tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72166357221308621122024-03-05T03:45:31.959-08:00Seoul-SearchingSeoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-60389454056336765762009-05-03T18:37:00.000-07:002009-05-03T19:09:30.755-07:00It's About Time!It's hard to believe that it's already May, which means that I've already been here for 7 months.<br /><br />It's also been 4 months since I last updated. My apologies to my readers, several of whom have pleaded and/or berated me for new posts.<br /><br />Between my laziness and my busyness, it's been hard to carve out a chunk of time to update my blog, though it really shouldn't be that hard. But this is a long holiday weekend, a combined observance of May Day (May 1), Buddha's Birthday (May 2) and Children's Day (May 5). So instead of preparing my lecture for tonight, I have some time to catch up on my blog.<br /><br /><br />Just a note about chronology. I'll be posting flashbacks (ala LOST!), meaning that everything from Jan. to this entry are recollections of the past.<br /><br /><br /><br /><object width="320" height="265"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nQDUtjwoaTY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nQDUtjwoaTY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="265"></embed></object>Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-70527727460479873902009-04-17T23:03:00.000-07:002009-05-06T05:14:00.857-07:00The Swell Season<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii17JYw-tpojYy2Fb46qxGd_7H-gg9KkM2_WRnVdXT_qU-75ahpf_uxu9FeSdgudxKD8T4yBncA9WnKIIb6p3bru1WDy7nvNyQ4Pzv0KMkjhJnLJ2AE1FWZABxWlJqPSZaVjvYtM1XPLI/s1600-h/movieposter.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii17JYw-tpojYy2Fb46qxGd_7H-gg9KkM2_WRnVdXT_qU-75ahpf_uxu9FeSdgudxKD8T4yBncA9WnKIIb6p3bru1WDy7nvNyQ4Pzv0KMkjhJnLJ2AE1FWZABxWlJqPSZaVjvYtM1XPLI/s400/movieposter.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331884702540376466" /></a><br /><br /><br />The 2007 film <span style="font-style:italic;">Once </span>proved that it's possible to create a thoughtful, moving film on a shoe-string budget. The combination of creative film-making (blending musical and dramatic genres), true-to-life characters and dialogue, and the melodic, melancholy and occasionally haunting tunes made watching <span style="font-style:italic;">Once </span>a memorable experience.<br /><br />Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, the winners of the Oscar for best original song, "Falling Slowly", will be performing in Seoul ... again.<br /><br />I missed their concert in San Francisco in Nov. 2007. I missed them again when they performed in Seoul in Jan. of this year. Now that they're coming back to Seoul for two concerts in May, I'm determined not to strike out!<br /><br />I bought two tickets for the Friday, May 15 show. At the moment, I don't have a date. But I bought <span style="font-weight:bold;">two tickets</span> <span style="font-style:italic;">in faith</span> that I'll find a date by then. "If you build it, they will come." I'll let you know how it works out.Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-70683828349604395642009-02-06T02:00:00.000-08:002009-05-04T00:58:01.503-07:00What Does Gandalf Drink?Today was a randomly interesting day. Yet another friend, Kevin Lee, was visiting Korea on his way back from a business trip to India. We met for lunch in Daehangno, a performing arts district in Seoul. After lunch we explored the neighborhood, and low and behold, who do we see?<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghPOEHBvqFx3RiCSH21uaKpwqzfqvDS2V10KSKsnhaEs6J0wf0Sf6_YcD9DezQV-cDl2hzIVu8-rw1oDNtOph9Pwh1n0ZMHYi71rUOcdxR6n4BqLIp7CwEStxEP1fX3_X4O1OO3arU-9M/s1600-h/DSC00716.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghPOEHBvqFx3RiCSH21uaKpwqzfqvDS2V10KSKsnhaEs6J0wf0Sf6_YcD9DezQV-cDl2hzIVu8-rw1oDNtOph9Pwh1n0ZMHYi71rUOcdxR6n4BqLIp7CwEStxEP1fX3_X4O1OO3arU-9M/s400/DSC00716.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331864358806373506" border="0"></a><br /><br />So if you were wondering, Gandalf drinks Hite! And LOTS of it!<br /><br /><br /><br />That evening, I went to dinner with my friend, Jieun, who works in Dongdaemun, a major shopping district. On the way out of the restaurant, guess who I saw?<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvzohLfOalSObVuKqxI4NJqgAg4ZR3bukycq_IL_GCdCNA6ZeAkkjJe3vdHwywff4qOmouNeVEqvahuAzx1QKkwzbyyYJ7R7an9bxv5GqxqjeTsZOQLzkWyrBSBesGJ-9l-Nw1Kmcl1n0/s1600-h/DSC00722.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvzohLfOalSObVuKqxI4NJqgAg4ZR3bukycq_IL_GCdCNA6ZeAkkjJe3vdHwywff4qOmouNeVEqvahuAzx1QKkwzbyyYJ7R7an9bxv5GqxqjeTsZOQLzkWyrBSBesGJ-9l-Nw1Kmcl1n0/s400/DSC00722.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331865629608695234" border="0"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvePZiiV21uqKdKle_L29jcQcIZQGzaIJExWHwLEornw8Hyag9Wvof1ZxThfA6r2TJazBUoUziF2TeIW9Mod-SbbMx17CQZdkEwMkcLRk1myvGBa2wfg-xj3AOhFDBuqg1wBu6BYBYEbw/s1600-h/DSC00723.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvePZiiV21uqKdKle_L29jcQcIZQGzaIJExWHwLEornw8Hyag9Wvof1ZxThfA6r2TJazBUoUziF2TeIW9Mod-SbbMx17CQZdkEwMkcLRk1myvGBa2wfg-xj3AOhFDBuqg1wBu6BYBYEbw/s400/DSC00723.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331866262158340706" border="0"></a><br /><br />Move over Abraham Obama. It's all about Obama Claus!<br /><br /><br /><br />After dinner, I returned to Daehangno to hit a jazz club I had long wanted to visit. It's named Jazz Club. Fortunately, the music is far better than the name, as it's hands-down the classiest live jazz venue I've been to since I got here.<br /><br />On the way to Jazz Club, we passed an outdoor stage in the Dongdaemun shopping district, which features live performances from members of the audience. Have you heard the Wonder Girls' mega-hit Nobody? Here's the original and the "alternate interpretation"!<br /><br /><br /><object width="320" height="265"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/z2zWrYtsGFY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/z2zWrYtsGFY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="265"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwn6gPLV01wh3dChZt27VBvTCBXVHq-RH8tZUy3SWav2NNJI9P0VG1df4MhLigWu74pi38GL-6yu-v-dWbrAA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br />Yes, that's a he! Needless to say, it was an entertaining evening.Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-27850743454878832722009-01-31T01:59:00.000-08:002009-05-08T04:11:35.978-07:00"Colorful Daegu"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4-m-uW7zASJn8YFj0BYfRjXTmV_ZkspM7GkplJo9v7PUk0uWjKDc-BX5yXqTaveRGpBNKnHJX1EfFkfKxCUN4k40uAMkN3qpY7HGObc7VijuImjkWecCKowYN0GhEWu_hzDDi8T1U7U/s1600-h/DSC00704.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4-m-uW7zASJn8YFj0BYfRjXTmV_ZkspM7GkplJo9v7PUk0uWjKDc-BX5yXqTaveRGpBNKnHJX1EfFkfKxCUN4k40uAMkN3qpY7HGObc7VijuImjkWecCKowYN0GhEWu_hzDDi8T1U7U/s400/DSC00704.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331817693758265234" /></a><br /><br /><br />This week, I visited the city of Daegu. I'm always a little skeptical when I pass a restaurant flashing a name like "Yummy Curry" or "Tasty Teriyaki". So what about "Colorful Daegu"? Since it's the third largest city in Korea behind Seoul and Busan, I thought it deserved a visit.<br /><br />After spending two days there, I had mixed feelings about my visit. It's much smaller and slower than Seoul. Definitely not a bad change of pace. But it was mildly depressing to see a once-prominent city in a slow and languishing decline. I heard that Daegu was once surrounded by many textile factories during the 70's and 80's, but since the flight of manufacturing jobs to China and Southeast Asia over the last two decades, Daegu has suffered the fate of many manufacturing cities in the US, which have seen jobs leave and few return in their place.<br /><br />This was a clear reminder that Korea is essentially a one-city country. There's shipbuilding in Ulsan, there's fishing in Busan, there's manufacturing in Incheon. But Seoul has no real cultural, political or economic rival. So most young people find that all road lead to, if not through, Seoul, which means that most of the smaller cities in Korea are in various phases of the long fade.<br /><br /><br />While I was there, I visited a native of Daegu whom I had met in Seoul. She is a flight attendant by training, but she was a terrible tour guide! Of course, she's nice to look at. But take her off the plane, and she's totally useless! <br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzv69NYriegaqz8PKV7uaCC-bRcZVZCB3dx0gMcN0WK1iBtyHhyphenhyphenFwfK_Q_X8fFB8ezitTbHC77rlDcx7tv5lBtDpRkALwvfAqeg8W87yAqMy-mXSXSa-Sx4o62xOtZMHFZ3fb6wpMsRTE/s1600-h/DSC00682.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzv69NYriegaqz8PKV7uaCC-bRcZVZCB3dx0gMcN0WK1iBtyHhyphenhyphenFwfK_Q_X8fFB8ezitTbHC77rlDcx7tv5lBtDpRkALwvfAqeg8W87yAqMy-mXSXSa-Sx4o62xOtZMHFZ3fb6wpMsRTE/s400/DSC00682.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331815042027735586" /></a><br /><br />The KTX train to Daegu<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Q3Umzzk1TeIeOY7FnxHcZqqAmmTO0smCGXQIQAMZiltpQbaf9kNaBN9K2KD8OmYisrM1XNMt16R_8i0CwPF2VFajkj7a6RCLaKf3Wbeyo4eNV4A-XbVuWOZBB3hTDvks0YopFRDFLUs/s1600-h/DSC00689.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Q3Umzzk1TeIeOY7FnxHcZqqAmmTO0smCGXQIQAMZiltpQbaf9kNaBN9K2KD8OmYisrM1XNMt16R_8i0CwPF2VFajkj7a6RCLaKf3Wbeyo4eNV4A-XbVuWOZBB3hTDvks0YopFRDFLUs/s400/DSC00689.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331815411133212562" /></a><br /><br />Midnight arrival at East Daegu Station<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis4egm9XR4dqIaMu12j__4qfp2scj6KvxuarLqn-YbaxjEIUkxN4IT4RX5Xi2e2qLbUQNSaELC6dRde8tnQHCzZ13TYMg9Y8AL_LRB_LpsQdMQvhwKoa7NdsMGsREPkf6IhqTBeoFK3yc/s1600-h/DSC00687.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis4egm9XR4dqIaMu12j__4qfp2scj6KvxuarLqn-YbaxjEIUkxN4IT4RX5Xi2e2qLbUQNSaELC6dRde8tnQHCzZ13TYMg9Y8AL_LRB_LpsQdMQvhwKoa7NdsMGsREPkf6IhqTBeoFK3yc/s400/DSC00687.