Come What May II

Dear __,

I always hope to write something positive about my life in Korea (Of course in this blog, there's always a balanced view of my life here in Korea). Sometimes, I do get confused on whether I should consider myself lucky or otherwise as a scholar in Korea.

Me, aiming at hot chicks at 12 O'clock.. Just kidding!

These days, life is pretty tough to me academically speaking because I never obtain any top placing in my class before. It's quite funny to say that since primary school, I never considered myself a weak student but since coming to Korea, this perception changes drastically.

But as a government scholar, I felt ashamed...

I am sure too that most other foreign students in Korea will have a hard time getting great results unless the course you are now taking is in English or it's just that your major subjects are easy. That's the issue I am a bit worry about la..

Academic achievements are ironically not important but in the long run, paper qualifications will be the yardstick on how others will judge you. I am neither rich nor have a huge inheritance to start a business so I have to start from small - through working for others first.

Life is really like a journey..

Hence that's the problem. People will never believe you even though you had tried your very best and sometimes, it did not turn out the way you want it to be. Everything is always about the final result.

Be my canvas?

Recently, I had written a few posts but is now hesitating whether to post them up or not, maybe because some posts are downright honest, may sound one-sided and might offend others but well, I will try to tone them down if I have the time one day. And then, I will post them up one by one.

**

These days, the weather's improving by leaps and bounds. Those nostalgic breeze blew gently past me, I felt it. I can see trees swaying back and forth out my window like how a pendulum swings - in a slow but passionate movement.

The rustling sound of the leaves accompanying the sound of passerby walking past. Hmmn, another day, I said to myself.

A flicker of thoughts yet reminded me how time passes slowly and untouched, innocent. ___, I wish you were here.

Across the street at the main gate, do you remember the coffee shop we first met? I can remember your black eyes shinning brightly at me for the first time. From an unexpected and short gaze at me. Well, by then, I was already mesmerized. :)

Sadly I was too busy, not interested in anything but going back to my home sipping tea with other friends. Maybe I was more interested in football than talking about studies and people..

...

...

Do I get you all interested in whats next? Hehe. It's just a joke okay, I was a bit bored on what to write next so I wrote this up :) Anyway, have a nice day.

Best Regards,

Kyle

Of Children and Children's Day in Korea

I remember when I was young, Children's Day was the only day I was always looking forward to attend school. As time passes, it had lost its significance.

However, when I looked back, I am proud to say I am a lucky guy to have the opportunity to experience and grow up like any other children should during my childhood phase. Though my mum can be categorized in the Asian Tiger Moms league of mothers, luckily I had a normal childhood life and did survive.. lol

I do not think many people have that opportunity. Millions of young kids die each day of infectious diseases, thousands more to unwarranted child abuses and most of them are denied the basic need of love, shelter and support.

More need to be done to ensure that each and every innocent child receive enough help so that they are able to fend for themselves and hopefully, end this vicious cycle of neglect. The children of today must be able to have normal childhood lives so that they too will one day nurture their offspring with understanding on what the life of a child must be like.

Sure, we cannot end child abuses, we cannot end young, weak child from been recruited to be young fighters for somebody's selfish agendas. But just by helping a few if we can and allow them to at least know what a child's life should be, indirectly, we can at least bring a glimmer of joy and hope through their innocent eyes.

For those that can't afford, try spending time at the orphanage or places with neglected kids so we can at least bring smiles to their faces and if you can afford more, help them in education so that they will first escape from poverty and attend school just like any normal kids would. They will be the next generation of people who will be the inventors, the leaders and most importantly, they will be parents too one day.

Today is a public holiday in Korea - it's Children's Day (어린이날)! Children's Day is a day children, not the President were honored and given a day off. In reality, this is more like a day off for the parents to spend time with their kids.

They are the future leaders and even Google did commemorate the day with a nice background on it's webpage.

That day reminded me of my childhood days too. Instead of it been a public holiday, I had to attend school. During my time in primary school, Children's Day was the only day that we can bring things thought to be illegal when brought to school. And we did have parties, parties for the teachers and us all.

