Korean cultural habits

Well I am on the eve of my last night in Seoul. Since I really haven't seen anything new I have been making a list of Korean customs, or things that I think are note worthy of the Korean culture. So here goes:

1. Korean weddings - the bride and groom-to-be go together to buy a gown and tux at the same time. So the groom sees the bride-to-be as she is trying on dresses. The couple does not register for things prior to the wedding, instead it is customary to give money. At the wedding the women who are married or older Korean women usually wear the traditional Korean dresses. The wedding party also has white or pink balloons on their vehicles. Weeks after the ceremony, the bride's parents may then take people out to eat as a thank you for giving their children money.

These are pictures of Korean dresses I saw in a store window.

2. Korean funerals - there is never an open casket. If you were close to the person who passed away then you will stay at the funeral parlor for up to 36 hours to greet people and perhaps hold their hands while they pray. Cremation is rare, but do to space limitations in Korea it is becoming more popular. Many time there will be a family plot in the mountains or in a pasture, because space is limited. Vehicles for funerals have black balloons on them.

Plots on a hillside

3. Korean mayonnaise - for those of you that know me, know that I HATE mayonnaise. But I do have to say that Korean mayo is pretty good. One day I accidentally tasted some and thought it was butter!! I have since then eaten it again, by default mostly as it was on a sandwich. But it is much better than American mayo.

4. Drivers for drunks - there is a company here that will come to the location where you have been drinking and someone will drive your vehicle, you, and the occupants to your next location or home. This way no one gets in trouble for drinking and driving and there are no accidents; plus it is much cheaper than paying for a DUI. I asked how the drivers move around all night, and they either get a taxi or team up with other drivers and go around the city. What a brilliant idea!!

5. Korean education - education to Koreans is VERY important. The children start learning English when they are 3, usually. They then have English classes on top of regular school - so they may be at school until 10 p.m. just studying and doing homework. Most schools also are in session for a 1/2 day on Saturdays. Since Korea is so competitive for jobs (good ones), many Korean women may take their children to an English speaking country for their high school years (hence the high divorce rate in Korea). But when the students go to college most will go to an English speaking country for a college education. Any advantage they can get over the next person the better.

6. Korean military - all Korean men are required to serve 2 years in the military. They can do it immediately after high school or can do it after college. If the child has poor vision, a disability, or anything else that will not let them be active, then they are usually given police duty (as it is easier) or an office job of sorts. When asked if draft dodging is common the response was that sons who are born to wealthy families or into families who are high in society try to get out of it; and may even make up physical aliments to avoid active duty. A Korean musician moved to the states before he served his duty, and was considered a Korean American. But years later he wanted to come back to Korea to further his singing career; but people view him poorly as he never served his military duty. He kept saying he would do it, but he now tours in Russia, China, Japan, etc. just to continue to avoid the obligatory service.

7. Comfort women - during WWII the Japanese soldiers made Korean women become "comfort women" - or prostitutes, basically. Once a week on Wednesdays, the remaining women and supporters gather in front of the Japanese Embassy and protest. The women who were forced to be sex slaves continually ask for an apology from the Japanese government since 1992, but have never received it!

8. High heels - Korean women always wear high heels. This is not an over exaggeration. They wear them like other cultures wear tennis shoes or flip flops. Even on weekends when they are out sightseeing or on a stroll they have on heels. I have an image in my head of what happens at the gym, lol.

9. Kimchi - fermented spicy vegetables (usually cabbage) is very common in Korean diets. So much so that they will eat it for all 3 meals. Well it was believed that kimchi will protect you against SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). So a few years back when SARS was in the media all the time, especially in Asian countries; the Korean people believed they would be safe by eating kimchi.

10. Korean age - Koreans count a newly born baby as being 1 year old, since they have already spent nearly a year in the womb. So since I am 30, I would be 31 in Korean age!

11. Work schedule - Korean people are work-a-holics. Many will get to the office before 8 and may stay until after 7 p.m. Even though they incur vacation days most will not use them (and they will go to waste), because using them may show that you are a slacker; especially if your coworkers never take time off either.

12. Korean breakfast - Koreans usually do not skip a meal (especially breakfast) because they believe it to be bad for their health. When I went to Jeju Island I had a "traditional" Korean breakfast. It consisted of rice, soup, kimchi, pickled squash, some sort of meat (usually dried fish), and seaweed strips. I think all Korean meals are the same; as this breakfast mimicked things I have had for lunch and dinner!

13. Blood type - Asian people (especially the Japanese) believe that a person's bloodtype determines personality characteristics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_blood_type_theory_of_personality). There are some companies that will actually ask that question in a job interview. I checked into this a little more, and the Asian people are very serious about this, but all research that has been done on it has not been able to actually prove it to be true. But it does add an interesting new pick up question to the list.

