Working out

It's been a long time since my last post because of our trip to Thailand. While I'm sorting out my pictures and stories I thought I'd share my more recent experience of joining the gym that's just across the street. The gym is spacious, clean, very modern, and it's also quite beautiful. There are actually plants and trees on the gym floor seperating the free weights from the stretching mats. (What kind of work out could you possibly get if you could see the free weights from the strech/ab mat. I mean, really? But aside from the physical landscape of the gym - which, did I mention, is fantastic - it's the other perks that really won me over.


First you get two lockers. A permanent one for your shoes and deoderant, etc, and then one that changes daily for your clothes. This way you can keep your stinky gym shoes in the locker and you don't have to put your clean clothes in with them. The gym also provides towels and gym clothes that come in a variety of sizes and colors. I especially think this is fantastic because I didn't bring much workout wear with me to Seoul. Now I don't need to buy any because I just wear their clothes and use their towels and they wash them for me. No more gym bag, no more worries. There's also a large sauna/steam room in the women's shower room and the locker room is equipped with all kinds of toiletries including body lotions, hair dryers, q-tips, etc. Great! Personal training costs about $2.50 a session and the membership is about $80 per month with a discount if you pay for 3 months at a time. Today I took a yoga class and I didn't have to sign up for it. There were only 3 of us and I got a lot of personal attention.

All in all it's just another example of how the Korean's do it so right!


(I have to admit that there was one element to the gym that surprised me. It was the glass balcony attached to the gym (it's on the 4th floor) that is labeled: smoking. There were actually a group of guys who went from treadmill to weight machine to smoking section back to weight machine. Fascinating!)

Ordering In Korean Style

When we first moved in we found a menu for a local restaurant stuck under our door. Obviously it was all in Korean (sadly no pictures) and we didn't know our address or how to order in Korean so the menu was trashed and forgotten about. A few days ago I went to drop of the dry cleaning with Yelim and we smelled something fantastic coming from a small place next door to the cleaners. Yelim told me it was a food delivery and that they often serve the people who live in our officetel. I told her that I thought I got their menu and she said it was them. She told me to tell her when I wanted her to order for me and she would arrange it.

Today I knew I was going to have a full day of work in the morning and evening and thought I'd have an early dinner at home before my night class began. I called Yerim and asked her to order me some Bulgogi for 5:30. At 5:30 on the dot someone rang my bell. I opened the door and stuck out the 8,000won - about $7.15 (Yelim told me how much it would be) and grabbed the basket of food.

Not only was the food delicious, there was so much of it (for so cheap) and it was presented so nicely in bento style boxes. No plastic silverwear either. I got a soup spoon - the meal came with soup - and chopsticks, soup, bulgogi, rice with a fried egg, and lots of delicious and beautiful banchan. I ate all I could and, as instructed, put everything back in the basket and left it outside my door. A few hours later I heard the clanging of the chopsticks and peeked outside. It was all gone.

Just another example of how Korea does it so right!

Yelim's birthday Party

Saturday night we had a great time celebrating Yelim's birthday. We started out at our local Japanese tapas joint and then moved on to our, um, other Japanese tapas joint. Yelim is a big fan of Japanese food and drink. She and her friends had sake-tini's all night! I stuck with Mekju (Beer) and Soju.

We had a great time and learned some fun Korean drinking games. Take a looksie:

Showing their Sogang Pride.

Jjimdak (chicken stew over glass noodles)

Jjimdak is becoming one of my favorite Korean meals. It's sort of like chicken boiled in a soy based mixture then stewed with garlic, red pepper, and some vegetables over thick and chewy glass noodles. The noodles are so thick that they can only be eaten with the help of scissors.

As in most Korean meals, when you're almost done with the stew the rice comes out. And if it's a really good Jjimdak place the rice will be lightly fried with seaweed and sesame oil and it will have a dark crunchy crust on the bottom. Add the rice to the saucy mixture and you have a perfect meal. I love it! Here's a pic before the rice:

And After

Togani (Beef Knee Gelatin Soup)

Last week Wannie - a good friend of Yelim's, invited us out to dinner. She and her boyfriend found a well known Tagani (gelatenous beef knee soup) restaurant in Jongo, the old city center of Seoul, and she wanted to introduce us to it.


