Thursday Trivia: Fairy Tales Get Korean Makeover...

...and they are FABULOUS!

Really, just gorgeous!  I would love to see some of these made into proper movies (animated or live action) just for the costuming!

Take a look:
http://www.boredpanda.com/asian-korean-fairytale-remake-illustration-na-young-wu/

Tasty Tueday: The Ramyeon Diaries: Shin Ramyeon

Shin Ramyeon is one of the most popular brands in Korea....and it's kinda easy to see why.

So, it looks like this:

Shin...from the Chinese xin...meaning lucky...so lucky noodles.  Nice marketing right there.  That also means that xin is also one of the few Chinese hanzi (Chinese characters) that my students recognize on sight.  Not that it matters in my line of work that students recognize Chinese characters, but it makes the Native Chinese Speaker at school happy.

It comes with a pack of dried scallions, too.  500 mL of water and 4.5 minutes later you get:

Hmmm....like I said, it's easy to see why this one is so popular.  The noodles aren't anything to write home about...standard ramyeon noodles...and again slightly thicker than the American versions.  The broth is slightly spicy...not unpleasantly so, and has the slightest "after burn."  Most Koreans add an egg to it, and I can see how an egg might smooth out the spiciness just a touch...and add a little protein.  Overall, I like it.

Media Monday: Korean Education System

So, this made it to my Facebook feed a month or so back.  It's a video made by a Korean-American student...he's young...maybe middle-school aged....and he (rather harshly) criticized the Korean education system.  Of course, this went viral with all the foreign teachers I know, because they all seem to think that this kid is spot-on.  So, some things he mentions are absolutely correct...the girl that only gets 4 hours of sleep a night is definitely being abused.  But, to say that Korean students have all individualism and creativity squashed out of them, is not entirely correct.  This is a point a lot of foreign teachers seem to agree on, but I am in the minority on this one.  I feel (in my case at any rate) that my students are extremely clever and creative....they don't have quite the individualism that us Westerners are used to, which, in my opinion, leads to the misconception that Korean students are not creative and individuals, but robots churned out by the Korean education system.  I think that this is entirely an ethnocentric perspective on what "creativity" and "individualism" are supposed to be.

Friday Fives: My Five Winter Wear Items

Winter is NOT coming...winter is here...and to this Southern girl winter has been here since October...and winter is not going!  If you don't get the picture...I am COLD and I have been cold...and I am starting to think I will never be warm again.  (Logically, I know that's not true, but I am just the teeniest bit dramatic when it comes to cold...as my middle nephew used to say: "I do not like it...no!")

And the cold walk to school (uphill in the snow, no less) wouldn't be so bad except, the English-Only classroom (AKA, the room I spend all day in) is freezing cold and even with the heat on only tops out in the low 60s on a sunny day.  On top of these winter wear items, I typically curl up under blankets and hoodies at my desk, too!

Needless to say, I "weather" the summers here much better...in fact, all I heard about was hot hot summers are, but when it came, there were really only just a few days that I felt "hot."  I mean, some days were uncomfortable, but there were only a few days (and I mean literally, only like 3-4 days) that I felt hot and miserable.  But I digress.

So, here's my top 5 winter wear:

Thursday Trivia: Garden of Morning Calm

For my birthday in October, I took a trip to Garden of Morning Calm in Gapyeong to see some of the pretty fall colors before they were gone.  Last year, before I arrived, my students had gone to the Garden of Morning Calm for their school trip and I had heard much about it.  So, I was looking forward to this trip a lot.

For starters, if you are starting out from Seoul you are lucky, it's a day trip.  Otherwise, you need to plan for at least overnight...maybe two.  Since this was also my birthday trip I went wild and planned for a two night stay.  I wanted to stay at one of the numerous pension hotels in Gapyeong, but since I was travelling alone this trip it was an extravagant expense I could not afford.  Instead, I settled for staying overnight the night before in Seoul.

Word Wednesday: Under Construction

So....I will get back on track with Word Wednesday soon...hopefully.  I debating doing this in video format in the future.  So, you should let me know if you would like that.

Until then...this section is "under construction".

