Happy Korean New Year (Seollal)

Seollal 설날 or Chinese/Lunar New Year as it is commonly referred to in English speaking countries is Korea’s biggest and most important holiday. Seollal is a three day holiday beginning one day before and ending one day after the 1st day of the Lunar Calendar.

Early in the morning on Seollal, families observe a traditional ritual called charye. They also offer up "tteokguk" (rice-cake soup), instead of rice and soup, for the deceased ancestors. After charye, younger members of the family make a deep bow to their grandparents, parents and other elders, who in return, usually give a gift of money. During the bow they normally wish each other well for the New Year.

On this day people like to play various kinds of traditional games, such as yut (a board game where four sticks are thrown instead of dice), neolttwigi (see-sawing), yeonnaligi (kite flying), and tuho (throwing sticks into a barrel). These days, people can play them at folk villages or amusement parks.

This year it falls on Sunday February 14th which makes the first day of this holiday fall on a Saturday which is already day off for us anyway. This time we really only get Monday off. In 2008 we had three weekdays off plus the weekend so we spent the holiday in Beijing which was fantastic!

On Friday we kept with tradition and made mandu soup with the kindergarteners.

In the bowl there is the mandu stuffing - kimchi, noodles, salt, pepper, some beef and pork and veggies.

Place a spoonful of stuffing onto the Mandu paper, wet the edges with a little water and fold together.

Hye Min finished making two mandu!

Kelly working on her second.

Chris and Hye Min waiting to start

Left – Right: Seung Uk, Christopher, Kelly, David and Alex

Our director also spent time with the students showing them how to properly bow.

Danny, Albert, Seung Uk and David

Kelly and Hye Min

Hye Min, Kelly and our director

Chris, Christopher and Alex

During major holidays in Korea people usually by gift sets of just about anything imaginable to give to their family and friends. This can include spam gift sets which we received for Chuseok during our first teaching contract.

This year Krista received a Clarins Beauty gift set and I received a LAB Series for men gift set. Our director said she could have gotten food gifts instead, but she thought beauty was more important…!

Jon’s gift set with toiletry bag

Krista’s gift set

I also received a DAKS London set of 3 dress socks from one of my students.

I also received a Dettol Gift Set, looks like we won’t be running out of soap anytime soon. Do you think this gift means I smell funny?

For Christmas, Krista received a beauty mask set from our director

I received a lotion and toner set.

I wonder what kind of gifts we’ll receive for Teacher’s Day this year ;)

Here is a video of the students learning the traditions of bowing and making mandu. (Click here if you're viewing through email)

My Favourite TV Ads in Korea

The first year we spent in Korea we never bothered to get cable TV, just internet. This time around we figured it would be a good idea to have some form of entertainment while we at home in the evening. We managed to get internet and a digital cable box with 180+ channels for about $35/mo, great price!

One of our favourite channels is OCN which plays many different American movies with Korean subtitles. We get many other movie channels as well as CNN, BBC, Discovery Channel, National Geographic and Fox Life. We manage to catch a lot of different sitcoms / dramas that air a bit later here than at home. We watch CSI, House, Criminal Minds, How I Met Your Mother (known as “I Love Friends in Korea”), The Mentalist and so on. A lot of the time we just download the show and play them on the TV with a USB stick because we’re not very good at reading the tv guide, or aren’t at home. I guess you could say it’s our own PVR.

One thing I do like about Korean broadcasting regulations is their TV ad rules. There are not many commercials during a show, instead they play about 10 minutes of straight commercials before a show starts and when it ends. It’s kind of nice actually, to be able to watch an entire show with minimal interruptions and then at the end have a 10 minute bathroom break before the next one starts!

Anyway, now on to what this post is really about – TV Ads. I’ll admit I can’t stand too many Korean Ads on TV. Most of my annoyance comes from not being able to understand them (obviously). Even when you think you know what the ad is about, it’s about something completely different. Another thing that gets me is the tempo of the ads, a lot are 15 second spots and they are speaking outrageously fast! Again, I will have to attribute most of my annoyances to my lack of understanding the Korean language, but I digress.

And the part you have all been waiting for… the video!

I’m not exactly sure what the commercials are about, but for whatever reason these ads are catchy and I love ‘em.

Won Cashing Version 1 (click here if you’re viewing from email)

Won Cashing Version 2 (click here if you’re viewing from email)

I welcome comments via the blog to anyone who wants to share their opinion of what the commercial is about!

