Happy International Children's Day!

It's June 1st! Summer! And International Children's Day! Hug your beloved ones for me!
Here are some of my Korean friends and me earlier this year - i just got my old film developed and was very happy to see these faces again!

Moving from here to there, a Korean retrospective

Well, I'm nearing the end of my Korean adventure, in just a couple of weeks I'll be Moscow-bound. As I get ready to leave, I'd like to reflect on some of the things I liked and will miss most about Korea.


No. 1 - Sunshine

Busan in early March

The past winter has been one of the sunniest of my life. While Korea can get very cold, it stays clear and sunny for a lot of the year. And especially in Busan on the southern coast, there's only a short period during the year when it's hard to find something green.


No. 2 - Transportation

Even the small towns in Korea are readily connected by relatively inexpensive modes of public transportation. By taking a bus or train, you can get almost anywhere you need to go in under four hours. The high speed KTX runs the length of the country from Seoul to Busan, takes only 3 and a half hours and costs only around 35 dollars, plus it is so comfortable!!!

Enjoying my seat on the KTX

No. 3 - Food

I'll miss everthing: galbi, jjimdak, bulgogi, kimbap, bibimbap, dakboki and yes, even kimchi. Actually, kimchi has really grown on me, it's so spicy, crunchy and fresh. I don't think I'll realize how much I really miss all of it until I've already left and can't have it anymore. :-)

Jjajangmyeon and other treats at a "Chinese" Korean restaurant

No. 4 - People

Busan station

Koreans in general are very welcoming and friendly. Someone will almost always help you if you get lost and many people go out of their way to make foreigners feel welcome. Most Koreans are well-educated and have traveled or lived for a few years in other places. Many people are eager to practice their other languages, ask about places they are familiar with or just express interest in things external to Korea.


No. 5 - Seasons

Korea is extremely proud of its seasons, and for good reason. The trees bloom in spring, grow green in summer, turn red and gold in fall and dark in winter. The seasons correspond very closely to three month periods on the calendar: March-May is spring, June-August is summer, September-November is fall and December-February is winter.

Goodbye soon, Korea, maybe I'll see you again later!

Sincerely,
Michael TheMonkey

7-year-old Friends!

I got to go with my friend to school in Korea and met some new friends! These children are 7 years old by Korean age calculation standards. They go to this school to learn English.

They shared me very nicely with each other!

A little about Korean age calculation, which can be confusing if you aren't sure how it works...

everyone is "1" at birth, and everybody gets a year older at the new year rather than on their birthday, so sometimes a person's Korean age can be almost two years more than it would be in the West. For example, a person born in December who is 24 by Western standards is actually already 26 by Korean standards in January.

So, these students are 7 years old in Korea, but they would only be 5 or 6 in the west. They are all learning to speak English very well!

They thought I was cute, too.  :-)

All the best!

Michael TheMonkey

Prayer Trees and Bibimbap

On large old Ginkgo trees in Korea, people sometimes hang prayers or names of people to whom they'd like to bring good luck.

Prayers

Buds

Bibimbap is rice and egg mixed with other things, usually the sides that come with other dishes in Korea, such as various cooked vegetables and hot pepper paste. It is sometimes described as "temple food" because it was (and is) a common meal for Buddhist monks with vows not to eat meat. The combination of egg, rice and mixed vegetables provides a fairly balanced vegetarian meal. There are not hard and fast rules about bibimbap, though, sometimes meat is added.

My bibimbap has rice, egg, salted seaweed with sesame seeds, carrots and hot pepper paste.

'Til next time!

Michael TheMonkey

Polaroid Korea and Summer Thoughts - Toy Photo Post

Hello again from Korea!!!

I'd like to share some Polaroids and split-frame photos I've collected.  In Korea, photography in general is popular -- many people have the newest digital SLRs and, of course, every cell phone comes with a camera, but these low-tech cameras are still readily available and very popular.

A Polaroid-mini camera

I like these because many of them are from summer :-)

And here are some cameras that shoot split-screen or quad-screen images!!!

A quad-frame camera and the "Golden Half" split-screen camera.

Lanterns

Pigeons!

A little bunny

A kitty

Warsaw, Poland

I hope you like them!!! I'll share some more later!

All the Best,
Michael TheMonkey

A sunny winter day

I just wanted to share a few more scenes from Andong, South Korea! I even found another Monkey!

Ice below the bridge

A new park!

A road that leads to a tower

Decorative roadside plants

A long lost brother?