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331815786189771778" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpcWCDJpMVQPtTxMbFh1ZB0O00Pe_PczVijClrjhrAonQt4hHtSA6aqzljvi-FY5Rl4-hRA_uVtbZuwpXtuVCD3fUgCXVjjykt78kBc_ZfYEFGHBIDIujAZd6UCndmOPPy6km5uelVFg/s1600-h/DSC00692.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpcWCDJpMVQPtTxMbFh1ZB0O00Pe_PczVijClrjhrAonQt4hHtSA6aqzljvi-FY5Rl4-hRA_uVtbZuwpXtuVCD3fUgCXVjjykt78kBc_ZfYEFGHBIDIujAZd6UCndmOPPy6km5uelVFg/s400/DSC00692.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331820507719810226" /></a><br /><br />There were very few tourist attractions in Daegu. We visited a university campus, a bookstore, and the central shopping district.<br /><br />On my last night, Lia took me to an "amusement park" (the rides included a small merry-go-round and Ferris wheel). I know it was a Thu night, but we were literally the only people there. Here's a picture of the park at night.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIhQ_Rfnkb66lkJXBBPW_JWoczHPjyJ7_hDINmmAu6XXX64gYI1hgjPcMz7cjjpEW0ACUM1CfenivHDGkBqLxmyXjnFDN4uhHsb5eQYTf0bllhdJztGz6pk1oIiSPdCGXNyrh5R1dVnHY/s1600-h/DSC00694.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIhQ_Rfnkb66lkJXBBPW_JWoczHPjyJ7_hDINmmAu6XXX64gYI1hgjPcMz7cjjpEW0ACUM1CfenivHDGkBqLxmyXjnFDN4uhHsb5eQYTf0bllhdJztGz6pk1oIiSPdCGXNyrh5R1dVnHY/s400/DSC00694.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331816152372238082" /></a><br /><br />Shooting hoops<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPR0QkmqgL-zfTFJ10CJLAitZaEqvab6P8bhgMZpqQeh2Fj17NDu_ediX5mkqaaunG7ROhT9Y2BWg5y2uGm6HspQcPWponpoNyct8x4_Zdt-t6_VFTQN5XNFWZ9D7gLIsWcMDIpDg_M5s/s1600-h/DSC00697.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPR0QkmqgL-zfTFJ10CJLAitZaEqvab6P8bhgMZpqQeh2Fj17NDu_ediX5mkqaaunG7ROhT9Y2BWg5y2uGm6HspQcPWponpoNyct8x4_Zdt-t6_VFTQN5XNFWZ9D7gLIsWcMDIpDg_M5s/s400/DSC00697.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331816494363451026" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHktNLbJcPnZTCo4SrKsYb87n0qyUhMsKpyGtW-PwyFbXs6jiYm5KpgsmYjzk-NSdCmy3uB-V7NxkbLUcGnGMHwQxGEk6VGObkuA5yqIXlXrPaRCwMod2pIoz3ZB1Cabi6jGbTzSW0_fk/s1600-h/DSC00700.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHktNLbJcPnZTCo4SrKsYb87n0qyUhMsKpyGtW-PwyFbXs6jiYm5KpgsmYjzk-NSdCmy3uB-V7NxkbLUcGnGMHwQxGEk6VGObkuA5yqIXlXrPaRCwMod2pIoz3ZB1Cabi6jGbTzSW0_fk/s400/DSC00700.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331816953318878082" /></a><br /><br />Look at that follow-thru!<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaXeYzKSUOAZGb4f2vo4dhXYz3O9yp9GLAYiqEbs9tgf05a0OfHlR7mFUcWiNGZMZHdaCb_R8UFtc0p7qoaZ8rxi0ifT7O3AelTTu9yAt22e0q9g41SoGHBx-spHJmGpEJ2DD0b-cBQrQ/s1600-h/DSC00702.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaXeYzKSUOAZGb4f2vo4dhXYz3O9yp9GLAYiqEbs9tgf05a0OfHlR7mFUcWiNGZMZHdaCb_R8UFtc0p7qoaZ8rxi0ifT7O3AelTTu9yAt22e0q9g41SoGHBx-spHJmGpEJ2DD0b-cBQrQ/s400/DSC00702.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331817326793078866" /></a><br /><br />Dalk-galbi<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4P3aZwJBx9RBsQWg-FxmS0T6_CL25RjPK_7Tsev-DC7MuRn8ADFzFN4vwudQKYnd3HblXznpAkyIk2wQThUu599KQJTwGk9tsidgvXoCn75rSsSqaq6FQefHdfkBckf1CwVrihxhPk8/s1600-h/DSC00703.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4P3aZwJBx9RBsQWg-FxmS0T6_CL25RjPK_7Tsev-DC7MuRn8ADFzFN4vwudQKYnd3HblXznpAkyIk2wQThUu599KQJTwGk9tsidgvXoCn75rSsSqaq6FQefHdfkBckf1CwVrihxhPk8/s400/DSC00703.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331817451396599794" /></a><br /><br />"Napkin" =)<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4fvihoi8If6oVZHO-4YhdSq4ThYuHkwIHuzZwRk-1G32qjdJ8b3gn6UUG3IpKMuzdNMPEdYucQzaslLOOval_YPwgarpl5L4XmG_owMYxzSzLLOGf1Mfg8vS648QaXabkmtEkQmLTpk/s1600-h/DSC00709.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4fvihoi8If6oVZHO-4YhdSq4ThYuHkwIHuzZwRk-1G32qjdJ8b3gn6UUG3IpKMuzdNMPEdYucQzaslLOOval_YPwgarpl5L4XmG_owMYxzSzLLOGf1Mfg8vS648QaXabkmtEkQmLTpk/s400/DSC00709.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331817857627330866" /></a><br /><br />Seoul Station. Home sweet home.Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-23261939526265720712009-01-27T19:21:00.000-08:002009-05-06T05:12:13.246-07:00Jackpot!Lunar New Year (they don't call it "Chinese New Year" in Korea!) is one of two big holidays in Korea, Chu-seok (the Korean Thanksgiving) being the other one. Many Koreans travel back to their hometown to spend time with their parents.<br /><br />Fortunately, most of my mother's brothers live in/near Seoul, which made travel easy for me. We ate ddeok-guk for breakfast, of course. Then after a memorial service for my deceased grandparents (jeh-sah), we watched early-round play from the Australian Open and then ate again.<br /><br /><br />Then came the highlight of the day: yut-nori! Yut is one of the simplest games known to mankind. You can draw the board in a few seconds. The rules are few and simple, although there is some advanced strategy. But despite the simplicity of the game, it can be the catalyst for hours of entertainment. A little soju doesn't hurt either.<br /><br />My youngest uncle is the talker and entertainer of the family, so he made this into a gambling affair, just to make things a little more interesting. So after three games and two victories for our team, I was up $30.<br /><br /><br />To close the new year's festivities, we did seh-bae, a ceremony in which you bow to your elders at the start of the new year. But this is no ordinary bow. First, you start on your knees, and then you bow until your forehead is nearly touching the ground. Second, you get hooked up, as most of you well know!<br /><br />Since this was my first time celebrating Seol and participating in seh-bae with my uncles, they wanted to make up for all the lost years. So they all gave me "back pay" for the seh-bae money I haven't received over the years.<br /><br />Jackpot! All told, the take was about $500. If this is any kind of sign, this is gonna be a good year!Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-56168389041597390292009-01-09T23:32:00.000-08:002009-05-03T19:14:34.509-07:00Homesick yet?Some people have asked me whether I'm getting homesick at all, now that I've been in Korean for three months. First of all, I've been busy enough that I haven't really had a chance to feel homesick. Second, people keep coming to visit Korea and/or me. If people keep visiting me, there's no reason for me to visit the States, except for my occasional Zachary's fix.<br /><br />I've been surprised, even shocked, by the number of people who have visited Korea in the last few months, and more are on their way. It just seems that all roads lead THRU, if not TO, Seoul. So come on by for a visit! Spring is not far off!Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-9251236651784656292009-01-06T18:46:00.000-08:002009-02-06T18:48:53.212-08:00I finally gave in ...... and got some new glasses. Although I've updated by prescription a few times, I haven't changed my style of glasses for over a decade. I was quite comfortable with my old glasses, and as they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.<br /><br />Prescription glasses are much cheaper in Korea than in the US, perhaps 1/2 to 1/3 the US price. So this is the place, if any, to update my style. Basile and I tagged along with Eunice and Jane as they visited an optometrist to pick out a new pair of glasses for Jane. While Eunice was helping Jane, she spotted these for me. A new look for a great price!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxraVqSaUnvkhPClSEe_adjVSFI5CXfTiVJouIAsFxIbSxFskcTrlIkWNf9Gof8xGj8ja_zDoiF8x5n4wPjcws2s0uPG9EBhPZHG0cDEfyaRXLWpalJR0HJ7jwALI5gUje_h-7qlDlKT0/s1600-h/DSC00670.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxraVqSaUnvkhPClSEe_adjVSFI5CXfTiVJouIAsFxIbSxFskcTrlIkWNf9Gof8xGj8ja_zDoiF8x5n4wPjcws2s0uPG9EBhPZHG0cDEfyaRXLWpalJR0HJ7jwALI5gUje_h-7qlDlKT0/s400/DSC00670.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299881822339287058" border="0" /></a>Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-35508481559398310182008-12-26T11:06:00.000-08:002009-02-06T01:54:58.613-08:00Christmas in KoreaA few friends in America asked me how I was planning to spend the holidays and whether I might be lonely being away from friends and family. Fortunately, I didn't have to go back to the States for the holidays because the States came to visit me! This was one of my most memorable Christmases, largely because of all the friend who were visiting Korea for the holidays.<br /><br />On Christmas Day, I spent the morning at our church's Christmas Service. After lunch, I visited a joint EM Christmas Service hosted by Young Nak Presbyterian Church. After the joint service, Basile and I joined up with Caroline and Janice to see the light show at CheongGye Cheon, the urban stream that runs 6 kilometers through the heart of Seoul. Here are some pics that Basile snapped along the way. Unfortunately, pictures can't capture the bite of the subzero (Celsius) weather.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw6DQuDerswBp6wRHMkDmb1nR5Ola1w2OtaM-BX17HjPL7y69QxMwsoYrOWEwhF-VNcUtck0q1S5UzIVAkkeW5ftzte9_8giULx2e-fpnCSyJlCUWR2F3xYw5LBRWI5BWmq2lMDmmD2bE/s1600-h/3181860660_04a1865737.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw6DQuDerswBp6wRHMkDmb1nR5Ola1w2OtaM-BX17HjPL7y69QxMwsoYrOWEwhF-VNcUtck0q1S5UzIVAkkeW5ftzte9_8giULx2e-fpnCSyJlCUWR2F3xYw5LBRWI5BWmq2lMDmmD2bE/s400/3181860660_04a1865737.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299611850678061778" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Sparkling tree in front of the Lotte Department Store<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJoeZw-aEmy3qSHpAcMZurzWUzZcM4VVNIEuvtFLm0VH_N3_5aI3E6JL-rip0gzNUWWacT2oZkiqdJ7QB9hZjWtZHerA4YDqovxLUbOdINUfEQX9Y7cal2XHMeOBXryX0a2CRXzuMs-Qw/s1600-h/3181861266_8e5ed01085.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJoeZw-aEmy3qSHpAcMZurzWUzZcM4VVNIEuvtFLm0VH_N3_5aI3E6JL-rip0gzNUWWacT2oZkiqdJ7QB9hZjWtZHerA4YDqovxLUbOdINUfEQX9Y7cal2XHMeOBXryX0a2CRXzuMs-Qw/s400/3181861266_8e5ed01085.