Airport Limousine / Bus

At times, Seoul can be a very hectic place and confusing place. After you arrive at Incheon International Airport you may wonder how you're going to reach your next destination. You could take the Seoul subway system for a very low price if you're up to the challenge of maneuvering your luggage through hundreds of people and standing the entire duration of your trip - not to mention the transfers to other lines. You could take a much more comfortable taxi if you're up to spending more than $50. Or... you could take the Airport Limousine Bus!



We have used the airport bus every time we need to get to and from the airport. It's very convenient and the price is pretty good too. You won't have a problem fitting all your luggage and you'll also have a pretty decent seat to sit in for an hour or more. From the area we live in the cost was 12,000W ($12) each.

There are numerous departure points the in the Seoul area as well as outside Gyeonggi Province. Each area has a particular departure point and the buses leave every 20 minutes. If you're getting on at the airport, outside the terminal is a desk you can purchase your tickets at. If you're getting on anywhere else heading for the airport, they will usually make a round on the bus collecting the fee.

You can find a list if departure points, travel time and other detailed information at this website here.

Here is a map of the exits at Incheon International

Geomundo / Baekdo Trip

We originally had this trip booked for May 9th-May 12th, but due to weather in the south part of the country, the trip was cancelled.  It was rescheduled for June 5th-8th and as it turned out, the weather was absolutely perfect.

We booked through Adventure Korea www.adventurekorea.com - they have great tours for anyone that has a bit of time in Korea.  This includes trips to Temple Stays, trips to Jeju Island, Rafting trips (we are going June 29th!), trips to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone between North/South Korea and even trips to North Korea.  If you're visiting Korea, we highly recommend you check them out.  Their prices are pretty good too.

A group shot.

Geomundo (pronounced gaw-moon-doh) and Baekdo islands are located to the far South of the Korean peninsula, between Mainland and Jeju island.

The islands are famous in Korea for their breathtaking scenery and friendly people. Not many foreigners ever get the chance to visit this part of the country.

Geomundo Island is a 2 hour ferry ride from Yeosu city on the south coast of the peninsula and is a place where all Koreans want to visit in their lifetime. It is an island swamped in beauty and history, and it has a rugged, rocky coastline. 

We got to go swimming at the nearby beach as well, as a four hour trek with stunning views. 

We  also took a 3 hour ferry ride around Baekdo island (meaning 100 islands). The small islands come in a variety of strange shapes, the trip was very facsinating and scenic. The surroundings were very unique.

Near the end of the trip we also got to tour parts of the south of the mainland including Naganeupsung (folk village where people still live).  All in all, it turned out to be a wonderful trip.

This picture was taken on the ferry from the mainland to Geomundo.  Thankfully the clouds soon dispersed and we had amazing weather!

This was taken at the Geomundo wharf looking across to the other side of the island.

This is the bridge that connects each part of Geomundo.  We had to cross the bridge to get to the beach.

Squid boats that are taken out very late at night, they need the lights to attract the squid.

An alley way inside the town of Geomundo. 

Here you can see the bridge again and other parts of the island.

Another shot from the mainland looking towards various islands.

Near the beach of Geomundo.

This marks the start of our ferry around around the Baekdo Islands.  There was a tour guide on the ferry speaking to all the guests aboard telling the story about the different islands and their names.  However, the tour was in Korean... so at this point we couldn't tell you anything more than what the pictures can say for themselves... except that the views were stunning and the colour of the water was absolutely amazing.. enjoy!

Drinkin' the Hiteaaaahhh, feelin' alrightaaahhh... every nightaaah.. (more on this in another post later..:)

This was the view from the beach.

Although the water was fairly cold on this day, it was still very clear and refreshing.

A great shot of all the clam diggers bent over mooning us :) (you can click on the pictures to enlarge them).

On the second day of our trip we went on a 4 hour trek.  It was suppose to be an easy walk, but at times it was very scary especially with the large bees swarming the path! 

We did however spend a lot of time enjoying the scenic views of the South Sea.

As you can see, a group of us climbed a mountain peak in order to partake in some very stunning views.  You can also see the lighthouse which we hiked to afterwards as well (click on the picture to enlarge). When we saw our fellow trekkers on the rock we knew we had to go there as well, so we ditched our bag, but not that camera and headed for the rock!

The water was so blue!

There is Krista enjoying the fresh air off the water, and a bit scared to fall off!

Can you see where we left our bag with the other trekkers, who wouldn't climb the rock?

It was well worth it and not that scary of a climb up, the way down was much harder!

The beautiful Geomundo Lighthouse, built in 1905. Many of Korea's first lighthouses were built

at the behest of Japan.

And I threw in a night shot just for fun... (I'm still trying to learn how to use my new Canon DSLR camera :).

We will have more pics of our trip with Adventure Korea, stay tuned...............