Cat Cafe in Hongdae

A couple months ago I visited a dog cafe, and this week I visited the much calmer Gio Cat. The cats pretty much ignore the customers, but at least they aren't running around peeing on the floor.

Making makgeolli

This past weekend I went to the Baedari Korean Traditional Wine Museum where we made our own rice wine, makgeolli.

We started with yeast.
Added water and rice cooked with steam not water.
Then we mixed it together with our hands. We added finished makgeolli to it to expedite the fermentation.
Jarred it.
After a week it will be ready for straining and drinking. Makgeolli is often served from a kettle, drank in bowls, and enjoyed with buchimgae, a seafood pancake. Which is exactly how we dined that afternoon at Bukhan mountain.

Thanks Derek Orth for a couple of these photos.

Also: Makgeolli goes global.

House of Sharing

A few months ago I visited the House of Sharing in Gwangju City, but I'm just now getting around to writing about it. It's a museum and home for the survivors of sexual slavery for the Japanese military during the Asia-Pacific War.

Many of the survivors, called halmoni, the Korean word for "grandmother," that are still living attend a protest at the Japanese embassy every Wednesday (since 1992!) to demand Japan take legal responsibility for the enslaving thousands of Korean girls and women into the "military's pan-Asian brothel system." The halmoni have taken art therapy classes and their paintings are displayed in the museum.

If you're in Korea you can check the website for opportunities to visit. I recommend it. Our group was able to spend some time with a few of the halmoni living there. My memory is failing me, but I believe the guide said the majority of donations come from Japanese citizens and reconciliation groups.

Cue jokes about female and Asian drivers

Today a class was reading an article about the inventor of windshield wipers. The article said initially wipers had to be used manually by a crank inside the car.

Rex: "Teacher, how can person drive and turn the handle?"

Me: "Good question. Maybe the person sitting next to the driver would turn the handle."

Rex: "Yes. I think the woman is turn the handle."

Alex: "Yes, because woman is no drive the car."

Every cause has a wristband... even Dokdo

Japan and Korea both claim the East Sea island Dokdo/Takeshima. Koreans are very adamant about Dokdo belonging to Korea, and suggesting otherwise causes vicious arguments over here. Apparently, Americans need to become equally versed in Korea's territorial rights because a couple Korean-American organizations launched a PR campaign to raise awareness in the U.S. over Dokdo.

They designed and created blue elastic bracelets with the words "Dokdo is Korean Territory" and "East Sea is Korea" written on them. With the initial distribution starting in New York and New Jersey, KALA co-chair Hwang Sung-ho says the campaign will soon go national.

ESL Journal Entries: There Are No Words Edition

Book Report by Steve

I read a book about five friends.
I think they have many talents in the
story. First friend has big hands. Second friend
has powerful breath from the nose.
Third friend passes a lot of urine.
Forth friend carry their boat alone.
Fifth friend has iron shoes.
Five friends beat off tiger.
I want to have big hands.

Konglish of the Week

CRUNKY
Nude

Graduation!

My 6 year-old students graduated last Thursday, so this week I get a fresh batch of kids that know zero English. The kids put on a musical performance of Snow White at the ceremony. Here are a couple clips:

I finally made it to Bauhaus Dog Cafe

30+ dogs roam around and on your table at Bauhaus in Hongdae.

Kimchibilly

Last summer I posted a video of an unidentified band I saw at a park in Hongdae. Over the weekend I heard them again, and this time found out their name: Rock Tigers. They consider themselves pioneers of Korean rockabilly and they put on a fun show.

Saehae bok manhi badeuseyo

Please receive many blessings in the new year.

Tomorrow is Seollal, lunar new year, and to celebrate at the school all the kids wore hanbok and performed a traditional bow to the teachers. Sebae is the ritual of children bowing to their older relatives, saying the above words, and receiving money. At school the students bowed to the teachers and the director gave them each 1,000 won ($0.80). Note the kids that tried taking the money with one hand.

3.0 earthquake hit Seoul last night

The tremor lasted for 3 seconds. I just thought my neighbors were really getting in to it upstairs.

ESL Journal Entries: BFF Edition

Friendship by Tom

My friendship is so-so.
I like boy friends, but I don't have
girl friend,
beacous I don't like girls,
but some time I don't like all friends
I am sad or mad.

At the tender age of nine Tom knows everyone disappoints.

I'd watch that

I read Dead Until Dark, the first of the Sookie Stackhouse series on which the HBO series, True Blood, is based, and yeah, it is total crap, but easily-absorbing subway reading. I wouldn't recommend it, but it did have one advantage over the TV program. Elvis makes a brief appearance in the story as a mentally retarded vampire.

Sookie's undead love interest explained to her that when the King was brought to the morgue, a staff member who happened to be vampire and a fan, sensed some a spark of life and changed him into a vampire. With all the drugs in his system, it was a botched job making him a low-functioning bloodsucker.

Why did True Blood leave out this cameo? Why isn't there a show featuring all overdosed celebrities as retarded vampires?

More on South Korea's population problem

This is from last week, but I am just posting it now.