Cherry Blossoms Next Door

These photos were taken at Oncheonjang Stream, a stretching park running just outside our door. As the cold winter faded to spring, we waited while the cherry trees prepared themselves for the blossom filled spectacle that would stick around for nearly two weeks. What a gift.

The blossoms hug each side of the park. Makes the wide space feel cozy. 

You can't see all the letters in the picture, but the bushes spell out
Yeonje-gu, the name of our neighborhood.

The air was fragrant, and reminded me of lilacs bushes back stateside.

The blossoms called for a giant festival, of course. Festivities included throwing sticks in buckets,
advertising models spinning prize wheels, opera recitals, and dozens of food carts all
selling the same deep fried but now cold food. It was much more fun than it sounds. Really.

Good Day, Igidae

Our eyes scan the rocks under our feet, looking for the footprints of the long extinct Ultrasaurus. It’s been awhile since I’ve gone on a dinosaur print hunt. Okay, I’ve never actually tried to find dinosaur prints before, and it doesn’t look like I’ll be successful today. We conclude they the prints must actually be these foot-wide indentations now filled with shallow pools of water. 

Igidae Park (이기대)  in Busan is a perfectly lovely way to spend an afternoon. The waves crashing on the rocks, one and another and another, a consistent white-noise murmur that subdues me into feeling more relaxed than I have in a long while. 

The Igidae coastal walk stretches out on the southwestern shoreline of Busan. Our taxi driver drops us near the middle of the path. We follow it along the shore, pass couples sharing ramen, families sharing picnics, fishermen sharing time with the sea. We run into some former students, twins who were some of my best students. I remember how much I miss having them in class. At places, the way the sun hits the rocks hits the waves and the trees stand tall on the edge of the cliff, I flashback to once upon a time when I was in Portugal. 

Once in awhile, we come across tiny cement bunkers that were at one time manned with soldiers looking for North Korean subs. At one, a couple of men are messing around, posing as if they have guns in the metal prong barrel holders. One agrees to a photo. The war was really not that long ago. 

Later on, we pass a sign that tells us why this place is named Igidae. Like just about every other tourist sign we ever see, this one alludes to the entrenchment of the Japanese in Korean history: 

When the Japanese invaded Joseon in the late 16th century, 

they conquered Suyeongseong Fortress and held a feast 

to celebrate their victory at a high, open spot that 

commanded pleasant scenery. Two Korean gisaeng 

(female professional entertainers) were taken to the feast. 

They seized a drunken Japanese commander 

and jumped into the sea 

as a reprisal against the Japanese invasion of their homeland.  

Thus, the name Igidae, which means two gisaeng, was given to this place.  

The women’s resolve kicks ass.

I try to muster up an ounce of my own resolve as Shane and I cross suspension bridges leading back toward the subway stations. I’ve lately realized it is not heights I am afraid of, but ledges. Back on safe shoreline, we amble down onto some rocks and watch an ajoshi stacking rocks into spires, a ritual we’ve before been told has to do with seeking good luck. Shane stops and constructs a stack of his own.  

I just watch the two of them work without joining in myself. If the universe sends any more good fortune my way, I’ll burst from bogarting too much of it for myself.

Buddhas by the Sea

Sometimes I sit back and wonder when my life took the turn such that it's not out of the realm of everyday possibility to spend a few hours exploring a Buddhist temple next to the sea. How'd I get so damn lucky? 
                                                                                                               
Crystal and Nick's visit in March prompted Shane and me to do some sightseeing around town that after seven months in Busan, we still hadn't gotten around to. 
                                                                                                     
Haedong Yongungsa is the most beautiful temple of the small handful I've seen. It sits next to the East Sea on the northeast coast of the city. After entering through a busy marketplace thoroughfare, serene temple grounds. Sweet strong incense. Bamboo stalks. Children touching statues.                                                       
                                                                                                              
I scan the rundown of Haedong Yongungsa's history. I read: "The most merciful Boddhisattva Avalokitesvara who reincarnated unlimited love and mercy was said to stay at such a lonely shoreside some times with a special presentation of riding on a dragon in a flame." The temple was originally built in the 1300's, but like others, was burned to the ground during the Japanese invasion of 1592. The sign tells me this is the "King's Dragon Palace" temple, a "floating Buddhism sanctuary showing a wonderful view of dark-blue seas and breaking white spilitering [sic] water just like fresh touching on your feet."                          
                                                                                                        
Apt. Lovely.

