Last weekend I headed out toward Jeongseon. Jeongseon is in the northeast part of south Korea and is a bit difficult to get to. But, being difficult to get to can be a good thing (i.e., no tourists; no nothing). Jeongseon used to be known for its coal mining, but those mines ran dry (is [...]
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Last year I had the unique opportunity to visit Changdeok Palace at night (it’s very rarely open at night and even then only open to a handful of psychotic fans rushing to get on the sign up page… see those posts here & here). Well, I finally went during the day. It was still amazing. [...]
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I’ve left my blog to ruin as of late. It’s because of photography. I’ve become obsessed. It’s only been a few months since I bought my first DSLR camera, but I’m in love. (I have a longer blog post to write about hobbies, but that will have to wait.) Right now, I’m spending all of [...]
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I’m a little late to the game on this one, but when my coworker (here’s his blog) showed me this I couldn’t stop laughing. I couldn’t stop laughing because I see and experience this on an almost daily basis. The sounds they make, their faces, their hand movements. It’s very cute and it reminds me [...]
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I spent my Korean New Year with a Korean family. While it was wholly interesting to see the customs and rituals, the best part was being able to be with a big family enjoying a big holiday. It reminded me of how much I miss my own. Korean New Year, or Seolnal (설날), is probably [...]
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Of all the things to do in Korea, my favorite is quickly becoming doing ANYTHING where there are NOT lots of people. Last year I got to see Changdeokgung Palace (first trip & second trip) in a small group. I also visited Hahoe Village on eve of one of the biggest holidays so no one [...]
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Byeongsan Seowon is a Confucian school in Andong, Korea, first established in 1613 during Korea’s Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897). Even though I lived in Andong for a year, I never made it out there because it is almost impossible to reach unless you have a car. It is just a few kilometers away from the UNESCO [...]
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I was supposed to be vacationing on my favorite island in sunny (and hot) Philippines… instead I’m stuck in Korea (thank you Confucius) in 10°F weather going to empty beach towns. I’ve always been drawn to the places that were once the center of attention, but are now… disregarded. I’ll never forget my parents taking [...]
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Seoul is colder than it has been in 10 years. The rest of country is worse. Yesterday, it was -17.8°C (-0.4°F)… but with high winds the “feels like” temperature was -22°C (-7.6°F). My windows are frozen on the inside. So, mom and dad, please stop complaining when it dips into the 30s back home! Here [...]
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It’s been incredibly cold this year in Korea. And while I generally prefer cold weather to hot, I don’t like biting cold, which is what it has been for the last several weeks. It snowed some this week and a couple of my friends were nice enough allow me to take some photos. You can [...]
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March 15, 1960: Election Day in Korea. In Masan, over one thousand protesters gathered as it became increasingly clear that the election for President and Vice President was rigged. The military opened fire, blacked out the city, and called for US Marines to help damper the protest. On April 11, the body of a high [...]
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Yesterday I wrote about the top 10 posts of 2010. To be honest, they weren’t my favorites. I liked a few of them… and some of them I was amazed got read at all. So, here are 5 of my favorite posts that I think should be in the top 10. I loved these posts. [...]
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With my blog, I am obsessed with the data and stats about the visitors. I check it multiple times a day. I try to look at each post and figure out from the data what worked for one and didn’t work for another. I love knowing that this December I got 724% more visitors and [...]
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For Christmas I went down to Masan, which is a fishing town on the far southern side of the Korean peninsula. I spent a good deal of time walking around the fish market. All of the ”shop” owners kept laughing at me wondering why I was taking pictures of their dead fish… But everyone [...]
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As a child (and adult) my favorite cereal was (is) Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Therefore, I do not need to explain why Starbuck’s-like coffee shops in Korea are inherently better than Starbuck’s-like coffee shops in America (see photo above). That is all.
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I love the markets in Korea. Markets in America = Wal-Mart (unless you want to argue about a three person farmer’s market that might come once a week). In Korea, markets are intense with people selling all kinds of foods… vegetables, beef, pig heads, dogs, etc. This is Garak Market in the South of Seoul. [...]
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I love T-ara. Their first album had more good songs than most Kpop groups or American pop singers put out in 3 years (see Like the First Time, I Go Crazy Because of You, I’m Really Hurt, Bo Peep Bo Peep, Apple is A, and TTL)… even my Mom likes to break down with the [...]
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Overall grade: 95 Acting: 4/5 Directing: 5/5 Writing: 5/5 Filming: 5/5 I finally got around to seeing The Housemaid (2010). Before talking about the movie, I must encourage everyone to watch the first 5 minutes. It is one of the best dissections of Korean night life I’ve ever seen. As for the movie, it was [...]
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I finally got around to seeing The Housemaid (2010). Before talking about the movie, I have to encourage people to watch the first 5 minutes. It is one of the best dissections of Korean night life I’ve ever seen. It has almost everything: singing rooms, fish restaurants, barbecue coals, ahjummas doing back-breaking work, ahjummas speed [...]
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A few days ago I was with some friends while a TV was on in the background. Midway through some Christian telling me how Howard Zinn couldn’t possibly be a Christian (I assume due to his anti-war, anti-poverty, and anti-slavery positions), I was given the opportunity to completely tune the guy out (allowing him, the [...]
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