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Dear Kumi Yamashita,
Wow.
xo
ruby

The festival will be held from March 31 (fireworks on the evening of the 30th) to April 9. As I recall, from twelve years ago, the whole town is tinged pink by sunlight traveling through the leaves, and a veritable snow of blossom petals lines the roads.

I seem to recall the Navy base being open during the festival and, in fact, it is also a celebration of Admiral Yi Soon-shin.

Korean Tourism has some information and links to a report of the 2007 festival.

On other sites, I saw people advising against coming all the way from Seoul just for the festival, particularly as Yeoido has it’s own festival. Still, if you want the added value of possibly meeting the Surprises Aplenty family, you’ll come to Jinhae!

I'm sure that by many cultural standards, my baby nephew is in fact, not the cutest baby in the whole world. In fact, I'm sure that every single other new parent in the world disagrees with me.

I say to hell with them! My nephew is SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Every time I check my e-mail I am slightly let down when there is nothing new from my brother. When I see an e-mail from him or my sister in law with an attachment I generally squee, shriek, bounce in my chair or all three. I try to restrain myself to just a bounce at work but I am not always successful. Thankfully, most of my coworkers have children and understand the baby mania. See, I have no desire to actually have a munchkin myself but they are SO CUTE to look at and play with! 

Missing my family is hard. Jakob can't exactly talk on the phone with me yet. In fact, he's yet to even meet me, except half asleep on Skype. Usually I don't miss the US too badly but having my very first nephew and not getting to meet him is hard! I've decided to share (with permission of my brother) some of my favorite nephew worshiping pics.
To be fair, you can't actually see much of Jakob in this one but this one of my favorite pictures of all time. I forgot where I read it but a blogger was recently bemoaning the lack of cool towels like this for adults. I COMPLETELY AGREE. I would so buy a towel like that if it came in my size.
 Need I say more??? How cute is he?!

This is the background on my work computer desktop. It has led to much cooing from my students and co-workers and I must say, I enjoy a good mutual coo fest.

See, obviously Jakob is the cutest baby in the whole wide world. Those of you who think otherwise may leave. :-D

Another weekend, another day at the farm.

This time, we were spreading fertilizer around the sweet persimmon trees.

(click to bigify pictures)

Each bag was 20kg and that’s not that heavy, except for the terrain. Each persimmon tree has been cut or pruned (what am I, an arbourist?) so that it grows wide, not tall. To travel more than three metres, one must duck and twist to fit between the branches. I had a bit of a cold, so I was trying to keep my head high so my nose wouldn’t run all day.

It seemed like a lot of packaging for that fertilizer. We used more than 150 bags after all. On the other hand, for reasons stated above, we couldn’t drive the tractor, adorably small though it is, between the trees.

The Kyeong-oong-gi is a remarkable Asian device to replace the tractor. I used to know how to drive them, but I’ve forgotten.

Here are my wife’s oldest brother and their father. I am not sure why they ploughed (plowed?) the ground under the trees, maybe it was to either hold to channel away rain (What am I, an engineer?) or to mix the fertilizer into the ground.

Here is my son ‘racing’ his kyeong-oong-gi. Vroom, vroom!

and now for something completely different:

The Flying Spaghetti Monster has a church here. Who knew?

Picture Costco (or your favorite superstore) on a Sunday. Now add several hundred people throwing elbows and driving bumper carts. Voila! You have an idea of what Costco is like on a Sunday. I normally try to get any sort of grocery shopping done after work during the week but Costco is just too far away for me to want to deal with that on a weekday. I added myself to my Mom's account back in September but I hadn't taken advantage of that yet. My burning desire for Oreos** and Eggo waffles finally caved me.They didn't have Eggo waffles like the Costco in Seoul! It was tragic. However, my stomach was appeased with 2 giant boxes of Oreos, Ritz crackers (taste buttery but only have oil in them!), Cheerios, and 4 pounds of bacon. In case you were wondering, I had Bacon, Ritz crackers, and Oreos for dinner last night. Probably my least balanced meal in the past year but so very tasty.

I wish I had taken pictures but when I am shopping in bulk I tend to only put the essentials in my bag...and my camera frequently loses out to my book when it comes to the essential strip down. I finished Plato's Phaedrus and must go back to Howard Zinn. It's getting constantly shafted on the reading schedule for being utterly too large to be conveniently transported. Really good book...terrible size for my purse.

The news is alternately frustrating and aggravating me. This is nothing out of the ordinary but it might be a few days until you get a new news post from me. Or a few hours. Whenever I manage to relax a bit.


