Happy Lunar New Year

새해 복 많이 받으새요! [Sae hae bok mani bad eu sae yo] This is how Koreans greet each other during New Years.

The Lunar New Year in Korea is a very important holiday (like Chuseok) where family members gather together to enjoy each other's company and to eat.

In the Korean tradition they usually drink ddeok guk (떡국). Koreans believe that by eating the rice cakes (ddeok) it helps with them becoming one year older.

In Korea everyone turns one year older at the same time, during New Years. In a way your birthday is just a day for you to celebrate, but the time you actually gain a year in your life is during New year.

So I wish everyone a Happy New Year!
May your 2012 be filled with health, happiness and love!

Dance & Theater @ SCH

Thanks to my wonderful friend Annalee we are informed about the plays, musicals and dance productions that the Dance & Theater majors produce every semester. Since Fall semester is the ending semester of the year many majors had their year end showcases/festivals/workshops to show off their graduating classes talents.

Of course Dance and Theater is no different. What I love about Dance and Theater is we do not need to know Korean to appreciate it. I went to my engineering friends Graduates Engineering Fair to wish them luck, but frankly I barely know science terms in English, so in Korean of course I am completely lost.

There were a few interpretive pieces that involved dialogue, but in general it was dancing. There were two dance year end show cases. One of them was based around more modern pieces. So contemporary, modern, hip hop, ballet and a few Korean traditional dances. While the second showcase involved more Korean traditional dancing (including the drums) and some modern pieces about Korean history.

I really enjoy watching these performances. Annalee is a Dance and Theater major and I know she practices a lot day and night. It's nice to see what she has been practicing for so many hours for.
Korean students study academics A LOT. As always performing arts is usually not treated as a promising major for the future. It's really nice to see these people following their hearts and not just their heads.

Not to say that the ones in academics are not doing what they love, but I know how easy it is to just succumb to doing something just because my parents told me so.

JeonJu (전주) Living Up to the Best Bibimbap (비빔밥)

Xee and I took a nice Sunday trip down to JeonJu on Sunday December 11, 2011. We went down to JeanJu for two reasons:
A. Neither of us has gone there yet (It's definitely a place everyone should visit if they are in Korea) &

B. The Yiruma concert!

There are several ways to get to Jeonju you can take the train (KTX, Mugunghwa & Saemaul) or you can take an express bus.

On our way down we took the express bus from Seoul (Nambu Express Bus Terminal on Line 3) because the Express Bus Terminal in JeonJu was closer to the Hanok Village. On our way home we took the Mugunghwa to Cheonan Station.

Jeonju is filled with historical charm. We stayed in the Hanok Village for most of the day before we went to our concert. I love the look of Hanoks (traditional Korean homes). Even though the Koreans (like the Japanese) borrowed certain things from China they were still able to put their own cultural spin on things. Every time I look at traditional Korean roofing I am still amazed because I think it's absolutely gorgeous. Of course walking around the Hanok Village I was surrounded by such beauty.

Another thing Jeonju is know for is their bibimbap! Of course we had to try it to see if it really is the best in Korea. We went into this cute restaurant 전주 전통비빔밥 (which means Jeonju Traditional Bibimbap). For those that do now know, bibimbap is a Korean dish that has many types of vegetables prepared on top of a bed of rice. Then gojujang is added and you mix it all up. There are many variations of this, this is just my simple explanation.

Xee and I tried the raw beef bibimbap! It costs 10 000 won (which is decent, the cost is pricier due to the beef). The lady that ran the restaurant was really cute and she will come over and show you how they used to mix the bibimbap. The verdict YES this was probably one of the best bibimbaps I ever had. Their toppings were very fresh and it seems they chose only the best quality of ingredients. When you eat a good bibimbap you just know. I've never really eaten a bad bibimbap but the good ones just stand out. There is just something magical when you eat a really good one.

Of course you should go and find out for yourself!

After lunch we took in the sites. We strolled around the Hanok Village. It's very neat because it is embedded around the modern parts of the city so the Hanok village is a bit of an escape. Even your everyday coffee shops and convenience stores were built in Hanok style! I kind of wish all of Korea still did this (haha).
Within the Village there are many historical sites you can see. There are traditional stores that sell rice paper and handmade items. Jeonju is not a very large city so you definitely feel very relaxed while strolling through this city.

On our way to the concert hall to see Yiruma the taxi driver drove us by this park that is also famous in Jeonju, I was a bit sad that I did not get to see it but now I know for next time! I think I would go back one more time to visit. A day trip is probably a bit rushed so it's a perfect weekend trip!

YG Family Concert 2011

You may or may not know that I am a huge Korean Music fan. I used to be more of a fan girl when I first started having an interest in Korean music about 5 years ago. However, as time has gone by I have mellowed out a bit. Now I enjoy a variety of music, but still heavily influence by Korean music.

Although I have been in Korea for about 9 months I did not attend any concerts until now. For those that do not know YG is an entertainment company. They are a management and production company for several big name artists in Korea. Some of my favourite artists belong to this company and one of the first Korean musicians I ever listened to when I was 16 is from YG.

The price was super reasonable and this concert featured all the artists that are active under YG at the moment. It was 4 hours of amazing talent and collaborations amongst all the YG members. The artists consist of 2NE1, Big Bang, Gummy, Jinusean, Psy & Tablo.

Dance, electro, hip hop, RnB & heart moving ballads sums up the musical eargasmic experience I had. There really are no words to describe how wonderful this concert was one day (if you are a fan) you really just have to experience it yourself!

Thanks so much to my friend Kristen (who is a HUGE T.O.P fan) who researched and found all the info on how purchase tickets...and special thanks to Cupid for assisting us in buying the tickets! Definitely within the top 5 concerts I've ever attended.