Spring Vacation Trip: Tokyo Day 1

Once again I made a visit to Tokyo, Japan this past Spring! This was in part to see one of my Japanese friends who was in Japan at the time (he current is a resident elsewhere) and also just to enjoy another visit and eat a ton of great food!

After a crazy episode trying to sort out a hotel reservation error (I never found out who's fault it was, the hotel or the booking website), in the end I was able to get a proper room at the original rate I had booked. A month before I had booked a non-smoking room at a very affordable rate on the east side of town but a few days before I was about to depart the hotel had emailed and said they did not have my room type! A month advanced notice and just two days before my room type had disappeared? This was quite curious to me. I ended up having to book another hotel in another area of town for more than $100 more than my original reservation. After a back-and-forth with the booking website for weeks after the trip, I was finally refunded the difference. ANYWAY, the hotel I eventually ended up at was in a great location and was decent, however the room seemed on the small side even for Japanese hotel room standards.

After checking into the hotel room, I met up with my friend for dinner and an adventure in the Golden Gai area of Shinjuku. Our dinner was at a nice conveyor belt sushi restaurant where I tried an animal I had never eaten before...by accident. Check out a few pictures below!

Tuna Tuna Tuna!

..."Whale"...

Next was a stroll around the Golden Gai area and finding a small bar to enjoy a drink.

This area is known for its narrow streets and many small bars, restaurants, and clubs. It is said to look like old Tokyo during the middle 20th century. The place we went didn't charge foreigners a cover but I think they charged my Japanese friend >.< We didn't stick around too long as the place could only seat about 5-6 people and the other patrons were smoking quite a bit so we headed out early to get some fresh air and take a stroll.

That was about it for day 1! Stay tuned for more to come very soon!

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My Korean Life #57: IKAA Gathering 2016

This past summer was the IKAA Gathering - the largest gathering of Korean adoptees in Korea that takes place every 3 years. The last time I participated, I was staying in Korea temporarily for a short term Korean language course. However, this time, I participated as a resident of Korea, having now lived in Korea for almost 2.5 years. Participating as an adoptee living in Korea, as opposed to just visiting, had a different feel to it. I was able to meet a bunch of new people, catch up with my adoptee friends that don't live in Korea, and also enjoy a good time with my circle of friends I've made in Korea.

I paid for the full registration as I wanted to attend as much as I could. A special weekend pass is offered for those that are adoptee residents in Korea however the weekend is only a short snippet of the full program. The first big event is the opening ceremony which features many distinguished guests. Below are some photos:

Chung Chin-Youb: Minister of Health and Welfare

IKAA President (Liselotte Birkmose) and President Emeritus (Tim Holm)

Roberto Powers: Consul General of the Embassy of the USA in Korea

Republic of Korea President Park Geun-Hye Video Address

Song Yong-Duk: President of Lotte Hotels

In addition to participating, I was also part of a workshop that G.O.A.'L hosted about its services and living in Korea. I talked about living and settling in Korea for adoptees. My coworkers talked about the organization itself as well as birth family search. Our workshop was very well attended and we also had many people ask questions after the session concluded.

G.O.A.'L Workshop Attendees

G.O.A.'L Workshop Attendees

I was also able to attend some of the film sessions however I didn't take any pictures there. I saw the film Twinsters and Approved for Adoption. The one I didn't get to see during IKAA was akaDan but I ended up seeing that film a little after IKAA. I've now seen a variety of adoption related films and I must say that each is different in their style and how they address adoption. While most of the films I have seen deal with Korean adoptees, I have seen the film Somewhere Between which documents Chinese adoptees.

Since I also had to work during the week of IKAA I didn't get to attend much else of the actual conference. There are many other events and workshops that take place during the Gathering including a scavenger hunt, age breakout sessions, and other social events. If you are a Korean adoptee that has yet to attend the Gathering in Korea, I highly recommend you go to at least one.

The IKAA Gala Dinner is the big closing event (in addition to the after party) where there are performances and a great meal to go along with it! Check out the pictures below:

손승연 Performance (Pretty sure it was her, will try to confirm)

Traditional Korean drumming

Traditional Korean fan dance (부채춤)

NCT 127 Performance

NCT 127 Performance

I look forward to the next IKAA Gathering in Korea during 2019!
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My Korean Life #54: 제주도 (Jeju Island) - New Discovery

For years my friends have been telling me to visit Jeju and were surprised to find out I had never been (even though I have been traveling to Korea since 2011 and have lived in Korea since 2014). Most if not all of my friends that have visited Jeju had nothing but nice things to say about the island. They raved about the waterfalls, beaches, hiking, and sightseeing opportunities. After hearing this for years, I felt like Jeju had been so hyped up in my mind that I was set up for disappointment. This past June, I finally made the trip to Jeju and, to my surprise, was not disappointed at all.

First, is how insanely cheap you can find flights to Jeju. While the major airlines have plenty of flights, so do the many budget airlines that operate within Korea. For my flights, I booked on Air Busan going to Jeju and JinAir for the return. Jeju does have its own airline (Jeju Air) but for the dates I booked Jeju Air's ticket prices were not the best. If you use search engines like Kayak or Google Flights you may have to visit the airline websites individually for pricing but it's totally worth it. You'll save a lot of money.

