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Eating an Afternoon Tea "Snack" in Hong Kong
2007-05-09 16:55:00
So after a three and half hour flight to Hong Kong from Seoul, I was extremely famished once I landed. Having "afternoon tea" in Hong Kong consists of a variety of things. Known as "hah-mmm-cha" in Cantonese, it can very well be one of my favorite things to do in Hong Kong. There is nothing better than drinking a (hot or iced) Yuanyang (a mixture of coffee and Hong Kong-style milk tea) at your local dai pai dong (open air food stall) or cha chaan teng (Chinese tea restaurant) in the afternoon. I had my afternoon tea "snack" experience at the Olympian City mall near the Olympic MTR station in Tai Kwok Chui. The new few posts will be dedicated to all the food that touched my lips one way or another.First up we have an iced yuanyang (it's pronounced yeen-yeung). This drink was included in the price of my afternoon tea "snack. If you've never experienced a yuanyang before, the moment you try one, either hot or cold you will be hooked. The addiction is similar to Vietnamese-style iced ...
More About: Travel , Food , Afternoon , Snack

Guess who's back?
2007-05-08 15:29:00
Well...that was quite the mini "blog break," wasn't it? I never did explain why I was going to be absent from the blog for the past few days. Well, here it is: I spent the last three days in Hong Kong! There was a possible job opportunity there so I had to fly over and have an interview. Given the high cost of my ticket, I was determined once again to eat myself into oblivion (if you're a new reader, get used to it)!I stayed with my aunt and I was very well taken care of. What did I do? I did what I do best: eat excessive amounts of food (thanks for all the comments about my eating habits by the way, hehe). Hong Kong is one of the meccas of tantalizing and affordable cuisine and I envy all people who get to live there (such as K-Rad). Here's a picture to give you a teaser of things to come: a bowl of cow-stomach noodles from one of my favorite little spots in Tsim Sha Tsui. Any big fans out there? Don't knock it till you try it, that's all I have to say!As for a small Korea upd...
More About: Travel , Food , Jobs , Guess Who , Back

The Most Effective Way to Secure your Scooter
2007-05-05 17:53:00
I know what you're wondering right now...why does the post date say Sunday, May 6th? It's barely Friday back in North America and Saturday is just starting in South Korea. Well, I will be occupied over the next few days (I'll fill you in later, don't worry) so updates will be slowing down. If only Blogger had the timestamp feature like Wordpress, these posts would be auto posting! Well, you can't win 'em all.Check this out...there's securing your scooter and then there's REALLY securing your speed demon. How to make sure your prized investment doesn't get stolen? Lock the front wheels to a post near the sidewalk and for good measure slap another lock on the back wheel. This picture reminds me of that Simpsons episode when Homer had a wheel lock slapped onto his car tire in New York City:How do you lock up your scooter/motorcycle?
More About: Effect , Most , Scooter , Effective , Secure

Visiting Deoksugung Palace in Seoul
2007-05-04 17:20:00
During the Joseon Dynasty, there were "Five Grand Pala ce s" built in Seoul. We've had the chance to visit the largest and main palace in the past, Gyeongbokgung. This time around, I took the chance to visit Deoksugung, which like the others is right in the heart of the city.According to the Galbijim Wiki:The palace began as a relatively humble villa constructed in the late fifteenth century for Prince Wolsan, older brother to King Seongjong. After the Imjin Invasion of 1592, when the other palaces were destroyed, it served as the official home of King Seonjo and subsequent kings until the reconstruction of Changdeokgung. During that time King Gwanghaegun had his coronation ceremony there and renamed it Gyungwungung (???). for the next 270 years it would be used as an auxiliary palace under the name Seogung (??). After Emperor Gojong left from hiding in the Russian Embassy in 1897, he made the palace once again the official royal residence and renamed it back to Gyungwungung, and beg...
More About: Visi , Visit , Lace