**Korean made Oreos have milk in them. American made Oreos only have sugar, high fructose corn syrup and other chemicals that simulate a milky flavor. For new comers to my blog/life, I am severely lactose intolerant.

My readjustment to Canadian culture is a work in progress. For the most part I'm doing okay:

• I have not yet left a restaurant without tipping.
• I haven't searched in vain for a garbage beside the toilet in which to dispose of my toilet paper.
• I haven't elbowed any seniors in a fight to get on any form of public transit (this is probably in part due to the fact that Canadian seniors appear far more feeble than their Korean counterparts, but I'm still counting it as a success).

That said, it hasn't been perfect. 

Last week I met up with a few friends that I hadn't hung out with since last time I was in town. We had a few drinks, after which it became extremely clear that I was actually the extra wheel on a double date. That it took me about two hours to notice is not terribly surprising. I'm pretty sure that my friends didn't really realize it, either; there was much confusion when I opted to depart shortly after midnight. 

Prior to the evening becoming a dry hump fiesta to which I was not invited, much fun was had. Some at my expense, as is more or less the rule for these things. A few moments of cultural retardation on my part did not go unnoticed:

• I forgot to tip at the bar. Given that I was actually sitting at the bar and talking to the bartender for most of the drink, this not really excusable. I remembered later, felt shame, and tried to rectify the mistake by tipping double on my next drink.
• Before slipping out to use the washroom, I asked one of the other women at the table if the washrooms was "okay". This question did not make sense to them. I realized almost immediately that I didn't need to ask if the washroom was "okay"; the washroom would not be unisex, nor would there be squatters. I began to explain why I had asked the question in the first place, before remembering that nobody cares. 
• I said "nice-uh!" in response to learning that there was a candy jar on the bar. I then began explaining why I put an "uh" on the end, before remembering that not only does nobody care, but it's really not funny enough to warrant explanation anyway.

There were a few more slips, but that was probably the worst of it. In spite of my cultural confusion, it's awfully nice to be back.

(Writer’s Note: This originaly appears in the March 2010 edition of Groove Magazine)

Fish out of water. That’s one way to describe Oscar Martinez. He’s the man behind the grill at Taco Rico. Oscar’s come a long way from home. He’s a genial guy with an easy smile and a big heart. It shows in his cooking. His food has the ability to transport you to the high northern plains of the altiplano. You can almost feel the arid dry air and see the fat stubby plants.

It’s there there, all the way across the ocean, that his journey to the land of morning calm began. Back in Ciudad Juarez Oscar honed his cooking skills beginning at home where he watched his father, Jesus, who owned a small restaurant. Oscar, an eager student, learned all the tips and tricks he could and used them, beginning at the age of 14, to jump start a career in the kitchens of Mexican restaurants.

After years of cooking for restaurants like Coyote Invalidio and Torta Don Chuy a certain restlessness set in. He’d never left his country before. When his friend Allen bounced the idea of cooking for a Mexican restaurant in Seoul Oscar put aside his fears, put his faith in his friend, and leaped. He left behind friends and family for a grand adventure overseas, bringing authentic Mexican cooking to a new corner of the world.

In a strange land for the first time in his life Oscar has embraced his new city. He’s sampled the local food and kimchi wins out as his favorite dish. He’s also partial to galbitang. Though he’s learned to stays away from soju.

Oscar’s not content to rest on the already tasty menu at Taco Rico. He’s got plans. We’re talking about dishes like Molcajete, a big bowl of cheese strips with chicken, beef, shrimp and nopal cactus leaf. It’s a stew so hearty that you’ll stay warm the rest of the winter. Then there’s the chorizo Mexican sausage he also hopes to bring to the menu.

Mr. Martinez wants more Korean folk to visit and try Taco Rico. He believes the authentic flavors of a true Mexican dish will convert just about anyone without having to Koreanify any dish. So far he’s had a great reaction from seoulites and wins over the majority of customers. So if you’re in the area give him the chance to win you over too. 

Fish out of water. That’s one way to describe Oscar Martinez. He’s the man behind the grill at Taco Rico. Oscar’s come a long way from home. He’s a genial guy with an easy smile and a big heart. It shows in his cooking. His food has the ability to transport you to the high northern plains of the altiplano. You can almost feel the arid dry air and see the fat stubby plants.

It’s there there, all the way across the ocean, that his journey to the land of morning calm began. Back in Ciudad Juarez Oscar honed his cooking skills beginning at home where he watched his father, Jesus, who owned a small restaurant. Oscar, an eager student, learned all the tips and tricks he could and used them, beginning at the age of 14, to jump start a career in the kitchens of Mexican restaurants.

After years of cooking for restaurants like Coyote Invalidio and Torta Don Chuy a certain restlessness set in. He’d never left his country before. When his friend Allen bounced the idea of cooking for a Mexican restaurant in Seoul Oscar put aside his fears, put his faith in his friend, and leaped. He left behind friends and family for a grand adventure overseas, bringing authentic Mexican cooking to a new corner of the world.

In a strange land for the first time in his life Oscar has embraced his new city. He’s sampled the local food and kimchi wins out as his favorite dish. He’s also partial to galbitang. Though he’s learned to stays away from soju.

Oscar’s not content to rest on the already tasty menu at Taco Rico. He’s got plans. We’re talking about dishes like Molcajete, a big bowl of cheese strips with chicken, beef, shrimp and nopal cactus leaf. It’s a stew so hearty that you’ll stay warm the rest of the winter. Then there’s the chorizo Mexican sausage he also hopes to bring to the menu.

Mr. Martinez wants more Korean folk to visit and try Taco Rico. He believes the authentic flavors of a true Mexican dish will convert just about anyone without having to Koreanify any dish. So far he’s had a great reaction from seoulites and wins over the majority of customers. So if you’re in the area give him the chance to win you over too.

© Brian Dye - visit us at Kiss My Kimchi. Or Click to Email Us

Related posts:

1. Taco Rico Groove Article
2. Urbanos
3. And The Winner Is…

Everybody, raise your glasses to Korea's 'four distinct seasons' - Seoul got snow a few days ago, reminding us that it's not yet spring. A few pictures of the snow - enjoy:

© Chris Backe - 2010

This post was originally published on my blog, Chris in South Korea. If you are reading this on another website and there is no linkback or credit given, you are reading an UNAUTHORIZED FEED.

( Source )

For all the misreadings of the title that undoubtedly brought many of you to this post(!), “Hot 6iX” (핫식스) is just a simple energy drink really, albeit a deliberate attempt by Lotte Chilsung (롯데칠성음료) to produce a Korean equivalent of Red Bull for the domestic market. And ultimately to belatedly tap into the global market too, currently worth 1.4 billion dollars and growing 20% every year despite the recession.

An avid drinker of “V” back when I lived in New Zealand, I think it’s about time. Much more interesting than the drink itself though, are what the 4 advertisements produced so far tell us about how quickly the Korean media is changing, and especially how men and women are presented therein. With apologies for giving the game away somewhat with the opening image, here are the first 3 in one combined video:

Suffice it to say I'll be at their grand opening.

© Chris Backe - 2010

This post was originally published on my blog, Chris in South Korea. If you are reading this on another website and there is no linkback or credit given, you are reading an UNAUTHORIZED FEED.

It snowed this week in our part of Busan. It was the first time snow had settled on the ground since I've lived here. South Korea hasn't had an easy winter, but this city's location and our location within it - in the south-west by the sea - mean that it usually rains, if anything. The snow still falls on top of the nearby mountains though, which I have an excellent view of from my office window. Annoyingly, it often doesn't stop it from being bitingly cold, but it's nothing compared to Seoul. Our dog was captivated by what he saw out of the window, and outside our building a group of children, whose school was apparently closed by the weather, bravely tried to scrape together enough of the white stuff to build a snowman. I imagine this was their first and last chance of the season, and it was clearly hard work.




I had to go to the maternity hospital with my wife the day of the snowfall, because she had an ultrasound scan scheduled. There was no more than two centimetres of snow beneath our feet, but somehow the main road had become treacherous. When a taxi driver saw us, he apparently knowingly applied the brakes about ten feet away in order to slide to a stop beside us. It was clear that most of the road was ice - there had been no attempt to grit it.

As we skidded our way terrifyingly towards the hospital, it was clear that few drivers were prepared to compromise their driving style to accommodate the dangerous conditions, so regularly changing lane and cutting up people who couldn't necessarily brake effectively was commonplace. The saving grace was that the roads were so jammed with traffic, so nobody was able to go very fast, meaning the hundreds of accidents which doubtless occurred should have been minor.

Our doctor had not made it to the hospital - he was stuck in traffic - but we were able to see another, who at the end of a long conversation I barely understood asked if I had been bored. I'd tried to look attentive while fighting the constant tendency I have in Korea to zone out, but my lack of comprehension had somehow been detected or correctly assumed. It's unfortunate that my Korean ability has not progressed sufficiently, because this is a time when I want to understand every word and subtle nuance of the ongoing diagnoses, but instead all I can do is read the body language for any sudden negative revelation. It's incredibly frustrating.

