Korean Diner

One of my foreign friends in Korea thinks that I have a food blog.  I do tell him that is not true all the time but of course on occasion food is included. Since he lives in Korea as well maybe he can let me know if my food descriptions are accurate. A Korean diner has a few things in common with an American style diner.  For the most part they serve comfort type food that everyone is familiar with and some of them are always open.  Those are really the only similarities to comparing a Korean diner with an American style diner.  So what is a Korean diner like?  Like previously mentioned side dishes are still served and of course chopsticks are in all diners.  One thing that is pretty unique in all restaurants and not simply just diners is the menu posted on the wall.

  

Following I will describe a few comfort type foods that are found all over the place.  First I will describe kimbap.  Now a little Korean lesson in what kimbap means: kim means seaweed and bap means rice.  So basically in every kimbap there is seaweed and rice and then usually other things in the middle with it all being rolled up.  Some different ones include: tuna, beef, cheese, plain, kimchi, etc.  My favorite one pictured below in the middle has: radish, egg, crab, a root, carrot, and a green vegetable.  This one is a basic one but the one I seem to like the most.

    

Next will be dhakboggie.  There is not much to this dish with the main thing being dhak (Korean way to say rice cake) mixed in this red sauce.  Typically there are also pieces of cabbage, fish cake, and a hard boiled egg that comes in this dish too.  To add more to this dish you can order raboggie which simply adds rameon noodles to this dish along with everything else already mentioned. This food is also considered a street food and is a favorite amongst Koreans. 

Found at a market plus on far side are fish cake on stick in a broth substance. 

The next dish goes by the name of bibimbap.  This is a bowl of rice with different things inside plus a spicy red sauce to top it all off.  Typical things found inside it are seaweed, bean sprouts, green vegetable, lettuce, roots, radishes, and a fried egg.  Of course there are different variations.  With this dish most people mix it all up and eat it together. 

Next dish is more of a stew type dish.  It is called Kimchi jiggae.  Jiggae roughly translates into a stew type dish and so there are multiple types of jiggae.  As the name does suggest there is kimchi in this dish.  Other things found in the dish are onions, green onions, tofu, and pork.  This dish can be a little spicy.  Even with my dislike of kimchi at the beginning, I have always seemed to like this dish.

Final dish I will describe in detail is known as a donkassu.  This basically is a breaded piece of pork that is fried up and has a sauce over the top of it.  There are plain donkassu and also cheese donkassu which is the one that is pictured below.  This dish originally is a Japanese food item but Korea has adopted it over the years.  Plus to my knowledge this is the only dish where a fork and knife are used.  

      

Of course there are other items I didn’t describe in detail.  Other items include different rameons (Korea has a ton of Rameon varieties), different fried rices, different noodle dishes, omrice (omelette rice concoction), different stews, dumplings, etc.  Overall though that was a look at some Korean food that is found at a diner or along the streets of Korea.  Last weekend I went up to Seoul with some friends where we watched a ballgame.  It was a good weekend but could have been better if it was warmer.  This week at work is pretty typical.  This weekend I don't have set plans yet but I might take a day trip to go see some friends.  I will write later.  

Market

One thing that is common throughout most countries of the world is an open air market.  This was true in the Middle East region and even in the various Asian countries I have visited.  In Korea there are markets that are open every single day it doesn’t matter about the weather.  I currently live close to the market area for my city of Boryeong.  The market is always open but every five days there are more people who come to sell more items, and so it is a little bit bigger every five days.  Most of the people selling stuff every day have little building right next to the market and so they live right there and make their income on simply their market sales.  

The people, who come every five days, to make a bigger market, usually bring in their stuff simply for that day.  Majority of the stuff carted in are smaller items such as fresh roots, vegetables, mushrooms, fruits, and smaller edible items.  These items are carted in by older woman who are known as “ajuamas” in Korean.  They sit out trying to sell their items while at the same time prepping the items to make it more presentable and easier to eat.   

There are different types of markets depending on what is being sold.  A couple specific markets found in Korea include fish markets and clothing markets.  Usually these specific markets are in close proximity of the general market and so it isn’t hard to find everything you need when at the market.  An exclusion could possibly be a market on the docks similar to some of the pictures from the last post.  Plus Korean markets are very seasonal and some stuff you can't find if it isn't the right season.  

