새해 복 많이받으세요!

We welcomed the lunar new year in Seoul with family.  We didn't know how many people would come to Sam's Eemo's home, but over thirty ended up coming!  As always, it was nice to spend time with ones we love. :O)

The Elders of the family getting ready to receive their greeting for the new year

We all bowed en masse to save time

Cousins!

Korean Strawberries

*sigh* Korean strawberries, how can I convey how lush and  sweet and tasty they are?  Korean strawberries are:

1.  Grown in greenhouses.
2.  Are a winter treat in Korea, not a summer one like home.  They are at their peak from December to April.
3.  Are all sweet, with no tart.  Yum!

Oh, how I wish I could send each of you a kilogram of these succulent, sweet, beautifully red strawberries.  Since I can't ever foresee myself ever coming back to Korea in the winter, my plan is to eat as many as I can while I'm here.  I'm ruined for American strawberries! 

Ice Sledding!

Last Saturday we had a nice lunch at a Vietnamese/Thai? place and were thinking about what to do for the day.  Sam wanted to go sledding again but the kids were not enthused.  Lindsay said that she wanted to go ice sledding, "어름 썰매", so we decided to try it out.  It was fun!  We rented two sleds and played all afternoon! 

See the dry creekbed behind Lindsay?  I found out that the three gentlemen that run the place come at night for three hours, and pour water on the creekbed to ice it over. 

 

 Action shot!  The sleds went faster than I expected!

It turned out to be a great way to spend the afternoon.  And it was timely too, because it was the last weekend that they would be open.  어름 썰매 재미 있었어요!

Jeonju

Still trying to play catch up!  The weekend after the Persimmon Festival, we decided to go to Jeonju, where there is a traditional folk village.  We were looking most forward to the bibimbap, which Jeonju is well known for.  Well, the food was worth it!  As soon as Sam and I took a bite, we looked at each other and just grinned like cheshire cats.  It was soooooo gooood. 

It only took us about an hour to get to Jeonju.  Aren't the toll gates pretty?  We, of course, decided to eat first before going to the folk village...

Jeonju bibimbap.  Along with the normal veggies, it had mook, marinated raw beef, walnuts, pine nuts, chestnuts and ginko nuts.  Mmmm mmmmm.

All mixed together and ready to eat!

 


<>

The kids really enjoyed their bulgoki, too!


A huge bowl of resin bibimbap commemorating when the restaurant made bibimbap for 1000 people at once.  I'm sure you noticed that the ingredients are in the shape of the Korean peninsula.  It really does look like a rabbit, doesn't it?



Upstairs, they had a little gallery displaying bibimbaps from the different regions in Korea.  They also had these adorable figures depicting a traditional Korean kitchen and mealtime with a king. 

 In front of the restaurant

 
 

The folk village was a mixture of old and new.  There are many homes that are hundreds of years old along with buildings that were new construction to encourage the tourism industry to the area.  In the end, it's all about making a buck, sadly.  But at least some history gets preserved along the way.

Pretty manhole cover

 

A catholic church built in the Byzantine style.  Built by a French priest in the early 20th century to commemorate the spot where  two Korean Christians became the first Korean Christian martyrs in 1781.  Lindsay and I took a peek inside only to realize that there was a wedding going on, oops!  That didn't stop dozens of others from stepping inside to get their glimpse, too.

 

Yummy street food!  "Chrysanthemum bread", waffles and ho dduk!  We opted for the bread, they were ooey gooey good and warmed us up on that cold day.

 Goofy shot of Nathan from inside a bakery.  That's it from Jeonju, till next time...

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.