A bridge and a poem

안녕하세요!   Hello again from Korea!

Here I am near the rainbow bridge between Jeongha-dong and downtown Andong!

I took a walk down by the river today. The light was gold in the late afternoon and it was a little warmer today than it has been :-)

Here are a few interesting things you might not know about Korea:

• The competitive playing of some video games is televised. The most popular game played as an "E-Sport" in Korea is Starcraft. There is an entire channel devoted to E-sports.
• Holiday gifts are usually simple and practical things like food, drinks and health products, especially ginseng.
• Young couples in Korea sometimes purchase and sport complete matching outfits, called "couple wear."
• While Taekwondo is Korea's official national sport and is widely practiced, Soccer, baseball and basketball are the most popular televised sports. Korea has 8 professional baseball teams.
• You should never pour a drink for yourself in Korea, especially soju! If someone older than you fills your cup, it is polite to hold the cup with two hands as they pour.
• Personal image is very important in Korea and people generally spend time dressing up before going out. Business suits, dresses and skirts are common.
• It is good luck to visit at least three different temples on Buddha's birthday (in Early May.) Many temples provide visitors with a free meal of Bibimbap (riced mixed with egg and vegetables) on that day.
• At restaurants in Korea, servers generally do not check up on their tables as they might in many Western countries, it is expected that customers will summon them by shouting "Yeo-gi-o!" or by pressing an electronic call button on the table when they need service.
• Use of the Koreanized form of the word "service"("suh-bees-uh") in a restaurant means that something is "on the house."
  
• The rainbow bridge in Andong is populated by thousands of web-building spiders during the summer time and makes sounds like grunting animals at night when its lights are turned on. :-)

The rainbow bridge

Under the bridge

The area around the river is being landscaped and developed.

And here is a poem by one of Korea's most famous poets, Yun Dong-Ju (윤동주)

Let me have no shame
Under heaven
Until I die
Even wind among the leaves
Pains my heart.

With a heart singing stars,
I will love all dying things
And I must follow the path
That's been given to me.

Tonight also
The wind sweeps past among the stars.

Yours truly,
Michael TheMonkey

A Korean Crash Course

Hello everybody!!! I spent last weekend on the southern coast of Korea in "Dynamic Busan!" Busan (부산) is a large, temperate coastal city bordered by hills that bloom with cherry blossoms in the spring to the north, and to the south, beaches!

Sunning myself at Gwangalli beach

This time I'd like to introduce some Korean words and phrases that might be helpful to anybody who is interested in starting to learn Korean or is planning to take a trip to Korea in the future! I'll start with a brief introduction to Korean characters.

Korean characters were invented and designed to be logical and easy to learn, Korean is nearly perfectly phonetic with very few irregularities.  I'll list the characters with their romanticized letter equivalent and then an approximation of the sound.  Most of the consonants can be doubled to give a stronger sound, and when a vowel is doubled it makes a sound similar to adding a "y" before a letter in English. (ㅑ= "yah").  Vowels can also be combined to make diphthongs, so the vowels ㅜ("oo") and ㅣ("ee") make a sound like "wee."

Consonants:
ㄱ - k/g - "k" or "g" sound
ㄴ - n - "n" sound
ㄷ - d/t - "d" or "t" sound
ㄹ - l/r - "l" or "r" sound, usually more like "l"
ㅁ - m - "m" sound
ㅂ - b/p -"b" or "p" sound, usually like "b" at the beginning of a word and "p" at the end
ㅅ - s - "s" or "sh" sound
ㆁ - ng - placeholder before a vowel and "ng" sound at the end of a syllable
ㅈ - j - "j" or light "ch" sound
ㅊ - ch - "ch" sound
ㅋ - K - hard "k" sound (doubled ㄱ)
ㅌ - T - "t" sound (doubled ㄷ)
ㅍ - P - "p" sound with a little puff of breath, sometimes used to represent "f" in foreign words
ㅎ - h - "h" sound

Vowels:
ㅏ - a -"ah" sound
ㅓ - eo - "aw" or short "o" sound like in "hot," but sometimes like the "u" in "hut"
ㅗ - o - long "o" sound, as in "coat"
ㅜ - u - long "u" sound as in "flute" or "boot"
ㅡ - eu - "eu" sound, kind of like in "good" or the unaccented French "e" sound
ㅣ - i - "ee" sound, as in "feet"

The language is read left to right, up to down and the characters are arranged in syllables the same way. Syllables usually contain 3 characters but occasionally they contain 4. The word for Korean writing in Korean is:

한 글

"han-geul"

Many people in Korea speak some English, so most of the time if you are in real trouble you can find somebody who can help you, but here are some essential words and phrases that might aid in getting around and understanding some of what is being said so you can respond appropriately. Adding 요 "yo" at the end of a verb makes it more polite in many cases.


