How's That for Convenience?

Get this. 

You're busy. You have work. A family. Responsibilities. A tight schedule. 

No worries. 

The good people at Home Plus make it easy to do your grocery shopping on the glass panels separating the subway tracks from the platform. This 2D store is at the Seomyeon transfer station in Busan. 

They've had these up on Seoul for awhile, but it's cool to see one here (side note: we once met a guy from Seoul who called Busan "provincial" in a derogatory tone. Busan is a city of 3.6 million people. What a twat.). 

Using your smartphone, just scan the UPC's of the items you want. They'll be delivered to your home by the end of the day, the charges automatically deducted from your account. Too cool right? You may never have to interact with a fellow human being again!

Going to Gyeongju II: Hiking Namsan and Other Soul Satisfying Fare

Our day trip begins at a traditional restaurant that had obligingly opened early to accommodate our group of six. As soon as we settle down onto the floor mats, side dishes (called banchan, 반찬) and mountain vegetable bibimbap (sanchae bibimbap, 산채 비빔밥) mix-ins start arriving on our table. This will be our fuel during the all-day hike ensuing right after breakfast.  Today is devoted to conquering Namsan Mountain in Gyeongju.

 

A bowl of sanchae bibimbap starts with a bowl of sticky white rice topped with vegetables. Ours had spinach, bean sprouts, onions, mushrooms, and various unidentifiable green and twiggy mountain vegetation. To that, we each add some red pepper paste (gochujang, 고추장) or fermented soybean paste (doenjang, 된장).  

I ate up all the spicy, tangy-dressed lettuce salad and most of my bibimbap. Our other banchan included green pancakes, fried zucchini, marinated mushrooms, fish, radishes, and more. At the end, we were treated to some homemade sweet rice drink, which I'm pretty sure is called shikhae (식헤). It was light and sweet and cold, and really really delicious.

                                                                                                                                                          From the restaurant, we started onto Namsan Mountain's (남산) western face, entering near three mounds that are the Samneung Three Royal Tombs (삼릉). These tombs hold the remains of three Silla Dynasty kings: Adalla, Sindeok, and Gyeongmyeong, the 8th, 53rd, and 54th rulers, respectively.

Just a short way up the Samneung Valley (삼릉골) trail that would lead us further and further into the Namsan District of Gyeongju National Park, we see our first Buddha of the day, perched up straight but whose head was taken from him at some point.  

                          

After this one, we pass a handful more of the Buddhas scattered over Namsan. They look relaxed and untroubled. Our group stops and takes photos at each, admiring how long they've been there and the care it took to carve and assemble them. My favorite is pictured below. He's the Seated Stone Buddha, sitting on a lotus petal and expelling evil by touching the ground. It was made in the 8th or 9th century, with some restoration work done just a couple years ago. 

Next, we encounter six figures etched onto the side of a rock. Two are Buddhas, four Bodhisattvas. We have to study the rock for a few minutes to allow our eyes to follow the intersecting lines.

The most awe-striking Buddha of the day is the seven-meter-tall seated Seokgayeorae image carved on the side of Namsan. He directly looks at the Geomobong peak. Our hike takes us directly past the Buddha, and later on, we get a second view from higher up.

When we make it to the peak, we stop and fuel up with some PB&J's. There's no view from this peak, since we're completely surrounded by forest at this moment. The first treasure on our descent is this three story stone pagoda. The view from here is incredible. There used to be a temple here where the first Korean novel, Geumosinhwa, (written in Chinese) was authored. 

Our hike gets a little tenuous when we have to perform some fancy repelling action. Actually, the whole little part where you need the rope is maybe eight feet tall, but still, awesome.

The last major Buddha we pass on the way down is a seated stone Buddha from the eighth century. Like his friend from earlier, his head has gone missing sometime over the years. He's sitting atop a three wheel pedestal.

