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Korean Cooking: A Spicy Stuffed Cucumber Side Dish
Are you trying to learn how to make Korean side dishes? Try a side dish at a restaurant and wonder how you can make it? Well, I’m in the same boat. On a mission to learn how to prepare more Korean side dishes as I have a Korean husband, I found a recipe for one of my favorite kimchis often found on the restaurant table in the summer. Get ready to make some Korean cucumber kimchi (์ค์ด์๋ฐ์ด). This is a pretty easy recipe. I’ve noticed that a lot of Korean side dishes are pretty straight forward to make and it’s more about adjusting to find the taste that suits you.…
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Jingwansa Temple: A Beautiful Temple In Seoul
When it comes to visiting a Buddhist temple in Seoul, Korea, there are plenty to choose from. Jingwansa Temple (์ง๊ด์ฌ) in Bukhansan National Park is a gorgeous temple complex that is just beyond the Eunpyeong Hanok Village. It is the western most of the four major temples in the suburbs of Seoul, along with Bulamsa to the east, Sammaksa to the south and Seunggasa to the north. You could easily visit Jogyesa Temple or Bongeunsa Temple in downtown Seoul, but if you want a more serene experience, find Jingwansa Buddhist Temple. Plan your trip to Jingwansa Temple in Seoul, Korea: (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a…
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My Korean Mother-In-Law’s First Visit
On my way home from work this afternoon, my husband called and told me his father would be coming to the city to go to a tax office and may possibly be staying the night at our house. Our house? Possibly? Of course, my husband is currently in a van on his way out of the city for a concert, so just me and his dad. This scenario reminded me of the one and only time his mother visited us just before we got married. There are a lot of stories about mother-in-law’s and when it comes to Korean mother-in-law’s, well, the stories aren’t usually that good. To be honest,…
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Korean Cooking: Dried Anchovy Side Dish
Dried anchovies have not always been one of my favorite Korean side dishes, but they have become a staple of my mother-in-law’s side dish shipments and have inched up the likability scale for me. I can’t ever remember my mother cooking with anchovies, so the first time I saw them on the table I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about them. Slowly but surely though, this dried anchovy side dish (๋ฉธ์น๋ณถ์) has become one that I look forward to seeing on the table, so I learned how to cook them myself. (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase…
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Korean Cooking: You’ve Had Kimchi, How About Kimchijeon?
By now I’m sure you’ve heard of the food most often associated with Korea. That being kimchi. The spicy fermented cabbage side dish is a necessary side dish on every Korean table. Maybe you’ve even tried it. But, have you tried kimchijeon (๊น์น์ )? Jeon, or Korean pancakes would be the easiest description, can be made with a variety of vegetables and even fish. There are loads of options for “jeon” as well: kimchijeon, seafoodjeon, squidjeon, or vegetablejeon, among others. Haven’t eaten it often enough, I wondered if it was truly as easy as making pancakes. Looking for a makgeolli and jeon meal, I started with kimchijeon. You can even make…
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When I Met My Korean Boyfriend’s Father For The First Time
Thereโs only one important man when it comes time to meet the significant otherโs family in Korea and that is the father. To me, and I would imagine to most women, the mother was the person I wanted to impress and I had already met her a couple years earlier. I wasnโt very concerned with the father, what father wouldnโt I be able to impress after all? Joking aside though, I was not prepared for how serious meeting him was really going to be or what it meant. (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking. These funds…
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Gilsangsa Temple: Where to Temple Stay in Seoul
Gilsangsa Temple, located on the southern side of Mt. Samgaksan in northern Seoul, Korea, may not be the oldest Buddhist temple in Seoul, only just registered in 1995, but it offers some great programs for those wishing to learn more about Korean Buddhism. Visit in the spring for some gorgeous views with colorful lanterns in celebration of Buddha’s birthday strung across the courtyards and lining the roads. Or if you’re wondering where you can temple stay in Seoul, this is the place. Learn more about visiting Gilsangsa Temple: (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking at no…
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A Very Short But Sweet Trip to Sydney, Australia
The first day in Australia was over and we had two days to see some sights before we were headed back to Seoul. We took a walk down the road to a beautiful sandy beach in the morning. The only other people around were some surfers trying to catch the waves. We decided to check out the beach and then head into Sydney for the evening, so no swimming for us unfortunately. But if I were going to swim, I think Wollongong looked like a good place to do it. With lighthouses jutting out in the distance and a huge beach to spread out on, there wasnโt much else to…