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299611950036895826" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Looking up the Lotte building<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWDloQpk1N8JlR8pwRlfxIWFAYiY5x5Ijy4DQoze3Gm1HL-hMaQF-JOfds8tGiawJM3hjus-e8ekUVgN4UgO4ipjUftyl7sASARHw3yIqcRFwESYDhAkUPbRZqIIe1sCLQuvLjBoJPuM8/s1600-h/3181859466_5c8515292e.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWDloQpk1N8JlR8pwRlfxIWFAYiY5x5Ijy4DQoze3Gm1HL-hMaQF-JOfds8tGiawJM3hjus-e8ekUVgN4UgO4ipjUftyl7sASARHw3yIqcRFwESYDhAkUPbRZqIIe1sCLQuvLjBoJPuM8/s400/3181859466_5c8515292e.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299612044143919618" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Janice flirting with frostbite to give the Korean rabbit ears<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcATlbYojJ7fwRhVYjUpepTOlXJqsUwhn5v-uIiQQM9FX1kLMAECFAdKA6yGZAUcUHn644cc20wXlLbIr86LS-7InenPahupHpcjGDjDswGw5L-QK3cJWHpaeW9_vlUtROpmCumWeyXE4/s1600-h/3181029123_2729b8cb0f.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcATlbYojJ7fwRhVYjUpepTOlXJqsUwhn5v-uIiQQM9FX1kLMAECFAdKA6yGZAUcUHn644cc20wXlLbIr86LS-7InenPahupHpcjGDjDswGw5L-QK3cJWHpaeW9_vlUtROpmCumWeyXE4/s400/3181029123_2729b8cb0f.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299612258188560050" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Skyline above, urban stream below<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstTSSa-ZzuC2rYeoC1Ude9DmXFg1favPRW1WB13uxyisG4iU7OpwxjJ2m0_dX7u3c2R9Hr2RBJtPH15AApLb-Yx-DkaSZDVNK9pN0kHah3ftzqdHaPRsz_zpaAclKURW0Tm2W1DRWPYw/s1600-h/3181027887_04bf0dff6a.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstTSSa-ZzuC2rYeoC1Ude9DmXFg1favPRW1WB13uxyisG4iU7OpwxjJ2m0_dX7u3c2R9Hr2RBJtPH15AApLb-Yx-DkaSZDVNK9pN0kHah3ftzqdHaPRsz_zpaAclKURW0Tm2W1DRWPYw/s400/3181027887_04bf0dff6a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299612391285594690" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I love this shot, with the light coming from below. The cotton candy looks like clouds.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJ7r9x1wBXDT2jc2yaMV_EMJETb6-6p7lPal-GQn3U_nQfjP7aOG9HboE-vb3vfaGLIMFQ-dXLxukUvfoCeubivKT9GgBJEzb8gZJujS2CQxJ3ezQWWoWZUzP7Qr5Lr824Ro5bhTR41o/s1600-h/3181028539_50f91ac8af.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJ7r9x1wBXDT2jc2yaMV_EMJETb6-6p7lPal-GQn3U_nQfjP7aOG9HboE-vb3vfaGLIMFQ-dXLxukUvfoCeubivKT9GgBJEzb8gZJujS2CQxJ3ezQWWoWZUzP7Qr5Lr824Ro5bhTR41o/s400/3181028539_50f91ac8af.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299612443208711106" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdK7TvlRVcejw2dPLljdsYPB_4MwHSdHJcRiznpNt1FozwFAu-10vOFhdR_nLY-5RLd916UOIIih2zJ1sKKOTHrcJGLtQXkLN_f9Od6URW-LqojSjHpPlh6AxKHJUEysFoj8h0fFBF6V0/s1600-h/3181864160_32eb680459.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdK7TvlRVcejw2dPLljdsYPB_4MwHSdHJcRiznpNt1FozwFAu-10vOFhdR_nLY-5RLd916UOIIih2zJ1sKKOTHrcJGLtQXkLN_f9Od6URW-LqojSjHpPlh6AxKHJUEysFoj8h0fFBF6V0/s400/3181864160_32eb680459.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299612820047780530" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Trying to stay warm before the light show begins. Janice on the left, Caroline on the right.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBNkGBFyNcOmahjvB5vAa3HgtPEteUvSnZc2WzmUXjclHn8FCXm6Iw-Zwr8fcXFAdbLfrgvD02tKW6i7LPBqW6o43nUJ3RGXr_sjOWzjFNZwOSf9lS8ii4X1L661Zek7BBPFVJ8YL6l9Q/s1600-h/3181029721_029c5a67e9.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBNkGBFyNcOmahjvB5vAa3HgtPEteUvSnZc2WzmUXjclHn8FCXm6Iw-Zwr8fcXFAdbLfrgvD02tKW6i7LPBqW6o43nUJ3RGXr_sjOWzjFNZwOSf9lS8ii4X1L661Zek7BBPFVJ8YL6l9Q/s400/3181029721_029c5a67e9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299612874568156930" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3eenjlam4wTr_kCP8lU4IovdvgbQsBS0tclmDh2pWPIH-_rN97p838YPxAH3kVUyCPJ1JXwMav4xvPrZ5dapoXcsmbL0btZNEUOudhSaQ_gZoThAPuCvipt8d1sXECILxtp4HER5b5Vc/s1600-h/3181868034_faa3be80a5.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3eenjlam4wTr_kCP8lU4IovdvgbQsBS0tclmDh2pWPIH-_rN97p838YPxAH3kVUyCPJ1JXwMav4xvPrZ5dapoXcsmbL0btZNEUOudhSaQ_gZoThAPuCvipt8d1sXECILxtp4HER5b5Vc/s400/3181868034_faa3be80a5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299613050963843506" border="0" /></a><br /><br />"Neon" snowflakes<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFBxztADAf6QOTSxAyK_3QHyfznuP91-TonTYxreeO-VGfflRH5Oz5ki39WbbJ-QOOMr0THkwWWxTAPtuux7XL_5qZHdix7RZoeJOyFRR8ZX_z_kCbpjv5uvHvkDlHV1-by-WA5GUlXDA/s1600-h/3181886882_acb0e5345f.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFBxztADAf6QOTSxAyK_3QHyfznuP91-TonTYxreeO-VGfflRH5Oz5ki39WbbJ-QOOMr0THkwWWxTAPtuux7XL_5qZHdix7RZoeJOyFRR8ZX_z_kCbpjv5uvHvkDlHV1-by-WA5GUlXDA/s400/3181886882_acb0e5345f.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299613341189299506" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Light banner in the distance, flashing "Merry Christmas", "Happy Holidays", and even "Feliz Navidad"! Next year I expect to see "Happy Hanukkah"!<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOo0azOhgRUTJGz1BS6hWExazMlx5t2Z-0-1ueE9RCeN5tv8CFzjBiec_NzTR_7DkQOiWvFEuCFz_qrzwXOqCg-dS0qfo-RfIBU_5kQGEP62Wa3Ckvg0u2P41DzzyoDK2vkoJxiYSK7Q/s1600-h/3181897914_b836c99448.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOo0azOhgRUTJGz1BS6hWExazMlx5t2Z-0-1ueE9RCeN5tv8CFzjBiec_NzTR_7DkQOiWvFEuCFz_qrzwXOqCg-dS0qfo-RfIBU_5kQGEP62Wa3Ckvg0u2P41DzzyoDK2vkoJxiYSK7Q/s400/3181897914_b836c99448.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299613876230757890" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Candid shot. Basile should moonlight with the paparazzi!<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-DJMuhTMtJBJNqRk2smcJFvLXPCn16VtyDR0M0dvssSC8ZdXgc9NY59naSK4Xw4PUSyANRYmqSQL01XlUj-pmj194KZZAzrXr09O828XZ_ANeg0Uat9g835aFzVQ04ez6AsetwA2-Rew/s1600-h/3181898964_ddd4c18977.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-DJMuhTMtJBJNqRk2smcJFvLXPCn16VtyDR0M0dvssSC8ZdXgc9NY59naSK4Xw4PUSyANRYmqSQL01XlUj-pmj194KZZAzrXr09O828XZ_ANeg0Uat9g835aFzVQ04ez6AsetwA2-Rew/s400/3181898964_ddd4c18977.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299613925552686450" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlvSwl6nMUZCvK4z7RuNCm4GXbLZ0t6A0Ds0BOfz9KCKQ8GCmdYBVpkp25Y_JkjZR5JUrS8Q4KeSGJlGbxf51iFLY2dok465keqpiiXjG-X5AxdtgNsZqT2C57cr1hJpFbF9bNFiiCCx0/s1600-h/3181067811_c60e802f89.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlvSwl6nMUZCvK4z7RuNCm4GXbLZ0t6A0Ds0BOfz9KCKQ8GCmdYBVpkp25Y_JkjZR5JUrS8Q4KeSGJlGbxf51iFLY2dok465keqpiiXjG-X5AxdtgNsZqT2C57cr1hJpFbF9bNFiiCCx0/s400/3181067811_c60e802f89.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299613987457876562" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Street-level overhead, walking toward the source of the stream<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePp_HaQwuWAp3aLqr44cG4kBylu7e2cDQhTyehTfpdQJxW6QU9OWafWuF5Ln1CnIl2ZxhVd-ivNL_zH4nEtn5X7PIEVaB-GafrvEUewub8tmThgAurRfchVl5G3nK10yZ-GOWmDmeCBw/s1600-h/3181068293_082ca22cc3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePp_HaQwuWAp3aLqr44cG4kBylu7e2cDQhTyehTfpdQJxW6QU9OWafWuF5Ln1CnIl2ZxhVd-ivNL_zH4nEtn5X7PIEVaB-GafrvEUewub8tmThgAurRfchVl5G3nK10yZ-GOWmDmeCBw/s400/3181068293_082ca22cc3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299614036065783842" border="0" /></a><br /><br />"Hurry up, Basile!"<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjToAwcojQLXnhK22NmCHFgUGID0FjOXy5Zjl_YNJUcV5JKHq7g3hTpnvTmkDem19ZSHwFTHmXWRLRqAMc7XgqBJqqpUD0K535ZRbq3V2Zgk0OgdbrwthLXudRXiYaO8uTEvnaQmCR0lIU/s1600-h/3181068681_9b243bd870.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjToAwcojQLXnhK22NmCHFgUGID0FjOXy5Zjl_YNJUcV5JKHq7g3hTpnvTmkDem19ZSHwFTHmXWRLRqAMc7XgqBJqqpUD0K535ZRbq3V2Zgk0OgdbrwthLXudRXiYaO8uTEvnaQmCR0lIU/s400/3181068681_9b243bd870.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299614083864798546" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZGiY21lnBIor5kFNJ6GpGCfPQkpwMV1qNsVXNkia5jqiaWQ2QS6mPXa9Jxc0qCf3kQx-MQ_RF-xNMBAUPkXVAK9p_tufrVX_AlQDtptO3A7viryLMcNwG6iMssf9hRu4w5hVd7uEBz9E/s1600-h/3181091693_5fe78f45f4.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZGiY21lnBIor5kFNJ6GpGCfPQkpwMV1qNsVXNkia5jqiaWQ2QS6mPXa9Jxc0qCf3kQx-MQ_RF-xNMBAUPkXVAK9p_tufrVX_AlQDtptO3A7viryLMcNwG6iMssf9hRu4w5hVd7uEBz9E/s400/3181091693_5fe78f45f4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299614147015534050" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I love this shot! Kinda looks like a club.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD6GMa_6bSad1xcXTybM03emBEdUScENalMWzATXPkQXmn7sGXZqQTyGIqiG5Zp0-GB8YhQjOHwmxw7qYq1vPEo3ppbdimvtpELwMr7Su9ldWWLPy3efRzVYSkeidUSLHcYbMFNCwsDOk/s1600-h/3181093723_0ef87f8b46.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD6GMa_6bSad1xcXTybM03emBEdUScENalMWzATXPkQXmn7sGXZqQTyGIqiG5Zp0-GB8YhQjOHwmxw7qYq1vPEo3ppbdimvtpELwMr7Su9ldWWLPy3efRzVYSkeidUSLHcYbMFNCwsDOk/s400/3181093723_0ef87f8b46.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299614189539852162" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Glowing globes levitating over water<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4DsTiJdsxmcBpeOIBMxcZ4gif7kJcoH6B7CXFFebNTZVqdyZfH_CDcUTpShf_9HT4lnJlXEx5oiye6kUjXe54IB3IxW2k6O3EXqJwgyg6hQAkW1VDuqkfNU1gzVd7kN_9wn6pn_h8BUE/s1600-h/3181929836_167f67d256.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4DsTiJdsxmcBpeOIBMxcZ4gif7kJcoH6B7CXFFebNTZVqdyZfH_CDcUTpShf_9HT4lnJlXEx5oiye6kUjXe54IB3IxW2k6O3EXqJwgyg6hQAkW1VDuqkfNU1gzVd7kN_9wn6pn_h8BUE/s400/3181929836_167f67d256.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299614258935724914" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvGBo2C04JGN6uTx2xnB8T8gJbZNvxZ1I4tDbX5MXHtGjqr7XXWg5NXosLlHi20ObPD5ird9gpr_qi5PgWpUiPHoJQ40sBm1M5iap3mIw_ApmqYia7mmrBdu0gaViCRLFClg-OpH367Ow/s1600-h/3181933416_c9caeae7fa.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvGBo2C04JGN6uTx2xnB8T8gJbZNvxZ1I4tDbX5MXHtGjqr7XXWg5NXosLlHi20ObPD5ird9gpr_qi5PgWpUiPHoJQ40sBm1M5iap3mIw_ApmqYia7mmrBdu0gaViCRLFClg-OpH367Ow/s400/3181933416_c9caeae7fa.