kimchi chine

Of the two main department stores here, I would say I prefer Homeplus for quality.  However, being as susceptible to advertising as I am, the E-mart jingle just keeps me coming back for more (at least two/three times a week). I'm sorry, but this song is just too damn catchy.  Give it a try!  Doesn't the melody just make you want to fill your shopping cart with more crap you don't need?  And the only words in the song are "Happy, happy, happy E-mart"!  How could you NOT like it?

And so do I.  At the end of the year, Anmyeondo holds a shrimp festival.  Basically you mill around a ton of shrimp stands and pick out what you want.  Some of the sellers have little restaurants in the back so they can cook your delicious shrimp for you while you get wasted on beer and soju in the middle of the day (no seriously, it was like 12 o'clock). Of course I had to take Clarence on this little adventure.  He's hardly forgiven me for not taking him to Mudfest, but I think the copious amounts of shrimp he consumed made up for it. More pics here .

And my school is no exception. Earlier we spread out our finest cabbage right in front of the playground and put those tiny little hands to work. Yep, our kids make our kimchi. It's both delightful and frightening at the same time. On another kimchi note, does anyone know about a pill people take here to kill bugs in their stomach? Apparently people eat so muck produce that they religiously take this pill once a year. Anyone? More pics after the jump - Posted using BlogPress via HEDWIG Location:  Kimchi Factory

He's most known (by me) from the romcom "1st Shop Coffee Prince."  It's great.  I'm posting the trailer below.  If you don't know it, watch it.  Then reread this post and get super excited. 1st Shop Coffee Prince Trailer Uploaded by CharlieluvM . - See the latest featured music videos.

Vlog 12.2: A Celebrity is in the House from Chine Anikwe on Vimeo . There is a celebrity in Daejeon. I repeat there is a celebrity in Daejeon. Gong Yu and Su Jeong Kim in "Finding Mr Destiny" (김종욱 찾기) . Well, they might have left by now actually, but they WERE here and I got video of it.  And I could have missed I if I had kept my previous appointment to watch Harry Potter on Wednesday or even the 3 PM showing today. But by fate I ended up seeing the 6 PM showing of one of the greatest Harry Potters to date (seriously, props to David Yates, the cast, and crew for this one. So cannot wait for the next one), and all of the sudden there's a mad rush of people (mainly girls) across the theater entrance. Apparently the main actors were giving a speech before or after their movie. I got video of them coming out of the theater.  Anyway, this video's really shaky. Waiting for Kristie's much steadier video later. More info after the jump!

We had our annual English festival at the end of October. The kids dressed up performed songs, dances, and and awesome take on The Three Little Pigs. I took lots of pictures so check that out. Also took some video. Here is the first one. Light Green class preformed Pololo's Barabam for the English Festival. If you're unfamiliar with the awesomeness that is Pololo, don't worry. I combined the two videos into one mighty videofest. Vlog 10: October English Festival from Chine Anikwe on Vimeo . More videos to come if I'm not feeling lazy.

A couple months back Daejeon hosted its first ever rock festival (details here if you're really interested).  Though the concert itself was prematurely shut down by police due to various noise complaints (apparently we expats know how to throw down), I was able to get a few pics and video in before that. My pictures mostly capture the off-site activities happening close to Expo Park, but I managed to get video of some band being awesome. Vlog 11: 1st Daejeon Rock Festival from Chine Anikwe on Vimeo .

A picture of the 5 year olds playing in the school yard. For a city that doesn't get much snow it's really coming down out there! Maybe it will be a white Christmas afterall. That or grey and dirty depending on how long the snow sticks around. [UPDATE] Not only did I take better pictures (available here ), but I actually joined in on the snow fight.  Thus I am appropriately renaming this post. Old, blurry picture of the 4 year olds after the jump! - Posted using BlogPress via HEDWIG

Though SOME people have voiced their opinions over the my blog's abundance of K-pop, I feel that these circumstances are special.  I love BIGBANG and I love Gmarket.  The combination of the two is simply thrilling. So take that and enjoy.

