In light of the holiday season, I think it's appropriate to dedicate this blog to the glorious world of food! Interestingly (and conveniently), much of what has happened in the last couple of weeks centers around meals. Koreans, as I may have mentioned, place HUGE importance on what they eat and how they eat it. For instance, school lunches always include a mini lesson for me, the token western girl, and Mrs. Jeong has taken it upon herself to teach these lessons. Each day she will tell me the Korean names for the food items on my plate, while also showing me exactly how to eat it.
The first major school lunch lesson came with a dish called bulgogi and I certainly needed the guidance. For bulgogi, there is basically a spread of vegetables, meats, sauces, and lettuce. I (perhaps stupidly) thought that each dish was its own separate thing and that Koreans simply munch on giant lettuce leaves as their salad. I was therefore happy to learn from Mrs. Jeong that everything fits together as a very tasty Korean lettuce wrap of sorts.
Unfortunately, at times Mrs. Jeong will over-do the "how to eat" lesson as she likes to show me when and how I should be using my chopsticks and spoon. A small side note is that Koreans will often have the chopsticks (called chok ka rak) operating in one hand and and a spoon in the other . When I first witnessed this, it struck me as an interesting sort
of east meets west dichotomy!
I have not yet picked this up however, so when Mrs. Jeong sees me putting my chopsticks down and then picking up my spoon, I'm sure she thinks it is incredibly inefficient. I wish I could say "Lay off woman"... but I can't, so I just have to politely tell her that I like eating slow.
That Thursday (Nov. 19th) after my bulgogi experience at school, I met with about 10 other English teachers like myself for some Korean BBQ called "Gogi-gui." Once our crowd was seated, the servers began to bustle around the table bringing the various banchan, or side-dishes, lighting the gas grills in the middle of the tables and distributing bottles of Soju, a hugely popular liquor here made from potatoes. Then came the plates of raw hanau (beef) and pig. With the meet also comes a variety of vegetable platters of lettuce, garlic, and leaks as well as chili and bean-paste sauces. The idea of Gogi-gui restaurants is that the patrons serve themselves. It turns into a great group activity where one person cuts the meet with scissors, one flips the meet on the grill with tongs, and
another serves. Then the gas is turned low as everyone concentrates on the task at hand: making the bulgogi. I felt immensely proud that I had already experienced the dish and could confidently create my lettuce wrap.
At this point Kayla had been my only read friend in Korea so it was nice to meet other people who came to teach through Footprints. Julia is one such girl who also happens to be a Korean American. Thus, without Mrs. Jeong present, Julia became the educator at this meal where she
taught the table how best to arrange the meat and what each side dish was. We all had many questions for her like "Hey Julia, what's in this salad?" to which she would respond "It's not salad, it's squid" "Oh, I see." "So... is this squid as well?" "Nope, that's radish." And so on, and so forth. She was incredibly helpful with the ordering. I think that the patrons and servers alike were very grateful to have Julia there!
After dinner, Kayla and I invited Julia
to come exploring on Saturday in Haeundae with us where we had made plans to see the Busan Modern Art Museum and the Donghae Yonggung-Sa Buddhist Temple.
On Saturday morning we met at the Lotte Department Store (the stop I take for
my school) where we set off to find breakfast at one of the MANY street vendors
(called Pojangmachas which literally means "covered wagon"). Our friend Seamus decided to join us for some deep fried vegetables and fish. I only had one item
because a. fried food rarely tempts me in the morning and b. I had already had my very balanced breakfast of cereal and yogurt at home. The other three, however loved their breakfasts, which had th
e extra perk of being incredibly cheap: for 4 items, the total was a whopping 1000W (roughly $1) After they had reached their deep-fried food quota for the morning, us girls hopped on the subway for Haeundae where once out of the station, got onto a city bus for another 20 minute ride to the temple.
At the temple, we were of course met with another line of Pojangmachas and by this time, I felt ready for some solid street food. I found a vendor selling fish shaped pastries which I had seen on my way to school and had always intrigued me. I of course had to ask my little
Korean Pocket Dictionary (Julia) what it was. She informed me that they are called
Bungeoppang and are basically a pastry filled with a red bean paste. I decided it sounded harmless and was something I could invest 500W on. The picture at the start of this blog is actually of me stuffing my face with one of Bungeoppangs. "Delicious!"