14. Korean names - a Korean name is usually three characters (stemming from the Chinese characters). The first 2 are someone's first name (usually hyphenated) and the last character is the last name. While last names are very common among many Korean people (Kim, Lee, Yang, etc.), it is believed that at one point in their very, very distant past they were all related. After a Korean child is born the parents will take them to a naming expert. The naming expert will then usually select the name for the child. The parents may have some say in the matter; i.e., if they like a certain character they can ask the expert about it, and if it is favorable then it may be chosen. The naming expert may also choose an English name (if the parents choose) for the child. The naming expert relies heavily on the meaning of the name. A name is chosen only if the meaning is something desirable. I have also met people who were named by their English teachers or from a name of a celebrity on t.v. Most Korean people who work with American companies will use the American name, as foreigners think Korean names are awkward and hard to pronounce.

15. Korean food - Korean food is very spicy, perhaps more so than Mexican food. But it is great, and I have taken a liking to almost all of it. My co-workers were very surprised to find that, 1) I am not a picky person who will try anything, 2) I like almost everything I have tried, and 3) I can name almost all of the food in its Korean name. They have actually been very complimentary in saying that they loved going to eat places with me because they knew I would at least try anything. They were also very relieved that they did not have to alter their eating habits and locations just to accommodate me.


Top: Korean pancake (veggies, seafood, and an egg batter). Middle: fried noodles. Bottom: military soup.

16. Korean respect - it is very common to bow to people who are your elders, someone who is of higher rank than you, or if you are showing gratitude to a person. Also, if you join someone who is higher rank, or your senior it is customary to pour their drink for them; actually you would pour drinks for everyone, set the drink container down, and then they would pour your drink. You should never pour your own drink. When pouring a drink you should either put both hands on the container, or use one hand while the other is touching your upper forearm/bend of arm.

Well that is all for now. I hope you have learned a little more about the Korean culture. I know this experience has been priceless for me.

Weekend get away to Jeju Island.

This week went by ...slowly... but I was gearing up for a weekend trip. I had booked a 3 day, 2 night trip to Jeju Island (which is known to be a honeymoon destination) off the southern tip of Korea. But wouldn't you know it - the weekend I planned to go there there was a typhoon watch issued!! After having the guide of the trip assure things were safe, I packed a bag and got out of Seoul. I arrive in Jeju Friday afternoon and was pleased at how pretty the island was; it was so green and lush, also it was not crowded and the air was so clean - what a nice break from Seoul. After getting to my hotel and getting checked in,

(view from my room)

I decided to check things out. The hotel was relatively close to the ocean, so I headed down to check things out. While there was no beach area close to the hotel, there were lots of fishing boats.

Jeju Island is also known for its women divers. Women used to dive for shell fish, octopus, etc. before diving equipment was available. And now the island is known for this legacy.

While walking around I found a cool waterfall. As you may have picked up, I am NOT a fan of the humidity and heat, and after a couple of hours I was ready for dinner and a shower.

Saturday morning our guide, Victor (from Russia), picked us (9 people = 2 Australians, 3 Canadians, 1 New Yorker, 2 Californians, and me) up at 9:30. We headed out to see another waterfall, apparently this is the only waterfall in the world that actually falls into the ocean.

Next we went to a beach area that was near the Sunrise Peak (which is actually a very old volcano), on the way there we saw lots of falling-down rock walls. Victor informed us that at one point they were put up to protect Jeju from pirate invasions. And as you guessed our next stop was the Sunrise Peak (which has just been named to the Unesco World Heritage List); which is named accordingly because many people come here to watch the sun rise. But what is pretty handy is the each day of each month has the times listed of when the sun rises. While it only takes 25 minutes to get to the top, I figured I would die of heat stroke if I tried, so I took lots of pictures from the bottom and cheered on the three people from our group that braved the hike.

After a traditional Korean lunch we went to a Korean Folk Village (the one in Suwon is better) and then we went to a green house that has over 100 varieties of aloe, as well as orchids. We also saw the oldest "Grandfather" statues on the island, which were next to a thick rock wall which was used at one point to protect the city.

We then saw the LonelyRock; which is said to be the profile of a woman's face - crying out to the ocean for her husband to return. Another tale says that the rock is the profile of General Choe-Yeang, and when people saw the rock, they were so terrified of him they committed suicide.

After enjoying the scenery, Victor called it a day and we headed back to the hotel. That night we all went to dinner at a Japanese sushi restaurant; it was interesting as NONE of the staff spoke any English - but we managed with broken Korean. Jeju Island is also known for their mandarin oranges, I had bought a small bag earlier in the day and savored them after dinner - they were so good.

