by Cat on October 22, 2008
As we get close to our departure date, David and I are trying to see some more sites (sights?) in Korea while we can.
Among the places on our list (some of which I’m embarrassed to admit we haven’t seen yet) are Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon, the historic Silla Dynasty sites in Gyeongju, and Hahoe Village near Andong.
I’d like to do a temple stay and also some hiking/sightseeing in the Taebaek Mountains, particularly Seoraksan, but neither of these options seem suitable for a toddler. So those may be things that we just have to leave for another time when, we hope, we’ll return for a visit.
What about you? Any readers out there want to share the places in Korea that we absolutely should see before we go? Before our d-day, I’ll try to do a list of top must-see places for travelers to Korea, even if I don’t personally make it to all of them.
by Dave on August 15, 2008
광복절에 태국기 - South Korean flag on Korean Independence Day
Originally uploaded by David_Harris
광복절 (Gwangbokjeol)
August 15th, 1945 is the day Korea official gained its independence from Japan at the end of WWII, the same day Japan surrendered to the U.S.. The South Korean government was created 3 years later on the same date in 1948.
I like to think of today as the day that saw the beginning of a very strong alliance and relationship between Korea and the United States that continues to this day, 63 years later.
This picture is of a South Korean flag flying just outside our apartment window. We are flying the exact same flag (with same flagpole !), but it’s difficult to get a clean, “face-on” shot of our flag from our own window.
by Cat on February 22, 2008
More household hints from Mrs. H:
- The metal plate in the lid of the rice cooker comes off so you can clean underneath it. (Please tell me I am not the only person who did not know this.)
- If you wash and soak the rice for at least half an hour ahead of time, it will cook quicker and use less water. (She puts three or four cups of rice in water in the refrigerator to soak in the morning and then cooks it when she gets home at night.)
- If the rice cooker moves from the ‘cook’ stage to the ‘keep warm’ stage and there is still small amounts of steam coming out of the spout, you’ve used too much water. (Ooops!)
- You should always use ginger when cooking something with pork in it. (That doesn’t really have anything to do with using the rice cooker, but I thought I’d throw it in anyway…)
by Cat on November 7, 2007
Apparently, you can now have dancing girls at your wedding.
The link is to Mong Dori but the video is apparently from Naver and its getting quite a bit of attention, at least from the expat community.
Some people wonder what the bride is thinking. To me, she looks pretty into it (Or, she’s a great actress. Check out the part where he lip syncs to her at the end.)
Folks back home: Girls hired to dance to recorded music under a balloon arch are ubiquitous here at store openings or special promotions.
I wonder what’s going on in the minds of the parents.
Hat tip: Lost Nomad.
