A little 2ne1 !!!

Heres the latest offering from Korean all girl pop act 2ne1 ! Its called follow me !!!

Amsa-dong Prehistoric settlement on Youtube !

Heres a youtube of where I went to on Saturday team !!! I hope you enjoy it !

Deoksugung on Youtube !

Oh yeh team I found this video for Deoksugung, the place I visited yesterday. You should check it out !!

Epik High ft Clazziquai - Being Alone.

Clazziquai Project - Fill this Night

Brand new one for Clazziquai ! Fill This Night !!!!

Deachu Jujube tea !!

This stuff is golden !!!!!

Whilst walking around Deoksugung Palace today, I stopped by the Coffee shop and tried some Deachu ( Jujube ) tea. It was golden !!!!!!

This tea is awesome !!!

Its a tea made from Chinese Dates, and has pinenuts floating on time, as well as a strong maple flavour and aroma to it.

Damn team ! Its gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood !!!!!!!!

If you search around the tea shops in Seoul, or indeed your local Asian Grocer, you will find it. Grab it and drink it. You will not be disappointed.

Deoksugung Palace, Seoul

Team,

Today I was fortunate enough to visit Deoksugung Palace in Seoul.   I must say I quite liked the place.   The old style architecture was really appealing and the place had a real genuine sense of peace and quiet about it. 

Deoksugung Palace is located almost directly alongside City Hall in Seoul, so all you need to do is get off at City Hall station ( lines 1,2, and 3 ) and just head out the City Hall exit, and you will see it.

Deoksugung Palace was firstr built in the late 1400s as a residence for King Wolsan.   It became somewhat of a royal palace in 1592, after King Seonjo took up residence there during the Japanese invasion of Korea, and it received its first name change back in 1607 when King Gwanghaegun gave it the name Gyeongungung. 

The Palace also saw a coronation in 1623, when the coronation of King Injo took place there.  It was also named Seogung until 1897

In 1897, King Gojong declared that it would be from the Palace that the " Great Han Empire " would come to fruition, and had the Palace renamed Gyeongungung for a second time. 

A final name change to Deoksugung took place in 1907 under the reign of King Sojong.  

You can see lots of pics and all about the Palace here team

http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/seoul/65

http://jikimi.cha.go.kr/english/royal_palaces_new/Deoksugung.jsp

http://english.visitseoul.net/en/subindex.do?_method=info&m=0002000001007&p=07


Its well worth the visit team, and you will be seeing a true Korean Icon in doing so.  

Cafe 7 gram

Team I just came across this neat little coffee shop chain today.

I was just walking along the road to my selected place today, that being the Amsa-dong prehistoric settlement, when I came across this little franchise.

I was quite tweeked by this discovery so I decided to investigate further.

I was quite impressed so I was.

The store looked good. The place was tidy. The menu is plentiful. And my Jasmine tea for today was stirling indeed !!!

You can see it here team

www.cafe7gram.com

Do it !!!!

Amsa-dong Prehistoric Settlement Site

Hi there team,

Today I decided to venture to Amsa-dong and see the prehistoric settlement village thats there.  

Amsa-dong Prehistoric Site is a recreation of the largest neolithic site in Korea.   Based near the Han River, the settlement was first inhabited by people 6,000 years ago.  

The area that the site is on is basically full of pit huts and pit houses, and reflects upon a time when people existed on hunting, fishing and gathering for their existence.   The local economy of the time in the area was indeed very much based on manual labor, so people of the time were also heavily involved in the manufacture of fishing nets, stone produce and spears to support the hunter gatherer lifestyle near the Han River.  

Fishing and the fish industry was not the only source of food supply for the people on the Han River area.   Acorns were also discovered in the area.  

People in this area lived in Pit Houses, which were built by digging holes in the ground and covering the holes with huts. 

The huts also had storage pits measuring 2 metres in diameter.  

You can see it all here team

http://www.gangdonggu.seoul.kr/

All in all it wasnt too bad team.   It was a nice way to spend an afternoon and its something I recommend you go and check out.  

The forum for everything Korean ! its SOOMPI !!!!!

Team

I just found this really cool little forum to do with all things Korean Entertainment and popular culture ! It talks about everything, from latest gossip, to fun times, to whose who in the Korean entertainment world, to well... everything !!! you can see it here ...

http://www.soompi.com/

Girls Generation - Oh !!!!!

Well heres a bouncy little number for you !!!!

Its by the Korean all girl group Girls Generation and its called Oh ! Hope you like it !

Shinee - Ring Ding Dong !!!!

Damn I have been loving this song for the last couple of weeks.   Well team finally I found out who its by.    Its Ring Ding Dong and its by Shinee.    Sit back and enjoy !!!