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299614363080768162" border="0" /></a><br /><br />At the end of the stream. Light banner and small waterfall in the background.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ikrMVXtBZc14oCndXRkhZYwn4Z-YYlkkD_FXkJ5iysNqzctSqknwOEFL2N_Ra_A5T3ZrX4farURhzzljCV1zj7Mu-HuntbgX9cLEVSCIefcf2D2jAW8mHgB_jzEUxfndVs8yqzhpZ8Y/s1600-h/3181100801_0b81d71e58.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ikrMVXtBZc14oCndXRkhZYwn4Z-YYlkkD_FXkJ5iysNqzctSqknwOEFL2N_Ra_A5T3ZrX4farURhzzljCV1zj7Mu-HuntbgX9cLEVSCIefcf2D2jAW8mHgB_jzEUxfndVs8yqzhpZ8Y/s400/3181100801_0b81d71e58.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299614439142819378" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Who is that masked man? Basile makes an appearance.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFr7yu8RdHeMGnol_fwbRDSlwx10XeRPIRQvVKwQcjPHqaR_m78GQCW65sS4pODp6aIdS8-l4rauIV9Vlbw-7u4sXN1YWclc3ITF7nXsLIzoq_GLPvS6Jqhisu58uSDMQELgDhcEPELSQ/s1600-h/3181944798_767977b757.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFr7yu8RdHeMGnol_fwbRDSlwx10XeRPIRQvVKwQcjPHqaR_m78GQCW65sS4pODp6aIdS8-l4rauIV9Vlbw-7u4sXN1YWclc3ITF7nXsLIzoq_GLPvS6Jqhisu58uSDMQELgDhcEPELSQ/s400/3181944798_767977b757.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299614510130449954" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Monster Christmas tree in front of City Hall<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW-XooMs1UF25hckTmVG8m_N01TVPr7wmDbDBgNMjC9oTcgnq4noi50z0rOMezAZ4mpoSKqcJyr9HQ2VKVJdsyUJBaPDZr0LtgiUPWpWeGTb14WXCJNeaUf_U9XYqKayCne_SpZ6_PI8w/s1600-h/3182013498_35927e57bf.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW-XooMs1UF25hckTmVG8m_N01TVPr7wmDbDBgNMjC9oTcgnq4noi50z0rOMezAZ4mpoSKqcJyr9HQ2VKVJdsyUJBaPDZr0LtgiUPWpWeGTb14WXCJNeaUf_U9XYqKayCne_SpZ6_PI8w/s400/3182013498_35927e57bf.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299614576857093346" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Merry Christmas!Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-53016348482505545972008-12-17T23:03:00.000-08:002009-02-06T01:01:01.085-08:00Korean KidsKorean kids are the cutest kids on the planet, in my unbiased opinion. I should know. I'm surrounded by them everyday. The church where I work runs a kindergarten on weekdays. My office is on the 3rd floor, and across the hall are two rooms full of 4, 5, and 6 year old boys and girls. I hear them belting out folk songs and practicing their ABC's. I hear their shuffling feet through my door as they scamper off to ballet or taekwondo class. I see them lining up outside the bathroom to brush their teeth after lunch (most Koreans brush their teeth after every meal). On some days, before going to my office, I'll peek into their classroom through the glass window of the door to see what they're doing. I'm worried what their teacher thinks of me.<br /><br />So Korean kids are the cutest kids on the planet, but they're also little devils. They can be loud and undisciplined. Some of the boys have tried to pick fights with me. While in the bathroom, one of the boys splashed water on me and then ran into his classroom, knowing that I wouldn't follow him there.<br /><br />They all seem to get a kick outta me. One of the 5 year old girls asked me in the cutest little voice, "Why don't you speak Korean?" (in Korean, of course). I answered, "Nah-neun babo-ya", which means "I'm a dummy". She and her friends started giggling. I think the fascination with me is that I'm the first ethnic Korean they've ever met who can't speak Korean.<br /><br />For them it's quite bizarre, even unthinkable. They just can't seem to place me. I can see it on their faces: "Is he Korean? Well, he can't speak Korean. So he must be American. But he's not white."<br /><br />I wish I could actually talk with them, but if I could speak Korean, their fascination with me would disappear. I would just be a creepy Korean man who needs to have kids or buy a puppy.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpD8p_pJKqVZ06cw0GWacC_eg-YoX5rbNDdcbg5CjYTBwytpvVJq9BciSOhbVqHGz-hqDtk-tMaMvpaPb0Kagel7xOe1PepfEkf6WZwUE64pXlbQhtCcioJ2qFI43V-Zpj518tf2bIRs4/s1600-h/DSC00661.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpD8p_pJKqVZ06cw0GWacC_eg-YoX5rbNDdcbg5CjYTBwytpvVJq9BciSOhbVqHGz-hqDtk-tMaMvpaPb0Kagel7xOe1PepfEkf6WZwUE64pXlbQhtCcioJ2qFI43V-Zpj518tf2bIRs4/s400/DSC00661.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299598043191235122" /></a><br /><br />Yes, those are reindeer antlers that they're wearing. They're practicing for their annual Christmas Show.<br /><br />I love that girl in the middle. She's like, "What choo lookin at, foo??"<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2lb7-JicSSy9ifkCvel_5t79AgxiaCBvdUfC9UHxXR0muD9cxPW-UVyZAyPH2xj6mv8uyaQ_KQfM51Iyox3I2g3pZ6Tx9Scw0SJ1BbB3etjlFoj02i95xA0h1iJ_msPEzvlWAMF0SOGM/s1600-h/DSC00664.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2lb7-JicSSy9ifkCvel_5t79AgxiaCBvdUfC9UHxXR0muD9cxPW-UVyZAyPH2xj6mv8uyaQ_KQfM51Iyox3I2g3pZ6Tx9Scw0SJ1BbB3etjlFoj02i95xA0h1iJ_msPEzvlWAMF0SOGM/s400/DSC00664.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299598254134194930" /></a><br /><br />Rehearsal<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiveChWhp9xRa0vjCF7-U3s77dkneeW1K5SlpxFQ6Yxdf2Q9abKhZV6hEWkqOj9PKXykONKs6FeQG2HgQnw3o-4m232Ov9EeGmmghlCo3G-Gz6BlF0vfeyyaU5el4syuzGDj-mjfYCs6aU/s1600-h/DSC00665.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiveChWhp9xRa0vjCF7-U3s77dkneeW1K5SlpxFQ6Yxdf2Q9abKhZV6hEWkqOj9PKXykONKs6FeQG2HgQnw3o-4m232Ov9EeGmmghlCo3G-Gz6BlF0vfeyyaU5el4syuzGDj-mjfYCs6aU/s400/DSC00665.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299598381529172242" /></a><br /><br />Showtime!Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-64219387450289360452008-12-07T23:56:00.000-08:002008-12-19T08:00:30.857-08:00The Second Snow of WinterThe first snow was two weeks ago, but it was a but a trace and melted when it touched the ground. So you could say this was the first real snow of the winter. It was quite a delight to wake up on Sunday morning to watch snowflakes drifting past my 8th floor apartment window.<br /><br />This is what it looked like as I walked to church.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0RDBma8qKVL8Uivhe1dp7w6i3Z6d5rcWS9PgOvh6j1dChF6lqtyS0B0bSNGkibNB2gdmbK4sRAn5wubsh5eVlDDplOpwi0sIsmLkGrqJhQPJOkAT60JiKUL7YJx0zm2YVK5cLhLrWT7A/s1600-h/DSC00655.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0RDBma8qKVL8Uivhe1dp7w6i3Z6d5rcWS9PgOvh6j1dChF6lqtyS0B0bSNGkibNB2gdmbK4sRAn5wubsh5eVlDDplOpwi0sIsmLkGrqJhQPJOkAT60JiKUL7YJx0zm2YVK5cLhLrWT7A/s400/DSC00655.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281530192001407826" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivBMCedtoBFjjDASWLdbyFynINvFMR3KrOfxgyY4hrs_cejNCayBuruijCHTQckrJeTJfG6jaab-cWqx8bx-Zr_j8EMboM5ZH-wYsrojAdnqcNSpB9J1UM_ix8l3qgPm3mRujFOV7K99o/s1600-h/DSC00654.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivBMCedtoBFjjDASWLdbyFynINvFMR3KrOfxgyY4hrs_cejNCayBuruijCHTQckrJeTJfG6jaab-cWqx8bx-Zr_j8EMboM5ZH-wYsrojAdnqcNSpB9J1UM_ix8l3qgPm3mRujFOV7K99o/s400/DSC00654.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281530055927775042" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMsweerGFKw-fH4HbZtfD-tuUR578lZpPqYawt3_H9lfcrMz9kW6kBr655HekkonKi2ITb6qhIiIFrkdVby4wtjM3rN-19Fv8QA0MSV3HTrBv5lQ8uBjRcR5gi9arudAWN8xRO1n24og/s1600-h/DSC00656.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMsweerGFKw-fH4HbZtfD-tuUR578lZpPqYawt3_H9lfcrMz9kW6kBr655HekkonKi2ITb6qhIiIFrkdVby4wtjM3rN-19Fv8QA0MSV3HTrBv5lQ8uBjRcR5gi9arudAWN8xRO1n24og/s400/DSC00656.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281530337001186770" /></a><br /><br />Say "cheese"!<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuob9iJvpR_20DbqUyHBBUM8RguJOTXkP1Qu9NsKa3gCUtFYENn2QsONSVjznXv6aHsVXHJBc5CcuAKKpwVBCRN_PMnJZwm3SMF3REnGhz-31e5NWajbA6ez2KQawAF9EIxYs_Y-D0eQU/s1600-h/DSC00657.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuob9iJvpR_20DbqUyHBBUM8RguJOTXkP1Qu9NsKa3gCUtFYENn2QsONSVjznXv6aHsVXHJBc5CcuAKKpwVBCRN_PMnJZwm3SMF3REnGhz-31e5NWajbA6ez2KQawAF9EIxYs_Y-D0eQU/s400/DSC00657.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281530463158789586" /></a><br /><br />My usual effect on women!Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-87252256237989490912008-11-23T23:56:00.000-08:002008-12-19T04:50:30.904-08:00Signs of WinterSince I arrived at the end of September, the weather has been delightful, even balmy on some days, with temperatures reaching into the high 70's.<br /><br />One reason why I've extended my stay is the weather. But perhaps this decision was a bit premature. This weekend there was an unmistakable chill in the air, an unwelcome reminder that winter is on the way.<br /><br />The trees felt it too.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjmv4P2okwAykd8U7XBFA7hbh3Nfw-QfACSRA9qQPGvC7-n8AgDkT3F1VGAx3dzr_TfC-Jtkpy_dGzkH1aS0a4NptU1s5yD_Jhx86vWL5lh6XpynaAaoOwWY_aGX1c40CQMIdoCbGAa-w/s1600-h/DSC00635.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjmv4P2okwAykd8U7XBFA7hbh3Nfw-QfACSRA9qQPGvC7-n8AgDkT3F1VGAx3dzr_TfC-Jtkpy_dGzkH1aS0a4NptU1s5yD_Jhx86vWL5lh6XpynaAaoOwWY_aGX1c40CQMIdoCbGAa-w/s400/DSC00635.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281480770262520802" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXAHEsPSQMBGvGyBznkmyMxxxhdfpTWp_DgfGS09ETlkyQC9ByzWJb_naZJQFNTCPiwiDL5MMLlFmQ3GBSmDmoUVYoU6ZIVtQWeki4zt7cbTxfRJLYZMwkd1ffgC7r-jc_0Lp9N0iw4cA/s1600-h/DSC00636.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXAHEsPSQMBGvGyBznkmyMxxxhdfpTWp_DgfGS09ETlkyQC9ByzWJb_naZJQFNTCPiwiDL5MMLlFmQ3GBSmDmoUVYoU6ZIVtQWeki4zt7cbTxfRJLYZMwkd1ffgC7r-jc_0Lp9N0iw4cA/s400/DSC00636.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281480915677887234" /></a>Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-15780463901461836332008-11-23T23:41:00.000-08:002008-12-19T07:47:34.169-08:00Changdeok-gungMy sister, Juliette, was visiting for the whole week of Thanksgiving. While she was here, we didn't take many pictures, but here are some that we took at one of the royal palaces.