10 Things to do Before Leaving Korea

Now that my time in Korea is coming to a close, I've been thinking about which things to prioritize. For this list, I've been asked by a friend to share my personal 10 things to do before I leave.

[These are in no particular order]

1. Go to SpaLand in Busan. Jjimjilbangs are one of those strictly Asian things (I'd say Korean, but the Japanese onsen is very similar). Getting naked and scrubbing and soaking til you're utterly relaxed is one of my favorite things to do, and the best place for it is SpaLand.

2. Eat everything. Jjimdalk, bibimbap, samgyeopsal, hoddoek, japchae, mandu, bossam (and those are just my favorites). This could easily be a whole separate list, but I've talked enough about my love for Korean food. I plan to eat nothing but Korean food for the next 6 weeks.

3. Go ice skating/roller skating. Something I can also do at home, but in Korea it's relatively cheap and therefore easy to convince my friends to join. The fact that my favorite skating rink is next to a beautiful historical bridge certainly doesn't hurt!

4. Go to noraebang. Ah, noraebang: the experience of singing til you're hoarse and looking like an idiot in front of your friends. Drunken or sober, it's a great night of fun that I will feel so very empty without.

5. Buy cosmetics and skincare. For myself, or as gifts for friends and family, it's going to be hard to leave the diverse set of cosmetics stores and products. I'm absolutely sending some scrubs and creams ahead via post.

6. Get color contacts. Why not? I think I'd look great with green eyes. Given how popular they are, they're definitely cheaper than I could get them in the US.

7. Look longingly at hanbok shops. As beautiful as they are, I can't quite convince myself to buy one. The cost for a high quality hanbok outweighs the rare occasions I'd be able to wear it. I can, however, stare through the shop windows and mentally design my own.

8. Take a million pictures with my students. Well duh.

9. Visit a board game cafe. Such a great idea, and I really hope it catches on (or maybe it has already? It's been two years, what do I know?) in the US. Getting together with a group of friends and playing any of the dozens of games available always spells out a great evening. Games that demand hours of intense strategy and concentration, or 5 minutes of Jenga, a good time is had by all.

10. Learn how to cook. This one is contingent on my ability to sweet-talk my coteachers to teach me. We've discussed it for the last two years, but now that the clock is ticking, it's time to make my move. Some ingredients will be difficult to find, but I'm hoping that learning the basics will help me to find appropriate substitutes when available. Japchae and jjimdalk are at the top of my list!


And there you have it! Is there anything I missed? Want more info? Leave a comment or send me a message!

Til next time!
안녕!

Get a breath of fresh air at the Daegu Arboretum

Now that fall has arrived, bringing a (very welcome) cool breeze, it's finally safe to come out of hiding! The Daegu Arboretum is a beautiful, free park where you can walk around, take pictures, and enjoy the outdoors.

The park is pretty big, with lots of different walking paths and free space for picnics, frisbee, and just hanging out. I personally think I'll go back with a book and find a quiet space to decompress. There were lots of families and couples there, strolling through the park and munching on kimbap, but it was still very peaceful and relaxing.

I don't know very much about botany, but from what I could tell they have a great variety of plants. A greenhouse for cacti, bamboo forest, hibiscus pond, and multiple gardens for different flower species. We spent a couple of hours walking through and taking photos. My personal favorite was the bonsai route.

It may not have been peak season for most of the plants, but it was still a beautiful day, and I would highly recommend it to anyone with a free sunny afternoon!


How to get there:

We had some difficulty getting there, and ended up taking a taxi. However, we were able to figure out how to get there once we got home. I would recommend going by bus, as it is a bit of a walk from the subway station (but Daegok, on the red line, is the closest if you want to work it out).

By bus: Take the Dalseo 3 (달서3) and get off at Daejin Middle and High School (대진중학교). From there, walk toward the obvious tree line and the entrance and map are at the base of the hill.

When you've got a spare afternoon, why not Seomun Market?

While Seomun isn't the most diverse market I've ever been to, it's a good place to stop for anyone new to Daegu. You can buy food, clothing, accessories, furniture, shoes, wigs, thread, fabric, blankets, pillows, buttons, silverware, flowers, and any number of other things that escape me at the moment. Every nook and cranny of this giant market has a shop selling something.

Good quality wigs, starting at 20,000won

All of your sewing needs, met in one stall

A fuck ton  lot of buttons.

