Plenty of Nothing

Anyang Halla

Nikko Icebucks versus Anyang Halla in pre-Covid times. Source.

Asia League Ice Hockey is back after two Covid-cancelled seasons. There are six teams: the five teams that participated in last year's Japan Cup plus Anyang Halla from South Korea. The Russian club PSK Sakhalin has been kicked out of the league.

Anyang Halla was founded as Mando Winia in 1994. They played in the Korean Ice Hockey League until that league and the Japanese league both folded in 2004. Halla then became founding members of Asia League Ice Hockey and have played there every year since, except for the two Covid years. Altogether Halla have been champions of the Korean League and Asia League Ice Hockey five times each. They wear blue, white and gold and play at Anyang Ice Arena (capacity 1,284) in Anyang, a satellite city of Seoul.

The club is sponsored by Halla Group, a Korean conglomerate, which also has an interest in Kiekko-Vantaa of the Finnish Mestis.

What did Anyang Halla do while the Asia League was shut down? There were several Korean tournaments to play in. Last season Anyang won the 76th National Ice Hockey Championship, beating Korea University, High1, Kwangyoon University and Yonsei University. They also won the 66th National Division and the 41st Yuhan Cheolbae.  And they played two exhibition games against ECHL teams in October 2021:

2021/10/15    Greenville Swamp Rabbits 6 - 1 Anyang Halla

2021/10/16    Atlanta Gladiators 3 - 2 Anyang Halla 

Source.

Three months after these games Atlanta signed Anyang veteran Sanghoon Shin. Source.

At one point Asia League Ice Hockey had three Korean teams. High1 left the league in 2019 but are still in existence. Daemyung Killer Whales however closed shop in 2021.

Today Anyang host Nikko IceBucks. [Anyang win 7 - 2.]

Anyang Halla's website is here. The governing body of South Korean hockey is the Korea Ice Hockey Association.

Gim Busik Handles a Scroll

The act of handling a scroll is foreign to almost every modern person. Here is a portrait of Korean statesman Gim Busik (1075-1151) holding a scroll in both hands as he pauses to think about what he's reading. He's seated, but without a desk or table; the scroll is draped across the lap of his gown. Were he wearing trousers the scroll would lack support. If he were at a desk he might be tempted to lay down the rolled end, accidentally hit it with his elbow and cause it to roll over the edge and bounce across the floor, unrolling, a bad look for a scholar. Source.

Frank Schofield

Canadian veterinarian Frank Schofield served in Korea from 1916 to 1920 and is fondly remembered for his support of the March 1 independence movement and in particular his reportage on the Jeam-ri Massacre. Source.

Two Korean Children

"Two Korean Children" (1925) by Elizabeth Keith, published by Shosaburo Watanabe, Tokyo. Source.

Tiger and Magpie

Source.

Sibal

The first Korean-built vehicle was the Sibal, based on the US Army Jeep. Source.

Bojagi

This Korean jacket is made from bojagi cloth, a traditional patchwork style. Source.

Pohang Earthquake

On November 15th, 2017, the South Korean city of Pohang experienced a 5.5 magnitude tremor, probably caused by the activity of a geothermal power plant. The epicenter of the quake was directly below a 4km-deep well, which was being used to inject water into the rock to create a heated reservoir, but also unexpectedly lubricated an undiscovered fault. Source.

The Patriotic Deed of Lee Bong-Chang

On this day in 1932 Korean nationalist Lee Bong-Chang threw a hand grenade at Emperor Hirohito. Source.

Korea's First Satellite

Mission control for Korea's first satellite KITSAT-1, launched on this date in 1992. Source.