In Korea, it's different. They have holiday. This is the day parents will usually buy gifts for their children. Shopping malls were crowded to the brim with youngsters too old to be called "kids" anymore and they will watch movies. The downtown was so jam packed this afternoon too. The discount stores also had promotions a day before selling from toys to kid's favorite food - sweets, candies and chips to ensure the children did experience the so called "childhood lives".

"We do not inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." from an American Proverb.

Happy Children's Day!

ADV - There is Something Special about Globally Successful Food

As the world becoming more and more globalized, there's so much possibilities tasting another country's national food. I like Plov (Uzbekistan national food, I think ^^), Peking Duck (China's but not too much as the skin is very oily), Pizza (So called Italian food lah), Hot and spicy Indian and Malay food and of course, 전 or Jeon, also known as Korean pancake.

When I was in my Korean language class, we used to have outings/field trips every semester. This one was in a Cooking School. We made Kimbap (김밥) and Bulgogi (불고기)

Everything we buy these days, some might be imported from other countries like Perrier water from France (It tasted almost like any other carbonated water, just the price that makes it "superior" so don't be fooled) to onions imported from India (and sold in Malaysia) So as time passes, the imported ingredients were used to make local food taste better.

Nice to see, nice to drink, price to pay - it burns your pocket, literally.

Korean version of spaghetti from Pasta Beuno, near my campus. See the amount of sauce in it. Is it spaghetti?

Many foreign food too are gradually adapted to fit the local's taste and preferences. This is why Thai's Tomyum Soup is ultra spicy when you try it in Thailand. If you do not wish to pass out chili bomb in the toilet or stomach cramps later on, then try the milder Thai food in other country or simply ask the chef to tone down the fiery chili sauce.

So in this article by WSK, it's all about food. Do read it out!

**

Do you think it is possible to attract everyone in the world with the same food? It is not simply a question about Korean food. Even if it does has an excellent taste, it is almost impossible to satisfy 7 billion people around the world. Nevertheless, there are many foreign dishes that had became favorite food among many countries.

For example, pizza of Italy, Sushi of Japan, Curry of India and Pho of Vietnam are loved by many people around the world. Even though some people do not know where those countries are located, they know exactly where the top gourmet restaurants serving such dishes are. Well then, let’s take a look inside the secrets of a globally successful food!

Reborn as Korean foods

That meal couldn't be found in China, Jajangmyeon

In Thailand, Jajangmyeon was selected as the most ‘want-to-try’ food of Korea among young people. It is not a surprising result because many Thais were already so into Korean dramas and musics that are sweeping over the country. However, Koreans themselves don’t regard Jajangmyeon as a Korean food.

The name of Jajangmyeon was derived from the word ‘Zhajiangmian(炸酱面)’ in Chinese. In the past, many ordinary Chinese used to add ‘Chunjiang(椿酱)’ or Chinese fermented soybean paste into the noodle. Like many Chinese who settled in other countries, Chinese in Korea also have this noodle but in a little different way by adding caramel, vegetables and meats.

As time passes by, the way of cooking Zhajiangmian and its ingredients have been changed to fit the Koreans' taste buds and it is now called "Jajangmyeon".

There are a number of foreign dishes loved by Koreans even if they haven’t been altered as much as Jajangmyeon to suit local tastes. For example, there is a huge difference between the Korea-made pizza and Italy-made pizza which is baked over stove. Unlike the original pizza with one or two fresh ingredients on its thin and crispy bread, Korea-made pizza has lots of toppings and the sauce is generously poured on its soft and thick bread. Yes, it was changed to fit the Koreans’ tastes who love soft and chewy food.

As the Italian pizza became Americanized in the US, many things including the ingredients (dough) and even the method of cooking were also changed. After then, the Americanized pizza arrived in Korea and it once again undergone a change. Even though many Koreans love pizza by itself, there are lots of pizza companies now trying to develop their own pizzas to fit the Koreans taste buds who are accustomed to spicy food.