We're all famished after our hike, so we hop on the city bus and head toward the more central area of Gyeongju. Dwayne and Yuhee lead us to Sampo Ssambap (쌈밥) Restaurant for a little lunch. Ssambap is when you take some sort of leaf, maybe lettuce or cabbage, and wrap it around some rice, a little meat, condiments, banchan, whatever your preference is. This is awesome in an of itself, but this place was serving up ssambap to the extreme! Out came bowl after bowl after bowl! Side dishes, pastes, fish, meats, custards, until the dishes were completely covering our table! And all this for ￦10,000 per person (aprox. $9). 

After dinner, not quite ready to end our day, we go to one more place for a drink before home. We walk along the backside of a park until we happen upon a restaurant. The place is packed, and rightly so. It's incredibly atmospheric, an open-air restaurant with courtyard tables as well as private tables in side rooms. It's called Dosol Maeul (도솔마을), which means "Stone Pot Village."

We order an appetizer, a mixed tempura-fried vegetable platter that included some tofu and lotus, and some Korean rice wine, dongdong ju (동동주). We are told that dongdong ju is makkeoli's more formidable cousin in terms of it's strength. The taste is unique but really refreshing and delicious. 맛있어요!

When we're all sufficiently fat and happy from the snacks, drinks, and fresh air, we start our walk back toward the intercity bus terminal. Once again, Gyeongju has been a revitalizing and relaxing respite away from Busan. I'm sad to see the day over, but there will be at least one more trip back in our future. 

For more on visiting Gyeongju, see my post on our first trip there.

Convenience Store Raid Series: The Great Popsicle Taste Test

In our ongoing attempt to pretend that summer isn't over, Shane and I descended upon the freezer case of the Samsung Big Mart downstairs. We set out to taste our way through the popsicle freezer case. Yes, there is a freezer case devoted almost entirely to individually sold popsicles (and also a case for ice cream). Here are the fascinating results:                                                                                   

Popsicle One:  Ppongtta (??) Soda Flavor
Flavor: A cross of cotton candy and Dreamsicle
Impression & Comments: It's a bit awkward to eat out of the plastic, which is shaped almost like a baby bottle, but that awkward plastic also made for no side drippage.
The Verdict: Shane would eat another right now if he had one. Awesome and creamy!




Popsicle Two: Saengtaeng Citrus
Flavor: Chunks of Jeju tangerine right in it. The bar tasted like frozen juice, very vibrant flavor and color.
Impression & Comments: The wide base made it hard to finish off at the end without messing myself. But it's only 65 calories!
The Verdict: I feel like I've missed out for the past year since it's taken me this long to taste the happy.


Popsicle Three: Encho 
(Encho is short for enriched chocolate bar)

Flavor: Crunchy outer milk chocolate shell w/ almond pieces, vanilla ice milk under the shell

Impression & Comments: There's a chocolate bar inside my ice cream!

The Verdict: I totaallly crushed it! Even with the ice milk in the middle, it's still a totally legit popsicle!


Popsicle Four: Haessihossi
(I can't translate this, I have no idea)

Flavor: Walnut. Tastes like butter pecan ice cream with some bitable sunflower seeds in it.

Impression & Comments: Holy camoly, this is so good! 
The Verdict: This popsicle brought out the expletives in Shane, in a good way.

Popsicle Five: Watermelon King Bar

Flavor: Watermelon

Impression & Comments: It's not great. The chocolate-covered sunflower seeds taste old, and the popsicle tastes candy-like with a syrupy flavor. The look of it is the best part.

The Verdict: I've have had better watermelon popsicles before, so I should have opted for the other brand. Not worth finishing.



Popsicle Six: Babambar Gold                                 
Flavor: Pieces of chestnut on it, which was nice, but not a lot of flavor to this guy

Impression & Comments: ... a surprise in the middle.... it's like a white sweet bean paste.....ugh disappointment....

The Verdict: Shane just wanted to eat the outside and leave the white bean alone.

