Not every post here is about tea.
Sometimes it is about the other thing that makes life in Korea so good: the fact that on a perfectly ordinary Sunday, you can find yourself somewhere entirely unexpected, doing something entirely unplanned, and feel completely at home.
Today that somewhere is Suwon.
We grabbed a bite near the cinema before the film, one of those easy, no-fuss meals that Korea does so effortlessly, the kind where you point at something, it arrives quickly, and it is better than anything you planned. There is a particular pleasure in that. A reminder that spontaneity here tends to pay off.
The film we are here to see is GOAT or as the Korean signage has it, Goat: The Legend. It is a Sony Pictures Animation release, the kind of big, colourful, crowd-pleasing animated film that plays well in Korean multiplexes. The premise is endearing: a small goat named Will who dreams of making it as a professional player in a sport called roarball, a high-contact game played by animals considerably larger and fiercer than him. The underdog story. The classic.
I will be honest, I spotted this one on the listings and felt a small, quiet thrill. Not because I had been counting down to it, but because seeing a big animated film in a Korean cinema is its own specific joy. The audience here commits. Families arrive in matching outfits. Children narrate proceedings to their parents. The popcorn comes in sizes that suggest someone sat down and thought: what if more?
We have not seen it yet. This post is being written in the interlude between the meal and the screening, which feels appropriate. A small document of the before.
What I can tell you is that the reviews are warm. Critics note that the story follows familiar grooves with the redemption arc, the reluctant teammates, the moment of doubt before the final triumph — but that the animation is vibrant and the voice cast is genuinely excellent.
There is something I think about sometimes, living here: the way Korea holds big and small experiences in such easy proximity. This morning I made a pot of nokcha at home, watching the neighbourhood from the window. This afternoon I am about to sit in a darkened room with a hundred strangers and watch a cartoon goat play basketball with a panther.
Both feel like Korea. Both feel like Sunday.
I will report back on the film. In the meantime, if you are in Suwon and looking for a way to spend an afternoon, the cinema is never a bad answer.
And whatever you do beforehand eat something nearby first. You will not regret it.
Have you seen GOAT yet? Or do you have a favourite cinema in Suwon or elsewhere in Korea? Let us know in the comments.