Basics:

Hello: 안녕하세요 "an-yeong-ha-se-yo" (It sometimes sounds more like "annyeonseyo")
Goodbye: 안녕히 계세요 "an-yeong-hi kae-se-yo"
Yes: 네 "Ne" or sometimes 예 "Ye"
No: 아니오 "a-ni-o", or informally 아니 "a-ni"
Thank you: 감사합니다 "gam-sa-ham-ni-da" or 고맙습니다 "go-map-seum-ni-da"
This: 이것 "i-geo"
Teacher/Sir: 선생님 "seon-saeng-nim"
Really: 진짜 "chin-jja"


Transportation:

Taxi: 택시 "taek-shi"
Bus: 버스 "beos-uh"
Car: 자동차 "ja-dong-cha"
Airplane: 비행기 "bi-heng-gi"
Train: 기차 "gi-cha"
Here: 여기 "yeo-gi"
There: 거기 "geo-gi"
Left (direction): 왼쪽 "wen-chok"
Right (direction): 오른쪽 "o-reun-chok"
North: 북 "buk"
South: 남 "nam"
East: 동 "dong" - be careful, 똥 "ddong" means "poop," usually 동 is attached to something else: 동대구 "dong-dae-gu" - "East Daegu"
West: 서 "seo"
Korea: 한국 "han-guk"
China: 중국 "jun-guk"
Japan: 일본 "il-bon"
Russia: 러시아 "reo-si-a"
USA: 미국 "mi-guk"
UK: 영국 "yeong-guk"
France: 프랑스 "Peu-rang-suh"
Germany: 독일 "dok-il"
Spain: 스페인 "seu-pae-in"
Italy: 이탈리아 "i-tal-li-a"
Greece: 그리스 "Geu-ri-suh"


Verbs:

There's not/don't have/is it gone?: 없다 "eob-da" 없어 "eobs-eo" or polite "eobs-eo-yo"
It's OK, I'm OK, are you OK?: 괜찮아요 "kan-chanh-a-yo"
I am hurt, it hurts, does it hurt?: 아파 "apa", 아파요 "apayo"
Bring me please: 주세요 "ju-se-yo"
Eat/drink: 먹어 "mog-o", 먹어요 "mog-o-yo"
Don't/wait: 하지 마 "ha-ji ma"
No, stop doing that: 안돼 "an-de", 안돼요 "an-de-yo"
Sit down: 앉아 "anja", 앉으세요 "anj-euseyo"
Wait: 기다려 "gi-da-ryeo"


Questions:

Who?: 누구? "nugu?"
What?: 뭐? "mwo?"
When?: 언제? "eon-je?"
Why?: 왜? "wae?"
Where?: 어디로? "eo-di-lo?
How?: 어떻게? "eo-teo-ke?"


Numbers:

One: 하나 "ha-na" - or for money 일 "il"
Two: 두 "du" - 이 "i"
Three: 세 "se" - 삼 "sam"
Four: 네 "ne" - 사 "sa"
Five: 다섯 "da-seos" - 오 "o"
Six: 여섯 "yeo-seos" - 육 "yuk"
Seven: 일곱 "il-gob" - 칠 "chil"
Eight: 여덟 "yeo-deolb" - 팔 "pal"
Nine: 아홉 "a-hob" - 구 "gu"
Ten: 열 "yeol" - 십 "ship"
100: 백 "baek"
1000: 천 "cheon"
10000: 만 "man"


Foods and drinks:

Delicious: 맛있 "mash-iss"
Rice: 밥 "bap"
Seaweed: 김 "kim"
Spicy fermented cabbage and veggies: 김치 "kim-chi"
Rice rolled in seaweed: 김밥 "kim-bap"
Rice mixed with vegetables and egg: 비빔밥 "bi-bim-bap"
Ramen: 라면 "ra-myeon"
Noodles in black sauce "Chinese Noodles": 자장면 "ja-jang-myeon"
Meat (any kind): 고기 "go-gi"
Chicken: 닭 "dak"
Meat cooked over a flame: 불고기 "bul-go-gi"
Marinated meat: 갈비 "gal-bi"
Stew/soup: 찌개 "jji-gae"
Korean rice liquor: 소주 "so-ju"
Beer: 맥주 "maek-ju"

If you'd like to learn more Korean, there are many free sites like this one that can help you!