Typically items at a market are cheaper than items found in a store.  Plus at markets it is possible to haggle for a better price.  Of course this does mean knowledge of numbers and some other language skills are necessary.  This is true for Korea as well but there is one down fall to the markets in Korea.  They love to sell the stuff in bulk.  This is because most Korean houses include the extended family and so the stuff won’t go bad before it is used.  So instead of buying a few items of fruit they sell big bundles of one particular fruit. 

In the market and around the market there are different food items that are considered street food of Korea.  I will leave pictures for now and describe the food in a later post when I talk about street food and ‘kim bap’ establishments (Koreans version of a diner).  This week seems like it will be a normal week but of course in Korea that could all change with very little notice.  I meant to post this earlier in the week but I was locked out of my account until today.  It is Friday afternoon and so the weekend has started.  Tomorrow a group of us will be going up to Seoul to see a baseball game and hang out for the evening.  I will write later sometime. 

Selling fermented items is common in Korea

Not sure if used for honey or you just want some pets? 

      

Fishing Town

Weather has started to warm up and feel like spring.  This last weekend I borrowed a friend's bike and spent the day riding around and seeing areas that are hard to reach without a bike.  Boryeong is the town I have been living in while in Korea.  It is a coastal town that does have multiple beaches that are mainly used when the weather does warm up.  It seems to me that Boryeong's economy comes from both agriculture and making use of the coast.  Following is a little glimpse into what a fishing town looks like:

Transportation

The true story of public transportation in Korea is that it is easy and convenient. There are a lot of buses that go all over the town and out into the country.  A bus fare for a single ride is 1,400.00 won, or cheaper if one uses a card for the bus.  This card can be either connected to a bank account or what most of us foreigners have is a T-money card.  It simply is a card that money can be added to it at some convenience stores.  The card shape can be a simple looking credit card or for a true Korean experience is one that is smaller and can hang off a phone making it look like phone jewelry.  These smaller ones sometimes are designed into characters such as: angry birds, hello kitty, random animals, different shapes, etc.  Using a T-money to pay the fare does save 50 won.  Once on a bus there are buttons that you press in order to signal your stop.  Every bus does give the name of the bus stop shortly before but unless you are in Seoul the announcements are in Korean.

Buses are not only for inner city travel but also for getting around the country.  There are multiple different bus companies throughout the country.  It seems like that all the states of Korea have their own bus company plus other random companies throughout Korea.  Not only are their public buses but also a lot of tour group buses.  When on the major road going into Seoul there is a lane simply for buses and nobody else.  On longer distance bus rides they do stop at a rest area that does have food areas, restrooms, souvenir shops, and miscellaneous other things to do.  One thing that isn’t that convenient at times is that sometimes there are multiple bus terminals in different cities.  Of course for the bigger cities this makes sense but there are some smaller cities that do have multiple stations as well.  An interesting thing about these buses going from city to city is they all have seatbelts for the passengers.

Another form of transportation is the train.  In my town we are lucky and have a train station.  There are multiple different train lines that stretch throughout the whole country. If a train doesn’t have seats left it is possible to stand on the train.  During busy holidays this is usually what does happen.  When you have a ticket like this it is best to try and get on at the food cart because there is more room to sit on the floor.  It isn’t much of a food cart but more like a little snack bar with various items.  Plus in this cart there usually are computers that can be used for the hour and also it is possible to rent out a room for noreabang (Korean Karaoke, I will write a future post because it is different).  On the train it isn’t the same because of a smaller area but still a good time.  A couple friends and I did this coming back from Seoul one time when all the seats were sold out. 

There are four cities in Korea that does have a subway system.  These cities are Seoul, Busan, Daejeon, and Daegu.  I have not been on the Daegu system but all the other systems are clean and easy to navigate.  You can buy a ticket at a booth, a machine, or simply the easiest way is to use a T-money card.  Same one used for buses can be used throughout any of the subways.  Plus by using a T-money card if transferring or going directly to a bus it is a no cost fare for a certain amount of time. 

Now keep in mind personal space is defined a little bit different in Korea compared to back in the United States. There is very little personal space if any at all.  This was the same way in Jordan and so it wasn’t that strange to me.  Only thing not really mentioned is the taxi.  They are all over the place even in my smaller town, and they are all not expensive.  Plus you can pay with cash, card, or T-money.  This has been a look at the transportation situation in Korea.  This week is the first week back for the students.  On Monday I didn’t have any classes and there were a couple different assemblies.  One was introducing the new teachers to the older students and then later on one was for the freshman and their parents.  I might be taking a day trip this weekend to a city that still has a an old fort from way back in history. I will write later.    

