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The Time I Mooned A Nurse in Korea Because I Couldn’t Speak Korean
One of the reasons I love living in Korea is because almost every day there’s something to chuckle at.ย It may be due to my own misunderstanding, a Konglish word I should have guessed, a spelling error that ends up being something totally different, or just a natural inclination of Koreans that is completely opposite of my own. There is just always something. Have you ever had to speak Korean at a hospital before? Well, I did and it didn’t end well suffice to say.ย (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…
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Nonsan Strawberry Festival: Eating In Strawberry Fields in Korea
Itโs strawberry season in Korea, as if you didnโt notice the bucketfuls being sold in the markets and from trucks driving through your neighborhoods everywhere right now. When I was growing up, I LOVED having strawberry plants that I could pick my own strawberries from and luckily in Korea, there are strawberry festivals where you can do just that. Nonsan is Koreaโs largest strawberry producer and the city welcomes people from near and far every spring in Korea for the Nonsan Strawberry Festival which took place this past weekend to the delight of many, myself included. Don’t miss it next year! Visitors can taste some of their delicious strawberries freshly…
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Gwanghwamun Flea Market Fun
Every Sunday from March to October, traffic is blocked going southbound and tents are erected for a big flea market on the Gwanghwamun Square just in front of Gyeongbokgung Palace. From 11 o’clock in the morning to 4 in the afternoon, visitors can peruse a wide range of goods. Vendors sell everything from old clothes at bargain prices toย homemade accessories, teas, candles, lotions, potted plants and seedlings and more. What’s more, every Sunday is different. There’s something for everyone and even food from around the world on sale to munch on when the midday pangs of hunger strike. (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage…
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Oh Sae Gyae Hyang: The Most Popular Vegan Restaurant in Insadong
Looking for vegan food in Seoul? A lot of tourists headed to Seoul message me each year with questions about one thing or another and the ones that usually make me search the most pertain to food choices and allergies. Never wanting to steer anyone wrong, I check and double check before recommendations. So, for those vegan tourists out there headed to Seoul, I’ll tell you it won’t be easy, but it’s not impossible. There have been more and more vegetarian and vegan restaurants opening in Seoul in the past decade. If you’re visiting Insadong, my top suggestion for lunch or dinner is Oh Sae Gyae Hyang (์ค์ธ๊ณํฅ). It’s delicious,…
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Moon Bird Only Thinks of the Moon: The Best Traditional Tea House In Insadong
(Unfortunately, I’ve found out this long standing tea house in Insadong is now CLOSED!) Little wooden doorways that open up into dark cinnamon and ginger scent filled tea houses are scattered around Insadong, but it can take a trained eye to spot the good ones in this popular touristy district of Seoul. There are bigger, brighter and busier cafes that sit on the main Insadong drag, but if you want the intimate experience, you have to head down the small alleys and keep your eyes peeled. These little doorways that slide open can seem uninviting when closed and itโs easy to pass by assuming the establishment inside is not open…
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Flowers In Jongno
This past Sunday the sun was shining, parka weather said goodbye and a warm breeze was blowing so naturally I couldnโt help but head out for a walk. I headed to Jongno to see what was going on and for the most part I found a lot of people planning their gardens and purchasing seeds, plants and fertilizers, which got me oh so excited for my rooftop garden. I havenโt tilled the dirt that the owners before us left up there just yet so Iโm not quite ready for the seeds, so instead I enjoyed the scene and purchased some succulents for inside the abode. While I was out I…
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The National Museum of Korea: Why You Need To Visit
Since it’s establishment in Yongsan in 2005, the National Museum of Korea has had more than 20 million visitors. You should be one too! Come spring and summer in Seoul the rain will inevitably start to fall and when it does people start to look for things to do inside. Or maybe it’s winter in Korea and you’d rather have some indoor time. The National Museum of Korea (๊ตญ๋ฆฝ์ค์๋ฐ๋ฌผ๊ด) is not only a great thing to do when itโs too cold or too wet to venture out, but itโs also one of the FREE things to do in Seoul. These days, we’ve also got a major issue with fine dust…
