Tag Archives: South Korea

We Need To Share…

Most of our family and close friends have already seen the video and now we want to share it with the rest of our blog friends. Mrs. B is still working her way through video editing. This is her first attempt (please be kind) but feel free to let us know what you think!

The video is from our experience attending the 2011 Lotus Lantern Festival held annually in Seoul. We hope that you enjoy!

If you haven’t already done so, please feel free to check out the pictures from the festival back in a previous blog posting.

The Perfect Summer Day

Wait, is there such a thing as the perfect summer day in South Korea? Typically a summer day consist of heat, heat, oh yea more heat, and throw in some major humidity! Today however was absolutely perfect! Yes it was HOT but we were able to get out and enjoy it with some new friends in Dongjeom. Dongjeom is only 7km (5 miles) away from Dongducheon and is very popular among Koreans on days like today.

If you viewed the pictures already you will see that we cooled off in a stream. We loved it! We were the only Americans there and the Koreans welcomed us right away. For as little as 50,000 KRW you got to order/grill all sorts of great foods, have your own personal cabana-style set up all day, park for free, and soak in the rays. We were surprised at the soaking of rays part because usually Koreans avoid exposing there skin to the sun at all costs.

There was a sweet Korean family that squirted us with water guns and got into a splash fight with us too….(Don’t worry we learned a valuable lesson recently and we safe guarded the camera from water with our lives). Meaning Mrs. B took one for the team and got soaked!

After some time spent cooling down we decided to towel off and head to Herb Island. Those of you familiar with our past blog post know that we have been there multiple times now. Each time we go back we see or try something new. This time we can add blueberry herb ice-cream, boy’s in bubble, full body chair massages, and tasting herbal teas to the list. We are telling you that you’ve got to visit Herb Island if you are ever in the neighborhood.

As an answer to a previous post question, YES, Herb Island sells pre-potted herbs and flowers, so bring some won. The prices seemed reasonable.

After Herb-Island our stomach’s were all grumbling. Our new friends asked if we wanted to join them for dinner and we gladly accepted! We drove into New City (Dongducheon) and went to a place that we have wanted to try out from our numerous night walks. The restaurant is Twae Rang Such Ur K/Go K/GI. Such means basically to grill or charcoal, and K/Go K/GI is the meat. We were all impressed with the Kal-mege-Sal (We might have butchered that spelling, many apologies). Basically we had seasoned meat that was not oily and grilled perfectly right at our table! We had sprouts, kimchi (and this kimchi would be a perfect beginners kimchi to try, not too much fish sauce), rice, and bean soup. Mmmm! We left stuffed and will definitely go back again!

We both got home saying what a fun filled day we had with such awesome company. We look forward to many more great adventures into the future with them both!

Trip to South Korea’s Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

We Bee’s woke up bright and early to catch the bus to South Korea’s Demilitarized Zone, also known as the DMZ. Our families and close friends know that we are located very close to the DMZ.  To put things into perspective if you were to make a direct straight line from where we live to the DMZ we are only about 15 miles away.  Yes, we know we just made our parents and grandparents cringe.

Our trip itinerary was as follows:

-Departure (Passport and Attire Check) There is requirements to what you can and cannot wear.

-Start for DMZ Destination (Freedom Highway)

-Pass through Unification Bridge (Passport Check), Arrive at JSA Camp Bonifas.

-Slides show security brief provided on JSA

-Tour JSA (Freedom House – Conference Room – Sentry Post No.3 – Bridge of No Return

– Lunch

– Dora Observatory

– DMZ 3rd Tunnel

For those of you who really do know much about the DMZ or the significance of it we will provide you with the basic overview of the things we took away from the tour.

The DMZ is a strip of land that is 4km wide and 248km long. This strip of land is what divides South Korea from North Korea. This border is no joke! There was such a nervous energy on the trip because of the security briefing you attend, the high fences topped with barbed wire, tons of observation towers, the antitank and minefield to the left and right of the highways, armed soldiers, and the cameras and microphones monitoring you from both sides as you tour.

Once we made it through the unification bridge we arrived at JSA Camp Bonifas. We were told what we could and could not bring from the bus before entering into the orientation in the auditorium in Camp Bonifas.  The facility received its name after an American soldier killed by North Koreans in an “ax incident” over the cutting of a tree. Google hatchet incident or Operation Paul Bunyan for background information. We were required to sign a release advising us that, if anything happens to us on the tour, it’s our responsibility….eek!….