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Always Living, Seeing and Learning
Last month, we headed to Australia for three days. Yes, you read that correctly, three days. It wasnโt the most ideal trip, but when your younger sister is getting married and your job already gives you four months of vacation, you canโt very well ask for more off, nor can you skip the event. In the end, we felt like it was a great introduction to the country, we met some nice people, and we couldnโt have asked for much more out of the three days available. (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking at no…
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First Meeting: The Korean Women of the Family
Two weeks ago, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law both called to ask what I wanted for my birthday. Iโm getting better at telling them what I need, because Iโve realized when left to their own devices they get me things that arenโt me at all either because what theyโre giving me is what Korean family members usually give each other, or they just donโt know me all that well due to the obvious language differences. Iโm still not sure which is the case, to be honest. I can explain things in Korean until Iโm blue in the face, but when it comes to showing my personality, my real personality, itโs a…
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The Flowers, They are a ‘Bloomin
Spring has taken itโs pretty little time making it to the Korean peninsula this year, and from what my grandmother tells me, itโs pretty much the same in Ohio right now as well. On Tuesday last week, I headed to Yeouido to see if the flowers had opened yet, and though the festival had started there, the flowers were not all a bloominโ to welcome spring. Some of the trees had taken the initiative and opened up, but not the whole street as Iโd seen in the past. I stayed all of ten minutes and then headed home. Wednesday came with a burst of sun and higher temperatures than weโd…
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Gyeonghuigung Palace: The Smallest Palace In Seoul
You can walk up Yulgok-ro and see three palaces in one day if you really wanted to here in Seoul, those being Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung. Or walk down Saejong Dae-ro from Gyeongbokgung passing Gwangwhamun and find your fourth palace, Deoksugung Palace. But thereโs a fifth smaller and lesser known, and probably for that reason, free palace known as Gyeonghuigung (๊ฒฝํฌ๊ถ) in the vicinity as well. Itโs not in the very touristy area as the others, but a lovely place to meander without the crowds too. Its name translates to Palace of Serene Harmony and it truly lives up to the name with so few visitors meandering around. Plan a…
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Sajik Park: History in Downtown Seoul
When you ride a bus in Seoul, you begin to notice things you never noticed before. There are traditional gates that sit here and there and you might begin to wonder where they lead. After visiting major sites like Gyeongbokgung Palace and Jongmyo Shrine, you might be interested in finding the smaller hidden gems like Sajik Park.ย A traditional gate opens onto a path that sits on the southeastern side of Mt. Inwang. Finding a gate ajar on the east side, we stepped in and found a kind of space I hadnโt yet seen in Korea. Learn more about this historical place in downtown Seoul: (This post contains affiliate links, which…
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What do we really know about North Korea?
Itโs that time of year again, spring in Korea, when the US and South Korea team up to practice their stealthy abilities thereby inciting North Korea to raise the threat level which leads the US media to spout propaganda about going to war inevitably scaring the living daylights out of my grandmother. Itโs been a long month and a half and these war games still have another couple weeks to go and I imagine all of the news coverage, or really lack there-of because absolutely nothing is happening as usual, will continue until then. Am I scared? Not really. Do my South Korean friends seem nervous? No. Do any of…
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Gone to North Korea… in Namyangju
Iโve lived in Seoul for six and a half years and still havenโt made it to the DMZ. Iโm not sure why, but I just havenโt felt the urge to get up there. That and it seems every few months North Korea does something to ruffle the feathers of South Korea and then I think, do I really want to go up there now? The answer was always no. However, some time back I read about an exact replica of Panmunjeom on a film set that was open to the public and that made it onto the list of must-sees. This past week, a friend and I decided to really…
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Bongwonsa Temple In Seoul: Less Touristy, More Buddhas
When beginning to build an itinerary for Seoul, there are usually a few things that people want to make sure are included. A palace, a traditional market, and often a stop at a local Korean Buddhist Temple. The Buddhist temples here are beautiful and while most are located on the mountainsides outside of Seoul, there are a few in central Seoul that are easy to access. Two temples have become the most popular on tourist itineraries, those being Jogyesa Temple and Bongeunsa Temple, but not too far away sits the beautiful Bongwonsa Temple. Generally quieter and without tourists, this Korean temple in Seoul Visit this beautiful Buddhist temple in the…
