This Week's Samgyupsal Scoop

Yes, I have changed the title of this blog, at the request of someone who couldn't bear to have Seoul's name tarnished by that derogatory adjective, "cloudy". It is still raining pretty much everyday, but never mind that...

It has been an eventful week. Besides our midterm, I've also gotten to experience more neighborhoods and environments around this endlessly inspiring city that is Seoul.

Two of our classmates' birthdays happened to fall on this past week, and the rest of us each brought in some snacks to celebrate.

Sonomi, a sweet girl from Japan who is thinking of studying to become a makeup artist and whose favorite makeup brand is MAC, turns 20! She's the youngest in the class. Next comes me of course.

Finally one with our whole class! I didn't realize we looked so small. The birthday boy is the Frenchman Vivien, the guy in the white polo in the back. One most days the life of the class, on this day he turned 23, I think. Whenever people tell me I forget to ask whether it's in Korean age or not.

This one's with our sonsaengnim (teacher). She's the motherly-looking woman in the center in the green. Throughout the four hours of class each day, they rotate teachers twice, so we get to work with three different teaching styles. She is by far my favorite.

This week, I have found a new place to wander around in and blow off the entire discretionary portion of my budget.

As soon as I got off the metro at Insadong station, I could see that this was a special place. Right near the exit was this large wall made up of a collection of square tiles, each unique and made by local artists and regular people to express their love and longing for Insadong. The materials used vary widely from one tile to another, and many of them had parts which protruded out towards the viewer.

I think this is meant to evoke Starbucks. Starbucks is very popular here, and as in New York, there are some busy neighborhoods where one can be found on every street. Apparently the one in Insadong is the only one whose name is spelled out in hangul. However, the prices are ridiculous here in Korea. A frap for 5.50?! A passionfruit tea for 4 dollars?! Even for Starbucks, that is insane.

For those who can understand Korean.

It was pouring the first time I went so I didn't get to take many pictures.

It was such a cute place. Even the rain wasn't enough to ruin the inherent romantic quality of all the side alleyways. There are many stores there selling traditional Korean goods, and also a lot of stores selling handmade, one of kind goodies, like clothes, music boxes, jewelry.

Sometime last week we finally had a mini Williams reunion! We went to Hongdae to eat dinner and walk around. Took the chance to snap more pictures of Hongdae.

A performance of some sort was going on in the park.

Best samgyupsal (Korean grilled pork) I have EVER HAD. And so cheap! The whole meal cost each of us less then 7 bucks.

We went back to the park afterwards and there was another band performing. It was clear they were no amateurs. So far all the street performers I've seen in Hongdae have been very fresh and unique.

The really sketchy looking entrance to some undoubtly cool bar.

This is not what it seems like...In Seoul there are signs in English everywhere, and every now and then the people apparently did not make the best decisions in choosing their words. According to my friend, it's called a "HO" bar because "HO" in Korean means number. There are many HO bars around the area and each of them have a number, and I guess having a number is their thing...

Since Jean asked for some pictures of "Korean style" I tried to capture a few random shots of people on the street. Most of them are blurry though haha. It is quite hard to take pictures of people while pretending I'm not.

That's it for now. Hope everyone has a nice weekend!!

and what may June showers bring?

Unbearably hot weather, or so I hear.

The rainy season officially started in the middle of last week, and all the rain that didn't come down during my first four weeks here has come down in the last four days. Apparently, it was supposed to stop today (Monday) and continue on Wednesday. The sun did come out for a while this afternoon. However, it is 12:08 AM as I am writing this and the soft pitter-patter of the raindrops can still be heard outside my window.

Here's the view from outside my classroom on the eighth floor:

Now for a brief recap of the last week and a half.

So last Saturday, I moved! Exchanged heartfelt goodbyes with SnM, who hailed a taxi for me, and headed off towards my new home in Sinchon. No more 40-minute commute every morning (the arduous high school commute still haunts me). Now I just have to walk 5 minutes and then take an elevator! YESSS!!!!!