Italian pasta with little sauce

Koreanized pasta lots of sauce

Pasta is another similar example. It came to Korea not from Italy but from Italian restaurant in the US and Japan. Pasta undergone a change again in Korea, now they have new styles and tastes.

Well, there is a significant difference between the pasta which is commonly sold in Korea and the original pasta. This is done by comparing the amount of sauce. The Italian pasta which is one of favorite dishes among common people originally has little sauce. However in Korea, people used to have ‘one dish for every meal’ so the amount of sauce had increased like a noodle soup and this satisfied Koreans' preferences.

Another interesting fact here is that Kimchi and sometimes Gochujang(red pepper paste) added pasta are being exported overseas. People had said that it can be called the "re-exportation" of pasta. ‘Ramyeon’ is another example of an exported foreign food from Korea. It was first made in Japan and ramyeon which had arrived in Korea in late 1950s has become one of the biggest food exported overseas in Korea.

Since 2000, ramyeon industry in Korea has begun to rise rapidly and exported ramyeon to Japan which is the home of ramyeon. Moreover, Korean ramyeon product was ranked as the "Globally Recognized Brand" by TokyoTV.

Successful Cases. We are More Delicious and Exclusive!

Edited until here but if you are curious for more, read over here at this link

ADV - World's Natural Treasure, the Mother Nature of Jeju Island ‘Oreum’

Jeju Island is gifted with natural sceneries and more than 1,700 species of plants. It is a marvelous place where you can experience unique geographical features nowhere else can offer. In the center of the island, there is a mountain called Halla Mountain that proudly stands out along with the neighboring oreums – low mountains around Jeju. They reveal the beauty of the natural geography of a volcanic island.

Oreum is a Jeju dialect for a low mountain. There are a number of oreums as there is a saying that people of Jeju are born from oreum and returns to there after death. Nearly 380 oreums are distributed in the island, which far exceeds 250 i.e. the number of those in Mt Etna of Italy.

Oreum consists of grassland, natural and artificial forest, and a wetland are distributed intensively at the bottom area of Mt Halla, the hilly and mountainous areas. As the altitude of the areas differs, the ecological variety is well preserved with high potential value.

To be recognized as oreum, the mountain should be qualified to have all the required components i.e. a crater, shape, and contents; a crater formed by volcanic eruption; shapes of volcanic ashes and scoriae, and sedimentary layer; and pyroclastic materials. Also it is called as ‘ak’ or ‘bong’; Seongsan Ilchulbong, Dusanbong, Songaksan are some examples.

Oreums with different shapes and heights are placed along the ridges of Mt Halla and the coastline of the island invites you to the breathtaking beauty of the Mother Nature.

The ace view, Nokkome oreum

Nokkomeoreum, where 112 families and 469 species of plants reside (Image from the Official Blog of Jeju, New 7 Wonders)

Nokkomeoreum 833.8m above the sea level, covering an area of 923,692㎡ with the height of 234m, girth of 4,390m, and a smaller Nokkomeoreum is also known as ‘Brother Oreum’ as a pair sitting next by each other. The two mountains stand in "high spirits" and its cratered area is enough to thrill your eyes. Some people are surprised as they think ‘Nokkome’ is in Japanese but in fact it derives from a Korean expression ‘Nopgome’ meaning ‘it is high.’

In the Nokkomeoreum area there are animal species that are protected species (class 2) by the Ministry of Environment including roe, weasel of Jeju, badger and so on. Endangered animals including birds such as goshawk, brown-eared bulbul, kestrel, bush warbler and Red-tongue pit-viper, takydromus wolteri and others are residing there as well. Also there are 112 families and 469 species of plants e.g. nutmeg tree, hornbeam, and Galeola septentrionalis Reichb. For sure Nokkomeoreum area is a repository of various species of rare animals and plants.