Sizzler: How to Really Satisfy Your Hunger in Korea
2007-05-03 17:28:00
There are many times when you're hungry and trying to find out how to really satisfy your hunger in South Korea . Look no further because I was satisfied when we visited a Sizzler location in Seoul! Sizzler is just one of the many big "family restaurant" chains in South Korea. The other popular joints are VIPS, TGI Friday's, and Bennigan's to name a few. Again, if you are craving steak these restaurants will help you fill your void. However, with the salad bars at these places, they are a meal in itself. Out of all the salad bar buffets we've tried out in Seoul, I think we've found our new favorite.This Sizzler location is located in just outside Hyehwa station (Line 4, exit 1). It's in the same building as Bennigan's, which is located two floors below. Are you ready to witness another buffet marathon by Gdog? Here we go...Look for this building as you leave exit 1 at Hyehwa station. Get out and walk straight about 100 meters.At first, we were going to order items off their lu...
More About: Reviews , Food , Restaurants , Hunger

More Campus Couples in Korea
2007-05-02 16:50:00
Who likes bird watching? I've never tried it but I know Jon Allen is a big fan. Anyways, another form of bird watching is catching a glimpse of "campus couples" in Korea . On our day off yesterday we hit the bonanza by spotting two couples. I just find it very interesting and it's a thrill to snap a picture if I can get the chance. Here are the follow couples for your viewing pleasure:These two were spotted near the Express Bus Terminal station...These couples were in Myeongdong. You know you've been shopping in Myeongdong for too long when you're tired of fighting people and all the pushing involved. However, I have some strategies that work just fine...hehehe:Hood on, hood off......and finally, we have our last couple. Look carefully, and tell me what you see...
More About: Campus , Couples , Camp , More

The one...the only...SOJU MAN!
2007-05-01 07:00:00
Today is holiday in South Korea. That's why it's 2pm (I normally start work at this time) and I'm blogging. It's May 1st, also known as Labor Day here. The month of May has various holidays with the next day off being May 24th, Buddha's birthday. That's your tidbit of info for the day--let's move on...Soju is the alcoholic beverage of choice by many Koreans (and foreigners). It's made of rice and other ingredients and the taste is similar to vodka. It's extremely affordable, thus very popular, with over 3 million bottles consumed in 2004. There are certain customs when it comes to drinking soju. I am not a big fan of soju (or any other alcohol for that matter--blame it on the Asian blush) but when drinking it, there are certain customs that should be followed. It's like dining etiquette for drinking copious amounts of cheap alcohol!Want to learn some soju customs before coming to Korea to travel or teach English? According to Wikipedia...While most Koreans will understand ...
More About: Only , The O

A Dust Buster's Worst Nightmare
2007-04-30 06:19:00
Living on your own and cleaning...is not fun. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to clean and dust an entire house, let alone the officetel (one huge square studio) we live in. Anyways, Seoul is one of the most densely populated cities on the planet. When you put together so many people in such a small area, there's bound to be excess amounts of dust and other pollution.Remember when I mentioned about the newest addition to our family? That was our beloved and trusty dust buster. Anyways, it's been working overtime here and some more. We have a sweeper thingy that we bought from Costco during our initial arrival in Seoul. What we do is sweep our floors, then suck up the dust with the dust buster (as opposed to my old method of shaking the broom out the window, and watching chunks of dust fly down to the streets below--I wouldn't recommend that). Living next to a major highway can result in a lot of dust being circulated around the air. We usually crack our windows open ...
More About: Nightmare , Bust , Mare

AGLOCO Viewbar Update
2007-04-29 14:58:00
For those who have signed up for AGLOCO and are patiently waiting for the View bar to be released, here is an update I just received via email:We will be releasing the AGLOCO Viewbar software soon and want to update Members on how things will work when it is released. Each Member will get an email informing them that their Viewbar is available. It will contain detailed instructions on the download, which will be done from the agloco.com website. Members will be invited to download in groups of 50,000 a day for a two week period, with Members contacted in the order in which they signed up. Shortly before the first set of download emails go out, you will receive an email notice that the AGLOCO website will be ?out of service? for a few hours ? this is necessary for us to move the Viewbar download system from the test server to the main servers. Also, please be aware of the following: 1. AGLOCO Hours: You will accrue hours in your AGLOCO Member account (current maximum is five direct ho...
More About: Internet , Blogging , Update

