Mr. Oh

Yesterday, I woke up late, ate at KFC nearby (the Zinger Burger is delicious!), and then took a 1 hour subway ride to Sam Sung, where the famous COEX Mall is. It's the biggest mall in all of Korea, and has the biggest record store in Korea, too. I spent over one hour at the record store, carefully browsing through their collection. Everything was way over-priced. For instance, the Beatles' "Rubber Soul" (or should I say "Rubber Seoul"? hahaha err) was 22 dollars! All the Blues albums were too expensive, though I did find and take a picture of a fantastic Johnny Shines album! I went to the Jazz section to look for Jelly Roll Morton and Billie Holiday, both of whom were absent!!! I started talking with a middle-aged man there whose name is Oh Hyun. His English was nearly perfect. His son and wife live in New York City. His son is in middle school. He said he sends them money regularly and visits New York about four times a year. Also, he owns a recording studio near Sam Sung!!! We talked about how the record business in Korea is terrible, and just as bad in America. Nobody is buying cds any longer because of mp3s. It occurred to me to mention Michael Powers and Michael's manager to Mr. Oh. Mr. Oh Hyun said that Michael is welcome to come to Korea any time to record, but he'd have to bring his whole band with him, because Korean musicians don't know how to play electric Blues or Blues-Rock, which is very true haha. It was a lot of fun talking with him! I somehow found a 3-CD Fats Waller box set for 17 bucks, and lingered around for a while talking with Mr. Oh. Finally, I bought the cd, and we both left the place. He asked me if I wanted to eat dinner with him, but I thought it was a bit odd, so I told him I was full, which I was. I became exhausted on the ride back home. 2 hours on the subway is too much, even though the subway system in Seoul is beautiful. When I got back to the goshiwon, I listened to my new cd set, talked to my brother on MSN and Skype, and became very hungry, but just ate chips and a fruit cup or two. I'm going to shave and shower soon, and get something to eat quickly. Tonight, I'm meeting up with Taeha Noona and going to a Jazz bar with her=)