Idiocy In Theatre

I sit here in front of my computer when I should be sitting in seat B24 in the circle of the large theatre at the new Yongsan Art Hall. I should be watching a Sherlock Holmes influenced magic concert starring 최현우. I've walked out of a couple of plays before, but this is the first time I walked out of one before it even started...

First if all I should say that I'm very happy that Yongsan has an art hall and that it's located in Itaewon. I'm also very happy that Yongsan residents get 50% off tickets to any show there. Thank you Yongsan, that's great, it's super, it's absolutely wonderful and I love you dearly. However, there are a couple of things that need to be sorted out.

First - If you want people to come and see your shows then you should really start advertising them ahead of time. As you can see from your pretty little website, the only thing advertised is the aforementioned Arthur Conan Doyle based extravaganza. Beyond the middle of September? Who knows? It's just a glorious field of 준비중입니다 signs. I'd love to start booking tickets for upcoming shows, but that's not going to happen if you don't tell me what's going on. I was lucky enough to stumble past the Yongsan Art Hall last Saturday and noticed that something was actually on. Lucky me.

Second - You don't have any English pages on your website. That's ok. I'll live with that, I'm a big boy and I'll do my best to navigate through the internet using my stumbling Korean. However, when it comes to booking tickets, rather than booking online or by phone, I find it's much easier to come down to the box office and book face to face. That way if the staff member and I have any communication problems we can use the miracle of body language and other tried and tested techniques to get the message across. However, when I tried to go into the theatre to buy tickets last week, I was told I had to book by phone (in Korean) if I wanted to get my Yongsan resident discount. I'm a Yongsan resident... I live in Itaewon... I am standing in front of you with a pile of cash and my alien registration card... Would it be so hard to take the booking? Really? Really?

Third - I booked by phone yesterday. You said you reserved a seat for me. You said I could pay at the box office. I got to the box office today and you had no record of my booking. You sold me a ticket anyway at the box office. Even though the last time I went to the box office you said I couldn't buy my Yongsan resident discount ticket at the box office. You seem to be contradicting yourself...

Fourth - I'm a poor artist so I went for the cheap seats up in the circle. Normally I love the circle, you get a great view of everything, a little bit of distance from the stage and a chance to throw chewing gum into the hair of those in the pricier seats below. I was happy with seat B24 up in the circle - on the little auditorium map it looked like a great seat with a great view. Perfect, Yongsan Art Hall, you've given me a great ticket at a great price and I get to watch a tiny cherub faced Korean man pretend to be a Victorian detective whilst messing about with cards for an hour and forty minutes.

I get up to the circle fifteen minutes before showtime and things start to seem a little less perfect. You seem to have put a rather large clear plastic barrier in front of the circle seats. You seem to have done it for safety purposes and yet you don't seem to have noticed that this rather large and obtrusive plastic barrier obstructs the view and significantly diminishes the enjoyment of the circle seated spectators, especially for those looking to involve themselves in a Moriarty antagonizing wizardry related experience.

For the first time in my life I walked out of a show before it had even started and I went back to the box office where you told me that you didn't give refunds directly before a show starts. I explained myself and you gave me a refund. This time I was very happy that you contradicted yourself.

I go to the theatre so that there is no barrier or screen between myself and the performer. I have been to hundreds of venues where audiences in the circle have been absolutely safe without the use of a large plastic barrier. You may be worried about safety (and that's a good thing to worry about), but you also have to worry about the audience experience of a show. If I want to watch a man in a deerstalker produce a rabid phosphorescent hound from a hat, then I want to do it without having to squint through plastic.

Sort yourself out Yongsan Art Hall. I'm only saying this because I love you and I want you to succeed.

Edinburgh!

We're off on tour, so if you happen to be in Edinburgh this week then stop by the King's Theatre and say hello to the Mokwha Repertory Company.

We'll be performing The Tempest on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday (13th-16th August) at 7.30 pm. There'll be Shakespeare, Shamans and English Supertitles. Full details at the Edinburgh International Festival website here.

Radio Days

Well, it seems that every Wednesday morning just after 11.30 you'll be able to hear me waffling about Korea on TBSeFM's 1013 Main Street program.

I'll be on this morning if any of you care to listen in and I'll be talking about the joys of ddeok-galbi, one of my favourite meaty Korean dishes.

Listen in if you dare...

Things I Have Been Eating

I've been out and about doing exciting things this month (sitting in front of a computer endlessly writing, translating and editing play scripts and children's books), but I have found time to eat a few delicious things.