After the brief we got to go inside one of the actual main conference buildings. This is where official meetings are still sometimes held today. Once inside of the building we were intrigued that the room was very simple with almost a classroom style feel to it. There were large wooden tables and chairs. The tables had live microphones sitting in the middle of them. We were told that both sides were monitoring everything we said within this room. We were told not to touch anything within this room and this also included the two guards standing in a taekwondo stance at both sides of the room. Within this single room you can literally cross over from South Korea to North Korea. You could just see and feel how the entire group was thinking the same things and how this experience was so surreal

While we were inside the building we were told and got to see that two of the ROK soldiers stand half-concealed by the building that we were in. This allows the soldier to signal if they see anything going on within the North Korean side.

Once we were back outside we could see North Korean soldiers peering through binoculars watching our tour group as we stood on the steps standing only inches away from the North Korean side.

After we left the conference building we were loaded up onto a different bus from the one that we originally came on. While on the bus the guiding Soldier told us that there are only two villages in the DMZ. These villages are near the city of Panmunjom. On the south side the village is Daeseong and on the north side the village is Giljeong.

Daeseong is a government-subsidized village that has an elementary school, church, and is tax-free. The government pays the villagers about $82,000 dollars to harvest crops year round. The homes are modern and have technologies such as the Internet. We were told that right now 230 residents live within the village and have to follow a curfew of 11pm. When these villages want farm their crops they must have a soldier escort. We were blown away by this but got to see a famer first hand with two soldiers guarding him work near by.

The only way to live within this village is if you are a woman who marries into it or have an ancestor that lived or lives within it.  We thought this was rather interesting.

We asked what the village does when the child reaches an age where they are above elementary level. We were told that the villager’s family can choose where to send the child to school and are basically exempt from the rule of staying so many day/nights within the village while that child is attending school. We also learned that there were currently about 20 some students and there were just as many teachers to the student ratio –wow-.  When one of the students graduates from school the surrounding ROK Army Soldiers, nearby town Mayor and government officials attends the graduation and makes a big deal about it with a celebration. The child ends up with so many gifts that they have to have two trucks bring the gifts back to the village for the graduating child.

On the north side the village of Giljeong is rather different. This village was actually constructed years ago and was basically empty and used as propaganda up until the past few years. Recently the village has had some activity with North Koreans living within it.

On the tour we stopped off at one of the observation towers where we could see from a distance the Giljeong village. The village has a 160m high Eiffel tower structure flying a huge North Korean flag weighing about 660 pounds. We were able to take some pictures to show you all but the wind wasn’t blowing hard enough to extend the flag out.

The tour included getting to see the bridge of no return. This bridge leads into North Korea and obviously has no return. Near this bridge is where the “ax incident” occurred and there is a memorial plaque in remembrance.

After touring around Camp Bonifas we got back on our original bus and went for lunch. We had our option of bulgogi or bibimbap. Most of us within our group choose bibimbap. The dish and sides were delicious and really inexpensive!

After lunch we were back on the bus and heading to the Dora Observatory and the DMZ 3rd Tunnel. We were not really impressed with the Dora Obsevatory as the observatory section was being worked on and we couldn’t access it. Hence we could only peer out the huge glass windows with our own eyes to see North Korea in the distance. We decided that we would have to go back and give it another shot to make a final opinion of the place.

The last stop on the tour was the DMZ 3rd tunnel. Right off the bat the tour guide will warn you that this is quite a hike and will take time to see. We knew what we were getting into because of friends who have already experienced the tour. We wanted to experience it because we never knew if we would ever get a chance to again.

There are four tunnels crossing the DMZ that have been dug by North Korea leading to Seoul. They say that there are around sixteen tunnels estimated in total. These tunnels have been discovered only within the past few years, 1974 to be exact. North Korea tried to cover up the tunnels by saying that they were for mining and painted the walls black to have the appearance of anthracite. Of course no coal was ever found in these tunnels.

The 3rd tunnel that we toured is incredibly sloped the entire way down. The tunnel signs read that the tunnel is 1,700 yd long and about 490 ft below ground. They did not allow cameras in the tunnel. However, we snapped a few pictures from outside of the building of the tunnel start.