7-eleven Bus

Throughout Korea there are convenience stores and this does include 7-eleven.  Besides 7-eleven there are also “CU’s”, “GS25”, and various other smaller neighborhood stores.  Within any town in Korea you can’t go five blocks without seeing at least one of these stores.  Besides convenient stores taking up a lot of space, phone stores are the other retail building that seems to be on every other block.  With 7-eleven being so prevalent around the country it does create a unique concept for seeing each different city in Korea. 

7-eleven Bus

I introduce you to the 7-eleven bus.  This bus number is extremely common and can be found throughout Korea.  Essentially this bus is used as a way to see the city.  These buses stop in front of 7-elevens throughout the city (not every single one because then it wouldn’t get that far) and so it can be used as a tourist bus.  So a person gets on and off whenever it likes around 7-elevens and in that way can see the whole city and be introduced to a new city.  When someone does get hungry or need some sort of refreshment then it isn’t that hard to find food in 7-eleven.  In fact, it is very common to have chairs and tables in the 7-eleven so that way people can eat and enjoy their food.  Eating or drinking at a convenience store is quite common especially when it warms up and there are chairs and tables outside.  So anytime visiting a Korean town just find a 7-eleven store and wait for the bus to come by and start exploring the city.    

This week there still aren’t students around to teach.  They have one more week of break.  I have been keeping busy by putting out applications for after Korea and reading.  Time does go a lot slower without the students around.  A couple weeks ago I went hiking on the mountain by my home town.  Up at elevation there still was some snow around but it was a nice little hike.  It was shorter than I expected and so next time I will head the other way on the mountain (it technically stretches to the next city over).  It is getting around lunch time and I don’t know if someone is ordering in for us or I will have to head over to a little diner place. I will write later.   

Graduation

This last week everyone was back from winter break.  Now usually after a break it is assumed that it is back to work full force learning new stuff.  Here in Korea that isn’t the case.  Basically it was a week where no learning happened at all.  On Monday I asked my co-teacher if it was a regular week and she said it was with the same classes as before going on winter break.  I show up to my first class and the students were looking at me like I shouldn’t have been there.  I talked with them for some time and the students said this week there is no learning because every teacher is done with the book (curriculum for the year) already.  So the students knew that there would be no learning and the week would go by slow.  So I simply walked around my classes talking to some of the students, played some cards with some other students, and watched a movie in one class that was playing when I showed up.  If I attempted to teach anything I knew I would have no motivation from the students. I keep mentioning only week and not weeks because now no students are around because it is spring break.  So it is come back from winter break for one week and do nothing productive and then spring break happens right away.    

The reasoning for even being at school was for graduation which was to happen on Friday.  Graduation isn’t as big as back in the states.  I am teaching at a smaller school then the one I attended back in Arizona, but the whole atmosphere of a graduation ceremony wasn’t the same.  One main difference is the students didn’t wear any sort of graduation regalia.  Some of the students were in the school uniform while some were in casual business dress and then others were in sweatpants and a sweatshirt.  Basically there was no uniformity from anyone.  It did surprise me because overall Korea is a society that likes conformity.  Another thing that was different was the speeches and music performance was from the underclassmen and not from the graduating class itself.  There was one speech by one of the graduating students but besides that it was all the underclassmen.  Graduation started at ten in the morning and so at first there wasn’t that many family members present.  By the end the seats had filled up and they were ready to congratulate the students with bouquets, balloons, hugs, and pictures.

Overall the graduation didn’t have the same festive vibe as back in the states but I do have a theory of why that is the case.  In South Korea people live at home and stay in the same residence until they are married.  Sure some people go off to college but when done with that they live at the same home until they are married.  For school breaks and anytime off they aren’t traveling they are back in the same home.  This is especially true for the Koreans who live outside of the big cities.  Back home in the states that isn’t the case and having independence is usually the norm.  Usually high school graduation is a good time for that to happen and so it is a bigger deal than in Korea.     

So currently at school there are two other teachers and me.  School doesn’t start back up until March 3^rd.  So the next couple of weeks it will be slow and not much work.  I probably will take some days and go hiking or do other things around here, but contractually I am supposed to be at work.  Yesterday as I was walking home I heard some good sounds: birds out chirping and moving around.  I think that means spring isn’t too far away.  Even though yesterday it was snowing as I was walking to the bus to head to school.  It is still freezing temperatures during the evening time and the low fourties during the day.  I think it is colder here than in Sochi, Russia but no snow around.  Heading to lunch soon and so I will write later.