Monday: MyungDong

 

 

Gelato at Gusttimo, Lunch at Lotte 백화점, Random store front

Ever watch a scene in a Korean movie/drama where the streets are bustling with people late at night? That's usually MyungDong. I also strongly believe that the US Embassy should change its location to Forever 21's dressing room because seriously... EVERYONE WAS AMERICAN.

the little cousins

She changes her outfit at least 5 times a day.

She is 5 years old.

God forbid I don't answer one of his questions.

He's 3 and his older sister is the one who needs to wear a tutu while she's watching Little Einstein in the living room.

He thinks that he and I are the same age.

He was born in 2006.

Kisses from KAIST

I have a genius cousin on my dad's side. In our family we often call her "the genius". She is currently attending KAIST (think MIT of Korea) and I visited her at school a couple of weeks ago. She's majoring in Electrical Engineering and possibly minoring in Business. She had a class in the morning so I sat in a Marketing class with her that was taught in English and surprisingly enjoyed it.

KAIST has an interesting policy - if at least one international student signs up for a class, that class is required to be taught in English no matter what. The class naturally turns into somewhat of a Konglish (Korean + English) class.

On a side note, do you ever feel more connected to the cousins you have on your dad's side? Something about sharing the last name, and in our family the first character of all my cousins' names start with "Sun". Sometimes I sense this unexplainable bond... but I wonder if it's just the patriarchy that I'm so accustomed to that makes me think this way?

I know... I don't look like KAIST material at all!

A "CC", or Campus Couple as they are called in Korea. My cousin and her boyfriend.

Looking up showtimes for a play in Daejeon in a KAIST dorm.

Next school to visit: Mom's alma mater, Seoul National University.

korean family crests

via Naver

Have you heard about Korean actor 소지섭 (So-Ji-Sup)'s car? He had his emblems on his Mercedes custom-made to have his last name, "So" in Hanja, or Chinese characters. Seoul's a city full of imports these days but I'd say that this car is pretty second-glance worthy. My friend lives in the same apartment building as the actor and when I saw a phone pic, I couldn't get the car out of my head for some reason.

Wouldn't mind a "朴" on one of my cars someday.

멋있다, 그치?

----

BTW

PRADA TRANSFORMER in Seoul?? Link

surprise, surprise

When people find out that I am only temporarily living in Korea, they always ask when I moved to the United States. They expect something like middle school or high school because of my fluent Korean and are completely shocked when I tell them that I was born in Korea but moved to the States with my parents when I was just a little past 100 days old (3 months). Note: In Korea, a baby's 100th day is celebrated just as much as a 1st birthday.

The conversation then continues with an "Oh! Then you're pretty much an American!" Haha yes, I guess I pretty much am an American. The problem arises when certain Korean people immediately register into their minds that I am only American and think that I wasn't brought up with any Korean culture or quite frankly, Korean-food-acquainted-tastebuds. If my parents emphasized the Korean language, what makes Koreans think that I was only fed cheeseburgers and meat loaf? (What is meat loaf, exactly?) If some people are amazed by my kimchi-stew and rice craving abilities, what will they think when I start craving dongtaetang, or gopchang, or ggakdoogi?

A rainy day in Seoul.

subconscious desires

  

  

Garance, Sartorialist, ??

Do you see a common theme within these photos? I'm sure I saved these photos because of the effortless style but I'm beginning to see that much of the "effortless" part was in the bottom half of these womens' outfits.

Got my own version of these trousers that I had subconsciously been eyeing for the past few months at the Galleria last week from French label Sandro.

Will post pictures soon!

...

I know exactly how it started...

but I'm not sure of how it ended this way.

when googling something is simply not enough.

Welcome to Korea!

Where Google and Youtube are frequented just as often as when you found out your mom was on Myspace. ;)

While everyone in the U.S. seems to believe that Google is taking over the world, a particular Korean site has expanded my internet paradigm significantly. I'm sure it has a lot to do with my environment, but my immediate instinct to Google something has been replaced with an "I'm just gonna ask Naver".

Yup, Naver.

