Good Morning, America. How Are You?

I got four out of the five "Korean Culture" posts finished that I wanted to complete. Not bad. I'm giving up on the last one, "Lifestyle" or "Lyfestylez" as I like to call it, because there is simply too much to include. It is a complex beast to tackle a "lifestyle" vignette when, frankly, I'm just biding my time until my plane leaves.

Thus, I am scrapping it and moving on to: Coming To America. No, not the Eddie Murphy movie. The Steve Holcomb movie. And this movie is a month long. Try sitting down with a bag of popcorn and watching that, you stupid. Oh, I totally got you good. To make sure there is no confusion between Eddie Murphy and myself (I get that all the time...), I will call it Coming To America: America Edition.

The butterflies are just beginning to emerge as I have only one night of sleep before embarking on my long, long journey through time and space. On Saturday morning at 8:00 AM, I depart from Busan's Gimhae International Airport bound for Narita in Tokyo. There, I have a pretty uneventful layover before my 14 or so hour flight to Dallas and finally my last flight to Dulles. I do not look forward to the journey because of both the amount of time it will take me to fly and the airline on which I'm doing it. I will be flying with American Airlines.

I have not yet had the displeasure of flying with them, however I have heard nothing but bad things about the experience. I have been somewhat spoiled in the past couple of years with my choice of airlines always being foreign. British Airways is superb, Swiss Air is equally so, and Korean Air makes me a little weak in the knees with how courteous they are. I think the two things that make an airline great are personal media (screens on the seat back that you can control and watch whatever you want, whenever you want) and free alcohol/food. By law, American Airlines has to feed us on the trans-Pacific flight, but I'll be tickled pink if I get anything on that domestic flight from Dallas.

Hell, I'm flying with JAL Express, the Japanese Express Airline, to Tokyo and my two hour flight gets a free snack. There is no mention of such a luxury on my domestic flight to Dulles, as it only says "food for purchase" in the flight description. So generous, those AA folks, allowing me to buy food like that. It's the best because I'll be coming off of 20 or so hours of being awake and flying in three different countries, so I'm sure I'll handle that inconvenience well. I guess I'll have to scarf something down in the Dallas airport or woo a flight attendant or something.

As my final Korean post for at least a month, I will leave you with this one last picture someone found in this glorious country. I cannot claim it as my own:

The More You Know: Korean Tourism

Now, judging by the title, I would say the following is about Koreans on tour. You know, the big bus group led by the megaphone wielding tour guide, whisking the visor donning masses around to every little enclave and detail at each historical site. Well, if it were about that, I'd end my post right there because I've just summed up Korean tourism.

No, today I'm referring to touring around Korea. What does Korea have to offer the average foreign tourist? If you're the average foreign tourist, you may be asking yourself, "Where is Korea?" I don't blame you for asking that question. Although I haven't been able to relate to that question since maybe 5th grade, I would like to point out the public's general ignorance to Korea and it's cultural heritage sites because it is not the public's fault. It is Korea's fault. Their growing tourism industry has...mishandled marketing in the past. There are still many instances of manhandling what could be a pretty rich tourism market in the future.

The first problem is not the Koreans' faults. I give them complete immunity from charges on this one. The first problem is that many, if not a vast majority of, tourist sites have been destroyed in the past. I have relayed information on Korea's vast history of being invaded, and since invaders are generally not privy to what's important culturally, the peninsula has laid in shambles more often than Courtney Love.

You will often go to a site that originally was built before William Wallace's parents taught him to bellow "Freedom!" Unfortunately, throughout history it has probably been burnt to the ground by the Mongols, by the Chinese, by the Japanese, and bombed twice by each side during the Korean War. They will point this out to you readily. I understand that relaying the truth is important, but, Korea, don't be so quick to point out that what we're seeing is a reproduction of the original. That makes it half as exciting, unless there's an awesome story to go with it.