For your delectation a short summary will follow:



First off a delicious spicy beef noodle soup with added cactus. A new branch of 밀사랑 has opened round the corner from Suji's in Itaewon and they serve a mighty fine bowl of 백년초육칼국수. It's a fairly fiery concoction and I was warned away from it by the staff, but while it does have a kick it's no stronger than your average 육계장. My only advice would be to wear a dark top or put on one of their aprons, because spicy soup, noodles, slurping and light coloured clothing can only lead to shameful staining.



Next up deep fried mudfish from the Shinchon branch of 춘향골 남원추어탕. Perhaps not to everyone's tastes, these freshwater mudfish are deep fried whole and perfect with a bowl of dongdongju.

The mudfish soup at this place is also well worth a try, a really comforting bowl of thick fish soup with a hint of lemon.



The arrival of Jester's Pies in Itaewon seemed to be cause for celebration, but when I sat down to try a couple of meat filled parcels the other week I was a tad disappointed. The rather chewy beef reminded me of airplane steak both in texture and flavour. Maybe I got a duff pie... I hope I got a duff pie...



Here's a chorizo quesadilla from Taco Amigo. Greasy, but delicious, though a little pricey. I'm not going to head across the road to Taco Bell, but I'd love a lunchtime set that comes in under 10,000 won.



Next up a pricey plate of pasta from Sortino's. 18,000 won for a no frills four cheese linguine. Tasty, but with my downgraded income this year, not worth the price.

Speaking of prices - I popped into Edward Kwon's The Spice on Saturday lunchtime in search of gourmet goodness, but the prices there have turned prohibitive. On the weekend, lunch starts at 49,000 won for three courses. OKitchen only charges 22,000 won for five courses at lunchtime and I'd rather get two meals there than one at The Spice. The price hike may also explain why there were only two diners in the restaurant at 1.00 on a Saturday...





Finally spring rolls and Penang curry from Buddha's Belly. I needed a little shelter from yesterday's storms and this coconut beef curry did the trick.

Next week I'll be spending most of my waking hours in Daehangno putting the finishing touches to my translation of The Tempest for the Edinburgh International Festival. Any restaurant recommendations around the theatre district?

Itaewon From A Different Perspective

I was at the 10 Magazine office in Itaewon today and finally decided to snag a photo of the amazing view from their window. Shame I didn't have my DSLR with me...

Does Vegan Food Need More Love?

I should probably start out this post with a statement about my eating habits:

I love animals, especially the cute and fluffy ones, because they usually taste delicious. I have no qualms about roasting rabbits, braising beef, frying fish, poaching pork, sauteeing shrimp and grilling goat. I appreciate meat and I eat it on a regular basis. However, if you include breakfast, over half my meals are vegetarian or vegan in nature. I don't need meat in every meal. I've had many delicious vegetable based dishes in the past and I'm happy to not eat meat if I'm promised something tasty.

That's where I stand... On with the incoherent waffling!



A friend and I had recently been talking about vegan restaurants and the options available in Seoul. Animal products seem to be everywhere, hiding in stews and sauces in many Korean restaurants. This is a country where ham is not considered to be meat by some chefs and where pleas for an eggless meal may fall upon deaf ears. It can be a daunting task for vegans new to Seoul to find places to eat, but one franchise seems to have taken the country by storm: Loving Hut has over forty restaurants in Korea and seems to be a safe haven for those looking for meatless treats. I'd never been to one of their franchises and last weekend I decided to take the plunge and visit the "Honest Loving Hut" in Itaewon.

I'd heard about the Itaewon branch through the fabulous Alien's Day Out blog. The photos of the "Roasted Veggie Burger" looked incredible. Could it be that a vegan paradise was just round the corner from my house? First impressions of the restaurant were great, it was filled with happy customers, bright, well decorated, it felt like a nice place to hang out.

The menu offers a selection of salads, pastas and burger/sandwich type thingies. I plumped for the "Mushroom Cream Pasta" at 13,000 won. To be honest, I was interested to see how Loving Hut could manage to make a cream pasta without dairy...



First off, vegan bread with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The crusts lacked crunch, but both slices were flavourful.



Then the pasta. Let's take a closer look.



I've seen something similar served at Sorrento. It had the look of a standard Korean Italian restaurant cream pasta dish. Right down to the dried parsley on top.

And the taste? Not bad. The "cream" is made with soymilk and manages to replicate a cream sauce, but I'm sorry to say I think Loving Hut can do better.