How To Get Trapped Inside a Washroom at Starbucks
2007-04-28 17:31:00
I love visiting Starbucks (and I know you do too--don't lie) even though their drinks can put a dent in your wallet. Another reason for visiting Starbucks is for their washroom facilities. Most of the time they are clean and well maintained. Sometimes, if you're really lucky you could even encounter a Starbucks washroom with cardboard taped/glued over the non-existent door knobs...ummm...wait a minute, missing door knobs?!Yup, this was the case when I visited the Starbucks in Insadong last weekend. The freaking door had no handles! I almost got trapped inside with another dude because we had trouble opening the door WITHOUT HANDLES! If the door was closed completely there would have been no way for us to open the door. Trapped inside a Starbucks washroom in Korea--that's an English teacher's ultimate dream!I could not believe my eyes so of course I had to snap some pictures of this. Here was the view from the front of the door. Given the fact that the piece of cardboard has the ...
More About: Inside , Bucks , Wash , Side

The Korean National Assembly + Cherry Blossoms
2007-04-28 16:30:00
Remember the last time I posted about the Yeouido Spring Flower Festival? Well, it was a case of bad timing because it was the first weekend of the festival and we arrived late in the afternoon--it was screaming busy. I was determined to give it another go but this time I decided to take an alternate route to see the blossoms. After exiting Yeouido station I walked directly towards the Korean National Assembly (which I have yet to see up close and personal). By walking through the National Assembly, I was able to bypass the busy entrance that we tried to enter the first time around. Let's take a look at what I was able to see this time around.Walking towards the National Assembly I passed a bunch of trees growing inside vertical-shaped rectangular blocks. Looks are very important in South Korea and you will see mirrors everywhere, from subway stations to other random parts of the city:These guys were part of a roller blading club that does tricks and other fancy things that normal...
More About: Cherry Blossoms , Cherry Blossom

The 32cm Tall Ice Cream Cone
2007-04-27 15:14:00
If you love ice cream, then you'll enjoy your options in Seoul. There are numerous frozen novelties and in the summer I was averaging almost one a day (there's nothing wrong with that!). What are your other choices? Well, there's Cold Stone, Baskin Robbins, the pig in a tuxedo bar, and Weis Mango and Cream (from Costco) to name a few options. Last weekend after lunch with Hoo Kang, I had the honor to experience an ice cream cone in Myeongdong that is advertised to be 32 centimeters tall (from bottom to top).At first we walked by without even hesitating, but after seeing so many people enjoying these cones we quickly turned around to join the crowd. These cones were cheap for only 1000w each. We opted to go big and get a mango/yogurt twist cone for 1500w (big spenders, baby). Once again, these guys are going for volume in sales as they have dudes clapping on the street to get your attention.Here's the outside of the ice cream shop. There's seating inside and from what I saw it w...
More About: Food , Ice Cream , Tall

The Korean Dozen
2007-04-26 03:38:00
Who loves eating eggs? You'll find eggs in many Kore an dishes, such as bibimbap, gimbab, Spam covered with fried egg as a side dish, and many more. I love eating eggs too at home for breakfast or for a quick snack. Recently, something popped into my head--the Korean dozen actually consists of ten eggs. So does that mean people here don't use the term "a dozen eggs?"Here you go, count 'em. Ten eggs in a package. The only reason I would want a dozen eggs in a package is because those extra two eggs would come in handy when I'm hungry (yeah, I could buy a bigger package but I don't want to)! Do you miss having a dozen eggs in your fridge, or am I crazy?Have you noticed the green tea theme going on in Korea (green tea Halls, green tea cereal)? I wonder what these eggs taste like...or is it some sort of marketing ploy?Here's some more green tea action for you--green tea flavored soft serve ice cream with chocolate brownies (it's a unique combination but it was pretty good):
More About: Food

