Seoul: La Bab and Jean Boulangerie
Korean Experiences
by viviennemackie
1M ago
A lesson on the Importance of Language and Communication, and the French Cuisine Influence in Korea On our last trip to Korea, when we were staying at Hoam Faculty House at SNU, we had a free day. So, we decided to go to Nakseongdae Park and then have lunch in the shopping area close by, on our way to the Nakseongdae subway station. I wrote about Nakseongdae Park before (see here https://vivskoreanadventures.wordpress.com/2024/01/19/celebrating-general-kang-an-ancient-local-hero/ ) Our Korean hosts have been wonderful about taking us to various restaurants and sharing stori ..read more
Visit website
Happy New Year: Year of the Dragon
Korean Experiences
by viviennemackie
2M ago
On Saturday February 10th, 2024, the Lunar New Year will begin. In many East Asian countries, the New Year festival lasts for 15 days and ends with a Lantern Festival. For countries that use the lunar calendar, they have a zodiac of 12 animals, and 2024 will be the Year of the Dragon. The dragon is an auspicious and extraordinary creature, symbolizing power, nobility, good luck, strength, and health. It is the only mythical creature in the zodiac and, because of its allure, many Asian communities have a “baby boom” during the Year of the Dragon. I’m told it’s forecast that 2024 will be ..read more
Visit website
Hotel Incheon Ora
Korean Experiences
by viviennemackie
4M ago
On our last visit to Korea in early fall, we needed to spend one night at Incheon Airport, as we were flying from Hokkaido, Japan, and had to make a connection the next morning to fly back to the USA. It was easier to find a hotel near Incheon rather than try to get into Seoul and then back the next morning. We got a reservation at the Hotel Incheon Ora, which is outside of the airport grounds, but very close. They do offer a limited hotel shuttle, but our arrival time from Japan didn’t fit in with the times, so we caught a taxi. Luckily, the following morning we were able to use the sh ..read more
Visit website
Memorable Meals in Korea: Kyungbokkung
Korean Experiences
by viviennemackie
4M ago
The entrance Menu (which only our host can read!) It’s definitely true that Korea has one of the great cuisines of the world and, for us personally, French, Japanese and Korean top the list. Of course, they have adopted some of the typical western-style dishes, but they still have wonderful dishes and styles that are unique to that country. Over the years, we’ve had many amazing meal experiences in Korea, and it was true of our last trip too. As I mentioned earlier, we were staying at the Hoam Guest House on the SNU campus before, and after, moving to Pyeongchang for the JRS symposium. We had ..read more
Visit website
Remembering a Wonderful Friend: Jongsoo Chang
Korean Experiences
by viviennemackie
5M ago
Cooking at a Korean grill restaurant Saying hallo to some of the cows on his farm With his family on the road trip Rod met Jongsoo Chang (holding the flag in the picture at the top of the blog) many years ago through their mutual scientific connections and at various conferences. We got to know him, and his family, much better in 2009. We went to a JRS symposium in Seoul, Korea, that he helped to organize and after the conference he took Rod and I, with his wife and two sons, on an amazing road trip. They were so excited and happy to share parts of their country with us, and we were happy to l ..read more
Visit website
What’s in a Name? Hoam Faculty House
Korean Experiences
by viviennemackie
5M ago
Hoam Faculty House, in Gwanak, south Seoul (Hoam, pronounced Ho-am) As I posted earlier, we visited Korea and Japan again in August/early September and had a wonderful time. The main reason for the visit was a conference Rod attended in Pyeong-chang at the SNU (Seoul National University) agricultural campus there. But we spent our first 4 days in Seoul on the main SNU campus, and then our last night, after Pyeong-chang, back in Seoul on the SNU campus again. Hoam motto, “Truth is my light” Rod’s contact at SNU, Dr. Myunggi Baik, booked us into the Hoam Faculty House on the edge of t ..read more
Visit website
Happy to be Posting Here Again
Korean Experiences
by viviennemackie
6M ago
National Museum of Korea in Seoul Rod and I walked to Nakseongdae one lunch time and had lunch here We visited Korea and Japan again in August/early September, 2023, and had a wonderful time. We love going to Korea and Japan—they are beautiful countries and the people are very warm and welcoming to visitors. So, I’m happy to be able to open up this blog again with lots of new content. Rod and I with another invited speaker, Sharon Hews, at the National Folk Museum Gwangjang Market, Seoul All kinds of interesting foods in the market The main reason for the visit was a conference Rod attended i ..read more
Visit website
Dandelions: Tanpopo in Japanese
Korean Experiences
by viviennemackie
2y ago
Spring has finally arrived here and the flowering trees are gorgeous—especially the magnolias and our beautiful cherry blossoms (Sakura) at the University’s Japan House. That got me thinking about the Japanese names for other flowers, and I happened on the common dandelion, called tanpopo in Japanese. The lawns around here are also dotted with purple violets and bright yellow dandelions, making bright splashes on the green. A couple of years ago I wrote about violets and dandelions here in our town. See here: https://viviennemackie.wordpress.com/2020/05/05/violets-and-dandelion ..read more
Visit website
Korea: Magpies and Rose of Sharon
Korean Experiences
by viviennemackie
2y ago
A magpie on the campus of Seoul National University (SNU) The Rose of Sharon is a lovely flower. Here, white tinged with pink and a dark center Korean Culture: Icons, Symbols, and Legends/Myths Magpies and Roses A few times lately with one of my Korean students the subject of Korean symbols and icons has come up. All cultures have symbols and legends, but some of the Asian countries seem to have an abundance of these, and I find it fascinating. I’ll try to cover some of these in the next few posts. For today, we talked about the Korean, or oriental, magpie and the Korean special flower, the Ro ..read more
Visit website
Plastic Food Displays and Models in Japan
Korean Experiences
by viviennemackie
2y ago
Another Fascinating Cultural Difference We Found In Japan A restaurant that also sells beer in Sapporo Models in a window in the JR complex in Sapporo It’s easy to understand: you can see what your food will look like and how much each plate costs Everywhere in Japan most restaurants, except perhaps the very up-scale ones, have ways of showing what’s on offer: either photographs or pictures of the items on the menu, or very realistic-looking plastic models of the dishes they serve.  An example of dinner set menus Even models of ice cream bowls There are models of practically everything th ..read more
Visit website

Follow Korean Experiences on FeedSpot

Continue with Google
Continue with Apple
OR