Memories of Korea

The end of our trip

2012-01-27T13:34:00.000+10:30

As we came to the end of our time in Korea we still had one last thing we needed to do. We had to travel from Seoul to Iksan on the KTX to see some Pastors who were planning a trip to Australia. This was very exciting for me because a few years before I had spent time with Pastors in Iksan and Gunsan so it was a bit of a reunion but it was also exciting to be part of the planning for the team going from Korea to Australia.

We had a wonderful lunch together.

Unfortunately it was only a day trip because we were leaving for home the next day. We had such a wonderful holiday and had done so much while we were away that we weren't ready to leave but at the same time we were ready to be in our own home again.

I couldn't finish this Korea trip blog post without sharing photos of all the Korean t-shirts and Korean socks I bought :-)

Buddhist Temple and Suwon Folk Village

2011-12-23T09:56:00.000+10:30

From the Hwaseong fortress we made our way to a park for a picnic lunch. We had delicious home made kimbap, rice cakes and fruit.

Then we headed to a Buddhist temple.

And then on to the Suwon Folk Village. This was the first time we had taken all the children there so they had a lot of fun looking at the way people used to live in Korea.

We watched a horse riding display

We also saw a wedding demonstration

Our children enjoyed dressing up in soldier costumes. They tried out the see-saws and the stick game. The folk village is fantastic to let the kids have some space to let off some energy.

We ended the day with some delicious tea

We had such a wonderful day in Suwon, meeting new friends and seeing new sights. We had thought we would be catching the subway home but our new friends drove us all the way back to Seoul which was a great treat for us.

We were very tired but not so tired that we couldn't go to Myeong Dong for dinner!!

Great memories :-)

A South Korean meal in South Australia

2011-12-02T11:08:00.000+10:30

My husband and I were invited to a friends house for a special Korean dinner this week. We were told that this meal wouldn't be experienced in any Korean restaurant but we had no idea what that meant until we were actually eating it!

Let me start by explaining that all the ingredients used were natural, no artificial flavours, sweeteners, preservatives, etc. The plates we ate off were handmade so that there were no added chemicals in the making of the plates and bowls. We were told the bowls in front of us cost about $120 each, so you can imagine we were very careful when we touched them! And the most important information is our friend is an amazing cook and has an amazing gift of giving and hospitality!!

This was our menu for the night.

We started with many entree dishes (The photos aren't in any order and we didn't take photos of all the dishes)

This is mool kimchi

The bird feathers are broccoli and mushroom wraps (that's my best English interpretation ;-))

I love the flavours of this stuffed quid

This mushroom was also amazing

This was definitely a new experience for the tastebuds!

And then we had main course :-)

And we finished with tea and biscuits. (You might remember we made biscuits and had a tea ceremony in Jeonju last year.)

This meal took 8 adults three hours to eat!! I doubt I will ever eat this well again :-)

Suwon - Hwaseong Fortress

2011-11-13T16:53:00.000+10:30

There really were so many highlights for me during this trip to Korea but our day trip to Suwon really was a highlight for me.

We met up with friends and rode the subway to Suwon. It's quite a long trip from Seoul to Suwon but it's well worth the effort and a great excuse to catch up on any lack of sleep you may be experiencing because of all the sight seeing you're trying to cram in!!

I am always amazed by the hospitality we receive in Korea. Our friends had organised with thier friends to meet us at the stop in Suwon. Those friends had hired a van, organised an esky full of cool drinks and had made a picnic lunch, including kimbap and rice cakes and fruit, for all of us. We had never met them before and yet they gave up a full day to be our tour guides in Suwon!! We definitely felt spoilt.

We only had one day in Suwon but I think we did so many things there that it will require a couple of blog posts.

Our first stop was the Hwaseong Fortress. It was one of those places I'd heard about but we just hadn't had the time to get there. When planning this trip I knew I didn't want to leave Korea without going to Suwon and seeing the Hwaseong Fortress. The day we went was really hot so we looked through the museum and enjoyed some time in the airconditioning. Then we watched a display of soldiers with swords and spears.

We then walked up the hill to catch a train that took us at around the fortress. Originally I had hoped we would walk around the wall but with the heat being so strong I was glad to sit in an open train. (The kids were definitely happy not having to walk)

At the end of the train ride we got out and the boys tried their hand at archery.

All this and we had only just started the day:-)

I definitely recommend a trip to Hwaseong Fortress if you're going to Suwon.

63 Building and wax museum

2011-09-09T12:41:00.000+09:30

Staying at Seoul Tower Ville means we are very close to Seoul tower and it makes a lovely slow day when you have children with you. However, another good place to take things slow and to see out over Seoul is building 63 which is close to the Han River.

Unfortunately this time we found the sky deck was closed for renovations. Luckily there are other things to see and do at Building 63, so we decided to look around the wax museum. The children found it fun having their photo taken with different famous people and it gave us a bit of time out from the heat.

After looking through the wax museum we walked along the Han River before letting the children go out on a swan boat. (My husband went with them)

We finished the day by celebrating a birthday. We went to a Chinese restaurant and then stopped by a "twosome place" to buy a cake and take home. A little different to the cake we might have had at home but it looked great and tasted delicious!

Jeonju to Seoul

2011-08-19T11:21:00.001+09:30

From Jeonju we boarded the KTX again and went back to Seoul. Our time in Korea was coming to an end and we needed to see as much as we possibly could in those days. We also had a couple of birthdays to celebrate so we spent a whole day at Caribbean Bay, a water theme park which is part of the Everland theme park. The kids loved it and there was plenty to do for all ages. One tip would be get there as early as you can as it was really crowded and the lines for slides were long.

Another night we went to see Nanta. A non-verbal, audience interactive show, which is great for the whole family. It's the second time our family has seen it and the kids love it. This time we saw it in Myeong Dong. It was hard to get tickets for 11 people so make sure you book ahead, especially if you go as a group. There's an opportunity afterwards to meet the actors and get signatures and photos.

we still managed to do a lot more shopping

(this is the view from the toilets in Doota - Dongdaemun)

And eating!

(This was a place behind the Hyundae department store)

And we still managed to fit in time just to sit and enjoy a coffee. This place is just up the road from Seoul Tower ville, on the way to the cable car.

It was then time to say goodbye to family who had joined us in Korea. Our group went from 11 to 6. There was still a lot more we wanted to do before we had to go home.

Lotus Garden

2011-07-18T20:42:00.000+09:30

There are so many things to do and see in Jeonju. It's a great place to spend a few days just soaking in the sights and taking it all in. One of the surprises of Jeonju is the lotus garden which I think is called Deokjin Park. I didn't know anything about it but our friends took us there in the evening and it was lovely just wandering around the garden after a very hot and humid day. I had never seen a garden like it before and as usual, pictures just don't do it justice.

Here are some girls in hanboks made out of grass and flowers that greeted us as we entered the park.

Yellow Monsters - Benjamin

2011-06-24T12:51:00.000+09:30

I was wandering around "Morning Glory" (Korean stationary shop) yesterday and heard this song being played. Haven't figured out the words yet but loved the music :-)

Here's an interview with the drummer

Traditional Jeonju

2011-06-10T11:52:00.001+09:30

During our stay in the traditional village at Jeonju we tried our hand at a few Korean traditions.

Both our boys lost a tooth while we were there so we all stood outside and celebrated as they threw their tooth over the house and said "까치야, 까치야. 헌 이 줄께 새 이 다오."(assisted by our Korean friends) Which means "Magpie, magpie! Get the old tooth, and new tooth, please!" . Of course just as we were thinking we would get off cheaply this time the boys reminded us of the Australian tradition of money giving for a pulled tooth ;-)

It was also our nephews birthday so we were treated to a huge Korean breakfast along with a very creamy, decorated birthday cake.

(imagine three tables of this food and a birthday cake!!)

One evening we tried our hand at making traditional Korean biscuits, called Dasik.

We were able to eat them later after we were taught the procedure of a tea ceremony.

As we explored the traditional village

We saw...

Kimchi pots

Traditional houses

Paper making

And the kids tried their hand at making paper boxes

We also found time to stroll around the Cathedral

Jeonju is a great place to find out about the traditions of Korea

Goodbye Dr Kim Duk Whang

2011-05-19T22:51:00.000+09:30

Our thoughts and prayers are with Dr Kim's family and the staff at Eastern Social Welfare Society.

http://www.eastern.or.kr/eastern/board/detail.jsp?bt_no=32&c_no=002006002&b_no=44579&page=1

Dr. Kim, Duk Whang, the founder of Eastern Social Welfare Society, has completed his natural span of life and passed away at 96 years of age on May 18th, 2011, 15:38

He served the Ministry of Home Affairs as vice-minister and the Korean Overseas Development Corporation as president. Retired from public office, he has devoted his life to social welfare services. In recognition of his distinguished services, he was awarded with Dongbaek Order of Civil Merit, 5.16 National Order of Merit, and Wubong Volunteer Recognition Award.

He was a faithful Christian, who has devoted his life for the vulnerable and the socially marginalized, especially children in need. He was one of the first generation historical researchers specializing in Gando and has written various articles and books on Korean history and religion and culture.

The funeral service will be held on May 21st, 2011 at Kwanglim Church. He will be buried in the family cemetery in Hanam, Gyeonggi-do.

A Korean adoptee's song for his Birth Mother

2011-05-11T07:16:00.000+09:30

*Warning - have a tissue nearby

Jeonju via Iksan

2011-04-10T22:31:00.000+09:30

From Daejeon we took the KTX to Iksan. It was a chance to catch up with a friend but it was so hot that we didn't get a lot of sight seeing in.

We had lunch at Mr Pizza which the kids enjoyed. I doubt the slogan for Mr Pizza would work in Australia LOL

We walked through an outdoor mall. We were told that in an attempt to attract younger shoppers the mall has added a roof to make it feel more like a modern mall.

It was only q quick stop in Iksan so I'm not sure if there is much to see. (I stayed there a couple of years ago but I didn't get any sightseeing in then either)

We then took the bus from Iksan to Jeonju.

When we arrived at the bus station in Jeonju we caught another bus that took us to the Jeonju Hanok village where we would be staying the next few days. Actually, we missed the stop.....

I had been in Jeonju a few years ago and remembered that there was a cathedral near the entrance so we were all looking for the cathedral. (The only landmark I could think of and really wasn't sure if the bus would even pass it) My Brother in Law said he saw it but no-one else did so we didn't get off the bus. BIG mistake! By the time we managed to get people in the bus to understand where we wanted to go we had travelled a long way in the wrong direction. Thankfully the bus driver stopped and let us off. We waited for awhile for another bus but nothing came so we decided to walk. I think it was the hottest day in Korea!!! Luckily we had some water with us and our hats but it was still HOT.

We eventually made it to the Hanok village but then we had to find our accommodation. Luckily there are a couple of information booths in the area and we were able to get a map and they gave us directions. Somehow, in the rabbit warren of lanes and alley ways we found our accommodation.

This was one of the highlights of the trip because I wanted the kids to experience traditional Korean life. We slept on the floor in traditional style with mats and quilts. The bathroom had been updated to have a "real" toilet but just an open shower in the bathroom. (no shower cubicle) Each room had it's own bathroom. For our family of six we had two rooms so there were two bathrooms. The owner of the Hanok we stayed at was a friend of a friend and the hospitality they showed us was amazing.

We must have looked awful when we arrived because we were so hot and tired and the kids were ready for a melt down. We were shown our rooms and we just laid on the cool floor for while and sat outside feeling the breeze while trying to replenish our dehydrated bodies with copious amounts of water.

Our friends were meeting us at the hanok and offered to be our tour guides for the next couple of days. We were so happy to have someone show us around rather than having to plan out the next few days.

Once we'd recovered from the heat and the sun had lost its bite for the day we headed to a local market.

On the way we passed a gate. (Jeonju gate?)

There were some interesting sites at the market.

We saw some men playing games under a bridge. I think it was still early and figure there would be more of a crowd later.

We then went out for dinner for traditional Jeonju Bibimbap. YUM!!

It was a very long day but the night didn't stop there. I'm going to tell you about the rest of the night in another post :-)

Delights of Daejeon

2011-02-25T22:30:00.001+10:30

From Busan we took the KTX to Daejeon. We found having a 7 day KTX pass very useful for getting around Korea at our own pace. We never booked seats ahead of time and we were always able to get seats for 11 people in the same carriage. (not always together but at least we knew where each other were)

Daejeon has a great underground mall which seems to go on forever. This was fantastic for walking around in summer. There was even a fountain underground! We got some great bargains in Daejeon and we found character socks were cheaper in Daejeon than Seoul.

We stayed at the Daelim tourist hotel which we were able to find by ourselves relatively easily. I think it was the best bargain hotel accomodation. The rooms were huge with big screen tv's and computers with free internet. The buffet breakfast wasn't huge but it was free with the room price (which was really cheap) and seeing as we don't normally eat big breakfast it was fine for us.

There was some nightlife in the streets of Daejeon which added great atmosphere as we wandered around in the cool of the night.

This time we decided to take a bus tour of Daejeon (Unlike the DIY walking tour we did in Busan) and we saw different areas of Daejeon which we wouldn't have seen if we only toured on foot. I wrote about Daejeon here so I'm just going to add photos to this post of Daejeon.

Daejeon bus tour

Expo Park

Looking towards Daejeon from the bridge between Expo Park and the Science Museum

Science Museum

Hot Spring Foot Spa

Australian Flora in Korea

2011-02-18T23:10:00.000+10:30

I saw this article in the JoonAng Daily
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932157

Exotic Aussie flora to get brand-new home

The distinct scent of the eucalyptus tree and the fiery colors of the grevillea flower will soon become more familiar to Koreans. A permanent Australian garden including plants that are national emblems will be opened at the Korea National Arboretum in the second half of this year.

The new garden is part of a redevelopment of the arboretum greenhouse to increase the public’s understanding of plant diversity and preservation.

The garden will display trees native to Australia, including the grass tree, bottle tree, banksia, eucalyptus and acacia. These unusually shaped trees will be complemented with vivid flowers such as the waratah and grevillea.

Utchang Kang, a botanist at the Korea National Arboretum, hopes the garden will enhance cultural and ecological awareness among visitors. “I hope Koreans will get to know the beauty of the Australian plants, and eventually they shall take more heed of the importance of preserving plant diversity,” he said.

The Australian garden is a joint venture between the Korea National Arboretum and Australian Botanic Gardens Trust. While some of the plants are national symbols and familiar to Australians, both organizations believe that Koreans will be captivated by the unique foliage. “We trust that visitors will be inspired by the unusual sight of such strange foreign plants and seek to learn more about our country and plant life,” said Daniel Bishop, Manager of Horticulture at the Australian Botanic Gardens Trust.

The garden will be divided into three different themes based upon the “many wonders of the wild landscapes”: mallee (which are woodlands and shrublands), heathland (dwarf-shrub habitat) and inland desert. Kang said the themes will highlight the diversity and beauty of Australian plants. “Australia has very unique features in terms of plant distribution, flora and ecosystems because many Australian plants have different pathways of evolution.”

Kang and his team visited Australia last May to select the plants. After consulting with the horticultural staff at the Australian Botanic Garden in Mount Annan, they came up with a “wish list” of species. The list was based upon three factors: the uniqueness and beauty of the plants, seed availability and their ability to grow in Korea’s considerably colder climate.

The plants will grow in a greenhouse at the arboretum, which will have a minimum temperature of four degrees Celsius (39 degrees Fahrenheit) during winter.

Most of the plants will arrive in Korea in the form of seeds from the New South Wales Seedbank. A small selection will be sent as fresh cuttings, as this is the only means for them to successfully propagate. As well as providing the seeds, the Australian Botanic Gardens Trust will assist with the design of the plant display and offer ongoing advice to the arboretum on propagation and maintenance.

The Korea National Arboretum began planning the garden in 2009 and officially launched its relationship with the Australian Botanic Gardens Trust that year. The cooperation was initiated through the Australia-Korea Foundation to encourage interaction in horticulture between the countries.

The opening of the Australian garden later this year - an exact date has yet to be set - will coincide with the Year of Friendship between Korea and Australia, which celebrates 50 years of diplomatic ties.

The Korea National Arboretum is located at 51-7 Jikdong-ri, Soheul-eup, Pocheon, Gyeonggi.

By Philip Chan Intern reporter [enational@joongang.co.kr]

A beautiful gift from Korea

2011-02-03T08:13:00.000+10:30

This week I received a lovely surprise in the post from Korea!

Buzz Korea has begun a blogging community site where people who blog about Korea can share their blogs in one place.It is a new site but there are some interesting blogs on Korea. They have had a few competitions to encourage bloggers and readers and as a result I won a prize :-)

I thought I would share a few photos of the Korean jewelry box that arrived this week.

This is what I saw after ripping open the packaging :-)

Opening the box

It's gorgeous!

Beautiful inside and out

A big thanks to Buzz Korea for a lovely gift from Korea :-)

Gami chicken in Melbourne

2011-01-20T13:37:00.000+10:30

This is a detour from our Korean trip.....