In honor of Veterans Day (and as an added bonus, the G20 Summit), my class celebrated Pepero Day again. For those of you who don't know, Peperos are sticks made of crackers with chocolate in and sometimes wrapping around them. They're supposed to look like 11s, which is why they're given on Nov. 11th (no correlation with Veterans Day whatsoever). I was very confused last year, but (despite the fact that this is Valentine's day in it's most commercially tainted form-- thank you Lotte) this year I came prepared to give my kids the cavities they well deserved.  Happy Pepero Day!! - Posted using BlogPress via HEDWIG Location: My classroom... Not teaching of course

Found this little stand roaming the streets of Wolpyeong yesterday. She was ringing a bell and singing between taking sips from her cup. I think she was selling tea from a cart. It's a nice way to get noticed. I don't know of anyone bought anything though... - Posted using BlogPress via HEDWIG

I take so much issue with this. Having had the swine flu virus the year previous, I FAIL to see what's so happy about viruses. Also, why does the picture look like a dog? Apparently these are all the rage among the teens here. Yet another thing on my to-destroy list. - Posted using BlogPress via HEDWIG Location: Caffe Bene of course

So I was in yet another iPod accessory store to get a nice case for Hedwig when I stumbled upon this little beauty. See! Even though we don't get Deathly Hallows until a month after the rest of the world, do not be fooled. Mature South Korean residents love Harry Potter too! And we've showed that love with a wonderful Lego statue displayed in the children's book section. Yay! - Posted using BlogPress via HEDWIG Location: Wolpyeong-dong,Daejeon,South Korea

Taken from the LA Times . Kimchi Crisis and Gov’t Policy From Dong-A Il Bo  It was a bumper year for both vegetables and fruit in 2008 because of good weather. Consumers were happy because they could buy produce at bargain prices, but farmers, who saw the price of Chinese cabbage and white radish plummet, gave up harvesting them and plowed up the land. The farming of Chinese cabbage was good last year as well, so South Jeolla Province, the country’s largest supplier of Chinese cabbage for kimchi production, cut output, and promoted kimchi consumption. Farmers were not happy, however, because they could not get their desired price in a bumper year. Things have drastically changed this year, however, The price of Chinese cabbage has tripled or quadrupled this year from last year, and restaurants rarely serve kimchi to their customers. This is because of the Chinese cabbage shortage, which las fueled fears of a kimchi crisis. The government began a crackdown under the suspicion...

Miss A: Breath I didn't initially like Miss A (I tend to look at everything from JYP with a skeptical eye after Wondergirls and 2PM.. they all just seem overrated), but Bad Girl Good Girl eventually grew on my enough to purchase the single.  This is the rookie group's second single, and it's instantly catchy. The MV is cute too. I like the variety of camera angles and speeds.  The song itself LOOSELY reminds me of the Vengaboys... f for nothing else because of its upbeat energy.  Anyway enjoy the MV below! It has subtitles so you can understand the the heck they're saying!  BGGG is included after the jump for funsies. Source:  AllKpop

Also known as the best pre-Birthday Present ever!  My favorite K-pop girl group 2ne1 is back with a full length album To Anyone and two brand new MV's. I just purchased the album off iTunes, and it's on repeat as I nurse my hangover from last night's B-day celebration activities. Anyway here are the first two videos. They're promoting 3 singles at once... kind of unheard of in the K-pop music industry (at most artists will promote two at a time), but if it means more 2ne1 performances then I'm all for it!  Did I mention they're releasing their third single tomorrow (my birthday) with a performance on Inkigayo? I'm soooo excited!

My friend's student just giving her a little token of her appreciation.  I thought it was cute and funny. Wish my kids could write this for me.  Or even express any type of thanks whatsoever. I'd even accept it in Korean. Oh the downfalls of teaching babies.

Joosuc (주석) ft. Fatman Scoop: Pop N Drop This is an actual song that's being performed and promoted as quality.  The song itself is so ridiculous, but the music video just takes this to a whole new "Are you shitting me" level. Enjoy!

