The Giant Cranes of Korea

Here in Suwon and probably most of Korea, there lies a crane on every corner. Not the kind for building those rectangular apartas (apartments) you see every where, but the toy kind. In the states we have these cranes at amusement parks or at Dolore's Diner in West LA (when ordering their curly fries, make sure they are cooked well), both containing stuff animals. Here in Korea however, these yellow colored monsters are money making machines!

The cranes are about .20 cents per play (200 won). They must weigh 900 pounds otherwise people would try to walk away with the machine to get to the contents. Inside the crane, there are 20 or 30 items including mp3 players, cigarette lighters, alcohol (see picture of little Whiskey Crane bottles) and my favorite, and not scene yet, live lobsters inside its own small tank! The goal is to use the mechanical fingers of the crane and lift the heavy weighted package into the basket in order to earn the prize. It’s difficult and when you’re drunk, as most crane players are, then winning is pure luck. These machines are strategically located near a bar on every block. In fact, there are at least four or five bars on every block! When playing the Happy Crane or the Polar Crane, etc the mechanical fingers always loose its grip just before you’re ready to drop the prize into the basket. Shaking the giant machine won’t work either. It’s too heavy and low to the ground and you’re too drunk anyway. You can easily drop about $5 on these Vegas style slot machines.

I haven’t found one with a live lobster yet. I’m still looking!