Naver is Korea's #1 search portal and has successfully managed to create a community of users who frequent the site to log in to their e-mail, update their blogs, manage online cafes/communities, look for videos/music, and ask questions to get really good answers from fellow netizens. Don't know how to make an alfredo sauce? There will be an answer to your question and usually pictures to illustrate step-by-step instructions from a friendly stranger in the Jishik-In or "Knowledge-In" section.

I think the key word in describing Naver would be "community", something that Google hasn't been very successful in implementing most likely because of its broad range of users. Naver, on the other hand, has a very specific demographic: Koreans who have an innate sense of trust for one another. To me Naver has become the friend I could ask for directions, a good cafe, and fun activities for my students.

I'm a double-searcher now. It's always Google and Naver. How about you?

The Supermelon

I didn't tell you that I'm getting two Luxe travel guides for Milan and Miami from the wonderful people at The Supermelon, did I? I wrote about my favorite travel experience in their giveaway and actually got selected. It just reminds me of how the internet makes it possible to share on so many different levels.

The Supermelon is a new online publication that gives you "a fresh perspective" on travel, fashion, people, art, etc. It's filled with random tips, and well-written articles. My boyfriend's childhood friend, Patrick, is one of the editors for the site! Keep up the great work TSM folks!

eat your heart out francophiles

  

The warm weather in Korea has been making me day dream about all the alfresco dining options there are in LA. One that really sticks out is Little Next Door, a french cafe/deli serving those perfectly portioned parisian brunches that you've always dreamt of. I'd really like to try The Little Door, the restaurant that the cafe extended from the next time I'm in LA.

The Little Door & Little Next Door

DD

 

I once heard a long-time Bostonian tell me that the only reason they would use Starbucks coffee is to wash their car.

I wonder if Starbucks addicts would at least consider Dunkin Donuts if they looked like this in the States.

pltnm krn

I'm not dedicated enough to have a style blog or create comprehensive blog posts on the various Fashion Weeks but one thing I am pretty good at is knowing about Koreans in the fashion industry. I stopped by Daul's blog today and saw her new hair! Sometimes yellow hair on yellow skin can be a little... awkward. But I think she looks fresh!

life goes on as normal

So the North Koreans launched the rocket/satellite thing yesterday...

but other than longer featured stories on the news, the South Korean public doesn't seem to be too startled.

Look Across the East Sea

Gangneung is a coastal city overlooking the East Sea.

I spent a great weekend with my uncle and his family and stayed at their home in the Gangneung Military Airbase. (My uncle's in the Airforce.) Umm... how come nobody told me that there are golf courses and bowling alleys inside these military bases? I was told that many Korean bases have 9-par golf courses because the country doesn't want soldiers going far away to play golf while Korea is still technically a country at war. Smart move, smart move.

I have to say though, while some of Gangneung's beaches looked like images from a postcard, reality hit quickly when I saw barbed wire fences along the sandy coastlines in certain areas of the city. I wonder when Korea's coast will expand up to the border of Russia... someday?

Seoul Fashion Week

I didn't take very many pictures during the two shows I went to at Seoul Fashion Week but maybe you can get a sense of the ambience through these photos. I was hoping I'd be able to take pictures of some fashionable people but I left kind of uninspired in terms of street fashion but pretty excited after the last show of the day, Lee Young Hee.

I had a day pass but missed the first two shows. The first show I went to was Hwang Jae Bock and it was a wedding collection... but I didn't like it that much. How could silk look so... synthetic? After the show I had an hour to kill so I looked around the showroom tent and made a new Finnish friend named Maarit. She told me how she was getting all sorts of VIP treatment throughout the day because of her European looks. We ended up watching the Lee Young Hee show together and both loved all the hanbok-inspired pieces. The show was like a kaleidoscope of never-ending silk.

On a side note, Picasa photo manager has made my life infinitely easier.

I don't know how often my boyfriend reads my blog...

but I've already thought of a wonderful summer date for us.

I suck at keeping secrets from him and he's ridiculously good at making me talk... but I will keep my lips zipped for this one. All I can say so far is that it requires a warm summer day in Boston.

You're doing great, babe.