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How To Set The Table for Jesa
On Seollal, before anything else, family members awake very early to cleanse themselves and dress in nice clean clothes. They may even wear a Hanbok, a traditional Korean style of clothing. Next, the table will be set. The table setting varies from region to region and family to family, but there are some basic rules that are followed everywhere.
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A Crazy Multiply Sketch Night Is a Hit!
The Crazy Multiply Art Collective once again hit it big with the recent Transcribe/ Coalesce sketch night. With Crazy Multiply Transcribe/Coalesceeverything from musicians, installations, performance art and craft beer to boot, it would have been difficult not to enjoy the people and the space.
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My Top Ten Adventures of 2014!
This year was full of new adventures for me and for my husband and not all of them included travel. I used to think traveling someplace new was all an adventure could be but, this year I learned that adventures can come in all shapes and sizes and experiences. 1. New Orleans, Louisiana: For our trip home this year we didn’t exactly go home. Instead of heading to my home state of Ohio, we headed to the Big Easy with my family to celebrate some big birthdays. We enjoyed the beautiful historic buildings and homes that lined the streets of the French Quarter and filled our bellies with the very filling…
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Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas From My Family to Yours Twas Christmas morning and all through the house were the sounds of laughter and glee from me, to our new baby and even my spouse. Of course we’d awoken a couple times in the night to cries from the little one but nothing would keep us from smiling bright. We’d invited some friends to join us for a drink and a meal and soon they’d be here to eat, sing and squeal. Ornaments were hung in the window with care and a little tree sat on the table just there. Our little babe was dressed anew, got a massage and a clean diaper too. We’d cooked the…
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Changdeokgung Palace & The Secret Garden Everyone Is Talking About In Seoul
Changdeok Palace (창덕궁), translated to mean the “Palace of Illustrious Virtue”, was the principal palace for many of the Joseon kings and sitting just up the street from the more famous Gyeongbukgung Palace, it warrants a visit any season of the year with one of the most beautiful gardens in the city. This palace in Seoul Korea is actually said to be the most beautiful in each season and needs to be seen in each season… so I hope you’re ready to go at least four times. Looking for some specific information? Skip around: (This page contains affiliate links. That means if you click on them and purchase something, I…
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A Look Back: Our Korean Wedding Ceremony
Three years ago at the end of October, my family from the States arrived to Seoul and we made our way down to Busan to prepare for my first wedding ceremony to my husband. Though it’s not our “official” anniversary because we chose our subsequent American wedding ceremony date in January, that doesn’t stop us from receiving a card yearly from my grandmother wishing us a “Happy Anniversary” in October. Every year about this time, the leaves begin to change colors and I am taken back to images of the colorful Hanbok that I wore for our ceremony surrounded by family and friends outside on a gorgeous day with blue…
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Seokguram Grotto: Seoul’s Version
Seokguram Hermitage (경주 석굴암) is one of those places that makes it onto every list of top 10 temples, Buddhist sites or wondrous views while in Korea. If you haven’t heard about it yet, head over to my friend Dale’s website and read more about it there. As I’ve read the name and heard it again and again, though haven’t yet been the site myself, I recognized it when I came across the name in Korean as I sat on the side of Mt. Inwang in Seoul. Seokguram… Seokguram (인왕산 석굴암), when I realized why I recognized the name it made me all the more confused as to why there…
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A Landscape Revealed
At the foot of Mt. Inwang (인왕산수성동계곡) an interesting thing happened a few years ago. During demolition of the Ogin Sibeom Apartments in 2008, a scene very similar to that of the artist Gyeomjae Jeong Seon’s (1676 – 1759) in his “Eight Scenes of Jang-dong” appeared. During the rapid growth and industrialization of the area, the scene on the side of the mountain had been covered over with an apartment building in 1971 and wasn’t viewed again for more than 30 years. Upon razing the building a stone bridge was uncovered and the city, which had bought the land back for reclamation, decided to turn the area back into the beautiful natural…
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Rocking Out with a New Member!