You are required to wear a helmet if you go into the tunnel. We laughed because if anything did happen when you were down in the tunnel this flimsy plastic helmet was not going to protect you from anything. We quickly realized that the helmet served the purpose of protecting your head when you have to walk crouched over through the low and uneven tunnel ceiling. Poor Hector wacked his head a few times and when we were laughing we ended up whacking ours.

On the way back up from being in the tunnel the air feels heavy when you are making your way back up. We knew were in trouble when we saw Koreans stopping along the way back up to take a break because these are the people who hike tall mountains on the weekends for fun and walk as a major mode of getting around.

There is a trolley that will take you down the tunnel and back up if you call and reserve ahead of time with the exact number of people within your group. To get to the ending point you will still have to walk and crouch over at points.

In the end we are left with thinking that we never imagined in our lives we would be at the DMZ standing freely between two countries still at war. South Korea desperately wishes for unity between the two countries so that long lost family members can be reunited again and live in peace. …. We wonder if that will ever be in our lifetime? Who knows, maybe someday?

Eat Drink and be Merry….

That is exactly what we did tonight. If you are familiar with our past blog posts you know that we really enjoyed the food and experience at the Dino Meat Restaurant the last time we went. The past two weeks have been a bit of a blur with travel, trips, anniversaries, birthdays, and new ventures to come. To officially kick of the weekend we dined at Dino Meats with some great friends!

We were sat towards the back of the restaurant due to it being a busy Friday night. We ended up in a section that had tables reserved for a large party. We basically had the entire back part of the restaurant to ourselves until the large party came towards the end of our meal. We loved it! We had plenty of room to stretch out and just enjoy ourselves.

The large party consisted of various aged Korean’s celebrating with a lot of grilled meat and a lot of soju. We loved to watch the ladies as they all started with their hair down but as they continued to drink the soju they would pull it back into a ponytail. Each time they would take a shot of the soju their cheeks and faces would take on a rosier shade.  It was incredible to watch how they effortlessly shoved the different types of meats wrapped in lettuce and other sides into their mouths. We all got a kick out of it because no matter how hard we would tried to shovel leaves into our mouths the same way it never quite worked out. Although this time I was prepared with a tide-stick just in case.

We ended up selecting some new types of meat this time. Doris and I were on a search mission for meat that we had loved the last time we were here. It was thinly sliced meat that reminded us of a cheese-steak minus the cheese from the states.  There was much debate around who thought what meat it was. In the end everything was amazing and we left with our bellies very full.

After dinner everyone came back to our place to enjoy some coffee and strawberry shortcake. We ended up calling it a night before eleven because we knew we had to get up bright and early the next morning for the DMZ Tour.

 

Costco in South Korea

Woo-hoo! Yes, Costco is actually in South Korea as well! The address of the Costco that we went to is located at: 1312 Eaekseok-dong, Ilsan dong-gu, goyang city, gyeonggi-do Korea.

Of course there are definitely some differences when it comes down to product and prices. The membership price in the states is $100.00 but here it is only 30,000 won each or 35,000 won for the “gold household” membership. Once again Korea hands down has the better set-up!

Overall we felt like we were back at home taking our normal trip down the road to buy goodies at Costco. The experience was the same with the employees giving out free samples, large carts, huge warehouse feel, bulk sized products, and tons of cars in the parking decks.

We took a few pictures with our mini cam so the picture quality isn’t as nice but you will get the gist from what we have. We also took some video clips and hope to get that put together when we have some time and uploaded to the blog.

We had to laugh because every corner we took Korean’s were looking to see what the two American’s were purchasing. On the other hand, we were looking to see what all the Korean’s bought when going to Costco as well. Surprisingly it was candies like Hershey’s chocolates, frozen food items, skin care items, clothing, etc.

We bought some items we were used to from back home but mostly things that we have come to love from Korea. Our bill totaled 190,000 Won. We really did not buy much as you can see from our cart picture and they didn’t take our US Costco membership American Express Card. We found out that they will only take the Samsung Credit Card. So if you are planning a trip within Korea make sure that you have plenty of Won for your purchases.

We ended the trip with a tasty supreme pizza exactly like the ones that Costco serves back in the states. Yum-O!

Rubbish, Suregi, Trash…Whatever You Choose To Call It

We have learned a great deal while living in South Korea on the customs and culture. Most of the things we have learned continually have us posing the question “why do we not do that in the US?” Waste management and the recycling initiative here is yet another subject that blows our minds. We are told by numerous friends when first arriving to the country that the waste management system was puzzling (so we don’t feel as bad).