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqDcrWBGN3SyTmIlg6GSOWJ_4Vuwn51s7egy2pHQuGqpS2eeStov8AjpzMxlj7OVAvq8PuIw3gf8y6erV8_hGpNVYoZyGrTTFO0V1L6heAyzXlz3cxbcgJ3HpBHorASadalG1fxDfHCxk/s1600-h/DSC00650.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqDcrWBGN3SyTmIlg6GSOWJ_4Vuwn51s7egy2pHQuGqpS2eeStov8AjpzMxlj7OVAvq8PuIw3gf8y6erV8_hGpNVYoZyGrTTFO0V1L6heAyzXlz3cxbcgJ3HpBHorASadalG1fxDfHCxk/s400/DSC00650.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281527882436820770" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggx0dPQKr8yuGHuKBuN6s6PxPY8eYyr9tcRFKKmT8tTigMlkn53-dds-BAM8Pp05dJvTQ9YC2bcmkryRTJlSbDhRJWKi0CbHzq6Sj2vNED0AMDFpcC6iI8ZMcJ5jifYnKmS0dG2lOAnHQ/s1600-h/DSC00648.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggx0dPQKr8yuGHuKBuN6s6PxPY8eYyr9tcRFKKmT8tTigMlkn53-dds-BAM8Pp05dJvTQ9YC2bcmkryRTJlSbDhRJWKi0CbHzq6Sj2vNED0AMDFpcC6iI8ZMcJ5jifYnKmS0dG2lOAnHQ/s400/DSC00648.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281527509345759074" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji3hZnh6PoNLIaQBZydzXriWRo5wZjsG6xxu1mH6pM7e-BpiLUl3VtY0jbh1cKZ0h3_dUJU_NgBYHgZd6JPjzM39lNbAJTKbbdSaep595dLMVzwSBl0eBJlSHPiRUA9nrUa6uC9Ygoo80/s1600-h/DSC00647.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji3hZnh6PoNLIaQBZydzXriWRo5wZjsG6xxu1mH6pM7e-BpiLUl3VtY0jbh1cKZ0h3_dUJU_NgBYHgZd6JPjzM39lNbAJTKbbdSaep595dLMVzwSBl0eBJlSHPiRUA9nrUa6uC9Ygoo80/s400/DSC00647.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281527739155481554" /></a><br /><br />Foreground - Old Seoul<br />Background - New SeoulSeoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-16734848134282265862008-11-21T23:14:00.000-08:002008-12-19T06:27:23.296-08:00The Slums of SeoulYou wouldn't think it. But despite the meteoric rise of the Korean economy in the last 50 years, there are those who have been left behind. Today, Jaepil took me to visit one of the poorest neighborhoods in Seoul, which is ironically only a 5 minute drive from one of the richest neighborhoods in Seoul.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjByXw5xhod4Rd-HiKjwYVcHtfbr5JGatdhdsKjS7YYklLVWrP3_dp2wBcH_uRR4NmBVLcGp0QbhyphenhyphenVBxjvH1Saz_RHM6O4nQXyGwBYcGUBksxcVT6pAi0FR9gNXxG6iRfKm2cbhQ2vD-Bk/s1600-h/DSC00640.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjByXw5xhod4Rd-HiKjwYVcHtfbr5JGatdhdsKjS7YYklLVWrP3_dp2wBcH_uRR4NmBVLcGp0QbhyphenhyphenVBxjvH1Saz_RHM6O4nQXyGwBYcGUBksxcVT6pAi0FR9gNXxG6iRfKm2cbhQ2vD-Bk/s400/DSC00640.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281505756026001794" /></a><br /><br />Foreground - a slum on the outskirts of Gangnam-gu, one of the most affluent districts in Seoul<br /><br />Background - the towers in the distance represent some of the most expensive real estate in Seoul<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqxG0hnZSauuoYX32YN6KF07bkOUKrW3z5lFAwg5NwMaCA3kNrZ2UzkuUgjUL8-X14CWaPmgsx10IPP0DfNOWvLJ8CLeD07xmla7QWFT-r0Abbr6oEDRoHGNcv8mOpPfvlNLNkQtTnlxc/s1600-h/DSC00646.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqxG0hnZSauuoYX32YN6KF07bkOUKrW3z5lFAwg5NwMaCA3kNrZ2UzkuUgjUL8-X14CWaPmgsx10IPP0DfNOWvLJ8CLeD07xmla7QWFT-r0Abbr6oEDRoHGNcv8mOpPfvlNLNkQtTnlxc/s400/DSC00646.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281505903516493458" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQAOQKWmzpW3tS-ZA0BAQjv_gXH6QpQ99k5JGbbxGuRByBwebOdPTmbr0RuHLsuRXciBGkeHw0Kb39CGYqfW3vSp0UThyphenhyphendBI8ts0oQL_k7nCLNqOambnxyFwlQMLhwmUK0xeKHno1xp1A/s1600-h/DSC00645.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQAOQKWmzpW3tS-ZA0BAQjv_gXH6QpQ99k5JGbbxGuRByBwebOdPTmbr0RuHLsuRXciBGkeHw0Kb39CGYqfW3vSp0UThyphenhyphendBI8ts0oQL_k7nCLNqOambnxyFwlQMLhwmUK0xeKHno1xp1A/s400/DSC00645.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281506036207074338" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34pzsr3r92in-AIARuVEd_mQ1kuMJh08vht69g1Bz__Ro1rMg2mmA3QrBNqBrSgK2e7q4tbFB22WtpBWMPGcSxox7i6cDpeiWU-xmhAji2QTiI5gKMDjerIYiAxh-X3SMH1PQhAhmgMU/s1600-h/DSC00644.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34pzsr3r92in-AIARuVEd_mQ1kuMJh08vht69g1Bz__Ro1rMg2mmA3QrBNqBrSgK2e7q4tbFB22WtpBWMPGcSxox7i6cDpeiWU-xmhAji2QTiI5gKMDjerIYiAxh-X3SMH1PQhAhmgMU/s400/DSC00644.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281506208555098562" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIuNRpTJbcA3HebsnDdTYcRYzv1CQdN0MKxySfalkh2vPzLwk8SJcY-EUyA8cumue2uEPnfN2RtkdSmDA5oEvR8yLF7OxoXzcN-BW_a7BbiBuHOIFWs7UkWyshvTXz04mNHvWrI_Pu5k/s1600-h/DSC00641.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIuNRpTJbcA3HebsnDdTYcRYzv1CQdN0MKxySfalkh2vPzLwk8SJcY-EUyA8cumue2uEPnfN2RtkdSmDA5oEvR8yLF7OxoXzcN-BW_a7BbiBuHOIFWs7UkWyshvTXz04mNHvWrI_Pu5k/s400/DSC00641.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281506491409550882" /></a>Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-25399980487632637542008-11-18T23:17:00.000-08:002008-12-19T04:48:18.580-08:00Shop Til You Drop!This is the anthem of many during the holiday shopping season, though less likely this year with the weakened economy. But Koreans take this to a whole new level.<br /><br />I went shopping for a light coat this week. It took me a few days to explore the multiple mall towers of Dongdaenum and a variety of department stores, including Shinsegae, Lotte, Hyundai and Galleria, where I finally made the purchase. I swear, these malls are designed like Las Vegas casinos. There are no clocks, no maps, no store directory, and their labyrinthine design make them nearly impossible to escape without a compass and an uncanny sense of direction.<br /><br />I took some pictures inside the mall, but the pit boss took my camera and erased the pictures. Oh, sorry, that was Vegas.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Kf1kkIKDw5O84ofaqZhrwoidmHh320udyOFXqC4dwRHAx361TTMT5I-7a4Vf_RLycz0HHnXxrjQZk1qXiRoPUJ9GQjhDedOrXMOwoIwZLv-Ab0qIJrY7wcpRyVYol5GKdYgxKsdkXoc/s1600-h/DSC00632.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Kf1kkIKDw5O84ofaqZhrwoidmHh320udyOFXqC4dwRHAx361TTMT5I-7a4Vf_RLycz0HHnXxrjQZk1qXiRoPUJ9GQjhDedOrXMOwoIwZLv-Ab0qIJrY7wcpRyVYol5GKdYgxKsdkXoc/s400/DSC00632.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281477433720372322" /></a><br /><br />I took this picture of the store hours at one of the mall towers in Dongdaemun. That's no joke. Those aren't the Christmas shopping hours. Migliore is open later than the 7-Eleven in my Berkeley neighborhood (Telegraph & Parker).Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-39887897070312609172008-11-06T23:56:00.000-08:002008-12-19T06:12:03.876-08:00DMZToday, Alex, a friend from SF, and I took a tour of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a 2 kilometer-wide zone that runs east-west across the Korean peninsula separating North from South. Technically, it's not an actual border because the two Koreas never signed a peace treaty officially marking the end of the Korean War and creating two separate countries. <br /><br />The tour included a stop at the Third Infiltration Tunnel, a mile-long tunnel that extends southward from North Korea under the DMZ into South Korea. It is assumed that this tunnel, along with three others that have been found (there are probably more), was built to facilitate a North Korean sneak attack.<br /><br />But the highlight of the tour was the visit to the Joint Security Area (JSA). In this area, there are a series of blue buildings which have hosted face-to-face meetings between delegates from North and South Korea. During this part of the tour, we were allowed to enter North Korean territory under US and Republic of Korea (ROK) Army escort.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVxKxE21iM0NRb6tvmCLd8M0SdB2kr9xbkmERaa-EvcEzVUMdUIizABjX13_MmSdoou0fRQSfRsFcVVTUV-3sWfjz7nT0Y5ufu6t01ue_xscVIyvuxa9EMpLXAtXFq7gHJfGIquILU-ng/s1600-h/DSC00580.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVxKxE21iM0NRb6tvmCLd8M0SdB2kr9xbkmERaa-EvcEzVUMdUIizABjX13_MmSdoou0fRQSfRsFcVVTUV-3sWfjz7nT0Y5ufu6t01ue_xscVIyvuxa9EMpLXAtXFq7gHJfGIquILU-ng/s400/DSC00580.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281489425394861842" /></a><br /><br />Before Alex and I went on the tour, we stopped by the War Memorial of Korea near Camp Kim. This was one of the statues outside the museum.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWa32oJEYyMJutYPr8HZmxXLNwaz5Fcfg0vm1nC7KOmlNjuz7TQHQ3ed_Q_J-Z2z0_6pqJ5P8N3eCen6NLdSorMGihwCtMes-5Mksm8AUZ5ykpTBx7GJ1an7bT7xrwqxk54ViG1y-EiDE/s1600-h/DSC00581.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWa32oJEYyMJutYPr8HZmxXLNwaz5Fcfg0vm1nC7KOmlNjuz7TQHQ3ed_Q_J-Z2z0_6pqJ5P8N3eCen6NLdSorMGihwCtMes-5Mksm8AUZ5ykpTBx7GJ1an7bT7xrwqxk54ViG1y-EiDE/s400/DSC00581.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281489587768138002" /></a><br /><br />The main building<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4M9qpFQfpuMTeUdodS2fDpdci6ajrycCWajeMXZTjGzDfM346u0eEKLWhEAsZpDCio6_vWOZEJpt4e0hBUNlRUd3Fwd7oheOVsvNtC7JccsNXH2Q5QVtnTbbgrZnweDQRfR7xqMaj7A/s1600-h/IMG_0131.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4M9qpFQfpuMTeUdodS2fDpdci6ajrycCWajeMXZTjGzDfM346u0eEKLWhEAsZpDCio6_vWOZEJpt4e0hBUNlRUd3Fwd7oheOVsvNtC7JccsNXH2Q5QVtnTbbgrZnweDQRfR7xqMaj7A/s400/IMG_0131.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281493315358186642" /></a><br /><br />This is NOT the Third Infiltration Tunnel (we're not allowed to take pictures inside it). Rather, this is the tunnel that leads to the Third Infiltration Tunnel.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKTdlN_cXIo8zjBNYWzVM8c4fbsnmdcwZI-K8jRjipQIRXDs1PMPlNgVtsd_iFnkrdsK2M84ZkDigD5K2nKoh7D9wr9NAqu_XURXV5E0WmrjY2zctG5XSpJjvEozmSt7tgjJxn4-bbEPU/s1600-h/IMG_0132.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKTdlN_cXIo8zjBNYWzVM8c4fbsnmdcwZI-K8jRjipQIRXDs1PMPlNgVtsd_iFnkrdsK2M84ZkDigD5K2nKoh7D9wr9NAqu_XURXV5E0WmrjY2zctG5XSpJjvEozmSt7tgjJxn4-bbEPU/s400/IMG_0132.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281493410765341314" /></a><br /><br />We were briefed at Camp Bonifas on the history and status of the JSA by the US Army serving on behalf of the United Nations Command.