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Korean Eating: Don’t Throw Away the Pig Skin!
No part of the pig should be thrown away! The Mapo district of Seoul is known for its pig skin restaurants and now I understand why there are so many here. There’s hardly a night out for pork on the grill that doesn’t end with some chewy, but also crackled at the beginning if done just right, pig skin, or dwaeji ggupdaegi (돼지 껍데기). (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.) Where to eat pig skin in Korea Pig skin is called dwaeji ggupdaegi (돼지껍데기), “dwaeji” being…
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The War and Women’s Human Rights Museum: Learn About The Comfort Women In Seoul
Just over two years ago I headed to the House of Sharing in Seoul to learn more about the “comfort women” and their history and cause here in Korea. Hearing completely honest and horrific testimonies from the sex slaves during WWII left me wondering why these women are still not recognized in Japanese history. If you spend any time in Seoul, you should plan to make a visit to this museum. While you may learn about the Korean war and other wars on the peninsula, the comfort women is a topic that doesn’t get talked about as much as it should. Learn more now. Plan a trip to the War…
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Gyeongpo Beach: The Most Popular Beach On The East Coast Of Korea
When it’s summer in Seoul, it sometimes seems that the population in the city doubles with the arrival. People that had hidden inside from the cold are out and about and places that seemed like hidden gems are swarming with people. The entire city changes and comes to life and as it does, people also begin to travel far and wide to find places to cool off in Korea. Gangneung on the east coast of Korea in Gangwondo is one of those hot places that everyone wants to head to. This week a friend and I headed to Gyeongpo Beach (강릉 경포수욕장) in Gangneung, Korea to find a beach, eat…
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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 (오이소박이). 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 (진관사) 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 (멸치볶음) 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 (김치전)? 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
There’s only one important man when it comes time to meet the significant other’s 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 wasn’t very concerned with the father, what father wouldn’t 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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Always Living, Seeing and Learning
Last month, we headed to Australia for three days. Yes, you read that correctly, three days. It wasn’t the most ideal trip, but when your younger sister is getting married and your job already gives you four months of vacation, you can’t 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 couldn’t 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. I’m getting better at telling them what I need, because I’ve realized when left to their own devices they get me things that aren’t me at all either because what they’re giving me is what Korean family members usually give each other, or they just don’t know me all that well due to the obvious language differences. I’m still not sure which is the case, to be honest. I can explain things in Korean until I’m blue in the face, but when it comes to showing my personality, my real personality, it’s a…
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The Flowers, They are a ‘Bloomin
Spring has taken it’s pretty little time making it to the Korean peninsula this year, and from what my grandmother tells me, it’s 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 bloomin’ to welcome spring. Some of the trees had taken the initiative and opened up, but not the whole street as I’d 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 we’d…
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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 there’s a fifth smaller and lesser known, and probably for that reason, free palace known as Gyeonghuigung (경희궁) in the vicinity as well. It’s 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. 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 hadn’t 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?
It’s 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. It’s 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…
