birthright

Happy Birthday Umma!

I'm so lucky to always have your shoulder to lean on...

but if you ever need to lean on me, I think I'm big enough for that now.

사랑해요~!

quickies

Just got back from a wonderful weekend in Gangneung, a city on the east coast of Korea. Looking at the East Sea for a few days was very therapeutic.

Today I'm attending a few shows at Seoul Fashion Week! Excited!!

Dear ugly pretty girls,

Your attempt to make pretty almond eyes is flattering, really. Maybe next time you take pictures of the overdone "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil", you could, oh I don't know, gouge each other's eyes? Just a suggestion.

Why is this and this considered racist,

 

Spanish basketball team before going to Beijing Olympics, Miley Cyrus and idiot friends.

but this considered pretty?

Australian model(?) Christina Dietze and fashion designer Natascha

via Knight Cat

XOXO

SK

P.S. Honestly, what were you thinking? Phillip Lim, Richard Chai, Vera Wang, Doo.Ri, Derek Lam, Alexander Wang, Hye Park, Daul Kim, Hyoni, and must I go on? You're surrounded by Asians in the fashion industry. Bravo!

whimsical korean weather

So today I was driving with my aunt and we turned on the news on the navigation screen. The weather forecast was scrolling on the bottom and I noticed a word that I had never seen before:

꽃샘추위 (ggot-saem-choo-wee)

The word is so whimsical:

꽃 (ggot) means flower

샘 (saem) is short for getting jealous

추위 (choo-wee) means cold

It means that the weather is getting jealous of the flowers that are about to bloom and decides to bestow some chilly weather upon us! You know how it suddenly gets warm one day in late Feb or early March and it stays that way for a little while... and then all of a sudden one day we start freezing our butts off again? Yes, 꽃샘추위, what a tease.

Want to impress your Korean-speaking parents/sig. other's parents in the springtime?

How about... "엄마, 아빠, 옷 따듯하게 입으세요. 꽃샘추위때문에 많이 쌀쌀해요!"

Haha thank me later ;)

This photo is from Spring 2008 in Osaka, Japan. Can't wait to see the blossoms in Korea this year!

12 String Instruments Part 2

This is my gayageum.

Isn't it a beauty?

There are so many details to this instrument. The first time I brought it home I was in awe of all the thought that was put into making this 160 cm instrument. The meticulous details aren't for show - they all have functions. The strings are made of silk and the price and quality of the instrument go up based on the type of wood that is used for the body. I also can't get over that intricate knot.

This instrument is so Korean... and that's what makes it so wonderful.

No videos or recordings yet... maybe later. Wayyy later.

I love it.

What am I dooooing.

So what exactly am I up to in Korea?

I went wavy :)

For one I am learning gayageum because who knows maybe somewhere down the road someone will be like "Quick! We need someone to play Arirang for us in this scene! We need you SK!" haha but in all seriousness, I always wanted to learn something traditionally Korean for a long time. It could have been dance or song, but I chose this.

I'm tutoring 4 kids. Why do you even wonder about the subject?? :) It's mainly conversational English, working on pronunciation, and one little girl who is just learning her ABC's. No hakwon work for me, I work on my own time time and set my schedule!

I've been studying how networking and network marketing spans and works here in Korea. It's really interesting to see the cultural differences and products that fit the Asian demographic. However I've realized that in the end, it's all the same thing and success only comes with the amount of effort you put in.  There is never a get-rich-quick plan.

I make lunch for my grandpa. He had a heart attack about 20 years ago and his right side of his body has slowly gotten more uncomfortable for him. My grandma, being the energetic social bee she is, sometimes leaves me with full responsibility to get lunch on the table for me and my gramps. It's a special time of day for me.

Lastly, I'm resting. I thought that it would be sooo important for me to have an internship while I'm here and my trip would be considered useless if I didn't have something on my resume. I've come to realize that this is a special time in my life where I have an opportunity to live with my family on the other side of the world. I've been learning something new every day, from the safety drills that the whole nation participates in for any emergency attacks, to the amazing, long history that makes Koreans such a prideful bunch.

Hazy Hwangsa

Hwangsa is when yellow dust from the deserts in China blow into Korea and a few other Asian countries carrying pollutants like sulfur, soot, and dozens of other pollutants I'd rather not think about. You can read about it here.

People are advised to wear masks, and not go outside as much, but honestly I've only seen a few elderly people with masks and life goes on at its normal pace. Korea and Japan have made efforts to plant trees to block some of the sand and endorse using sulfur filters in factories, but air quality doesn't seem to be a top priority for the Chinese government these days.

Taken on the roof of the YWCA in Suwon on 3/16/2009

have a sweet day

These neglected, well-packaged sugar cubes were found in my grandma's pantry.

I drink my coffee black and my tea only sometimes with honey or milk.

I can't find any reason i would use these sugar cubes except to admire how pretty they are in natural light.

Pretty cube sugars you!

to be a 효녀

I've realized that the love you get from grandparents will never last forever. It's much shorter than the love you will get from parents, aunts and uncles. It's a different kind of love they give you, and they teach you a different kind of discipline.

My mom went back to America this morning after staying a week here in Korea. Before we left for the airport she gave a hug to my Grandfather and both of them must have thought "this might be the last time..." because I saw my Grandfather cry for the first time.

I was his first grandchild, and all I can do now is try to be the best grand daughter I can be.

꽃보다...

So I've been driving in Korea lately... It's ridiculously nerve wrecking and I'm sure I've pissed off many Korean ahjuhshis with my "uh oh I was supposed to turn there" scenarios.

The weather has been getting warmer these days. A light jacket and scarf and I'm ready to go! My hair is getting long... I wonder if I should go slightly wavy... a little bit shorter? Hmm

And... okay I have a confession to make. I've been watching the drama 꽃보다남자 (Boys Over Flowers) along with all of Korea and any household with a young Asian teenager. I started watching it a bit late into the series... but a certain character's outfits sparked my interest while I watched my 4 year old cousin dance while singing "almost paradise~~"

Look, smash! Drop-crotch pants!