Zofona > Zofona Seoul > Weblog South Korea > Archive weblog 2005 > weblog Korea April 05

weblog Korea April 05

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Yesterday evening Christina and went to Hyehwa-dong (station 420, see map) for a drink. It was the first evening this year we could sit outside without a coat, summer is approaching! Hyehwa-dong is an university area, lots of cheap bars, restaurants and (cultural) entertainment. While sitting on a nice terass we first saw some guys taping posters on a wall although that wall was already covered with tons of other posters announcing upcoming events. Because some of these posters are very nice we talked about taking some home for decorating purposes. 10 minutes later a cleaning guy appeared (mind you, 22.30 in the evening) who angrily started to tear all the posters from the wall. I left my beer alone to save some of the posters and our idea. We saved some very nice poster including Fame, the musical and The Phantom of the Opera. Nice websites although we don't have a clue how to order the tickets. (30/04/05)
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Jitze = old ;p. My birthday and I took a day of. We decided to go to the harbor of Incheon. It is not far away from Seoul and Yde likes to watch the ships. Unfortunately, visibility was very poor because of smog and sanddust, it looked like one of the worst days so far this year (just think of it as smelly yellow fog). We also went to the Incheon free economic zone. Land reclamation on an incredible large scale. The first part of a complete new city, Songdo is currently under construction. The other parts will be used for all kinds of development projects, scheduled to be finished somewhere in 2020. This was the first time in Korea that we saw something which reminded us of the Netherlands, a totally flat area, previously only used by fish and squid. (29/04/05)
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The KTX was a great experience. The picture shows that we reached 300 km/hour.

Within 3 hours I arrived in Busan. One of the things I did was visiting the Un memorial cemetary. This cemetary is an impressive tribute to honor the services and sacrifices given by the UN forces during the Korean War.(28/04/05)
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I am going to Busan for work and I did not travel with the KTX (high speed train like the French TGV) before. Reserving a seat is easy. Even better, you can check if the train is fully booked. Good news so far, 106 first class seats are still available in my train, leg space! :) (27/04/05)
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This is the article:
Members of the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement march in central Seoul to mark Earth Day yesterday, calling for a ban on whale hunting ahead of the annual conference of the International Whaling Commission in Ulsan in May. [Bae Seon-ji/The Korea Herald] 2005.04.22. And this is my picture:

That morning I looked out of the window of my office (14th floor) when suddenly I saw them walking. Me and my colleagues had a good laugh watching them try to guide this giant inflatable whale through the traffic on the 18 lane road in front of the Kyobo building. (26/04/05)
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If you are still doubting for a summer holiday destination you could think of North Korea. According to this article: "It's not Torremolinos yet but there's no place like it." I am sure this is true. The east coast has stunning beach resorts, where you - and your obligatory guides - can relax (25/04/05)
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We received a lot of great pictures from Jos and Trees which are now pasted into their stories . Most of their stories are written in Dutch, but some parts are written in English. From story 24 to 38 pictures are now available. The others will be updated soon. Look under stories. (24/04/05)
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It looks like Yde and I (Jitze) are on a cultural tour. Last weekend Changdeokgung palace, yesterday we visited Gyeongbokgung Palace. The entrance fee for both palaces is 3000 Korean won (around 3 dollars) for adults. Not much for a nice sunny afternoon walk in the gardens and buildings of this huge palace complex. (24/04/05)
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It is getting late here, so I am drinking a beer. For you beer drinking guys (and girls?), recognize this feeling after a couple of pints? :) (22/04/05)
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We received this invitation: Please be invited to an exhibition of contemporary art. Join us for a glass of wine and some fingerfood at the opening on April 28 at 6PM in "Owl's Square". The exhibition will last until April 30.

What is there to see? Paintings from Aurel Tar, Dan Badea, Mirela Traistaru, Henri Smit, Sue Harper, Saskia Schoefer and myself (Katja van der Klauw). I am sure you will like at least some of the work. Hope to see you on April 28! I looked at the website of artsenzafine and it looks really good. Check out the nice paintings on this site. (22/04/05)
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In spring we suffer from yellow dust, sand from the desert areas in Northeastern China. This article explains it. But this image also gives a good idea how yellow dust covers South Korea. (21/04/05)
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Look at this, a flying dog! LOL (20/04/05)
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Watching soccer in Korea is fun if it is played in one of the many new stadiums which were build to host the 2002 world cup. Tonight I (Jitze) went to the Suwon world cup stadium to watch the game between Suwon Samsung and Jubilo Itawa. Although I don't know anything about the game I wanted to see this one because it's a Korea vs Japan game. The recent discussion Dokdo vs Takeshima Islands gives an extra dimension to any Korea vs Japan game. Here you'll find the result. (20/04/05)
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One week ago I (Christina) went to a shanty town located on the southside of Seoul. This area is called Guryong. One of my friends needed pictures for her presentation in Daegu. We really had to search for this place. We already had some pictures of these vinyl houses which we showed to several Korean people. They just did not believe something like this still excists in Korea and certainly not in Seoul. They answered, this is not real after seeing the pictures. Finally we found it and we walked through it, therefore it is real as can be in Korea. Below just one of the pictures I took. (19/04/05)