Dried parsley? Really? If I'm eating vegan then I'd like fresh herbs. Vibrant green, chopped, fresh parsley would have done wonders for this dish and could have compensated for the bland cream sauce. If you're not using wine or cheese or meat to flavour the soymilk cream then you need to find other options to make the dish exciting. Roasted onions? A little lemon peel? Maybe some fried garlic slices or enoki on top? Just browning the mushrooms a little more would have added to the flavour of the pasta. There are many ways to improve this kind of meal without resorting to animal products.

My dish served its function, but it certainly wasn't inspiring. I'll be coming back to Loving Hut to try the aforementioned veggie burger, but I hope they can improve on their cream pasta or at least start using fresh parsley...



I really want to love Loving Hut Honest... if you want to try their vegan wares then head down to Itaewon station, walk towards Noksapyeong and turn right at the first set of traffic lights you reach. Walk past OKitchen and Michot Bakery, Loving Hut Honest is on the left hand side directly above Chili King. You can call them on 02 795 2111.

Click here for a fantastic map of vegetarian restaurants in Korea.

Spider Cat!

Feline supervillains beware, for you have surely met your match with the fearless fellow I saw near Ehwa Women's University today...



Stuck up a tree, Spider Cat decided to take things into his own paws and using his unique spider powers shimmied his way down.



Don't fall, Spider Cat! You can do it!



He's so fast, too fast for my puny iPhone camera.



His work done, Spider Cat turns away from the Paparazzi, his secret identity must not be revealed...

Finding Amazing Things

As some of you may have noticed I've joined tumblr and I've been looking around and seeing what's what. This morning I came across an astounding photo of a Korean sailor from around 1904. It's part of the Cornell University Library collection and they've very kindly shoved a whole load of their photos on flickr (The Korean collection seems to run from page 99 to 109)...



Possibly the coolest dudes in the whole of Chosun.



The Haechi/Haetae was protecting Gyeongbok Palace back in 1904.



And Monsoon season was a rather serious event.



Some girls went to Gisaeng school.



And some boys carried water.



Music was played.



Rice was pounded.



And doing the laundry was a lot less convenient than today.



Pipes were smoked.



And children were very good at standing in lines.



Their ten pages of photos are well worth checking out if you fancy a glimpse of Korea at the start of the twentieth century.

Changes Afoot!

Dear Readers,

I've not been posting as much as I'd like; I've been lax and I've been using bad puns involving chilis and biscuits. I hope you'll forgive me for those, it's the weather I tell you! The weather! The humidity turns my hair into something akin to an ajumma perm and seems to have a similar effect on my brain. While I love Korea, I am not enamoured with the disgustingly hot and moist summers that we suffer through each year.



In the Ajosshi household we're getting a lot of use out of what I like to call the "poor man's air conditioner". Combine an electric fan with a couple of frozen bottles of water and you may find yourself just that little bit cooler. I should point out that when using the fan we do keep all windows open and until now neither myself, my wife or the cockroaches that live in our villa have expired (fan death shall not claim us this summer, I tell you!).

I have digressed...

Onto the main purpose of this post: Changes are afoot in my little life and today I found myself sitting down at a rather large table, in a rather large office, signing my name all over several pieces of paper. Turns out someone in the pantheon of literary gods must like me as I've gone and signed my first book deal...

This is the bit where I do a happy dance in front of the computer.

It still seems a tad unreal, but I've been tasked with writing a set of children's books over the next couple of months. Writing for kids is something I've wanted to do for a long time and I'm both surprised and ecstatic that I have the chance to fulfill one of my dreams.

There's a lot of work to be done, but I'm looking forward to putting words on paper and having someone else illustrate my ideas.

I'm as happy as the dog that ate the cat that got the cream.

That's it for now. I've got to go and write a review of Transformers 3 for 10 Magazine that is imbued with my passionate hatred for what Michael Bay has done to children's toys and yet is still suitable for a general audience to read.

Lots of love,

Paul Ajosshi

P.S. The delightful Cynthia Yoo has just had her latest article posted on Yonhap. I make a brief appearance where I witter on about translation. Read it if you dare.

Tumbling Ajosshi

I heard all the cool kids are using Tumblr so I decided to ruin it for them and get on there myself. I'll still be posting here on a regular basis, but I'll be messing around with Tumblr posting snapshots and snippets of my life, as well as bad jokes and other peoples pictures.

If you're interested you can find me here: http://paulajosshi.tumblr.com/

But don't worry I'll be posting many exciting things on here in the days and weeks to come including a report on my visit to Miso (not the soup, but a Korean theatrical performance).

I hope you all enjoy the few final downpours of this year's monsoon, I'm off to record some more video game narration.