A random act of Korean Kindness

Well team,

Sometimes, we as human beings tend to find our lives a little routine, dull and menial.   We get up, we go to work, we come home, we eat dinner and go to bed.  We tend to do this quite repetitively and regularly.   Life pretty much becomes somewhat of a routine because of this.  

Yet amidst all of this, there are moments of joy, glee, and times that do indeed make you smile.   These are the moments that, even though they are small and seemingly insignificant, they do indeed make it all worth while. 

Today, I had one of those moments team.   

As I was working away in the computer room of my school, wittling down the last lesson of my day, my awareness was quite strongly fixed on one particular kid in the class.   His english name was Tom, and well... lets just say he had a few little emotional issues.   He was not a major handful, but well, he was distractive and found it difficult to pay attention in class. 

Yet hows this team.   Everything I wanted to Tom to do, he appeared to do it.   I mean hey.. his screen was full... he seemed to have all his work done.   I didnt think anything of it.   

Then I checked the 2 boys next to him and realised something.   There work was still going.   I thought " O kay I will let them catch up, maybe they are mucking around.... "  At least thats what I thought....

Until I turned around and saw one of the boys next to Tom actually helping him do his work. 

And I mean seriously helping him.   As in making sure Tom at least tried to concentrate.   Making sure he wasnt playing computer games in class.   Making sure that his diary was filled out.  

That really made my day team.  

Random acts of kindness seem to be a fading thing these days team, but what these two boys did a help out  a classmate less fortunate then themselves was absolutely choice in my opinion.   I wish we all learn a lesson from this team.   And whats more, both boys were very modest about it when I congratulated them on their efforts.   

They really did put the needs of someone else before there own here team, and you can never ever ever fault that.   

I just hope I can learn a lesson from it and encourage others to the same thing for people.    

Funtwo and Joe Satriani jamming

Damn I know a few guitarists who would love to be in Korean Guitarist Funtwo's shoes doing this !!!!! Funtwo jamming with Joe Satriani !! Rock on !!!!!

Yiruma - Kiss the Rain

I love this team. Its called Kiss the Rain and its by the Korean Pianist Yiruma. Listen with your heart and enjoy ...

Chitty Chitty bang bang

Hehehe ...

I could have sworn I was watching a Beyonce Clip here... heres Lee Hyo Ri's new one

Joes Sandwich and Coffee

Well team,

I decided to try something a little different today.   I decided to go into a coffee shop that I had forever being walking past saying that one day I would go in there and grab something.   Well today was that day team and I am very glad I went in.  

I must say first off that, well, on first impressions, Joes Sandwich and Coffee shop located just across the road from Olympic Park is pretty basic when you walk in.    Its not as decorated as some of the other coffee shops around, it doesnt have a ton of merchandise and it doesnt appear to have any special cards, offers or things like that to draw people in.  

What it does have, however, is quality food and beverage. 

Now I must admit that today, I only had a banana juice.  It came with a catch, and this catch was a truely unique thing indeed. 

It had REAL BANANA'S coming from the blender, and not banana flavouring.   A truely unique thing in todays modern processed food society. 

Another strange thing, given todays modern need to premake everything in order to display it, was the delightful fact that ... whoa... I was actually .. you .. you know... actually able to see someone out the back freshly making the food orders to order.    The two girls in the shop were making sandwiches as I walked in. 

It all sounds good to me team.  

I know I will be going back in there again.   You should too.   Its just up the road a little from Olympic Park Gate 2 on the left as you come down from gang-dong station.  

You can check out their stuff here

http://www.joessandwich.com/

I highly recommend it.   

Black Day

Yes team

In Korea, you have Valentines Day, White Day and.... Black Day !!!!!!!!!!

Yes team, the koreans have invented another money making day revolving around relationships !!!! This one though actually celebrates singledom !!!!! Yep even the singles get to party and celebrate.  

What happens is that people who didnt celebrate Valentines Day or White Day because they are single.   Hence ... Black Day has been created !!!!! Black Day is on April 14 and involves people who get together and eat Jagangmyeon for their singleness !!!!!

Jajangmyeon is a noodle dish consisting of wheat noodles soaked in soy bean paste, meat, vegetables and sea food.   You can see it here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdmiNDhRYDk

Its really good team ! You should try it !!!!!

Vanilla Chai Tea Latte

Team I never thought I would top Tom n Toms. .. .. .. ..

But I think I just have .,...

If you are ever in Myongdong ( Seoul Subway Blue line ), you simply have to try the Vanilla Chai Tea Latte from Flash Coffee at Myongdong station ( its near the steps to exit 4 ). It is SUPERB !!!!! The extra vanilla flavour gives a chai tea latte an extra little bit of zing that other chai tea lattes seem to miss. I tried a Vanilla Chai tea latte today team and it seriously hit the spot. Like really seriously.