Last week my husband and I spent a few days in Melbourne and we always like to try a Korean restaurant while we are there. (which is maybe once a year) Our "Usual" Korean restaurant that we go to in Melbourne is the Seoul house on Russell street. We like the food and the atmosphere there. Last time we were in Melbourne we tried BBQ at the Dae Jang Geum restaurant in Little Burke street. This time we thought we would try a different restaurant but when we got there it was closed for renovations. When we were in Korea we enjoyed a couple of Korean fried chicken places but we have never seen one in Australia. On the off chance there might be one in Melbourne we looked it up on the internet and we came across Gami chicken!! We thought we were taking a risk trying a Korean chicken place in Australia seeing as we can still remember how delicious it was in Korea but decided to give it a go. Of course once my husband read it was a chicken and beer place he was sold LOL

We are so glad we went. The staff were very friendly and helpful. We ended up having a seafood pancake and 3 flavours of chicken, which is actually a whole chicken!!! It tasted very similar to what we remembered :-) We were probably there a bit early but as we worked our way through the chicken more people came in. I definitely recommend this place if you are looking for Korean style fried chicken :-) My tip would be though, is to go with friends. You can imagine there was waaaay too much food for the two of us. It would be great to go with friends as it is a chicken and beer place so it's made for friends to get together! Lots of pickled radish and spicy chip snacks to go along with it.

So, if you're in Melbourne head along to Gami chicken at 100 Little Lonsdale street and give Korean styled fried chicken a go :-)

BUZZ KOREA

2011-01-15T11:42:00.000+10:30

Buzz Korea are currently holding a competition for the most voted blog post about Korea. They have chosen 2 of my blog posts for the competition which is exciting.

My 2 posts are "walking tour of Busan" and "Changdeokgung and tea at Insadong"

If you would like to vote or look at the other blogs in the competition you can go here It's a great way to learn more about people's experiences of Korea :-) All you need to do is sign up and then you can vote once a day until the 25th of January. The voters of the winning blog are also in the running for a prize :-)

Unfortunately there aren't any trips to Korea to be won but there are some cute prizes.

Walking tour of Busan

2011-01-05T16:32:00.000+10:30

I find in Seoul that we can easily get around on the subway but you miss a lot being underground. It took us a couple of visits to Korea to get our bearings and to realise that some of the places we had used the subway to get to, we could have actually walked. There is always the temptation to get somewhere as quickly as possible, especially when you are on limited time but I really think there are huge benefits to taking the time to walk, especially when on holidays.

Having said that, it can be hard to explain to 7 children why it would be better to walk than to catch public transport ;-) Particularly when at least one of those children has a fear of getting lost and they know you have no idea where you are going. However, I have found if you try to exaggerate the adventure and try to sound convincing when you say "No, we're not lost, we're just taking a detour" then there may be some hope that the children wont complain too much. However, you do need to be aware of the length of time you have been walking and not push your luck too far!!

We had the choice of taking a Busan city bus tour or doing a DIY walking tour. We decided it would be fun to try and find the landmarks ourselves and take some time out to just stroll around the city. Unfortunately it was a hot and humid day which didn't endear itself to the kids who would have preferred a bus tour but at least it wasn't raining....much

We took the subway from Haeundae to Busan and came out of the subway and realised we really had no idea how to start as the map we had didn't really match up with what we were looking at. (We had 4 adults all trying to work out what the map was telling us) Eventually we agreed to walk left from the subway along the main road and hope for the best.

We passed the fire station

And the police station

And we went into an underground area/subway and asked for directions.....

And after a bit more of a walk we finally came to Yongdusan Park.

It was so lovely and green and cool. We just sat amongst the trees for awhile, enjoying the peace and quiet, the shade and the small breeze.

The we walked to the top to see the statue of Admiral Yi

As well as other statues and things of interest

And then we found an escalator on the otherside which would have taken us up the hill!! However, it wasn't as pretty as the side we walked up. So we walked down the stairs toward the main shopping area.

I was surprised to hear Christian music being played through speakers along the main shopping area.

We also walked around Busan market which was fascinating and very busy. I actually forgot to take photos there as our senses where just inundated with so much stimulation that I totally forgot about photos. We were going to have lunch at the market but we were so over stimulated that we went back to the main shopping area and found a cheap bibimbap place. Most of the clientele were students so we probably were being looked at for several reasons ;-) The bibimbap and mandu were great.

This was a cute sign in Busan

The following day we caught the KTX to Daejeon. We had to get the kids up early and grabbed some pastries for breakfast before catching the subway from Haeundae to Busan. The kids weren't overly thrilled at being woken up early and the adults were in need of a good coffee by the time we reached the station in Busan. That's why this picture always brings a smile to my face. We sat the kids in the "Happy lounge" while we organised tickets and really, none of the kids were looking particularly happy sitting there surrounded by all our backpacks LOL (Kids are good at "Keeping it real")

Holiday in Haeundae

2010-12-26T15:28:00.000+10:30

I did quickly post about Busan and Haeundae Beach while we were in Korea but didn't have time to add photos so you may find I've doubled up but the pictures add to the comments :-)

Haeundae Beach, I think, takes about 45 minutes from Busan by subway with one transfer. At one point along the line there were moving adverts on the wall, I suppose similar to how you used to get the flip books that would make a moving picture it is the same effect with sitting in a moving train watching pictures on the wall as you zoom past. Apart from that, it is a long ride, but it's worth taking a trip out to Haeundae Beach.

Apparently there is no smoking on the beach. (see the guy smoking next to the sign LOL)

While we were at the beach a camera crew was filming some surf life savers ~~playing games~~ practicing their life saving skills.

And then the fog rolled in....

And then the clean up crew arrived and cleaned up the beach. I have never seen this happen in Australia!!

It was a bit too cold for us to go swimming but the kids went in for a bit and then played footy (My nephew actually brought a football with him to Korea!)on the beach which caused a few stares. But while we had a footy, my husband hadn't packed any footwear suitable for the beach. How surprised were we when we found a pair (actually there were a few pairs) of Aussie thongs for sale. They were about 5000 won so we couldn't pass by them without buying a pair :-)

Haendae also has a market which is worth a look.

I had posted a few photos before about the power lines in Seoul, here is a photo of the power lines in Haeundae

Some fun photos of places near the market

We spent 2 nights in Haeundae and stayed at the Lord Beach Hotel. It was cheap and the accomodation was very basic but seeing as we're only there to sleep it didn't bother us too much. It was easy to find from the subway station and only a street back from the beach. We walked to a nearby bakery for breakfast and there were plenty of restaurants to choose from.

This chicken was our favourite meal in Haeundae!! I should have taken a photo of the outside of the restaurant but it was quite late when we ate and we were starving so it's lucky I even remembered to take photos of the food.

You can see the huge Pepsi bottles in the pictures. We would sometimes forget that we would be served water at meal times but sometimes the kids just wanted something fizzy. (and want their own bottles) We would get a few stares when we ordered so many drinks :-)

The other night we were in Haeundae we had Korean BBQ which was also delicious.

I really think Busan and Haeundae are interesting places to go in Korea if you have the time. We once met an American who took a very early train to Busan from Seoul and did a day trip because one of his children was born there and he wanted some photos. I think you'd have to be really organised to make the trip and find the things you want photos of all in one day but it seems do-able. We had two nights and it wasn't enough time to really get a good understanding of the area so we hope we can get back there one day and explore some more.

Arriving in Busan

2010-12-14T09:01:00.013+10:30

It's been five months since we were in Busan but it feels much longer than that!! We had taken the bullet train from Seoul to Busan which was the beginning of a 7 day whirlwind tour out of Seoul. Altogether there were 4 adults and 7 children so we made quite a crowd walking the streets and wandering through the market in Busan but it was lots of fun. We had never been to Busan before and so it meant we did take wrong turns and perhaps it took us longer than most people to find things and we did have to convince the kids "no we're not lost" more than once. (while crossing our fingers behind our backs ;-))

Here is Busan station. We found our way out of the building and somehow managed to find our way to the subway station outside.

This is the first sign we saw when we came out of the building. I thought it was cute.

On our way to the subway station to catch the subway to Haeundae

Across the road

Then we were on our way to Haeundae.

When we came out of the subway station in Haeundae, this is what we saw.

We stayed at the Lord Beach Hotel

I figure I can't finish this post without at least one food photo. When we arrived in Haeundae the first thing we did (after unloading our bags) was to have lunch. Haeundae has lots of seafood places to eat at, which is great if you love seafood. We had one person with a seafood allergy which made things interesting but we found a place that made great food without seafood :-)

And this is what it looked like when we had finished. A great start to our
"out of Seoul" jaunt.

Korean schnitzel

2010-11-27T18:00:00.007+10:30

We love Korean food and when we're in Korea we eat as much Korean food as we can. However, the kids sometimes struggle with spicy food especially everyday, so they like us to sometimes have food which has minimal, or no, spice.

Lucky for us, when we stay at Seoul Tower Ville it is a 2 minute walk to one of the best schnitzel places in Seoul :-) We call it schnitzel but it's also known as pork cutlet or Don kaseu.

This place just has a constant stream of people coming and going at dinner time. It's a pretty basic restaurant but your meal is on the table almost as soon as you've ordered. You also get to put your own kimchi on your plate :-) These are important things to know when your traveling with tired, spiced out, children.

We probably had a bit more of a wait for a table than most people because we had to seat 11 people this trip (There were 4 adults and 7 children) but still the wait wasn't anymore than 10 minutes.

This restaurant is just across the street from Namsan and walking distance to the cable car so you could walk off the large meal with a walk up Namsan or there's a nice coffee shop next door if coffee is what you need. The coffe shop is called "Coffee Namoo" or "Coffee Tree"

Adoption Article

2010-11-22T21:43:00.002+10:30

More babies waiting to be adopted
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/11/117_76735.html

By Kwon Mee-yoo

As rules for adoption become more stringent, more children are left waiting to be adopted.

A growing number of babies born by unwed mothers are up for adoption, but the number of people who want to take the children is falling, creating a widening gap.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Korea Central Adoption Resources, the number of applicants who applied to adopt children was roughly 1,760 last year, down from 2,652 in 2007.

The number of children adopted overseas fell to 1,125 in 2009 from 1,250 in 2008, while domestic adoption edged up to 1,314 in 2009 from 1,306 in 2008.

Hong Mi-kyung of Holt Children’s Services said the growth in domestic adoption is nearly immaterial compared to the increase of the waiting babies¬ .

“More children in orphanage facilities or foster families are waiting to be adopted. Some of them spend three to four years in a foster home,” Hong said.

The adoption agency said there are fewer families who can afford to raise another child due to extreme inflation and difficult economic conditions.

“In Korea, foster parents are becoming more specific when deciding to adopt. They prefer girls and check the biological parents’ backgrounds and levels of education,” Hong added.

Currently, the adoption approval system is only applied in international adoptions. The system requires the court or the ministry’s approval prior to a child being taken out of Korea.

The government is seeking the renewal of the Act on Special cases Concerning the Promotion and Procedure of Adoption and it includes the adoption approval system for domestic cases as well.

Hong said that it is too early to expand the adoption approval system in Korea.

“Overall Koreans still have a negative image regarding adoption and those willing are insufficient to cover the domestic orphans waiting for parents. We have to consider that the children who cannot find adoptive parents have no choice but to end up in an orphanage,” she said. “Most of the internal adoptions are closed adoptions and people would avoid revealing all documents in the courts to adopt a child.”
meeyoo@koreatimes.co.kr

What the????

2010-11-16T18:01:00.005+10:30

In Australia we are very conscious of occupational health and safety issues. So you would never see power lines like this in Australia ;-)

In Korea the power points on the wall don't have an on/off switch - you just plug it in and it's ready to go. Recently we had some Koreans staying with us and they thought our power point was broken. We had to show them how to turn the switch on so they could get power.

Changdeokgung and tea at Insadong

2010-11-09T17:32:00.010+10:30

I haven't had time recently to blog so I'm adding some photos of Chandeokgung for you to have a look at :-)

We took an English speaking tour here (we came here in 2004 and joined the Korean speaking tour so of course understood nothing!!) so it was nice to hear a bit about the palace. Unfortunately the kids were over tours by the time we came here. (We had taken tours all through China) Still, it was a nice way to spend part of the day.

Changdeokgung has a secret garden which we saw in 2004. It is very pretty and if you have time it's worth taking a look but it does cost extra for that tour and those tours are only a couple of times a day.

Instead of touring the Secret Garden we decided to take the subway to Insadong where we enjoyed sitting in a cool room drinking tea :-)

Happy Hangul day!

2010-10-09T09:27:00.002+10:30

Today is Hangul day.

Hangul is the name of the Korean alphabet. It is something I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with. The great thing about Hangul is that it is very easy to memorise the letters. Infact, when I first started learning Korean I was told that you can actually teach yourself all the letters within a day. I must be a bit slow because it took me a couple of days ;-)

If you have a lattice screen you can actually trace most of the letters in the screen and I have no idea if this is true or not but I was told that is how Korean mothers used to teach children to read while they potty train because the bathroom door in traditional houses can be lattice and the children can see the Korean letters while on the toilet. (Does this ring true or sound like a story to you ;-))

Although Hangul is very easy to learn it is then very hard to actually remember words and structure sentences. This is where my ongoing battle with the Korean language lays. I can read whole books (well, children's books)of Korean language but I struggle to understand what it is I'm actually reading!

The first time we went to Korea we had absolutely no idea about hangul and I wouldn't have even known that it looked different to Chinese or Japanese alphabets. The next time we went to Korea I could read all the signs but I had no idea what the signs were saying. The last time I was happy to realise I could actually understand a lot of the signs but at the same time realised my limitations with Korean language.

Of course, part of learning any language is the need to practice, practice, practice and this is part of my problem. Time, and the lack of people to practice with on a daily basis contribute to my very slow learning. I noticed that even while I was in Korea last time that my Korean improved because I was using it everyday as well as hearing it. Unfortunately that just isn't possible at home.

There seems to be a push in Korea to get everyone speaking English. Sometimes in Korea I see English words written phonetically in Korean and even though it brings me joy to read a word and understand what it says it also seems a shame that they would choose to use the English word over the Korean word.

So today I will remember King Sejong and the great work he did in making the Korean alphabet so much easier to read and learn and continue to push on in my efforts to actually understand what I read in Korean and to hopefully also be understood when I speak Korean :-)

Seoul Tower and the Teddy Bear Museum

2010-09-10T16:59:00.009+09:30

Seoul tower is always a fun place to go and take the kids. Seoul tower ville is about a 5 minute walk from the cable car so the kids also enjoy the cable car ride. It was especially good to be so close to the cable car because it was such a hot day when we went. (although I don't think there was any air-conditioning in the cable car and it was packed with people.)

When we reached the top of Namsan there was a display of traditional Korean fighting so we sat in the shade and watch them hit hay stacks for a while and thrust their swords and sticks in the air. (our boys were suitably impressed ;-))

We then went to the top of Seoul tower and looked out at the city. It was an overcast day but it was probably the clearest day we were there. We could just make out the Blue House in the far distance but my camera wasn't powerful enough to get it.

It is always interesting to see how far we are from home.

We showed the kids the famous padlocks of love fence and they enjoyed trying to find ones they could read.

We then went to the teddy bear museum. A great place to wander through in the heat of the day! I'm not big on cutesy things but this museum was very good. The bears were re-enacting different events in history as well as some Korean dramas. Now it was the girls turn to have fun!

Meant to Be - Steven Curtis Chapman

2010-08-28T09:18:00.000+09:30

You can read more about Steven Curtis Chapman and his family here

Seoul Tower Ville - Myeong Dong

2010-08-24T20:24:00.008+09:30

I've mentioned before that we like staying at the Seoul Tower Ville in Myeong Dong when we are visiting Seoul as a family. The main reasons for staying there are that it's close to Myeong Dong and Namdaemun markets, the subway and there are very few places that accommodate a large family in one apartment. At STV each apartment has its own laundry, bathroom and kitchen which is different from many places we've looked at which have shared facilities. The rooms are also cleaned daily and there is a water dispenser for hot and cold water.

This time we stayed in a 3 bedroom apartment which meant the kids had their own space when they needed time to themselves or play their games. We had some family come and stay for two weeks and they had the apartment above us which was pretty much the same design as our apartment.

The main problem with STV is the steps you need to climb to get to the apartment. In Summer you can be guaranteed to have worked up a sweat by the time you reach home. (Thank goodness for air-conditioning) Of course that just means we have to stay out all day, preferably shopping ;-) We tried to only climb the stairs once or twice a day.

The fact that Mr Ko and his wife and the people at STV are very friendly and helpful also help us to make the decision to return there. Mr Ko's wife owns a restaurant in Myeong Dong and the food is delicious and very reasonably priced and if you stay at STV you get a discount. At one point we had a travel group of 11 and we had a wonderful meal at Gorirang (the restaurant)and had a great time.

There are also some pork cutlet restaurants about 2 minute walk up the hill from STV (on the way to the Nam San cable car) which the kids loved but they are worthy of their own post.

Over the years we have seen the renovations Mr Ko has done to the apartments and they get better each time we stay there. It is basic accommodation and not hotel accommodation but it suits the needs and budget of our family.

