Korean Street Food and More....
2nd Week in Korea
It has been almost 2 weeks now since I arrived in Korea.  It has been an energizing and exploration filled days meeting family members, taking more drumming lessons, shopping and of course, eating delicious and fabulous Korean Street Food and more!

My love for Korean food started with various street foods and snack foods in Korea.  There is an abundance of street food in the streets of Seoul and surrounding neighborhoods.  It is almost too much at times, but I realize how important food and eating meals is, especially eating with family and friends and enjoying good food.  All my meetings and gatherings with family and friends revolved around meeting for lunch or dinner and everyone took so much time and thought to figure out places to host me.
Mrs. Baik drove me to Bukhansan area, the northern most mountains in Seoul and treated me to a fabulous Korean traditional BBQ lunch with lots of traditional and pickled vegetables.
My uncles and aunts always asked me what I like to eat and what I prefer, whether it is meat dishes or noodles, or Chinese food or Korean cuisine, etc.
I have been spoiled and treated so well here....and of course, I have explored on my own to taste different types of snacks and food along the crowded and dynamic streets.
I hope you enjoy some of the photos of the deliciousness!

Initial days in Korea 2018

May 21, 2018
Settling into Korea, Reunited with relatives and fantastic cultural opportunities!

It is already Sunday night in Seoul, Korea. Actually I am staying in a suburb of Seoul, called Jeong-Ja Dong, in Bundang district of Sungnam City.  I have done a lot the past few days and boy has it been busy and a bit exhausting.  I was not feeling well even before I left the States but thanks to some quick and efficient doctor’s office visits, I feel better.

The weather is beautiful in Korea right now and not too hot yet.
I am glad it is not too hot yet and not quite Monsoon season yet!

First order of business was meeting my dear, sweet Uncle Sil, who is my dad’s younger brother.  We also met with his daughter Yumin and enjoyed catching up and learning about the latest family news.

The last two days were super busy...doctor’s appointments, getting over jet lag and taking classes on cooking and drumming.

On Saturday the 19th, I took the subway to Insadong area and found my Temple Food Cooking Class about Buddhist pickling traditions.  It was interesting to meet the Nun who is also a master chef of Temple Foods and fun to hear her perspective and teach us with lots of humor and wit.  Her name is Ji Gyun Nun.
The class was about pickling with soy sauce and spicy chili paste, Kochujang using root vegetables called Gajuk and GomChi.  What a wonderful opportunity for me to learn more about country’s cooking tradition and something that I was not quite familiar with.  Now I will be able to share with all of the students in my classes about Korean Temple Food!

After my cooking class, I rushed to meet a drum teacher and a wonderful performer, Teacher Noh Su Hwan, who I found through the internet before I came to Korea.  His educational center is called Synmiong Nanum, Spreading Cheer Together, and housed in a small performance theater space called Space Maruchae.  What an honor to meet and connect with him and his drumming group!  Wow....he sat me down and asked that I start drumming so he could review my drumming skills and teach me more!  Actually he taught me a WHOLE lot...it turns out my posture was not quite right when drumming, hence the hip and back pain, etc.  He was humble but very focused on teaching correctly and emphasized hitting the drum correctly with good posture and technique rather than hitting hard, louder, and faster.  After a mini lesson with him, I watched the 4 female drummers from one group perform various Jangdan, rhythms, dance and sing. I realized how much more work and practice I need to accomplish to keep becoming a better, more experienced and skilled Janggu player.  This was a very productive day for sure!!!

Hello everyone! 
I am leaving for South Korea tonight and cannot wait to write about my adventures in Seoul and Jeonju.  I was busy packing and pretty stressed about leaving the kids and Marc behind as well as Momo our sweet but high energy husky!

I hope to recharge while I visit for 3 weeks.  The main purpose is to take some educational classes on Korean drumming and cooking as well as joining a group of US students and professors to learn about traditional Korean arts and culture.

I will write more as soon as I get over jet lag and settle in Seoul!

Bye for now!

Saehee

Good-bye Korea, Welcome Home

We definitely enjoyed our time in Korea and look forward to going back again in the future. The best part about our trip was being with family and letting the kids get a lot of attention from everyone. Nicolas and Kaya will also really miss their preschool, Toto Montessori Children's Center, and promised to keep in touch with the teachers and friends.

Altough it was sad to leave Saehee's parents and say good bye at the Incheon airport, we were also glad to come home. After a very long flight back and a shuttle trip from Chicago, we were happy to see a huge welcome home sign made by close friends in Whitefish Bay. Thanks for the great sign! (I guess the idea came from Valerie Morris, Saehee's good friend.)

We will cherish the fun times we had in Korea and enjoy the rest of the summer here in Wisconsin.

Korean Knights

Nicolas and Kaya wanted to visit their favorite place in Suwon, the Hwaseong fortress.

This time we not only watched the martial arts demonstration and dressed up as knights.
We wanted to climb all the way to the top of the fortress.

Family Get-Together

Saehee's relatives were quite excited to see us again and meet Nicolas and Kaya for the first time!!! Of course, Nicolas and Kaya were terribly spoiled and got a lot of attention from lots of family members.

The kids found out that they had lots of "Halmis" and "Halbis" (grandmas and grandpas) and enjoyed visiting everyone at their homes. We also had a farewell dinner the evening before our departure to the U.S.

Of course, when Korean relatives get together, the night is quite young for a long, long time....

Saehee's brother flew from Germany on that day to join the farewell dinner! What a long night for Keebum! We will miss everyone and hope to see them again soon!