If you follow the ridges along the hills, a scenic panorama with different faces of Mt Halla and oreums can be revealed. At the northern mountain top the view of Jeju city and the sea can be seen at a look. An average of 4~500 people on weekdays and 2~3,000 people on weekends visit the area to see this extraordinary scene. Why not check out Nokkomeoreum yourself and experience the grandeur gift of the nature?

The Queen of Oreum, Darangswioreum

Darangswi oreum where ‘Wollangbong Sunrise Festival’ will be held next year. (Image by Kyunghyang Shinmun)

Darangswi oreum representing Gujwa town is 382.4m above the sea level, covering an area of over 800,463㎡ with the height of 227m, and girth of 3,391m. It was named as so because of the crater of the mountain looks round like a moon (Darang sounds similar to ‘dal’ that is moon in Korean). Darangswi oreum is the pride of the villagers as it represents a unique and beautiful scene for viewing the moon when the full moon rises behind the round crater of the oreum.

While most oreums have asymmetric slops, Darangswi oreum is a vertically balanced oval shape; this outstanding beauty of proportion surely gives a good reason for its title i.e. the ‘Queen of oreum.’

On top of the mountain, there is a funnel shape of huge circular crater. The circumference of the outside of crater is reaching 1,500m and its depth is 115m just as deep as baekrokdam of Mt. Halla. The area is dense with weeds and cedars on its foot. The area is a huge grassland and if the weather is good, you can see the Seongsan Sunrise Hill, Udo and a wind power plant complex.

There is a saying that you didn’t see the real Jeju until climbing up Oreum, after the wood stairs to Darangswi oreum were built in 2005, the number of visitors had increased. Why don’t you experience the ‘real’ Jeju at Darangswi oreum which is also famous for paragliding and the annual Wallang hill Sunrise festivals?

Geomun Oreum listed on UNESCO’s World Cultural and Natural Heritage

Continue reading at this link

WSK - My Last Assignment

I guess after half a year writing for the Korean Government, the chapter has finally come to an end. From an ordinary blog, it had transformed into some sort of travel blog peppered with anecdotes and infos.

Marinated with only-in-Korea posts and tales in Korea. They were mixed around to make a pot of sizzling hot kimchi blog!

I believe to write about Korea Brand, is not just only about writing about Korea but to experience them. It's really easy to write if we can copy straight from the newspaper and articles from the net or wikipedia.

This blog is wholly written by me without wiki or articles fully obtained from the net. Therefore, for me it was really time consuming to write often. You will never know this if you never write a blog. Though I do not promote my blog (I prefer random readers), sometimes, I find it cool to know that this blog can be read through random searches on the internet.

When you type "How to create Cyworld", "Dongdaegu Market", "Banana Milk in Korea" to even "Kaist suicide" on google search. I bet my blog will appear there**. It was unbelievable because there were so many blogs available in the web. WSK (World Students Korea) is a fantastic program to share our experiences to the people and friends.

Selected posts of my blog (Some have videos):

My Travel

"My Journey around Seoul" Posts (Do refer this link and follow the continuation)

Seoul - The Palace and the street (Link)

I was in Jeonju (Link)

Travelling around Korea (Link)

My Sonata, My Winter Sonnet - Seoul (i) (Link)

Lifestyle

Skiing in Korea - Elysian (Link)

Post of the month - Korean Style, fab trends (Link)

Coffee prince and princess? (Link)

Cyworld - The Koreans' Social Networking Site and to create one.. (Link)

Wanna visit me in Korea FOC? (Link)

Korean Cuisine & Culture

The Colours, The innocence - Korean Hanbok (Link)

Jeonju - The sound of music (Link)

Whats for snack - Tteokbokki (Link)

Dongdaegu Market - Korean rice cake (Link)

Jeon (전) - Delicious, in every bite (Link)

My Little Moments in Korea

LCIS 2010 - Muju Resort (Link)

Global Entrepreneurship Training 2011 Korea (Link)

WSK - My Escape to Jeonju (Link)

KNU Korea - Graduation Day (Link)

Saemaul Undong (Link)

Blog articles that took lots of time to write require readers because they were practically not easy to write without anyone giving inputs or suggestions. What is the point writing long post without any readers?