This entire post is dedicated to one band and one song. I've literally been playing it non-stop since I left because I fucking LOVE this song. I was also not going to post new during my vacation (because it's about me living in Korea, which I currently am not), but I simply cannot deprive you from the amazingness that is SHINee's "Lucifer." Performances, lyrics, romanizations (so you can sing along... Trust me, you'll want to), and translations (so you can truly connect... Trust me, you'll want to) after the jump.

Actually, couple's tees have been in vogue here since before I arrived, but this is the first picture I was able to capture. My favorite is the couple OUTFIT (yet to be captured, but still on the look-out).  Because people can't infer your relationship from the hand-holding, couples rings, and matching t-shirt.  No no, you need those coordinating Nikes so I can fully understand this unnatural occurrence.

No? No one has feet fetishes here? Meh, too bad.  Here's the latest in excellent Korean advertising.  I'm not sure what the ad is actually selling, but the feet are really creeping me out... so naturally I had to share it.  Enjoy!

Well, it WAS weird, as it happened about a month ago.  In the States candidates have young interns passing out flyers, making house calls, and basically bugging the crap out of you.  In Korea, they use old ahjummas dancing on the side of the streets. Candidates themselves are in those make-shift stages at the corners of major intersections.  Anything to grab your attention, trust me, they do it. Check out more funny pics after the jump!

Well, they may not have won the World Cup, but South Korea's still going to party, dammit! And continue to make every English teacher here cringe in the process.  This is definitely not the worst I've seen though. I mean, at least it has a theme?? On a side note, has anyone else noticed that no one is playing soccer here anymore? Two weeks ago, I couldn't run outside for fear of seeing a flash of white/black graze my head. Now, crickets. I guess everyone's gone back to the ice rink...

I can't believe I was able to spot this as I was trying to finish a pizza alone and slipping in and out of consciousness , but here it is.  Like many of the pictures I post here, it speaks for itself.  I kind of want to steal it and put it on my horribly barren white walls.  I'm sick of looking at Rain's chiseled physic and feeling bad about myself.

Ok, I've done some research and these are the songs I've come up with to bring us into those hot, rainy summer days.  First up: CNBLUE: Love Despite the chorus's lackluster English lyrics (why, why, why... try, try try) I was actually able to keep listening and appreciate the light enjoyable melody.  It still pales in comparison to it's predecessor "I'm a Loner," but good effort nonetheless. Just for funsies... SS50l: I want to preface this by say I have NO FUCKING CLUE what they're wearing. Please do not think Korean boys are walking around like that.  Looking past that, the beat is good, per usual... I just wish they would get new dance moves... You know what, you might want to let this one load and just minimize the window. Last, but not least, MBLAQ: Y I'm not really a fan of this group, and I'm pretty sure I could go to jail if I watched this on American soil but looking past those small details, I think this song is go...

I think I can get behind dressing your dog (maybe, MAYBE), but pearls? Seriously, people? Why are pearls necessary for a dog? Perhaps she was going to a garden party or a U.Va football game (love you, Virginia, but I still don't get it), but walking around the underground shopping center is just not OK. I did appreciate the fact that she was carrying her owner's basket in her mouth.  That was kind of cute.  Too bad I couldn't get a better picture of the dog in all her pearliness, but they were walking kind of quickly and my camera skills aren't that fast.  And I didn't want to stop them so I could take a picture (I don't want to be THAT foreigner). UPDATE : I just took a closer look at the pictures and the dog is wearing sunglasses.  I'm officially done with you, Korea.

The Korean t-shirt strikes again! The grammar is killing me and I'm finding myself scratching my head to make sense of it all.  I just don't understand 1) who's making these t-shirts and 2) who's buying them?? That having been said, it did make me laugh for a solid two minutes, so of course, I had t share it with you all. Anyway, I like the usage of "sneakes."  I'm thinking about bringing that one back.  Doesn't come up in conversation NEARLY enough.