Stoked to Get Soaked: Making Infused Soju

Get Soaked...

So, the name of our blog is Soju Cocktail, and we haven’t gone into depth about drinking the cheap stuff, so here goes nothing.

Soju is tons cheap and easily mixable. A sixteen ounce bottle of 20% ABV liquor comes to you for about $1. It doesn’t have a strong taste, but it doesn’t go down the greatest of ease. We have come up with a solution that is a little bit sac-religious to the older Korean

generation. Soaked soju!

This can be done for any liquor, and we have done it to many. Gin, rum, vodka, even whisky. Being in Korea, we’re steeping soju, and you can to.

Step one, get yourself some oranges (or lemons, or grapefruit, or limes) and take the skins off.

Step two, remove any bit of white pith from the very outermost layer of the orange peel. The skin of any citrus has an amazing amount of flavor without the sourness, and without the bitterness of pith. If you leave pith on the skin you will have bitter, gross soaked soju, and no one wants that. What you're left with should only be the bright colored part of the skin.

(further note) I like to leave the skins in as large of pieces as I can, so its easier to strain out later.

Step three, jam those skins down inside a big old bottle of booze. 

Go ahead and eat the orange slices, they don't do much good in the booze, the money comes from the skins. The essential oils make the difference. 

Step four, screw the cap back on the bottle, and give it a shake.       

Step five, leave it alone.                                          Keep it wherever, someplace without a lot of temperature changes is best. Some liquor makers say no sunlight, some say sunlight can only help you. I say, put it wherever you got the room to put it. Once a week give it another shake. You'll see the color start to change after a week, but it gets better the longer you wait. You can wait as little as one week, but my suggestion is to wait at least a month.

Lastly, chill and serve. This makes a very good shot on its own, or mix it with your favorite mixer. For us, it’s Apple Demi Soda, or some sort of white soda. Try it at home with whatever you’d like, and enjoy the cheap stuff even more than before.

Brush with Celebrity, a K-pop Moment

Or, as Shane remembers it, the-time-Rose-nearly-got-us-trampled-by-preteen-girls. This little tale happened all the way back in December, but please don't hold the tardiness against me. 
                                                                                                              

Myeon-dong Neighborhood

In Seoul while on vacation, we devoted a couple hours in Myeong-dong, a neighborhood well-known for its shopping and especially sought out by us for the H&M, where I knew clothes in my size could be found. After shopping, we headed back toward the subway. Suddenly, we found ourselves in the throes of a teeming mass blockading the sidewalks.          


                                                

The walkway holds temporarily.

         
I couldn't resist-- maybe it'd be a free giveaway, maybe something else. We were ushered into lines, an invisible barrier creating an aisle among us. This aisle held up pretty well, until the door of the dark windowed SUV cracked open even a hair. Then all bets were off. The crowd surged forward, cameras poised, voices excited. The door closed. Security guards again formed the aisle through the mostly young, mostly female crowd. The door opened. The aisle collapsed again.                                                                                       
The cycle repeated for about twenty minutes, until at last, out stepped... drum roll..... JYJ, a K-pop band that enjoys a huge following in Korea, Japan, and beyond. For those of you looking to expand your music repertoire, here's a sample: Ayyy Girl. Wowza.

Two of the three members of JYJ.

For those of you looking for the adrenaline rush of nearly being trampled by fervent fans, here's a video summary: