September 26th, was my first official visit to Seoul, the capital city of South Korea. It was my second actual visit though. The first one was on a whim with my friend Shannon. We wanted to go to Itaewon, which is the foreigner district of the city. I will be honest, I was just craving Taco Bell. Its not real Mexican food, but I was craving an interpretation of Tex – Mex. It was the Saturday before my official trip, and that when I noticed this sign post.



It spoke to me on an internal level. There was an exhibit that will be closing next week. I just knew I had to go!

So I bought my ticket right away.

Even though I am not that big into anime and the like anymore, One Piece has been, and still is, my favorite series. I first discovered the series in December of 2000. I was at a Blockbuster (a video rental place pre-Netflix era) and saw a magazine with Yugi, from Yu-Gi-Oh, on the cover. Since I was big into Yu-Gi-Oh at the time, I just had to buy it. the magazine was actually a compilation of manga, called Shonen Jump. It was based off the Weekly Jump series in Japan. It had the first chapter of the Yu-Gi-Oh manga series, One Piece, Sandlands, Yu Yu Hakusho, and something with Dragon Ball Z. This is when I fell in love with the series. Ever since then, I stuck with it. I also fight hard to get the series the respect it has in the states now. Anyways, lets not get into it.

The exhibit was split into two parts. The whole exhibit was dedicated to the Impel Down and Marinefold arcs. For those who don’t know, its Luffy breaking into the series’ strongest prison to rescue his brother. His brother is sent to be executed and this causes a war between the Marines and the pirates. The first part had a lot of life-size models of the characters from the series. I wish I could have gotten someone to go with me. There were so many opportunities to insert myself into some cool photos. The photos I did take can be found below. The lighting in the rooms was not that great, and my phone camera isn’t ideal either.



No Pets allowed. This dog was from early on in the series. So it was refreshing to see it again.



No eating. Cute Luffy.



No smoking. Its from Sanji’s first eyecatch. There was also a Robin one that said no touching. Gotta love the early throw backs.



Wanted posters!



Wanted posters!



Wanted posters!



Wanted posters!



Wanted posters!



Buggy’s feet running through the spikes of the first level of Impel Down.



Bon Clay.



Hannibal, the Vice Warden. He trying to become the warden.



Wax boxing gloves. Made by Mr. 3 for Luffy to fight Magellan, the poison using warden. One of the first photo opportunities. I would have been able to put them on and fight the guy in the next photo. Would have been sweet!



Magellan, the poison using warden.



The Gates of Justice. Almost all rooms were seperated by this.



Ao Kiji using Ice Time.



From left: Crocodile, Ivankov. and Jimbe.



Kuma and Moria.



Ace and Sengoku. Another missed photo op. This was roughly the seventh one. I could have sat in the chairs where the three admirals sit.



Whitebeard. I could have posed in front of him for a height comparison.



Marco the Phoneix.



Donflamingo, Mihawk, and Boa Handcock.



Kizaru.



Boa Handcock using Slave Arrow. Another great photo op. Her power of love turns people who think dirty thoughts into stone. Think of a gorgon.



Sword fighting against Mihawk. I could have been holding the swords and appear to be fighting him. I think these are Vista’s swords.



Luffy and Ace.



Luffy crying as Ace dies in his arms. There was a projection screen that showed flashbacks of Ace’s life.



Whitebeard showing his Jolly Roger.



The Strawhat Pirates, pre-time skip.



The Strawhat Pirates, pre-time skip.



Sanji. I took a close up picture mainly since they used a real cigarette in his hands. It was so random.



The Strawhat Pirates, pre-time skip.



Sabo, Luffy, and Ace, drinking sake, confirming their brotherhood. Well, becoming brothers.



The second part of the exhibit prohibited photos. It sucked for me, since it was so awesome and one of my favorite things when it comes to art. The whole second half was rough sketches, animation cells, animation story boards, and other production art and secrets. Its amazing to see what goes into a single episode. I really wish I snuck a photo. Though this area was heavily patrolled. There always next time. There are always other exhibits. Maybe….

Afterwards there was a giftshop. Well, what was left of one. This exhibit been in Korea for almost three months, so it was picked pretty thinned. I scored some posters and a mug so it wasn’t too bad. The gift shop had models of its own. The first three were on the way to the shop.



Shanks



Boa Handcock



Ace



Chopperman of a different color or colors. This was the first thing to notice in the gift shop.



Law. My favorite character who isn’t a Strawhat Pirate. He was the first thing you see on the way to leave the exhibit.



Luffy and Kid.

If your still reading, and not put off by my geekiness, I also went somewhere else in Seoul. Some place that a little more cultural than this place. While in Korea, you gotta have experiences of all kinds. Keep that in mind. I will update soon with the second half of the day.