Winter Weather?
It was around 50 degrees on Sunday, although it has cooled down quite a bit since then.
The iPhone Hits Korea This Week
I saw an advertisement at McDonalds with the slogan, "Mac Tonight." I really want a t-shirt.
Expensive Exotic Dishes
Often we see foreign products on gourmet cooking shows that display what we believe is the splendor of a particular culture or group of people. I was browsing over blogs related to molecular gastronomy and I came across a blog with Korean foods that were being served in America. The posts are here and here.
I must say, kimchee chigae for $12 is a blatant rip off. The soup is nothing but fish water, tiny vegetables, and a few cubes of Tofu. It sells for under $1 here. Others may disagree but my feeling is that one shouldn't eat this if one doens't have to.
Another dish listed without price is Tteokbokki. It's more of a snack food and certainly isn't traditional food. It costs a little more than a dollar here.
Americans should experience Korean food but it should be at a reasonable price. What Koreans eat now is different from what they ate forty years ago and what they eat in forty years from now will be different from what they eat today because of globalization.
Some traditional food that I like to eat is hard to find and only eaten on special occasions. This food will be notably absent from Korean restaurants because it must be made fresh and requires special culinary skills.
Long Flights
When I boarded my flight to Korea I was really excited to find that I had a selection of games, movies, and news to watch on the display in front of me that was running on Red Hat.
About 30 minutes into the flight the computer froze and wouldn't reboot. I called the stewardess and it was eventually sorted out. Thats when I realized that the controls for the games weren't very responsive, the news feed was old, and the selection of movies was horrible. So I resolved myself to watching a tiny plane icon inch forward over the Pacific.
I was making great strides towards avoiding the torture of watching a Leonardo DiCaprio flick but I eventually caved. The title wasn't very memorable and the movie was even less so. It was a middle-eastern flick about a CIA agent who gathers intelligence and falls in love with a Persian girl. In the end it was just another poorly scripted movie that tries to be Syriana, and instead; It brings together a series of what appear to be unrelated events that evolve into a sinister master plan. The sinister master plan begins to unfold when the "bad guys" realize that DiCaprio's character is putting the screws to them and their joint cooperation agreement. Great twist there!
Sometimes technology is torture. Next time I'm bringing a Dingoo.
Konglish
I don't think Americans realize the extent that English has penetrated Asian countries. English words appear on almost every sign and product in Korea. Korean's are fascinated with learning English and some literature suggests that they are likely to think that products with English letters on them are more modern.
However, the language ability of Korea is in an intermediate stage. When walking or biking to work I see people with English words and phrases on their shirts and caps. What do these words and phrases mean? Well, that requires a bit of imagination and possibly a dictionary.
Space
There's a story in every photo. Korea is a country with a limited amount of public and private space. I've been hit biking on the sidewalk if that's any indication of the safety that you'll encounter biking on the road.
I work at a sports park. Yeosu's bike club is headquartered there, but there isn't a lot of space for biking.
Breakfast
Every morning I wake up and eat fairly unprocessed oats from Emart. They're quite delicious and they often come in 5 kilogram bags. They have a spongy texture when cooked. Mixed with cinnamon, brown sugar, and milk they are quite declicious. Perhaps dehydrated apples can be found at Lotte or Emart?
Keep in mind that this isn't what Koreans eat for breakfast and you are sure to hear screams when they find out what some foreigners eat in Korea. Koreans eat rice and kimchi for breakfast.
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Links
Tags
News from Korea
- Kim Jong Il Bowls for Murdoch Dollars With Video Games Made in North Korea - Bloomberg
- South Korea's Foreign Minister Offers to Quit - Wall Street Journal
- Tropical Storm Malou Churns Toward South Korea as Typhoon Warning Issued - Bloomberg
- SA women all set for Korea - SPORT24
- Korea Won Gains as US Jobs Data Supports Exports; Bonds Fall - BusinessWeek
Yeosu Current Temperature
75°F