The hospital gave us a DVD after the ultrasound. We hadn't had one after previous scans but this was a big one which incorporated a '4D' imaging technique which is supposed to be more comprehensive. The DVD contains a software application - Windows only of course - from which it's possible to view the ten minute ultrasound video, still photos and a general yoga video for pregnant women alongside some hospital advertising. We'll take the DVD back with us as the pregnancy progresses and they will continue adding to it until the baby is born. It's all part of the package but it's still a very nice touch. A friend of ours who's also pregnant has chosen a much bigger general hospital - as opposed to a specialised maternity hospital - where they don't do this, which seems a pity. Having the video has enabled us to share it with family back home to make the pregnancy more real to them than it would otherwise be, given the geographical difference.

Everything is fine and we continue along the road of the Korean pregnancy experience.

While I don't usually plug my friends websites / blogs (except, of course, if I'm getting paid - HA HA HA), a project of Joe McPherson's from the venerable ZenKimchi will combine March Madness with Korean foods. From the introductory page:
Korean foods from different regions compete for fame and glory on the international stage. Which cuisine will reign supreme?

Here’s how it works.

It all starts at midnight Seoul Time on March 14th. Every day pairs of foods from the regions of Seoul-Gyeonggi, Northern, Southern and Central will vie for your votes. Each region has sixteen foods. The winners of each region will square off in the semi-finals and finals. By the end of March, we will award a lucky Korean food the title of 2010 World Champion.

Sounds like lots of fun from The Food Guy from 10 Magazine itself. Give it a look - in a new window, of course.

© Chris Backe - 2010

This post was originally published on my blog, Chris in South Korea. If you are reading this on another website and there is no linkback or credit given, you are reading an UNAUTHORIZED FEED.

I am happy to be in a city with some good pools. Well, I hope they are good pools. Maybe one or two?

The 2002 Asiad Games pool complex is plenty big enough and includes two fifty metre pools that look like they could be fast.Well, fast if they were filled. I think at full volume, this pool would be two metres deep. It has been partially drained to 1.3 metres or so. I was impressed that the water was clear; if it were designed to be two metres deep, the intake and return might be in the wrong places. Most pools carry like 90% of their dirt on the surface. Hair, flakes of skin, compounds released in sweat and more normally ends up in the surface layer. Most pools have drains right at the surface to collect that water for filtering. With the water level so low, I am not sure how it is filtered and kept clean. Still, it smelled and looked clean and I enjoy 50 metre pools so I will return. It is curious, though.

I grew up on the Jungle Book, Kim, Captains Courageous, and the like. I wasn’t such a fan of Disney’s Jungle Book movie, but did enjoy sharing it with my son.

When my son saw this tiger, at Nampodong, Busan, his first words were, “Sher Khan!” I was so proud.

It would be cool if I could teach him to cry out, “Khan!” but that’s a different tradition.

The Korea Times needs a copy-editor. I’m not sure what the requirements would be for that job. Print Kang Shin-Who’s crap with editing, would seem to be part of it.

Returning to Brian in Jeolla, his ‘shoddy journalism’ reports seem focused on the Times as well.

UPDATED: Kushibo shows why it would be an easy job. Perez or Paris? He or she?

Perez Hilton, operator of her blog, Perezhiltontv.com, which reports news on pop songs, movies and other U.S. entertainment last Friday put single music videos of Bing Bang and 2NE1 on her blog.

Perez Hilton showed her favor to Korean pop songs, saying, “I love Korean pop songs,” after introducing Big Bang’s single “Lolli Pop Part II under the title of “K-Pop Amusingness.”

He had another reason to show her love for the music video. T.O.P., one of the four-member group, held the idol of Hilton for one minutes and 17 second, as if he was conscious of Hilton. Hilton praised the scene “very creative.”

From this article.

25 Feb 2010, In one of my classes today, I was asked what I like to study, and everyone quickly responded "math!" :D Today was a great day.

( “Fade to Red” by StudioQube. Source: deviantART)

Thoughts for the weekend, from boingboing:

Marilyn from National Geographic sez, “I think you’ll love these Shanghai photos by Fritz Hoffmann in March National Geo. It’s hard to believe such a superfuturistic megacity also looks like a village from 100 years ago.”

What she said. There are lots of places in the world where seamless high-tech and ancient cobblestones exist side by side, but I’ve never been anywhere in which you can go from one to the other so quickly as Shanghai. One moment you’re on the set of Blade Runner, then you turn a corner and you’re in a historical drama, with no sign of glass-and-steel in sight.