Gyms in Korea: Hyundai Fitness in Mokdong
2007-04-25 16:58:00
*The following is a review of Hyundai Fitness located in Mokdong. Read on to learn how to get a discount on a membership* When you're eating barbecue at least once every couple of weeks and eating out a lot on the weekends, you might have a tendency to put on a few pounds in Korea . If you do, you should immediately hit up a gym because "thin is in" in Korea. There is so much pressure to look good here it's like a pursuit of happiness. Anyways, the last time I worked out was...the summer of 2006. So when a brand new gym opened up shop in the basement level of our building, I was quick to check out what it was all about.Hyundai Fitness is a large facility that offers a full gym with equipment, free weights, treadmills with LCD TVs, stationary bicycles, elliptical trainers, a steam room, stocked locker room with showers (complimentary lockers, soap, shampoo, Q-Tips, lotion, towels, etc. are all included), an exercise studio, two indoor driving ranges, and a golf simulator. All the e...
More About: Reviews , Gyms

How to watch free television in Korea -- Part Deux
2007-04-24 17:39:00
*we just had to write progress reports for the month of April; my apologies for posting late*One thing you might have to get adjusted to while teaching English overseas in Korea is the lack of English television from back home (sure, there's AFN but I want more). Okay, some of you might not be TV junkies like us, but you only realize how much you miss TV shows from back home when you're overseas. You might have remembered my previous post about how to watch free TV in Korea. We have cable TV but the selection is lacking. That's expected when you're living in a foreign country. Well, TVU player has been written off in my books so I thought I'd add another update for all you TV fiends out there.I'm going to keep this simple and recommend two websites for your TV viewing needs. Right now the Stanley Cup playoffs are currently underway. The Vancouver Canucks had a thrilling game 7 victory over the Dallas Stars yesterday. There was no way I could've seen that game live in Korea--u...
More About: Television , Watch , Technology , Entertainment

China Factory Chinese Kitchen...in South Korea
2007-04-23 15:23:00
We've started to explore the different varieties and styles of Chinese food in Korea , trying to venture away from sweet and sour pork. Recently there was a new Chinese restaurant that opened up near Omokgyo station right across the street from the Hyundai Department Store. The name of this place is called the China Factory Chinese Kitchen.Now, when I think of a China factory the first thing that comes to my mind is a bunch of Chinese workers manufacturing consumer and electronic goods for the world market. There's a reason why this place is called the China Factory Chinese Kitchen--it's because you take on the role of the worker and create your own dinner by choosing from a variety of dishes, minus the long hours and low wages, and the fact that you're paying to do this. Let's get on with the review, shall we?Approaching the China Factory Chinese Kitchen you immediately get a sense of the decor and ambiance that they've created. The waiting area is secluded from the dining are...
More About: Reviews , Food , Restaurants

Velociraptors at Costco
2007-04-22 15:26:00
Every time we visit Costco I always end up observing something interesting. Children sleeping in shopping carts, live karaoke performances, tree planting, and ideas for dinner. Now, for all you Costco fans out there, part of the experience of making the trek to the warehouse is tasting all the samples. Why eat at the food court when you can get a balanced diet for free? Anyways, usually near the meat and poultry section there is a lady cooking steaks of Australian beef for sampling. South Korea is home to some of the world's most expensive beef prices (although that may change).So let me tell ya, when there's free samples of steak, people will gather around and hover like a pack of wolves. Upon passing the steak at first it was about half cooked. I wasn't going to wait around to have a sample. That was until ten minutes later I saw a crowd gathering around the station--I knew I had to get in on the action. I recognized one lady who was patiently waiting around the station the mom...
More About: Food , Raptors , Raptor

