My second, but first full day in Jeonju was spent leisurely exploring the Hanok Village (day 1 here). As it was a Monday morning there weren’t very many people around and many of the shops were closed but this gave us the advantage of having the place to ourselves and there was still plenty to see…
If you’ve never tried Korean food than you’re missing out big time. While kimchi may not be everyone’s dish-of-fermented-cabbage there’s oh so much more to try and among my favourite dishes is Bibimbap – literally meaning “mixed rice”. It just so happens that bibimbap originates from Jeonju so while I was there I tried the original…
During my two-and-a-bit days in Jeonju, South Korea I spent most of my time in the traditional Hanok Village and managed to snap a sizable number of pics which I want to share over the next few days in a three-part series. I’ll keep my notes short but should be enough to give you a flavour of what you can find there.
Last week I took an impromptu but much-needed holiday to South Korea. While I hadn’t expected to return to Korea this year the time and price were right so I decided to go for it and took a midnight flight from Hong Kong to Seoul arriving 5am in driving rain. Not the best start perhaps but from there on in things went decidedly uphill…
While Facebook and Twitter might rule in the US and Europe it’s a whole different game in Asia. If you follow Thomas Crampton (Asia-Pacific director of 360 Digital Influence for Ogilvy) then you’ll know he’s often posting insightful presentations about Social Media in Asia. I’ve been bookmarking them for a while and thought I’d share a few of the better ones here with the key takeaways (and other miscellanea).
If you’ve lived abroad long enough you’ve undoubtedly encountered other foreigners who are also there either by choice (like myself) or because they’ve been sent there by their employer. In my experience a lot of them tend to fall into 1 of 2 categories – those who go out of their way to integrate with the local culture and those who band together and try to recreate a feeling of “home” while constantly moaning about how much it isn’t.
A friend of mine has recently opened a quaint cafe in Wonju, South Korea (1 hour from Seoul) called Apple Farm / 사과농장. It serves hot/cold drinks and light food daily in a cozy relaxed atmosphere where even well-behaved pets are allowed:
I’ve not done a film review in a long time and to be honest I’ve not managed to keep up with Asian Cinema as much as I used to but this said I saw a Korean film over the weekend which is worth mentioning: Thirst (박쥐 – literally translated as “bat”). From legendary director Park Chan-Wook (Old Boy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, I’m a Cyborg…) the film premiered earlier this year but has only recently come out on DVD so I finally had a chance to get hold of a subtitled copy. Anyone who’s watched his previous works will know that you’re in for a brutally visual tour de force and although it’s not nearly as extreme as Old Boy it does not disappoint. From the outset…
Walking along the streets of Seoul can sometimes feel a little overwhelming, such is the visual noise generated by a million neon signs all screaming for your attention. Combined with the massive hordes of crowds at certain hours and it can be quite a disorienting, if not an exciting experience all the same. There’s something about neon lights which never cease to allure my eyes and from my travels I’ve found three main places where they shine brightest in Seoul: Gangnam, Sincheon (above) and Myeongdong (below). Cheonggyecheon stream is also beautifully lit up at night but with a more relaxed romantic atmosphere. Myeongdong is mainly full of trendy clothes shops for young people while Sincheon is more focused on bars and restaurants (and dodgy looking motels). Gangnam…
Each time I go travelling my feet clock up a fair number of miles which for the most part I can’t complain about (even if they do). Seoul is way too big to traverse entirely by foot but luckily has an extensive MRT system which I consider to be one of the best in the world with passengers who are mostly polite and courteous (save for the one time a girl tried to kill me). If only the same could be said for the London underground… Parking space in Seoul is pretty restricted so clever contraptions like these are not uncommon. The cars which go inside them are tiny and identical – I think it might be part of a car sharing scheme(?). I’m not…