own party of sorts and Jerry and Jay had been included in a certain "off the tab" generosity well before I arrived. I also receive a free beer when I sit down next to them. The DJ, his employee friend and girlfriend are already treading jin as they continue to mix the stuff with cranberry juice. The other two employees aren't really partaking. The petite, deceivingly masculine DJ is loud and can't screw on the top to the gallon jug of cranberry juice. On the otherside of the bar, directly across from him, the couple slurs and laughs and drinks more. Everything is going alright at first. I sit next to Jerry and talk about work, relationships and the free beer we are drinking.
The first sign that things were heading south was when the DJ finds his way over to me and tells me that we have to fight. I chuckle as I look at him because he is a skinny, short man sans any imaginable athletic talent. His suggestion is not in his best interest. I have handed in to him many paper squares with song requests written on them before and we have partaken in short, meaningless conversations, so I guess we are acquaintances. I know he is drunk and, at first, think he is just joking. I say, "So, why do you want to fight?" He says that he wants to date my ex-girlfriend. I smile and tell him that I don't think she would date him but that he could try his best. He backs away towards the DJ booth, presumably determining how to react and then losing his train of thought as he increases in proximity to the jin bottle. I turn back to Jerry, not thinking too much about the DJ embarassing himself.
Jay comes and sits down next to me and we are talking. She has been having a rough week and has had a couple drinks and, not being too big of a drinker, is a little more emotional than she would normally be. She has a silent way of crying where tears just poor down her stoic face while neither her breathing nor voice tone change much. I suggest that we should think of leaving soon, find a better place to talk. In the meantime everyone has noticed that things are not as chipper at our corner of the bar as they are elsewhere. Jerry senses the awkwardness and moves his conversation down a ways with the sober male employee. The DJ on the other hand fills the gap by approaching and telling Jay that "It's over. You should move on." He then asks her to talk. She shakes her head. He grudgingly returns to his mountain of CD cases only to attempt to call her on his cell phone. Jay is more than a little embarrassed at how he is acting and refuses to answer the phone call. This guy had never before disclosed his pent up passions for her and the last thing she wants at this point is to start a new relationship.
He begins talking to his inebriated buddy across from him about us. His buddy finds clarity in stupor and suggests that maybe it isn't any of his business. They continue talking and I lose track of the slured Korean and my attention returns to Jay. Jerry excuses himself to the bathroom. Jay and I are at the end of the bar. The DJ is still leaning over the mound of CDs speaking with his good friend (also an employee) and the friend's girlfriend is still teetering next to him. The sober male employee is back a little ways having a conversation with a sober female employee who is off duty this particular night.
My attention is immediately refocused back on the DJ as my head jerks to identify the object that received the slap I just heard. I turn my head just in time to see the DJ wind up and return his received slap 10 fold to his good friend's cheek. A dramatic pause ensues before the DJ scrambles over the CD player and mound of CDs, breaking glasses and finally sliding to a stop next to his buddy on the opposite side of the bar. By this time the sober male employee is at the other side of the now infuriated buddy holding him back trying to neutralize the situation. During this foreboding episode I have moved Jay out the way towards the exit and Jerry has returned from the bathroom. Jerry stands next to us trying to find the bar he was in before he left for the bathroom.
Things look like they are going to be resolved and we are about to leave when the sober man releases the buddy just long enough for the buddy to go after the DJ. The buddy is a much bigger man that the smallish DJ but both are well beyond drunk. We watch from the door way to see a three man heap (DJ being choked by the buddy with the sober one grabbing the latter from behind.) They rapidly slam into the far wall where things turn bad.
Apparently the DJ and the sober guy are a lot closer than the DJ and the buddy because the two of them proceed to beat the crap out of the buddy. The sober guy had pulled the buddy off the DJ and onto the ground but instead of then preventing the DJ from taking advantage of the prostrate buddy they both began to attack the buddy. It takes about 5 seconds for me to realize that the buddy on the ground is going to get seriously hurt from the blur of flying boots and fists if something isn't done. I run over and pick up the DJ and carry him across the room in a head lock to the other female employee. I turn back to see the sober employee still kicking the prostrate one (now bleedings profusely from the face), but with more precision and less rapidity seeing as he was probably getting tired and that the prostrate man's girlfriend was laying over her man's body trying to block his kicks. Luckily two other DJ acquaintances have arrived and Jerry is assisting them in subduing the maddened DJ. I get over to sober man and do my best to distract him. I push him a way a couple times and get in his way. Eventually he comes to his senses and stops kicking the guy in the head.
We are disgusted, embarassed and confused. Jay is helping the off duty female employee clean up all the broken glass. Jerry is with the sober one making small talk and I am next to the beaten man's girlfriend inspecting her boyfriend's face. Suggesting that not only should he get out of the bar but that he should seriously consider prompt medical care. The DJ is outside and the sober one asks us to get the beaten one out of the bar. I let his girlfriend take care of it seeing as I don't care about the guy enough to risk getting his blood on me.
Jerry, Jay and I get our things together and also exit the bar. And there across the street are the DJ and the beaten buddy locked in an embrace, professing friendship eternal. They then fall over into the dirty street. The DJ gets up to run after a cab that he attempted to flag down, which drove off after it saw all the blood.
We leave shaking our heads. We aren't people who play like that. And, I'm not going to be doing anymore playing there.
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