Lotte World revisited

2010-08-22T18:01:00.005+09:30

It seems that if you have children and you're in Seoul the place to go is Lotte World. This was one of the priorities our kids put on their "must see" lists. We went there four years ago and they still have fond memories of Lotte World. We went there on our second full day in Korea because we felt that after all the touring the kids had done in China they needed a day where they could just relax and have fun.

The great thing about Lotte World is that it's partly indoors and partly outdoors. This meant we could escape the humidity for a few hours while we did all the indoors activities. We could also go back inside when the humidity outside was getting too much for us.

The other great thing about Lotte World is there is enough fun for all ages. There were a few rides our 6 year old was too short or too young to enjoy but we found things to do while the older kids did their thing.

The parade is fun but they have changed it since we were last there and I don't think there were as many floats as what we saw last time. (Didn't matter to the kids)

The food isn't overly great at Lotte World. The kids remembered we ate at Lotteria before going into Lotte World last time and they wanted to re-live that experience again. I was reminded how much I don't like the food at Lotteria. (The service wasn't great either and they were impatient with me as I tried to negotiate the menu and order 6 different meals) When we started feeling hungry at tea time we found a small food gallery in the lower floor of the Lotte Complex and we had delicious bowls of Bibimbap while the kids loved the pork schnitzels they'd been hanging out for. (Pork schnitzels, otherwise known as pork cutlet or don kat su will probably have it's own post later on)

Another great thing about Lotte World is that the subway takes you right there. Get off at Jamsil station and follow the signs to Lotte World. You can also shop at Lotte Mart and the other shops in the complex. There is also a museum which is worth looking at if you have the time.

It's all about food!

2010-08-19T13:37:00.006+09:30

I'm sat here on a cold, raining, windy winters day with finally a free afternoon to myself, so I'm taking the opportunity to reflect on all the places I've been in the last few months....places where it was warm and the sun shone. Now, Korea has a very special place in the hearts of all the people in my family so we do tend to have a bias towards the time we spent in Korea being the best part of the last few months. There are different things we have liked in the different countries we have been but overall Korea has left the best impression.

I have noticed for our family that food plays an important role in how our family relates to a country. (tragic, I know) The food in China was ok but we found it a bit bland. (maybe because we only got to eat at touristy places) The food in America had some good dishes but it often lacked vegetables and general healthiness. (ok, so I did fall for the baby back pork ribs at TGIF's and the buffalo wings at an Irish pub in New York but not particularly healthy dishes ;-)) In Korea we love the food. Some of the food was a bit too spicy for the kids and depending on the sort of day we were having it would be a deciding factor as to whether the kids would enjoy it or not but for us adults all the dishes were great. I think food is one way you can connect with a country. If you just try to stick with food 'you know' you don't experience all of what a country has to offer. (same with beer but that's another post;-)) That's why it was important for me to try Peking duck at a Peking duck restaurant and grits while I was in the South of America. I can't remember a lot of the names of the food we had in Korea but part of the fun and experience is just going for it and hoping that what you've chosen is a winner :-)

So you might notice as I post photos of Korea (and other places) that there are a lot of food photos. Food in Korea not only tastes nice but it is often present well also. However, the food pics I have today don't actually look all that well presented but let me tell you it was delicious!!

It was our first meal in Korea for this holiday and we went to Myeong Dong. We were all a bit tired and everywhere was crowded and we were looking for somewhere to eat that not only looked delicious but had a table for 6. (Turns out finding a table for 6 is a lot easier than finding a table for 11 which is what we had to do when some of our family joined us in Korea but it's all part of the experience :-))We came across a restaurant with rice dishes and noodle dishes which we thought would be perfect. Turns out the rice was a little bit spicy for the kids but they gave it a good go. The noodle dish was a cold noodle dish but it was exactly what we needed. The rice dish was cooked at our table. A great start to our time in Korea.

Chicago

2010-08-12T05:46:00.002+09:30

Our tour ended in Chicago at the Global Leadership Summit at Willow Creek in SOuth Barrington. Usually I watch the GLS in Australia on DVD with other Ministers and Pastors in my state so it was exciting to actually be at the live summit in Chicago. The funny thing is I found myself watching the screens more than watching what was happening on stage so it was very similar to what I have experienced in previous years. The main difference was instead of sitting with maybe 1000 people, I was sitting with 7,000 people as well as thousands of others in other satellite areas. There were some fantastic speakers and we got to hear Andy Stanley speak which was great seeing as we'd visited his church in Atlanta but he was away when we were there. (That's one of the problems of visiting churches in America during Summer holidays, lots of lead Pastors are away) I stocked up on books and DVD's and just hoped that I was still within the suitcase weight limit for the ride home.

We also spent half a day looking around Chicago. (You don't get to see much of Chicago in half a day) My husband wanted a Chicago Bulls t-shirt but apparently because it's not basketball season they are hard to come by. However my persistence paid off and I eventually found one. Tried an absolutely humongous icecream that had a waffle base with chocolate fudge, three scoops of icecream, covered in whipped cream, topped with nuts and a cherry on top. Couldn't finish it but it was delicious! It was just across the street from the Hershey's chocolate shop. For tea we went to Thank God it's Friday's and had buffalo wings and baby back pork ribs as a farewell dinner. After huge meals like that it's always good to have a walk so we walked to the Navy Pier and shopped and waited for the fireworks. Unfortunately we were just so tired that we didn't wait for the fireworks and instead walked back to our hotel along lake Michigan. (talk about a HUGE lake!)We watched the fireworks from the lake's edge. One of our group was brave enough to dip her feet in the lake but the water was freezing. Such a lovely way to end our trip.

The next day we went to a willow creek satellite church. It should have been a straight forward drive there but for some reason the GPS navigator kept freezing up in Chicago and there was a Lolapalooza concert in the park that our GPS kept wanting us to drive through. Eventually got there. The church is in a lovely old theatre and the architecture was amazing. I have noticed that American buildings have some really interesting architecture. I kept thinking if I was an arts student I would have a wonderful time exploring the buildings. The sermon was on the data projector, I had heard about this but had never experienced it before. Turns out it's not as distracting as I thought it would be.

Our flight from Chicago to LA was delayed which meant it was touch and go as to whether we would catch our connecting flight back to Australia. We raced from one terminal to the other to catch our plane in LA. They had closed the counter when we got there but thankfully they reopened it for us and we were able to catch the flight home. (I had forgotten what a loooong flight it is!

So now I need to find time to process all I've seen and heard in the last three weeks. (I also need time to go back and remember my China/Korea trip!)It's been a fantastic trip with lots of great information and ideas. I'm very glad I went but right now I'm very glad to be home :-)

New York

2010-08-06T13:29:00.003+09:30

I'm not keeping up very well with what's been happening. One of the reasons for this is that I had to pay for internet access in New York. I just can't believe that a city as big as New York doesn't have free internet access!! We were close to Borders and McDonalds who both claimed to have free WiFi but I tried going to borders and the internet access was terrible. I didn't bother trying McDonalds.

So here is the quick run down of what I did in New York. We went on a bus tour to see the sights and also had a one day pass to many of the attractions in New York. Went to the wax museum. Took the Straton island ferry past the Statue of Liberty and another day took a boat ride which went a little bit closer to the Statue of Liberty. I feel I've seen enough of the statue now. Went up the Empire state building. Saw ground zero. Saw Mary Poppins on Broadway. Tried all different forms of transport - horse and carriage, pedicab, taxi, bus, boat and subway as well as a lot of good old fashioned walking.

It was funny seeing all the places I'd only heard about before eg. Broadway, time square, Madison Square Garden, Central park etc.

We went to three churches in one day. New Life Fellowship in Queens (one of my favourite churches that we've visited), Brooklyn Tabernacle and Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

For cultural experience I tried waffles for breakfast and a bagel with cream cheese. I ate pasta in Little Italy but I don't know if that's classed as an American cultural experience.

Had my first attempt at karaoke at a little pub in New York. Lots of fun.

I didn't really connect with New York. I think there are just soo many people there and everything's a bit crowded and a bit dirty. (although we were told it's better now than a few years ago) People only seem to be friendly if they think they will get a tip from you. Lots of people ask if we're English. Apparently some poeple find it hard to differentiate between English, Australian and South African accents in America which is funny but sad.

The subway in Korea is MUCH better than the subway in New York. The subway in Seoul is clean, safe, easy to use, has great maps to follow and gets you exactly where you want to go. It's the exact opposite in New York.

Atlanta

2010-07-30T07:40:00.002+09:30

So I've spent the last few days in Atlanta Georgia. It's hot and humid here but at least it feels like summer! I tried grits and fried chicken and today I had a hotdog with coleslaw so I feel I've tasted the local cuisine :-)

I think my accent is throwing a few people and the girl taking my lunch order today kept asking me to repeat the order. Then someone thought I was from Ontario Canada?? I received a blank stare when I said I was from Australia. Someone else told me my accent was cute...

We have visited North Point church which was huge and had great décor. (Can you say that about a church)I wished I was a child so I could attend the children's ministry programmes!! It looks amazing. I really liked the idea of everyone being part of a small group even in children's ministry. I also liked the idea of recognising what ministry areas where "foyer, living room and kitchen" areas. (guest, friend family) At a discussion later we thought as Aussies we should perhaps chuck in "verandah" because some people like to just have a peek in from the verandah rather than rushing straight into someone's foyer.

Today we went to the Jimmy Carter museum and the Martin Luther King JR centre. Then we went to the coke museum. Unfortunately Australia wasn't one of the continents represented in the coke tasting area but we had fun trying other countries drinks. I came away on a sugar high and a definite knowledge that I will not be trying the drink "Beverly" if I ever visit Italy!!

It's been great to experience Southern hospitality and get to know some of the people who live in the area.

2010-07-27T00:43:00.003+09:30

Sunday we went to The Dream Centre in the morning and Mosaic in the evening. Dream centre is an amazing place and blew me away with their mission ministry. We went to their 11am service which is so very different from anything I have experienced before with loud thumping music, dancing down the front, lights, smoke, the works. And yet there was one song that we sing in our church which was unexpected delight.

When the Pastor of the church realised there was a bunch of Aussies in the congregation he called us up on stage. He then asked us to sing the Australian national anthem. Imagine 16 rabbits caught in the headlights and I'm sure that's what we looked liked LOL!! Amazingly we all new the first verse and we sang with gusto. I doubt many people can say they've done that at the Dream Centre ;-)

In the evening we went to Mosaic. It was held in a night club venue but it was more of a "church" experience than a nightclub experience. We heard our first woman preach in an American church. She was good but seemed nervous. Again, it was good to hear of the different ministries the church is involved in.

Korean input

2010-07-27T00:38:00.003+09:30

Incase anyone comes to the blog expecting to read something about Korea and is confused by the American posts I'll put a comment in about something Korean.

There's a big Korea town in LA! Unfortunately I haven't been able to get there. This is a bit of a shame because in the 4 days I was home (between my time in Korea and America) I didn't buy any more maxim. So I have 5 maxim sachets (Korean coffee mix) with me for emergencies but I'd like to get some more!!

Cazy image thingy

2010-07-26T01:04:00.001+09:30

Appologies for the crazy photobucket thingy on the screen. I'm trying to fix the problem but at the moment I don't have much time.

Church hopping

2010-07-26T00:42:00.004+09:30

We are enjoying beautiful days in LA. It starts of cool in the morning, warms up in the afternoon with a slight breeze and cools down in the evenings. Great weather for touring. Had lunch at Long beach one day which was so lovely to sit watching the boats in the water and the people biking and skating along the path in the sand.

I'm not here just to sight see, I'm here to look at different styles and models of church and leadership. (Which perhaps could sometimes be classed at sightseeing) Our first stop was to the Church Multiplication Association. This is a very interesting model of church which was described like a link of networks. The networks of small groups of people meet in houses for church but also have smaller groups of 2 and 3 to keep people spiritually accountable and ask the hard questions of each other. It presented as a very simple way of being church but there also seemed to be very little connection between the house churches which was hard for me to get my head around. There wasn't a hub church where people could sometimes gather which is why it was described more as a link with Mother, daughter and granddaughter churches.

In complete contrast our second church we visited was the Crystal Cathedral! WOW, I have never seen so much glass in one place. They have a bathroom where someone donated a lot of money for women to feel good about themselves which has gold taps and black marble. Strange enough the doors were wooden slats and there didn't seem to be any locks??? Lots of mirrors (fitting in with the glass theme?) Automoatic soap dispensers and as well as automatic flushing and automatic water from the taps. It actually made me feel more sad than beautiful to think this amount of money was spent to help women feel special. I doubt God thinks the bathroom makes us look beautiful. It seems the c=Crystal Cathedral is going through a time of transition and they are having a rough time with it so it will be interesting to see how they proceed in the long term.

Our third church was Saddleback. Unfortunately Rick Warren wasn't there as he had a nasty gardening accident with an African fire plant earlier in the week and is now recovering. I enjoyed the music but the service seemed to suddenly end with offering and people started walking out as the baskets were being passed around. A strange phenomenon. Lots of clapping and happy people. The campus was so much bigger than I had imagined.

So that's what I've been doing the past few days.

Haven't had any more crazy cultural misunderstandings and I've come to accept the fact I'll never work out the coins here and just let the shop assistant work it out.

Slight detour to America

2010-07-23T14:35:00.003+09:30

I'll get back to our Korean holiday eventually but right now I'm in America for the first time!

Just a word of warning, I will write about cultural differences between Australian's and American's as I experience them. Hopefully I don't come across as too idiotic!

Such a long plane ride to America and yet I arrived in America an hour after I left home!! (That's the magic of time zones ;-)) I decided the best way to combat jet lag was to stay up all day. I almost did it, except we drove into LA in the afternoon and I kept having micro naps. I am pleased that I didn't go to bed until 8:30pm and woke to the alarm at 7am.

Breakfast was my first culture shock. I saw a container that held things that looked liked scones but from what I know of America I decided they must be "Biscuits". There was what I thought looked like soup, like creamy chicken soup, next to the biscuits. (odd thought, I know) I asked the waitress what it was and she replied "Gravy". I, in my cultural misunderstanding, asked "what sort of gravy"? She replied, with an odd look on her face "Gravy, gravy, like what you have on turkey." Not one of my finer responses in life, I replied..."Not on my turkey" and winced inside at my cultural insensitivity. She just smiled at me in reply. I chose to move away at that point before I opened my mouth again. Between biscuits and gravy, french toast and maple syrup and sugary pastries, I decided to try Oatmeal. Turns out you just add hot water and you have instant oatmeal. I put a bit of milk with it and a hint of maple syrup. (no honey) The coffee and juice was great!

My second culture shock of the day was at Disney Land. (ahhh, such a happy place.) I went to buy something and I thought it was a good time to use up some of the coins in my purse. Lets just say the poor lady behind the counter was very patient with me as I tipped my coins into my hand and let her choose what she wanted. She told me what she was picking out but the coins are so small I couldn't read what each one was quick enough.

Tipping is also an interesting experience but no-one has complained yet so I figure I'm doing ok ;-)

Disney Land was great and we went on most of the rides and spent most of the day there. I went on Thunder mountain which is probably the closest I've ever been to a roller coaster ride. I even wore a badge (button) that said it was my first time LOL!

Another thing I found out is in America "Starters" means "Entree" and "Entree" means "Main course". Such subtle differences but can be quite confusing for all involved.

Having a more serious day tomorrow.

A quick overview

2010-07-15T08:32:00.003+09:30

I had great plans of blogging my way through Korea and keeping a diary and neither of those things happened. In fact, I kept a diary through China and as soon as I hit Korea I never saw my diary again!! My excuse is we have just been waaay too busy. We have often left the house before 9am (even before the shops have opened!) and haven't arrived home until after 10pm. I do hope to blog my experiences soon.

So, here's a quick run down of what we've done while in Korea.

We took the cable car to Seoul tower (and went to the toilet while there as wsas instructed by the guide book) and went to the teddy bear museum...very cute.
We went the day at Lotte World (theme park), letting the kids burn off some energy.
We went to City Hall to watch the Korean soccer team in the World Cup.
We went to Namdaemun, Insadong, Itaewon, Dongdaemun, Myeong Dong, Techno Mart, Electronics market and the Hongik University flea Market. (Shopping areas...and some of these places have almost become a second home to us LOL)
We went to Changdeok Palace.
We had Korean tea at a tea house in Insadong
We took the KTX to Busan and paddled in Haeundae beach and shopped
We took the KTX to Daejeon and went to expo park and science museum and then sat in a hot foot spa. And we shopped shopped
We took the KTX to Jeonju and slept in a traditional house and performed a traditional tea ceremony.
We took the KTX to Iksan and met up with friends, and shopped.
We celebrated 4 birthdays in Korea and had a traditional Korean birthday breakfast and tried Korean birthday cake.
We saw Nanta - a fantastic stage performance of dance, comedy, cooking, acrobatics and drumming
We had a day trip to Carribean Bay - a water theme park
We went to Coex mall to see the aquarium
We went to Suwon and saw the Hwaseong fortress, played archery, saw a tomb of a king and went to the folk village.
We went to the 63 building. (found out top floor is closed due to renovations) We visited the wax museum.
We had a swan boat ride on the Han river
We have caught up with friends and met new friends.
We have eaten as much Korean food as we can but the kids have also had their fill of Don kat soo (pork cutlet). We also tried Korean Chinese food.