Unlike the US, South Korea is required to recycle by law. I think that most people really want to recycle in the US but they make it rather difficult to do so. Here you can recycle just about anything! Plastic, paper, glass, metal, they take it all!

We snapped some pictures to show you just how rigorous the system is here. There are different containers where you have to sort out your stuff. These containers consist on plastics where you can dispose bottles, containers, wrappers, etc. Glass, where you can dispose of green, brown, clear, and other colors. Aluminum, where you can dispose canned goods, canned drinks, spray cans, butane glass bottles, stainless steel, iron wires or tools. Paper cartons where you dispose milk, juice, boxed liquor cartons. Yogurt plastic bottles (YES, they are huge here! sold everywhere). There is a place for your general food waste and styrofoam. Another area is cardboard boxes and paper such as newspapers, flyers, magazines, books, notebooks. They even include areas where you dispose of fluorescent light bulbs that are unbroken, batteries, clothing, or plastic bags. So what do you do if you have a large item such as old furniture or toys or appliances no longer wanted or working… you put it in the bulk items section. Bulk items are anything that is larger than the general container waste bags. However, we are told that if you want to dispose of such items you need to obtain a bulk waste sticker from the local city office with the description of the item and put the sticker on that item. We are aware that each city as well as even down to the apartment complex you live in have different set up but still similar in overall concept.

You cannot use a hefty garbage bag, set your bag outside, and call it a day. No, you must purchase the specially colored garbage bags at supermarkets or convenience stores in your neighborhood.  There are about six or seven different sizes of bags; 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 liters and the price per bag will vary according to the size.

While traveling around various parts of Korea we have now even started to see signs that specifically say “Garbage Watchers”. These people watch others taking out the garbage to ensure that there is efficiency and respect of the system being followed. Trust us when we say they will not hesitate to grumble at you if you are doing things incorrectly.

Recycling is taken so seriously by Koreans that even the restaurants and businesses recycle. Well, there isn’t much of a choice. If you are found breaking the law you will be slapped with a huge  fine. The food waste goes to farmers for feed and fertilizer.

So why is there such seriousness around the waste management and recycling in Korea? Well, think about it… this place is incredibly mass populated and the landfills are filling up rather quick. We were told that the system really started to become inforced around the year 1990.

We would love to hear comments or others views on this.

Church Picnic

After service our church held it’s summer picnic today, and it was a gorgeous day for it!

It was pretty warm but that didn’t stop anyone from enjoying themselves! The food was excellent and plentiful, and there were games, and all sorts of activities for everyone to partake in.

You will see photos of great friends captured. Sam, Susanne, and their precious baby girl S. I can’t get over how much baby S. has grown since first meeting the family. Children really put life into perspective sometimes. Life goes by so quickly and there is so much yet undone. 

This couple will be leaving South Korea in the next few days to move back to the states. We pray for a safe journey and that they will always know they have friends located on the other side of the world. You will be greatly missed! We look forward to watching baby S. continue to grow!

Today,Food, Fun, Fellowship and Friends. A GREAT day ; )

Memorial Day Weekend Get Away (part 1)

This weekend it is Memorial Day Weekend in the United States, this is a time we pay tribute to the men and women who have lost their lives defending and protecting our country. Before I start the blog off, I would like to take a moment to thank the people who are currently serving or have served our country, those who lost their lives during their service, and I also want to pay tribute to the families of these truly amazing people as well. Thank you all for your selfless services that you have given us.

Ahh Memorial Day weekend, beaches, bar-b-ques and bright sunny skies! Okay, Okay! Not quite… we are in South Korea…yes, we do have beaches here and we did opt to head south for the weekend but not quite that far south.

This weekend we stayed over with some friends in Songtan. Songtan is part of Pyeongtaek and is located South of Seoul. It took us a little over 2 1/2 hours to get there but we all agreed that because we had such a great time laughing and talking that the time just flew by and did not feel like it was 2 1/2 hours.

Once we arrived at our hotel we checked in dropped off our luggage and headed for a bite to eat. We found ourselves in the Sinjang-dong shopping mall area. This area is very popular for bars, dance clubs, shops, and restaurants. It is said that approximately 230,000 tourist visit this area every year.

Songtan Map of shops
Songtan Map Restaurants and Hotels

We have heard that many Americans like to visit this area to pick up handbags; custom-tailored clothing, shoes, mink blankets, DVD’s, etc. because the prices are incredibly low and can often be haggled even lower. Many of the Koreans that work in this location are bilingual or at least speak and understand some English. We were also greatly surprised that many of the businesses wanted US dollar and not won.

