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

weblog Korea Nov 05

If you have a lot of spare time, fantasy and money to buy drinks you might invent (after consuming the booze) for example an useless thing like the 'Smart-Arm wrestling robot'. Professor Chul-Goo Kang and his colleagues of the Konkuk university here in Korea apparantly have spare time, fantasy and unlimited access to beer and whiskey. (posted by Jitze, 29/11/05)
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This afternoon I went with my neighbour to the Annual Kimchi Making Event organized by the Seongbuk-gu government, the government of the district were we live. Foreigners and Korean people were sitting side by side making Korean Cabbage Kimchi for the elderly and poor people of the Songbuk-dong district. Of course the foreigners were not allowed to do much but being there was a kind of support. The Korean ladies processed 3000 kilo of cabbage into kimchi, can you imagine how much that is? I can't and I have seen how hard these people have been working. I really have a lot of respect for those women who gave their time to help their neighbours in need. (posted by Christina, 24/11/05)
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Where can I find this toilet?? (posted by Jitze, 24/11/2005)

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2006, worldcup football. What more is there to say? The South Korean Football team will try to repeat the 2002 miracle (4th place!). The coach at that time, Guus Hiddink, is just legendary by now. Unfortunately for South Korea he is now coaching Australia. After Hiddink they hired another Dutch coach, Jo Bonfrere, but he was sacked because of poor results in qualifying and friendly matches. Now it's up to another Dutch coach, Dick Advocaat, to make the Nation proud once again. Will the 'Reds' match their previous results or will they perform even better? Everyone in Korean was so proud in 2002 and they were all example of how real football supporters should behave. I would not mind if they would win the world cup. Follow every news item on the website of the Korea Football Association. (posted by Jitze, 23/11/2005)
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We try to be a small Gateway to Korea, but if you are a click addicted person, try this outdated 'gateway to Korea'. Many links, several are dead or refer to Korean sites. (posted by Jitze, 23/11/2005)
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Forgive me but today I am obviously in a North Korea mood. The Korea Friendship Association has several sites in English, Dutch, French, Russian, etcetera. Always wanted to know how the the Song of National Defence sounds? Double click on the KFA logo and you will hear and see. Don't hessitate to sing along, it's like karaoke. The Dutch KFA website contains a lot more information than the USA version, if you are interested take a look and see the difference (probably there are more North Korean friends in The Netherlands;)) Om de Nederlandse lezers van dit weblog een beetje tegemoet te komen heb ik dus ook een nederlandstalige link geplaatst van de Koreaanse Vriendschap Vereniging (vrije vertaling). Best leuk om eens door te lezen. (posted by Christina,17/11/2005)
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I was looking for something to write about and I decided to take a look at the Official Webpage of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. I ended up on a page where they sell North Korean items like flags, badges, cd's, vcd's and porcelain. I would say check it out if you are looking for original holiday gifts. If you like you can even be a sponsor of fertilizer, for 10 euro's you give them 100 kg of fertilizer and one metric ton costs you only 100 Euro's. If the Euro is not your currency, you are allowed to pay in USD, Japanese Yen, Norwegian Kroner, British Pounds and Chinese Renminbi as well. (posted by Christina, 17/11/2005)
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While Christina is busy with the SIWA bazar today I went to Bangkok for work. What to say, the temperature difference is big. This morning in Korea it was around 3 degrees celcius, upon arrival it was 34 degrees celcius. It seems like today is some special day, Thai people are buying candles stuck in foam. They light it and put it into water. Furthermore a lot of fireworks at this moment. The bad thing, a total traffic jam like I have never experienced in Bangkok before (and traffic is normally already jammed every moment of the day). After sitting in a taxi for more than 1 hour I only moved 1.6 kilometers. I had to walk to the nearest sky train station in order to reach my hotel for a meeting. But I don't complain, it's always nice to be in Thailand. (posted by Jitze, 16/11/2005)
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The last few weeks I have been busy with arranging the food items for the Dutch booth at the SIWA BAZAR. Every year at the end of November the SIWA and the Diplomatic Community organizes a bazar where everyone can buy products from various countries (including Korea) and well-fare organisations. All the profit made will be donated to charity projects in South Korea. The Dutch booth has a very good reputation and hopefully we are able to maintain our position as the number one donor. So, everyone who likes to "Shop the World" please come and bring some money with you:))(posted by Christina, 16/11/2005)
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Today Sinterklaas arrived in Sneek, The Netherlands. Sinterklaas is a typical Dutch feast for children. On the 5th of December children receive presents from Sinterklaas, it is our version of Santa Claus but a little bit earlier in December. Sinterklaas will also visit the Dutch community in Seoul on the 4th of December. (posted by Christina, 12/11/05)
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A few weeks ago I bought at Costco two bags with Dutch tulip bulbs and today Yde and I have put them in our garden. Yde helped me with digging holes and after putting in some fresh soil we planted the bulbs. Now we have to wait untill spring and then we can enjoy a little piece of The Netherlands in our garden.
(posted by Christina, 12/11/05)
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I found a website with great pictures of Autumn colors in Korea. Better than I can make them, notice the pictures of the Ginko tree. Around our house there are a lot of these Ginko trees and they really look this yellow nowadays. (posted by Jitze, 12/11/05)
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Do you have any idea how much it cost to keep a website up and running? Buy this nice piece of jewelry and we can keep up the good work (for a long time). :) (posted by Jitze, 10/11/05)

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LOL. If you are still wondering what this means: laughing out loud. Enjoy!