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3sEWdqDAQVpjY1yaC6Ns6BghwmWB8b0Y-Wbpe0XAzRJekCS96oEDixRnRM5jJXIQcbkhIpwaeb3DpVuPr7r2EHGnYrsmUn0D44GTwsgRRHhf3_MZ0K7-5gFcvxCVXjhlUPu4ypD40O2U/s1600-h/IMG_0133.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3sEWdqDAQVpjY1yaC6Ns6BghwmWB8b0Y-Wbpe0XAzRJekCS96oEDixRnRM5jJXIQcbkhIpwaeb3DpVuPr7r2EHGnYrsmUn0D44GTwsgRRHhf3_MZ0K7-5gFcvxCVXjhlUPu4ypD40O2U/s400/IMG_0133.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281493720985224322" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTWugUj588DNuBZCjr8qgSTJEZBVVbQQnHLlH3B_hGMiOgpT1UtcJSNaHc5_8yenTO-jBqkoneByJsYx8Ai6JUd3lMKbImw0V8oBWYLh4qAckwN8j9OCYrBnaPxy0CxJ9Eqzh9bjuJiV0/s1600-h/IMG_0134.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTWugUj588DNuBZCjr8qgSTJEZBVVbQQnHLlH3B_hGMiOgpT1UtcJSNaHc5_8yenTO-jBqkoneByJsYx8Ai6JUd3lMKbImw0V8oBWYLh4qAckwN8j9OCYrBnaPxy0CxJ9Eqzh9bjuJiV0/s400/IMG_0134.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281499923472151762" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY50IwgR4WB6bYed1-2YT2yTK1PTnqpEzkk6rM4CV2_dhaGMq-OIi1fxF61iAhDlSTvxgsmjRM-iLMKaH5Vyi4k8o5cGY5vtceRaeD4mB_tkYL9A97iCURqrLX2tplHoN2rzuesW-rtx8/s1600-h/IMG_0135.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY50IwgR4WB6bYed1-2YT2yTK1PTnqpEzkk6rM4CV2_dhaGMq-OIi1fxF61iAhDlSTvxgsmjRM-iLMKaH5Vyi4k8o5cGY5vtceRaeD4mB_tkYL9A97iCURqrLX2tplHoN2rzuesW-rtx8/s400/IMG_0135.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281499984625305970" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh57hUwIOYx4R2u8Vs9XmuOZZE0iblCcdQXGVsilj3c6jLIuiRlaYzGGpfAUwrGiSxLnbuPrOi0OvKGDmmhO0tZwH_y9MkYE2riFVYYh_VSkVuF8KDel1sDuzAlj2U-pwCTNZICASX-VAE/s1600-h/IMG_0138.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh57hUwIOYx4R2u8Vs9XmuOZZE0iblCcdQXGVsilj3c6jLIuiRlaYzGGpfAUwrGiSxLnbuPrOi0OvKGDmmhO0tZwH_y9MkYE2riFVYYh_VSkVuF8KDel1sDuzAlj2U-pwCTNZICASX-VAE/s400/IMG_0138.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281500152041233410" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKd5iMew3n29HuSPJjhA7Y-2FbRbTBxJEpXy3XxdP7lnVNFQ-NHCijn9B8G-kSBKBUQ4-1J3RRfboUNDj3-eTYWh1Dz8DmBd0_xRYqlIUFq-S3wGdgaOtX-kLP0DKb1_48SzBTjZhlHok/s1600-h/IMG_0147.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKd5iMew3n29HuSPJjhA7Y-2FbRbTBxJEpXy3XxdP7lnVNFQ-NHCijn9B8G-kSBKBUQ4-1J3RRfboUNDj3-eTYWh1Dz8DmBd0_xRYqlIUFq-S3wGdgaOtX-kLP0DKb1_48SzBTjZhlHok/s400/IMG_0147.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281500467017163234" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX2iROUI9sFnJ3OOkBvXI_C10bPQAbxpr46KRMgVVLYaFu6L6_ZT8nzV0fqjSVgANtaEqhpgjShkUeDEYUZn7aG3MpBezzk9Nu6a8rPgDWuL-YM2zAVdvTwj_LWcMcxSfAysDFzhaRigQ/s1600-h/DSC00582.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX2iROUI9sFnJ3OOkBvXI_C10bPQAbxpr46KRMgVVLYaFu6L6_ZT8nzV0fqjSVgANtaEqhpgjShkUeDEYUZn7aG3MpBezzk9Nu6a8rPgDWuL-YM2zAVdvTwj_LWcMcxSfAysDFzhaRigQ/s400/DSC00582.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281489716725934882" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO3IMHqFwaiEyK9g3lBS7MIZFbu8rsRHTYYSk33m2tKfNM7tZtONrkUuOkN6rBzmnQ_P5rMN4YK6eeRtFGNDCBzsrWcZwnsrl6Txwy09XS_xiBn2ljL1rq-sNnUL_-3CAwKZIowokt2nQ/s1600-h/DSC00584.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO3IMHqFwaiEyK9g3lBS7MIZFbu8rsRHTYYSk33m2tKfNM7tZtONrkUuOkN6rBzmnQ_P5rMN4YK6eeRtFGNDCBzsrWcZwnsrl6Txwy09XS_xiBn2ljL1rq-sNnUL_-3CAwKZIowokt2nQ/s400/DSC00584.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281489891064172850" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuAfJprUOCrRrSxLeeXUBbM-D9xlysE6u7_zFSVNi5LQnnoJ3kv6gjlj_Saqq4LUnWkZ8Efa5M8oe6C3LetjLDM4GKT4YslBNShXs0jPJ2aejOoN4wC2nleSAochYltCdO3vEI1BwPyGE/s1600-h/DSC00585.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuAfJprUOCrRrSxLeeXUBbM-D9xlysE6u7_zFSVNi5LQnnoJ3kv6gjlj_Saqq4LUnWkZ8Efa5M8oe6C3LetjLDM4GKT4YslBNShXs0jPJ2aejOoN4wC2nleSAochYltCdO3vEI1BwPyGE/s400/DSC00585.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281490003497911890" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiStQY_gwcnYXqf3lSdTt98sfmMxWZI_jgJusEJW6r7Fr-hOgnXfmP1OFni5gvKglCI5DOltMNtqWBrhAkL7W9dtLxnytj7IKpsV2I6U-D64dwsOGTDNfulEeuI0u82irO2Astn7WAbmAE/s1600-h/IMG_0150.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiStQY_gwcnYXqf3lSdTt98sfmMxWZI_jgJusEJW6r7Fr-hOgnXfmP1OFni5gvKglCI5DOltMNtqWBrhAkL7W9dtLxnytj7IKpsV2I6U-D64dwsOGTDNfulEeuI0u82irO2Astn7WAbmAE/s400/IMG_0150.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281500899921735538" /></a><br /><br />Inside one of the blue buildings. On the left of the table is South Korea. On the right is North Korea.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguplSvv7EjA0kNvpfZinFoQA6C2NPokrC1gImu9kNP0tVMq_xDMzf0uSmjNm4zKleXwDVly9KKTbvjnJw4FltDrN9XDZuT2xzEmsxA-vPIgli2RvNxF74etstOTDsIWk37cSD9yzePGjc/s1600-h/IMG_0154.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguplSvv7EjA0kNvpfZinFoQA6C2NPokrC1gImu9kNP0tVMq_xDMzf0uSmjNm4zKleXwDVly9KKTbvjnJw4FltDrN9XDZuT2xzEmsxA-vPIgli2RvNxF74etstOTDsIWk37cSD9yzePGjc/s400/IMG_0154.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281500979910822226" /></a><br /><br />In North Korea. Do I look a little nervous?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUULgKRs-Vv4PFRHKoIM-ivPg8eA2NfZwCdlphaNB7UTX3QtY-5aA2cYWQgtovWuJ4rFZ2jIHUHlFFDD3vgzJ0I_nbKoZkjN-hHy3OAD9OLzHZfYifkLQoFhnBOFckZBcYNSyrMSzWtc/s1600-h/IMG_0166.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUULgKRs-Vv4PFRHKoIM-ivPg8eA2NfZwCdlphaNB7UTX3QtY-5aA2cYWQgtovWuJ4rFZ2jIHUHlFFDD3vgzJ0I_nbKoZkjN-hHy3OAD9OLzHZfYifkLQoFhnBOFckZBcYNSyrMSzWtc/s400/IMG_0166.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281501286901128994" /></a><br /><br />Looking at a faux North Korean city (like a Hollywood set)<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQT4EDPogwhUbJW3mBdJzFc9jvdQrOTMY3ikgt2EQmt_9u0ksgTKuE5IxSZb9HxMamF_-I8IoToucGLOGKstsC4sjRWUqjCfolk-4hZF4LHPoflwMtquVAmQKwxmNrkvlYd2W7zFEn80/s1600-h/IMG_0121.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQT4EDPogwhUbJW3mBdJzFc9jvdQrOTMY3ikgt2EQmt_9u0ksgTKuE5IxSZb9HxMamF_-I8IoToucGLOGKstsC4sjRWUqjCfolk-4hZF4LHPoflwMtquVAmQKwxmNrkvlYd2W7zFEn80/s400/IMG_0121.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281501660077292818" /></a><br /><br />War is hellSeoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-77570968788466504752008-11-02T23:16:00.000-08:002008-12-16T03:41:49.001-08:00Opening NightTonight was opening night for the SK Knights, the professional basketball team owned by the SK conglomerate. Melissa hooked us up again with free tickets. I like to call her Red from <span style="font-style:italic;">The Shawshank Redemption</span>, because like Red, she's someone who knows how to get things! Unfortunately, the SK Knights aren't nearly as good as the SK Wyverns. The highlight of the game was the dancing Krispy Kreme donut and the appearance of Park Taehwan, the gold-medal winning Korean swimmer, during the halftime show.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk8oLd1Bj9GMSDwYyIz1y3RniODxETx4UGem7t07k4nC9q1zMKisal2GIsn3xr6DHxoTlRV_YZbI2O_CD4ElNimqrS40-wFiSa1MDVqYDekwxjKb7-9jk-UZwR6TmxZhr2Fk8LTY4FWto/s1600-h/DSC00618.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk8oLd1Bj9GMSDwYyIz1y3RniODxETx4UGem7t07k4nC9q1zMKisal2GIsn3xr6DHxoTlRV_YZbI2O_CD4ElNimqrS40-wFiSa1MDVqYDekwxjKb7-9jk-UZwR6TmxZhr2Fk8LTY4FWto/s400/DSC00618.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280348231785827042" /></a><br /><br />Pre-game show<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzOjSgKhVFMc3FdlnkcpXfKqFxztYMYQXmnlCrj_kamOPRDYCT5iAHrrYlIsMBU9tcBf1WiRLmkLbQ9r2Prej8BIos9rYF0ib6FOnO_C7B-QsTCjvG4VlzJ7YwtIQ5PZBFefgbu9qHbD0/s1600-h/DSC00620.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzOjSgKhVFMc3FdlnkcpXfKqFxztYMYQXmnlCrj_kamOPRDYCT5iAHrrYlIsMBU9tcBf1WiRLmkLbQ9r2Prej8BIos9rYF0ib6FOnO_C7B-QsTCjvG4VlzJ7YwtIQ5PZBFefgbu9qHbD0/s400/DSC00620.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280348426960384754" /></a><br /><br />Player introductions<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRB1j4rLvGdbV2AM_MLIbng-6xvY4mXa6a9VdEN0VXZlfBQRjwfjAECW6j8fgBgao657gAZCCDmUy_g1UClhbtZr8LkhGYGORWyR_mrtiwCTlteNA8bPeLgl4YVU9V3FMdvqxWTHVcVGU/s1600-h/DSC00625.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRB1j4rLvGdbV2AM_MLIbng-6xvY4mXa6a9VdEN0VXZlfBQRjwfjAECW6j8fgBgao657gAZCCDmUy_g1UClhbtZr8LkhGYGORWyR_mrtiwCTlteNA8bPeLgl4YVU9V3FMdvqxWTHVcVGU/s400/DSC00625.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280348585391248594" /></a><br /><br />Park Taehwan: national hero. Apparently, he used to live in the building next to Eunice's parents.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrwpYpWinmuBGumICnM-wbar8hoFl_yIk6XuvBXVZQUus2o2DqGyO29by3Z2QgTXPjORFPQu-dUYMW7fUmVGcS6-vOWpu9r9avxGV1lgdCshtOmrlJlUAmPw8nPtGYChF8s24Rijb2UjM/s1600-h/DSC00627.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrwpYpWinmuBGumICnM-wbar8hoFl_yIk6XuvBXVZQUus2o2DqGyO29by3Z2QgTXPjORFPQu-dUYMW7fUmVGcS6-vOWpu9r9avxGV1lgdCshtOmrlJlUAmPw8nPtGYChF8s24Rijb2UjM/s400/DSC00627.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280348718566157106" /></a><br /><br />Where can I get those pants??Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-67411302615022056692008-10-31T23:22:00.000-07:002008-11-24T03:49:32.616-08:00The Korean World SeriesOkay, so it's not really called the "World Series" here in Korean. They are not so presumptuous, although Korea did win the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.<br /><br />The SK Wyverns (wyvern?? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyvern) are playing the Doosan Bears in the Finals of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO). If you're not familiar with Korean professional baseball, each of the eight teams is owned by a chaebol, a Korean conglomerate, e.g. Samsung Lions, LG Twins, Hyundai Unicorns, etc. Whenever there's a big game, the chaebol dismiss employees from work early, so that they can attend the game. It's like school spirit meets corporate competition, and it comes out most visibly in the group cheering. There's a home side and a visiting side in the stadium. Employees and fans are armed with thunder sticks and homer-hankies and support their team with a half-dozen team songs and chants, all belted out in unison.