I found this picture of when I took him with me to Dominos.  He looks like he's enjoying himself... I think Clarence misses American food.  Anyhow, the workers at Dominos didn't look at me too strangely, since I'm practically there every week (I think they start preparing my pizza as soon as they see me walk up now). Anyway, I think the very fact that I have the theme "things I do with my garden gnome" automatically makes it not boring. Am I right? Let's test this theory: Clipping toenails Studying Drinking water Breathing Now, let's jazz it up a bit: Clipping toenails with my garden gnome Studying with my garden gnome Drinking water with my garden gnome Breathing with my garden gnome Actually, it's not so much interesting as it is sad and depressing... I might need more  definitely need more friends over here.

Oh, come on. Do NOT tell me if this thing walked up to you and deposited a flyer in your hand you would not go buy a car immediately! No? What, are the devil horns and shiny suit not doing it for you? Yeah, apparently it's not doing it for this girl either though she does seem quite desensitized by the whole thing.  Only a lame foreigner with a blog to maintain would take pictures of this... I'm going to stop typing now...

At least we were until the World Cup started.  Now we're all reds, but the point is we're all SOMETHING! Anyway, this is old (I only just now pulled it from my old memory card), but it's still good.  We went to the first Daejeon Citizen's soccer game back in March, and here are some pics. As you can see, Clarence Patricia Stevenson was really getting into the game. There are some more pictures of the arena, mascot, and general funness after the jump!

As usual, one of my kids came into class wearing a hilarious shirt that frankly didn't make much sense.  Most t-shirts over here that have English writing don't make sense.  Even so, you still should not go around reading people's shirts and pointing and laughing! I made that mistake several times when I first got here (and again last weekend when I was drunk).  APPARENTLY people think it's rude or something. I don't get it. Anyway, back to the kid's shirt.  Yes, that is a Simpsons' Duff beer can you are seeing which, after listening to the children talk about how much soju and maek ju their parent's drink, isn't too suprising to see on a children's shirt. What do you think about it? Should I look for one in my size?

I took Clarence to a wild, exotic Korean tropical forest a few months ago, and here are the pics... well, it's just one picture... and there's glass behind him... and chairs... Starbucks. I took him to Starbucks... I am so ashamed.

I went to a friend's dance competition last week and came out with some awesome footage. Vlog 8.1: Black-out, Dance-out from Chine on Vimeo . This duo flipped down the lights and danced with glow sticks. Overall an awesome performance, but the ultimate highlight comes at 2:25... Yes, that is a light saber match you're viewing. Vlog 8.2: Kick It! from Chine on Vimeo . Part two of the dance show extravaganza! This all-boy break dancing group started with simple moves set to a pumped up version of traditional Korean music which I thought was really cute.  Don't worry, they switched it up for some fast-paced break dancing in the end!

So watching South Korea play against Argentina in the World Cup Stadium was pretty spectacular.  As I expected, there was far more chanting than game watching, but it certainly added to the atmosphere (who wants to watch a game in silence anyway?). The game was made slightly more awkward for me, as I was silently rooting for Argentina so Nigeria could have a shot at the next round.  Anyway, even though it was an exciting game all around, Argentina kind of destroyed South Korea in the end.  Luckily I took most of my pictures and video when there was still hope. Enjoy the Shouting Reds! Vlog 9: Shouting Reds in Live Action from Chine Anikwe on Vimeo . More pictures after the jump!

I went to see the ringing of the bell in City Hall for NYE. There were traditional performances, lights, and dangerous fireworks... what more could you need? Again, very old, but so what? Everyone likes lights. Vlog 7: New Years Eve shenanigans from Chine Anikwe on Vimeo . Vlog 7.2: NYE shenanigans from Chine Anikwe on Vimeo .

This is from a long time ago, duh, but I had to post it anyway. This is how I spent my Christmas last year, with fellow foreigners, a lot of wine, and, thus, too much singing... far too much. Your ears have been warned. Vlog 6: Christmas Cheer... no, wine... no, cheer. from Chine Anikwe on Vimeo .

My boss tried to hang this up in the hallways... of our KINDERGARTEN! Now, I realize that cultural differences do exist, but I'm thinking that doesn't come to play here.  This seems inappropriate in Korean culture as well. At any rate, my Canadian co-worker informed him about what the plaque is actually inferring to... so he hung it up in his office instead. SMH.

