"These are a Few of My Favorite Things"

I haven't been doing much this last week besides staying in Sanbon. I ventured out to a fairly rich neighborhood in Seoul where a lot of people speak decent English. I am told it is because the demographic there can afford sending their kids to hagwons and usually have spent some times in the States. A large group of us had a great dinner and sat around drinking Makgeolli, (Mach-Oh-Lee) a rice milk beer that has a very bitter initial taste, but you warm up to it after the first glass. The stuff is dirt cheap and not too shabby. We enjoyed plenty of drinking games and I got to talk with some more Koreans.

Makgeolli

Dinner in Gangnam

Jordan and Ivan - drunken Canadians sword fighting with chopsticks

Last weekend, a bunch of us met up at Pirate Bar (the foreigners local watering hole) and ended up drinking way too much, playing darts, and chatting it up with the locals. Some of the girls we met treated us to a norebang where we sang (drunkenly and poorly) until about 5am. Exhausting, but worth it!

Considering the fact that I do not have a lot to blog about, I thought this would be a good time to write about some of my favorite things in Korea thus far. Oddly enough, most of these are food. And since Korean food isn't much to write about, I feel it necessary to add that the majority of these foods are Chinese or Japanese inspired. But don't tell any Koreans I said that!

Here they are.....

Kimbap: Gimbap or kimbap is made from steamed white rice (bap) and various other ingredients, rolled in 'gim' (sheets of dried seaweed) and served cold in bite-size slices. I've seen it with crab, peppers, ham, egg, and cucumbers, as well as some 'questionable' vegetables. Gimbap is often eaten during picnics or outdoor events, or as a light lunch. I love this stuff as it is usually a "California Roll" that you can buy for about $2.50 a dozen! Jackies Galaxy back in Bristol, RI would easily charge $15. (Rip off!)



Shabu-Shabu: Is a hot pot where you boil a hot pepper broth with greens and mountain mushrooms. You later add in thinly cut beef, noodles, and potatoes. Once the broth is finished, you can complete the dinner by adding rice to the pot and mashing it into a large rice-pancake. It is one of my favorite dishes here and can cure any hangover. However, it can run a little expensive for my appetite as we usually order 4 servings for 2 people to fill you up (about $24). I've posted about this before - go look it up.

Transportation: I usually like taking public transportation if it gets me close to where I want to go and is cheaper than driving. Back home the public transp. system is lousy in comparison. Trains around Seoul run literally everywhere in the city within a few blocks of your destination and for about $3 roundtrip from anywhere in the city. Bus lines to the same, and even though they are not as quick as the train, they run until about 1:30 - 2:00 am. My only issue with the bus is that they are so confusing, and it is best to ride with someone who knows where they are going. I recommend taking a taxi if you want to get home more quickly and money isn't a big problem. Taxi's are cheap and run 24/7. You can travel a good 20 miles for about $20. The only problem is that after midnight, the fares go up. But it is still far cheaper than the taxi's back in the states.



Friendliness: The Korean people are super friendly. Let me rephrase that. They are super friendly if they know you. It is a weird thing about the culture. If someone knows you, they go well out of their way to be hospitable, and make you happy. For example; My bank has seen me in their offices before, and the staff knows I am a foreigner (it's obvious). Yet they whisk me inside and take care of me before all the other people waiting. I feel like royalty sometimes - but feel bad for those people waiting before me - particularly the elderly. On the other hand, people can be almost vicious when they don't know you (especially when they have a thing against foreigners - no thanks to some of the more brash US Military personnel who get drunk and cause trouble with the locals). Some will scold you for speaking too loudly and think you should learn Korean (sounds similar to back home). Some places refuse to serve foreigners, especially if you look like military or don't have an ARC card. When walking down the street people will constantly run into you (without apology). This can be simply justified by population size and limited sidewalk space - but an apology would be nice. Especially when you almost put my eye out with your umbrellas! But don't get me wrong. Overall, the people are often friendly and courteous pretty much everywhere you go. You just have to be aware of some attitudes in some areas.

The 50's Vibe: I have referred to Koreans as having the values of Americans in the 1950's. More specifically, the naive (and sometimes uber Christian) attitudes remind me of the people in those funny social guidance films that have to do with dating.



I think it can be a "gosh-oh-golly swell" thing, but at the same time, it's a little annoying. Some women are very proper, and as most Koreans consider it extremely rude to show public displays of affection, I sometimes get the feeling that they can be closed minded - or mabye it is me who seems closed minded. Perhaps it's because I'm not Korean and the dating rules are different. I don't know. I think that because I'm foreign, Koreans become more proper or try hard not to look bad (image is everything here). Also the language barrier causes some misunderstandings. I could be wrong about this whole thing, but it basically comes down to the vibe I get. I think if you mix in the strong work ethic, their growing economy, the threat that you can be annihilated by Communists at any moment, the intense patriotism for everything Korean, and you've basically re-creating America in the 1950's. They always say "history repeats itself". And more often than not, it repeats itself in other countries going through the same set of circumstances that other countries have before. I find it very intriguing. (I'm such a history nerd)

Fashion: Koreans are very much into fashion, even more so than most Americans. Being dressed in the newest thing is big here. Many women dress to impress, head to toe - and they are VERY good at it. It's hard not to walk down the street without thinking half of them are models. The men are fashionable as well - as far as men go. However, I still can't help but chuckle to myself when I see men in widely spaced pin striped suits made of shiny metallic silk/polyester blends. It just looks stupid to me.



Mandu: These are Chinese inspired dumplings that I could eat every day. They are great fried, but most prefer them steamed. You can buy a tray of these out of a cart on the street for about $2. They are usually filled with rice, pork or beef, scallions, kimchee, or a whole host of other fillings. They are the closest thing I have to a perogi here, but I'll take it.

Tonkatsu: Another great dish. Mainly it is a breaded pork cutlet, originally from Japan. You can find them in many specialty restaurants and also get a fish one too. Basically it tastes like a large chicken nugget (of pork) or a large fish stick (but flat). I bought a bag of 10 of these bad boys at the local supermarket for $5. A wonderful dinner in my opinion.


Technology: Korea is on the front lines of new tech, and the public is exposed to it very quickly. Since it is the most wired country in the world, almost everything is internet based. Koreans watch a lot of their TV on the train on the cell phones. Kids are always in PC-Bangs playing Starcraft or other online multiplayer games. Almost everyone has a CyWorld account (the equivalent to Facebook). The only downside to all of this internet exposure, is that there are more cyber attacks. Therefore, almost every account you own has security built in to the max. I have to enter about 4 passwords sometimes to see my bank account. I can't even get a Korean based CyWorld account without having all sorts of security. You also can't play Counterstrike online at a PC-Bang(one of my favorite multiplayer games) without having the equivalent of a Social Security Number.

Old and New: Last but not least is the unique blend of old and new. Korea is definitely becoming a high tech country with ancient roots. Everywhere you go you can see an old building next to a new one. I love those older buildings, especially the temples. So it is nice to see one standing amid a skyscraper. It makes me feel as though they still are holding onto their heritage (which is much, much older than ours).

There is just so much to share, and so much I have yet to see. If you have any suggestions, or have questions about things you would like to know more about, just e-mail me.

But you don't have to take MY word for it!