5 | 불금 (Boolgeom)

불금 Is a Korean slang word that takes the word 불 (meaning fire) and 금요일 (Friday) and mashes them together to create the one word that can describe Korea's burning passion towards going all in on the weekends. And yes, we do have T.G.I Fridays in Korea.

But before I could indulge in the rituals that my usual Friday nights consist of, I was going to meet my close friend Dave for lunch.
Dave and I met at my first job in Korea, Playground rooftop bar and cafe. I was an English tutor for their language meet-ups and was attending a party my company was throwing on a Friday night. The first day we met was October 6, 2017. I remember this because it was also my first celebrated 불금.
Now Dave also is working in the same game development team as me as an artist, and we're currently working on a project together. So with the intent of some much needed catching up and talking business, I hiked up the exit 9 steps of 홍대. There, in the crowd, was Dave. But something was different.
SIDEBURNS.
Dave, since completing his two years of military service this summer, had grown sideburns. It was.... a look.
He suggested we go to a sushi buffet for lunch. I could not decline as sushi was my favorite food, unlimited sushi is better, and Korean unlimited sushi is of the best. And of course, it was absolutely mouthwatering in both visual and taste. The buffet also offers other Korean dishes such as 떡볶이, 짬뽕, and more. They also feature a self serve coffee bar.

I decided it was key that I try one of each sushi. Including the raw meat. It still is a strange texture and overall concept to eat, but the taste is delectable. I also tried a strange pumpkin dish. That seemed to just be pumpkin mashed up with whipped cream and sprinkles confettied on top. It tasted kind of like egg salad. My mouth was very confused.

Three plates brimming with sushi later, we went to Holly's Cafe for coffee and discussing the art that Dave was working on. We worked on character design, and I was lucky enough to receive a portrait before our time together came to an end.

I met up with Caillean, 건 (Geon), and Ava once again... and let 불금 commence.

But first, it was mandatory that 건 tried his first Dairy Queen blizzard before he returned from his military vacation the following day. So we stopped for mini blizzards. Like all other American franchises, Korean's have adopted these businesses and put their own twist on the menus. The recently introduced Grill and Chill features things like red velvet and Oreo blizzards, pecan cluster lattes, and bulgogi hot dogs. I ordered a green tea and red bean blizzard, Ava and Caillean going for green tea and Oreo, and 건 keeping it simple with just plain Oreo. He was amazed to see an entire cup of ice cream withstand the forces of gravity as it was flipped upside down to proove its worth. And upon the taste, even I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer mastery of Korean Dairy Queen.

As it was Ava's first trip to Korea, we wanted to introduce her to the concept of a soju room. Soju rooms are small, closet size rooms big enough for a table and about four to six people. There you can order food and drinks that are unique to Korean culture. We ordered Okonomiyaki and 계란말리 (Rolled Egg). Another key feature to drinking rooms is their many soju selections, such as yogurt soju and pineapple soju smoothies.

After dinner, we went over to Mike's Cabin and played darts.

Then we went to Cocky Pub and did a round of everyone's favorite... the grasshopper shot. In our usual succession, we went next door to Thursday Party. We sidled up to an empty space near the beer pong table, minding our own business when one of the players darted away from the game. Something told me she was on the losing team and was in no shape to finish the game. We got sucked into substituting for her, clawing our way to the top as 쌀파 (Ssalpa: Thursday Party) champions. Our inauguration into the hall of fame included winners' tequila shots. But Thursday Party is not a great place to stay as the night tends to bring in a rather large and undesirable crowd. So we headed on back to Mike's then Sinkhole.
Here's the thing about Sinkhole (Read: Shithole).
I LOVE it. It is a FREE hip hop club. And I love Korean hip hop. It is also not well known to tourists, so it tends to have a more native vibe overall. Since opening a second location just down the street, Sinkhole has gained a considerable amount of popularity. Unfortunately, this means we have to wait in line in the FREEZING COLD NIGHT. Fast forward twenty minutes and Caillean and Ava are finally allowed inside. Per usual, I hand the bouncer my Minnesota driver's license. To which he stalls, bending it and flipping it over and over again. I'm shocked as he looks up and waves me away. Confused, as this is my government issued ID, I ask him why I'm not allowed in. He tells me that my ID is fake.
THE NERVE OF THIS GUY.
After almost five minutes of Caillean and 간 trying to explain in Korean that this is my legal ID, the bouncer yells "NO!" and we're forced to move on. So we go to Sinkhole part two... where I'm welcomed with open arms.
But the vibe was a no bueno. The music was good but everyone in the incredibly sparse crowd looked like they wanted to die. So we decided to try going back to Sinkhole 1 and show off my stamp from the second location. The bouncer had changed and we showed him, but he still didn't let us in, because the original one had told him not to.
Annoyed, we went back to Mike's, stopping for our 계란빵 tradition on the way.

We decided it was time to try some new drinks... Ordering jello shots... which came out like an actual shot topped with whipped cream. And Caillean braved a Mad Bulldog. Even after asking our bartender friend, 다현 (Dahyeon) what was in the drink, he refused to tell us. Here's what we know:

• It is red in hue
• It may have tequila
• A bottle of Corona is dipped into the glass
• It tastes like weed

But the whole situation had put a bit of a damper on the night, and we opted to take a taxi back to my apartment and were in bed by the wee hours of 5 am. It wasn't a total wash, as we got to party with 건 one more time before he returned to the military. And it was Caillean and Ava's last 불금 before they would return to the US. Even though it wasn't as lit as New Year's we still had a great time together and made a lot of memories.
Oh, and I whooped 건's butt in darts.