Yangchon Dried Persimmon Festival

On a cold Saturday back in December, we went to a Dried Persimmon 꽃감 Festival.  I had seen a commercial on TV promoting it, and being not too far away, we decided to check it out.  It was in a rural village about 30 minutes from Daejeon, and it was interesting to see how people in the country put on a fair.  I like dried persimmons, but the ones they were selling here were more half dried, and still pretty pulpy, so we just tasted the samples and moved on.   What is considered entertainment out in the country was an eyebrow raising experience.  The rumor was quite crude, as was their dress.  But why try to describe when I can illustrate...

 We followed the signs and knew we had made it when we saw the tents and balloons in the middle of nowhere














You just had to be there...



 

A display showing how the fruit is dried.  Of course Sam noted that the fruit would be covered with dust by the time it was ready for consumption. 

 Us and the festival mascots!   I had higher hopes for the festival, but we did manage to stay about an hour or so before heading back home. 

Busan!

This weekend, we had the pleasure of visiting Busan.  The second largest city in South Korea on the southern tip of the peninsula.  Our incredible hosts were a family that Sam had met and befriended many years ago, when they lived in Maryland for a year and Dr. Jo worked for the NRC.  They made us feel so comfortable and loved on us so much, we had a great weekend with the Jo family!



Our first meal with them.  Freshly caught crab, bought right off the boat!  It was soooo good, the sweet meat melted in your mouth.  Poor Sam had to settle for a bite.  A bite.  Poor poor guy.  The Jos had bought some fresh fish for him to enjoy.  It was good, too.  Uh huh.



The kids and me with the Jo family.  Sam had seen the kids last when the daughter was Lindsay's age!



The view from outside their apartment. 



Sam really liked these buildings

Busan is a major port city, the largest in Korea and fifth largest in the world

This group of islands is called "Oh Ryuk Do" meaning five or six islands.  The configuration changes with the tide.  It was gorgeous here, with the sweet briny smell of the ocean.



Cheese!



Lindsay received a lot of love from Mrs. Jo.

 We had blowfish soup for a late lunch.  The puffer fish meat is very firm, and the skin is thick and chewy, almost like a gummy bear.  Yummy when dipped in 꼬추장!

Haeundae Beach! 

Last stop of the day, Shinsegae Department Store, the largest department store in the world, as certified by the Guinness world record folks.  It is bigger than the Mall of America and the Macy's flagship store in Manhattan.  It was hugee.

A picture of half the food court.  We were in the middle when I took this pic.  This picture doesn't do justice to how large this place is, and this is only one floor.  I felt like I was in an airport terminal turned food court. 



Late dinner - 청국장!  A stinky but delicious bean stew.  Sam couldn't eat, he was too full, but I couldn't resist.  I usually don't enjoy the stuff, but it was so good here!  It reminded me of my Halmuni's jjigae, mmmmm.  I long for my Halmuni's jjigaes.  Sam kept looking at me and saying, "You're really enjoying yourself, aren't you?"  Yes, I was, and I did.

Last day, we went for a quick trip to Beomeosa Temple.  Built in 678, it is a vibrant working temple, very different in feel from the ones we saw in Gyeongju, which were more like tourist attractions.  The monks are very industrious and offer many things for sale.  The monk food, which is supposed to be quite good, monk/nun made bean paste, the opportunity to spend the night at the temple, aka "temple stay", and the chance to personalize a roof tile that would later be part of the temple.  This doesn't include the many generous donations that they receive.  We have been told numerous times how well off many monks are.  At E-mart the other day, I did see a monk with some really nice North Face boots on...  but I digress, some final pics!

At the front gate.  You can't see it, but the main entrance was under construction from a fire about a month ago.  In the main entrances of temples, there are usually these large angry looking gargoyle-ish figures that stand guard.  Apparently, these figures made a drunk man really angry, and he set the figure and eventually the whole structure on fire with his cigarette.  Tsk tsk.

Monk-made bean curd cakes

I liked this tree.  Doesn't it look like it has a windswept updo? 

A big inscribed rock, it looked like it deserved a picture

Under big inscribed rock, were little rock wishing towers with little Buddhas scattered about

The kids were listening to the sound of the mountain spring water flowing under the grate



Final family pic before leaving.  I love Lindsay's transparency, we never have to guess how she's feeling. :O)  If you can't read her, she was cold and was nursing a skinned knee. 



Old Friend

An old friend, the one who set me and Sam up, visited us this weekend with his wife.  The kids adored them!

Emart

One of my favorite places thus far is Emart.  It's kinda like Super Target but bigger.  Much bigger.  At the one I frequent, there are three floors for shopping - groceries on the bottom, housewares and books and toys on the second floor, and clothes on the third.  Each floor is probably as big as a Target itself.  Then there is the "culture center" on the fourth floor where they offer classes.  And then there is a salon, tailor, photo shop, eyeglass shop, and an animal hospital sprinkled here and there.  Oh, and I forgot about the food court, which is where we went today.  Had lunch with Sam and ate Kalguksoo, but the kids were still hungry after dropping him off.  Since I had a return to make anyways, I thought they might enjoy a hamburger.  At Emart, they have McDonald's!

The food tasted pretty much the same! 

While doing our shopping, I couldn't resist taking a picture of this...



a Spam gift set!  I don't know why, but this always makes me chuckle.  I did enjoy Spam a lot during my childhood.  It's the best with mool bap.

The lunar new year is on the twenty third, and it's a big deal here.  Feels more like Christmas than it did at Christmastime.  I picked up a catalog just to see what they offered and here is a sampling of what I found.  (Note that Emart is a discount chain, I fear what prices would be at a department store)

 
 A box of meat, albeit really really good meat, but for about $600 US!  No, thank you. 

 

Ten dollar pears, anyone?

 A hundred dollars a pop!

This weekend we're headed to Busan.  Road trip!



Insadong

Insadong is a touristy neighborhood in Seoul, full of places to shop for souvenirs, clothes, and just drink in the atmosphere, kind of like Georgetown or Old Town Alexandria.  We decided on a whim one Saturday to head up for the day.

 
  Isn't everything adorable?



For lunch, we popped into what we thought was a franchise of the famous Myung Dong Noodle Restaurant.  We found out later that it was not the real deal!  Oh well, the noodles and soup hit the spot on a cold and blustery day.



 The kimchi at the real Myung Dong Noodle house is so garlicky, it sets your tongue on fire.  The kimchi here was pretty predestrian.

                                                              

 


Ho Dduk!  Of course we had to partake!


For dinner, we called Sam's eldest aunt out to dinner.  We went to a popular Jajangmyun (black bean noodles) restaurant that is known for their spicy jajangmyun.  We had to wait for about half an hour to get in, but it was worth the wait!


After dinner, we walked over to Times Square.  A shopping center called Times Square that is like an American style mall.  This mall had Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Ferragamo, Burberry, Gap, North Face, and Starbucks!  The kids enjoyed a nice warm steamer.