Anyway, the post for the following month may be about how to shop in Korean online stores like the G-market. Till then, stay tune and happy reading.

** Refer from Sitemeter and Blog stats.

A Guide to Studying in Korea

안녕하세요

After writing about places to visit here in Korea for tourists, I guess I would be writing about my life in Korea as a student and in it, a guide for students planning to come over to Korea and study here.

Korea combine with its modern cities and vibrant cultures - it naturally makes Korea a great place to live, study and work. Currently, I am a doing my undergraduate course in Korea as a Korean Government scholar. Malaysian government too has its own batch of students in Korea.

The students are what we called, JPA (Public Service Department) scholars or Malaysian Government scholars.

Scholars from Korean Government, Malaysian Government and Petronas at the embassy

When I arrived to Korea, I was totally not well-versed in Korean language and it was very difficult to communicate with the Koreans. (Note: Koreans can speak in English but they are sometimes "shy" to talk in it. If you try to speak with the older people especially the ajumas, it will be verydifficult)

So be prepared to face communication problem when you arrive to Korea unless you have basic Korean proficiency.

Living cost:

"The only thing that is free... is the air..."

I think this is the most important thing that comes to your mind. Honestly, I can't really give a rough estimate on it because in every city, the cost of living varies. I think a meal will set you back at approximately 3000 ~ 4000 Won but you can find cheaper meals in the student cafeteria.

In my city, Daegu (I am studying in Kyungpook National University), when I first arrived, I found out that a meal in Daegu, Korea is approximately 3 to 4 times the cost of a meal in Malaysia.

Delicious duck and pork barbeque in Jeonju 전주

Street food at Myeongdong

If you are on budget, try not to waste too much money if you are living in Seoul because you have to pay for your accommodation in dormitory (about 150000 Won ++), food, travelling expenses, etc. For Malaysians, treat 1000 Won as if it is RM 1.

Lifestyle:

"Life is not about only studying, it's about living and seeing!"

I think you are well aware of it since there are so many Korean dramas in Malaysia. Koreans especially in Seoul are generally more trendy compare to the people in other parts of Korea. Every city in Korea has high-end merchandise shops (ZARA, Guess, Uniqlo, etc) and most Koreans usually shop over there.

If you are a good "spender", for instance, always remember that in ZARA (from my experience), the clothings will always be changed every 2 weeks so you might get a "better" price for some of the clothing if you came at the right time. But, it's still not cheap.

Shop till you drop in Seoul

In Uniqlo (a Japanese brand), a cheap jeans will be about RM 100, ZARA about RM 200 but you can find cheaper ones in Homeplus (Like Tesco in Malaysia), E-Mart and other big hypermarkets.

Usually it will be about RM 60 for a pair of jeans there. Shirts there are affordable, maybe about RM 40. Just don't bring too much warm clothing from Malaysia because it can be easily purchased in Korea.

If possible, do not bring too many winter clothings! Buy them in Korea! The price is almost the same and there's more variety in winter clothings here than in Malaysia. Just bring clothing that is for the spring since you all will be arriving at that time.

In spring, you will be needing a thick sweater or jacket but you will have a bit of problem adjusting to the cold and dry Korean weather so it's quite hard adjusting for the first few days.

Karaoke time in Daegu

In Daegu, there are lots of places to play snooker, norabang (karaoke) and restaurant. I think it is the same as in Seoul or any other places in Korea. The price for the norabang is cheap by Korean standard, about 20000 Won for 2 hours if I am not mistaken so if you love to sing you can sing your hearts out over there.

There is not much variety of English songs but is still enough to make you "sing till you drop". A number of Chinese, Vietnamese and Indonesian songs are also available.