Popsicle Seven: Megaton (?? my translating skills stink)

Flavor: Caramel awesomeness

Impression & Comments: It has a good burnt sugar flavor and smell. This bar has a nice and creamy meltiness without making a mess

The Verdict: It's just so good. The caramel bar is one of my go to favorites when I need something sweet. Shane says, "Mmmm, yeah."


Popsicle Eight: Saengtaeng Pine Bar

Flavor: Pineapple 

Impression & Comments: Like the tangerine bar, it's very fresh, with little pieces of real fruit. It is super flavorful, and super awesome.               
The Verdict: Yes and yes. Maybe it's possible to melt it to make a cocktail....

Popsicle Nine: Chanys                                       
Flavor: Fruit punch

Impression & Comments: It looks like a bomb pop, but doesn't have a super strong flavor. It's even a bit watery. The small white ribbon on the bottom and the layer under the pink part tastes like a cream soda Dum Dum.            The Verdict: Solid but unspectacular. Not something crave-able, but it'll do in a pinch. 

Feeling the Love: A Tale of Two (Korean) Weddings

We were lucky this past spring to have been invited to not one, but two of our co-workers' weddings. Since Shane and I are currently in the midst of planning our own wedding, we thought it neat to be able to see some examples of Korean weddings. Not surprisingly, the weddings we went to were unlike any we've ever been to. We had a lot of fun visiting with everyone and playing our own version of cultural spot the differences. Here's what we saw:
                                                                                                         
When we arrived, the brides were perched prettily in their own bride rooms, greeting guests and posing for photos with invitees. There's no surprise unveiling of the bride and groom. While the brides took pictures, the grooms stood in the lobby greeting guests and receiving congratulations, about twenty feet away from the bride.                                                                                                   

Our cohort of foreign teachers posing with Jade Teacher.

                                                                                                         
These two weddings we went to weren't at churches or botanical gardens but inside halls specifically designed to churn out marriages. When the ceremonies were ready to start, guests jammed into the halls, carrying on their conversations. These conversations continued as the groom walked down the aisle, then as the bride walked down the aisle, and then throughout the entirety of the ceremony. 
                                                                                                            
Check out these sweet aisle runners:                 
                                                                            

The brown shag carpet aisle.

The silk flowers arranged into hearts bordered by mirrors aisle.

                                                                                                               
A lot happened during the ceremony that I didn't understand because I understand very little Korean. Even so, there were some cool moments:

The moms lighting candles wearing matching hanbok.

The full bows to the parents.

Carrying the bride over the threshold. Or, just holding her
in the air for a minute to the delight of the guests.

The cake wheeled out with candles to blow out, just like a birthday cake.
Though I'm not sure we got to eat any cake later....

Inclusion in the official wedding photography.
Boys by the groom, ladies by the bride. Can you find me? I think Shane's easy to spot.

Celebratory confetti!

                                                                                                              
At each of the two weddings, after the ceremony, we moved upstairs with our meal tickets for the buffet. The guests at any given wedding have a certain timeframe to eat. Depending on the wedding hall, there may or may not be guests from other weddings eating as well. After time is finished, it's time to make way for the next wedding group coming through. 

The buffets were well-stocked with fresh fruit, seafood, salads, soup, desserts,
                                                                                                 pastas, meat dishes, and even sushi and duck.                                                                                                           

                                                                                                      
While the guests get their fill, the bride and groom and close family are in another part of the wedding hall, conducting traditional ceremonies. At the first of the weddings, only two tables of us remained when Jade and her new husband emerged. The receptions just last long enough to have a nice meal, and then it's over. Just like that. If you do stick around a bit extra, the bride and groom will eventually emerge.

Jenny Teacher and her husband,  a firefighter.
He was happier than this picture makes him look, I swear.