Review: A Really Good Book (About Korea)
2007-04-22 06:53:00
The following is a review...of many to come written by yours truly, from Starbucks on a Sunday afternoon. I should be doing progress reports but as you can see I'm procrastinating.There many things that go hand in hand in life. Peanut butter and jam. Popcorn and butter. Mixed berry smoothies and tofu (okay, maybe you ignore the last one). Something that I've noticed that also goes together is teaching English in Korea and starting a blog about your adventure. It almost a mandatory thing "to do" when you come over to Korea. It's like some sort of new age olympic sport.If you take a look at the blogs listed on The Korean Blog List, you'll see hundreds of blogs. Some are maintained often and some become abandoned quickly. One blog that been maintained for a while has been Seouliva. Anthony has kept his Korea blog going since September of 2003. When he asked me to review his self published book on Korea, I agreed to help him get some publicity for his little project.Titled A Really ...
More About: Reviews , Jobs , Review , Book

Choo! Choo! Here comes the Technorati link train!
2007-04-20 19:18:00
Technorati is a website that ranks the millions of blogs out there in the blogosphere. Your blog's ranking is determined by the amount of incoming links to your blog. Currently, The Daily Kimchi sits at a reasonable 48,475. I got a seat on the train from Ed Lau, who got his seat from Mr. Gary Lee. Basically, this link train will get passed on and on from one blog to another in the blogosphere. If your blog is on this list, that means another link to your blog, and therefore increasing your rank--very clever.Anyways, I'm going to follow the instructions and add my three faves to the list. If you haven't already, add The Daily Kimchi to your Technorati favorites! Bring on the train!***Start Copying Here:*** Here are the rules: 1) Write a short introduction paragraph about what how you found the list and include a link to the blog that referred you to the list. 2) COPY the Rules and ENTIRE List below and post it to your blog. To avoid duplicate content and increase the amount of key...
More About: Internet , Blogging , Link , Technorati , Train

The Simpsons Movie in Korea
2007-04-20 17:20:00
The Simpsons is the longest running American sitcom on TV today. Watching The Simpsons while growing up was one of my favorite things to do (Sundays, FOX, 8pm PST). The laughs were just endless and will be etched in my mind forever. People always relate real life stories back some sort of random Simpsons episode. I haven't had time nowadays to closely follow the show as I did before, but I do watch the occasional episode. Did you know that episodes of The Simpsons were subcontracted to Korea n animation studios to save costs? I had no clue--the things you learn from Wikipedia!The Simpsons Movie is currently under production and will be released worldwide in theaters later this year on July 27th. What made me want to post about this was the fact that their official movie website has languages for countries around the world--with South Korea being one of them!I found it interesting to read the Korean writing on one of the movie wallpapers. The large black and yellow letters read: "Shi...
More About: Entertainment , The Simpsons

Going to California: Sushi in Korea
2007-04-20 03:50:00
I love eating sushi and I know many of you do too. When you're dining out in Korea there are many places to eat sushi. One of the bigger chains is called California and they are known for their large pieces of well presented sushi. This sushi restaurant was one of the first places we visited when we came to Korea (it was during our journey to Itaewon). I've posted about all you can eat sushi before (check out these stacked plates), but this time it's not all you can eat. It's about how much I can order and stuff my face silly, even mooching off Devante's leftovers. Let the food review begin. We were extremely hungry when we arrived at California. We looked over the menus briefly and immediately ordered. Bring on the sushi!First up, we have some complimentary salad...it's the salad that you will live to love or hate in Korea--basically cabbage drenched in mayonnaise dressing. It's a simple coleslaw and I love it. You will find this salad served with donkatsu (pork cutlet) dish...
More About: Food , Restaurants , Sushi

The World's Largest High Heel
2007-04-18 17:10:00
I mentioned before that fashion and looks play an important role in Korean society. Looks are everything here and people will not hesitate to call you handsome or pretty. Everybody is dressed to the nines just to head over to the grocery store. Fashion in Korea is huge and everybody always wants to look their best, regardless of where they are. Even my students have cute little outfits, obviously picked out by their parents (when they aren't helping their children do their homework, such as essay writing).Anyways, during that outdoor commercial that was being filmed I also spotted the world's largest high heel. I previously posted about fashion in Korea. I mentioned how Korea is probably one of the high heel capitals of the world. Women wear them everywhere, even in the dead of winter with snow on the ground. I cannot imagine how it must feel to walk up flights of subway stairs in high heels, especially in 11cm heels...it must hurt like a _____ (fill in the blank yourself)!Where w...
More About: The World , High , Largest , Heel , Large