I never had gelatenous beef or beef knee (that I'm aware of), and I was a little nervous. I rationalized that beef knee might be a very tasty and "special" cut of the animal, you know, since cow knees are, um, small. As for the gelatin part I just kept thinking Osso Bucco, after all, the gelatin is the best part, right?  I happily accepted dinner with a "special" Osso Bucco type of meal in mind.

When we arrived Wannie took the lead and ordered for us. The first thing to arrive was a big plate of gelatenous beef that I mistook for slabs of raw beef fat. After being reassured that it was not raw beef fat I fingered my chopsticks and approached the plate. This is what it looked like:

I can't lie. I was afraid to try the knee gelatin straight on. I wondered where the soup was but quickly realized that I was taking too long and that Wannie invited us here because it was good and that she liked it. In fact, she said it was famous and the best Tagani she'd ever had. So I dug in and took bite out of it and was instantly relieved that the texture was firm and chewy and not jello-ish. In fact, the gelatin had the texture of su je bi or hand pulled noodles and tasted like beef. It was certainly not my favorite, but it was not horrible. I knew I had to eat some more than just a taste though. I didn't want to insult Wannie and Yelim. Luckily ban chan (korean side dishes) can help almost any meal. At this restaurant we got radish kimchi and garlic kimchi. The garlic kimchi is one of my favorites and will dilute the taste of just about anything. So I dug in for some more Tagani and followed up with whole garlic bulbs.

When the soup came the broth was extremely bland. Salt and pepper were on the table and we were instructed to help ourselves to it to our liking. Once I put in the salt and white powdered pepper the soup transformed. The broth became rich and savory and the pepper added the perfect punch. Adding rice to the soup made it even better. In the end the meal turned out to be pretty good (of course the soju and the company always helps). I might not be running back but I certainly won't be running away either.

Here's the soup, garlic and restaurant info for Apollo :)

Soon Du Bu

Yesterday we went to DBS Soon Du Bu house for some spicy soft tofu stew. Soon Du Bu is one of my favorite meals! I usually have it with mandu (dumplings), but tried it with beef and mushrooms yesterday. DBS gives a great selection of Ban Chan, including fried whole fish. There's a whole process involved in eating Soon Do Bu.

First you take the rice out of the stone pot, leaving a thin layer of rice that's stuck to the bottom alone. Then you pour the hot water into the stone pot and put the cover back on. By the time you are done with your meal you'll have some starchy rice tea to drink.

Second, you take a raw egg from the basket of raw eggs that sit on the table (unrefrigerated) and crack it open and drop it into the the boiling sood du bu. I think this is supposed to calm some of the spice of the soup and give it a thicker texture.

Third, you have to incorporate all the ban chan into the meal. So you can take the seaweed and make rice, tofyu and kimchee wraps - all with your chopsticks!

Here are some pics before and during the meal.

"Art is anything you can get away with"

**This post is dedicated to Nicole - a great friend and Warhol enthusiast**

Today we went to the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Seoul Museum of Art and I was pretty impressed. The exhibit was really large and had a lot of Warhol's work that I was unfamiliar with. We both especially liked a Jackie Kennedy silk screen that we hadn't seen before. I especially liked seeing his earlier works, magazine covers and fashion spreads, not because they were that special, but because I never saw them. Before today I only really knew the pop cultural CampbelIs, Brillo, and silk screen works of Warhol. I also didn't know that he created Interview Magazine!

We weren't the only ones who came out to see the exhibit.  When we arrived at the museum it was packed and the line was wrapped around the curving entrance. We figured it was because entrance to the museum is supposed to be free on the fourth Sunday of every month, at least that's what the website said. We waited on line for almost an hour (during which we entertained ourselves by trying to figure out what percentage of the Korean women on line and in the area were wearing high heels, roughly 75%). When we finally got to the ticket counter we had to pay $12,000 won (about $9.50) each to get in. We still aren't sure why but we think it's because of the special exhibit.