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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 ย ์ชฝ, โJjokโ. 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 youโll figure out where the โjjokโ 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 โgoodbyeโ and โweโll see you laterโ as two of the…
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The Seodaemun Prison & Independence Park In Seoul Are A Must See
There are numerous museums in the capital city of Seoul in Korea with some devoted to the arts, history, and science, but there are also museums devoted to the numerous wars that have befallen the country. Whether you’re a tourist or someone coming to live in Korea for even a short amount of time, you’ll hear about the wars and if you want to learn more about what happened in Korea, there are a few great places to check out. The War Memorial of Korea is a huge and FREE museum in central Seoul that showcases over 13,000 pieces of war artifacts and memorabilia but there is also a smaller…
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The Flower That Doesn’t Wilt: I’m The Evidence
This month at Seodaemun Prison in Seoul there is an added exhibition titled The Flower That Doesnโt Wilt: Iโm the Evidence. The exhibit is a collection of comics by 14 different artists that depicts different aspects of the lives of the comfort women from the past, the present and into the future and it is powerful. Learn more about the halmoni and the history of comfort women during the Korean War in Korea. (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.) The artists did not hold back with…
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7 Places To Learn About War in Korea
Most people that spend any amount of time in Korea, visiting or living, will at some point hear references made to war, commonly the Korean War and WWII or any number of wars with Japan. Signs at historical sites will remind people that the historic site was burnt down during some Japanese invasion before being rebuilt and political turmoil between North and South Korea is a constant reminder of the Korean War. Before jumping headfirst into conversation with a Korean about said wars, it’s best to take the time to learn and get some perspective. Want to learn about the Korean War in Korea? Want to learn about the comfort…
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Couples In Korea & Money: Can We Open a Joint Account?
After we were married, we headed to the bank with the purpose of opening up a joint account in Korea. As newlyweds we didn’t really know what we were doing, but I was sure if we were married, we should have a bank account with both of our names on it. That would make it truly official, right? If anything, I thought, this would be important in case of an emergency or accident so that either one of us would have access to enough money if we needed it. Little did I know how silly it was to think opening a joint account in Korea would be so easy. (This…
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Couples In Korea & Money: How Much Allowance Do You Get?
โHow much allowance will you give your husband after you get married?โ Allowance? Husband? Why were these two words in one sentence, I wondered. When you get married in Korea, you might get asked some interesting questions about who controls the money in your relationship and if you’re the wife, you may be asked if you give your husband an allowance. This was news to me after I married my Korean husband and just had to learn more. Who handles the money in the relationship in Korea? (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking at no cost…
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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 ์๋ฅด๋ผํ 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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Why Korean Mother-in-laws Are The Best
Korean mother-in-laws are by far the best mother-in-laws to have. Okay, my title is misleading and the first sentence may or may not be entirely true and that picture is NOT of my mother-in-law. I only have experience with one mother-in-law, from here on out MIL, in particular and she just happens to be Korean because I just happened to fall in love with a man who is Korean, but she is pretty great. Korean mother-in-law’s get a pretty bad wrap in Korean dramas so I wanted to share some positive attributes that my own has shown me. The tales of evil or mean MILs seem to abound, but where…
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Bitter, Sweet, Seoul
If you have an hour to spare and I hope you do, this is what you should watch today. Culling together clips from over 11,000 videos submitted, directors Park Chan Wook and Park Chan Kyong, known together as PARKing CHANce, made this movie using 141 clips from Korean and international submissions to represent Seoul and I think they did an amazing job. It’s not just the pretty view of the city or even the pretty people of the city, it’s real life and real moments with black and white clips of historical moments in Korea from archives to today. There are the kind people we meet on the streets and…
