I Love Jeju

I'm just back from a fantastic three days on Jeju island thanks to the lovely people at Korea.net and KOCIS. A small group of bloggers was given the opportunity to explore the island, eat some great food and learn a little more about Korea. I'll be blogging about our trip over the next few days, but if you fancy getting a head start on things then you can go here to see some photos from our adventure.

If you have a spare moment then you may want to visit here for info on how to vote for Jeju in the New 7 Wonders of Nature competition. I'll be talking about the competition in another post, but it's a good opportunity to give Jeju a boost and let the world know about this beautiful island.

In the interests of transparency I should tell you that my trip to Jeju was kindly paid for and provided by Korea.net and KOCIS, but all views expressed in this post are entirely my own. Jeju is a bloody marvelous place and I'll be heading back there as soon as I can to explore some more. Stay tuned for updates on the teddy bear Elvis tribute, a sneak peak into the Pheonix Island resort, the truth about Hallabong and how I learned to stop worrying and love Kpop...

A Weekend Of Jeju And Kpop

Thanks to the generosity of KOCIS and Korea.net I'm off to Jeju for the weekend to experience the joys of the Olleh Trail and to see if I can get my hands on some roast pork, pheasant dumplings, abalone porridge or raw horse.

I haven't been to Jeju for about seven years, so I'm looking forward to exploring the island again (though the weather forecast is decidedly wet), plus on Sunday afternoon we get to go and see SBS Inkigayo being filmed...



I'm hoping against hope that Dal Sherbet won't be singing this monstrosity whilst I'm there.

Night Fishing

iPhone Film Festival - Paranmanjang from iPhone Film Festival on Vimeo.

If you have a spare half hour, then sit down and feast your eyes on this slightly fuzzy copy of 파란만장 (Night Fishing), a short film directed by Park Chan-wook (Thirst, Oldboy, JSA) and his brother Park Chan-kyong (Anyang Paradise City). Shot on an iPhone 4 (though spruced up with various lenses), this odd story of a man and his lakeside misadventure offers a glimpse into the minds of both directors.

It's very much a film of two halves - with Chan-wook giving us a haunting first fifteen minutes in which a middle aged man goes night fishing and finds himself entangled with a mysterious spirit, then Chan-kyong allows us to witness a shaman ritual in his honour where his family seek some sort of closure after his death.

There are no subtitles here, but it's still a good watch without them and a chance to see these two brothers working together. While many of you have probably heard of Park Chan-wook and perhaps seen one or two of his relatively well known films, I'd also urge you to seek out Park Chan-kyong's Anyang Paradise City (다시 태어나고 싶어요, 안양에). The glimpses of shaman ritual in Night Fishing are explored further in his first feature length film, where he mixes his own footage of traditional ceremonies with moments of drama. It's an astonishing piece of work that may not charm every viewer, but will reward those with a little patience.

Best K-pop Medley Ever

I popped into a dumpling restaurant for lunch yesterday and saw this playing on the tv. Quite possibly the best K-pop medley ever sung. I'm a sucker for relatively elderly choirs singing pop songs...

It's from a show called 남자의 자격 - 청춘 합창단 which features aging rocker 김태원 conducting an amateur choir. It's not quite Glee, but it has its moments. Still it's not a patch on the documentary Young@Heart. Their version of Coldplay's Fix You remains one of my favourite covers.

 

 Seek out Young@Heart if you can. One of the most beautiful documentaries you'll see.

New Cheap Eats In Itaewon

New restaurants and cafes seem to be springing up all over Itaewon at the moment. As I wander down alleys and side streets I keep spotting new places to try; and right out on the main strip, sandwiched between Panchos and the KB Bank, I discovered a new take out noodle place that offers a box of South Asian goodies for far less cash than most other eateries.

 

Noodle Box franchises have popped up in Hongdae, Shinchon, Gangnam and Itaewon, offering a small selection of noodle and rice dishes starting at 5,700 won. To celebrate the grand opening of the Itaewon branch every main course on the menu has been brought down to 5,000 won, I'm not sure how long the discount will last, but it certainly offers a thrifty alternative to Buddha's Belly, Wang Thai or Pattaya. I opted for the Pho Xao, described as "Vietnamese Pad Thai. Fried flat rice noodles served with pork, mussel, plus vegetable combination."

 

Low prices also mean self service down at Noodle Box, but for 5,000 won I was happy to make the short trek to the counter. My noodles arrived promptly in their own special box (how appropriate!) and when I opened up my small cardboard parcel of delight I was greeted with a burst of fragrant steam. So far, so good. It turned out to be a tasty little package and worth the price - choice morsels of pork, a few mussels and plenty of beansprouts, but my only complaint would be that the noodles were a tad too chewy.

 

Noodle Box offers a decent meal at very low cost and adds a touch of asian flair to the row of kebab shops that adorn the strip between the subway and the fire station. Certainly a good option for those on a budget or in a hurry, and may well offer a little nostalgia for those who used to get their noodles in boxes... To get to Noodle Box, head out of Itaewon station past KB Bank and this cheap little eatery will be on the right hand side. If you hit Mr. Kebab, you've gone too far. Visit their website here.

