The Rewind

Maybe I should back up a little before I blog about Seoul.

Before Seoul, before the end the semester party, was festival. And I think this is probably an important part of Korean culture that you should see.  And hear.

First, a few things to explain. 

These were taken during Spring Festival at Handong.  For one, there are a lot of festivals in Korea.  Cherry blossoms, spring, lanterns, etc. etc.  Not only are there a lot of festivals, but there's lots of dancing, always choreographed, for songs.  

But enough with the dancing. Would you like to hear someone sing?

Some band.

And of course, the guy dressed in all white.

And for the next day, Korean traditional drums!

That's my roommate!

That's about it for festival. There was a fair amount of street food being sold for fund raisers and such, and a not-quite-as-famous K-pop group came to perform. I saw them before the performance but wasn't able to go, so no pictures.  I heard everyone was standing on chairs and screaming anyway, so I probably wouldn't have had much to show!

Hmm... let's see what else I've forgotten to write about...

Another food post: Bingsu and Other Treats

So I forgot to post some things. Namely, food, but a few other things as well.

 Like this amazing cafe I only got to go to twice.

With cute rooms to sit in.

And the BEST popbingsu.

Which brings us back to the main topic of food.  Popbingsu is sweetened condensed milk ice flakes, red bean paste, fruit chunks, tokk pieces (sweet rice cakes that taste like marshmellows), frozen yogurt, and cereal. Of course, it is only essentially the ice flakes and whatever you top it with that qualifies as "bingsu," (i.e. mango bingsu) but the classic and original is popbingsu, aka, ice flakes and red bean paste (with fruit, etc).

So delicious. So fresh. And perfect for summer.

(A different popbingsu from an on-campus cafe)

Popbingsu is the best, and I definitely miss it.  I need to invest in an ice shaver. I wonder still has the one I gave her for her 13th birthday?

Speaking of birthdays...

Cake!

We're too poor and lazy most of the time to go buy a ParisBaguette (famous bakery) fancy cake for a birthday, so we just get creative.

Ice cream with waffle-crackers, oreos, and pocky (Japanese name). Yum!

But we don't just eat dessert in Korea.  There's also late night snack foods like jjimdok (which I already mentioned) and...

KFC

And I can't believe I haven't gotten to explaining this--Korean Fried Chicken.  The only KFC I'll eat.  Okay, so it's not called that (Although there are many Kentucky kind in Korea, too.), but the many kinds of fried chicken in are quite delicious--it's just somehow better than it is here in the states. (At least in the North.  I'm sure that there are many delicious fried chicken places that are not fast food restaurants in the South.)

Another must-see Korean food:

Samgalpsal

aka Korean BBQ

Pork "grilled" and put with chili paste and whatever else wrapped in lettuce. 

 And for something not quite so nice--

Kimchi pizza toast.

I already posted about Korean-Italian, but this really takes the kimchi.

Now that I'm home, I can't tell you how good it is to eat non-sweet or kimchi flavored (or both) pizza again.

Of course, not that there wasn't good pizza in Korea.

There was fancy Korean-Italian restaurant pizza.  This one's honey cheese.

And regular pizzeria pizza-- this is another cheese and honey.  This time to go on top of Cheonmaji! (The mountain or "big hill" since some don't consider it mountainous enough) Which I now realize I never posted about.  Cheonmaji is next.

Back to the food.

My friends Shan Shan (Coco) and Jane fixed us some delicious authentic Chinese food, too.

No really. It was some of the best food all semester.

Chinese food is more palatable to the Western taste buds than Korean for sure.  Didn't hurt that Jane was a great cook, either (she even fixed a dish she had learned from a French cook! --which I'm guessing was probably not Chinese.)

But you know, it would be a shame to fail to mention another coffee shop, too, since they are EVERYWHERE in Korea.  You can (and often do) spend more on a coffee than you might on a meal.

This is Grace Coffee shop in Pohang.  What a view!

And of course, some tea samples at the supermarket.  Careful not to drink the flower at the bottom.

And while we're talking about drinks--mmmm yummy banana milk!

Koreans love their milk. (Don't we all?!)

Well I guess that's it.  Next should probably something about Cheonmaji and eventually I WILL get to the end of the semester trips to Busan and Seoul...

Loose Ends: forgotten blog posts continued

The Outdoor Workout Park

       I'd encountered one of these "outdoor exercise equipment" on my previous trip to Korea, but turned out there was one on campus!

      Meet the outdoor gym.

Note that these are EVERYWHERE at parks.  If you're hiking and want to stop for a little workout (because hiking isn't working out?) or just taking a walk in the park, chances are you'll find one.  And there's even a possibility you could charge your phone too by working out. Except it might kill your battery like it did mine.  Fair warning.

HOW CUTE!! ^^ :Couple Culture and Love Locks

    Warning: Culture Post.


     Everything here is CUTE.  Cute clothes, cute shoes, cute pets, cute toothbrush holders, cute decorations, cute bedding, CUTE PEOPLE.

   Don't believe me?

Click here.  Choose either Korean or English on the left side.

Soooooooooo cute.  Ugh.

And then, there's the couples.  Or rather, couple culture.  Because aside from the cuteness, couples are another culture all their own.

So many matching couples.  

Everyone wants a picture of the cute couple.

And my favorite, the love locks.

This is Namsan Tower.  And it is famous.

For this.

Love locks--locks, cellphone cases, whatever is available... that couples have fastened everywhere with notes about how much they love each other and how their love will last forever etc etc etc...  I guess it's a tradition after a couple has been together for 100 days.  Precious.

Anyway, it was a fun visit!

Aren't we just sooooo cute?!

Belated posts: FOOD. FOOD. FOOD.

Another forgotten post:


     I reallly should have written this post ages ago.  Because what is the first thing everyone, even the Koreans, wants to know?  "HOW DO YOU LIKE THE FOOD?"  (Seriously, even my Korean professor asked us!)

    Well, you tell me.

Korean fruit is better than your fruit.  So sweet! So juicy! (Wish I had a picture of the mangos and giant apples to show!)

Perhaps a bit odd, but still tasty.  (Refer to Foiled Again for more info on this and the following foods.)

I have maybe 1/4 left of the quince tea.  It's been good to my own and other friend's sore throats. 

Cute candy, of course! (From White Day)

Jok-bal!  Ok, so the meat in this is technically from the pig's hoof.  But it is delicious and tender nonetheless.  And the noodles and lettuce are delicious, too.

No, these are not Korean. We made them at a professor's apartment. Biscuits and jam!

And last, but certainly not least, jimdok.  Otherwise known as a late night snack, take-out dinner, foreigners' favorite food... (meat!!!)

I'm pretty sure an entire chicken is in this thing - neck, heart... (ok, maybe not some of the other organs) - but it is a lot of work picking meat off with chopsticks!



Of course, there's kimchi.  But, I may or may have not gotten a picture of it, since it's so normal that I never really thought about it... Yummy fermented cabbage!

And bibimbop. Still a favorite.  Hoping to get some at a local Korean restaurant this summer (or make my own with Lauren?)

And mmmm meat.  Bulgogi, cheese galbi, samgalpsal, fried chicken (different and better than American fried chicken).

OK, so maybe I got sick of the lack of variety or escape from Korean food of Korean fusion foods for four months, but I'm going to miss not having the option and variety to HAVE it, too!


(But, I did find a recipe for jjimdok already!)