Speaking of which, when you go to the Place de la Concorde in Paris, the first thing you learn about it is that it is the spot where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were beheaded. Cool! When you go to the Taj Mahal, you learn very quickly that it was the product of a fascinating love story. Awesome! When you visit the Kremlin in Moscow, besides being able to see a waxy old dead Communist, you know that Ivan the Terrible used to chuck animals and babies off of the walls. Totally tubular! When you go to any Korean historical site, what you will learn is that it is 5015 square feet, constructed in 1362, and has over 11,000 unique carvings in the wood. Meh.

I know fascinating stuff happened in Korea. Kings have been assassinated; heretics have been beheaded; inspiring love stories have taken place; spies have been tortured; for God's sake, they had ninjas! Why don't we hear about this stuff? Because Korea has a hard time with its own history. I can't tell if there is just a blatant disregard for history as "old stuff" or just a general ignorance to its importance, but either way the tourism industry is suffering for it. It feels like they're almost ashamed of their past and compensate by measuring the size of everything.

Hell, even North Korea does it right. Take the Seonjukgyo Bridge for example. A Korean statesman/poet was murdered by Mongol sympathizers on this bridge and there's still the rusty brown blood stain from 800 years ago! Obviously they buy the crimson paint at Home Depot and paint it back on every time it rains, but that's some good marketing if I've ever seen it.

What I'm saying is that Korea needs to up its tourism game. Let's take a look at a couple of Korea's top tourist sites as an example. First...

Namdaemun.

Korea's National Treasure #1. Numero Uno. Its name means "South Big Gate." This site is featured in every tourist publication about Korea and even has its own prime time sitcom. It must be friggin majestic, right?

Oh...it's just a box.

Turns out someone burnt it down two years ago and it's being rebuilt. You know what you do in that case? You find something else to boast about. Advertising a tourist site you can't see is kinda silly, isn't it?

Gyeongju.Gyeongju is an immensely important historical city. It is in the top ten most important ancient cultural cities in the world. Why haven't you heard of it? Good question. The fact that you haven't heard of it is actually a more difficult feat to achieve I think. It's like they went out of their way to assassinate all the people who left Korea to sing its praises. Hmm, I might be in trouble...

The DMZ
The de-militarized zone (what a lie that name is, right?) is probably the most famous part of Korea these days. It's something I plan on doing in the coming year that I haven't gotten around to in the first. I do know some friends who have gone and it seems to be a giant and expensive, but rewarding, hassle. We understand this, as it is the most heavily guarded border in the world. Land mines, soldiers, guns, dogs. It seems like there should be a lot of precaution taken for something like this. Waivers and helmets and photography bans. But wait. Apparently the North Korean side is a big fat cake walk filled with happy rose pedals falling at your feet. The Chinese tourists just roll right up to it and laugh at all the precautions the Southern side has to take. Then again, I suppose it's kind of unheard of for people to sue the North Korean government for being injured at one of their tourist sites. Regardless, why so serious? It's gotta take a toll on tourism. The price of democracy, eh?

At least Korea is on its way to remedying this poor tourism management strategy. Not incredibly long ago, my friend Kristen made me aware of this commercial for Korean Air:



Now, if that doesn't make you want to come to Korea, I don't know what will. You can draw in the desert sand and enjoy a fancy dinner on the wings of an airplane with a sexy librarian or even lie down on a bridge in downtown Seoul. It's probably the coolest thing I can think of this side of James Bond.

The More You Know: Korean Music

Imagine if the only music you were exposed to consisted of talentless dancing embodiments of the perfect physical specimen lip syncing to a brand of pop music that, due to your country's previous economic instability, skipped the generational shift from rock-pop and went straight to soulless synthesized-bubblegum manufactured by corporations solely for profit. This is modern Korean music.

There are few single artists, yet literally dozens of "boy bands" and "girl bands." It seems with each passing year, each new "model," like a new car model, adds more gimmicks and gadgets to sell more product. Over the course of the year I have been here, I have been exposed to a number of Korean pop idols. I have heard all of the following songs at some point or another (I think...a lot of them do sound the same), and, admittedly, some have grown on me due to their catchiness and repetitive bombardment whenever in public. I will let you know when I mention one that has captured what's left of my hollow, withered heart. As far as I can gather, here are the top ten most famous Korean pop artists in order of number of members:

2NE1

If you say it real fast, it sounds like "twenty-one." Clever, right? This four person girl group is what I assume the equivalent of early nineties TLC without the soul and with a lot more fake crap. At least I think that's what they're trying to be. Upon closer inspection, I assume they're simply trying not to be retarded.



