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Getting My F6 Visa In Korea… The End
Take two. I’m going through the process to get my F6 visa here in Korea. Up until this point, I had gathered my passport, my Korean marriage certificate and through a slight debacle hadn’t yet gotten it translated, notarized and authenticated at the US embassy. So, here we are… After going home to the States and coming back at the end of January, I wrote the addresses of the two nearest offices that could translate and notarize our Korean marriage certificate for us once more for Jae-oo. Since I was still on vacation from school I went with him this time to make sure the translation and notarizing was done…
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Getting My F6 Visa… The Beginning
After two wedding ceremonies and a month vacation in the States, we finally made it back to Korea and after a week of resting from the vacation got our rears in gear to get everything filed for the F6 visa. We had started the process a few months ago, but after Jae-oo inadvertently made me make an unecessary trip to the American Embassy, I pushed everything aside until we were definitely ready to get serious about it. At the start, those months back, I had scoured the internet for information on what was necessary and what to expect of the process, but came to the conclusion that it all depended…
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Dapsimni Antique Town: A Market In Seoul, Korea
Antiques big and small everywhere is what you’ll see around Dapsimni Station. Having lived here for around 6 years now and realizing I won’t be leaving any time soon, I’ve decided I want my house to feel more like a home and less like an interim abode in a far off land. If you’re looking for antiques in Korea, or Korean antiques, then make sure to check out the Dapsimni Antique Market (답십리고미술상가). (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.) How To Get There Address: 530 Dapsimni-dong…
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Guinsa Temple’s Unique Buildings in Danyang, Korea
There are Buddhist temples across the country of Korea and Guinsa Temple (구인사) in Danyang is definitely one of the most beautiful to see in person. Guinsa Temple is one of the most unique temples in Korea as it towers above visitors walking up the mountain paths to see it. And, if you’re one of those people that says, “if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all,” you are most definitely wrong. Go to this beautiful temple in Korea, see it from bottom to top and back down again and if you have the time, join their temple stay program and learn about Korean Buddhism and culture. Plan your trip…
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Chuncheon’s Cheongpyeong Temple and the Trek To Get There
The weather starting to warm up, or at least be reasonable for walking outside, has me itching to get out and do something. I was looking back at some temples I’ve been to so I can make a list of some different ones to check out in the upcoming year and I chanced upon one of my favorites, Cheongpyeong-sa Temple (청평사). Cheongpyeongsa is one of my favorites probably for the trip that it takes to get there, which entails traveling by bus, boat and a nice, but not too lengthy, hike. Take a trip to see this temple in Chuncheon. The trek to get there is beautiful: (This post contains…
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Korean Food: Dwaejigukbap Is A Must Eat In Korea
If you’re headed to Busan, then you most definitely need to eat some dwaeji gukbab (돼지국밥), or pork & rice stew. You can, of course, find this Korean soup in other parts of Korea, but you should definitely try it in the city that it originated from. I love Korean food and am always trying different dishes with my husband. Since he is from Busan, this is one of his top Korean dishes and so it’s not one of my top Korean soups. It’s hearty, delicious, and really hits the spot. Are you ready to try dwaeji gukbap? Let’s see: (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a…
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A Korean Wedding Ceremony and The Paebaek Piggyback
Getting married in Korea? Wondering what a traditional wedding ceremony in Korea is like? Whether you’re having a modern wedding ceremony in Korea or a traditional wedding ceremony, one part of the events will be a paebaek ceremony. A unique and traditional step in the wedding process in Korea, this ceremony in which the bride and groom wear traditional Hanboks is what truly unifies the family. Here’s everything you should know about the paebaek ceremony and what it means. Learn about the traditional paebaek ceremony in a Korean wedding ceremony: (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking…
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A Guide To A Traditional Korean Wedding Ceremony By A Multicultural Couple That Did It
Getting married in another country or married to a person from another culture or country comes with a host of lessons and learning. When we decided to get married we very quickly decided we wanted to have a traditional wedding ceremony in each our home countries. So, with that, it was time to figure out how to plan a traditional Korean wedding ceremony. These days, many Koreans opt for a more western style wedding ceremony but since we were going to have that in the States where I’m from, we wanted to be traditional from beginning to end. But, what happens in a traditional Korean wedding ceremony? I wondered. And,…
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What Does A Traditional Korean Wedding Dress Look Like?
