추석와 난타! (Chuseok and Nanta!)

A few weeks ago was the Korean harvest holiday, Chuseok, which probably should be a post on its own, but I didn't actually do anything really "Chuseoky" except make 성편 with the nuggets at school. However, I did manage to harvest (not sure that's exactly the right word here) a visit from my little brother! More details of our week to follow in another post, but one of the highlights was definitely seeing "Nanta" in Myeongdong.

Nanta is a non-verbal comedy cooking performance. Seoul has several of these tourist friendly shows each housed in their own theatre ("Jump" is another one). I'd never seen any of them, so when brother expressed an interest, we couldn't miss it.

The show was energetic, exciting, and hilarious. Korean drum rhythms coupled with chopping knives and very showy culinary tricks are the staples of the show. Participation of the audience and jokes played at the their expense make it unforgettable.

The tickets are a bit pricey at 50 000 won per person, but if you can get into one of the open rehearsals where the tickets are cheaper, it's not so bad. If you've got the money to spare or a special reason to spend it (relative visiting), it's a pretty good way to spend 50 bucks.

Photography wasn't allowed, so all I've got is this crappy shot of the stage before the show. Please check this show out if you need a good laugh.

Oh yeah! And then we ate awesome french fry coated hot dogs after! I'm thinking about doing my top streetfood countdown soon. Stay tuned...

Ashu

고양이 카페 (Cat Cafe)

I love cats. A lot. If Boyfriend and I didn't have a strict no cat no smoking deal in our relationship, I would probably have about 300 cats. Or maybe just two. I don't think I can accurately explain the joy that kittens bring to my life, so here are some photos to help:

So yeah, I like cats.

Anyway, Boyfriend, knowing my love for the feline, took me to a cat cafe here in Seoul. You pay about 8 bucks to get in and there are about 25 cats just roaming around being adorable. You get a drink and you can snuggle, play, and photograph to your little heart's content!

I was basically in heaven. Boyfriend is not such a big fan, but one little outcast took quite the liking to him.

Isn't he mangy but nonetheless adorable?

If you want you snuggle adorable kittens too, cat cafes can be found all around Seoul, but the one we went to was in Hongdae.

Ashu

남이섬 (Nami Island)

I love my Korean boyfriend with all my heart. This summer has been quite different from last as Boyfriend has been busy preparing for the dreaded 취업 hunt this fall. Korean students can start applying for jobs at companies in their last semester of university. This heinous process of constant test-taking, stress, and self-punishment takes over the life of pretty much every unfortunate Korean college student at one point in their academic life. Boyfriend is no exception. He has been taking at least one test pretty much every weekend all summer, trying to improve scores by even the smallest amount to gain competitive edge in the ruthless Korean job market.

Personally, I'm not so worried. Boyfriend has a pretty solid resume consisting of ability in 4 languages, top grades, and experience in the Republic of Korea Marine Corps. A company would be crazy not to hire him, but I understand, it's hard to see it that way when you're inside.

Getting to the point, however, it's been kind of a sad, rainy, stressful summer. Boyfriend was supposed to take yet another test this weekend, but as if by some kind of Christmas miracle, on Tuesday he said:

"I canceled my test on Sunday. How about going somewhere to travel this weekend?"

So we did! We booked a pension and went to the 춘천 areaof 강원도. It was a much needed and totally fantastic weekend.

On Saturday we boarded a train from 쳥량리 to 가평. There was standing room only on the 1 and a half hour ride, but that meant a cheap ticket of just 3500 won. When we got to 가평, the 아저씨 from the pension came and picked us up. We borrowed bikes (for free) and cruised around the lakeside. Then we hiked for a bit, and went back to the pension to shower and watch 무한도전. After that, we had a gigantic barbecue dinner and got ourselves deep into a bottle of wine. Took a night walk and saw stars (impossible in Seoul).

Sunday morning we woke up around 10 and checked out of the pension around 11. We boarded a bus to take us to 남이섬. Nami Island is a famous man-made island. The scenery is really beautiful and some famous Korean and Japanese dramas have been filmed there. Before taking the ferry, we ate 춘천 닭갈비, one of my favourite Korean foods. It was a bit pricey, but we left with our bellies full and ready to cross the water to Nami. On Nami Island we walked around, checked out the exhibits and nature. It was lovely. About an hour and a half later, it looked like it was going to start to rain, so we headed back to the ferry wharf. A good call on our part; just as we got to the taxi stand to take us back to 가평 station, a thunder storm started. We were lucky to have such great weather the whole weekend, so without regret we boarded a train back to Seoul.

It was one of the best weekends in a long time, and I'm happy Boyfriend and I got to spend some time together before the job-hunt madness reaches critical mass this fall.

Ashu

한국 결혼식 (Korean Wedding)

Last weekend, one of my Korean co-workers got married. I've been in Korea almost 2 years, but I'd never been to a Korean wedding. Actually it wasn't much different from a western style wedding, but a few things were a little different.

Korean weddings these days almost always happen at a wedding hall. These are pretty giant convention style buildings with multiple halls where tons of wedding happen every day. I went with Boyfriend. When we got to the hall, we signed in our names and got tickets to the after-ceremony dinner. Then we went to the "Bride Waiting Room" and saw my friend and took a picture together.