Do you know recognize these guys?
2007-04-18 15:16:00
You never know what you'll find when you're wandering the streets of Seoul. That's why it's very important to always have your camera on hand with fresh batteries. Once you find something random to take a picture of, you'll always be ready to lock and load, baby. What did I manage to find on the weekend (on my way to Yeouido again to see cherry blossoms)?Well, it turns out it was some sort of video shoot for plasma TVs. It took place in my backyard right outside the Megabox in Omokgyo. Two shirtless Korean males were standing on crates holding up plasma or LCD TVs, on a rotating platform. Throw in a crowd of extras dressed in suits and you have yourself some sort of crazy commercial coming your way.On set was a full camera crew, photographers, and others on hand to film this production. At first I thought all the men and women in business attire were workers from the nearby offices just checking out the set. I soon realized they were extras on set when they had to move the base...
More About: Entertainment , Guys , Know , These , Recognize

Middle school stress...welcome to Korea!
2007-04-17 15:23:00
4, 8, 15, 16, 23, & 42...do these numbers mean anything to you? If you're a fan of the award winning TV drama Lost, they should mean the world to you. On the topic of numbers, I have some more for you to digest. 12, 7, 9, 7, 9, 9, & 8. What the heck do these numbers stand for? They are the number of subjects that my middle schoolers have to study for!Four times a year these students have major exams for all subjects in their schools. I cannot even imagine how it must feel to have to study for so many subjects. So around exam time the stress levels increase for these students. Can you imagine studying for 12 subjects, along with doing school homework, attending academies after school, and completing academy homework? It's absolutely insane, but these kids have to work their brains into overtime to accomplish it.Seriously, with all that on your plate, when do you have time to play? That's right--YOU DON'T! My students tell me about their non-existent weekends spent "studying"....
More About: Korea , Teaching , School , Middle , Stress

Seoul Public Transportation Guide: For Bus Lovers
2007-04-16 04:03:00
When we first arrived in Seoul to teach English it took us a couple of weeks to familiarize ourselves with the layout of the city and the subway. When you spend all your time traveling underground from station to station, it's hard to get a visual grasp on areas of the city. As for taking the bus, so far we've used it to go to Costco, Joongdong (for BBQ purposes), and City Hall. Why haven't we taken the bus more you ask? Well, for starters all the bus stops are in Korean. My Hangul is mediocre (if you can even call it that) at best so taking a bus will result in us ending up in some far off place.Taking the subway is interesting at times, but when it's jam packed it can be uncomfortable. Unless it's the during the blazing heat in the summer, the air conditioning is not turned on so there is a lack of ventilation. Trust me, it gets extremely hot and stinky when the subway car is packed to the brim and everybody is breathing heavily. That's normal though and you will have to lea...
More About: Public , Transportation , Lovers , Guide , Public Transport

Yeuoido Spring Flower Festival--first attempt
2007-04-15 03:21:00
Spring is here in South Korea...almost. Every year around this time thousands of Koreans and fans of cherry blossoms flock to Yeouido Park to check out the Yeouido Spring Flower Festival , or the Cherry Blossom Festival. Add live entertainment, miscellaneous street vendors, millions of people with their digital cameras, and what will you get? A good time of course!The festival runs from April 1-15 starting on Yunjungno Avenue, right behind the Korean National Assembly. When you have over 1400 cherry blossom trees in full bloom over a 6km stretch, people go crazy and flock here as fast as they can, like it was the first day McDonald's in Korea started breakfast (okay, bad example). Last week we decided to check out the festival in its first weekend at the peak time in the late afternoon--bad decision!When you have everybody and their monkey's uncle flocking down to Yeouido, it can get quite difficult to navigate through the crowds. During one stretch of road leading up to the offici...
More About: Entertainment , Spring , Ring

