Only in Korea... a Scavenger Hunt!

As I mentioned before, Danny and I had a great holiday season and we rang in the new year in an especially exciting way... A SCAVENGER HUNT!  A friend of mine gave me the idea to do a photo scavenger hunt, so on New Year's Eve, a group of us competed in an "Only in Korea" hunt.  The list of 40 different things were things that you would see "only in Korea"!  It was an epic one hour battle between "Booty Domination" (the girls) and "Team Shark, Riding a Ninja, Riding a Bald Eagle, Riding a Dolphin, Screaming the Word FREEDOM...!" or something like that... I couldn't remember the whole 50 part name because it was so ridiculous(the boys).  It's funny that most of this stuff is "normal" to us now, but really when we leave Korea and don't see pig heads smiling at me at the local grocery store, I will know that I'm not in Crazy Korea anymore.  Oh and did I mention that team "Booty Domination" won?!  GO GIRLS!

Here's the list for your enjoyment...

1.  Socks with sandals

2. Tacky Tiger picture (3D extra half point)

3. Animal head meant to be eaten (No fish heads, BORING)

4. Matching couple: the girls only got matching shoes

5. A Hyundai car not in black, white, or silver:  this actually isn't common in Korea... black, white, or silver are definitely their desired colors for a car.

6. Traditional ajuma wear (visor, flower prints...basically not matching)

7. Jindo Dog

8. Kid in a school uniform (One point for each kid in the same picture): we picked the ONE day we couldn't see any kids in uniforms but even on Sunday we often see uniforms!

9. Soju bottle in a outdoor public area

10. K-Pop poster: the groups are usually ridiculous... like Backstreet Boys on crack ; )

11. Someone eating bundaegi (silk worm larvae) or gulbangy (tiny snails in the shell): YUCK.

Here's the cute old man who was so excited to have the rest of the cut of bundaegi after Sarah and Suzanne gagged eating them...

12. Singing Noraebang


#15 Aren't they FREEZING!?

13. Picture of the 28 bus

14. Old man in a fidora

15. Girl wearing shorts: this is also common in winter... in 16 degree weather...crazy, I know.

16. Person wearing a mask (doctor mask...or luchedora that would be awesome): this is either to help not get sick or help others not get your cold... I don't know which.

17. Pretending to ring a traditional bell

18. Old Korean people playing some sort of Korean game

This game is called Majohng and older Korean
LOVE it!



19. Black Lespo, old man bicycle:  also the bike that... ehem... Danny owns...ehem ; )  Just kidding Buddy, I think its cool!

20. An American flag (Bald Eagle included plus 10 points)

21. Person wearing fun Korean socks: we only saw a baby with them, but I know under all their shoes and boots that every Korean were wearing them.

22. Coffee in a dixie cup

23. Korean hiker: it's like they are off to Mt. Everest.

24. Person in a hanbok:  this one didn't exactly count because those are REAL people, but nice try boys!



#24. Traditional Korean hanbok.


25. Flowers in front of a new business

26. Korean Movie poster



27. Advertisement for Oriental Medicine


28. Picture with an Andong mask (the biggest mask gets the point):  who's is bigger? ; )

29. Love Motel:  these sound really shady, I know, but they aren't so bad ; )

#30

30. Cardboard collector:  for a lot of older Koreans, their job is to collect cardboard all around town, and they can get a LOT as you can see.

31. 90 degree lady (Really, no one from your team):  to explain, this is a lady that walks at a 90 degree angle.  I think their back is bad from working in harder labor a while ago... really sad but common to see.



32. Picture of an Elementary School sign

33. Picture of a Middle School sign

34. Picture of a High School sign

35. Free hugs sign:  we did see this later that night AND get on the local Korean news giving "free hugs!"

36. Danny's REAL Apple Truck (Automatic winner):  we still haven't seen the real truck in the flesh so of course it would win instantly!  If you ever see this truck, get a picture!!!!!!!!

37. Someone eating ramen:  how is it that BOTH groups had to buy ramen... we couldn't find one Korean eating that day?!

38. Konglish shirt:  this is a shirt that makes absolutely no sense... accomplished!

39. Someone exercising on an outdoor machine: I guess the boys scared away the actual exercisers...

40. Team pyramid (If there is a tie, most interesting place wins)

Team "Booty Domination":  Oh yeah.

Team "Team Shark, Riding a Ninja, Riding a Bald Eagle, Riding a Dolphin, Screaming the Word FREEDOM...!" ... ok, boys this is pretty good : )

Overall it was a fantastic hunt and even though it was a rough battle...