Of course we found many American staples like McDonalds, Baskin-Robbins, and Popeye Chicken, however, there were many, many small individually owned restaurants as well.

After shopping and walking all the many alleys and streets of the shopping area it was after dinner time and we thought we better make our way back to the car to head to the Italian restaurant located about 20 minutes away that Larry had recently checked out and loved.

Puffins is also located in Pyeongtaek, just outside of the US military base Camp Humphreys. Our bellies were eager with anticipation due to Larry describing how incredible his meal was there. Once we arrived at Puffins we immediately loved the style and atmosphere of the restaurant. The booths have large throw pillows and the tables have Patron oil filled candles, the lights hanging are tiffany style, the walls are covered in various shots of New York and Marylyn Monroe. It really was a 1940’s American feel throughout. However, then the sweet Korean waitress approaches the table and you snap out of the daze and realize that you are still indeed in South Korea.

We were impressed at the level of service throughout the entire meal. The waitress was quick and really spoke very good English. The menu is HUGE and features almost all American fair foods and drinks. I mean this menu covered everything from soups, salads, pasta dishes, to enchiladas and Quesadillas.

Larry was right! This food was out of this world, delizioso! We started off with an order of Bruschetta. Note that they do bring you fresh warm bread while you wait for your meal as well. We all ended up ordering the lasagna because Larry had raved about it. Larry had a Seafood Linguine Fra Diavolo both dishes were incredible and there was no Korean twist to the dish whatsoever. We cannot wait to come back and visit Puffins again!

Uijeongbu for some Budae-chigae

Today I got invited with a group of friends to check out Uijeongbu and experience Budae-chigae. Okay, ha-ha have I lost you yet? Uijeongbu is a city that is located south of Dongducheon (On the train it took about 15 minutes or less to get there) and Budae-chigae is a Korean spicy stew that the area is famous for.

Budae-chigae, (pronounced boo-day chee-gay) can be translated into army or military stew. This stew is typically cooked right at your table in a large pan that has the resemblance to a large hubcap (please see the pictures). This stew is shared among people and in this case we ordered three orders and still had leftovers when everything was said and done. I was told if you showed up alone and tried to order this stew they would refuse to serve you because it’s a dish meant to be shared. I’m not sure if anyone else out there finds this comical when doing a comparison to the US or not… when would a US business ever turn away a paying customer??

Traditionally this soup is spicy in taste because it is made with red pepper paste much like other traditional Korean dishes. However, we ordered two of the dishes to be toned down due to some of children and ladies preferring it that way. I personally had to try both out to see what one I favored. My choice would definitely be the traditional Korean spicy way…but I enjoy spicy foods. I wasn’t too sure to expect with the Spam. Spam really isn’t a meat of choice where I grew up, however, the spam in this soup never tasted so good!

Some of the ladies in the group showed us the restaurant of the women who first cooked up Budae-chigae. We didn’t eat there because it was much smaller than the other place that we were going to. At first we were a bit concerned because we had such a large group and it was right at lunch time. When we got to the restaurant we almost turned around because the entire first floor was packed. Two ladies came running out and called for us to come back in that we could go upstairs and the kids could run around. We were thrilled! The waitress was very prompt and threw in extra rice cakes for the road.

The history of the Budae-chigae dish is really what I found to be the most interesting. During the Korean War, the Korean soldiers did not have much to eat other than kimchi, rice and some other veggies. Meat was a rarity because of how scarce it was. Korean soldiers known as KATUSA’S (Korean Augmentation To the United States Army) found meats such as hot dogs and spam from the American soldiers and would make a meat stew out of it with the other things they had like them kimchi, veggies, and noodles.

Now how is Budae-chigae relevant to the Uijeongbu area? Uijeongbu is known as the “birthplace” of this stew because of its location during the Korean War. Today Uijongbu is home to Camp Red Cloud where the US second Infantry Division is located. When walking the streets of this town you can find tons and tons of restaurants dedicated to serving up this spicy piping hot dish.

Overall we had an awesome day! Made some more great new friends, got to try another traditional Korean dish, and got to sight see. It will be exciting to go back and explore some more!

Feel free to check out the restaurant’s Website: http://www.boyoung1129.co.kr/