After that, the actual ceremony was about 45 minutes. It was all in Korean (obviously), so my understanding was limited, but some of my other co-workers did a little song and dance at the end which was pretty cute. Then all the families and friend groups took pictures with the bride and groom. Finally, they threw the bouquet, a kind of funny twist on the western idea. The bride selects the woman who will catch the bouquet, and only that woman stands and waits for it. After she catches it, she's got three months to get married. Talk about pressure!

The reception was really different from most of the western wedding I've been to. The dinner is included in the use of the wedding hall. After the ceremony, all the guest pile into one of many banquet halls and chow down on free buffet and alcohol. The catch: instead of dancing and drinking into all hours of the morning western wedding style, you've only got two hours in the banquet hall. This seemed a little strange in the light of Korean social convention which usually involves long meetings and lots of alcohol. Anyway, the whole experience was pretty cool, and as Boyfriend said, it was "good experience" for me to see the Korean wedding process as that might be us in a few years.

Congrats to the bride and groom! They are living it up in Hawaii until next week.

결혼해서 축하합니다!

Ashu

무의도 (Muui Island)

I have a pretty solid group of girlfriends here in Korea that I don't see nearly enough. Between boyfriends, jobs, and living in different cities, girl time sometimes gets pushed to the back burner. This weekend we took a much needed girls only trip to Muui Island off the coast of Incheon. It was loverly!

When we got to the island on Saturday afternoon, it was quite overcast but still warm. The tide was way out. We cracked a bottle of wine (or many) and barbequed our little hearts out with the sunset. Met some cutie Korean kids and of course a few new friends, foreigners and Koreans alike. Common to lady gatherings, we stayed up way too late, drank too much, and got too little sleep. Though the sleep issue may have been due to our cheapness. We squeezed 7 gals into a 2 person beach hut (and were proud of it). Sunday morning was met with delicious BLTs and loads of sunshine. We were back in Seoul with our femininity reenergized by nightfall. All in all, a wonderful trip.

Financial Breakdown:

subway to Incheon International Airport: around 3000 won each way

bus to Muui Island ferry: 1000 won each way

ferry to Muui Island: 3000 won round trip

bus from ferry to Muui beach: 1000 won

beach hut rental: 7000 won/person

food and alcohol: 20 000 won/person

Grand Total: 35 000 won (about $30 Canadian)

Getting to Muui-do is cheap, but it takes a while. First take the subway or bus to Incheon International Airport. From gate 5 on the departures level, take bus 222 to Muui-do ferry. The ferry ride takes about 5 minutes. Then you can take another bus from the ferry to the beach (about 10 minutes). The whole trip takes about 3 hours from downtown Seoul provided you have reasonable connections.

Ashu

그냥 농담예요 (Just a Joke)

학교에서 선생님이 공기가 뭐냐고 물어봤습니다. 학생들이 그문제에 때해서 잠시만 동안 생각했습니다. 드디어 학생이 대답했습니다. 공기가 그냥 공기이라고 했습니다. 선생님이 맞다고 했습니다. 그 다음에 선생님이 다시 물어봤습니다. "물이 뭐예요?" 라고 했습니다. 학생이 생각하고 대답했습니다. "물... 물은 셀프입니다!"

ㅋㅋㅋ 좋은 이야기예요? 미용실에서 이 농담을 들었어요. 5분 동안 실소했어요. 정말!

*English Translation*

At school, a teacher asked "What is the sky?" The students thought about this problem for a moment. Finally a student replied. "The sky is just the sky." "That's correct," said the teacher. The teacher asked again, "What is water?" One student thought and responded, "Water... water is self!"

Is it a good story? I heard this while getting my hair done. I laughed for like 5 minutes. Seriously.

Note: In Korean restaurants, there is usually a big water cooler with cups and you serve yourself. Most restaurants have a sign by the water cooler that says "물은 셀프입니다" which means water is self-serve.

Ashu

무한도전 (Infinite Challenge)

Saturday nights, Boyfriend and I usually make a point to be home at 6:30pm, ready with a pizza to watch our favourite show, 무한도전 (Infinite Challenge). For you Canadians out there, picture Kenny vs. Spenny times a thousand. Well, a little different, but stick with me here.

무한도전 is a comedy variety show where 7 famous Korean comedians compete in challenges and try to do crazy stuff. When I first started watching it, I couldn't understand very much, but a lot of their humour is pretty physical and now I can keep up pretty well with Boyfriend's help. This is the first Korean show I've tried to watch without subtitles. Yay me!

I don't know how explain except that its a bunch of middle aged guys trying to outwit and humiliate each other. What more do you need to know? The only thing that could make this program better is if there was some kind of embarrassing punishment for the losers (as in Kenny vs. Spenny).

The cast:

노홍철

Usually sporting platinum blonde hair, he's nicknamed "crazy guy" or "psychopath."

유재석

The Leonardo (Ninja Turtles) of 무한도전. I think he's the kindest one and he's in a lot of ads.

정형돈

Cute, fat, and awkward. A triple threat in my books.

정준하

He looks like a giant compared to the others, but I also think he's really kind.

박명수

The Kenny of 무한도전.

하하

I don't know much about this guy since he was off the show for a while.

길

Not much to say about this guy either.

Check this show out. The humour definitely transcends the language barrier.

Ashu