I will expand on all of these things later.

Today is our packing day and as you've probably already guessed, last minute shopping!

We came to Korea each carrying a back pack and only 2 suitcases. We leave carrying those things with and extra 2 cases and an extra bag. We haven't tried lifting the cases yet!!

Last night, my youngest daughter who has been experiencing some homesickness and missing our dog and her Grandma said "It seems funny going home because this feels like home now". I think this is how we all feel. We are happy to be going home but we will miss the place that has become our second home.

We'll be back :-)

Chitty Chitty bang bang - Lee Hyo Ri

2010-07-12T10:30:00.001+09:30

My 13 year old daughter asked me if I knew they chitty Bang Bang song. I replied that I did and started singing the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang song I knew from my childhood.

It turns out that is NOT the song she was referring to. Apparently I was the only one in the family not to notice this song playing in shops around Korea.

I am now fully informed :-)

Daejeon

2010-07-10T08:47:00.003+09:30

From Busan we caught the KTX to Daejeon. The great thing about the hotels in Korea was that check-out wasn't until 12pm so we were able to take things easy before leaving. (Although we did leave before the check out deadline)

I take it that Daejeon isn't a popular tourist spot in Korea. Whenever we said to people in Korea that we were going to Daejeon they would always respond "why"?

Again, we were very pleased with how easily we found our hotel. We stayed at the Daelim tourist hotel in Daejeon and it was definitely value for money. The rooms for 3 people were huge and had a lovely feel to them. There was a huge tv in the rooms as well as computers for internet access. (Love the easy internet access where ever we've been in Korea) There was a free "western breakfast" for guests which was a nice surprise. It was only a simple breakfast but that's all we needed. There were mini pork sausages, scrambled eggs,toast and we think soup (or maybe custard?) but no-one was game to try it, as well as lettuce and tomatoes. We had thought the rooms for three people were about 80,000 won a night but when we paid it ended up even cheaper which was a great bonus :-)

In Daejeon there are a lot of underground shopping areas, which is fantastic if you are there in Summer. Of course it meant it took us longer to get to where we were going because we'd all be looking at the different stalls while enjoying the cool walk underground.

Our first night in Daejeon the kids were tired and didn't want to go far to eat so we went to a BBQ place. It wasn't until we had sat down that we saw the prices for Korean cattle BBQ and realised we were in for an expensive meal. The meal ended up costing us 270,000 won for 11 people! So far our cheapest meal for 11 people was at Myeong Dong where we had a ham and sausage stew, galbi and bulgogi for 43,000 won.

We tried the Daejeon city tour bus which I think was only 2000 won per person but we also had a 10% discount voucher. We took the kids to Expo park which is like a science theme park. Unfortunately the park is very old and there were hardly any people there and some things have closed down. We went there 4 years ago and it has deteriorated quite a bit since then. We went on a turbo ride where you watch a movie and the chairs move around to make you feel like you're part of the movie, we saw a 3D cartoon called wacky wolf and then saw an IMAX movie about aliens looking for a place to live and how our eco system is deteriorating. The turbo ride was in English but the other 2 were in Korea but we were still able to understand the message they were trying to get across - "Look after our planet".

From Expo Park we walked over to the Science museum. That is a fun place with lots of hands on experiments for the kids to try. It was also lovely and cool. We only had a limited time there before our tour bus was arriving to pick us up so we had to rush through it.

We were the only people on the tour bus so we would just tell the driver where we wanted to go next and he took us straight there. He didn't speak a lot of English but he was very friendly.

Our last stop for the day was at a hot spring foot spa. It's free and in the middle of a small park. Lots of people sitting around with their feet in the water just enjoying the afternoon breeze with friends. I thought this would be a lovely way to end each day ;-) The locals instructed us on foot spa etiquette. First we had to wash our feet at a designated foot washing area and then step straight into the water. Of course we never got the warning about how hot the water would be before stepping in. Luckily it was hot at one end and slowly got cooler the further away you went. We sat in the middle. So we sat and soaked our feet and sweated and chatted to the locals.

The kids got sick of sitting after 45 minutes so we walked to a nearby park and kicked the footy around.

After our tour we walked around the market for awhile before heading back to the hotel.

The kids decided they didn't want to go out for tea so we stopped at a corner shop and bought some 2 minute noodles. Another great thing about most of the places we have stayed is that there is a water dispenser in the rooms that has hot and cold water. We could pour the hot water straight into the noodle bowls and tea was ready!!

South Korea's hottest 20 men

2010-07-08T09:24:00.001+09:30

Check out this link to see CNNGO's thoughts on Korea's hottest men :-)

http://www.cnngo.com/life/south-koreas-top-20-hottest-male-celebs-452146

Busan

2010-07-08T08:34:00.003+09:30

Before flying to Korea we had downloaded some city tour discount vouchers from the Korean tourism organisation thinking this would help us see more of the cities we visit. However, we also found some DIY walking tours for Busan so we decided that in Busan we would try a walking tour.

We weren't really sure of our bearings and while we did get to see a few things in Busan, we did get side tracked at the markets ;-) However, I think the walking tour was best for us at the time as our children had been on several all day tours in China and now whenever we mention the word "tour" they just want to head for the hills.

We went to Yongdusan Park and had a lovely walk up a small hill that was shaded by many trees; just what we needed in the heat of the day. (Shade) At the top was a lookout but we couldn't see much because of the smog. There were also some statues, including one of Admiral Yi.

We discovered we could have just used an escalator had we been on the other side of the hill but the walk was nice.

The market area in Busan is a little bit like Namdaemun market in Seoul because I think you could get easily lost in either ;-)

We ate Bibimbap for 4000won a bowl which I thought was good value and mandu for 3000won.

We couldn't do a lot due to the heat and humidity but it was a lovely day in Busan. We didn't have a lot of time in Busan so I think we'll have to make plans for another trip ;-)

Haeundae Beach

2010-07-07T16:20:00.003+09:30

I was going to blog with photos but I'm just not finding the time so I'll blog photos later.

Last week we headed to Busan on the KTX (bullet train). We organised 7 day passes before we went which meant we could travel where-ever we wanted to go within a 7 day time span. Busan is a place we've been wanting to go but just have never had the time. As it was we only had one full day in Busan and 2 half days which was not enough time but we did manage to see a bit while we were there.

We stayed at the Lord Beach hotel in Busan. We chose this hotel because it was close to Haeundae beach and it was only 80,000 won a night for three people. (There were 11 of us in our travel group so we've been careful with budgeting) It was definitely a budget hotel but it met our needs and was what we expected for the price. (we figure we're only there to sleep anyway)

Not having been to Busan before we weren't sure how we would find our hotel but it turned out to be quite easy. We had our trusty Korean travel guide that we got free from the Korean National tourism organisation which has helped us several times in Korea. We caught the subway from Busan to Haeundae (something like 22 stops with a transfer) and then asked for directions from the information booth inside Haeundae subway station and they guided us to the correct exit. As we emerged from the subway we saw our hotel!! Felt very proud of ourselves finding our own way with minimal stress.

Of course the first thing the kids wanted to do was go to the beach. They quickly found out the beach is different to what we're used to in Australia. The sand was very coarse and hurt their feet. (Luckily we were close to the life guards and at the end of our beach visit the life guards kindly washed down the kid's feet with the hoses they were using to wash down their equipment.)

About 5pm the fog started rolling in which was such an odd phenomena for us to see at the beach. About 5:30 they closed the beach and people were only allowed in the water up to their knees. We decided that was dinner time ;-)

We had the most yummiest fried chicken we've ever tasted for dinner. We actually didn't get out for dinner until 10pm after wandering the streets and taking in the sites. It's much nicer walking around in the cool evening rather than in the heat of the day.

I'll blog more about Busan later

Lotte World Fun!

2010-07-02T18:22:00.004+09:30

Being so hot and humid in Seoul it's important to find things for the kids to do that helps them to keep cool. Lotte World is a place where the whole family can have a fun day out. This is the second time we've visited Lotte World and even though I'm not big on theme parks, I have enjoyed the time we have spent there. This time we arrived at Lotte world about 12pm and left about 7pm even though we hadn't been on all the rides we were planning on trying.

There's definitely things to do for the whole family as well as parades and concerts throughout the day. Some of the rides are inside and some are outside so you can plan your day accordingly to be inside during the hottest part of the day.

There is a special section for the younger children and we enjoyed taking a stroll through the bug garden and looking at the Korean doll displays.

Lotte World is easy to get to on the subway.

Chonggyecheon Photos

2010-06-29T08:25:00.005+09:30

Here are a couple of photos taken along Chonggyecheon. Unfortunately the photos I took of the laser show came out blurry, which is to be expected.

Strolling Chonggyecheon

2010-06-28T08:48:00.004+09:30

One of the things I love about Korea is that everything is open late at night and there are people still shopping or walking or sitting together. At home we would have dinner and then watch tv or study before going to bed. In Korea we have dinner and that gives us the energy to go for a walk or do more shopping!!

Last night we decided we had eaten waaaay too much food the last few days so we just picked up a few street snacks for the kids and made our way to cheonggyecheon - stream. (This was about 8pm which would be unheard of at home as the kids are "starving" by 6pm at home) We walked along it until we came to Dongdaemun and the clothes plaza. Most of the stalls had shut for the night but there were enough open for us to browse the thousands of hats, belts, glasses and pyjamas they had on offer.

Walking along the stream there was a laser show and then further down a few people were watching a movie on a screen. There were lots of couples sitting along the bank with their feet in the water and people of all ages just walking along the path like us.

It was a wonderful way to end a long day of shopping.

Next stop Shanghai

2010-06-26T07:50:00.009+09:30

We flew from Xi'an to Shanghai and the caught the maglev train to our guest house. Our boys were pretty impressed :-) We stayed with Korean friends so we had the best of both worlds; Sightseeing in China while eating Korean. We hadn't seen our friends for 4 years so it was great to catch up.

We hadn't made any solid plans while in Shanghai so I hate to say this but most of the time I have no idea where we were. We just went with the flow, so please excuse my ignorance ;-)

Our first night in Shanghai we went to an Old Shanghai market place which was crowded and full of people trying to coming up to us trying to sell watches and bags and expo toys. We were also told to keep a close eye on our bags. There were so many people there we could hardly move.

We then walked along Nanjing road where there was a bit more room to move but still a lot of sellers trying to sell us wheels for our shoes and watches.

The crowds were a bit overwhelming for the children but then we stepped onto the Bund and even I was feeling claustrophobic! It was very pretty seeing all the boats lit up and all the buildings in lights. I wonder if it was so crowded due to the expo being on on if it's crowded like this all the time?

The kids had experienced enough of the crowds for one day so we drove around and looked at the sights from the car before heading back to the guest house for a much needed rest.

The next day we took a two hour car ride to (I think) Hangzhou. (We were asked "do you want to go to Hong jo or soo jo so we went to Hong jo...not knowing what was there) It ended up being a great day out. It was an easy day for us where we relaxed and just took it all in. We wandered through a museum and then took a short boat ride to an island where we strolled around. It was a very overcast day which gave a wonderful eery feeling to the boat ride as rode along in the mist...or maybe smog. We then went to a forest area where there were hundreds of Buddhas. It could have been a very peaceful walk had it not been for the crowds of tourists. Our youngest daughter wanted to see a Monk and we saw a few but she was getting monks confused with the story we heard in Beijing about the Monkey king (a similar story to the one we used to watch as kids on the ABC) and she was convinced Monks were part human part Monkey! LOL
That took up most of our day and it was good to have a sleep on the 2 hour ride back to Shanghai.

Our last day in Shanghai we decided to go back to the Old Shanghai market to take some photos and buy some souvenirs. Less crowded and not as many sellers coming up to us during the day.

We then headed to the airport excited about flying to Korea!!

Xi'an

2010-06-25T14:39:00.005+09:30

Our next stop was Xi'an. We had thought about taking the train from Beijing to Xi'an but opted to fly instead. We flew with China Eastern in China and they got around safely with minimal turbulence. We didn't arrive until midnight but the tour guide picked us up and took us to the hotel which was so nice not having to negotiate our way anywhere. Unfortunately we had 2 rooms which were on separate floors and one room was on a smoking floor. We only realised this when we woke up in the morning. The hotel gave us the option to move but seeing as we only had one more night there we decided to stay put. The kids decided that the buffet breakfast in Beijing was better than the breakfast in Xi'an. (breakfast in Beijing was a highlight for the kids ;-))

In Xi'an we went to the city wall, the terracotta statues and the Wild Goose Pagoda. It was a very hot day but we survived. Actually, the tour guide was very kind to us and we skipped part of the tour that we weren't interested in and sped through the pagoda because the kids were melting. The terracotta statues were the highlight in Xi'an and our youngest asked the guide a lot of questions about the Emperor and his lifestyle. I find it interesting that just when you think the kids aren't listening, they come up a heap of relevant questions.

China

2010-06-24T22:55:00.007+09:30

I was going to post a few photos from our time in China but I think if I post from every city we visited it will be too much at once. So I'm starting with Beijing today and making my way through China for the next couple of posts and then I'll get to our Korea photos.

I think the photos are self explanatory. We spent 4 days in Beijing and had three tours. I think it was the best way for us to see China but at the same time it meant very busy days and it would have been nicer to pace ourselves. The kids were definitely tired by the end of each day but a swim in the hotel pool helped to soothe their tired legs.

Our last day in Beijing we spent by ourselves and found it very easy to get around Beijing. We used the subway to get from our hotel to the Pearl market.

Being a family with 4 children we did stand out and we got a lot of "looks". We are used to looks but they were particularly noticeable in China. (especially Shanghai when people asked to have photos with us or with our oldest son) Often sellers would start by saying "because you are a busy mother I will give you good price" LOL! I can tell you that this busy mother also knows what a good price is and was willing to barter for it ;-)

So here are a few photos from Beijing

HELLO KOREA!!

2010-06-23T10:46:00.002+09:30

Just spent 9 days in China seeing the sights. We decided to take tours in China so we have done all the touristy things in Beijing, Xian and Shanghai. The tours were great but very tiring, especially in the humidity and smog but we are glad we did them. In Shanghai we stayed with a Korean friend who owns a guest house for Koreans visiting Shanghai. It was great to catch up with them and enjoy delicious Korean breakfasts :-) My oldest daughter wasn't impressed that China bans facebook and she was isolated from her friends but now we have arrived in Korea and all is right with the world again ;-)

We arrived at night and the first thing we saw was a truck load of Korean soccer supporters singing Korean soccer songs! They gave the kids a bottle of coke each which brought a smile to their tired faces.

We're all very excited to finally be in Korea!!

Rain - The biggest Badass!!

2010-06-07T16:25:00.000+09:30

Nice to see Rain get some recognition on the MTV movie awards :-)

Korean world cup soccer outfits

2010-05-28T22:13:00.005+09:30

I'm not a follower of soccer but when the world cup comes round I start to take interest. Soccer seems to be a much bigger business in South Korea than it is in Australia. (At least where I live) I've seen Socceroos apparel in the shops but it's expensive and it's green and gold which aren't particularly colours that jump out at me. I haven't heard any soccer songs from popular singers here in Australia. There isn't any hype.

I was in South Korea four years ago when the world soccer cup was in Germany. South Korea had caught a case of soccer fever and we couldn't go to the markets without someone stopping us to chant teach us the soccer chant. (I have no idea what we say in Australia) We have a whole range of South Korean world cup soccer t-shirts from "Be the reds" to "Corea 12" to dragon prints. We have bandanas and face paint to match. We even have a CD of soccer songs from 2006. While we were in Seoul, South Korea were playing and they had a big screen to broadcast it in the streets and because of the time difference, people stayed up all night watching the match in the street. It made a fantastic atmosphere. I'm looking forward to being there again this year for the soccer.

After seeing the Super Junior video clip for "Victory Korea" I'm already making a list of t-shirts I need to buy. Then, today I saw this article on Red Devil apparel and I realise I'm going to have to add to my list ;-)

Here is the article but if you want to see photos you'll have to go to the link.

Stylish new gear for Red Devils fans
May 24, 2010
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2920825

The slogan for the Red Devils T-shirt for the 2010 FIFA World Cup is “The Shout of Reds, United Korea.” World Cup fashion has diversified since 2002, when Korea co-hosted the event with Japan. By Chong Si-chong

With the 2010 FIFA World Cup less than three weeks away, the country is bracing for yet another red wave led by the Red Devils, the nickname that has been given to both the Korean national football team and their fans.

Over the course of the past eight years since it first appeared at the 2002 games in Seoul, the so-called “World Cup cheer look” has become increasingly diverse. This gives the hope-charged Red Devils a wider variety of items with which to express their fervor - from patriotic T-shirts to special edition items produced by companies launching brisk World Cup marketing schemes.

Expectations that the Korean team will make it into the round of 16 intensified last week after the coach cut four players from the roster, bringing the list another step closer to being complete. Twelve of the players who made the cut are currently playing on football teams overseas, including Park Ji-sung of Manchester United, which is the highest percentage in Korean football history.

