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Taean-gun: A Guide To The Beaches, Forests, and More!
Summer in Korea can be hot, humid, and a weekend away to the coast is an absolute must to cool off. During the summer, the humidity can be so immense in Seoul that taking a walk is more like swimming through hot heavy air. The only cure to really get that deep breath is to find a coast with breezes blowing this way and that and calming ocean tide sounds. While I usually recommend heading to the gorgeous beaches with white sand and emerald blue waters on the east coast of Korea in the Sokcho and Gangneung areas, the west coast has some hidden gems too like the rocky seaside…
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Korean Food: Dakgaejang Is The Spicy Chicken Soup You Need To Try
Always preferring to stop at an actual restaurant with good food over the nearest highway rest area with so-so fare, while still in Chungcheongnam-do on our way back from the coast in Anmyeondo, Korea, we decided to make a pit-stop in Dangjin for dakgaejang (닭개장) or spicy chicken soup. While you may not have heard of this spicy soup, you’ve probably heard of her big brother yukgaejang (육개장) or spicy beef soup. If you like yukgaejang, I bet you’ll love dakgaejang. This spicy Korean chicken soup is refreshing and if you happen to see it on a menu, order it I tell you! (This post contains affiliate links, which means…
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What’s A Mother To Do? No Changing Tables In Korea
It's fairly easy to take her out without causing much of a scene, but one thing I've noticed again and again is that wherever we go, if she were to need a changing, there wouldn't be anywhere to do it. Bathrooms just aren't equipped with the necessary changing table and though in the past five years bathrooms around Seoul have generally seen a big upgrade in cleanliness, they are far from clean enough to change a baby if there isn't a changing table available. What's a mother to do?
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The Ugly Truth About Being Married To A Korean Musician
From basically having a soundtrack playing to my life every day to fan girls not understanding boundaries, here are the good, the bad and the ugly points about being married to a Korean indie musician.
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Maybe Doesn’t Mean Maybe In Korean
Maybe is one of those words that loses its meaning, or the subtlety of the word, in translation. While most English speakers will use 'maybe' to mean 'possibly but most likely no', Koreans will generally use 'maybe' to mean 'yes'.
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Yes, I Have a Mixed Baby. Thank You For Noticing.
I wasn't one of those women that had a love-at-first-sight moment with my infant when she was born. Afterward, I wondered if that was one of those things that women that have babies tell women that don't have babies in order to make them get excited or look forward to what will inevitably be the most painful moment in their lives.
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Hiking On The Seoul Fortress Wall
Looking to go for a hike in Seoul? Definitely consider a Seoul Fortress Wall hike. There are some great mountains that you can hit, but if you want to have a bit of history and something to see along the way, not to mention a wall to follow so you don’t get lost, the wall that surrounds central Seoul is great. Whether you’re solo, with friends, or even kids, a hike along the Seoul Fortress Wall makes for a fun trip. I have hiked the Seoul Fortress Wall in the winter, in the summer, while pregnant and while not and it is always a fun adventure. Hike along the Seoul…
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Finding Comfort with Create Wellness In Korea
Looking for medical services in Korea with a holistic approach and English services? Create Wellness is the place for you. With locations in both central Seoul and Pyeongtaek, Create Wellness has Chiropractic, Osteopathic, Naturopathic doctors and physical therapy and therapeutic and sports massage services in English to for the foreign community. Get checked out in Korea with Create Wellness. Find out about holistic healthcare 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.) Who is Create Wellness? Create Wellness promotes a holistic approach through a combination of…
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The Korea Expat Film Festival: An Interview with Kevin Lambert
The Korea Expat Film Festival is happening this weekend in Seoul, South Korea and if you haven’t heard about it, here’s a one stop spot to get all the info you need. The festival in Korea will showcase almost 40 films from more than 12 countries around the world. An idea born from a small group of expat filmmakers and Seoul Players, a non-profit theater company in Korea that has been producing shows since 2001. (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.) I interviewed the festival’s director…
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The Vault: A 5D Fun Frenzy
(CLOSED) Food, drinks and a game that includes mystery, intrigue, clues, lasers and puzzles? My kind of night out. The Vault is that something different you’ve been looking to do with your friends this weekend. As a competitive person as anyone in my family, friends or my camp coworkers can attest, this was right up my alley so when the owner Huw-Morgan Evans invited me over to test out his 5D reality escape room, I couldn’t pass it up. (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.) Basic Info Address: B2…
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The Seoul Shakespeare Company: Titus Andronicus
For the next two weekends, The Seoul Shakespeare Company will be performing the play Titus Andronicus. Considered to be Shakespeare’s first play, Titus Andronicus weaves a tale of mystery and intrigue with love, horror, violence and racism. Those fans of Game of Thrones will find this play especially appealing. With the amount of gore and barbarity along with the different families seeking power and revenge plot after revenge plot, it’s Game of Thrones with a beginning, middle and and ending in 3 hours and 15 minutes. If you don’t know the story of Titus Andronicus, then now is a perfect time to take in a show. (This post contains affiliate links, which…
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Learning About Jeju Shamanism with Joey Rositano
There are over 400 shamanic shrines on the island of Jeju in Korea which the people there have worshipped for centuries, practicing a kind of traditional shamanism specific to Jeju known as muism. Natives on the island still actively practice the traditional shrine worship attending rituals a few times a year but as the island is being developed due to tourism and a contentious military base is being built, the grounds the shrines are located on are being encroached upon and some fear some of the shrines will be demolished all together in the near future. Jeju Island is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Korea. In fact,…
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Crazy Multiply Shows Archaioposterii: The Ides
This month, the Crazy Multiply art collective tried something new. While the collective has shown short one night get-it-while-it’s-hot art with live music and craft beer up until now, this month they went all out for a week long show. (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.) Last month, Crazy Multiply showcased artists in a show entitled Archaioposterus and while the Yogiga space they’ve shown out of for some time offers a great atmosphere for the party type shows they’ve had, there just wasn’t quite enough space…
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Live Music Fun This Summer!
It’s difficult to imagine a better way to enjoy summer than with friends, some drinks and live music. The warm weather is begging people to get outside and the music festival summer extravaganza is about to kick off! Here’s a list of the festivals to look out for to listen to live music and dance the summer away: 1. HaeBangChon May Festival May 22-23, 2015; HaeBongChon local bars & pubs, Seoul This year is the 10th anniversary of HBC fest and if you’re looking for a good way to kick off the summer with some good eats, craft beer and loads of foreign bands, this is the local fest for…
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Moving to Korea: 14 Things You Need to Know Before You Arrive
From getting lost just steps from the front door to signs in another language being of no use for navigation, moving to a new country can be daunting. There are a lot of things you learn AFTER you come to Korea and plenty of them are easy enough to figure out and a ton are definitely good to know BEFORE you get here. Here’s what you should know if you’re moving to Korea and there’s a nifty packing list at the end of this post too. Quick note on who this is for: most of what’s in here comes from my own experience moving to Korea originally to teach English,…
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Which Side of the Sidewalk Do You Walk On in Korea?
Have you ever gone to take a walk in Korea and come face to face with a local and wondered how that happened? I’m sure you’ve taken plenty of walks on plenty of sidewalks back home but wherever you came from, you walk, people walked, and you managed to pass each other. Why isn’t it so easy in Korea you might wonder. Why is there a weaving sort of system on sidewalks instead of a rule on which side of the sidewalk to walk on? There is a reason and one that you might not realize actually. (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of…