Freaky Firestation Flashmob Filming

First Itaewon Freedom, now this:



Itaewon can be a very odd place at times and today was no exception.



I'm not quite sure what happened or why, but outside the firestation on the main strip, there was some sort of flashmob/photoshoot/music video/mass hysteria involving a decrepit popstar, three firemen and a group of youngsters dressed like rejects from a Grease audition.



 I stayed for only a few minutes, but the memory has been seared into my brain and will haunt me for decades to come.



And now a glimpse of the dancing, lip syncing, k-pop horror itself...

Greek Tragedy?

This photo accurately reflects my feelings about this plate of food.

Last night I met up with some old friends for a glass of wine, a bite to eat and a natter about the comings and goings of 2011. We decided that the Santorini's new restaurant on the main street might be a good place to try. I'd been to the Santorini behind the Hamilton hotel a couple of years ago and not had a wonderful experience, but I was willing to give them another go, especially in their new location.

Unfortunately... more of the same.

Our waiter, when asked for salads with no dressing explained that all salads were pre-dressed; and after being informed that I had an egg allergy and couldn't eat mayonaise, she brought me a plate of food with a big dollop of mayonaise rich coleslaw...

I ordered the mixed grill for 25,000 won: A chicken kebab, some lamb gyros, a "meatball" which looked and tasted suspiciously like a burger, fried potatoes and pitta bread. The meats weren't bad, perhaps a little too salty, the fried potatoes were passable, but the pitta bread was so tough that I feared for my teeth.

Then there's the price... A little steep considering that the Turks are selling good quality kebabs and other bits and pieces round the corner for much less. As @mrpfisher said on twitter last night:
"Tried it last weekend. Wasn't massively impressed, certainly at those prices. Hope it's better for you!"

I had kept my hopes up for Santorini, but I fear I won't be darkening their door again. Perhaps not a Greek tragedy, but certainly a disappointment.

Seoul Is Changing

Something strange is happening to this city...

At the start of August I left rain soaked Seoul for ten days in rain soaked Edinburgh and when I came back I found myself in what felt like a different place.

As we flew into Incheon, everything seemed so clear. I could see every boat, every road, every nook and cranny of this crowded and chaotic peninsula, and as we drove into Seoul the skies were blue and I could see for miles and miles.

How odd.

This may not be so noticeable for relative newcomers, but after a decade living under the yellow haze of pollution, looking up at the sky and seeing rather indistinct shadows and a blurred sun, this past month has come as a revelation. We've had our good days and bad days, but late August into mid-September has given us some stunning skies and some gorgeous clouds. I don't remember enjoying the heavens so much in the last eleven years and I'm thankful that I can look out across the Han river every morning on my way to work and enjoy the view.

Maybe it was the ridiculously long and ridiculously heavy monsoon season, maybe Seoul is getting cleaner, maybe the sky gods are smiling down on us... Whatever the cause may be, it makes me happy.

Long may these clear skies reign, before Seoul changes its mind and the smog comes back again.

Wine Gift Time

One of Korea's big two holidays is coming up this weekend, and with the arrival of Chuseok (the Korean Harvest Festival) comes the arrival of the annual Chuseok gift from my present employer. In previous years I've received frozen fish, frozen steaks, seafood powder, olive oil, and a set of soaps, body-washes and toothpaste that still hasn't been used up entirely...



 This year it was pretty easy to guess what I'd received from the box.

 

Sure enough, a quick peek inside revealed two bottles of rioja, plus a fancy schmancy corkscrew and pourer. Often we share gifts with my in-laws, spreading the fishy, beefy, soapy love around, but this year I think we'll be keeping these bottles for ourselves.

A quick search on the internet reveals that these two bottles go for a total of about 70,000 won in Korea... another quick search on the internet reveals that they go for a total of about 20,000 won back in the U.K...

Hopefully one day wine prices in Korea will settle down, so that my need for decent wine can become an affordable habit. Until then I'm still very grateful that my employer wants to send me a bottle or two to celebrate the harvest.

You can catch me wittering on about Chuseok tomorrow morning on TBSeFM during my regular 11.30 Korea Only slot on the 1013 Main Street programme...

My New Favourite Korean TV Programme

We've only recently got a streaming iptv service and as I was flicking through the few free channels we have access to tonight I discovered 한국인의 밥상 on KBS1.

Thursday nights at 7.30, it's every Korean food addicts dream. Half an hour of a rather elderly slightly famous man (I know his face from somewhere) travelling round Korea and finding the best that Korean dinner tables have to offer. Tonight's episode was salt, samphire and seaweed focused, with some beautiful shots of beautiful food.

Plus there's no audience sound track, no dramatic oohing and aahing over everything and they don't show the same shot three times in a row. It's proper adult television meant for those with a serious interest in food. I am in love...

If like me you grew up with a love of serious food programmes for serious foodies, then this may well be the show for you.