Zofona > Zofona Seoul > Weblog South Korea > Archive weblog 2006 > weblog Korea Jan 06

weblog Korea Jan 06

We are in Kuala Lumpur now and the weather is just fine, not rainy at all! At this moment I am in a big shopping mall under/between the Petronas Twin Towers. 8 years ago this shopping mall did not excist, at that time they just finished constructing these towers. A lot of changes in KL, in general it looks more modern even after just 8 years. We will write more after returning to Seoul. For everyone in Seoul, is it snowing at this moment?? bwoehahahaha.....(posted by Jitze, 31/01/06)
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Always wanted to know what Korean people do during Lunar New Year? One thing is for sure, visiting with their family. That means overcrowded trains, busses and high ways. Even for a flight home you have to book your ticket a few months in advance. Lunar New Year is like Chusok a very important holiday to celebrate with your family, a return to ancestral roots. Happy Seol-nal! (posted by Christina, 25/01/06)
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Today the Cultural Heritage Administation announced that the Gwanghwamun Gate (the main entrance to Kyongbok Palace) will be dismantled and reconstructed to its original Joseon Kingdom form. It will be a huge change since they will reconstruct the new gate at its original place which is different from the present place. A big plan which will definately give the city another look. Time to take pictures, I guess.
(posted by Christina, 24/01/06)

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Thanks to all the people who made a wish by throwing a coin into the new restored Cheonggyecheon stream. A total of 6,363,639 KRW was collected and will be donated to the Community Chest of Korea. This is really a nice way to raise money. I hope both, the people who made wishes and the receivers of the aid provided by this money, will see their dreams come true. (posted by Christina, 23/01/06)
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I think I posess a fake coin of 100 won (1997). Where and when I received it, I don't know, I only know that the coin doesn't fit properly in the lock of a shopping trolley. After I tried several trolleys I decided to take another coin and it worked right away. At home I took a careful look at the "fake" coin and compared it with another "real" one. There are a few things that are different: the size is slightly smaller than te original, it has an sharp edge, no ridges on the side, the imprint on the backside feels flat (as if someone polished it too much), the coin looks thinner at a few points and it is not really flat because it wobbles when you put it on the table and push with two fingers on the edges. If I had not used this coin for the shopping trolley I probably would have paid with it. It is quite a good copy because together with other coins it doesn't look suspicious. That's why I noticed it only today. (posted by Christina, 20/01/06)
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Next year (2007) South Korea will get a new 1000 won banknote. It is smaller than the one used now and therefore ATM machines need to be replaced. The famous Confusian scholar of the Chosun era, Yi Hwang, will stay on the front but on the back side you will find a painting called "Gyesangjeonggeodo" by Chong Son. After some searching on the internet I believe the Jung Sun in the article is the same person as Chong Son. (posted by Christina, 18/01/06)
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At the end of this Month we will go to Malaysia for a short holiday. Because Yde is going to school nowadays we have to take into consideration school holiday. Chinese New Year means fully booked hotels everywhere! It's just one of the most populair holiday periods for most Asian people. We already tried for more than a week to arrange a nice hotel on Langkawi Island. Mission impossible at first but after another telephone call this evening, to my surprise, I managed to arrange this very nice hotel. Sometimes all you need is a little bit of luck. (posted by Jitze,17/01/06)

Imagine us swimming in this pool, yeah!!

A cool Tiger beer on this beach, wow, I am looking forward to it..
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Just now I read an article about Korean women which says: Majority of married women say: doesn't need to have a child. (for reading click on the news button on the Arirang-site) It catched my eye because this morning I also read an article in Dutch about the same topic. Although the Dutch women are not always married, the message is the same. It's hard to combine work with a child or with a carreer and also the other side of the story: it's not good for the future of our society not to have children.
Both articles describe information which has been researched for a television programm. To view the Korean programm you have to sign in on the Arirang TV website. The Dutch programm is called Netwerk, (programm of 15/01/06) and you can view it through Uitzending gemist. (posted by Christina,16/01/06)
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From eye-sight to cell phone.
Until I read this article I really never wondered about all those opticians you see on the streets of Seoul. I thought it had something to do with fashion since so many people were wearing glasses in different colours, sizes and shapes. But no, it has nothing to do with fashion, according to the article Korean students have more eye problems than their New Zealand counterparts. All kinds of reasons are given including watching tv and spending time behind the computer, but also the lack of spending time outdoors. How on earth can you compare South Korea (Seoul) and New Zealand in this case? First of all, most Korean students do not have time to spend outdoors (all the after school activities/classes and returning home late) and second: Is it really healthy for the eyes to be outside on the streets in Seoul?

Another website says:
Nowadays, a century after Dr. Bates activity, human life is even more stressful than before. In addition to that aspect, already so harmful, we have some others, which play significant roles in the state of our eyesight. Dead, unbalanced & toxic food, polluted air & water, toxic cosmetics & cleaning products, huge consumption of all kinds of chemical drugs (vaccinations, antibiotics, pain killers, sleeping pills, anti-depressants and so on, and so on), often hastily prescribed & too strong corrective lenses, exposure to EMF radiation (electromagnetic field radiation) by excessive use of cell phones, computers & TV.

Although I think the comparison between South Korea and New Zealand is not a fair one in this case, I strongly agree that several "bad habbits" are partly causing eye problems for Korean students. Also the way students are brought up by their parents is contributing to this phenomenon. To improve eye-sight for Seoul students a lot of things need to change (most things require a life style change and therefore not possible on a short notice) so maybe start with something small but very significant: "BAN THE CELL PHONE !!" (posted by Christina,16/01/06)
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Due to the rain I had time to put some more recipes on the site. 3 Korean Main Dishes and several Side Dishes.....check it out! (posted by Christina, 13/01/06)
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Finaly finished the information on Seosan Ginseng. Yep, it's a rainy day so time for some updating of my things on this website. (posted by Christina, 13/01/06)
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Today I read in a Dutch magazine (Elsevier Thema January 2006) a top 10 of the best airports in the world 2005. Research has been done by Skytrax and you can vote now online for your best airline and airport of the year 2006. The reason why I mention this is because Seoul Incheon Airport has been awarded as the number 3 best airport worldwide 2005. Something to be very proud of, I guess.
(posted by Christina, 11/01/06)
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Although I check the Korea Herald on the internet almost daily I never paid attention to their bulletin board. Apparantly a lot of other people do. If I look at the number of hits at any posting it might be very usefull. The best thing, it's all English. Maybe we can sell some of our stuff before leaving this summer through this bulletin board, at least it's worth a try. (posted by Jitze, 08/01/06)
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If you think you are good at geography, download this powerpoint presentation and try to beat my first score. 40 out of 44 with 39 miles average difference. It is more difficult than you think. (posted by Jitze, 06/01/06)
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If you want to see more lights maybe you can do the following: get on a train, boat or bus to take a night view of Seoul. It is a good alternative for walking since it is getting cold again. (posted by Christina, 04/01/06)
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We want to go on Holiday soon because we had to stay in Seoul during Christmas. But you know how it is, December being an expensive month. I looked for a cheap airline company to fly us to a nice and warm destination. One airline company send me their promotional movie, I am almost convinced we should book with them. Just don't ignore the fasten seat belt sign when flying with them, otherwise you might get a small headache. (posted by Jitze, 03/01/06)
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A new year means starting with a clean weblog. You can still read our December log in the log archive. I promised to publish pictures of Seoul around Christmas time. Click here to get an impression, start counting the light bulbs. I wonder how long it will take to remove the bulbs, today they were still there. (posted by Jitze, 03/01/06)
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