More Snow

 

It was one snowy winter this year!  I hear it is not normal for Seoul to have this much snow, but the boys loved it!  Just a few photos from our neighborhood for your enjoyment.

Happy New Year 새해 복 많이 받으세요

I wanted to share New Year's Korean style with you.  A friend of mine shared these photos with me of her family celebrating New Years.

In Korea New Years is the day you turn a year older.  That's right.  Everyone has the same birthday.  When you are born you are one year old because Koreans count the time in utero as year one.  Then when New Years comes around you turn 2.  So, if you are born December 30th you will be two years old on your second day of life! (They still use their actual birthday to reckon age for legal things, school, passports, etc).

Koreans celebrate New Years twice in a year: on the Gregorian Calendar New Year on Jan 1, and the Chinese New Year on the second new moon after the winter solstice. 

The New Year on January 1 is a family holiday.  They wear traditional Korean clothing called Hanbok (see photo below).  They eat Tteokguk a soup with rice cakes.  The children and young generations bow to their elders to show respect and wish them a Happy New Year 새해 복 많이 받으세요 which means have a blessed New Year (see the photo below).  This is a full bow to the ground.  When done correctly and with respect the children earn money.  My boys tried this at our house, but their bows did not earn them any money. In Korean accent they said, "We do the bow.  You give us money." haha

Noryangjin Fish Market

I think I have mentioned this before: Koreans shop in markets.  They have a market for everything, or at least a section of town designated for certain items.  You want toys? You go to toy alley.  Fabric: head to the fabric mart.  What about stationary?  They have that too.  The nice thing about this system is if you know that markets, you know exactly where you need to go to buy what you are looking for.  The bad thing is you could be running all over town to get everything on your list.  At $1 a ride on the subway, that can add up pretty fast.

We visited the Noryangjin fish market on New Years Eve.  Half of the fish sold in Seoul is sold at this market.  We got there at the end of the day, so it was pretty quiet.  It was the perfect time for us to get a glimpse of the fish, to see the market, without getting swallowed up by the crowd.

Traditional store at the fish market.  Fresh, dried, and frozen, it's all there.

Checking out the live squid.

Coal fire to keep the workers warm.  Not very efficient.

Octopus anyone?

The view from above.  Stall after stall of fish.

Take out anyone?

Koreans eat the same thing for breakfast lunch and dinner. It is an array of kimchis, meat, rice and vegetables.  Many times I will see people out at the park eating the full Korean meal.  Even on hikes I have seen the full deal:rice, meat, tons of kimchi sides, rice, and chopsticks all packed in little containers spread out on these mylar blankets they pack in and out.  Korea has great street food, but it is not a meal, it is a snack.  The meal still requires the usual ingredients where ever you are.  Here is the meal selection at the 63 building.  Bibimbop, bulgogi, guk or tang, and Naengmyeon.



This was the fast food selection at the 63 building.



This was the ice cream bar: mounds of ice cream decorated in their flavor toppings.

63 Building 63 빌딩

We took a trip to the Six Three building here in Seoul.  At the time it was built it was the tallest building outside North America.  It has 60 floors above ground; three below.  It is 817 feet high and is the tallest gold clad building in the world to this day.  It casts a nice orange color on the ground below when the sun is shining.

The building is mainly an office building, but has become quite the tourist attraction with an aquarium, art gallery (the highest in the world), IMAX theatre, wax museum, and restaurants.  The day we visited it was full of local school groups out on a field trip. 

SkyArt is the art gallery located on the 60th floor.  It has one of the best views of Seoul.  It is panoramic and amazing on a clear day.  You almost miss the artwork showcased in the gallery due to the amazing view.  Check out my photos below.

The aquarium was ok.  A little on the small side.

Fish manicure anyone?

Some of the tanks were even decorated for the holidays.

The otter playground, which was closed because the otters were on a diet
(there was a place to feed them in one section of the tubing).

This is the panoramic view from SkyArt.  It was a pretty clear day when we visited, so we had a great view of the city.

Looking down on the Han River towards city center.

 

National Assembly is out this direction past all the housing and office buildings.

Falling Leaves

Korea has fabulous fall foliage.  It was beautiful.  The color change happened a little late this year, but it was amazing.  Oranges.  Reds.  Browns.  Gold.  We saw the colors change here in the city.  I am already making plans for next year to head out to the National Parks to get the true fall glory.

 

Kimchi

Traditional Kimchi fermenting pots.

Do you like fermented foods? Koreans love fermented cabbage, radishes, and cucumbers which they call Kimchi. As noted, it is the national food. You can find it everywhere. They even have festivals throughout the country celebrating Kimchi where they get together and make tons of kimchi.

From Wikipedia: Kimchi (Korean: 김치 Korean pronunciation) is a traditional fermented Korean dish made of vegetables with a variety of seasonings.^[1][2][3] It is Korea's national dish, and there are hundreds of varieties made with a main vegetable ingredient such as napa cabbage, radish, scallion, or cucumber.^[4] Kimchi is also a main ingredient for many Korean dishes such as kimchi stew (김치찌개; kimchi jjigae), kimchi soup (김칫국; kimchiguk), and kimchi fried rice (김치볶음밥; kimchi bokkeumbap).

Lane likes Kimchi, although he generally dislikes cabbage. He likes Kimchi Mondu and many of the kimchi sides you get when you order at a beef and leaf restaurant. We had yet to try Kimchi Fries, kimchi pancakes, kimchi fried rice... If you like spicy food, kimchi might be for you.