And of course most Korean cities are some of those places, and perhaps Seoul in particular. Something surprisingly absent from the discussion at boingboing though, is that in many senses such places can be considered ecotones, a geographical term for the zone where 2 ecosystems meet, and all the much richer and more diverse than either because of the ensuing interaction.

Seriously, nearly 10 years after I arrived in Korea, I still love wandering around such districts occasionally: the constant juxtapositions to be experienced there remind of how I felt when I first came. Unfortunately however, Korea’s misguided attempts at “modernization” means that they may not be around much longer, so make sure to enjoy them while you still can.

To end on a more positive note then, here is my latest favorite K-pop song, or again my new favorite Areia remix at least: Because of you (너 때문에), by After School (애프터스쿨; download the MP3 here). Clearly portraying a lesbian relationship despite the ostensibly heterosexual lyrics, I’ll definitely be analyzing it in depth at some point, but until then I’d be more interested in hearing your own thoughts. Enjoy!^^

Update: And before I forget, here’s a remix of Tell Me Your Wish (소원을 말해봐) by Girls’ Generation (소녀시대) also. But by a different DJ this time, and in my opinion a much deeper, warmer version of the original that makes it actually worth listening to, rather than the song merely being a means to provide some eye candy and indirect advertising via the music video. Skeptics, try the first 15 seconds at least, and if you don’t like those then you simply have no soul(!); everyone else, download the MP3 here.

Filed under: Japan and East Asia, Korean Music, Open Threads Tagged: After School, Areia, Because of you, DJAMAYAOFFICIAL, 너 때문에, Girls' Generation, 소녀시대, 소원을 말해봐, 애프터스쿨, Tell Me Your Wish

Hey, I know you guys out there love your way around a nice delicious dish of great food. So, with that in mind, I thought it would be a good idea to turn you onto what’s happening over at Seoul Eats. Dan has been busy and his efforts have set in motion a Korean Food Tasting Tour. Together, with O’ngo Food Communications, Seoul Eats has created a special lunch consisting of over 20 various dishes. Each and every one will be explained by a Korean Cuisine expert, Jennifer Flinn, in English.

The fun doesn’t stop there. After the lunch there will be a walking tour over to the historic Bukcheon district. There you’ll visit two museums: A Korean Folk Art Museum (Gahoe Museum to sample traditional tea) and the Seoul Museum of Chicken Art. Who can pass up that? I’m already envisioning exhibits of chicken parts combined with metal, cardboard, old transistor radios and Bravia digital TVS in some twisted media installation art piece. Of course, I could be totally off base which is why you should see for yourself.

Once the museum concludes the party moves over to Makgeolli. It’s a kitschy Korean Rice Wine Restaurant where you’ll be tempted into a Korean alcohol tasting. You’ll also learn about 9 different Korean makgeollis, wines, and alcohols. Don’t worry about becoming plastered because plenty of Korean seafood pancake, Haemul Pajeon) and red spicy chicken (Dak Bokkeum) will be on hand.

Dan wants you to know that the tour is all about giving visitors to Korea an insider’s view on the culture and food.

The group will meet up at 11 AM on March 20th outside of Anguk subway station on Line 3 (Orange Line) at Exit 6. The tour will start at 11am and finish at 3pm.

Jennifer Flinn will be leading. She has been in Korea for 9 years and has written a plethora of articles on Korean cuisine. She is fluent in both English and Korean and is also a member of RAS (The Royal Asiatic Society).

The complete cost of the tour will be 80,000 won ($72.00 Dollars) per person. A booklet explaining the dishes and a map will be provided.

Payment can be sent to O’ngo Food Communication’s Bank Account by Bank Transfer at:

Woori Bank 1005-480-990616 ( 최지아 온고푸드커뮤니케이션 우리은행 1005-480-990616)

Or you can send payment to Daniel Gray by Paypal at dnlgray@gmail.com

If you are a tourist and need to pay on the day, arrangements can be made. Please email Dan at dnlgray@gmail.com

If you decide to go please give me a shout out and let Dan know that you heard about the event through Kiss My Kimchi and report back and let me know all the juicy delicious details!

There are only 20 spots available and preference will be given to non-Korean citizens. Korean tour operators are not invited to attend.

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• Kimchi – salted, spiced cabbage from Korea (ckenb.blogspot.com)
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© Brian Dye - visit us at Kiss My Kimchi. Or Click to Email Us

Related posts:

1. Kiss My Kimuchi?
2. Mentioned in the Korean Herald
3. Disturbing or Funny Korean Chicken Commerical