Study:

"Give a fish to a man, you feed him for a day. Teach the man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime"

Korean language is difficult when you start but gradually you will become better especially once you are in Level 2. With level 2 proficiency, you would be able to converse with the people though it would still be hard to express what you want to say.

So there comes level 3 and 4. To those that will be taking science related course here, frankly speaking, I would say a year of learning Korean is insufficient no matter whether you are in Level 5 or 6.

In my course, I have to rely on my cellphone which is my "walking translator" and sometimes my electronic dictionary. Not all biological or chemical terms can be found in that dictionary, you will realise that buying a cellphone and an electronic dictionary that function as a dictionary is almost the same.

But the only difference is that you are not allowed to bring your cellphone into the exam hall. :(

When you begin your year 2 after you had completed your Korean studies, try to ask your major's professor whether you can write your answer in english during the exam or not (Suprisingly, all my subjects can be written in english) but usually the lessons are all conducted in Korean so life can be a lil' hard.

Super fast internet service in Korea

Anyway, don't worry about that, as long as you study hard, I believe all will be fine. Learning Korean will be your best time in your life, plenty of time to watch Korean dramas (Korean broadband is super fast, everything can be watched or downloaded online), lots of field trips and plenty of foreign friends to be met. Take one step at the time peeps.

Weather:

"Mirror mirror on the wall, what is the nicest season of all?"

Spring is cold with lots of cold gush of windy wind. Summer is hot, humid and is almost the same as in Malaysia with lots of rainfall (but it depends on the place that you will be living in). Autumn is the same as spring while winter is freezing cold and lots of snowfall (Note: Southern parts of Korea have relatively few snowfalls). Between the seasons, there will be lots of rain so just be prepared with an umbrella.

For your info, I like winter

About the clothing, just bring warm sweater (if you are there during spring, during the start of semester), thick jackets and unless you cannot tahan cold weather, just bring one winter clothing will do. While for the rest of the seasons, just look and buy when needed, stores around Korea sell clothings based on the seasons so don't worry about not finding any clothing.

Ending

I always believe that it's better to learn through experience than through books. At the end of my Korean language class, I travelled to China. I myself do not believe that I would be traveling to other foreign countries within a year of my stay in Korea.

Believing is through seeing, experiencing is through traveling. Happy learning Korean, trust me, this is the best time of your 5 years in Korea.

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference."

~Robert Frost~

I earnestly hope you will learn and spend your time wisely. Remember that this will only be the beginning of a long journey studying in Korea. Hope to see you all soon.

Best Regards,

Kyle

*This post was written by me sometime back in another blog co-written by KGSP scholars of Malaysia. I edited some parts of it to bring relevance to this blog*

Pictures around Daegu

In Korea, my hobby is always photography. Photography does not requires any qualifications and no training whatsoever to be good so I have to learn from scratch. When I was young, I got myself involved in playing chess because I prefer sitting down than actual sports - ermm...

Just kidding

Nope, it was because I like playing any games that requires thinking and strategy so I think chess club might suit me well. Besides, I would like to continue to be in the club I had participated since I was around 10 years old. But for now, photography.

My Memories under the Rain

Shot in Kyungpook National University, my university. Taken on rainy day to multiply the effects.

Raindrops

Raindrops can really transform a windscreen into a fascinating shooting subject.

The policemen

This picture was taken at a split second when one of the policemen started to turn around and look at the camera. Instantaneously, I clicked.

My master and my guard

This is a Siberian Husky. This type of dog is loyal, big and the black-white fur made it looked more aggressive (which they are not).

The Pink lantern

The lantern marks the upcoming of Buddha's birthday celebration. Korea has two major religions, Buddhism and Christianity. Though Paganism exists, it was not as widespread as now.

My childhood craving

When I was young, I like Candy floss. I took this photo just to remind me of how time passes so quickly and how as one grow up, our preferences also change as quickly as time.

This is me and my friend. I love photography. Do you plan to take pictures with me around Malaysia or Korea? I am still learning and I took them (photographs) with my heart, not the camera - hyperbolically lah... Hehe.