Some if you might be thinking it’s about time, while others had no idea this was coming. The last three months have been a compilation of excitement, exhaustion and empathy with a being I haven’t even had the pleasure of meeting yet. The feelings of lethargy overtook me when I would usually be bounding out the door to somewhere or another. Luckily, there wasn’t morning sickness to speak of just some nausea at the smell of… well I’m still not sure what was causing it. My husband was on top of things with iron heavy seaweed soup to help me cope and boost my energy and our cats couldn’t keep away from…
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Marche@ Munchies: A Monthly Artisanal Market
This artisan market is relatively new, only starting in October of last year, but they sure have a following. Vendors selling handmade soy candles, bags, aprons and other crafts sit next to vendors selling organic treats and drinks for those food lovers out there. The Marche@ (마르쉐@) Market in the Maronnier Park in Hyewha once a month is the perfect place to spend a Sunday, especially now that the weather is nice, eating good food for lunch and meeting some really great people. (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking. These funds go to maintain the site.…
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Underground Art & Music with Crazy Multiply!
The Crazy Multiply Art Collective had yet another fantastic show bringing together artists and musicians under one basement roof in the Hongdae area this past weekend under the title of 쪽, “Jjok”. This show focused on line and direction and if the title of the show is confusing, just say what you normally say to your taxi drivers in your head a few times and you’ll figure out where the “jjok” is coming from. The show was not only quite successful, they brought in 175 people continuing to improve on their numbers with every show, but it was also a “goodbye” and “we’ll see you later” as two of the…
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Pia Watching In a Small Hall
In a somewhat small concert hall set down very close to the bridge heading south over the Han River near Hapjeong Station, mostly girls, and a few guys they’d drug along, filed down the staircase to the hall to find their numbered seats to see Pia. Pia had already played here in 아르떼홀 both Friday and Saturday night and were rounding out the weekend with one last concert. The fans found their seats and it was clear this was a show for those hoping to get some pictures of one of their favorite Korean bands and not a show for their die-hard moshing fans that attend shows in bigger places…
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The Taebaek Snow Festival: Snowy Fun In Korea
The Taebaek Snow Festival (태백산 눈축제) is one of the most popular winter festivals in South Korea. The fest features snow and ice sculptures, winter sports, traditional and not so traditional cultural performances and more. Located in the picturesque Taebaek Mountain range, it is where to experience the beauty of winter in Korea. If you’re looking for where to find snow in Korea, the Taebaek Mountains are the ideal destination with abundant snowfall and breathtaking scenery. Have fun this winter in Korea at a snow festival in the Taebaek Mountain range: How To Get There Where To Stay What To Know The Taebaek Snow Festival (This post contains affiliate links,…
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It’s Our Cotton Anniversary & Finding A Home In Korea
Today is our second wedding anniversary! Time really flies when you’re having fun. I hadn’t even realized the cotton anniversary was upon us until it was here. Has it really been two years? Yes, it has and this year we’re thankful for not only each other but also moving into a new place where we can cozy up on our couch in our pajamas together to call our home for the foreseeable future. (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking. These funds go to maintain the site. Thank you for your support.) Waking up in a place…
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Korean Cooking: How to make Yukgaejang
Yukgaejang (육개장) is a Korean beef and veggie stew that I manage to forget that I like before being reminded that I liked it multiple times a year. It’s a classic dish in any Korean household and after we’d gone out to eat it quite a few times in the past few weeks, I decided to try and make it myself. After having good experiences with Korean side dishes, my confidence was high to try another soup. If you like Korean food with a spicy kick, this is a good soup to learn how to make but also, it’s pretty palatable for people that aren’t so good with spicy food.…
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My Top Ten Adventures of 2013!
2013 was a great year for traveling. Not only did I get to see some fantastic places in Korea, but I also enjoyed quite a few trips abroad. Here are the top 10 places, here and abroad, that I saw in 2013. What a year! 1. Fukuoka, Japan: We started off the year with a trip to Fukuoka, Japan in February. It seems as the end of winter nears we always start to get a little cabin fever, not that we live in a cabin, or that we completely hibernate all winter, but we just need to get away. I had been to Fukuoka before, as had my husband, but this…