And here are some more pictures from my trip to Dynamic Busan!

On a pier with the "Me-World" amusement park in the background

Can you find me?

Enjoying a mocha at "Fuzzy Navel" by Gwangalli beach.

Dried fish!

Did you know I could do this?

And here I am riding the bus back home.

Until next time!

Michael TheMonkey

Calm but cold in Korea

Hello from the east, everybody!

Outside a temple near downtown Andong, South Korea.

For the next few months I'll be exploring in South Korea(대한민국)! Yesterday, I took a trip to some fantastic historical sites around Andong(안동), a moderately-sized city of about 500,000 in the Gyeongsangbuk province.

A little background on the region:

Often billed as the "Cultural Capital of Korea," the Andong area is well known for its links to Korea's past and its preservation of old traditions. The area surrounding Andong is home to the famous Hahoe Folk Village, a UNESCO World-Heritage site as of 2010, as well as numerous temples, Confucian academies and old family estates. Queen Elizabeth visited Hahoe and other sites around Andong in 1999, bringing further attention to the region as a cultural center.

Many Andong residents have a great sense of pride about their city and are happy to tell stories, share information and even teach traditional dances! Every fall Andong hosts the International Maskdance Festival. The festival lasts for nearly two weeks and draws visitors from all over the world. It provides an opportunity for everyone to learn about and participate in everything that Andong has to offer.

Did I mention that Andong is also famous for its food and drink??? Yesterday I got to try some Andong jjimdak(안동찜닭), yum! But more on that later... There are so many aspects to Andong that it's difficult to even mention them all at once!


It was very cold and windy yesterday, nearly -23 degrees C (-10 F) with the windchill!  Maybe not the best day for exploring, but it was sunny and nice otherwise. The first place I visited yesterday was a functional Buddhist temple near downtown Andong.

I climbed up three flights of stairs decorated with beautiful paintings...

...to reach the very quiet and peaceful main room, filled with sunlight, the dry, woody smell of incense and an elderly man seated on the floor quietly chanting prayers. The floor was wonderfully warm!

A lantern with prayers hanging from the center.

Dragons!

A large painting to the right of Buddha and offerings of food
-- too bad there aren't any bananas! ;-)

The temple's large Buddha statue.

And here's me in front of some lights with devotees' names.

It was hard to leave the warm, relaxing temple, but I decided to go on to see what else I could see!

A few minutes walk down the road, I came upon this pagoda -- the oldest stone pagoda in Korea! It was built in the 8th century as part of a temple called Beopeungsa, but it is all that is left of the temple. Traditionally, pagodas have an odd number of sections from three to thirteen -- this one has seven. The pagoda is Korean national treasure no. 16.

It was too cold to stay long near the pagoda, so I kept walking along the river, past the Andong Dam, until I reached the Andong Folk Museum.

Andong Dam

The museum has an outdoor and indoor area. The outdoor area consists of a collection of traditional houses and buildings, and the indoor area has information about historic daily life and culture. Since it was so cold, I headed inside.

The indoor museum focuses mainly on Confucian traditions related to life cycle events such as coming of age and growing older. The museum has a great wealth of information about life in the past and the influence that certain past traditions and Confucian ideologies have on modern Korean society, as well as many interesting artifacts and reconstructions of past life.

A handsomely decorated funeral box used to carry the body.

At the end of the day I was tired and my hands and feet were cold, it was the perfect time for some yummy, hot Korean food in a warm restaurant. Andong jjimdak is a kind of chicken stew with potatoes, carrots, noodles, peppers, leeks and sauce. It is an Andong original dish -- if you order anywhere else in Korea, it is always referred to as Andong jjimdak. I'd dare anyone to walk past an Andong jjimdak restaurant and not be tempted in by the smell.

Yum!

Last, but certainly not least, Andong is especially famous for its soju. Soju is a clear Korean rice liquor popular all over the country. Andong Soju (안동소주) is known for its strength (40-45%) and earthy flavor, which result from it being distilled in the traditional way.

Whew, Andong Soju is too strong for a little monkey like me!

I'm tired, I'd better get some rest so that I can get out and explore more of incredible Korea! Until next time!

Yours,
Michael TheMonkey