Will it blend? Berries, bananas, yogurt, and...
2007-04-13 18:24:00
Not so fast. You're going to have to read on to find out...If you're heading over to teach English in Seoul, you're gonna miss a few things from back home. Some people miss the chocolate selection. Some miss the junk food selection (although Seoul has more than enough convenience stores to fill the void). Some miss clean air that involves living on the westcoast of Canada (there's nothing wrong with yellow dust--actually, who am I kidding the stuff hurts your throat, eyes and mouth). What do I miss? I miss the fruit and vegetable selection at a decent price.The price of fruits and vegetables here can be outrageous ($6US for one pear, $2US for one kiwi) compared to the prices we're used to back home. The selection can also be an issue as well. However, we've always tried to make the best of it. Golden kiwis from Costco. Apples, frozen durian, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, and pineapple from Homever. Grapes, strawberries, and oranges from the farmer's truck on the side of the r...
More About: Food , Berries , Will , Yogurt , Blend

Blogger's Choice Awards - Best Travel Blog
2007-04-12 18:13:00
The Blog ger's Choice Awards is where is users and bloggers submit their blogs to let the internet public decide if it is blog-worthy. I have seen many notable blogs nominated, such as PerezHilton, Gizmodo, John Chow, and ProBlogger just to name a few. Why let the big guns have all the fun? That's why I just submitted my own blog to enter the races! If you think my blog is worthy enough to receive a vote for the Best Travel Blog, head on over to the Blogger's Choice Awards and support this blog with a vote!This contest is just for fun and maybe some potential bragging rights (it's playoff time in the NHL so I'm craving for some competition), but that's about it. There are some pretty awesome travel blogs out there so it would be interesting to see how The Daily Kimchi fares against such incredible competition. Want some motivation to vote for my site? Have some Green Tea flavored Halls to get you started (it tastes like green tea--I should have gone with fail-safe cherry)!Vote ...
More About: Internet , Blogging

Video tutorial: How to sharpen your pencil with a box cutter
2007-04-12 16:55:00
If you've been following my blog, then you should remember my post about box cutters for kids. A few days ago I was trying to sharpen my pencil with a box cutter. I wasn't doing a very good job. That was until one of my students, John, decided to show his teacher the ropes (you can see John in action from White Day and the Baekdu Mountain debate. He likes to scream when I'm filming him).What a perfect opportunity to whip out the camera for a video op. I was amazed at John's incredible box cutter-pencil-sharpening skills. This guy's a real pro and one day he should strongly consider opening up shop in the box cutter-pencil-sharpening business. Anyways, here is the video. Let me know if you can decipher and understand John's English in the comments:What are the downsides of sharpening your pencil with a box cutter? According to John, it hurts your fingers. Give it some time, young buck, and eventually your skin will develop a nice callus.
More About: Video , Tutorial , Teaching , Sharp , Harp

The paper thin tissue post
2007-04-11 15:48:00
I never realized how important having tissue on you was until I visited Hong Kong in 2004. Most restaurants and bathrooms (the legendary squat-style toilets) did not supply tissue for its patrons, depending on where you ate. Anyways, it was handy to have little tissue packs on hand in case of any dire emergency, such as a sudden trip to the bathroom or drying your hands after washing them (is that an emergency? who knows!).Let's fast forward to present day life in Seoul, South Korea. Tissues are supplied in every Korean eating establishment, with the majority of the time in a square plastic box. What you will need to get accustomed to is the fact that these things put the phrase "paper thin" to shame. It's more like 0.5 ply toilet paper thin, or in other words, SHEER! Okay, so many this will help save the environment and some trees. However, if I need to pull 2-3 tissues to meet my needs, why not just make tissues with a reasonable thickness so that only one is needed? This isn't...
More About: Post , The Paper , Paper , Issue