I think Tom n Toms, Starbucks, and Ediya have a new kid on the block to deal with team ... and a formidable new kid at that.

I loved it and I know you will too. Do yourself a favour and try it. You wont be disappointed.

Bokbunja ( Wild Raspberry ) Tea

Team

You should seriously drink this.   This tea is magic !! I bought this at Lotte Mart yesterday and I was lucky enough to try it today before I went out for my Sunday afternoon language exchange.  

This stuff tastes great. 

As the title suggests, its a tea made from organic wild raspberry and it just hit the spot straight away.   

Its made from the Korean black raspberry and its benefits include metabolic stimulation and increasing your energy levels.   I found this to be particularly true, especially as I drank it before breakfast.   I found it helped open up my stomach and my breakfast just went straight down so to speak, and not settle in my stomach like it can do at times. 

The brand of Bokbunja I drank today is made by the Dowul company.   I have read the company website and I must say I am very impressed by their product range and I will look to see about trying some of the other produce they have on offer.   They are a company committed to producing solid, stable and viable organic meals and foods so I must try and find out more about them and their products

You can find out more about the company and the produce here. 

http://www.dowul.com/eng/

http://www.dowul.com/eng/sub02_01.asp?step1=2&step2=4&step3=1&step4=3

I can't recommend it any more team.   Just go out there, get it and simply enjoy it as I have done.  

Lotte Mart Jamsil - excellent service

Its time for another shoutout to a company that went the extra mile to help me out today.

I went shopping at Lotte Mart in Jamsil today, and I was very impressed with the way I was attended to as I was looking for some cereals, teas, and other organic goods.

The lady who was attending to me made some happy suggestions, told me about specials and half price items, and even made some nice recommendations to me, which I took her up on, if only because she made an excellent effort to tell me things in my own native English. She even ran to get me a basket so I could take my items to the cash register, so as to make my shopping experience today that extra little bit more special and easier.

Thumbs up Lotte Mart at Jamsil. One of your workers has made sure I will be back there again sometime soon.

http://www.lotte.co.kr/english/s2_business/sub2_02-4.html

You should come and experience the service. Basically, you just get off at Jamsil station and follow the directions to Lotte Mart. You will also see Lotte World there also, and you also have Lotte Department Store. You won't regret coming here team.

Technomart, Gangbyeon Station, Seoul

Team, if you are looking for your one stop, everything you need electronice shop, then Technomart at Gangbyeon Station is for you. 

You will pretty much everything you really and truely do need here.    Technomart is a 10 story electronics megastore.  You can pick up cell phones, Ipods, MP3s, all your major camera, TV and audio gear.   You can also get your gear from Korea and around the world. 

I myself picked up a watch and a prepaid cell phone there today without too much fuss.   There were plenty of both items to choose from, and I was served quite well.  

On the bottom floor, you also have an array of coffee shops, drug stores, banks and other amenities to help you on your shopping way. 

You can see a little more if you look here. 

http://theseoulite.com/?p=721

http://www.tm21.com/main/

Have fun getting lost in Seouls wonderful techno-jungle !!!!!!

Xian Chinese Restaurant - Sadang Station - Pastelcity

Team,

When in Seoul, you have to check this place out.   I was fortunate enough to get out to Sadang City today for work, and during break time, myself and 3 of my co-workers managed to get some Chinese for lunch.   And boy oh boy this grub was good. 

We stopped off at Pastelcity and went up to the 3rd floor to go to Zian, a really nice Chinese Restaurant there.   I was lamenting that we didnt go to a Vietnamese Restaurant named Phobay on the 2nd floor, but after getting this good Chinese feed, my lament disappeared pretty quick.  

We didnt do any feast or anything like that, and we pretty much went just for single dishes.   Two of us had a spicy noodle soup with seafood and veg, another had like a blackbean noodle thing in soy sauce, and the last bloke had a chicken and peach kind of thing.  

I loved my dish team.   It was hot, spicy, and very delicious ! In fact, no one complained about our dishes and were quite complimentary of the food and the service.    Team its just good solid food in a lovely environment.  

To get to Pastelcity team, you just leave Sadang Station, and I think its exit 2.   You just walk straight up and you will see a turn off on the left.  Head down that and you will see Pastelcity there.   Head up to the 3rd floor and you will find it there !!!!

Feast out and enjoy some good chinese grub !!!!!!