2AM

2AM is a four piece ballad group that sprung from the previous group "One Day" in 2008. "One Day" stemmed from a goddamn TV show. I know it's hard to tell, but this is a boy band. Try not to cry when they tell you how much they miss you in Korean.



Wonder Girls

Ok, now we get to the first girl group whose song I can tolerate/somewhat enjoy. This is because I've heard it so many times and my brain recognizes that as repeated exposure. Yet my mind, my damned mind, enjoys the catchy chorus. Let it be known that I'm not the only non-Korean to enjoy this catchy tune. In 2009, this song became the first song by a Korean group to enter the Billboard Top 100 at number 76. I find myself clapping along when it comes on. It also helps that each of the five Wonder Girls is perfect physically. But, damn it! That's not supposed to be important! Those damn record labels are good at what they do.



Big Bang

Big Bang (or BIGBANG if you care about that sort of thing) is a five piece "boy" band that is proud to claim G-Dragon, the one member who was accused of plagiarism twice on his solo output. He's the biggest douche in the video. I know it's hard to tell which one is the biggest douche, but he's there, I assure you. And his name is G-Dragon. Come on. Anyway, I don't know a whole lot more about these guys except that they, also sadly, came from a TV show.



Kara

The few things I know about Kara is that they have five members, were featured on Pizza E-Tang's pizza boxes, and were transfixed on the TV one time at Snow Bar in Daegu. Other than that, I bet if you switched the members of Kara with the members of any of the previously mentioned girl groups, I wouldn't be able to tell so long as they sang Kara tunes. I do think they are being marketed as the "cutsiest" of the groups. Here's "Lupin," a catchy one that I kinda like.



Beast

Beast is a six person boy group that doesn't seem to understand the line between men's and women's fashion. Standing for "Boys of the EAst Standing Tall" (wtf, mate?), Beast is easily (and that's saying something huge) the most effeminate boy band I know. That makes their name pretty ironic at that point, acronym or no. Here's a song for you incorrectly called "Breath." I believe they meant "Breathe" as that is what they say in the chorus.



2PM

Yes, we saw 2AM up there, and this is no typo. If you recall, 2AM sprung from a crap pile called "Big Day." Well, so did 2PM. It was a six/four split, making "Big Day" a ten person pile of crap. While 2AM took on the role of ballads, 2PM went more the route of ballad disguised as electronica dance music backing faux hip hop and a minimally catchy chorus. Have you noticed my trend between liking and disliking a Korean group? Anyway, here's their song for you.



T-ara

Pronounced "tiara," this seven member group has seven members who are younger than me. Two of them are under eighteen. Just making their debut in 2009, they are "last year's model." It seems 2009 was the year of "more is better." Five wasn't cutting it any more, so they added two more to round it out to a nice even (or lucky?) seven. They came out with this hit called "I Go Crazy Because of You" and it hasn't even slowed down since I first heard it. Probably the third most popular song in Asia.



Girls Generation (소녀시대)

The original Samsung go-to hit maker, Girls Generation has been around for ages: since 2007. That's ancient in the Korean hit making world. They hold the record for longest charting single in Korea with "Gee" running for 9 consecutive weeks. Also, Samsung is a follower of the "more is better" camp as well, as Girls Generation has 9 members, and I can name two of them. Is that scary? Anyway, this is probably the song I've heard the most in Korea, ever. Ke$ha did an English remake of it, it was so popular. Run Devil Run.



Super Junior

Not to be topped by mere women, the boys win for most members in a band with Super Junior. They need thirteen talentless hacks to win the hearts of adolescent girls everywhere. Not surprisingly, they are also a product of the Samsung Corporation. Bigger is better. This song is the reason that most students know the English word "sorry." Seriously. I'm not kidding you.