<br /><br />My friend Melissa works for SK Telecom, and she was able to score some free tickets to Game 4 for me and a few friends. Score! I was pretty excited. After all, this is the Korean "World Series". And I got to sit in the employee section, which means I got to join the group cheering. Needless to say, I had a blast. Wish you were here!<br /><br />P.S. The Wyverns won to build a 3-1 lead over the Bears, and the Wyverns closed out the series with a Game 5 win the following night.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjABptYwFFq-TGKPPlYJBgv_MGsBb0AasgtqjiJVmoHGMMfdBQOPVMz8XJJz1_0ziKreqk0WnRonK56vtUetNXu_0sZlvTURrAnID9pFYNiZ71E5vLjKFXTB_E8fInSo-6hl6Mg9wK_fMM/s1600-h/DSC00602.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjABptYwFFq-TGKPPlYJBgv_MGsBb0AasgtqjiJVmoHGMMfdBQOPVMz8XJJz1_0ziKreqk0WnRonK56vtUetNXu_0sZlvTURrAnID9pFYNiZ71E5vLjKFXTB_E8fInSo-6hl6Mg9wK_fMM/s400/DSC00602.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272150400016482674" border="0"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1J_vT51IhRha7eFN8h7g3ZcgheVXmQ5MiDWRHSW3K1QGTyOZLqosIPU7lOEyWX-o9KNFEN7JyuubkjXXCgX7mi_tPLRR16FR1w4qA83eaoBdvkxSEbuOz96ibZ1cwQgm0iz6S9c03BQk/s1600-h/DSC00604.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1J_vT51IhRha7eFN8h7g3ZcgheVXmQ5MiDWRHSW3K1QGTyOZLqosIPU7lOEyWX-o9KNFEN7JyuubkjXXCgX7mi_tPLRR16FR1w4qA83eaoBdvkxSEbuOz96ibZ1cwQgm0iz6S9c03BQk/s400/DSC00604.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272150700171127938" border="0"></a><br /><br />We got there early to make sure we got good seats (there's no assigned seating in the employee section).<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-vIX9WtuxV20U7C9vi9qSNnaJuMKXY5P3udH2DzGuiQsk1x5tMuCc_PyITcaeOvJsGAE7cPAYjtbbjZ3O2NN9y82eoqU2MGgmLW45mvq4h5s0P7lxtmKs1tNAz-aIklNcQcTcAquhDE/s1600-h/DSC00606.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-vIX9WtuxV20U7C9vi9qSNnaJuMKXY5P3udH2DzGuiQsk1x5tMuCc_PyITcaeOvJsGAE7cPAYjtbbjZ3O2NN9y82eoqU2MGgmLW45mvq4h5s0P7lxtmKs1tNAz-aIklNcQcTcAquhDE/s400/DSC00606.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272150907800275250" border="0"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfbL9kAmPE3i9NV5rWcB0HtcdpG5GucLgifGbM3uGlgXDAM8bvWZSW1MgS3p0LRZXYY87YYTSijU-o_0eYULdBRql1iTHzyuauHcyyRByahqJElBLArRUn24FZf82ZI-Tf0NKYxWWgRis/s1600-h/DSC00610.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfbL9kAmPE3i9NV5rWcB0HtcdpG5GucLgifGbM3uGlgXDAM8bvWZSW1MgS3p0LRZXYY87YYTSijU-o_0eYULdBRql1iTHzyuauHcyyRByahqJElBLArRUn24FZf82ZI-Tf0NKYxWWgRis/s400/DSC00610.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272151340495328850" border="0"></a><br /><br />Jamie (left) and Melissa (right) armed with thunder sticks and wearing their homer hankies!<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwPYdUhBphlgCY2NrBccbGxfdbca3VrrchLW7d7AaCl0JfWcQteKUkeGNG0WnfrW2rQ28xpjnmkfO3iruQqDg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />A practice session! Yes, we did rehearse before the game!<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzwPp2FXhyxJm8oM72LGHs6X1vozONiJUawoI6INbwrl2KMv60kPIW3DcVVEadt3pQvE0KQ6XfYil06RGHl9A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />Game time!<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzhyBT8A2Lxc_cn85hcRu6bzqguSQbQqP32hakGioBv9a6onJ2Lke792Bdic6E5IBm8e2lnXdv2_iLDl_xO4w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />The Doosan Bears side<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxXG7eNLxaxF33D_4s2wmUxG1LQ-hebnL_ZiLphEppF_fPYrMl9Egwa8G4sWzrlnH7WDA0nCHMKQfcmCDiNfA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />What fire hazard??Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-84168652635219179122008-10-15T23:06:00.000-07:002008-11-23T23:17:48.771-08:00Farmers' Market ... Korean styleOn my way to work today, I was surprised to stumble on this. It's an outdoor market that sets up shop on this local street near my apartment. Every Wednesday, rain or shine. Or snow?? We'll see.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs5SwfWRdPb1I0fIDgAszrLNChuvX4OE9Qhd4j5Eg8U8gDLyCMNEOJi5Ey9dXslArNRlEggHADnwFhkEmWfc955N3QdEGY1OTv7j_AgAXDYu8PodDhGXIBP0BIrFfiQG6XK7GNUJ_1dms/s1600-h/DSC00537.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs5SwfWRdPb1I0fIDgAszrLNChuvX4OE9Qhd4j5Eg8U8gDLyCMNEOJi5Ey9dXslArNRlEggHADnwFhkEmWfc955N3QdEGY1OTv7j_AgAXDYu8PodDhGXIBP0BIrFfiQG6XK7GNUJ_1dms/s400/DSC00537.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272117818045184674" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM6PyAEpwylO6ON8ZzVReMycLk8Wgb_-ptDp69fss3Rk_yXAs42T1lB-Wduqdgh0DdUumm83ddZqXd4IwePoUFsJbNSmZSOcM_K8GGgWE47evOr0phHfZKGVbjHWapZOe-z7PPG8RMLT0/s1600-h/DSC00540.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM6PyAEpwylO6ON8ZzVReMycLk8Wgb_-ptDp69fss3Rk_yXAs42T1lB-Wduqdgh0DdUumm83ddZqXd4IwePoUFsJbNSmZSOcM_K8GGgWE47evOr0phHfZKGVbjHWapZOe-z7PPG8RMLT0/s400/DSC00540.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272118076535145282" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifU5GNk_6WNTLHSnbuGLAHXWUIW1ozkijl8MNzkCitIo999Zo1FRAx3dhg9O-XwWxmx0ZfveM4_XvNpES6Zvlv-imgPsucM2-92u5ndDAeyc9NVMDz0YIj8Fg2AN7ZAGeV5h7SHu_f7rY/s1600-h/DSC00541.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifU5GNk_6WNTLHSnbuGLAHXWUIW1ozkijl8MNzkCitIo999Zo1FRAx3dhg9O-XwWxmx0ZfveM4_XvNpES6Zvlv-imgPsucM2-92u5ndDAeyc9NVMDz0YIj8Fg2AN7ZAGeV5h7SHu_f7rY/s400/DSC00541.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272118297402115138" border="0" /></a>Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-20750549316794100612008-10-12T22:59:00.000-07:002008-11-23T23:03:17.481-08:00I thought I was on sabbatical!Today I attended 5 worship services, a personal record. I was officially introduced as the new English Ministry Pastor at 3 Korean-speaking services (7am, 10am, 11:30am). I led my own service at 11:30am. And then I was the guest speaker at a friend's church at 1:30pm.<br /><br />What sabbatical??Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-18444589910646080912008-10-11T22:11:00.000-07:002008-11-23T22:59:41.617-08:00Lost in TranslationThe strangest thing has happened. I'm sure there is no one more surprised than me. But I have a confession to make: Never in my life have I had a more intense desire to be Korean. Of course, I'm Korean by blood. But I mean <span style="font-style: italic;">really </span>Korean, as in Korean-ized, fluent in the Korean language, living and dying by Korea's Olympic fortunes, singing all the pop songs in my sleep, and popping the collar on my polo shirt. Okay, maybe not the collar!<br /><br />In the last few weeks, I've had several chances to explore various neighborhoods by myself, wandering through labyrinthine side-streets, past countless restaurants, bars and no-rae-bang's. I weave my way through oncoming groups of three, four, five, eight people, wondering where they're from and where they're going and what they're talking about. I walk behind a pair of women who are unaware that I'm eavesdropping on their conversation. But like the proverbial tree falling in the woods, is it really eavesdropping if you can't understand what they're saying?<br /><br />I've quickly discovered the vast disparity between my intense curiosity about the native Korean experience and at this same time the virtual inaccessibility of Korean culture to me. My short time here has highlighted how NOT Korean I am, between my unfamiliarity with the language and the culture, the habits and practices of the people. This experience has profoundly accentuated my sense of being alone, of not belonging. This is much different than feeling lonely. What I mean by "being alone" is not having a sense of belonging to a people or of having a social "home" where you can fit right in.<br /><br />This is particularly ironic because I LOOK so Korean (so I've been told). I can remember at least five times people have approached me for directions on the street or in the subway station. If you could see the look on their faces when I speak to them in English. It's as if they heard a Nigerian speaking Mandarin. Yet despite my typical Korean appearance, Korean culture is opaque to me.<br /><br />I'm truly a "tweener". I've known this for some time, but my experience in Korean has been a vivid reminder of this. I'm not Korean enough to be really Korean, and I never will be. And I'm not American enough to be really American, and I never will be. I am neither/nor. There is certainly a distinct place in between where I feel at home as a Korean-American, but that doesn't subdue the wish to jump in and blend in.<br /><br />I've enjoyed the experience of looking at Korean culture as a foreigner, with fresh eyes. But it would be nice if I could say that here in Seoul I feel at home with my people.Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-47438379064310491022008-10-10T21:50:00.000-07:002008-11-16T06:42:07.429-08:00Skyline and Night Lights<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKPUQq1ey54MmQMYuKeHEOeyhB8BQ3eqYfPQwTNDgMVR3XyOCNtjkleYu62l-6hSAJ9DUkoTsC7DIUsRndC1SyG2SJzzo-gEl0Y1dM0HBQs1Im8a5AeMQ_eeZzl3KMxW4xz3stBPBzBZ8/s1600-h/DSC00509.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKPUQq1ey54MmQMYuKeHEOeyhB8BQ3eqYfPQwTNDgMVR3XyOCNtjkleYu62l-6hSAJ9DUkoTsC7DIUsRndC1SyG2SJzzo-gEl0Y1dM0HBQs1Im8a5AeMQ_eeZzl3KMxW4xz3stBPBzBZ8/s400/DSC00509.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269252646314332786" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This is the sight that greets me whenever I walk from my apt to the subway station. This is a very typical sight throughout Seoul: clusters of enormous apartment buildings. This is what helps Seoul to achieve its status as the 2nd largest metropolitan area in the world (Note: Tokyo wins by a landslide at 34 million, with Seoul, Mexico City, Sao Paulo and NYC essentially tied for 2nd at around 20 million).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB541EGq5cGxed8IU3ERuhU7A3MrjOEVSm6Lwco2DhWJFszRdc3yuKpg6mGJcgrlpGqihNT4CWiKGxWmIkclihLm3tXcvdfTUGA9xDsZIHwVfEpGGTZGPrGwtAGew59-Na1gwipqgA024/s1600-h/DSC00533.