Trip to Daegu

Marc and I got a chance to get out of Suwon and visit a city in the Southeast part of Korea. Daegu is the third largest city in Korea and located approximately 3 hours from Seoul by car. We took the regional train, Saemaeul Ho, from Suwon station to Daejun (about 1 hour) and then transferred to the KTX (Korea High Speed Train) to Daegu (45 minutes). The KTX was definitely fast, almost 300 Kilometers an hour.

Marc had to visit Keimyung University to explore exchange programs with UWM. So, of course, I went along too, and really enjoyed exploring the Keimyung U. campus. It was voted the prettiest campus in Korea.

We arrived one day before the campus visit, so we had some time to explore Daegu area. We used public transport, bus, subway, and taxi and we enjoyed the trip to Daegu very much. We decided to take an express bus (quite fast but you have to watch out for some unfriendly bus drivers!) to a provincial park outside of the city. Palgongsan means 8 peaks mountain and we were quite impressed with this park. We did not have too much time to do any major hiking but we did visit a famous temple area on top of one of the peaks. Donghwasa was gorgeous! See for yourself....

Hiking, Hiking, and Hiking!

Koreans love to hike which is an understatement. Boy do they love to hike up any old mountain! Or hills around your neighborhood....Saehee also realized that Germans love to hike up the hill as well, or rather, run up the hill, and go jogging! The kids had a great time hiking up our local mountain, Gwangyosan. The best part is that in certain areas, the moutains have nice exercise machines to keep everyone fit and healthy!

Around Halmi and Halbi's neighborhood

Nicolas and Kaya find lots of things to be quite interesting around their grandparents' neighborhood here in Suji, Korea. Nicolas always wants to go to the "Knight Castle" playground and enjoy going to the playground. Since Halmi and Halbi (Grandma and Grandpa) don't live in a house, there is no backyard to run and jump around. So, whenever we have a nice day here in Korea (which has been pretty much most of the time that we have been here) the kids go outside to the playground or the public school grounds to play football!

There are lots of highrise apartments in Korea, especially in and around Seoul. So, the kids love taking the elevator to the 11th floor to Halmi and Halbi's apartment.

So far, the kids enjoy walking around the neighborhood here and exploring what the place has to offer.

Day trip to Seoul

Marc and Saehee enjoyed Seoul recently and visited some interesting spots right in the city center. One of Saehee's favorite spots in Seoul is Insadong, a small neighborhood where you find traditional Korean houses, traditional tea houses, interesting souvenir shops and a number of very good Korean restaurants. We were quite lucky on our visit to Insadong. The city was hosting a beatiful outdoor wedding ceremony and two dance/drum performances.

We also visited the famous temple, Jogyesa, the foremost temple in the city, as well as Kyoungbok Palace, a major palace which housed the famous kings and queens of Chosun Dymasty (Yi Dynasty 1392-1910). We definitely felt like tourists at Kyoungbok Palace, with all the tourist groups from China, Japan, United States, and Korea.

Even better, it was nice to not tote the kids around for a change....We realized how easily we were able to navigate the congested streets of Seoul without Nicolas and Kaya.

Korean Folk Village

Marc, Saehee, Nicolas and Kaya visited the Korean Traditional Folk Village in Suwon yesterday. Although Kaya was a little tired from her cold, the kids found the old houses/villages interesting and quite different from our house in Whitefish Bay. We saw Korean drummers dancing, a Korean tight rope walker, See Saw jumpers and an exciting horse riding show.

It seemed like all the school kids from Korea came to the Folk Village as well. We were definitely not the only ones...we ran into lots of school kids, a large group of Japanese high school students visiting Korea, and a couple other nationalities. Saehee was happy to see some non-Koreans for a change!

For lunch, we went to the marketplace inside the Village and ate delicious home made mung bean and potato pancakes (Bin Dae Ttuk and Gamjajun).

Trip to Hwasung Fortress in Suwon

One of the first local trips we took with the kids was to the Hwasung Fortress in Suwon. Suwon is located about 40 km south of Seoul, and it is about 20 minutes by car from my parents' place.

The fortress wall is huge and it takes about 2 hours to walk around the whole fortress. The fortress goes around the city of Suwon so you have a great view of Suwon city. We went there twice now. Once with the grandparents, Nicolas, Kaya and Saehee, and the last time we walked around about an hour with Marc.

During our first visit, the kids really enjoyed the royal guard ceremonies at the Hwasung Palace. Lots of royal soldiers entertained us with sword and archery demonstrations. Nicolas even got to shake hands with the King of the Palace, King Jeongjo. I thought the king was pretty handsome!

Nicolas and Kaya go to School!

According to Nicolas and Kaya, school is a lot of fun! Especially in Korea! The kids enjoy going to the Toto Montesorri School every morning from 9 to 1:30. The teachers give them a lot of attention, and Nicolas and Kaya are also making good friends. Nicolas was not able to get into the local kindergarten but he is still learning a lot at at his preschool. He is one of the oldest, and likes the fact that he can go to school with Kaya!

So far, the kids have made a Parents Day Special Cake, learned English in English Class, made paper animals, learned to sing and dance, and know how to do the "belly button" bow. Nicolas even went on a school fieldtrip to the World Cup Soccer Stadium in Suwon.

Nicolas the Energentic Acrobat

Today was quite a warm day in Suji, Korea. Nicolas enjoys the playgrounds and outdoor exercise areas in this apartment complex. He is still full of energy, and is becoming quite an athletic child.

Marc took the kids to the playground this morning at 7:30 a.m.!!! and in the afternoon, Saehee took Nicolas to the exercise area/playground in front of Saehee's parents apartment building.

His favorite outdoor activity these days is football and exercise bars. So, what do you all think of our acrobat?