So, have you noticed a trend? Yes, I like all the girl bands and none of the boy bands. So what? They all had plastic surgery anyway. They're manufactured to be attractive. It's all about image, right? The trend I was referring to is that each song consists of a Korean verse and a partially English chorus. I can't argue with that in that it helps kids learn English, but it's pretty much guaranteed drivel that they will forget in less than a year and it will also tear away at their soul. I wonder if there's a kid in Korea who likes Led Zeppelin or Thin Lizzy. I'm not gonna hold my breath (breathe?).

By the way, I'm jam.

The More You Know: Korean Holidays

Like America, Korea has a series of national holidays wherein people don't have to go to work and all the children rejoice from the mountain tops holding bonbons and spiced cider. Let's go over the major ones and call it a day...a...holiday. Har har har!

Starting at at the beginning of the year:

January 1st. New Years Day.

This day was much more like the American version than I suspected. Below, when I get to Christmas, or if you read my Christmas post earlier, you will see that I was expecting just another day. Many things are open, and unlike America, things do not close early on New Year's Eve, however, many things are closed and the day has a lazy feel the same as in America. There's the countdown and the obligatory drunken partying that takes place anywhere else in the world.

February 3rd (this year). Lunar New Year.

This, the only holiday I haven't experienced in Korea, is said to be in line with the most important holidays of Korea. Having known a few Asians once, I can verify that this day is really important. Not only do Koreans get three days off for this special time, traveling anywhere in Asia is a nightmare, not to mention expensive. Reminiscent of Christmas, anyone? It is also like Christmas in that parents give their children gifts (usually moneys) on this day.

March 1st. Independence Day.

In 1919, Korea declared independence from Japan and set up a provincial government based out of Shanghai, China. It wasn't until the end of World War II that they actually achieved some independence. This is akin to when we Yanks declared our independence from the Britons in 1776, yet still had to fight a war until 1783 (technically). This day is celebrated by flag raisings and ceremonies, the contents of which are fuzzy and lost in my memory.

May 5th. Children's Day.

This is actually an international holiday that is somehow not celebrated in the US. Why not? It's a day off of work. It is a holiday that is summed up exactly in its name. The day is to celebrate children as the bright, Facebook and computer game addicted future of the world. As it's fairly close to the beginning of good weather in Korea, many people, including ol' Number One here, spend it in the park with famiry (well, Number One minus the family).

May 10th (this year). Buddha's Birthday.

The lead up to this holiday is kind of like Christmas without all the sales and commercials. Well, what's left? Good point. I guess I mean the religious aspect of it. Everyone gets the buildings all decorated out and the temples are spruced up with effigies of a fat Asian guy and lanterns and everyone just gets down to it. What "it" is, I still have yet to determine.

August 15th. Liberation Day.

Man, how cool would it be if America had two Independence Days? Like when the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3rd of 1783, we celebrated "Liberation Day"? I guess that would be too close to Labor Day, right? So what!? Let's make it happen! Anyway, I'm unsure which date this refers to. On this day in 1945, Hirohito announced the surrender of Japan. On this day in 1948, the Republic of Korea was established. I suppose it's the former based on the name, but it depends on how you look at it.

September 12th (this year). Chuseok.

In Korean, Chuseok means "Chuck Norris' birthday." It is the mother and father of Korean holidays. Akin to our Thanksgiving (and Canada's, unfortunately), this three day festival celebrates family and food. For me, it called for a trip to Japan. When I got back, every Korean was noticeably fatter and happier. I like that. Closer to resembling Buddha every year.

October 3rd. National Foundation Day.

Ok, imagine if we had three Independence Days. July 4th, Declaration Day; September 3rd, Liberation Day; May 14th, Foundation Day (Jamestown). It's a triumvirate of American spirit that would renew the vigor of patriotism long since lost and replaced by a marauding out of control capitalist greed. Anyway, in Korea this day represents the day the Gojoseon Dynasty was created (the first state of the Korean nation in 2333 BC). In Korean, this day is called 개천절, which means "Heaven Opened Day" (thank you, Wikipedia). They sure are modest, aren't they?