We had a mini fashion shoot with my kids this week.  Don't they look like wonderful little fashionistas? These are my 6 year-old second years.  And before you ask, yes, those are UPC Springfest glasses they're wearing.  Nothing less for my kids! More cuteness available after the jump.

My friend showed me this little nugget on his phone last night. His students drew this for him in class and he's now made it his phone's background image. The picture truly speaks for itself. Anyway, I just had to share this, even though my kids didn't create it. Needless to say, it is now my phone's background image. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Went down to Busan for Buddha's Birthday weekend (May 21-23).  There were lanterns all over the city (same as in Daejeon).  Here I'm at a Buddhist temple with a friend.  Full album to be posted on FB.  I'm just trying to get my computer situation figured out first!

So South Korea ripped Greece a new one last night. Frankly, Greece was embarassing to watch, but it definitely added to the already hyped up atmosphere in the area. These are pictures during the game and after in a westerner bar in Eunengdong (Old Downtown). The guy on the left was rooting for Greece.. whooomp!  Can you see the cluster of red in the back? Yeah, they clapped for everything!  It was kind of cute. I'm still supporting Nigeria. Though we didn't win against Argentina, at least there's a chance against Greece?

This is the second person to come up to our table.  The first one was super drunk and kept asking me to dance (he was escorted away from our table).  This chick had just requested the most depressing song of the evening, and had to tell SOMEone.... she was also drunk and dancing manically.

Soooo, I totally didn't realize my blog hadn't been updated since April. Whoops! Bad Chine! Anyway, here's what's hot in K-pop right now (for me anyway).  I've been karaokeing these tunes up for the last month or so.  Enjoy! Wonder Girls: 2 Different Tears I've been listening to the Korean version because I'm a badass, but I've included the English version for all you non-badasses. Superjunior: 미인아 (Bonamana) The cute boys from Superjunior are back with this high-energy electro-pop hit.  Lyrical melody kind of reminds me of Sorry Sorry, but I'm not complaining.  The dancing is great, as always. The shadow business kind of creeps me out though.  I've included Sorry Sorry or reminiscence sake. Lee Hyori: Swing Finally, though it's not her title track, we have Hyori's Swing.  It's different from most of her songs (definitely different from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang).  I just can't bring myself to post that video here since it...

Which is   good considering this morning I felt like I owed the IRS hundreds of dollars in back taxes… which reminds me, when are taxes due again?   Anyway, sorry for the lack of updates.   There are reasons, but I’ll write about it later, since I’m so close to death.   The short version: Sever cold coupled with more hours working. Also, fuck swine flu.   Not just because it ruined my vacation last winter, but because it made the price of thermometers go up, so now I can’t check my temp to see if I’m a danger to myself and others... (FYI, right now, I am.   101.8 fever and it took TWO HOURS at the hospital. “Wow, your temperature is high… I think you have a fever.” No shit, I told you this AN HOUR AGO! Also this picture is literally the size of the syringe they used to give me my antibiotics… halfway full.   Scared the shit out of me. Also, about 100+ pregnant ladies were descending the escalators at the hospital from 3:30-4 PM… there may or may not...

Filed under, WTF Korea?! March 5, 2010 9:18 a.m. EST (CNN) - - A South Korean couple arrested for allowing their baby to starve to death had been raising an online child, state media reported citing police sources. The couple, residents of a Seoul suburb, allegedly neglected their prematurely born three-month-old daughter, feeding her just once a day in between 12-hour stretches at a neighborhood internet cafe, the official Yonhap news agency reported. Police said the couple had become obsessed with raising a virtual girl character called "Anima" in "Prius Online", a popular role-playing game in South Korea. "The couple seemed to have lost their will to live a normal life, because they didn't have jobs and gave birth to a premature baby," said Chung Jin-won, a police officer. "They indulged themselves in the online game of raising a virtual character so as to escape from reality, which led to the death of their real baby." Profes...

He looked normal, but actually he was screaming profanities at random citizens... including children.  Too bad he got off before I could get video