Once we finally made it past the hoards of vendors, the temple was an awesome experience. It sits up against sea-side cliffs
and is backed by pine trees. I have limited
experience with Buddhism so once again I appreciated having Julia there. She demonstrated the proper way pray and explained the the significance of the hundreds of prayers written on tags around the temple and candle lights on the walls. Before leaving I walked down to the water for my first encounter with Korea's Pacific Ocean!
Getting back on the bus, we headed for Haeundae proper where we met two other teachers named Andrew, a hilarious Brit from Gloucester and Tori, another wonderfully
witty character from Florida! We all decided more food was in order so we made our way to a random restaurant where we ordered (or rather, Julia ordered) piles of noodles, meats, Kim Chi, (a fermented vegetable which is consumed in mass quantities by the Koreans), and a bean-paste soup called toen-jang-tchi-gao. Everything was very good in my book, but Julia informed
us it was only sub-par. Ha! I'm glad that I don't quite have a discerning taste for Korean food, I probably wouldn't enjoy my school lunches as much!
After our meal, we rolled ourselves to the Busan Museum of Modern art... Not the most impressive museum I've visited but we
did stay long enough for them to finally kick us out (due to closing hours) which is something I've certainly never done.
The five of us had such a blast on Saturday that we decided to meet on Sunday for a hike near my apartment. I had already done some exploring in the hills and found a pretty sweet trail that I wanted to go further on. Outfitted with water and our cameras, we set out promptly at 11 am though I think within the first 10 minutes, Kayla and Julia were seriously wondering if it was a wise choice to follow me. The only trail I've found from my apartment for the main trail, is pretty steep and hugs a large concrete drainage ditch. At one point, there is a make shift rope to grab onto so not to fall. Once we were concrete free, the trail opens up and becomes very safe and manageable (even for the city girls not used to hiking). It is probably an hour hike to the top, but we did it in two (another two to the bottom) as there were many rest stops and photo breaks. Not to mention the periodic side-steps off trail to let MANY Koreans pass going the opposite direction. It was beautiful but unfortunately, also packed.
After stopping at the top for a great 360 degree view of Busan we headed down. Because it had taken so long, I was so famished! Not more than 10 minutes into our descent, we passed a group of adults sitting on a blanket eating a picnic. Perhaps they heard my stomach because they invited us over for rice cakes, persimmons (one of the most popular fruits here which they call Kam) and Gamju, a milky, sweet, rice wine.
They spoke absolutely NO English but it was great as there were lots of hand gestures and laughing! This picture is of the greetings (of sorts) and Andrew and I being the first to accept the Gamju.
The Thursday after the hike, Tori invited us all over to her friend Dave's house for
an attempt at a western style Thanksgiving. It was quite the crowd: two Americans who were dating Korean girls, one Canadian who had already celebrated his Thanksgiving back in October, a Brit who had never celebrated Thanksgiving before, and four American girls who were very excited for the holiday! I promised to bring sweet potatoes with
marshmallows as my contribution.
I think that even with of our limited resources, the final product for our feast certainly resembled a Thanksgiving meal! There was stuffing, Cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, my sweet potatoes (which I mashed with a stove top espresso maker), and rolls. Unfortunately, this country is already too jam packed with people so there isn't any room for poultry as large as a turkey, but we were able to cook two whole chickens in a very large toaster oven... in my opinion, Thanksgiving was a success!
After Dinner, Tori, Andrew, Kayla, Julia and I found a Nori-bang room
. This was certainly a new concept for me but basically Nori-bang is a private room that a group can go to and sing karaoke! Visiting a Nori-bang is an experience in and of itself. The whole building is set up like a hotel with a series of hallways and rooms. Our room was very nice with a couch wrapping around the perimeter, two large TVs, a gigantic sound system and a large tabl
e in the center. An attendant came to take our order after we were situated. It is mandatory at many Nori-bangs to order food. We were all still very full from dinner and decided the fruit plate was probably harmless. Instead we got a massive tray overflowing with fruit. We had a great time but of course, I lost my voice and paid for my Nori-banging for the rest of the weekend and following week.