                                                                                                          
There were no bridesmaids, no copious amounts of booze, no cheesy line dances.  But there were families coming together, beautiful gowns, excellent meals, and two new marriages that came of it. We had an excellent time and appreciated very much the chance to be invited to something as momentous as a wedding. Though we probably won't be adopting too much from what we saw, we got some great ideas for our own wedding next year. Wedding cake candles anyone....?

Toast Magic

The always friendly, always smiling ladies who operate our favorite toast stand right outside the gate of Pusan National University can see us coming. Those two insatiable foreigners who can't get enough of the chewy, steamy hot toasts. 
                                                                                                     
"Toasts?" you ask. Sounds like something you can just make at home, you know, with a simple slice of bread. False. Enterprising street food vendors have come up with something infinitely more delicious and awesome than that.                        
                                                                                                               

A toast (토스토) really just a sandwich that has been all toasted up on a flat top grill. You can find these toast stands all over the place, but for Shane and I, the best place is the pedestrian street right in front of the PNU entrance, a street we've nicknamed "Toast Street." Along with the toasts, Toast Street has fresh fruit smoothies, waffles, deep fried goodies, and some places that have more traditional Korean fare.                                                                                               
Each stand has its own specific recipe for making toasts (we've heard it said that in PNU, one puts on apple slices!), and we haven't tried them all, but our favorite we've had so far is at the stand directly in front of you as you walk toward the gate.                                                                                                   
The ladies start by throwing three slices of white bread onto one grill. On the other, bright yellow-yoked eggs are cracked into a mold that makes them just the right shaped square for the bread and are scrambled up with a chopstick. Back on the bread, either a slice of ham, a slice of processed American cheese (I know. In any other case, processed American cheese is to be shunned to the extreme.), or tuna is added, depending on your order. Then on go sauces one, two, and three: ketchup, something light orange, and mustard. Finally, they throw on small handful of finely shredded cabbage. The triple decker comes with its own paper holder so that your fingers don't get all greasy as you eat. 
                                                                                                   
Okay, so on paper, maybe this sandwich doesn't sound that appealing, but don't be fooled. These are some great, comfort foods. Really top notch satisfying and delicious. Oh, and have I mentioned that the ham or cheese version costs only ￦1,500 and the tuna upgrade just ￦2,000 (about $1.40 and $1.80)?         
                                                                                                       
We've taken almost all of our out of town visitors for a toast. It's become a ritual for us that on Friday nights, we might head out for a celebratory, end of week toast. After a long week at the hagwon, sometimes we just need to fill our belly with something stuffed with egg and cheese.

Party Down at The Party Premium

Meticulously prepared, brilliantly colored, course after luscious course, The Party Premium delivers.

I love eating. So does Shane, and coincidentally, our most welcome guests for almost two weeks, my sister Crystal and her husband Nick. They visited Korea over her birthday, and Nick works as a professional chef. This could only point to one thing: a really, really tasty fancy dinner while they were here. 

We settled on The Party Premium, an upscale buffet located in Haeundae in the lower level of the Pale de CZ building. Upon arrival, we were greeted warmly and by one manager in particular who backed away from our table bowing all the way. We were seated in our very own glass room, either because we had made our reservations earlier than any of the other patrons, or because they wanted to put us in a showcase. Crystal chose a bottle of Tempranillo, we ordered a few beers, and off we were. 

We ate forever for an hour and a half, until they began to tear down the buffet at 10:00 pm. Some of the  highlights: gorgonzola pizza, mocha gelato, bamboo steamed squash and beef soup, freshly squeezed mango juice, a wide array of sushi and sashimi, cheese plates, beef carpaccio, smoked duck salad, chicken caesar salad, Peking duck... and that was just for starters.

A meal at The Party Premium isn't your best budget choice; however, this isn't Old Country Buffet. The food's high quality along with the wide variety of options makes it a great place for a special night out. Now, I'm just waiting for another such special occasion to roll around so I have an excuse to go back.