December 25th. Christmas Day.

This is a strange, strange day in Korea. To understand why, we must first see that the nation is traditionally Buddhist and only in the last 40 years has Christianity noticeably grown to around a 30% following. As such, they're still getting used to the whole Christ thing. This day is strange in that the lead up to it is minimal. I understand that cutting down trees is illegal here since after the Korean war, Korea didn't have any trees left and they cherish them and import their lumber from China, thus making the concept of "Christmas tree" a little foreign. Yes, you will sometimes see Christmas lights on trees. Yes, you will also sometimes see holiday sales going on in stores. But you and I both know that these two things combined are nothing close to the fervor and stress that is created in North America during the month of December. In fact, the most people I had seen out shopping was actually on Christmas. Since stores are open, they have the option to wait to buy gifts until the actual day as opposed to midnight Christmas Eve. Other than the increase in shoppers, Christmas this year seemed like a normal Saturday. It's a couple day, where couples will do things together, even leaving their children at home to be together.

On that romantic notion, I get to a few "unofficial" holidays in Korea.

February 14th. Valentine's Day.

This is different from the American version in that on this day only women give their partner a sign of their love in the form of a gift. Why this takes place is answered by the following day:

March 14th. White Day.

When the men give their partner a sign of their love in the form of a gift. What if you have no significant other? Well, there's a day for you too:

April 14th. Black Day.

On this day, all the single people who received nothing on either of the preceding 14ths go to the local Chinese restaurant and eat black noodles (자장면) and mourn their single life. Seriously, I'm being serious.

May 8th. Parent's Day.

Whereas we combine the possibility of both a man's and woman's separate love holiday in America, Korea combines the possibility of both a mother's and a father's separate appreciation day into one holiday. Similar to both Mother's and Father's Day though, children spend the day ignoring their parents and avoiding plans to take them to dinner while parents just end up celebrating each other.

November 11th. Pepero Day.

A much more somber and serious day in America, November 11th is celebrated in Korea by all the happy little children giving out chocolate dipped cookie sticks called "Pepero" to all their friends. This is the equivalent of a "Hallmark" holiday in that one company, Lotte, has a stranglehold on the market since they are the official makers of Pepero. They also do 55% of their sales during the lead up to this holiday. It is celebrated on November 11th because 11/11 looks like four Pepero sticks standing on end. How quaint.

I'm on a roll, baby. Check back tomorrow to see if I'm butter or jam.

The More You Know: Korean Food

Hey there, kids. I'm back in action this last week to inform you, the American news-making public (let's not get into that one, Sarah Palin), about the most important things in my life. Since my last week was about as exciting as staff meeting on the latest Excel updates, I'll spare you. Seriously, I'd rather go into the minimal knowledge I have of macros than explain the banality of my week. So, I will instead foray (the dictionary definition of foray is much more violent than I had previously assumed) into the world of Korean culture. This series is a year in the making, really. I have obviously explored the topic with you all before, as I'm living in the damn country, but never in this way, I think.

I will cover with you what I covered with my students about American culture, starting with food. I will, of course, use English that is above a kindergarten level (but not above a 6th grade level) and use jokes that may be inappropriate for the age group mentioned above (read: adults). Here we go. With pictures.

Korean food is a complex beast. First of all, there's the language difference wherein the words used to name these dishes oftentimes mean something and can be recycled in different incarnations, as opposed to having a different name for every little dish we create.

When I first got here, I was unaware of this complexity. I was then a vegetarian, and my options seemed to consist of two things:

Bibimbap. Bibimbap is the vegetarian go-to. It is a bowl, sometimes hot depending on which version you get (in both temperature and spiciness), filled with rice and topped with vegetables and sometimes an egg. The sauce is what makes it delicious and I can't quite tell you what it is. If I were to guess, though, I'd say it had something to do with fish oil and bean paste. Please note that these pictures are the Emeril Legasse version of the real thing you get in the restaurant.