The one disapointment at the museum (and it's not limited to this exhibit at this museum) was the horrible English translation. Reading the captions and quotes by Warhol was difficult and annoying. The Seoul museum of art should  be able to afford a better translator/editor.

The Line:

In front of the banana

M in the lobby

The lobby

A woman in a really short skirt - seriously click on the pic to enlarge it. Those are not shorts!

Taking it back to 2007 at Nicole's "Whateva" holiday party. Good times with Warhol behind us.

I miss my Nicole!

M's Inner Sleeping Beauty

M loves his "hairstylist" back home (me, not so much) and he was worried about how he would manage here without her. Well the time came and he needed a cut so Yerim and I took him to Juno, where I got my haircut a few weeks ago. M got the same VIP treatment as I did, the coffee and pretzels, the scalp massage, the warm blanket covering him while his hair was being washed, and his favorite, the two people blow drying his hair at the same time. In the end he got a very stylish cut (something Nicole, his "stylist" back home never seemed to be able to achieve if you ask me) with more perks and at a lower cost than at home. While reflecting on his experience at Juno, M says,"they awakened my inner sleeping beauty." Nuff said.

Before:

During:

After:

Seoul Food and Fun

Last night we went to a local hangout for Pa Jun, a large pan-fried scallion and seafood omelete/pancake/fritatta. I love Pa Jun and I especially love it at this place. (We still don't know the actual names of any of our favorite places.) The Pa Jun is large and drenched in oil so we try not to have it often - we've been averaging once a week. When it comes out of the kitchen it's still cooking. Its a hot steaming plate of puffed yellow and green goodness. You can't go near it for a few seconds because the hot oil is spraying all around it and it gets crispy on the bottom where it cooks the longest. I love the crispy bottom part the most. When it's all finished it looks like an oil slick. But it's so tasty that there are never any regrets. Usually the place is packed to capacity with students. Last night we went a little earlier and so it wasn't quite full yet. There were a couple of tables filled with students though. The students here seem to have a lot of school pride and they show it by singing/screaming their school songs at the top of their lungs. We see and hear this often when we are out in Sinchon, the central point between a few of the nearby universities. No one ever seems to notice when 5 or 10 kids are shouting in a bar - except us. Last night when the students started singing they realized that we were watching (i.e. taking pictures and videos of them) they played up to us and finished their cheers with "this is KOREA baby!" Just another fun and tasty Thursday night in Seoul. Pa Jun before and after and some crazy college kids:

Cheongdo Bullfighting Festival: A picture essay

5:45 am - M and I leave to meet Stephan and Aryong at Seoul Station

5 hours later we arrive in Cheongdo

Aryong gets a tip from her brother, who is waiting for us at the bullfight, that there's a lot of traffic so we should take the bus to the arena.

At first it's pretty empty on the bus

It gets much more croweded and it's standing room only before we even leave the bus depot.

The bus should take about 10 minutes but 55 minutes later we are at a standstill on the road so we decide to walk along the traffic the rest of the mile and a half to the area.

The bus we just got off of passes us.

We make it to the arena and we are greeted by the famous Cheongdo muppets.

The arena is packed

We see the famous Cheongdo gold people

We finally meet up with Aryong's family and take our seats in the arena.

After 10 minutes of watching the bulls face off we decide it's time for lunch. On our way out we have to face the huge crowds and the notorious Korean granny's who will nudge, shoulder block and push their way through anything.

We get outside and Aryong's family tells us they packed lunch. We were pleasantly surprised and thankful. We are expecting sandwiches. We get a huge Korean buffet picnic that seemed to be pulled out of thin air.

After lunch we go back into the arena and get to sit in the luxury suite because we are foriegners. The seats are right behind the trophy distribution and we will be on the big screen and on Korean TV!

In the end Turbo was the big winner.

We took the KTX fast train (first class) back home and were back in Seoul, land of the short skirts and high heels, in about 2 hours.