Good? You decide

As I mentioned on my last post there is variety of Korean Food. There is good food, "normal"one and  there is  also food that don't inspired too much confidence.(to me)

In America and Latin America we think that in Asia they eat a lot of disgusting things maybe because we don't know very well the culture and also there is a big ocean between America and Asia, so is not easy to get the proper information about culture, music, food, etc.

So, Have you ever tried DOG? or Have u ever tried to eat an Octopus? maybe your answer will be "YES", but  How about ALIVE?(not the dog just the OCTOPUS)

I know, sounds extravagant and strange also people say just try it an then is done; but the problem is when you are trying to put the food on your mouth  and you don't know how is gonna taste. On my personal experience I have never ate this kind of food also must of the people from Latin America have never tried either.

OCTOPUS 

 DOG SOUP

I have  participated in some surveys about food and I could find out that  Koreans don't like too much the RAW food because of the smell. That is strange, isn't it?

PD: Forgot to tell you that the dog soup an the Octopus are really highly priced  and many Korean people have never tried either.

Korean Food

I just finished to eat my lunch and I thought why not give people a comparison between Korean food and Latin America's food and some food that I know.

First, I should say that I love Korean Food " NOW". Yes,NOW!
I want to make you think about how it was at the beginning, what do you think ? did I enjoy the Korean food from the beginning ?.

Well let me tell you guys that during the first two months I had some problems with the Korean Food. Why?

The Korean Food is spicy.

The Koreans do not use salt.

The rice is different (like smashed rice)

The ingredients

The way they cook and prepare is simply different from the Latin America's way.

No difference between Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

So that is why I spend like two months just eating Ramen, fast food like pizza, pasta and hamburger; sure I gain a lot of weight. So after that two months I talked with my self and I decided to star eating the Korean food bit by bit.

After 1 month suddenly I started to loved more and more the Korean food but there was a problem I didn't like KIMCHI at all (Kimchi is a pickle Korean Cabbage)some people might think that is just cabbage but let me tell that  the taste is really different and  also is spicy but one day was you me and the kimchi in front of me and yes I started to it too. Until now I still eating every meal some kimchi with the rice.

A Korean Meal.

They will serve you One small sup, a lot of side dishes, the main plate and for finish  with WATER served BY YOUR SELF.

So here are some of the most loved foods in Korea.

 Gimbab.

Gimbab is considered one of the most popular and nutritious Korean meal. You can find it almost everywhere even at the convenience stores.

it consist of rice and strips of vegetables, egg and meat, rolled in laved(dried seaweed) and sliced.You can see this as snack for lunch or if you are in a hurry as your meal

Kimchi Chigae. 

As you can see for make it you need to use the lovely KIMCHI. This is a very popular soup. It is often prepared using older, more fermented and ripe kimchi.

 For sure this make you sweat because is really spicy and if you eat really hot you can get a better taste.

 Different variations can exist but sliced kimchi is usually put into a pot with tofu, onions, garlic and beef, pork or seafood, which are all boiled together with water or anchovy stock.

Samgyupsal.

For Koreans Soju(Korean alcoholic beverage) + Samgyupsal means a lot that; is one of the best combinations for Koreans. The other combination could be Chicken(fried) and Beer. 

However, Sometimes it is cooked on a grill with kimchi (again)mushrooms, garlic, onions and consumed altogether. This dish is usually served with a side of lettuce, spinach, or other leafy vegetable(s), which is used to wrap a slice of cooked samgyupsal.

Sure now maybe you are wondering all of that look really delicious. Yes, they are but also there is some food that are not.

In coming post I will let you know about the food that are not popular and about the drinking culture.

Exams Period In Korea

Do you know which period is now in Korea?
Sure Winter but this coming week  is the last for most of the Universities so that means FINAL EXAMS.

In this unwelcome season in every University's library  there is  a TONS of people and I am pretty sure that in the coffee shops not seats until the time to close time arrived.

If you live in the University's Dormitory you could receive  some gift as motivation to cheer up on the exams.  I received three Cups of  RAMEN to eat during the tough nights  in another Universities people receive things as carton of milk with bread or some french toast.

Anyway besides food, this season, all the students have a lot of  stress because for some students this finals imply to get an big" F" , for other students means graduation,  other ones start the University in a good way but if you got a good grades on the midterms you can relax a little more than others and don't get much stress as the students who received a bad grade.

But there is one EXAM that is the mother of the EXAMS. That is the " EXAM-Hell".
All young Koreans now the meaning of this exam.

" Exam-Hell" is a really tough exam that for most of the Koreans decide the future, economic status, friends, etc. a lot of thing just in one exam, isn't it?. That means a lot of stress for the future of the students and they are that time with not more that 19 years old.

I will leave a link with more details about the exam but for encourage you to read it; I should tell you that in Korea for one HOUR they stop the AIR TRAFFIC ... YES AIR TRAFFIC  because in the " EXAM-hell" they have an listening part and there are schools near the airport and the noise of  departing and landing of the planes could interfere or affect the listening

Here  is a complete document with more DETAILS ...CHECK IT OUT

LINK-------->Exam-Hell

Winter Attractions

Is Already winter in Korea and all the people is getting ready for the Christmas Time; but also there is a very important part that I didn't mention before and that is the SNOW.

When the snow arrives to Korea; Seoul is ready for Christmas so is just one thing missing: the ICE RINK. A lot of people have interest on winter sports,maybe because there are a lot of Mountains, really good ski resorts, there is also an ICE RINK open all the year in Jamsil and the most important is  that Koreans have a very representative Ice skater an she is Kim Yu-Na (김연아). 

She won the gold medal in the 2010 Olympic games, actually she is the first female skater to win the Olympic Games. After this the  ice skating became more popular in Korea. As I remember 2 Years ago when I came to Korea, there were sales everywhere because she won the MEDAL.

That is a good way for stimulate  people to skate and also promote the winter sports. So that is why this post is DEDICATED to the winter sports. Also on my next post I will tell about my experience doing Snowboarding and some resort and ski rinks to enjoy this winter.

Christmas is in the Air

As we know is already December. For most of the people is one of the most expected months in the year. Also for the shopping malls because is when all the people tend to buy new things o give some presents.

Korea is no exception; is December 3rd and the streets already had Christmas lights.

Yesterday I went to Myongdong. Myongdong is one of the most important places for Shopping in Korea, so of course yesterday was already dressed up with Christmas lights, events and sales that were trying to catch the consumers.