Deadly Quests: A Korean Adventure: Fun With Copyright Infringment!

Since there was more money in my bank account than has been in quite some time I shrugged off all notions of fiscal responsibility and headed to Songton to blow some cash. I picked up a few gifts but what I really needed were clothes for the beach. I like shopping around the military base because I can always haggle the shop owners down to the point of desperation. "C'mon, 25,000 Won for a polo shirt? You're breaking my balls sir. I'll give you 10,000." After talking an older gentleman down 15,000 on a pair of cargo shorts I noticed a tear stream down his cheek as he informed me that he would be unable to eat that night. I played the world's tiniest violin while triumphantly marching out of his store. Tucked into an obscure back alley I came across a treasure trove of corny tropical shirts on clearance at only 5,000 Won a piece. Ravenously I tore through the rack, hoarding armfuls of brightly colored, floral print button downs. I was practically foaming at the mouth as I hauled my obnoxious bounty to the cashier.

Taking advantage of shop owners wasn't the only reason I went to Songton. There was of course the weekly hash. It was only my second time running with the Osan Base Hash House Harriers and there were significantly less attendees than when we ran on the 4th of July, but that just made it easier to get friendly with some of the more dedicated members. After a harrowing six mile run through humid farmlands and goat farms we regrouped at the Lion's Den for beer, club formalities, and conversation.

The real high-light of my weekend began on Sunday. Matt has been droning on and on about wanting to replay Final Fantasy 7. I can't say I blame him. Anyone who's ever mashed the buttons on a video game controller likely recognizes Square Soft's masterpiece as one of the best games of all time. I tried to download both the official PC release and a Playstation emulator with FF7 Rom but after expected technical difficulties we decided to check out the electronics market in Yongsan. Additionally, I was interested in having my XBOX360 modified...a hush hush operation that I've heard Yongsan is known for.

The market in Yongson is huge. You can buy just about any component that electrical current passes through at discount prices; from motherboards and beta-max to televisions and turn-tables. The first large concourse we happened upon was home to merchants of computer parts. Over half an acre, both indoors and out, were tables stacked with processors, cases, keyboards, webcams, cooling units, video cards, monitors, powers supplies, and so forth. I admit to knowing very little regarding the technical aspects of computer assembly but I can think of certain dorky friends back home who would blow a cap if they got a chance to shop there.

Right across the street was the underground console game market. For an eighth of a mile there is nothing but Playstaion and XBOX games, cellophane wrapped consoles, huge monitors, and video game memorabilia. I took a couple pictures but the "No Camera" signs forced me to act discreetly. Of course you can buy brand new, stock hardware or officially released games, but these artifacts merely provide a front for the true nature of the market. If you're coming here it's because you want to buy a modified system and bootleg games. A modified system has extra components installed so that it can play games that are copied onto DVD's instead of only games that have been officially released. It is, in essence, copyright infringement. Matt picked up a modified Playstation 2 for only 100,000 Won, but being unable to track down an English version of Final Fantasy 7, he settled for FFX.

Having been satisfied with the legitimacy of the black market operations I returned the next day with my 360 carefully tucked into a backpack. It would cost only 60,000 Won to have my unit modified. This procedure adds a special chip to the motherboard and a larger, more efficient cooling unit. Once modified, my XBOX would be able to read bootleg games that cost only 10,000 Won at any of the numerous vendors in the market. I convinced the proprietor to sell me five games and the modification for an even 100,000. Once a deal is struck the owner of the store makes a phone call. Minutes later a shady looking courier, riding a skatboard and smoking a cigarette, arrives, tucks your system into a satchel, and takes off to some shifty backroom workshop...the location of which I can not even begin to guess. While my $400 XBOX was having its warranty voided I decided to peruse the market for rarities. Some note-worthy consoles included a CD-i, Famicoms, a 3DO, original Gameboys, a Panasonic manufactured Gamecube, and Sega Saturns.

But the absolutely coolest console in the market was a custom, liquid cooled XBOX 360.

When the mods to my XBOX were complete, the owner of the store tested everything for me and satisfied with the upgrades, I paid the man. I left the market with an improved machine and five of the best XBOX 360 games for less than what it would cost to buy two games legally. I don't know how they get away with it but god bless them.

For some reason or another I'm supposed to be at work from Monday to Wednesday this week but since I don't actually have any work to do I still consider myself on vacation. Besides some Filipino painters I think I'm the only person in the building. I'm wasting time by reading the Harry Potter series, watching movies, testing the threshold of my classroom speakers with Iron Maiden, blogging, and playing XBOX games on the projector. I could probably just not show up at all if I wanted but they are paying me a lot of money to do stuff I would usually do for free and I would hate to let them down.