Although there are numerous World Cup shirts being sold by street vendors, individual apparel brands and online shops such as Gmarket and Auction, the official 2010 World Cup T-shirt authorized by the Korea Football Association is a basic red round-neck T-shirt with the slogan in white calligraphy.

Kim Yu-na, modeling for Homeplus, poses in the official Red Devils T-shirt and Nike football shoes and stands with the Adidas Jabulani, the official ball for the 2010 World Cup. [YONHAP]
This year, the slogan for the T-shirt is “The Shout of Reds, United Korea.” The phrase was co-created by the Korea Football Association, Hyundai Motor and Red Devils supporter groups through an open contest. The shirt is being sold exclusively at Homeplus discount store chains.

The slogan has changed every four years, albeit with no conspicuous difference in the underlying message. Back in 2006, when the host country was Germany, the slogan was “Reds Go Together” and in 2002 the slogan was “Be the Reds.”

The red T-shirts have undergone no visible changes in design either - a disappointment for more fashion-oriented football fans. Although the photo of female Red Devils supporters in the picture on this page shows shirt styles ranging from sleeveless, ruffle-neck shirts to tank dresses, it turns out that the clothes were specially designed for those girls only. No shops - online or offline - currently sell these sexier versions of the shirts.

Women who are really looking to stand out in the crowd may choose instead to buy a reasonably priced red tube top or mini dress from a fast-fashion brand such as Forever 21 in Myeong-dong, or could resort to designing something themselves.

Among the flurry of red T-shirts being unleashed by enterprises both large and small that are aiming to rack up profits through the golden opportunity that comes every four years through the World Cup, one attention-grabber is the so-called “resolution” T-shirt being sold on the Web (www.red2010.co.kr).

The “Resolution” T-shirt made by a small-sized apparel producer is grabbing attention for the patriotic messages on the back of the shirt. Provided by Red2010
The “resolution” written on the back is apparently meant to instill patriotism. It says: “I, ____ [with a space for the wearer’s name], will again burn bright red one day in 2010.”

Below it is the famous calligraphy “Great Korean” by Ahn Jung-geun along with his handprint. Ahn was an independence activist who cut off with his ring finger in 1909 as a pledge to kill Ito Hirobumi, a Japanese colonial ruler.

“Whereas conventional Red Devils T-shirts have a white font on a red background, ours has a golden yellow font for a stronger effect,” the T-shirt producer, a small-sized firm, said in a release.

There are also other red T-shirts from larger domestic retailers such as Fila and Kappa Korea, including shirts with a tiger jumping from Asia toward the African continent, and the slogan, “Go! Korea.” The shirts are made of a patent fabric such as Coolmax, which is known to wick heat and moisture from skin.

There is also a line of World Cup shoes. Crocs, a brand of clog-shaped shoes from the United States, has come up with a collection of clogs named “Crocband Nation” that is on sale from May through the World Cup season. It consists of eight different designs representing eight of the countries participating in the 2010 World Cup: Korea, Brazil, the United States, Italy, Germany, Argentina, France and the Netherlands. The ones for Korea carry a taegeuk (the Korean version of the yin and yang design that appears on the Korean national flag) and the face of a red dragon.

Meanwhile, Converse has unveiled its World Star Collection, a package that includes a T-shirt and a pair of high-top canvas shoes in different colors with emblems from eight World Cup countries. Noticeable among them is the T-shirt and shoes for South Africa, which are green, while the shoes for the U.S. have red and white stripes.

Korea will have its first match of the 2010 World Cup against Greece at 8:30 p.m. on June 12 and experts say Korea needs to beat the European country, which is currently undergoing financial turmoil, to advance to the second round.

[MV] Super Junior - Victory Korea

2010-05-25T13:02:00.000+09:30

Airline Rankings

2010-05-21T13:14:00.005+09:30

When we first flew to Korea we went with Malaysia airlines. We had nothing to compare them to and we quite enjoyed the service we received. (even with the serious talk one of the flight attendants gave me about adopting from Korea)

The second time we went to Korea we flew Singapore and we loved it. Great service, great seats, great food. I personally would choose Singapore everytime, even with the stop over in Singapore. (Singapore airport is a good airport to explore)Try a "Singapore sling" if you fly with them!(yummy)

The first time we took all our children to Korea we flew with Cathay Pacific because they had a great deal on flights. Unfortunately it did mean 2 stops on the way and one of our children didn't cope very well with ear pressure. They had some great bags for the children but the staff weren't particularly child friendly on that flight. It was worth it for the cheap flights but not my favourite airline.

The last time I went to Korea I flew Qantas/Asiana. Flying to Korea was great because I was bumped up to business class. Great food, great service. Flying home the plane was packed and I was in economy. It was a night flight so didn't require a lot of service. It was great to get a direct flight but I'm not sure if that was worth the extra money for the ticket. (unless I get bumped up into business class again ;-))

Having said that we're flying with Qantas this time with the children as they had good deal on flights. It will be interesting to see how we go.

This article says that Asiana has been named as the best airline this year, followed by Singapore airlines, Cathay Pacific at number 4 and Qantas coming in at number 7. Malaysia airlines made it in at number 10.

Korean language fun

2010-05-14T07:36:00.003+09:30

Here are a couple of fun links from the Genki Korean site you could do with the kids

Guess which country they are from

http://genkienglish.net/speakkorean/koreancountries.htm

Alphabet rap

A fun "simple simon" game

http://genkienglish.net/speakkorean/koreanusefulphrases.htm

Can you tell I'm desperately trying to refresh my Korean before our trip ;-)

Mother's day/Parent's day

2010-05-08T14:13:00.002+09:30

It's Mother's day tomorrow in Australia and my children are already planning what they will do to celebrate the day with me. Gifts they made at school are "hiding" in their bedrooms and there seems to be plans for breakfast in bed....with me. I did put a hint out to my husband that a new camera might make a nice gift. (compliments the video camera I go for my birthday which we'll be taking to Korea with us this year ;-)) I can enjoy this day while my children are still young enough to enjoy making presents and of course living at home means we spend the day together.

I saw this article about Parents day (May 8) in Korea and I felt a little sad reading it. It's made me think my husband and I should make the effort to see our Mothers for Mother's day!

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/05/117_65535.html
Cash Tops Gift List for Parents' Day

By Kang Shin-who
Staff reporter

What Lee Hee-ja, 72, would really like to receive most as a gift on Parents' Day is a white envelope of cash handed to her by her son.

"I know my children are all busy, so only a small amount would really be more than enough," she said.

Like Lee, many parents favor cash as gifts from their children, according to a survey by Asan Medical Center in Seoul ahead of Parents' Day that falls on Saturday.

The hospital surveyed 220 adults for two weeks from April 12. The result showed 30 percent of the respondents picked cash as the gift they want to receive the most on the special day.

For Lee Yoon-jung, 30, a pediatrician intern at a general hospital in Seoul, it's simply impossible to visit her parents. She will not be able to put carnations on her parents' lapels ― all she is able to do is make a phone call and wire some spending money.

"I really want to spend some time with my parents back in Busan, but I am on duty. All I can do is just to wire some pocket money," she said.

But the gift children selected that they want to give most to their parents was comprehensive medical check-ups. When asked what they actually want to give to their parents, 36 percent of them chose medical check-ups, while 27 percent cited cash and another 25 percent opted for package tours.

"It is unavoidable but more threatening to those in their 50s or older is death. That might be the reason why medical check-ups came first as a gift on Parents' Day," an official from the hospital said.

But Parents' Day makes many adults feel a pang of guilt for not being more filial to their parents.

The words ― mother and father ― are special for all people, and especially for Park Jang-woo, an office worker in Seoul. He feels grateful to his parents, as he had failed college entrance exams twice and managed to land a job recently thanks to their sacrifice and support.

Though the 30-year-old wants to express his gratitude to his parents, he failed to prepare gifts for them. "It is an excuse, but I was too busy. I feel very sorry," Park said.

Korean BBQ

2010-04-16T08:28:00.005+09:30

We had a child free night so thought we'd try out a Korean BBQ place that we've been wanting to visit for awhile now.

The place is both a restaurant and butcher so quite casual but very yummy!! We tried sam gyup sal (my favourite), Jaeyuk and bulgogi. The best way to eat it is by wrapping it in a lettuce leaf along with sauce, salt seasoning and other side dishes, joined with either Korean beer or soju :-)

The staff were very friendly and helpful and we look forward to going back there!!

Best places to stay in Seoul

2010-03-19T15:56:00.003+10:30

Looking for the best Hotel to stay while in Seoul? Well, according to Asiamoney magazine and an article in the Chosun Ilbo the best hotel in Seoul is the Westin Chosun. Coming in second is The Shilla Hotel and third is Grand Hyatt Hotel

These are hotels I can only dream of but they definitely sound nice ;-)

Gender Equality and Teen Mothers

2010-03-19T15:47:00.002+10:30

I'm posting a couple of articles I read today concerning the Ministry of gender equality (in the Korea Herald) and schooling for teen mothers (opinion section of the Korea Times) in Korea which I found interesting and thought others might too.

Gender Ministry responsible for Family Affairs
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/03/19/201003190049.asp

The Ministry of Gender Equality starts today with a new name and a bigger portfolio.

The newly named Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will have an opening ceremony at its new office today.

Services for family affairs, including the issues of multicultural families here, have been transferred from the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs, whose title has been changed to Ministry for Health and Welfare.

The number of staff has almost doubled, from 109 to 211, with its annual budget nearly quadrupling, from 111 billion won ($980 million) to 422 billion won.

A total of 18 laws on family affairs and youth protection, as well as on gender equality will be under the jurisdiction of the enlarged ministry. The controversial online disclosure of sexual offenders' personal information will be regulated by the ministry from today.

Before today's reorganization, the ministry announced 10 policy priorities on Wednesday.

The ministry will develop a comprehensive framework for assessing gender gaps to be monitored by the government. The gender equality index, a first for Korea, consists of 27 indicators that will evaluate how well the nation's resources and opportunities are divided by gender

The ministry also will expand job-training programs for the women who quit their career after marriage or childbirth. In 2008, Korean women's employment rate was 50 percent, while the male figure was 73.5 percent.

The flextime working policy also will be encouraged more actively both for female and male workers for their balanced life-family life.

While childcare support will cover more families, specialized assistance will be given to more vulnerable groups such as teenage moms, unwed mothers, single-parent families.

For better adjustment of foreign spouses, the government will involve in the whole process of their settlement, ranging from marriage and entry into the country to language education and childcare.

The ministry will strengthen the role of "Sunflower Center," whose 10 local branches across the nation offer shelters and legal protection for abused women and children and their families.

The ministry is also considering to widen the scope of personal information reference on sexual offenders and to mail updated data to their neighbors.

(jylee@heraldm.com)

By Lee Ji-yoon

Schooling For Teen Mothers
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2010/03/202_62537.html

Time to Overcome Prejudice Toward Unwed Pregnancies

Unwed teen mothers have long been treated as sinners who neglect their studies and bear children out of wedlock. They have often been stigmatized as ``bad students" who should be kicked out of school. In fact, most pregnant teens have been forced to drop out at the request of school authorities. But things are changing as Korean society can no longer ignore their basic human rights and opportunities for education.

It is more than welcome that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has ruled that it is a violation of students' rights to force them out of school because they are pregnant. The decision was reached last April after a 16-year-old single mother filed a complaint with the commission, claiming that her high school had made her stop attending class.

The logic for her forced dropout was that she had disregarded the school's code of conduct, which allows it to kick out any students who commit indecent acts or have improper relationships. The school also claimed that a pregnant student would have a bad influence on others. But it finally accepted the ruling and let her continue her studies. This case set a new example in how to solve the teen pregnancy issue.

The commission said that the right to education is part of schoolchildren's basic rights which allow no exceptions for pregnant teens. It is also important to follow the growing trend in advanced countries that unwed teen mothers are better protected and given more opportunities by education. Of course, this is not to say that it's OK for those of school-age to become pregnant. It is certainly not desirable to do so at such early ages.

But, depriving unwed teen mothers of their right to schooling will create a bad cycle of no education, no job and poverty. This could also make their child's life difficult due to the inheritance of poverty. The best solution might be to help teens avoid unintended pregnancies by stepping up sex education. Of course, it is hard to completely prevent unplanned pregnancies.

Thus, it is necessary to raise awareness about teen pregnancies and single motherhood as well as set up a social system to enable young single mothers to continue their schooling and the process of having a child and childcare at the same time.

According to unofficial statistics, 5,000 to 6,000 teens become unmarried mothers every year. Less than 17 percent of them attend class, while the rest quit school even though most want to continue their studies. The government plans to provide 100,000 won ($86) in monthly childcare allowance for unmarried teen mothers starting next month. But this is not enough for them to play the role of both student and mother simultaneously. It's time to do more to help them become decent members of our society without discriminating against them

Happy White Day

2010-03-14T09:01:00.001+10:30

Guy’s, did you receive something on Valentine’s day but forgot to get something for your wife? Well today is a day you can redeem yourself ;-)

Today (14th of March) in Korea (and Japan and Taiwan) they celebrate “White Day”. In Korea Valentine’s day is often marked by the girls giving the guys a present. White Day is an opportunity for the guys to reciprocate and give something back to the girls.

You might see a trend in the dates.... February 14th – Valentine’s Day (Also known as Red Day). March 14th – White Day. So you would be right to wonder what happens on April 14th. Well, April 14th is Black day and that is where single people console themselves about being single and get together to eat noodles with black bean sauce called jajangmyeon (자장면)

The first time we went to Korea we were there to celebrate White Day and there were heaps of lolly shops in Namdaemun all selling bouquets of lollypop flowers with lots of ribbons and tulles – very pretty. Banners in the shops advertised White day but at the time we had no idea what it was about.

HAPPY WHITE DAY!

Article from an adoptive father

2010-03-01T17:06:00.002+10:30

'Raising child not a matter of choice'

Richard Boas, an ophthalmologist from Connecticut, and his wife adopted a four-month-old baby girl from Korea 22 years ago.

"We had a sense of rescuing the child from the very uncertainty in Korea and doing a favor for her mother and for Korean society," Boas told The Korea Herald on his visit to Seoul last week.

Until a few years ago, he helped other Americans adopt foreign children.

However, it was in 2006 when he encountered his "own blind spot" that had bothered him over the years since his daughter's adoption.

While visiting Korea along with other social workers, he met a dozen of pregnant women, all unmarried and around 20 years old, at an adoption facility in Daegu.

"We were sitting around a table. They all had already agreed to give up their children.

"I realized that I had not validated a real woman, my daughter's natural mother who loved her child as much as I did and likely had to give up her daughter for adoption very painfully," he said.

Then, he began rethinking his activities promoting international adoption and decided to help unwed moms in Korea raise their children for themselves.

In 2008, he started the Korean Unwed Mothers Support Network, which is aimed at advocating the rights of the mothers and their children - the nation's first of its kind.

Even though it has been just two years since the establishment, the KUMSN has already increased the visibility of the unwed moms' issue in Korean society. It has sponsored scholarly research and provided direct support for some women and children as well as agencies advocating them.

The 60-year-old American father is now called "godfather of Korean unwed moms" here.

"One of the most satisfying things is to share my story to brining up the issue of unwed moms and people started recognizing it," he said.

Many Koreans say it would be better for the kids of unwed mothers to be offered a better life through international or domestic adoption.

The nation's adoption rate also reflects an age-old mindset. According to the state-run Korean Women's Development Institute, nearly 70 percent of Korean unmarried mothers gave their children up for adoption in 2008, while the figure in the United States was only 1 percent.

He still thinks that adoption is needed and should be an option for vulnerable women. The situation in Haiti is an example, he said.

"However, Korea is a developed country with an advanced democracy. Why does Korea see itself as an exception?"

The Hague Adoption Convention, an international resolution aimed at ensuring the best interests of adopted children, prioritizes birth mothers to raise their children over domestic and international adoption.

While some 70 nations in the world have already signed the agreement, Korea is one of few countries that are yet to join.

He pointed out that the nation's discussion on adoption is still superficial.

"Those who promote adoption think they are doing the right thing. I also used to have that mindset. However, at the root of it, there are mothers and kids that need support.

"I think it's a matter of simple mathematics. If more mothers raise their children, there's going to be less adoption, domestically and internationally," he said.

He also gave some encouragement to the unmarried pregnant women who still hesitate to bring their babies into the world.

"You are an individual who needs to live a life that you feel is best for you, a life of your choosing. And you have to determine your path. This would include woman's or couples' desire to raise a child.

"If you decide that you want to have your own child, I will say more power to you. There are people and resources out there that can help you."

(jylee@heraldm.com)

By Lee Ji-yoon

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/03/01/201003010041.asp

Unmarried Mothers in Korea

2010-03-01T17:03:00.002+10:30

Unmarried mothers coming out of isolation

During her college years, Chang Ji-young once dreamed of becoming an unmarried mom voluntarily in protest against the unfair prejudice towards them here.

However, two years ago, when the 34-year-old former business consultant became pregnant by her former boyfriend, she first considered getting married to him.

"Facing the reality was totally different from vaguely assuming it," said Chang, who is currently raising her daughter alone after her boyfriend didn't keep the marriage promise.

Her parents and brother tried to persuade her to get an abortion or to give up the baby for adoption. But she resisted and her family turned their backs on her and the child.

