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Korean Eating: Let’s Eat Feet!
Two Korean dishes that I personally enjoy fairly commonly are made up entirely of feet. In Korea, chicken feet is made with a spicy red pepper sauce and if you're lucky they have already been de-boned.
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Conversations with Koreans: Where are you from?
It doesn't matter how much Korean I speak, or what I'm even doing, this question is bound to come up in every conversation I am having with a Korean. I guess it makes sense; I'm clearly not from here. However, sometimes I just wonder why it's so common. Yesterday, I was just picking up some milk tea in my local convenience store and as I was checking out, the cashier asked...
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Mangwon Market: Budget Friendly Good Food in Mapo-gu
Mangwon Market is our local traditional market. It's nothing fancy like Gwangjang Market downtown with its rows of food stalls, vintage section and Hanbok section but, Mangwon Market has some good eats and it's within close proximity to Hongdae and the Han River so it's easy to stop by, grab some food and be on your way.
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How To Become a Lotus Lantern Festival Volunteer & Supporter In Seoul
Two years ago, I was able to participate in the Supporters Program for the festival. I had the opportunity to learn more about Korean Buddhism, enjoy a temple stay for free, walk in the parade and volunteer at the festival as well as become friends with others in the program and this year, they're doing it again. Check out the information below and sign up for the program now!
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Mothers Are The Ultimate Multitaskers
This made me wonder what this woman thought of her own mother. I grew up in a single-parent household, though I wouldn't say that only a single-parent raised me. My mother's side of the family is a close-knit 70 or so people and that's who raised me. My mother was raising three girls while working full time.
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Korean Cooking: How To Make Fermented Soybean Paste Soup
Fermented soybean paste soup, or deonjang jjigae (된장찌개), is one of those very common soups to see on restaurant tables as well as in the home. It's one of those soups that also might take a little time to get used to with it's salty taste.
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AXA Direct Is THE Car Insurance For Foreigners in Korea
AXA Direct has just launched a comprehensive insurance website entirely in English to help expat drivers out.
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How To Perform A Korean Jesa Ceremony
Jesa (제사) ceremonies are performed to honor the ancestors that have come before and paved the way for those that live today and the Lunar New Year is one time during the year that almost everyone partakes in the memorial rite.
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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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What To Expect When You’re In Labor in Korea
Having a baby abroad can be stressful. With emotions that are already running rampant because of pregnancy hormones, adding a new stressor isn't ideal. There had been no Lamaze classes or lessons on what to expect prior to labor and there we were. Five hours of contractions in the hospital in a room with just my husband and me and some nurses that would come and go every thirty minutes or so was the set up. Here's a general guideline of what to expect that might be different when giving birth in Korea.
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Learning Korean Can Be Laugh Out Loud Funny: Funny Korean Words & Phrases
Learning a new language is a difficult task for anyone. Some of my favorite words or phrases are the ones that are just so literal in my own language that they are hilarious. Here have been some of my favorites that I still try to splice into conversation even if it's just to make myself chuckle a little.
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Only 53 Halmoni Remain
In January of this year, two halmoni, or former comfort women, passed away and now there are only 53 remaining. Comfort women is a euphemism for women that were coerced into sexual slavery by Japan during WWII. These women now preferred to be called halmoni, or grandmother in Korean, because they were anything but comfortable or comforted in the situation they were forced to endure.
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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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Korean Cooking: How To Make Janchiguksu
Janchiguksu 잔치국수 is a common meal in Korean homes while also common at wedding buffets and other major events. It's a warm and light soup that fills you up without weighing you down. It is one of my all time favorites that I could eat anytime. It's a pretty straightforward noodle soup with fish broth and some vegetables to top it off. It's a good basic Korean soup to learn and from there, you can shoot for the more difficult stews.
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10 Ways To Enjoy the Han River
The Han River is an iconic natural symbol that runs through the center of the city of Seoul. The construction projects that began in the 1980s to give the Han River a needed makeover have been rather successful and now there are plenty of things you can do to enjoy the scenic waterway. Don't be left out. Here are 10 ways to experience and enjoy the Han River in Seoul from summer to winter either on or along it.