On Friday, I was invited to a sort of staff dinner for the school. As usual, I was told
very little and only bothered to ask where we were going once I found myself crammed into a micro bus with the other teachers. Apparently it was a special occasion because the grandmother of one of our students hosted the event. The boy was recently accepted into a very good High School and she was thanking us by treating this expensive meal. Our dinner was at the Jun-gan-ay a Korean Beef Restaurant in an area called Tchurma (not sure on the spelling with this one). The meal was incredible or as they say in Korea, the food was mashisoyu (delicious)! The restaurant consisted of a cluster of buildings and the room we dined looked almost like a native American Long House. Immediately after being seated, attendants started bustling around us bringing sides, drinks and cast-irons filled with glowing hot coals for the grills. Coals, although more labor intensive as they have to be replaced throughout the meal, are the more traditional way to grill meat.
My lesson on food continued as there were many items I hadn't a clue what they were or how to eat them. It all felt like a bit of sensory overload as the sights, smells, tastes, and textures came at me like a freight train. Some of the food items I tried are as follows: Hoba (pumpkin), Kan (liver) Umshi Hanou (Korean beef roast), pul-kogi (a marinated Korean BBQ), many seaweed salads, bean-paste soups, unidentified vegetables and plum wine throughout.
I felt very lucky to be apart of the experience! Plus, I think all the teachers had a good time watching me be the silly American getting excited about, well, everything!
After Thanksgiving and Nore-bang, Tori, Julia, Kayla, Andrew and I decided that we made a pretty good team so that Saturday we made plans to visit the UN Cemetary in Busan. (Unfortunately Julia works some weekends so she couldn't make it.) The cemetery was interesting though I don't really have much to say about it.
Then we all headed to the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts for a performance of... yes indeed, Korean Traditional Performing Arts! It was a really amazing experience! During the whole month of November, the center honored different music and dances in Korea. We were able to see the last performance of their November series which consisted of 6 different numbers. One of my favorites was a fantastic drum dance called a 'Jangguchum' where 20 or so women play various rhythmic pattern on a janggu (an hour-glass shaped drum about 3ft. long), held at the waist level by a sash slung over her shoulder while she dances. Another favorite was a traditional Folk Dance called 'Miryang Baekjungnori' which originates from the farmhands as a
ritual for the "Farming God." It is incredibly high-energy and is again performed by women. I also found the singing to be very interesting. Korean voices really fascinate me as even in day to day speech, they seem to take advantage of the many octaves and pitches available. One woman soloist sang an incredible number where her voice went from sounding almost like a deep African chant and then would suddenly jump to a sweet falsetto (and anything in between).
After the performance, we headed back to my apartment to relax with some green tea and M&Ms (they were a little pricey, but SO worth it!) After our chill session, we headed back to Lotte where I was determined to find the restaurant 1500 Kuksu! Some of you may remember that this is the place Mrs. Kim tried to take me but got confused. Amazingly I was able to find the little alleyway and the restaurant. We knew we were at the right place because it was positively jam packed with Koreans.
The picture above is of me attempting to order our meals (we were missing Julia a lot at this point)! After realizing that my pocket dictionary was USELESS, I resorted to charades. This unfortunately proved to be equally pointless but luckily, a patron in the restaurant saw my struggle and came to help. Speaking of useless, the other three were doing nothing at this point but laughing and taking pictures. I think that they thoroughly enjoyed the show! The noodles indeed lived up to their reputation and our entire meal came to 6000 W ($6).
To work off our meal we went to a famous dance club and danced with locals and westerners alike. Good fun was had by all! The locals especially love Kayla for some reason. One girl in particular wouldn't leave her alone all night. It was pretty comical for us but I think Kayla got a little tired of it!
The following Tuesday another Mrs. Kim at the school (first name Mi-sook, not Sun-ye, the ditz) invited me to her home for dinner with her family, which I very excitedly accepted! Of course, in my unreasonably romantic brain I pictured a traditional dinner with a traditional Korean family, in a very traditional Korean home...
When school let out at 4:30 we loaded into her car for the E-Mart where she had to pick up a few food items before going to her house. As we rolled down the isles she put noodles, sea weed, rice cakes, frozen mandoo (Korean dumplings), beef and a half gallon of milk into her car. "Oh, this is going to be a great meal, I thought!" I told her that I would love to help her in the kitchen for dinner (to be helpful of course but also selfishly, to learn how to prepare Korean food). She brushed it off saying it wouldn't be necessary. I insisted and she let the matter drop.
