Kimchi for a cause.

Today, my schoolmate Karla and I attended this Kimjang Festival which I was invited to join in. "Kimjang" is actually an event where people make Kimchi in preparation for the winter season. According to my roommate, kimchi's prices increase throughout the season so families make their own so they would have something to eat during winter. If you don't know, kimchi is a staple food in the Korean cuisine and sometimes its also included in most Korean recipes. (i.e Kimchi Jjigae, Kimchi Pajeon,

Anyways, this Kimjang Festival is an annual charity event wherein the kimchis made will be donated for the less fortunate families. It was held in Yeouido and KBS company was there to cover the event.

What we actually did was just rub in the kimchi paste mix in the cabbages, the paste is already pre-made so its not that hard anymore. Its just a bit messy. Hehe.

We didn't have time to take photos since we were busy plus our hands are so dirty. Also, we had to rush back to school since we still have our duty in the lounge. For me, this was a good experience because I got to make Kimchi for the first time, and join a charity event as well. Thanks to KINSA (Korea International Students Assoc) for inviting me to this event. ;)

If you wanna know how to make Kimchi, here's a recipe from Maangchi.com

Share on Tumblr Tweet

From the mountains all the way down to the city.

As another itinerary for our field trip in our Korean Culture class, our professor brought us to a Buddhist temple. If you don't know, Buddhist temples in Korea are found mostly on the mountainous areas for historical reasons. Its kind of a long story so, better skip that part. Hee. Anyway, its really difficult to find a temple in the city but our professor managed to find one. Its what they call the Hwagyesa Temple, in Suyu. Its still in Seoul but its kind of near the mountains already. Its my first time to visit a Buddhist temple so for me it was a good experience. I remember when we visited the many Buddhas in Sendai last year. ;)

We walked around after in some kind of trail and you can really see the trees changing colors. This time I really appreciated autumn most, and I think I like it now. :)

See all the leaves are already falling ;)

Ola, Batch 4! ;)

Some trees have red leaves, others brown or green! Amazing ;)

And since Seoul Lantern Festival has already started, we opted to pass by and visit. There were soooooo many people! And the line is sooooo long! We fall in line and waited for almost an hour just to get down the Cheonggyecheon Stream were the lanterns are displayed. I have to complement the organizers though because despite the large number of people, the lines were so organized. The tourists were disciplined as well. So kudos! ;)

Share on Tumblr Tweet

Top 10 things to do in Seoul + more

I'm a big fan of lists. I have developed this habit when I was in college to help keep me track of what I mostly do, inspire me to achieve my goals and prevent procrastination. Hihi :) ;"> Anyways, recently, our professors in class have been asking us to check places around Seoul that we could go to for our class field trip. So I've searched online and I've stumbled into iTour Seoul's site which is an official guide provided by the Seoul Metropolitan Government for tourists who wanna get around Seoul. Luckily, it has an application for smartphones so I downloaded it. I can say its a very helpful site for foreigners so yeah, I'm really loving it right now. :) You can download the application in the App Store for iPhone users, and in the Android Market for Samsung smartphone users.

Anyways, one of the features of the application is a list of the Top 10 things to do in Seoul. I realized that I've already been here for 2 months now and I haven't really been to some of these places. That's why I thought of accomplishing this list plus adding some of the things I personally wanna do while I'm in here. :)

{Top 10 things to do}

-From iTour Seoul

1. Make Kimchi.

2. Stay at a Temple

3. Dance at a Hongdae Club

4. Watch a Non-verbal performance

5. Relax at a Jimjilbang

6. Stay at a Hanok

7. Wear a Hanbok

8. Experience a Taekwondo exhibition

9. Make traditional Korean handicrafts

10. Watch a Korean baseball game

So far, I've only done one here(I've watched a soccer game, not a baseball game). Haha! But I've already made plans to accomplish the rest and I hope I would be able to complete this list before I go home for Christmas vacation. ^^

my own personal list can be found here . ;)

Share on Tumblr Tweet

NOJ - 10 day photo project: Day 10

Have a break, have a Kit-kat!

Why I love it: Not only because its Kit-kat, but it has different - totally - flavors! I only bought matcha, wasabi and cola but they still have more flavors (weirder ones too). Hahaha :) So, how would you like your Kit-kat to taste? ;">

Share on Tumblr Tweet

NOJ - 10 day photo project: Day 9

You're my tomodachi :)

Why I love it: This photo says a lot, because those girls in that little piece of film are the friends that I've been with for the whole trip. We have been through things, happy and not and we managed to stick together despite those stuffs. What can we say, birds of the same feather, will always flock together. ;)

Share on Tumblr Tweet

NOJ - 10 day photo project: Day 8

Smile for the camera :)

Why I love it: Her smile is so lovely and inviting, every time I look at it, I can't help but smile too. :)

Share on Tumblr Tweet

NOJ - 10 day photo project: Day 7

Autumn Tints

Why I love it: This was my first Autumn experience and I really loved how the color of the leaves change, it was so magical. :"> This was taken at Shirayuri while we were waiting for our homestay families to pick us up.

Share on Tumblr Tweet