Until then, she was confident about the future because she had 10 years of overseas working experiences as well as fluency in English.

"I felt frustrated most when my expectations were shattered," she said.

"During a job interview, they asked why I raise the child alone and who the father is. In Korean society, it's impossible to avoid such questions, even though they are extremely private matters. Then, all I got was rejections."

Chang is one of the Korean unwed moms who must endure a lifetime of poverty and disgrace after deciding to raise their children alone.

According to the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs, about 6,000 to 10,000 babies are born out of wedlock every year in Korea.

They accounted for 1.6 percent of the total births, the lowest level among OECD member states. While Japan has the second lowest 2.1 percent, the figures in the United States and France are 38.5 percent and 50.4 percent, respectively.

Fearing financial and social struggles, 96 percent of unmarried pregnant women have abortions, and of those who choose to give birth, 70 percent give up their children for adoption, the state-run Korean Women's Development Institute reports.

In the United States, only 1 percent of unwed moms choose adoption, according to the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.

"Unmarried pregnant women, desperate to seek help, contact adoption agencies. However, they persuade the mothers to give up their children rather than encourage them to raise the kids. Without knowing what's going on exactly, they agree for adoption," said an unwed mom and the director general of the Korean Unwed Mothers and Families Association, who requested not to be named.

Of the total 2,556 babies born to unmarried women and then adopted in 2008, 1,250 found their home abroad, the Health Ministry said. Since 1958, Korea has sent more than 200,000 children abroad.

When it comes to welfare services, Korea still legs far behind other developed countries. Childcare, in particular, is one of the biggest obstacles for working moms, regardless of their being married or not.

However, while married or divorced women receive support from their expanded family members for childcare and other family affairs, such support is absent for unwed moms, making them more vulnerable.

"Unwed mothers come to have less choices. Because the children can be looked after only at nursery school, they have to find a job near the place and can't work overtime at night," said the director general of the unwed mothers' association.

Teenage pregnancy and, more recently, rampant abortions have emerged as serious social problems in Korea. And the issue of supporting unwed moms has just started gaining public attention.

Last year, the government has earmarked a budget of 1.6 billion won ($1.4 million) to provide assistance to unwed moms aged under 24.

However, the mothers and activists point out that the financial assistance should be given for the babies, regardless of their mothers' age.

When she started a campaign supporting unwed moms three years ago, Kwon Hee-jung, coordinator of the Korean Unwed Mothers Support Network, said she could not meet the mothers anywhere.

"I didn't know whom I was speaking for," she said.

Now, however, it's great for me to see moms work and speak for themselves."

A growing number of unmarried mothers, mostly those in their 20s and 30s, are deciding to raise their children recently. In 1984, the rate was only 5.8 percent. However, the figure surpassed 30 percent currently, according to the women's policy institute.

And they started joining forces and speaking out for the rights of unwed moms and their children.

Choi Houng-suk, a 39-year-old hairdresser, is one of them. Along with other three unmarried moms, she opened last year an online community "Miss Momma Mia," which is aimed at sharing information and brining up the issue of unwed moms to be discussed.

Their campaign was linked to the foundation of the Korean Unwed Mothers and Families Association on Dec. 19. With some 40 members joining currently, the nation's first association of unwed moms aims to become a non-government organization in March.

"I'm not an activist, just the mother of my son. I am still hesitant to reveal myself in public," Choi said.

"When the media portrays our problems sensationally, I sometimes want to quit doing this. But I can't. If I don't take any action now, the social prejudice will be prolonged, affecting our children finally."

Fortunately, Choi is one of the rare unwed moms who receive childcare costs from their children's birth fathers. She had tried not to inform her pregnancy to her former boyfriend. But her doctor said that he also has the right to know.

Even though related laws oblige the fathers to share the rearing expenses, most of them ignore the duty. The average amount reported is less than 500,000 won per month.

Most of all, mothers themselves give up the money, fearing that the fathers could ask for the custody of their children belatedly.

"It is more likely that the fathers who have a better job as well as family support win a lawsuit. However, recently, the court also rules in favor of the mothers who have never abandoned the kids and try to find a stable job. So, the mothers need to seek the financial assistance more aggressively," Choi said.

In 2008, three years after the birth, her family finally accepted Choi and her son.

"When I became an unwed mom, my family was the first to abandon me. But they finally accepted me. And that support encouraged me a lot more than anything else," she said.

Adding to the efforts of the unwed moms' association is the support from Korean-born adoptees who recently returned home to help the mothers who face the same difficulties as their birth mothers did decades ago. They help promote the issue to the public as well as educating and taking care of the kids of unwed mothers.

"There are a lot of campaigns ongoing to promote adoption. They say 'Bear abandoned children with love.' However, the mothers had never abandoned the kids. They made an unavoidable decision for the better future of their kids," Choi said. "We hope adopted people to understand the cruel situations their birth mothers had to face."

(jylee@heraldm.com)

By Lee Ji-yoon

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/03/01/201003010042.asp

Haeundae (Tidal Wave)

2010-01-25T15:40:00.004+10:30

A couple of weeks ago I was in Melbourne and decided to buy a couple of Korean movies and dramas. Unfortunately it's always a risk buying Korean dramas because they seem to be sold through Chinese outlets and the English subtitles can be pretty bad. I've only just begun watching City Hall but already it's a struggle deciphering the subtitles. (plus they give the characters Chinese names rather than their Chinese names)I've been told that City Hall is a fun drama so I'm going to persevere.(It has the actress Kim Seon Ah who played Kim Sam Soon and she was great in that drama)

Fortunately subtitles for Korean movies are MUCH better! Last night we watched Haeundae. I'd heard it was a good movie so I figured it was worth the $15 to watch it on DVD. It actually was a good movie with the exception of some misplaced comedy moments.

Haeundae is a suspense movie depicting what might happen if an incredibly huge tsunami should ever hit Haeundae beach in Busan, South Korea. Of course there are always subplots and what would a good Korean movie (or drama) be without a love story, or two, or three. The other formula that seems to be part of Korean movies and dramas is to have a couple of characters that can lighten the mood with spurts of comedy. This is fine and I enjoy a good laugh but there were a couple of times where it seemed unnecessary in this movie. Another ingredient for a good Korean movie or drama seems to be absolute tear jerking moments and there are definitely a few scenes in Haeundae where it's good to have a tissue or hanky close by.

If you're looking for a Korean movie to watch this is one to look out for.

I'm adding the trailer for Haeundae which is in Korea but it gives a pretty good overview of the movie.

North Korean girl wears "I love Jesus" shirt!!

2010-01-24T14:29:00.004+10:30

Saw this article at the Korea Times and thought it was very interesting.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/01/116_59526.html

By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter

A recently released photo of a North Korean girl offers a contradiction to what has been known about the Communist country's religious freedom and the extent of freedom made available to outsiders.

The photo made public by the Radio Free Asia based in Washington, D.C has a young girl wearing a white T-shirt with an illustration and a sentence, "I ♡ Jesus."

The picture was taken in Pyongyang by an anonymous photographer, and submitted to the radio station by Curtis Melvin, an American economist. He also runs a blog, "North Korean Economic Watch"

Melvin said, "In a society where religious freedom is completely deprived, people wearing a shirt like that are found to be very interesting."

Repression on religious freedom in North Korea is widely known.

According to accounts from North Korean defectors and Christian missionaries who have helped North Koreans defect from the Communist country, the regime shows zero-tolerabce to those who develop a religious affiliation.

If caught, they are tortured and sent to a concentration camp.

This photo was released just in time. A human rights advocacy organization Human Rights Watch reported Wednesday the human rights abuses in North Korea including religious freedom "remain dire."

Melvin quoted the photographer as saying he asked the girl whether she knew what it meant on the shirt, and she answered no.

The photo indicates that commodities from third countries, especially from the Western hemisphere, are no longer filtered as thoroughly as used to be.

The North Korean government has banned clothes with English letters since 1990. In addition, blue jeans that are commonly worn everywhere in the world is banned because the jeans are considered to be the spirit of America, the North's old enemy.

Another question rises over how the photographer captured the scena. In North Korea, foreigners' interaction with local people is strictly prohibited.

Local guides are always at present ― no matter whether a visitor's trip is official or not ― keeping eyes on them to prevent local contacts.

Yet, from what it's shown in the photo, the photographer is in the middle of a big crowd, and the girl poses for a camera.

One European diplomat in South Korea, who has been to North Korea for vacation said that North Koreans, who have interaction with foreigners, face legal punishment, if they get caught.

Plus, the diplomat said, in reality, local interaction is hard to be realized because of language barrier.

skim@koreatimes.co.kr

Stylish Ajumma's

2010-01-19T08:27:00.002+10:30

You may think "stylish ajummas" is a contradiction in itself but after reading this article you may change your minds :-)

Ajumma Adopt Stylish New Life

By Jane Han
Staff Reporter

If your idea of "ajumma" is a hot-tempered, married woman sporting loose floral print pants and tight perms, you're living in the wrong time period. It's been a while since the symbolic group of middle-aged ladies started overhauling their long-held image.

From leather jackets to thigh-hugging jeans, a drastic change in fashion is what's leading today's ajumma makeover.

Ajumma have typically been portrayed as pushy and brave women who dash for seats on the subway or fight for bargain sales in a grocery store. But not anymore, at least for the emerging ajumma generation.

"They're fierce - not in a scary, ajumma kind of way, but in a fashionable way," says an official of Profashion Information Network (PFIN), a local fashion trend institute.

The transforming 30s-and-up crowd is so outstanding that trend spotters even gave it a name. Dubbed RUBY, the stylish club of women redefines what mama's all about.

The new buzzword is a combination of letters representing their characteristics. The "R" in RUBY stands for Refresh. "U" represents Uncommon, B means Beautiful and Y is for Young.

The RUBY clan's buying power is so strong that PFIN forecasts the "new senior" market as the "last remaining blue ocean in the domestic fashion industry."

This emerging generation of fashionistas, however, aren't interested in existing styles and brands designed for a typical ajumma.

"Nowadays, we see more ajumma shopping for younger brands," says Chang Soo-jin, a women's wear buyer for Shinsegae Department Store. "They're thinking, 'Why pay the same money and look matronly?"'

She says popular ajumma celebrities Jang Mi-hee and Kim Hee-ae are pushing middle-aged women to go for younger and cooler looks.

And such passion for a youthful image is, in turn, driving traditional matronly brands out of business.

According to the nation's top department stores, designer labels made for ajumma are closing year after year due to deteriorating sales. One retailer housed 33 matronly brands in 2004, but is now left with just 21.

"For fashion brands, it's no longer possible to survive with a simple two-piece suit with sparkly decorations," said Chang, who added that married women, just like young singles, want to show off their toned physique.

The undying "well-being" trend continues to fan a workout boom among ajumma, who used to be portrayed as pudgy and unattractive.

"Don't undermine today's ajumma," says Kim Ji-yeop, a trend spotter at Ultra Trend, a private agency. "They're constantly in the process of finding an improved image to define who they are."

jhan@koreatimes.co.kr

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/01/123_59237.html

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2009-12-31T15:28:00.004+10:30

As we move into 2010 our family is beginning to plan a trip to Korea! YAAAY

In the mean time I have definitely got to brush up on my Korean language skills. I recently came across this site which I think will be very useful.

http://www.talktomeinkorean.com/

This website is also very interesting which is by some of the same people.

http://sendmetokorea.blogspot.com/

Enjoy your New Year's celebrations!!!!

Thumbs up to Asiana

2009-11-13T16:56:00.003+10:30

Having travelled with babies and young children I know how stressful it can be taking a baby on a plane. You worry about how you'll feed the baby, you hope the baby wont cry too much and disturb other passengers, and how you'll juggle a baby and eat at the same time. Just the logisitics of getting yourself, husband, baby and other children onto the plane can be stressful! Making sure the nappy bag is packed just right so that at a moments notice you can find the bottle, dummy, nappy, toy, spare set of clothes is in itself an art form.

So even though my children are past the baby stage this article caught my interest.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/11/119_55403.html

Asiana Airlines to Reinforce Mother-Friendly Services

By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter

Asiana's mother-friendly services have been gaining enthusiastic reviews from those who have been through the ordeals of travelling with infants.

Through the recent launch of "Happy Mom Services," the airline has been providing exclusive check-in counters for mothers at the airport, breastfeeding covers and baby slings free of charge for travelers with babies.

The service was initiated on Oct. 1 at 10 International airports (Incheon, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, London, Frankfurt, Paris and Sydney) to which Asiana flies. Out of 2,277 passengers traveling with infants, 1,043 passengers used the exclusive counters and 167 passengers were provided with breastfeeding covers, an Asiana spokesperson said.

In response to the enthusiastic reception, Asiana will extend the "Happy Mom Services" to 66 airports internationally. Also, they will lengthen the age limit from 24 months to 36 months old.

"I was worried about breastfeeding on board. But when arriving at JFK International Airport, I found that there was an exclusive counter for mothers run by Asiana and received a breastfeeding cover as well. During my 14-hour flight to Incheon, it was very pleasant for me to travel to Korea," Choi Eun-sun, a passenger on the Nov. 13 Incheon OZ221 from New York to Incheon, said.

"No other airline has provided such services. This is really great for moms," Agreda Sison Leizl, a passenger on the airline's Oct. 29 flight from Chicago to Incheon, said.

Netizens have also shown their interest in the new services and currently 21 blogs and 10 internet cafes are talking about the "Happy Mom Services."

The exclusive check-in counters for those with infants provide the 3E services ― Express Check In, Express Boarding and Express Baggage. It allows passengers with infants to shorten the waiting period at airports.

Passengers with infants will also receive a "Priority Tag" on their checked baggage. Arriving passengers with infants will now be able to quickly retrieve their baggage without the hassle of caring for their infant while waiting at baggage claim.

During long-haul flights, mothers have faced difficulties in feeding their infants. Usually, feeding takes place in the toilets or the galleries of aircraft. In order to resolve these difficulties, Asiana will provide breastfeeding covers for passengers when asked by request at the departure point.

For larger infants travelling on children tickets, Asiana is providing free installation of baby safety seats upon reservation. Asiana hopes the service will negate the need for passengers to bring along their own baby seats.

jhdo@koreatimes.co.kr

One year ago today........

2009-10-24T14:55:00.003+10:30

This is not a flattering photo but this is what I was doing exactly one year ago today. I was heading for Korea. (in business class - my one and probably only time!) Unfortunately no plans this year for a trip to Korea but it's ok because we're planning a big trip next year.

Today I opened a package that had arrived from Korea and my youngest daughter (5yo) was standing next to me as I opened it. As I pulled back the packaging tape and prised open the thick cardboard box she said "what's that smell, is it Korea?". That's exactly what the smell was and in a split second memories of Korea flooded back to me. I am always amazed at how powerful our sense of smell is and how it can trigger the most unexpected memories and feelings.

Upo Wetlands

2009-10-21T10:58:00.008+10:30

Australia is known for it's dry climate and recently we have had to clamp down on our water usage such as only watering our gardens at certain times on certain days so that our reservoirs don't dry out. However, in the last few months we've had some good rain fall and the reservoirs are filling up again and the grass and countryside is starting to green up. There is a small wetland area where I like to walk and it's great to see water there and hear the running of the streams over the rocks again.

Climate change is part of the conversation for many people around the world and I found when I was in Korea that it is definitely part of their conversation. I always thought of Korea as a country that has plenty of water. I have been there in monsoon weather when the rain has bucketed down and was amazed at how big the raindrops were. It seems that even in a wetter country like South Korea there are still water concerns.

I visited a couple of wetland areas in Korea but the only one I kept any information on was Upo wetlands. In the brochure I have it says that "Upo wetland (collectively refers to Upo, Mokpo. Sajipo, Jjokjibeol), which is the largest natural continental wetland in Korea, straddles 4 administrative regions (Changnyeong-gun Yueo-myeong, Ibang-myeon, Daehap-myeon, Daeji-myeon, and is located at longitude 128 25 degrees east and at a latitude of 35 33 degrees north."

The brochure goes on to say "This extensive 700,000 pyong wetland, situated in Jumae-ri, Daehap-myeon, Changnyeong-gun and Ibang-myeon and An-ri, Daedae-ri, Yueo-myeon, Sejin-ri, Changnyeong-gun is a habitat for countless number of animals and plants. Upo wetland still embraces the lives although the ecosystem is being destroyed by the logic of development recently. It inspires us to identify ourselves with the nature, as well as the animals and plants."

I toured about three wetland areas on this particular tour but just can't remember the names of the other places.

This is the lunch we were given on the tour

The guy giving the lecture is someone famous in Korea (so I'm told) and parents were very excited for their children to have a photo with him.
The poor kids had to sit and listen to him talk for quite awhile out in the heat and glaring sun. None of them were wearing hats or had drinks with them. There is a building to the right if this photo and I ended up waling around in there because although I had my hat and sunnies I knew I would burn without sunscreen.