Once at her home, (an apartment like mine but much larger and with an amazing view of the city), I met her husband Soe, Chang-ki, and her daughter Seo, Seong-hee. The Koreans will put the family name first separated by a comma, then their given name, usually two names divided by a dash. Interestingly, I learned from Mi-sook that when a woman marries, she will keep her family name and the children will take their father's name.
Mi-sook announced that her 15 year-old son Seung-oh was still at academy but would be home at 6:30 or so. I asked what academy was and she explained that it is private schooling (at schools called Hogwans) where Korean students will go for English and Math. This makes for a long and intense day. Some students choose to do both meaning that they won't be home until close to 10pm at night... and they can be as young as 10 years-old when they do this!
There is not doubt that Koreans work hard which is a respectable trait to be sure, but Mi-sook even laments that there is so much study involved. "I wish Seong-oh wouldn't study so much," she exclaimed, "but he wants to!" The system is set up so the only guaranteed education in Korea is through 8th grade. After that, students are expected to test into high school and then they have two choices: go to a trade high school of sorts, or a high school bound for university (obviously the more prestigious of the two).
The subject switched gears and we began talking about a recent trip they went on to Europe. Seong-he ran to get a photo album of their travels. I realized that I was actually looking at a report Seong-ho wrote for school. It again reiterated the fact that these students work so incredibly hard! It was filled with 30 or so pages written about his families vacation (the kind of writing I didn't do until High School and he was in 7th grade when he wrote it!)
Mi-sook came into the living room and announced that she would order pizza from Pizza Hut. "What?!" I though. "Oh, sounds good," I said. She asked me if I wanted beef, chicken or shrimp pizza. "Hmm, chicken sounds great, but I love everything," I told her. "We will order the shrimp pizza," she announced. And that was that.
By this time Mi-sook's son Seong-ho was home along with her sister and niece who wanted to see me. After Mr. Delivery man dropped off the shrimp pizza, pepsi, and fried chicken, Mi-sook turned to me and asked "Is Pizza Hut American?" Ha! Sometimes it's pretty hard not to laugh out loud!
I comforted myself with the fact that I certainly couldn't order shrimp pizza from the Pizza Hut in Utah (I don't think), so at least that was somewhat of a Korean, cultural experience. While I ate, Seong-hee and her cousin began snapping photo after photo of me with their camera phones. It went something like this: Click, then giggle, giggle, giggle; Click, giggle, giggle, giggle and so on. This went on for about 5 minutes before Mi-sook got tired of it and stopped the charade. I thought it was funny, I'm sure their entire school has seen many very attractive photos of me eating my meal by now!
Mi-sook announced that she would drive myself and her sister and niece back home. Seong-hee decided she wanted to come so myself and the two little girls sat in the back while the two ladies sat in the front. Because they're young, the girls don't speak all that much English but we made do. In the car the girls started to get excited, "Teacher, teacher," they shouted, "what is your blood type?" This may seem like a totally random question but I was actually prepared for it. I had heard that Koreans believe, like the Japanese, that blood type effects a person's personality and like with astrology, certain blood types are more compatible than others. "A positive," I said. "OOhhhhhh!" "Good, good!" I guess they are type O and the two bloods get along nicely! "Well that's good I guess!" I then asked what sort of character type A has.
They thought for a moment then said "Shy and with a little brain!" Hmmmm. Interesting. Out of curiosity I asked what Type O's character is. They responded "Angry and stubborn!" Ha! At least the descriptions seem pretty negative all around!
Once at my apartment's steps, I thanked Mi-sook for dinner and her sister chimed in saying that she hopes I come to her home and eat with them sometime soon. "Of course!" I said.
Though it was just Pizza Hut and fried chicken, I really learned so much more about Korea and it felt great to laugh and share stories with their family!
This basically takes me to the present. I had quite the day yesterday with Tori, Andrew, Julia, and Kayla at a fish market, but it will have to wait. My experiences with food certainly seem to be the nucleus of my experiences here in Korea thus far!