Things you'd love to say at work, but can't!

1. I can see your point, but I still think you're full of shit.
2. I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce.
3. How about never? Is never good for you?
4. I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public.
5. I'm really easy to get along with once you people learn to worship me.
6. I'll try being nicer if you'll try being smarter.
7. I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...
8. I don't work here. I'm a consultant.
9. It sounds like English, but I can't understand a word you're saying.
10. Ahhh...I see the fuck-up fairy has visited us again...
11. I like you. You remind me of when I was young and stupid.
12. You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.
13. I have plenty of talent and vision. I just don't give a damn.
14. I'm already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth.
15. I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you.
16. Thank you. We're all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view.
17. The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean you're an artist.
18. Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.
19. What am I? Flypaper for freaks!?
20. I'm not being rude. You're just insignificant.
21. It's a thankless job, but I've got a lot of Karma to burn off.
22. Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
23. And your cry-baby whiny-assed opinion would be...?
24. Do I look like a people person?
25. This isn't an office. It's Hell with fluorescent lighting.
26. I started out with nothing & still have most of it left.
27. Sarcasm is just one more service we offer.
28. If I throw a stick, will you leave?
29. Errors have been made. Others will be blamed.
30. Whatever kind of look you were going for, you missed.
31. I'm trying to imagine you with a personality.
32. A cubicle is just a padded cell without a door.
33. Can I trade this job for what's behind door #1?
34. Too many freaks, not enough circuses.
35. Nice perfume. Must you marinate in it?
36. Chaos, panic, & disorder - my work here is done.
37. How do I set a laser printer to stun?
38. I thought I wanted a career, turns out I just wanted pay checks.
(posted by Jitze, 09/11/05)
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The SsangYong Actyon is a perfect example of typical Korean design. I already wrote about it but now I added some more pictures. Time to enjoy or just wonder what Korean design is all about. :-) (posted by Jitze, 08/11/05)
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Korean paintings in the 20th century, this site offers an introduction of Korean paintings between 1910-1940, 1940-1960 and 1970-1980. Click on one of the links to get a popup. In the popup you can select paintings at the bottom. Click on a painting to enlarge. Below an example 'stream of colored and figured paintings' 1940-1960. (posted by Jitze, 07/11/05)

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Autumn is here, the temperature is dropping, leaves are colouring. This is the time everyone is preparing the famous Korean Kim Chi. If you never heard of Kim Chi you never visited Korea. Every Korean is proud of this number one (side) dish. Some Korean doctor even claimed health benefits like protection against SARS. I doubt this claim but at least it will protect you from overwhelming garlic smell in a taxi if you eat it yourself. (posted by Jitze, 06/11/05)
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Lonely Planet is famous for it's guides, if you are going to visit South Korea or Seoul you might consider these books. The last one might be the best one to use in the North. :)

(posted by Jitze, 05/11/05)
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On November 13th the exhibition "My Dream Korea", Korea thru the eyes of Romanian artists, will have its opening party in Le Saint-Ex (Itaewon). Last April we also went to a very beautiful and interesting exhibition organized by Katja van der Klauw from Art Senzafine, and of course this time we will go again. For those who are interested, the exhibition lasts till November 27th.
(posted by Christina, 03/11/05)
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Discovery Channel will broadcast a documentary about the recently restored Cheonggyecheon stream in Seoul, "Man-Made Marvels, Seoul Searching". Earlier in this weblog I mentioned this restoration together with the Beautification Project and the traffic jams. Now everyone can see the result on tv and I have to say that there are not so many traffic jams anymore. Some bridges are really beautiful and it is obvious that the inhabitants of Seoul are proud of the result. During weekends many people are enjoying a walk along the Cheonggyecheon stream and so do we. (posted by Christina, 02/11/05)
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At this moment I am in a hotel. And it is the first time I try to use internet on a (hotel) television with a infrared keyboard. It works as you can see but it is not something I recommend. First of all, it is very difficult for me to even read this text clearly, only after magnifiying (which messes up the layout of the site). Secondly, the keyboard and mouse are working slow! My lesson for today: in the future television and internet will not become integrated, at least not in our house :) (posted by Jitze, 01/11/05)
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Military truck explodes in South-Korean Tunnel. I just read this article on a dutch news website. It happened in a tunnel near Pusan and it seemed that the breakes of the truck didn't work properly. The truck transported congealed rocket fuel. BBC NEWS writes this.......
(posted by Christina,01/11/05)