When I began planning our wedding ceremonies (yes, we had two!), the American wedding ceremony being much more familiar was a breeze. When it came to the Korean ceremony, there were so many questions that stood out like: What does a Korean wedding dress look like? What do Korean women wear in a wedding? Is there a traditional Korean wedding dress? Or, do women wear more modern dresses these days? I wanted to be culturally appropriate and we decided to go traditional because we’d be doing a traditional American ceremony as well. There is in fact a difference in the traditional Korean wedding dress versus the standard traditional dress, or…
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My First Hanbok & Getting Married To A Korean Man
My how the time has gone. I didn’t realize it’d been three weeks since I last posted on here until today when I logged on. When planning a wedding, or in my case two, but mostly half of only one, things just pile up. This past weekend I got married to Jae-oo in our first wedding ceremony. As we’ve decided to become a multi-cultural duo we’ve opted for a very traditional Korean ceremony in his home town and then in a couple months a traditional American ceremony in my home town. That’s getting a little ahead of my topic for this blog though as I’ve decided to go back a…
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The Mural Village In Seoul You Haven’t Heard About
There are hidden gems all over the city of Seoul and Gaemi Maeul (개미마을), or Ant Village, is one of them. This mural village in Seoul was painted by students in a similar fashion to the much more popular Ihwa Mural Village and also the murals in Mullae-dong. This mural village sits on the side of Mt Inwang, Inwangsan, which is popular with hikers in Seoul. And that’s probably the only people that find this mural village really. Get off the beaten path in Seoul and see something different… like the Ant Mural Village. This mural village in Seoul is hidden away. Find it if you can: (This post contains…
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Rocky Chaesukgang Cliff In Jeollabuk-do Is A Must See
When looking to get away from Seoul to the seaside of Korea, Jeolla is often calling. Whether it’s spring in Korea or winter in Korea, a rocky seaside offers something to see and enjoy in my opinion. There are gorgeous sandy beaches on the east coast of Korea, but Jeolla has some really gorgeous cliffs and rocky coastline to enjoy. Chaesukgang Cliff (채석강) is one of the best things to see in Jeollabuk-do. After stopping in nearby Gunsan City or Seonyudo Island for some sightseeing, we headed south to visit the cliffs in Jeonbuk National Geopark (전북 서해안권 국가지질공원). Jae-oo and I had visited this area almost a decade ago…
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King Suro’s Tomb in Gimhae, Korea
Get ready to learn more about history and legends with a visit to King Suro’s Tomb (수로왕릉) in Gimhae, Korea. There are a number of interesting things to do in Gimhae, a suburb of Busan, and this is just one intriguing place. Learn about the legend of King Suro, who, according to ancient records, passed away at the remarkable age of 158 in the year 199. (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.) How To Get There Address:26 Garak-ro 93beon-gil, Gimhae-si, Gyeongsangnam-do (경상남도 김해시 가락로93번길 26) Directions:…
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The Busan Rock Festival Rocked My World
Never able to pass up free room and board and backstage passes I went with my husband down to Busan for the annual Busan Rock Festival (부산 록 페스티벌) this past weekend. There are some amazing summer festivals in Korea and this is one of them. Not only one of the top music festivals in Korea, but since it’s free, it’s massive. (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.) What To Know About The Busan Rock Festival The Busan Rock Festival kicked off in 2000 and is…
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Hiking In Seoul: Gwanak-san Mountain
Saturday some of the teachers in the Men’s Hiking Club asked me to join them for their hike up Gwanak Mountain. A little back story: I’m at an all boys private high school. Because it’s all boys it makes sense that most of the teachers are male as well, just to keep the order I imagine. When I say most I mean 64 of the 69 are male. In the private and public schools teachers seem to have a club for just about anything they have more than 4 teachers interested in and at my school they’re mostly based around a sport of some kind. At the training for the…
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The Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival: How To Get There & What To Expect
Spring means cherry blossoms cherry blossoms cherry blossoms all around Korea, and a sea parting down in Jindo, but that’s another story for another time. The place to see the cherry blossoms in Seoul is either Yeouido, or Namsan so I hear. Have you heard that too? Must have or else you wouldn’t have ended up here. Yes, the Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival (여의도 봄꽃축제) near the Yeouido Han River Park is one of the most popular spring festivals in Seoul, Korea every year. Yeouido abloom with cherry blossoms is utterly gorgeous, but it can also be pretty busy so know what you’re getting into. Here is a guide to…