Along the main road beside the market (marked by a huge sign, can't miss it), vendors are selling fresh food. Fruits and vegetables, rice and nuts, fish both fresh and dried, and lots of bugs and squid. These stalls are kept somewhat separate from the bulk of the market, a wise decision considering how smelly fish gets when it's outside for hours. Ugh.

There are several buildings forming the core of the market, with the vendors outside being shielded by their collective roof. Each building is slightly different: one is for hanboks (Korean traditional clothing), another has furniture, and the largest is clothing and fabrics. There are 4 floors and a basement in each, easily accessed by escalators in the center of the building. The higher you go, the less crowded the halls become, so I like to visit the fabric floors just to collect my thoughts from the chaos of outside.

Ready to eat food is plentiful in the market, if you're looking for a quick grab 'n go meal. Most of the stands within the physical market serve mandu (fried dumplings), ddoekbokki (rice cakes in spicy red sauce), odeng (pressed fish cake on a stick boiled in broth), or hoddeok (the greatest invention ever. See my post about favorite things in Korea). On the fringes of the market are smaller stands where you can sit down and eat these things, or get a bowl of bibimbap (mixed rice), kimbap (roll of rice with various fillings), or naengmyeon (cold noodles in vinegary broth). All of it is cheap and delicious.

My favorite hoddeok stand in Daegu. Dead center of the market, always has a huge line

Typical mandu on the left, and the flat mandu, famous in Daegu, on the right

Ddeokbokki. Usually very spicy!!

Unlike markets in other countries, where the vendors will say nearly anything to keep a sale going, the vendors at Seomun are much more relaxed. If you want it: great. If you don't: go away. They'll haggle, of course, but I never feel verbally assaulted the way I did in Cambodia or Vietnam.

I love going to Seomun market, even if I don't need anything. I can always get some hoddeok, find some terribly incorrect English, and get ideas for future projects. If you're in Daegu, check it out.

How to get there: On the green line (line #2), the stop is Seomun Market (although I think they're changing the name to Sinnam eventually). Come out of exit 1, and immediately make a u-turn to the right coming out of the stairs. Without crossing, follow the street to the left until you reach the large sign. When it's so congested you can hardly walk without running over an ahjumma, you've reached your destination.

안녕!

Korea's Top 10

It's been nearly a year here in Korea, so I feel (somewhat) qualified to make a 'best of' list. These are items that aren't specific to me (meaning no bragging about my awesome students), but can be experienced by everyone coming to Korea.

10. Fashion/makeup

Korea is rapidly becoming a fashion capital of the world. Here in Daegu, which is apparently the fashion capital of the fashion capital, women are dressed impeccably at all hours (myself excluded). Even my co-teachers, who you'd think would adopt a slightly grunge-look after dealing with screaming and fighting children all day, almost always look as if they'd just arrived from a frickin photo shoot. I'm totally not jealous. Totally.  That said, women put a lot, and I mean a lot of money and time into their appearances. Because of this, it's impossible to walk 5 feet in any direction and not run into a clothing boutique or a makeup store. Heck, even just a makeup store. I've lost count of the number of brand name stores (one day I'll write a whole post detailing the most recommended and my favorite items from each), but luckily this provides an excellent realm of gift shopping! I literally would run out of friends before I ran out of gift options for them. That was not meant to be as self-deprecating as it sounds. 

9. 찜질방 (Jimjilbang)

While public nudity isn't really my speed, even I have to admit the efficiency of a Korean-style public bathhouse. They're divided by gender in the changing and bathing areas, and often open into a mixed gender, clothed area with steam rooms and saunas. Jimjilbangs are incredibly common, although they vary greatly in size and design. There are very simple ones with one hot tub and one sauna, or ones that have more steam rooms than you have moisture in your body. Many of them allow an overnight stay for a very small fee, which make them even more appealing to travelers on a budget. My personal favorite is Spa Land in Busan, an enormous inside and outside facility attached to the largest department store in the world. At only 12,000 won (~$12), it's worth the experience. Just close your eyes for the first 15 minutes or so.

8. Market shopping

Open air markets are not a new thing, especially when I recall that in every single country I've visited, I've found at least one. The people running the shops (generally middle-later aged women), are incredibly nice and helpful at picking out items for me. Not only that, but I can find nearly anything at Seomun market here in Daegu, and Dongdaemun is a frickin godsend to any shopaholics. My sister and I went shopping at 1 in the morning, and walked away with quite a few good deals. I'd like to think it's my amazing haggling skills, but I acknowledge that it's more likely that they wanted the weird foreigners to leave them the hell alone.