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We added restaurant reviews Korea and are waiting for any reviews! (19/04/05)
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For our English readers I will explain shortly what this Dutch link was all about. In Belgium a guy decided to cremate his dead dog on his own barbecue at his balcony!!! The result: half of his appartment on fire, a burned arm and a black burned dog on his barbecue. He spilt some petrol on his balcony and the result was that the fire brigade had to come. To stay on topic, an opinion from a Korean person about the habit of dog eating in Korea.(18/04/05)
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LOL, hier eten ze hond. In Belgie doen ze andere dingen met dode honden. Lees hier het recept. :) (17/04/05)
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Today Yde and I (Jitze) went to Changdeokgung palace, we wanted to find the secret garden, guess what. We found it! For a secret garden it is rather easy to find.(17/04/05)

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We just added something, now you can see what kind of music is playing at our computer and the last 10 numbers we played. Judge our music taste by clicking here (16/04/05)
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Driving in South Korea means: AAARRGG!! Everyone who ever drove a car in South Korea knows that the attitude of many drivers is, well, narrow minded. King of the road, especially when it comes to other drivers because they like to think that others do not exist (mirrors!!!). Are we exagerating? No, because it is world news, here you will find it on the bbc newspage, and here on a Dutch newspage, LOL (15/04/05)
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Yesterday Christina walked from the kitchen to the living room and without any reason she suddenly twisted her ankle. Because it looked like a serious twist and it kept painfull we went to Seoul National University Hospital By the way, they do not have family docters in Korea, at least not for foreigners. Because it was a serious strain of some muscles she got a leg cast. If you always wanted to know everything about a muscle strain but you were too afraid to ask, click here. (13/04/05)
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While enjoying your food you should always listen to good music. Due to a sofisticated tracking cookie we estimate that our average visitor has vivid memories of the seventies. Therefore especially for you this video clip, enjoy. And here are some seventies design pictures (12/04/05)
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Do not worry, we are not only thinking about flowers or trees. We are also thinking about food. Therefore we invite you to send us your South Korea restaurant reviews. If we receive something we will add a restaurant reviews section. If you take this request seriously (and you do!!) we realize it might be possible that you get rather upset after eating Korean food for months on a row. Do not worry about garlic breath and your social live, help is on the way, just go to this outback locator if you need a steak after testing another variety of kim chi. (12/04/05)
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This week it is definitely spring, only one week we can enjoy the beautiful white flowers of the magnolia tree. And everywhere you see the Forsythia and the Azalea blooming. (12/04/05)
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We received another story (in Dutch), Jan en Ina visited us in September 2004, check -onze verhalen- -reisverslagen bezoekers-. (11/04/05)
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After almost three years driving in Korea the Korean police finally stopped us for an alcohol test. Confusing because the breath alcohol tester AL 1100, quite a futuristic name but as you can see on this site it is official Korean police equipment, does not look like the testing devices Dutch police are using. We stopped, I opened the window and the guy holds it in front of me. I hesitated because in the Netherlands for every check they use a new mouth piece and you have to blow for like 30 seconds. I thought about the guy or women in front of me who was tested, I do not want to taste the kim chi straight from the mouth of that person. But it is turns out to be quick blowing for 2 seconds, A LED burns green and of you go. (10/04/05)
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Finished posting the stories from Jos and Trees. Next mission, adding pictures. Also, links added, suggestions for more good links are most welcome!! (09/04/05)
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We just received a telephone call from Renaud who is living with his family in Sakhalin One of the ways to get there is flying via Seoul. That is why, on their way back from a holiday, they plan to visit us. A good opportunity to force him by all means to give us his travel story (he visited us before). :) (09/04/05)
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Friday evening lesson when you decide to go visit some bars in Korea: Soju can make you drunk. But do not worry, I found a nice study about the risks of drinking beer in Korea. A good excuse to order another soju. :) (08/04/05)
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Well, say no more!!! lol lol lol (07/04/05)

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Try to understand Korea? That will take some time, here you might find some articles which help.(07/04/05)
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Busy publishing stories from Jos and Trees on the website, mostly Dutch but some parts are written in English.(06/04/05)
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Yesterday evening we watched the Korean movie: Save The Green Planet on DVD. Nice, certainly worth watching. Read the linked review if you want to double check our opinion.(06/04/05)
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Not every link is about Korea, some are about being hungry. And if I am hungry I am looking for meat. Wow, paintings??? (06/04/05)
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Almost no traffic on the way to work?? Yes, it is arbor day. Before Korea we never heard of it. Anyhow, no tree planting for us today, no idea where to get a tree and where to plant it. Besides, it is just another work day.(05/04/05)
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This afternoon we went for a walk near Yonsei University. This neighbourhood called Seodaemun is always crowded with students, shoppers and vendors. Together they make it a lively area and it is a nice introduction for every first time visitor to day or nightlive in Seoul. Christien was looking for a hair salon because she wanted me to stop looking like a hippy. Of course you have plenty of international hair salons in Seoul but we could not find anything over there. I ended up going to a hair salon near our house. At least I know what I get here. If you do not know what I mean, check out this information, especially chapter 8 B, types of facilities, I just got a haircut!! ;) (03/04/05)
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While drinking a glass of wine I stumbled upon this website. I am trying to figure out why it is called -South Korea, Boom under the Sword of Damocles- but the info is ok and the pictures are quite nice. And if you want you can even study some Korean. Reading and not understanding, my dream. Ah, Christien explained the title :) (01/04/05)
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