Second, are the amount of lodging deals there are for Jeju...and just affordable lodging in general. Korean online shopping portals often run weekly travel specials and Jeju is a common destination. Many people choose to stay on the southern end of the island since a lot of the sightseeing options are located there. However, there are plenty of options in Jeju city where the major airport is. The hotel I stayed at is relatively new and was running a lodging and breakfast special for a fraction of their normal summer rate. Below is a map of where the hotel is as well as a room tour I filmed - the room was huge and so was the bathroom. The bed was big and comfortable and the room faced the ocean! The breakfast buffet had plenty of options and the dining area was large and accommodating.

Third, transportation - while many elect to rent a car while in Jeju. I didn't have that opportunity since I didn't have an international driver's permit at the time nor a Korean driver's license. However, there are buses and plenty of taxis available even on the southern end of the island. There are also buses from the airport that can take you to your hotel. I heard some people hire taxi drivers for the whole day, picking out some places they want to go and basically having a private driver for a flat rate. These daily rates (or for however long you need them) are negotiated with the driver. One taxi driver we talked to offered to take us around for an afternoon for a flat rate of KRW 60,000. I ended up using mostly buses and taxis however having a rental car is much more convenient and actually cheaper in some cases.

I'll be detailing more of my trip in future posts! Thanks for reading!

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My Korean Life #46: Delicious Stir-Frying!

Delicious Stir-Frying

I've been using this guide by Cook Smarts to make tasty stir-fries lately. Here is a link to a full infographic on imgur. With only a few basic ingredients and your choice of protein and vegetables, you can create delicious meals quite quickly. I also now know the secret to making sauces shiny and sticky like you might see in American Chinese food restaurants - corn/potato starch! Here I have my basic sauce/seasoning ingredients, which you can modify to your liking but I've had good results with the items pictured here. Other things to add would be citrus like lemon/lime/orange juice as well as maybe green onion, shallots, chili flakes, whatever you like!

From Left to Right: salt, pepper, soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, potato starch, garlic, ginger

One of my latest attempts was the orange ginger sauce recipe with vegetables and tuna. I snapped some pictures and have posted those down below.

Orange ginger sauce

Vegetables prepped - use what you like!

Vegetables cooking

Sauce and tuna added to the vegetable medley

Mixed and heated through

Ready to eat!

I often have leftovers if I only am cooking for myself so, many times I can get two meals out of cooking once. I haven't done the calculations but I'm sure I am saving some money even if it takes a little time to prepare and cook my meals. The next time I shop I will record the prices and update this post with approximate costs (but it will vary for you depending on ingredients and availability). For example, I have a vegetable stand near my house where I got like 7-8 onions for only 3000KRW and a bag of about the same number of carrots for 1000KRW.

Cook Smarts

My Korean Life #45: More Lunar New Year Fun

More Lunar New Year Fun

This past Wednesday I attended another Lunar New Year event, this time hosted by InKAS and the 서울무궁화로타리클럽 at the Korea House. A map and the Korea House's Facebook page are embedded below, the location is closest to Chungmuro (충무로역) station. I snapped some pictures of the food that was provided. The traditional rice cake soup (떡국) was the main course served in a bowl with charcoal in the middle to keep it warm. We were also given some small gifts and played games with the opportunity to win prizes.

Rice cake wrapper with vegetable and meat fillings

Gift bag

Pumpkin Porridge (호박죽)

Marinated beef (불고기)

Rice cake soup (떡국)

Fruit

The holiday is now finished and people are going back to work and school. The subway was very busy today as opposed to the past 5 days where there weren't as many people. A number of businesses still stayed open during the holiday. It is actually a popular time for tourists from other Asian countries to come visit Korea. Do you celebrate the lunar new year? How do you celebrate?

한국의집, KOREA HOUSE

My Korean Life #44: 새해 복 많이 받으세요

새해 복 많이 받으세요

Happy Lunar New Year! I spent the lunar new year at KoRoot, a guest house and non-profit organization that helps Korean adoptees. There were about 30 people that showed up for their new year's day meal. Below are a few pictures I took, information regarding their Facebook Page, and an embedded Daum Map. They also have a few groups on Facebook that are written in English. While I have never spent the night at the guesthouse, I have attended many of their events since moving to Korea.

Traditionally, rice cake soup (떡국) is eaten on new year's day. In addition to all the delicious food prepared, this traditional soup was also served. The broth had great flavor and the rice cake was nice and tender. 

I enjoy these adoptee events because it gives an easy opportunity for everyone to meet and perhaps catch up with friends you have not seen in a while. Also, a lot of times you can meet new adoptees or other members of the community.

Again, I hope everyone has a pleasant lunar new year holiday.

떡국 (Rice cake Soup)

뿌리의 집 - Koroot

My Korean Life #37: Seafood BBQ

I honestly don't eat that much seafood besides fish and the occasional crab dish but my friends wanted to try a grilled clam restaurant so I decided to tag along. If you translate the restaurant's name it literally says Hongdae Grilled Clams (홍대조개구이) so, it's not hard to guess the specialty. It is in the heart of the Hongdae neighborhood and was packed when we went. A map is below:

My friends ordered a type of set menu that started out with an appetizer/1st course of pork, squid, and corn+cheese mixture. But this was nothing compared to what was coming next.

Next came a big bucket of seafood. All sorts of clams, mussels, cockles, and oysters with some shrimp on top to boot. I'm not exactly sure what species or types of sea creatures were present but just from my visual I think all of the aforementioned sea dwellers were there.

They all met a very hot fate. Soy sauce + wasabi and a spicy red sauce were available for dipping.

Below is a picture of the bucket for all the shells and any other waste generated from the meal.

Overall, it took us a long time to eat everything. From the time we sat down to the time we had devoured everything 2 hours had elapsed. We were all very stuffed at the end.

What are you eating these days?

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