7. kpop

I started listening to Korean pop music about a year before I came here, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't slightly influence my decision. These upbeat songs are just so damn catchy! Beyond it helping make a connection with my students, I genuinely enjoy kpop in my free time. Anyone looking to bravely venture into the crazy brightly colored and bizarre world, here are some of my favorite groups (Big Bang, SHINee, f(x), U-Kiss) and individual songs (Tarzan- WonderBoyz, Poison - Secret, Sweet Dream - MFBTY).

6. 팥빙수 (Patbingsu)

This is a dessert/snack item that's very popular during the summer. Bingsu is shaved ice, and while there are many varieties of toppings, my favorite is red bean (pronounced like pot, if you're curious). Red bean is VERY common in desserts and is definitely not for everyone, although I enjoy it myself. The coffee shop down the street has my favorite patbingsu, and the ingredients are as follows: shaved ice, condensed milk, red bean, granola, cornflakes, and a bit of whipped cream. It's magnificent on a hot day when you want nothing more than to take an ice bath, which is apparently inappropriate in public.

5. Eating style

Surprisingly, most Koreans don't care what they look like when they eat. The object of most meals seem to be to get the most amount of food in your mouth in one bite. Considering the amount of time and effort everyone puts into their appearance, I was shocked when I saw dolled up 20 somethings shoveling ramyeon into their mouths at an alarming rate. IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY. One of my favorite Korean foods is 쌈, when you make a lettuce wrap with pork, rice, some sauce, and whatever else you want to toss in there, and shove it in your mouth. ...And now I'm hungry.

4. 냉면 (Naengmyeon)

Another delicious summer food is this noodle-soup-thing. It's light and refreshing and smidge acidic and absolutely fantastic. The wheat noodles are served in a cold broth (sometimes with actual ice chunks still in it), with half a hardboiled egg, some pear or radish shavings, and a spoonful of gochujang (hot pepper paste that you cannot escape here). On the side you'll be given spicy mustard and vinegar to add for tailoring to your palate. I add a bit more vinegar than most, and skip the gochujang completely, although I am known to toss in a bit of mustard if I'm feeling daring. I'm usually not. But I already wrote something about that. Keep up, will you?

3. Cuteness everywhere!

Did you think that panda hat/scarf/mitten contraption was just for kids? False. Although many people take it too far (which is called aegyo), it encourages the childish fun that I've always enjoyed. So what if I want to wear a giant blue scarf that takes up half my face? Spend half an hour making ridiculous faces in a photo booth? How about thick rimmed rainbow hipster glasses, without the glass? Check all of the above!

2. 노래방 (Noraebang)

Whether you're a fan of alcohol induced craziness, or your neighbors deserve a break from listening to you sing in the shower, noraebang is for you! It's a cheap (depending on where you go) night out with friends that provides instant entertainment for as long as you keep up the energy. The singing rooms are private and mostly soundproofed, so it's the perfect place to let loose and sing the Mariah Carey notes that you had only attempted at that Christmas party that one time. They're easy to spot on the streets (just look for the flashing neon signs. Odds are, it's a noraebang), and have drink and food menus to encourage customers to stay for hours. Protip: have a no camera rule inside the room. No one needs to see or hear that.

And finally....

1. 호떡 (Hoddeok)

This amazing goodness tops my list partly because it's winter right now, and it's everywhere. The closest equivalent in the US would be fried dough, except hoddeok has brown sugar and sesame or sunflower seeds melted together in the middle (think a pancake stuffed with the sugar and seed mix, then deep fried to delicious perfection). It's a very common street food, and can be found on nearly every corner as the weather gets colder. If for some reason you can't find one, hoddeok mix is easy to find at Emart or Homeplus, and tastes almost as good as the real thing. But because most stands charge 1,000won for one, it's so cheap that it gives the impression that I'm losing money by not buying one. Or four. Or twenty.

So there you have it, Katherine Teacher's list of the best Korea has to offer (as experienced in 10 months). Anyone that lives/lived in Korea, do I have any glaring omissions? If you're a future visitor, any questions about specific numbers? Leave a comment!

Regardless, 2013 has been quite an adventure, and it's gearing up for round 2 in 2014. Stay tuned!

안녕!