Kimbap.To the uninitiated, this will look like standard sushi without the fish. If you go to Japan and you see sushi that looks like this, it's not sushi and you're the big giant asshole who thinks it is. This is the "I just got my Starbucks and I'm late for work" meal. Being uncooked, it takes less than a minute to prepare and comes in a few different flavors to satisfy the pickier clientele. The tuna kimbap is killer diller.

As mentioned above, you may notice both those dishes end with -bap. Bap is Korean for rice. Both of these dishes are based on rice. Hmm. Complex stuff we're "foraying" into.

Initially, my options were limited due to lack of knowledge of vegetarian options and general laziness. I, of course, was introduced early to this magical side dish.

Kimchi.I say magical because, depending on who you ask, kimchi has the power to end all sickness forever. A common treatment for avian flu, kimchi's health properties are about as debated as fan death. One interesting thing I did recently learn about was that Health magazine named kimchi one of the top five healthiest foods out there (check me out with my links. But seriously, click them all or you'll miss out, and who wants that?). What is kimchi? Kimchi comes in many forms and flavors (just kimchi dishes could take up its own post alone), but normally it is cabbage that is fermented in some kind of fish oil that generates the same properties as yogurt mixed with a multi-vitamin and Hulk Hogan's 24" pythons. It cures cancer, it shoots Nazis, it dices, it slices, and it can go into SPACE. Take that, Burger King cheeseburger deluxe.

Alas, it is now a commonly known fact that I have deviated away from my once noble path of vegetarianism. I gave it the ol' college try, though. Since walking into the devil's kitchen, I have also entered a whole new world of cuisine. Let's discuss. First, let's talk about Korean barbecue.

Korean barbecue is a world as vast as kimchi. I will name a few options that have treated my taste buds well thus far. First, my favorite.

Galmaegisal.
Galmaegisal comes from the part of the pig which could possibly be labeled its armpit. But it's so damn tasty you would swear it came from a cow. I'm serious. People will refuse to believe me that it comes from a pig after they eat it.

Some other favorites (which, granted, look remarkably like the above picture so there's no need to post new pics of each one) include so-galbi, daegi-galbi, samgyeopsal, and makchang.

Makchang gets a special shout out (picture included) because it is a unique one. It is from a different part of the pig. The inside part. The part that makes the poop. The large intestine. Eww, so gross! No, it's not. They treat it first so it doesn't smell or really look like it should, and when you cook it, it takes on a little bit of a chewy quality that is endearing, not a chewy quality that is revolting. Plus, it supposedly originated in Daegu, defying both evolutionists and creationists.

I suppose we should delve into the world of street food and send out the seasonal dishes as a closer.

Street food. Street food is heaven for drunk people. Those early AM runs to McDonald's are (mostly) a thing of the past when you've got a sassy old ajumma cooking up some street meat for you on the cheap. Not all the standards are included in this picture, but at least the sassy ajumma is.

The most common is ddeokbokki. This is basically a bowl full of small rice cakes in a Spaghetti-Os sauce. It's the red platter in the middle of the pic. It is often mixed with mandu (Korean dumplings, also in the pic) to create a symphony of fried flavors. One of my personal favorites is the livers lathered in more mystery sauce. And don't even get me started on the dessert options.

Seasonal Eats.

There are a few dishes that are offered year round, yet most Koreans don't order it unless it is the right season to do so. Here are a few.

Naengmyun.Naengmyun is a summer dish because it is a cold bowl of noodles. There are ice cubes in it. At first, it feels like you are eating old leftovers that couldn't even be bothered to be heated up in the microwave, but eventually it comes into its own as a veritable dish. Noodles, vegetables, and an egg on top, it is reminiscent of a cold soupy version of bibimbap. But it's different, I say.

Samgyetang.
Tang means soup in Korean. Not that crappy orange drink you know it as, tang is pronounced more like "tong." Samgyetang means "three layer soup" and that's precisely what it is. It's a whole chicken (albeit a small runt) stuffed with rice and ginseng, with sometimes a date or two thrown in. It is traditionally a dish that is to be had three times in one summer for health. Once at the beginning, once in the middle, and once at the end. I somehow stuck to this methodology despite how tasty it is.