For more info and lots more pictures of food, hit up www.gotheparty.com. 

Convenience Store Raid Series: Deli Manjoo

A couple of these not-too-sweet little guys on a chilly day and life is great. They're called Deli Manjoo (델리 만쥬) -- Deli, short for delicious, and Manjoo for the Korean word for Chinese dim sum. Cute, right? They can be found at small stands next to many convenience stores, pumping out of the automatic machines especially built to create them. The same stands usually sell another snack called hodo kwaja (호도 과자), cakes molded into walnut shapes, filled with red bean and walnut. The cream cakes' outer shells resemble pound-cake, and the inside is a creamy, custardy deliciousness. A bag of them, enough to share, usually costs about 3,000 for 20 or 2,000 for 12. Make sure you get them hot; they lose a lot of their awesomeness if they've cooled. They pair really well with a big glass of cold milk. 

                    

Jumping for Joy

For a Saturday night mini-date, Shane and I walked the fifteen minutes up the Oncheonjang trail to Dongnae-gu for a bite to eat. We stopped into The Frypan, a franchise restaurant serving up fried chicken tenders, homemade chips, and beer. 


The food was tasty, but even more satisfying was bumping into one of my kindergarten students, who herself was with her father, on their way for some dinner of their own. As soon as Sarah saw me, she began ceaselessly jumping up and down, her arms flailing at her sides, yelling "TEACHER! TEACHER! TEACHER! TEACHER!". When I finally got her to stop dancing, and asked her where she was going, she babbled in English, pointed up then down the street, made some strange squeaking noises, and then started jumping gleefully all over again yelling "TEACHER! TEACHER!". 


Earlier in the night, I had been stuck in my own head, overanalyzing everything like my usual self, and feeling rather overwhelmed. But this unplanned moment cut through all of it. She was so happy to see me, and simple as that, I remembered why I love my life so much. 

Convenience Store Raid Series: Soda

Back in December, I started the Soju Cocktail Convenience Store Raid Series by reviewing the oh-so-delectable Crunky Bar. Now, we’re back at it for installment two. Why care about what junk food lurks in Busan’s GS-25s, Family Marts, 7-11s, and Buy the Ways? 

Because it’s fun. And convenience stores are everywhere. There’s one directly below our apartment where all the employees recognize us from our every other day visits. I also think that the cheapie processed foods that our students always seem to be munching on can tell us a lot about Korea as a modern country.

Today, we're examining the drinkables, specifically soda. Neither Shane nor I really drink too much soda, but every once in awhile a can of fizzy just hits the spot. 

One of the best things about soda here is can size. The standard 12 ounce is usually too much for me, but the 8 oz. cans here are just enough without going overboard.

The fully loaded cooler downstairs.

We picked out some of our favorites to share with you. The Pocari Sweat is not actually a can of sweat, but instead like a sweeter, saltier white flavored gatorade. Milkis is our absolute favorite, and we have no idea why it's not sold in America. Straight up plain is the best, but you can get orange or banana as well. It's like drinking just the cream part from an orange cream soda. But not like your A&W cream soda. Milky, but in a good way. Fanta of course. Then DemiSoda, available in apple, grape, and orange, and if you're really lucky, you'll find the lemon flavor. More of a sparkling juice, and really tasty. We didn't buy any Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Coca Cola, Cherry Coke, or Coke Zero, but that's readily available here. Just some of the daily frivolities of life from the land of the morning calm.  

The Amazing Race Daegu

Nothing says adventure like an Amazing Race scavenger hunt, so when opportunity knocked on our door in the form of Dianna and Bryan inviting us along, we went with it. Our team of four, Team Amuricah (said with a slow drawl), took on the city of Daegu, the third largest city in Korea, just a bit northwest of Busan. 

Seventeen teams competed, mostly all foreigners with a few native Koreans here and there. About six of us teams had never set foot in Daegu before-- including us. That would prove to be less of a disadvantage than you think it would. 