Tasty Tuesday: The Ramyeon Diaries: Taste Testing

Ramyeon...pronounced "rahm-yon", if you are here in Korea...try to pronounce it this way or you just get strange looks...it's everywhere.  And Koreans love it...my students explained that it is because it is so fast and easy and there are so many varieties.  And there ARE dozens of varieties...in fact, most grocery stores have a whole aisle dedicated to it.

(I posted this picture last year of the ramyeon aisle in the closest market to my apartment.)

It costs a little more than you are used to paying in the states (here it hovers in the 70 cents to a dollar range for a bag single....bowl singles and multi-packs, obviously, cost a little more) and let's be honest...it's better tasting.

In all honesty...when I first arrived I was intimidated by the ramyeon aisle...it was overwhelming when you think about the 30 cents a pack same general flavor (salty) from back home.  So, I decided that I was going to start taste-testing them...starting with the single packets.  So, I went out and bought one of every packet in the store.

I will start off my taste test with this one:


To be honest...I couldn't decide which one was the name/brand/etc. of this one.  But, I digress.

It starts with 550mL of water...that's just a splash over 2 cups for you Americans...bring the water to a boil and then dump all the stuff in.

That is: the noodles, the flavor pack, and the pack of dried scallions (no lie..it's in the pack) and boil/simmer for 4 and half minutes.  At this point most Koreans would add something else...meat, egg, vegetables, etc...but since I was testing the ramyeon itself at this point I stopped cooking and sat down to eat.

The noodles were just that ramyeon noodles.  A little chewier than the ones back home (they are the slightest...and I mean slightest...bit thicker), but they taste just like ramyeon noodles.  The soup was nice...slightly beefy (I think that was the intent...based on the picture on the package) and probably half as salty as the type back home and the flavor was not a strong.  Think...if you used half of the flavor pack in a beef ramen from back home.  And the scallions made a nice addition....not over-powering, but just enough to add to the flavor.  Koreans probably think this one is bland since it is not the least bit spicy and probably add a bunch of stuff to it

My overall verdict?  I like it...and I like it for its mildness.  This may be my go-to ramyeon for the days I would just like something not spicy or just want noodles.

Media Monday: Margaret Cho and Kim Jong-Un

Unless you have been living under a rock....there's this little movie called "The Interview" in which, apparently, someone tries to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un....and this pissed NoKo off.  I have to admit, ok, I get that.  I would be pissed if a movie portrayed the killing of an American president as COMEDY.

But let's also point out that this is a shitty Seth Rogan movie (I'm sorry, I'm just not that big a fan).  It's really not worth bringing the US and NK to war-like talk.  Let's just say it was done and it was in poor taste, but it was not intended to be malicious so stop clogging everyone's Facebook feed.

There is also this actress named Margaret Cho...she's Korean-American...and she made a "Korean dictator" appearance at some awards show (Oscars? Emmy?...sorry...I honestly don't watch awards shows or pageants of any sort, so I honestly don't know the difference between them) and was called racist for it.

Let's look at this...she's Korean....or at least Asian...that's not racism.  If a white actor/actress did the same skit, yeah, THAT's racist.  (Don't think so? think about a white actor in black-face)  White-washing an obviously Asian character by casting a white actor/actress...also a little racist...and contributes to the problem that truly talented Asian and Asian-American entertainers face a lack of outlets for their talents (I'm looking at you Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince of Persia)!  So, that leaves Asian and Asian-American entertainers in to shtick-y and stereotypical roles...yep, a little bit racist.  That does not mean that the actor/actress is racist.  It means that if they want to pursue their dreams of being an entertainer then they are forced to take the few available roles that contribute to stereotyping.  Which makes it ridiculous that an Asian actor/actress forced to take one of the few available (albeit, stereotypical) roles made available to them.

So, again, Cho's skit...in poor taste?  Yeah, a little.  Racist?  No.

And Cho herself makes some valid....and comical...responses to the situation.

For everyone just here for the link...Here's a link for you:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/golden-globes-margaret-cho-fires-763194

Hello?

I'm not sure that anyone (aside from my parents) actually reads this.

However, despite being extremely discouraged with the thought that I am just sending my words out into the ether...I have decided to "give it (another) go," as the British say.  That being said, I plan to start writing here again starting next week.

Also, a comment or two would not be remiss....help me think I'm not just wasting my time here, please!


PS...I'm thinking about starting incorporate video...specifically, for Word Wednesday or Tasty Tuesday...let me know what you think.