Posts Tagged ‘korea’

People have been emailing me to ask if I know of anywhere they can go skydiving in South Korea.

Sadly, I don’t. But there has to be a place to do that.

I was able to fly a plane in South Korea so I figure there’s probably a place where you can jump out of one.

If anyone reading knows of a place, let us know in the comments and we’ll share it with everyone!

These pictures are from the 2009 Lantern Festival around Dongdaemun in Seoul. I took these back in April of 2009, my third month living in South Korea.

The Lantern Festival is a celebration for Buddha’s Birthday, which is a really big deal in a lot of Asian countries. Buddha’s Birthday falls on May 21st and, according to wikipedia, many temples offer free food and tea to all visitors on this day.

This year (2010), the parade will be held on May 16th from 7pm-9:30pm. Get more information here: http://www.llf.or.kr/eng/03introduce/introduce.asp

To get to the festival, I took the Seoul Subway to the Jongno-3 Station and followed the huge crowds. The parade was by the shopping district in Dongdaemun.

If you go to the Lantern Festival, let us know what you thought about it in the comments!!!

I love tea. I grew up having tea parties with the ladies in my family, and whether at home, in the backyard, or at high teas at hotels, I love the experience. Of course, tea is an integral part of Korean culture, so I was eager to try the “Traditional Korean Tea Experience” when I visited Expo Park in Gyeongju.

How much was the tea?
5 000 won per person.

What was the Korean Traditional Tea Service like?
The tea room was on the upper floor of the Culture Centre. While it is very open and has a rather cold-contemporary-gallery-feel to it, I quite enjoyed the table settings and the traditional Korean house backdrop, as well as the display of all the teas/pots/dishes. The girl behind the cashier served the tea. She was wearing a sweatshirt. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting from a “traditional” tea experience, but a young girl serving tea in sweats didn’t seem to match. But, I did enjoy the green tea nonetheless, and it was a lovely part of my trip to Gyeongju.

Link to photo 1

Link to photo 2

Link to photo 3

Around midnight one April’s eve, Jermil and I found ourselves combing the streets of Geojedo for some eats. Many establishments had already closed, but we found a small Hof. (You might be asking yourself, what is a Hof? It’s a Korean-style bar or pub, and there are thousands of them in Korea.)

We couldn’t read the menu, but upon entering the hof, I spied a delicious stir-fry platter being served. It was everything I wanted: veggies, protein and a side of rice. Sold! Below I recount some of the dialogue that follows the hot stone stir-fry plate being delivered to our table:

Candice: (examining the stir-fry up-close) Um. That meat doesn’t look familiar.
Jermil: (looking confused) Yeah…what is that? You know what, I’m up for anything, I’ll try it.
Candice: (looking skeptical, but slightly relieved) Yes, good, you try it first.

Jermil takes a bite of “meat” and the look of nervousness turns to a look of disgust as a loud CRUNCH sound comes from his mouth.

Candice: Are you ok?? Are all of your teeth still in tact?!?
Jermil: That is not meat. That is organ.

Hmmm could it really be? We left the plate relatively untouched and ordered another item on the menu, which to our delight, turned out to be sweet and sour pork (tang soo yook). I returned to Seoul and told my students about my experience.

Candice: (desperately) What did we eat?!
Students: (buzzing, laughing) Ohhh Candice, some Koreans don’t even like that!!
Candice: (turning green) What was it?!?
Students: Chicken intestines!!!

Perhaps you have an appreciation for this culinary delicacy, but Jermil and I didn’t much care for 닭똥집. If there’s one Hof tip we can provide you with, it would be to avoid ordering 닭똥집!!!

Ever since we travelled to Beijing in June 2009, Jermil and I have been on a quest to find some flavourful Chinese food in Korea. Walking around in Sinchon, Seoul today, we stumbled upon a sign for Well Chai-New Style Chinese Restaurant. The menu had food titles written in English, and the interior of the restaurant was modern and inviting, so we thought we would sample the cuisine.

How to get to Well-Chai:
Take the Seoul subway Line 2 to Sinchon station, and leave the station from Exit 3. Walk straight and at the first major intersection, turn right. Walk for a few minutes and on the left side of the road you’ll see a big yellow sign that says “Nolita”, the elevator for Well-Chai is in that entrance way.

Why you should try the Chinese food at Well-Chai
Both Jermil and I ordered from the lunch menu that was reasonably priced (8 000 – 10 000 won per dish). We got the “pork garlic pork” and “barbecue beef”and both of us were delighted with our meals. Here’s why we recommend Well-Chai:
• The quality of both the pork and beef was very good.
• We were impressed with the delicious sauces in which the pork and beef were prepared.
• We loved the plentiful stir-fried vegetables that were part of our lunch platters.
• Our meals came with a generous portion of authentic Chinese fried rice.

We also ordered a separate appetizer of crab dumplings (crab rangoons) that were served with a tangy dipping sauce, and they were amazing! Good Chinese food is not easy to come by in Korea, but we really enjoyed Well-Chai, and the food reminded us of some of the flavours were sampled in Beijing!

We need your help!

Of course, since we were in a Chinese restaurant in Korea, we were served several kimchi side dishes, including, what we think was the spicy Korean version of egg drop soup. Jermil really enjoyed it, and our waitress told us the name of it, but we can’t remember it! If anyone has had this spicy soup, and knows the name of it, let us know in the comments!