We were given instructions, rules, and the final checkpoint, should the missions be just too impossible for us. 

Starting Task: Hit the shuttlecock thing hackie sack style five times in a row. The boys ruled it. 

When finished, we were handed our envelope with super secret missions inside. At each location, we had to take a video/pic of the entire team to prove we did all the tasks.  

Mission One: "Holy-Roller Mission: This has been a place in Daegu since 1886". 

Now, I don't know if you've ever been in a far off country, looking for a specific landmark that you don't know the name of or what it looks like, but I will tell you, it's not actually as hard as it seems. Some help of our guidebooks, the tourist information stand conveniently located at the starting point, and our dazzling street smarts got us to just the right place. After stopping at the wrong cathedral first. 

Mission Two: "Park Ji-Sung Mission: On June 6th, 2002 the Red Devil's faced-off against Uncle Sam's Army at this location." Park Ji-Sung is the most famous soccer player in Korea, students rave about him. The goal was the World Cup stadium. It's there in the background.

Mission Three: "Ajima Mecca Mission: This is the largest market in Daegu." Background info: Ajimas are any woman in Korea who is married. Older Ajimas have a very... particularly strong... personality. They are widely known for the following: huge visors that hide their entire face; polyester clothing in bright, floral, and strange prints; being either generally pretty cranky or rarely very nice; short, tight perms; and a complete willingness to give you the stare down or even push or (I have heard cases) hit you. We headed off to Seomun Market, a huge traditional market selling food, clothing, fabric, spices, and all sorts of other treasures. 

Mission Four: "Food Mission: Find and eat either soondae or dong jeep. Racist clause: You can not have a Korean member of your team eat this food." We're still not clear what dong jeep is, but soondae is pig intestine blood sausage filled with noodles and spices. Thankfully, the boys covered this one too. Notice the vendor's face. 

Soondae in Daegu
Uploaded by shane11111. - Discover new destinations and travel videos.

Mission Five: Dancing Mission: Record a choreographed dance at one of the following locations: Dongdaegu station, downtown stage by the McDonald's, or a crowded subway car." We took the subway car, and also took the easy way out by using an old standby instead of making our own. Got the ajima stare down for it. 

Mission Six: "Viking Mission: Go to Soosung Lake and ride the most unsafe amusement park ride you can find. Take a video."  This was just plain awful. Super scary. Like I cried scary. Don't make fun of me too much. 

Viking Quest
Uploaded by shane11111. - Explore exotic destinations and travel videos.

Mission Seven: "Speed Game: Your team will receive a sealed letter at the beginning of the race. You must find a random Korean person to read this to you. The letter has a secret word written on it. The Korean person will give you clues and you must guess what they are talking about." This was actually probably the most challenging task. We used our well honed street smarts, and found a random Korean with a western boyfriend. This is a big clue the gal knew English, so even though she pantomimed the words, she was able to confirm when we got the word right.

Mission Eight: "If you live in Daegu you might have been to this park at least once or did a sky jump close by. Find an attractive ajima wearing a visor and get a picture with her." Impossible. we had to hatch a trap, wherein we posed and waited for an ajima to walk by us, and snapped a picture while she was trying to figure out what was going on. 

Mission Nine: "Find Daegu's premier skater boi doing tricks at his hang out downtown." We had no idea about this one, but a phone-a-friend bailed us out. 

                                       

Mission Ten: "Do your best Abbey Road recreation. Be careful." Another scary mission. South Korea has a really high traffic fatality rate. 

In the end, we came in ninth, not bad for strangers to the city. While we were waiting for other teams to come in, we grabbed a juicy, delicious burger and beer at Gorilla Burger. Super amazing tasting. Best onion rings I've ever had. 

After a long day, it was time for the awards ceremony and drinks at Who's Bob Bar. Great drinks, great people, great fun at Amazing Race Daegu!