Language Exchange Club - Myeongdong, Seoul

Team, I just discovered this little club for the first time today and I must say that I met some really fun people from Korea, China, Egypt, Canada, US, Australia and Russia all willing to reach out, learn a new thing or two, and make new friends in Seoul.

Basically, what happens is this. We meet up at 4 pm at the Starbucks located about a 2 minute walk from exit 6 out of Myeongdong on the 4th floor. We then proceed to study an article in English and answer questions about it. At 5 pm we then go off into some little groups and decide what other language we wish to learn, from Korean, Chinese and Japanese. I decided to renew my Japanese knowledge so I had some fun with about 8 others learning some Japanese for an hour or so.

After all the little study times finished we packed up and headed out for some dinner, where I had a really delicious noodle dish called bibim guksu

It was very spicy indeed !!!!

You can have a look at here..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Korean_noodle-Bibim_guksu-02.jpg

You should come and join in the club ! its really neat and a great way to meet people.

You can find the club here http://cafe.naver.com/korean05exchange.cafe

Or you can email them at discgolf@naver.com

Its a really fun thing team, and you can meet some really nice people through it.

Foreign Food Mart - Itaewon

Another staple on the list of foreign food markets in Seoul is the foreign food mart located right next door to What the Book in Itaewon.

Foreign Food Mart is pretty recognised for its ample supplies of Indian and US foods, as well as decent International Calling Cards. You can also get deodorants, body products, European foods, and other well known foreign nicknacks.

To get to the Foreign Food Mart, you walk along the main street in Itaewon, until you get to the UN club. Turn right and walk straight up the hill and you will see the foreign food mart right up at the top.

Enjoy !!!

hannam supermarket

Alas !!! Decent foreign food supplies !!!!! yeeeaaaaah hoooooooo !!!!!

Hannam supermarket is the place to come team, especially when you are missing home and although you love that delicious Korean Cuisine, you just need a little something to remind you of the joys of your home. 

Located on the basement floor of the Volvo Building in Hannam Dong, Seoul, you will find a nicely stocked little market full of goodies from various parts of the world.  If you want Italian pasta and pasta sauce, you can get it here.   If you need Danish Hvararti, its ready and waiting for you.   If you want a Fosters and a XXXX, yes team, Aussie beer can be located here.  

From Quaker Oats to Maple Syrup.   From Gouda to Mozarrella.   From Budweiser and Molsons to Sammy Adams and Psintao.   Its all here team and its stocked up quite nicely.   You can also visit Dandys Grocery Store located just outside the mart.   Its kind of a little entree where as the Supermarket is the main dish.  

If you want to see pictures and all team you can check it all out right here.   

http://www.hannammarket.co.kr/

Alternatively team, you can just go straight there !!!!

Its only about a 5 min walk from Hangangjin Station.   Basically you come out exit 2, you just walk straight, turn right, follow the path around, go up the bridge, cross it, go down turn right and the Volvo Building is right there. 

The address is

726-173 Hannam-Dong
Yongsan-gu
Seoul   Korea. 

Maybe I will see you in there sometime !!!!

Sea Snails - Golbaeng-i ( bai Top Shells )

It pays to open your eyes in the Super Market team.

Its when you do this, that you might indeed find a little gem for your palate, like I did tonight.

Seeking something OTHER THEN Tuna to put on my salad for the night, I decided to actually see what else was on the shelf OTHER THEN the differing varieties of Tuna on offer. What caught my eye was a little gem named sea snails, or Golbaeng-i ( 골뱅이 ) in Korean.

I cant quite remember the brand name so that basically ends the potential brand name plug for this, but team, sea snails are great !!!!!! I got mine out of the can so they were de-shelled for me, but you can have a look here team to see what can indeed look like when shelled and all.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zenkimchi/sets/72157606414977449/

This stuff is great. I found the snails to be very juicy, very nice and quite healthy indeed. I am certainly going to eat Sea Snails again thats for sure.

Seoul Olympic Pool - Good service

Team,

I am writing to give another shout out to a Korean person or group that I feel went out of their way to try and help and provide good customer service.  

This time, I have to give mention to a young lady, whose name I didnt actually get but thats not an issue, and the fact that even though she didnt seem so confident speaking english, she actually tried the best she could to answer my query and help me become a member of the health club at the pool.  

Basically she stepped in to try and help out when her colleague began to struggle and I didnt have a Korean translastion for what it was I tried to say.  

She tried very hard to help me with my query, and ended up being able to help me out quite nicely in the end.   I got what I wanted, signed up and become a member.   She tried hard, went out on a limb and signed someone up. 

Both parties ended up with a good result in this case, and its all good.  

For more in on the Olympic pool, you can check out the site here.   

http://www.sosfo.or.kr/english/biz2/biz_05.asp