Now I live in a hasukjip called MG House. A lot of the ones in this neighborhood are run by friendly, elderly Korean women, and mine is no exception. Basically, the deal is that I pay a monthly amount of about $450 USD, and I get a single room and the basic amenities that would come with a typical college dorm. Breakfast and dinner are also included for six days of the week. I also save from not having to commute anymore, so overall it's really an economical way of living in Seoul, or even in this part of the city, for an extended period of time. Hip places like Idae and Hongdae are 20 minutes away by foot. I don't even have to take a bus to get to a subway stop. There are TWO within a 10 minute walk away. Crazy!! Currently I am the only international student in MGH. Most, if not all, of the residents are students at Sogang University. The only time I ever see them is during dinner time, at which time I really get to try out my Korean.

My room:

I'll add more pictures later, because Blogger is being a jerk right now and not letting me upload anymore.

I really like the neighborhood here. Restaurants run by ahjummas abound, and there's a stationery store and a small grocery store just downstairs. Whenever I get back a little late, many stores are still open, and the owners are all gathered outside on their stools and talking the night away. There are also a number of other hasukjips in the area, as well as a high school and elementary school, so students are a common sight.

Paris Baguette is everywhere.

On Sunday, seeing that I had nothing to do in the morning, my ahjumma invited me to church. After the service, we all had lunch there together. She introduced me to a couple of girls my age and we talked a little. A baby there had just turned 1 month old, and so his parents passed out these cute packets of dduk (rice cake) to everyone.

I ended up meeting this girl who is going to the US to study in the fall. She wanted to practice her English, so we decided to go to the Samsung Museum of Art for the afternoon. It's a really sleek museum with a cool collection of modern art.

The view down the central staircase of the traditional art gallery.

Yes, to any Williams people reading this, these are the same eyes by the same artist (Louise Bourgeois) that watch you whenever you walk to Driscoll dining hall for a meal. Creeeeeepy.

On Wednesday, I finally got to check out a music bar in Hongdae, upon the suggestion of a Korean friend at Williams. It's called CafeBbang.

It was a pain to find though. I went there the day before just to scout out the place, because comments about it on the internet made it sound like it was tucked away in some obscure corner. I walked around for a good hour before finally giving up and asking a salesperson in a boutique. He said he'd never heard of a CafeBbang before, but after I tried repeating "bbang" several times with the appropriate emphases, he seemed to recall something and pointed across the street to the door pictured above. It turned out that I had already walked by that doorway a hundred times as I searched up and down the street. Definitely wasn't expecting such a facade for a music cafe that was so praised online.

I went back with a couple of friends the next day. And despite the sketchy and drab exterior, the music was quite good. It was a very intimate space, with seats for perhaps thirty something people set up facing a small stage, which was flanked by many large speakers.

Couldn't take many good pictures in the dim setting, but enjoy the videos!

I liked this guy. Rainbow 99 is his stage name. Really sorry for the shoddy camera work. And my phone obviously doesn't do the audio justice.

Hongdae is so far one of my favorite neighborhoods to wander around in. There are a bunch of cute cafes, bakeries, boutiques, music bars and clubs, and tons of places to eat. It sort of reminds me of Soho, except much more affordable and lively.

CafeBbang was right across from the Coffee Prince Cafe! It's modeled right after the one in the drama. Or is it the actual one where they filmed it?! I don't know. I'll try to go back there during the daytime to get a nicer picture.

Hongdae gets its name from the university nearby. Hongik University is well-known for its art program, and in Hongdae, art is everywhere you look.

In other news, I have found the perfect Korean recipe to bring back to college. Jjajangmyun!

It's a friendly recipe I found on this blog. I've already made it twice at S.'s apartment, and each time it was a big batch that can last for at least a few days. The sauce goes really well with rice, too.

Here's the link to Maangchi's blog. She also does a lot of other Korean dishes. I've tried making the japchae but in the end it was more trouble than it was worth. Hopefully I'll get to try out some other recipes soon.

http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/jjajangmyun