Human LCD

2009-10-03T08:33:00.003+09:30

A friend had this link on her facebook so I thought I'd post it here. It's amazing to think of the choreography that went into this and the amount of time and effort it must have taken to get to this point!! I definitely never got to do anything like this when I was in highschool LOL

Resilience

2009-10-01T15:34:00.004+09:30

A story of Loss and Separation

http://www.

koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/10/02/200910020023.asp

PIFF film 'Resilience' looks at often-ignored mothers of adoption

By Matthew Lamers and Shannon Heit

Behind the glamour of adoption, new beginnings and happy reunions, there is another, darker side of loss and separation for birth mothers, birth families, and adoptees that is often left out of the discussion.

Popular culture mostly fails to take up the issue from the perspective of the birth mother. What factors forced the decision to give up her child? Were there other options? How has she coped since?

Filmmaker Tammy Chu asks those questions, but also considers the feeling of separation from the side of the adoptee and the sometimes life-long journey to find identity and belonging.

Chu, an adoptee herself, says these children are an undocumented and invisible diaspora that don't fall into the usual category of immigrants or migrants.

According to the Global Overseas Adoptees' Link, an adoptee-founded and run NGO, upwards of 200,000 children have been adopted internationally from Korea since the 1950s. But a more conservative estimate from the Korean Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family in 2002 put the number at 148,394. The ministry said that between 1995 and 2005, 78,000 came back to Korea to search for their families, accounting for 63 percent of the children who have been adopted abroad. Yet of those who have attempted to find their birth families, only 2.7 percent have been successful.

Korea's international adoption program continues, and according to government figures, 1,264 children were adopted from Korea in 2008.

"But it hasn't been talked about because I think that adoptees have just begun to speak out in the last few years about their experiences," she said. The media tend to leave out the fact that many adoptees are not actually orphans when they are adopted, and that they do have birth families somewhere. Chu believes that the Korean society as a whole has a collective sense of guilt for having sent so many children abroad.

"And I think that there hasn't been enough done to tell these stories. Generally a lot of TV shows are about reunions -- they don't talk enough about the underlying causes and problems that force so many women to give up their children -- like the lack of social welfare, and women's rights that forces unwed mothers to give up their children," said Chu.

The filmmaker's second documentary, "Resilience," is an attempt to fill this void. The documentary will premiere at the Pusan International Film Festival next week.

In the interviews she conducted for the movie, Chu said that mothers "had an immense sense of loss and regret and spoke non-stop about their children (that had been adopted abroad)."

The film has been a long time coming.

Rev. Kim Do-hyun, the director of KoRoot, an organization that helps support adoptees returning to Korea, first approached Chu to make the film in 2005 because he wanted to "make a short film about Korean birth mothers and the patriarchy that affected their lives and eventually forced them to give up their children." Chu said she felt compelled by Kim's proposal because she thought the story of birth mothers' had not yet been told.

Chu began doing research for the project in 2005 by interviewing social workers, adoption agencies, single mothers' organizations, government officials, including two former ministers of Health and Welfare, and birth mothers. She initially made contact with over 30 different birth mothers, interviewed six and planned to include three in her documentary. She said that the unifying thread between all the mothers is the devastating impact it has had on their lives.

It was during these interviews that she realized that the project had transformed into a feature length film, rather than the short documentary that Kim and Chu had originally envisioned. As filming continued, the movie also evolved from three stories into one. In particular, the film focuses on one birth mother, Noh Myunga, and her son, Brent Beesley.

In the winter of 1977 Noh had left her son with relatives while she left to find work. But when she returned, she found that her family had given him up for adoption. Several family members made the decision for her, she said, not thinking about the long-term consequences of what it's like for a woman to lose her child.

Chu felt their story would be particularly compelling for viewers and that the film would best be served by focusing on one story in more intimate detail.

Beesley, now 32, said his participation in the film allowed him to recover the long-lost bond with his birth mother.

"I am so thankful I got to be part of the movie ... it give me a chance to know a little bit more about my mom," said Beesley. "I hope this movie will bring some more attention to international adoption. There are so many things that can improve the whole process, and maybe this can be that little push to send things in the right direction."

Chu said she intends to include the other two stories in an educational supplement to the documentary that she is currently making.

Chu also hopes to eventually release "Resilience" internationally, but "felt like Busan was very fitting for the premiere, (since) it's premiering not only in front of a Korean audience, but also a lot of the adoptee community in Korea will be able to see it."

The 14th Annual Pusan International Film Festival will be held this year from Oct. 8-16. The festival was first held in 1996 and has since established itself as Asia's largest annual film industry event, often referred to as "the Cannes of Asia" in foreign media. At the Sept. 8 Seoul press conference, it was announced that this year's festival would screen 355 hand-selected films from 70 different countries, a record for the festival. With 13,740 seats and 36 screens at six theaters, the audience is projected to surpass 10,000 viewers from 55 countries. The festival will also be showing a record 144 world and international premieres.

"Resilience" was selected by PIFF to receive funding from the 2008 Asian Cinema Fund, selected under its Asian Network Documentary category, a true testament to the film, considering the honor is typically only given to Korean or Asian filmmakers.

Chu, an American, considered it a victory that the selection committee decided to recognize and award her as a Korean filmmaker. "As a Korean-American filmmaker, it's hard to get funding because they usually only support films by Korean directors."

"There should be more support for films by (overseas Koreans) because we also have an important voice in the Korean identity and experience. The Korean identity has expanded so art and funding should reflect that new plurality," she added.

Chu, who has lived in Korea since 2001, studied cinema and photography at Ithaca College. She made her first documentary in 1998, "Searching for Go-Hyang," or "Searching for a homeland," a personal account of finding her birth family. It was screened at international film festivals and conferences, as well as broadcast on PBS in the United States and on Korean television sets via EBS.

For their part, Chu says the adoptee community has been particularly generous and supportive of the project. The film recently held an online fundraising drive to help raise post-production costs and surpassed their goal of $10,000. Chu said she was overwhelmed by the way people in the community reached into their own pockets to support the film. The response exceeded her expectations.

It has taken the support of many groups to see the fledgling project to fruition. The documentary is being produced by KoRoot, co-produced by Nameless Films Collaborative, and supported by GOA'L, an adoptee-founded and run NGO in Seoul. The documentary's fiscal sponsor is Women Make Movies, the oldest and most established distributor of films made by and about women.

"Resilience" has become a passion for Chu. She has been working on the film since 2005 and has often self-funded filming costs, all while working in Korea to allow her to make the movie. Other collaborators, like editor and co-producer Anthony Gilmore, have given their talent and time because of their belief in the film. Full-length documentaries typically cost over $100,000 to produce, but her crew has managed with nearly half that.

"It's been a pretty large struggle, but that's independent filmmaking. It's worth it when you can make a story that people will be impacted by."

Chu says that in the end, she wants viewers to think more critically about international adoption, how it affects people, especially birth mothers and the 97.3 percent of adoptees that cannot track down their birth parents.

The film will screen twice at PIFF, at the Megabox Haeundae 3. The first screening will be Sunday, Oct. 11 at 1 p.m. and will be followed by a question and answer session with Chu; the second screening is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 4 p.m. The film will be shown with both English and Korean subtitles.

"Resilience" is currently still in post production and Chu's future plans for the educational supplement DVD and international distribution will require additional funding. If you'd like to donate to the film, or for more information, visit the official website at www.resiliencefilm.com

For more information or to reserve tickets to this or other films, visit the PIFF website at www.piff.org; you can also reserve tickets online, by mobile phone, at GS25 convenience stores nationwide, at any Busan Bank or ATM, or at temporary ticket booths during the festival. Ticket prices range from 5,000 won (general screenings, outdoor theater) to 10,000 won (opening and closing films, midnight passion).

For other general questions regarding travel or accommodations for the PIFF, call the tourism information desk at the Seoul Global Center at (02) 2075-4120 (English) or (02) 2075-4119 (Japanese). For more information on life in Seoul in general, call the hotline at (02) 1688-0120.

(mattlamers@heraldm.com)

2009.10.02

Hangul Bible

2009-09-25T20:29:00.003+09:30

The photo isn't very clear but this is a bible that sits at the front of the Ko-chang church in Iksan. What is so amazing about this bible is it was written out by hand by the congregation. It's amazing to think that this congregation managed to write the entire bible!! Everyone from elementary school upwards were encouraged to write out at least one page each.

You might assume this bible was written by a large, energetic congregation but infact this bible was written by people who live in a small farming community with a small but strong church congregation. The church community who wrote out this bible are very humble but they are committed disciples of God.

This project has encouraged the congregation as well as brought them closer as a community.

Korean stars voted favourites in International Online Poll

2009-09-08T18:57:00.004+09:30

Korean Stars Voted Favorites in International Online Poll

Kim Hyun-joong and Moon Geun-young were voted the best actor and actress of 2009 by Internet users from 50 countries. Kim received over 25.5 million votes and Moon over 25.2 million in the poll conducted from July 11 to Aug. 30 by Yahoo! Korea and the organizers of the 2009 Seoul Drama Awards.

The poll was conducted in three languages -- Korean, English and Japanese. Kim received 46 percent of the votes in Korean, 49 percent in English, and 47 percent in Japanese, while Moon's tally was 54 percent, 45 percent, and 43 percent.

Moon Geun-young (left) and Kim Hyun-joong

"Boys Over Flowers" was the most popular Korean soap opera with over 22.2 million votes, getting 38 percent in Korean, 43 percent in English and 42 percent in Japanese.

The poll included soap operas released in Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong and their actors and actresses. Kim and Moon will receive the online popularity prize at the 2009 Seoul Drama Awards on Friday.

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/09/08/2009090800562.html

Low birth rate in Korea

2009-09-01T14:44:00.006+09:30

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/09/01/200909010048.asp

Childbirth incentives to be expanded

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon yesterday promised to step up measures against the falling birthrate, including expanded financial incentives for families with multiple children.

"Existing measures have showed some limitations in tackling the low birthrate issue. The city is considering major changes in its policy," said the mayor at a launching ceremony of the city's childbirth campaign.

The childbirth subsidy has been given by some district offices for third children.

Oh said the incentives would be provided for second children and subsequent children, and that all households would be eligible.

Related measures, having mainly focused on childbirth and childcare, also will be prepared in consideration of every aspect of family life, from marriage to child education, Oh said.

The mayor also emphasized support for working mothers and reduce people's apprehensions about having a baby.

The nation's birthrate, which went below the replacement fertility rate of 2.1 percent for the first time in 1983, dropped to 1.19 last year, the lowest in the world. The city of Seoul had a birthrate of 1.01 percent, second lowest in the country after Busan.

As part of its efforts to boost the low birthrate, the government launched the nationwide childbirth campaign, together with various organizations, civic groups and experts. Following the Seoul launch, the city's 25 individual districts also plan to organize a committee to promote childbirth.

(jylee@heraldm.com)

By Lee Ji-yoon

(As I read this I wonder if they will look at giving extra financial help to struggling single parents)

A Korean Cooking Feast Part 2

2009-08-31T17:14:00.005+09:30

You would think that after all the food we ate in Korean cooking feast part 1 there wouldn't be any room for a part 2 but if you thought that, you were wrong.

After scoffing down huge amounts of bulgogi and galbi we were all very full. However, when you have kids you find that it doesn't take long for their stomachs to miraculously empty and they begin to ask "What's for dessert?"

In a previous post I added a recipe for hoddeok which we tried and found it works well. However, today we had already prepared so much food that cooking hoddeok from scratch just wasn't an option. Luckily for us (or perhaps for the kids) we had bought a packet mix of hoddeok!!

It turns out the packet mix is very easy to use, as long as you remember to use hot water with the yeast to help it rise. (note to self) Our dough did turn out a little sticky and we added a bit more of our own flour but they may be due to the fact we forgot to use hot water and my husband tried warming it in the microwave for a few seconds LOL.

The sweet mix that goes in the middle of the hoddeok is absolutely delicious and they give you more than enough for what's required. We're thinking of making another batch from scratch and using the left over sugar mix to go in them.

I think we ended up making about 13 hoddeok from one packet mix.

A Korean cooking feast Part 1

2009-08-31T15:42:00.025+09:30

As many of you already know (or may gather from what you read on this blog), I am not a cook. My husband does all the cooking around here which is great but when he goes away it means we have to live on two minute noodles or toasties! So Saturday night my husband suggested I help him in the kitchen to cook some Korean dishes. Unfortunately I lose interest quickly when I'm in the kitchen so to help me stay interested I decided to take some photos of what we were cooking.

Now, a good cook would be able to tell you all about the ingredients and the recipe and the different amounts used but seeing as I'm not a good cook you'll just have to look at the photos and make the rest up yourself :-)

First "we" marinated the galbi which wasn't hard at all because it came in a very convenient jar from the Korean supermarket.

Then my husband showed me how to marinate bulgogi. (Apparently he usually uses pear or kiwi fruit which softens the meat but we didn't have any in the house this time) You can buy bulgogi sauce in a jar but "we" prefer to make it from scratch.

The meat is frozen when he cuts it up and then adds the marinade.

Next we made some side dishes. This is where I felt I was most helpful. I have no idea what the side dishes are called but they are some of my favourites.

This is spicy cucumber. (perhaps I should think of more technical names ;-))

This is a really yummy potato dish that is very sweet. (lots of corn syrup which is also in the cucumbers but the chilli flakes and spicy chilli paste counteract the sweetness in the cucumbers)

A really easy dish to make, yes even I can make it....under supervision.....is the beansprout side dish. Basically you pour boiling water over beansprouts and drain them and then add pepper, beef stock and sesame oil. ( we make it to taste but I'm sure there's a recipe out there somewhere) Sesame seeds are optional.

After that we just took everything else out of the fridge. (that's more like my way of cooking)

We have kimchi

and spicy squid

some little fishies (which I can't stand but my husband loves them even though we have been told they are good for women LOL)

The kids love kim so we have normal kim

and sweet crushed up kim

And of course a good Korean feast would not be complete without a bottle of soju!

I also found some pickled radish which can be used to wrap things. I doubt they are used to wrap bulgogi but they made a delicious alternative to lettuce this time.

This is what our table looked like. You probably can't tell but the kids had already eaten most of the kim while waiting for the meat to cook.

The really great thing about a Korean feast like this is there are plenty of left overs for the next day :-)

Blast from the past!

2009-08-26T15:00:00.006+09:30

I was googling something about Korea today and I came across this article I wrote for PRKorea/VANK that I'd forgotten about!! (It was posted on the 27th od July 2006) So I thought I'd put it on here too :-)

http://www.prkorea.com/engnews/index.cgi?action=detail&number=478&thread=10r08

Have Korean Pen Pals! You will Get Closer to Korea!

In June 2006 I went on my 4th trip to Korea. I find there is always something new and exciting to do when I go to Korea and this trip was no exception. One of the major differences on this trip was my husband and I took our 4 children with us, so I got to see what Korea looked like through the eyes of my children. I would like to share with you the experiences we had and what it's like to travel to Korea with 4 children aged 9, 7, 5 and 2

Korean people are very caring towards children.

My first impression of taking children to Korea is that Korean people are very caring towards children. Our children received a lot of attention from people no matter where we were in Korea. Some of the attention may have come from the fact that we were a larger sized family in Korea, some of the attention may have come because 2 of my children have blonde hair and blue eyes and some of that attention may have come because our 2 youngest children we adopted from Korea. However, the attention we received was very positive and friendly. The first day my children weren't prepared for the amount of people that would come and touch their heads or faces as that is something that doesn't happen where we live in Australia but they soon understood that this is what would happen in Korea. They also weren't prepared for the people who would come up to them and give them gifts. My children received gifts ranging from bandana's to chewing gum from people who would walk up to us on the street.

During our 10 days in Korea we tried to do as many child friendly activities as we could. This included taking the cable car to Seoul Tower where they could look out at the view of Seoul, they had never seen such a large city. We visited the COEX aquarium, which is at the COEX Mall. We hadn't realized the mall was so large but I would recommend people go earlier in the day if they want to look around the mall. We spent a day at Lotte World, there are so many rides and activities that the whole family can go on. Some rides do have height restrictions but there are plenty of things for the younger children to do. There was a parade to watch and a spectacular laser show at the end of the night. Our kids also had their first experience of ice skating. One day we traveled to EXPO Park in Dajeon. I was surprised there wasn't a huge crowd there but we enjoyed the quiet. Across the road from EXPO Park is a science museum which is very hands on and our children enjoyed interacting with the experiments. Our children all agreed that Lotte World was their favourite place in Korea.

Of course there were a few places my husband and I wanted to go which were also suitable for the children. Gyeongbokgung (palace) was interesting for us but also provided an education experience for our children to see some of Korea's amazing history. We also took the children to see the show 'Nanta'. I wasn't sure how our children would go sitting through a show but I can highly recommend taking children to 'Nanta'! It is a show that involves the actors making music from cooking utensils and there is very minimal talking by the actors so there aren't any problems in understanding the storyline. It involves quite a bit of audience participation so there aren't many opportunities for the children to get bored or fidget. My children were captivated by the actors and were even more surprised when I was called up on stage to participate. Even now that we are home my children still talk about "Mum on stage in Korea" and reenact some of the segments from 'Nanta'.