Gamjatang.Again the "tang" at the end. This is more like a stew. A good, hearty winter food. Upon first glance, it looks like it should taste like a fart, but upon ingestion inspection it reveals itself as much more than an average Sunday night football game at your Uncle Joe's. It's quite tasty, although the presence of difficult-to-work-with bones will be off putting to those traditional American cuisine aficionados.

This post is long enough without delving into Korea's version of Chinese food or the kuksu class of food. Thus, I will spare you. Check back tomorrow if I'm feeling squirrely.

The Soul of Asia

There comes a time in every young man's life when he must say goodbye. Sometimes the goodbyes are easy. When you really don't care for someone, it doesn't take much energy to brush them off your life's shoulder forevermore. When they swindle their way into your black little heart and nuzzle up to it, sometimes scraping it with their stubble, it becomes an entirely different operation to say goodbye.

Thus, I went to Seoul this weekend to grant a fare thee well to several friends who live in the Seoul area. They will be moving on to greener pastures as they say (not the same they, a different they from the subject they). This blog post will weave the rather uninteresting story of my journey there.

I came up on Friday in a pack of four, saving 40% of my ticket price. We immediately went to Incheon and found Rio's, the bar hosting my sought company. Things happened there that normally happen in a foreigner bar in Korea, thus they need not be recounted in too great detail.

Saturday and Sunday were the bulk of the trip...obviously. Saturday, we:

saw Dongdaemun (finally...).
saw what feminist fashion looks like.
drank very delicious beer that my friend brewed himself and gave to me for Christmas.
had a nutritionally balanced diet.
went to a club/bar that sold mixed drinks in a bucket. Yes, a bucket. This was, perhaps appropriately, where my sad goodbyes took place.

Sunday saw us make our way to the Korea National Museum. It was shnifty enough that I was museumed out afterward. Here are some highlights:

A gazebo on a frozen lake.
A dragon tapestry.
A suit of armor.
A really tall and intricate pagoda.
An intricate tapestry depicting Buddha doing something.
We then unsuccessfully went to Gyeongbokgung, the same palace I visited maybe 8 months prior. It closed in 15 minutes, so we just got a photo op of the front and slinked over to Insadong for some grub.

We ended up having to wait at Seoul Station for an hour and a half and I discovered two things about Seoul Station. The upstairs is full of shopping and a department store. The upstairs is also full of bums and societal degenerates. We spent the hour and a half waiting up there in their midst, feeling never uneasy. Does that say something about us or does that speak to how safe Korea is? You decide. Choose your own adventure. I'll see you soon.

2011. The Man. The Legend. The 150th Blog Post.

Happy 150th blog post! Oh, thank you.
Happy New Year! What? That happened already?

Ok, yes, I know it happened already. Here's how Daegu rings in the New Year (pun intended):

First, the boys call on their mystical musical instruments.
Then, the girls answer with their mystical hips and hand motions.
Then, the boys and girls get together and create a mystical sensory overload in a whirlwind stage show.Then, at exactly 12:00 the mayor gets to help ring the giant bell with the help of his camera crews and his imperial guard. And then FIREWORKS SHOOTING FROM ROOFTOPS! I have video of this, but no photographs. I can't do both at the same time and it only lasted a couple of minutes. And you know how well it goes when I try to upload video longer than 10 seconds to the inter-webs.

So afterward some friends rented a multi-room, which consists of DVDs, Nintendo Wiis, karaoke, and internet computing. Pretty much like a standard living room in America, except in Korea everyone lives with their parents so they can't enjoy it the same way. And since they did this, I invited myself and crashed their party with my uncouth presence. It only took about an hour of me screaming into a microphone until they all left. It was a good time, indeed. Ideal Friday night.

The rest of the weekend was spent in the fetal position crying at what I've become. Just kidding, I went shyopping! Shut up, betch.

This week I have my first of two weeks of winter camp. Today went well, as I was subbing one day at a different school. That means the lesson was already made up for me. I just had to show up and teach it. Tomorrow is the beginning of my own lessons being showcased. So we'll see if the kids are keen on learning 18th century British law. I hope it's a hit.