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB541EGq5cGxed8IU3ERuhU7A3MrjOEVSm6Lwco2DhWJFszRdc3yuKpg6mGJcgrlpGqihNT4CWiKGxWmIkclihLm3tXcvdfTUGA9xDsZIHwVfEpGGTZGPrGwtAGew59-Na1gwipqgA024/s400/DSC00533.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269252980721175346" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here are the UFO-themed / Space Needle-inspired versions!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_u3TuL089DbtV4AOFfAA7pNGMok0oFioGVmQd62H3kAYn1wQmkEQal2tJUXyW27JQxT_QX3eLJA6hfmOqxn2r99RTqybrVh_EpzzkJfbc2rD8PsFsFKNS1S4ksEdMIgKwMI4LYG19wLM/s1600-h/DSC00600.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_u3TuL089DbtV4AOFfAA7pNGMok0oFioGVmQd62H3kAYn1wQmkEQal2tJUXyW27JQxT_QX3eLJA6hfmOqxn2r99RTqybrVh_EpzzkJfbc2rD8PsFsFKNS1S4ksEdMIgKwMI4LYG19wLM/s400/DSC00600.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269254575683664402" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I shot this picture at the train station in Busan, the second largest city in Korea located on the southeastern coast. I liked the look of the one lonely crane.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaFEWhDqtQvqdI1unt7_vyOwrKWAiacSFdEVQAOI1x1yIB08rP1UtV16tmazf0YaThEivdhjulH8IkX-NQhfNwsFNhuOIoMJ3ESp3T_G09Q_ftu7F6dtuoc_FOxtGg7W93OLH3oGWeeJA/s1600-h/DSC00563.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaFEWhDqtQvqdI1unt7_vyOwrKWAiacSFdEVQAOI1x1yIB08rP1UtV16tmazf0YaThEivdhjulH8IkX-NQhfNwsFNhuOIoMJ3ESp3T_G09Q_ftu7F6dtuoc_FOxtGg7W93OLH3oGWeeJA/s400/DSC00563.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269253981172768818" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I shot this pic from a taxi in Gangnam. I've never seen anything like it.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUV3DUx5u_QLeG2KQyzFUgryNwstUuefcDQKn4poyHBeNe3_969dizPEY9cBdtyCpve84zROOfZmu5NFU0qtqpT_xlMA69pA45df2OXdcygoB5UwJwL-pwX7bQIToULjRu_wa0AT904Vw/s1600-h/DSC00560.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUV3DUx5u_QLeG2KQyzFUgryNwstUuefcDQKn4poyHBeNe3_969dizPEY9cBdtyCpve84zROOfZmu5NFU0qtqpT_xlMA69pA45df2OXdcygoB5UwJwL-pwX7bQIToULjRu_wa0AT904Vw/s400/DSC00560.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269253813183240866" border="0" /></a><br /><br />A building near my apartment. Can any of you tell me what these signs say??Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-66221907332304183142008-10-08T23:02:00.000-07:002008-11-16T06:18:51.733-08:00Seoul, Seocho-gu, Jamwon-dongThat's how you write your address in Korea. City first - <span style="font-weight: bold;">Seoul</span>. District next - <span style="font-weight: bold;">Seocho-gu</span>. Then Neighborhood - <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jamwon-dong</span>.<br /><br />So this is my new neighborhood. I've had a few weeks to explore the surrounding area, and the longer I'm here, the more I appreciate it. Not because of the innovative architecture. Not because of number of notable restaurants, though there are some nearby. Not because I'm in one of the most affluent districts in Seoul. No, it's for much more for practical reasons. I live less than a 10-min walk from almost anything I need:<br /><br />- work - 5 min walk<br /><br />- nearest food court - 6 min walk<br /><br />- nearest subway station - 7 min walk<br /><br />- 24-hour supermarket - 8 min walk<br /><br />- Han River Park - 3 min jog<br /><br />There are other neighborhoods with better restaurants, more nightlife, better views (which are all just a subway ride away). But few neighborhoods can beat mine for convenience.<br /><br /><br />Today, I was out for my bi-weekly run along the Han River, the waterway that divides Seoul into north and south. At the beginning of my run, I noticed a small crowd had gathered at a miniature amphitheater near the end of the Banpo Bridge. As I soon found out, they were all waiting for the nightly water show. Since 2007, Seoul has been making a major push to renovate the regions along the Han River, adding facilities like parks, basketball courts, swimming pools, paved walking/running and biking paths. And now we have a water show, along with classical music showering the audience from nearby speakers. Enjoy the show!<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzQnfT_MrEAHAhaeRNRnDn6rZemaEjR5jzjWJrFjAXns4nR_5iMLxGFd-h9KHVapd_ZbTgYbl1ECDF2-bDPcQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-15069521033540963472008-10-06T23:58:00.000-07:002008-11-10T01:23:00.875-08:00The Soul of SeoulToday was a very busy day. I had two major tasks to accomplish, both of which revealed some of the best and worst of Korea.<br /><br />In the morning, I went to the main immigration office in Seoul to apply for my visa. Now they make the DMV look like a finely-tuned, well-oiled machine! When I arrived, I took a number and waited an hour for them to tell me that I was standing in the wrong line. The problem is that there are no signs or handouts clearly explaining the process. So there was no way for me to know I was standing in the wrong line without ... well, standing in the wrong line. So I went to another building to confirm my parents' status as US citizens, which took another hour. Then I returned to the first building and waited for another two hours to submit my application. I was there for over 4 hours, and the entire process was quite frustrating. So that's the worst of Korea. The lack of organization, the lack of efficient, self-evident systems, the lack of anyone who could explain to me what I was supposed to do.<br /><br />Now you would think that at an <span style="font-weight: bold;">immigration </span>office, they would make it a point to have an English-speaker on staff. At least one. But they didn't, or at least I didn't see one while I was there. So how did I actually figure out the process if no one spoke English? Well, there was a Korean man who was at the immigration office. In his late 50's. A little round in the middle, but not portly. With long, slicked black hair, but not sleazy-looking. He overheard my initial (attempted) conversation with the immigration officer while he was filling out some forms, and he helped to translate betweeen us. It was clear that I didn't understand what the officer was trying to explain to me. So he actually put his own business on hold, walked me over to the other building, and waited with me for the entire hour, so he could explain my situation to the clerk. There were some complications with my parents' citizenship status which would have been impossible for me to resolve without his assistance. And that's the best of Korea. Koreans will occasionally go well out of their way to help you. After we were done, he walked off without saying goodbye.<br /><br />The second task of the day was fixing my Apple iBook. Korea is dominated by PC's, and I would be surprised in Mac market share surpassed the high single digits. So it was a challenge to find a computer store that could service Mac's, especially since there no Apple Stores in Seoul yet. With the help of my father, I was able to find a service provider in YongSan, the most notable computer and electronics district in Seoul. According to Wikipedia, "Yongsan Electronics Market is a retail area in Seoul, comprised of over 20 buildings housing 5,000 stores that sell appliances, stereos, computers and peripherals, office equipment, telephones, lighting equipment, electronic games and software, videos and CDs." I had the unenviable task of finding that one Apple service provider among the thousands of other stores. In the US, that wouldn't be much of a problem because when you walk into a mall, one of the first things you see is a directory. But imagine a mall the size of a small town without a directory. That's the task I was faced with. I searched in vain for an hour. I finally arrived on the right floor and found the right office number, but the office was empty. Then I asked (in my very broken Korean) the guys in the office next door if they knew where the Apple service provider was located. One of them called the store and got directions for me, and he walked me over to the store in another building. It was a good 10 min walk one-way, but he knew that I wouldn't have been able to find it without taking me himself. When we arrived at the store, he said goodbye and walked off briskly.<br /><br />Needless to say, it was an exhausting day. But one that I will not soon forget, as it gave me a visceral sense of the soul of Seoul. Unstructured and unorganized, convoluted and enigmatic. But in her bumbling bureacracies and her maze-like markets, there is a stoic warmth, an unrefined hospitality that makes her idiosyncracies tolerable and almost endearing.Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-27369672651423562602008-10-03T23:45:00.000-07:002008-11-10T00:04:45.573-08:00Korea's Best Dance CrewSo this is why those little kids were dancing (see post from Oct. 1). Every fall, the school hosts a festival, which includes elaborate and highly choreographed dance routines. And to think, this is where Bi (Rain) got his start!<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzu5cwmvsJdF8geoyCwq0JEjEK5VAd4LzGIzba7dtHXPrTlNWOetag8a7EkW6CB9K-bNUfi5tFc6zmwrk_vPA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7216635722130862112.post-43433112429103902702008-10-02T19:41:00.000-07:002008-10-17T19:52:02.623-07:00A Note to My Readership (all 3 of you!)I will continue my blog with the following disclaimer. I can't do this update everyday thing. There's just too much to do out here, and I have no internet access at home. So I'll have to blog in bunches. Meaning that I will be posting several entries at a time and back-dating them according to the day of the relevant events, not according to the day I post.<br /><br />But not today. On my way to a Gwanhak San (Mt. Gwanhak) with Ryan Kim and a few other friends. I hope to post (in bunches!) on Monday.<br /><br />Fighting!Seoul-searchinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04818618618018034644noreply@blogger.com11