I think the hardest thing for the children was to cope with the crowds in the markets and shopping areas. (not much different from taking them shopping in Australia ;-)) One of the best tips I received was about a playground at a department store in Dongdaemun called Doota. There is an indoor playground at Doota (floor 9F) where you can pay for the children to play for 3 hours. It is enclosed in glass walls and in a cafe area. My husband drank coffee and read the paper while the kids played in the playground and I shopped for 3 hours! Everyone was happy.

I have learnt so much about Korean culture and daily life of people in Korea through my pen pals.

While we were in Korea we also visited my 2 pen pals and their families, who I originally met through the Friends of Korea pen pal site. This was the third time I have met my pen pals and it was great to catch up with them and spend time with them. I would encourage anyone thinking about having a pen pal in Korea to go for it. I have learnt so much about Korean culture and daily life of people in Korea through my pen pals. I really value their friendship and their willingness to share their knowledge of Korea with me.

Our family had a wonderful time in Korea and has many precious memories of our visit. I would recommend traveling to Korea with children but I would also say make sure you have time where the kids can rest or burn off some energy. We spent one day taking an hour length boat trip along the Han River. This allowed us to do some sight seeing while at the same time allowing the kids to rest. There are several playgrounds along the Han River banks and you can also hire bikes and ride along the bike track. We found it was a great family day and hiring bikes was fun for the kids, we were able to get a bike for me with a baby seat for our 2 year old to sit in. It's also close to the 63 building but the sky was too smoggy for us the day we were there to go up.

We took a stroller for our 2 year old while in Korea which was useful when we were walking around but did make maneuvering through the subway tricky. We found there were places where you can hire strollers which I think is a good idea. We hired a stroller at the COEX Mall which was free, we just needed to give I.D. and at Lotte World we hired a stroller for the whole day for just 3,000 won.

Being on a budget and traveling with 4 children proved to limit our choice of accommodation. We didn't want to stay in a hotel because we wanted to be able to make our own meals if we wanted to, do our laundry, as well as have space for the children to move. We stayed at Seoul tower ville which is between Myeong-dong and Namsan. (You can see their website at www.seoultowerville.com) This is more on the end of budget accommodation but it was affordable and we felt well looked after.

This is a brief overview of our holiday in Korea but I wanted to write this to let others, who are thinking of traveling to Korea with children, know that it is possible to visit Korea with young children. My children are already asking when we can go again!

Naomi
Australia (mother of 4 children)

Third Korean Day

2009-08-25T16:33:00.002+09:30

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/08/25/2009082500638.html

Actress Han Ye-seul to Help Promote 3rd Korean Day

/Courtesy of IHQ

Actress Han Ye-seul has been named the goodwill ambassador of the third Korean Day. She will officially receive the appointment plate from Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Aug. 31.

Han is Korean American and one of the top stars in Korea. Her appointment comes from the expectation that her background will greatly help publicize the event. Korean Day is held to emphasize the importance of overseas Koreans to Korea and vice versa, and to strengthen the identity and enhance the pride of being Korean.

Various events and discussions are planned for the day, including a seminar on policies regarding overseas Koreans, lectures by overseas Korean guest speakers, a photography exhibition, and essay contests.

The Korean Festival and International Forum for Korean Politicians hosted by the Overseas Koreans Foundation will also take place during the events, the ministry said.

Gyeongbokgoong (palace)

2009-08-24T14:06:00.009+09:30

Nothing like a cold and wet winters day to help you reminisce about warmer, happier days :-) So instead of looking out at the grey skies I'm choosing to look at Gyeong bokgoong which is a palace in Seoul. There are quite a few palaces in Seoul and around Korea but this is the one palace that I've visited several times. The tickets to get in to the palace are very cheap, about 3,000 won and children under 6 are free. This area (photo above) was being upgraded one year (I think 2001) we visited but this is what it looked like in 2006.

There is such a contrast between old and new in Korea which we just don't see in Australia.

There is also a folk museum connected to the palace grounds which is worth seeing, especially if you can't get to a folk village. (another folk museum worth looking at if you can't get to a folk village, for example, the folk village at Suwon, is the folk museum at Lotte World) The ticket that gets you into Gyeongbokgoong also gets you into the folk museum on the grounds.

(Mt) Songnisan

2009-08-06T10:04:00.008+09:30

I was looking back through my posts on my blog and saw that I had mentioned I'd visited Songnisan before but hadn't really added any photos.

Songnisan has some very pleasant walks. I have never walked to the top so I'm not sure how steep it is but when I was there in 2007 we walked for about an hour and it was all 'easy to walk on' pathways. Probably a nice place to take children.
There's a buddhist temple with a huge Buddha statue
Songnisan makes a nice stop if you're going to Daejeon and want to break up the trip. I also went there on the way to Andong but I think there's probably a more direct route to Andong. (however it's doable if you want to take a scenic route ;-))

Eat your Kimchi

2009-07-26T17:50:00.002+09:30

I found out about a blog recently called Eat your Kimchi.

There are a lot of fun videos that they have made themselves which perhaps could be "educational" about Korea. (ok, perhaps not educational but definitely fun)

I'd recommend you check out their blog :-)

Here's one their videos which had me laughing out loud!!

Ninja Assassin

2009-07-24T16:57:00.002+09:30

Just saw the trailer for Rain's new movie, Ninja Assassin. Just by the title I know it's not a film I'd usually watch but with Rain starring in the movie, I'm willing to give it a go ;-)

We watched Speed Racer when it came out because Rain was in it but I much prefer him playing a nice character. His character in Full House wasn't particularly great, perhaps a little too selfish but much nicer than an Assassin or fighter.

It's great that Rain has the courage to push himself and give Hollywood a go but I'm hoping he'll do another K-drama soon for all us ajumma's ;-)

Check out the trailer for Ninja Asssassin

For those who haven't seen Full House

I have "A love to kill" but cant' get past the first couple of episodes as it looks too sad and I prefer happy dramas :-)

I met Rain in Itaewon when he was filming this movie. (The first 30 seconds of the clip are what he was filming...I have pics of the fire trucks LOL)

Nae Jang San

2009-07-23T12:13:00.007+09:30

I'm making the most of my last week before going back to Uni and enjoying my last few days of "holidays". Today is quiet so what better opportunity than to look at photos and blog :-)

These photos are of Nae Jang San (mountain). I feel very peaceful when I look at these photos (actually in reality there were a lot of people on the mountain the day I was there and very busy LOL) so I thought it was appropriate to share them today.

You can read what I wrote about my experience at Nae Jang San here

Is Rain returning?

2009-07-08T09:34:00.004+09:30

.....To Korean T.V.?

Just saw on dramabeans that Rain may be making a comeback to Kdrama's soon! There have been rumours for awhile but perhaps he's finally making his comeback :-) (we're all big fans of Rain in this family ;-))

You can read about my meeting with Rain here (if you haven't already)

Sundubu

2009-07-08T08:33:00.006+09:30

Until last year I had never heard of sundubu (soon doo boo) but it is quickly becoming a favourite dish of mine. It is a spicy dish with lots of tofu as well as egg and clams (I'm sure there's other things too ;-) and goes well with Korean beer (we had it with Hite this week) or soju.

I recently found a restaurant that serves it near where I live so I was very excited to try it. I took my husband along with me because I have been trying to explain this dish to him but you always lose something in the translation when trying to describe Korean food ;-) It was a little bit different to the sundubu I'd tried in Korea but still very nice and I'll definitely be eating it again!! (thumbs up from hubby too)

A couple of girls I spoke to in Korea were surprised I liked sundubu beacause they thought the smell of tofu would put me off. I never noticed the smell.

If anyone is brave enough, here is a recipe for sundubu. (I haven't tried making it but the pictures look good!!)

Here's the restaurant where I first tried sundubu in Korea

You can see a bowl of sundubu at the bottom of this photo

You can see some of the side dishes we had in this photo

I'm a Korean Drama Apprentice

2009-06-05T15:09:00.004+09:30

I was just told about a blog called "Thundie's Prattle" which is about Korean movies and dramas. It looks like a great site!!

There's a great post titled "what kind of K-drama viewer are you?" I was a little afraid to look but happily I think I'm best described as an apprentice :-)

I remember first hearing about K-dramas and having absolutely no idea where to start or how to get them. Luckily Julie came to my rescue all the way from America and set me straight on my path to K-drama addict.

I think the first drama I watched was "All about Eve" but the first drama I bought was "Full House". The first drama I think I saw was Shiri. There was a time where I was watching drama's regularly, now they are special treats between semesters :-p

Just to walk back down memory lane here are some clips to Full House

and All about Eve

Only 9,000 words to go before I can indulge in a few guilt free hours of my next K-drama!!

A movie about Kimchi

2009-05-30T08:18:00.002+09:30

Kimchi can do just about anything!! ;-)

This article is from the Korea Herald
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/05/27/200905270110.asp

Kimchi: A cure for obese Americans

A movie about Kimchi is filming by a Korean director, which will be released in Hollywood and in Korea at the end of the year, according to news reports.

"Kimchikhan" is a documentary, which introduces the history and benefits of Kimchi as a health food.

Shin Heung-sik, director of "Kimchikhan," said on May 26 that "The movie is intended to reveal to the world the superiority of Korean Kimchi, surrounded by fast food and junk food." He continued, "The movie is filming in Korea, the United States, and Japan as main stages and about 70 percent of the movie is completed."

Shin added that "Kimchikhan" is going to play in approximately a hundred theaters in the United States. The director is currently staying in Korea, filming scenes taking place in the country.

The director had originally planned to make a comedy movie about Kimchi. "Initially, the plan was to make a movie about an American cook who became Kimchi master in Korea," Shin was quoted as saying.

He said he decided to alter the genre of the movie from comedy to documentary to present the delicate flavor and health benefits of Kimchi.

"I am looking forward to seeing the influence that Kimchikhan is going to cause to American society, which has severe obesity problems," he said, reminding of changes Morgan Spurlock's movie 'Supersize Me' made in American society. In "Supersize Me," Spurlock pointed out the harmful effect of fast-food by only eating food from McDonald's for 30 days.

"Kimchikhan" contains Kimchi tasting scenes by American gourmets who are known to be hard to please, Kimchi festival scenes filmed in Gwangju and other cultural scenes that inform of the Korean traditional cuisine.

The movie introduces traditional Kimchi as well as its fusion type cuisines, using new recipes to fuse well-known Korean foods with Kimchi. Thirty-one different Kimchi dishes will be introduced by the movie.

By Hwang Aesol

(csa919@gmail.com)

2009.05.27

50,000 won note making it's debut

2009-05-26T07:24:00.003+09:30

This may be a silly thing to get excited about but I think introducing 50,000 won note is a good thing. Less notes to fit in my purse when I'm in Korea woohoo!!

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/05/25/2009052500890.html

W50,000 Banknote Out June 23

The new W50,000 bill will go into circulation on June 23. The Bank of Korea on Sunday said that notes numbered from 20,001 on will be available for circulation in banks and the BOK's bill exchange counters.

Bills numbered from AA0000001A to AA0000100A will be kept in the BOK Museum, and 19,900 bills numbered from AA0000101A to AA0020000A will be put up for auction, with the proceeds to be donated to the Community Chest of Korea.

When new versions of W10,000 and W1,000 bills were introduced in January 2007, crowds fought at the BOK over the early serial numbers. Given that, the BOK decided to have the W50,000 bills randomly exchanged. Any individual can get up to only 20 new W50,000 bills.

The bill measures 154 mm by 68 mm in width, 6 mm longer and the same width as the W10,000 bill.

Dr Kim Duk Whang - Eastern Social Welfare Society

2009-05-23T17:01:00.004+09:30

I was just having a look at the website for Eastern Social Welfare Society in Seoul and saw the article (which I will post below) about Dr Kim's retirement.

Dr Kim is an amazing man who until recently had continued to go to work even though he was in his 90's!! He is someone who is very humble, has a very calm presence about him and you know he has experienced a lot and has a lot of wisdom even before he speaks.

The first time we met him (2001) he shared with us his life story of living in North Korea, the experience of war and how he eventually came to live in South Korea and subsequently founded what is now known as Eastern Social Welfare Society.

I have had the privilege of meeting him four times and every time it has been a blessing to have spent time with him.

As I read about his retirement I can't help but wonder how Ms Kim, Dr Kim's personal assistant is adjusting. I can imagine there will be many people who will miss his presence at the agency.

You can read about Eastern Social Welfare Society and more articles here

Dr. Kim Duk Whang and Eastern Social Welfare Society
-Upon Dr. Kim’s Retirement

Kim Hye Kyung(Director of Sponsorship and Post-adoption Department)

“Take care of orphanages and single mothers”

Dr. Kim Duk Whang kept this phrase deep inside his mind when he founded Eastern Social Welfare Society in early 1970. At that time, there were only few people out there to take care of the orphans and unwed mothers. Most of the Koreans were interested in how they could be better off in the industrializing society and did not care about abandoned babies. It was Dr. Kim Duk Whang who took action for those children in need. In an interview with EBS, he recalled, “In those days, people abandoned babies in plastic bags, in the streets, etc. Thus I decided to do something for these babies.” He believed every life was given by God, thus everyone is so precious.

“I love to help others. After I retired from Ministry of Health and Welfare, I started to help orphans and churches,” said Dr. Kim asked about the reason he started welfare organization. Dr. Kim was almost sixty years old when he started ESWS. In the age when most people get retired, he started something, something very precious.

He first tried domestic adoption, however, he had to meet a lot of obstacles. In the early 70s, adopting a baby was regarded as shameful in Korea. Koreans had no rooms in their hearts for children without a family. In 1970s, many people believed that those children deserve orphanage. Simply put, just feeding and providing accommodation was enough for orphans.

“Some people from orphanages may have a good life. However, it is better to grow up in a family. They will have more opportunities and more education. If they stayed in an orphanage in Korea, who would educate them in college and graduate school?” recalled Dr. Kim.

I presume, at first, he started adoption from the caring heart for the little babies. When he first started adoption, he had a dream that someday these little angels grew up to be loved in a family, live safely, reach their potential and be a contributing member in this world. And after thirty years, his all wishes and dreams for those children became real. Before he retired from ESWS, it was one of his biggest joys to meet and talk with adult adoptees who grew up wonderfully. His prayers were answered.

Moreover, God gave him much more than he prayed

Among the babies who came to the care of ESWS, some had disability. Sometimes, it is too severe to find parents to adopt them. For these children, Dr. Kim founded an institution, special school and other facilities and extended service area. Under Dr. Kim’s strong leadership, ESWS came to reach out hands for all levels people in need from babies to senior citizens. Now, ESWS plays a significant role in the improvement of Korea’s social welfare.

However, it was not always easy to do such things. In early 1980s, when they decided to build Eastern Child Welfare Center in Pyongtaek, they had to face severe opposition by neighbors. The residents did not want the neighbors with disabilities. They asserted that living with them will threaten their safety. They demonstrated against building the Center almost every day.

Nevertheless, deep inside his heart, Dr. Kim had a faith that children, though they have disabilities, should live in better circumstances and be given education. Persuading native residents and Pyongtaek city officials, at last, in 1985, Eastern Child Welfare Center was established.

Now it serves as the main social welfare center in the community. Thanks to the center, a lot of disabled children of the community can get a quality education, and children from disrupted families can live in a shelter and a lot of members of the community get the benefit from the Center. In about 25 years, it turned out his decision not only changed the lives of clients, but also upgraded the level of welfare in Pyongtaek city.

Besides that, he did so many things that change the lives of the needy people and, ultimately, the history of social welfare in Korea.

He was a very strong and faithful person, but for children, he was just a warm-hearted grandfather. He did not pass by a baby who was waiting for his or her turn at the Love the Children clinic without holding it. And he didn’t forget to express gratitude to the foster mothers of the baby. The mothers were consoled for their hard work by his encouragement. Whenever he visited Pyongtaek, he would be surrounded by children there, because he was always all smiles on his face. He was just a grandfather to all the children at ESWS.

Every staff at ESWS knows how Dr. Kim always prayed for each baby who was adopted. Until his health allowed, he would go to the mountain every dawn to pray for the well being of the babies and adoptees. He felt really sorry that people in Korea could not take all of them and had to send them overseas. And he prayed that each baby could be happy and healthy.

Many people will remember him as an enthusiastic social welfare professional. However, he was an influential historian as well, who specializes Korean history of northern territory. He wrote a lot of books on history and religion like “Manchurian dictionary”, “History of Manchuria”, “Our nation, our history”, “History of Korean religion”, “History of Korean philosophy”, “Research on Ethics of Ancient Korea”, “” etc. He was so sad that we lost Manchurian area where our ancestors lived for a long time. He wrote these series of books wishing that many Korean people should not forget the love and interest on that area.

His passion, love and energy enabled him to work for people in need and to study history in depth. We all thank God for allowing him with health so that he could do those things such wonderfully. We see “God” in every decision he made, and in every action he took. In an interview with a TV show about ESWS, Dr. Kim said, ”It has been God’s choice, surely, God’s choice. There were several crucial moments in my life when I was almost dead. However, he spared my life all the time. Now I think it was because he wanted to use me for people in need.”

Until now the history of ESWS has been equivalent to Dr. Kim’s life. Though he is retired now, his vision, passion and faith will be deeply inscribed in the soul of each staff. And we pray God will use us as a passage of blessings as He did to Dr. Kim.

http://www.eastern.or.kr/