... we all remained friends for the new year.  Oh and did I mention the girls won?! ; )



The competitors: Emily, Chris, Lizzie, Jonathan, Pete, Sarah,
Gabi, Greg, Suzanne, and Danny and I!



And, just for your viewing pleasure, here are a couple more things that you would see only in Korea. This...

 

And this...

(nice moves Buddy ; )

I hope this encourages you to do your own scavenger hunt... Korean or otherwise!  Happy 2012, the year of the Dragon!

Andong Market... a "Foodie's" Heaven!

I really enjoy Korea partly because I can pretty much guarantee that I can walk home with a funny story at least once or twice a week. Here is an example: the other day Danny and I and 2 friends from South Africa got on a bus to travel 2 hours to another city and the bus driver made it a point to walk to the back and forcefully tell only us, "NO HAMBURGERS!" Apparently Westerners are just known for bringing hamburgers wherever they go and making a mess! Anyways, that has nothing really to do with today's topic except to prove that Korea is full of funny experiences!

So today while I share what a Korean market is like, I will add in a funny experience I had while walking through the market. As you can see above, in a Korea market you can find lots of seafood, as well as different fruits and vegetables. This story highlights the lovely silver fish that you can see in the middle of the picture. While my family was here, actually, we were walking through the market one day, showing them the delecasies of Korea. All of a sudden, we got stopped by this gentleman:


He was a VERY friendly guy who was extremely excited to tell me that he was in the army and worked with different Americans while he served his country. In mostly Korean, and in a little broken English, I got the gist that he LOVES America and anyone who has to do with anything American...which is how I ended up with 2 of those silver fish in a bag. He liked me soooo much that he insisted that he buy me 2 fish (which is actually a really nice gift for a stranger being that the fist cost almost $10 a peice). I tried to tell him that I really didn't need the fish, but he wouldn't take no for an answer...which is why I later had to call my coteacher to help me figure out what to do with the fish.

Mrs. Byeon came straight over and proceeded to gut and behead the fish right in my kitchen sink. I called her really hoping that she would actually take the fish OFF my hands, but she also insisted with a lot of garlic, these fish would turn into a delicious meal.
As you can see I had the treat of watching fish guts spill into my sink as the fish watched me back, and I was still wondering how in the world I was going to cook these fish. Even though Korea is surrounded by a lot of water, most of Korea is not really known for having great or really fresh seafood. So there we have my funny market experience which will guide us into the real focus of this post: what a Korean market is really like.

Colorado is just catching on to the whole "farmer's market" thing so I have really LOVED being able to see food in a new light when it is sold at a market. Andong has "market day" every fifth day so getting fresh fruits and vegetables is easy to do. The street is packed with woman pulling their wire carts behind them and older Korean ladies (such as the one above) usually wearing any number of different flower or plaid prints and trying to sell off their week's stock.

I know there is no method to their madness, but really it seems like as the style of combining different patterns became more popular, older Korean ladies took it a little too far ; )

The streets is full of huge packs of garlic, never-ending piles of cabbage, and 10 different kinds of crazy looking mushrooms.

I feel like even though it takes a little more time to walk from stall to stall to buy my weekly fruits and vegetables, I love to see all the different things available and the colors of the whole scene are fantastic.


Things are truly seasonal in a "real" market so it seems like every week something has disappeared and a new, exciting food has replaced it. These yellow melons where everywhere this summer.



Like I said before, the fish isn't something that I am keen to buy because it isn't the freshest thing around. There are tons of stalls displaying their piles of fish, and let's just say the smell coming from them isn't always so appetizing.


You can see shark, octopus, crab, munk fish, sardines, and so many other kinds of seafood, but I think, by far the scariest fish is the long silver ones. I don't know their exact name, but their bulging eyes and sharp teeth kinda scare me!


Another interesting site in a Korean market is the dteok (Korean rice cake pronounced like "duck"). I only had experience with rice cakes you would get in the supermarket at home that are crispy and crunchy, but Korean dteok is totally different. These sticky masses of smashed rice covered in red bean or pumpkin or nuts is what they consider dessert. If my students have the option of a lollipop or dteok, they will almost always choose dteok. I still haven't found a love for them, but I've got another year to keep trying!

And of course the market wouldn't be complete without a large supply of every kind of kimchi imaginable!

Danny enjoys eating what I bring home, but I know that he doesn't enjoy walking around the market as much as I do. I have found that it has increased my "foodie" passion because it makes me feel more connected to the food I eat (yes, I know I'm a dork ; ). What better place to be a part of the community than in the traditional market!?

Of course there are definite perks to being able to run (or drive) to the grocery store... oh how I miss the cereal aisle, and being able to buy avocados, and the little mist machines that rain down on the produce... but for now I will be happy with my Andong market : )