Sunday Victor picked us up at 9:30 again. We headed for Yakch'eon-sa Temple (translates to Medicine Stream); and luckily for us, there had been no rain from the typhoon yet. We went inside the 5-story Temple, which is the largest Buddhist prayer hall in Asia. The art work was ornate and there were thousands of Buddhas in there, pretty neat.

Our journey continued onto a statue park. There were thousands of statues of Grandfathers, faces, Buddha, and people in daily Korean life. There was also an underground cave that had a shrine to Buddha.

We then went to Hallim Park where we saw many different varieties of palm trees, Hyeopjae and Ssangyong Caves which are lava caves; but these are unique because there were also stalag mites and stalacitites, which are seldom found in lava caves. The picture below has a story that says two dragons used to occupy the caves, and as you can see on the ceiling, it is a V-shape and has pieces that look like scale marks - they say this part was where the dragon's back was.

We then walked through the Jeju Stone and Bonsai Tree Garden,

We went through the bird garden, the water garden, and the subtropical botanical garden. After exhausting ourselves at this park, Victor must have thought we needed a break because we went to a green tea place and had some green tea. While the log carvings are not native to Jeju, this place had tons of them - and notice the green tea shrubs in the background.

My time there was up, so Victor took me to the bus stop and I boarded the plane to head back to Seoul; where I finally saw some of the rain from the typhoon.

And a good time was had by all!!

Korean Folk Village

Wow, I am slacking on posting new blogs. Let's see when I left off I had tried dog and drank beer and soju. Well later that weekend I went to the Korean Folk Village. Now getting there was a little tricky, the subway line I had to take branched off in 2 spots, and of course once I went past where I needed to, so I had to back track; but I finally got there. The Korean Folk Village is about 45 minutes from Seoul near a city called Suwon and it is designed to be just like traditional Korea. There are tradition houses,

a couple of museums, and a bridge where they shot a scene from the movie The King and I (I never saw it, but that is what the sign said).

But my favorite part was the traditional dances and activities they performed.

There were also lots of crops, native flowers and plants. They also had people who performed some of the daily tasks, which was pretty cool, because you could see how things worked. After a day of being an extreme tourist (even had my video camera in tow), it was time to call it a day. Although I didn't get lost on the way home, it still made for a late night.

Dog days of summer

I finally figured out how to put pics up!! I am thinking about going through the previous blogs and adding some pics, so you get an idea of what I was talking about.

Well the moment you have all been waiting for... the dog consumption. But first let me tell you about the rest of the day. Friday morning we left the office and headed to a Hanwoo farm. The first farm had about 150 cows. They wean the calves at about 5 months, and do not castrate the bulls. This is because bulls grow faster than steers, and the producers are looking to keep costs down where ever they can. When the bulls are ~24 months old they slaughter them for consumption. Then when the cows get to be about 6 and get too old for production, they are slaughtered too.

The average size Hanwoo farm is about 150 cows, there is no room for anything larger and they are under barns, to provide shade and weather breaks. I was surprised at how clean it was.

After the Hanwoo farm we had lunch at a place known for their tofu. Now I am not much of a tofu person, but this stuff was pretty tasty. And as par to Korean meals, there were so many side dishes. One photo has tofu, kimchi, and steamed pork. And the other is a "normal" Korean table with all the side dishes - so much food is wasted!!

After lunch we went to a hog farm. They had about 100 sows, and about 1,000 head total. This farm has a branded product. They add something to the feed in the last 20-30 days of feeding, and can then call it - "(insert product here) enhanced". There is no governing body to monitor farms like this, it is just based on their good word. Things that make you go hum.

At the hog farm we saw a cemetery on the hill. This is common in Korea, I guess there are many cemeteries in the mountians that have a few graves.

After the hog farm we went to an importers' site. We were able to see the employees cutting short ribs, and preparing them for the store it supplies them to. While they use Australian beef now, they are open to the thought of US beef. The people we met with here escorted us to the dog (pronounced "k-go-ge") restaurant. Our tables were located by a creek and were outdoor, so of course I was hot; but it was very beautiful. We had dog (eaten with steamed chives and a chili paste), smoked duck, ginseng chicken, and tons of side dishes. The dog was great, it tasted like rabbit. It was a darker meat than what I was expecting, but it met my expectations. The group we were with was very surprised that I wanted to try dog, and they were impressed that I like it.

According to Korean customs, you drink at dinner. Then you go somewhere for the "second round" and keep drinking, and they order more food. So lots of food and lots of alcohol. Soju is the Korean alcohol (similar to vodka) and it is drank by itself, mixed with beer, chased with beer; pretty much anything goes. The video shows how the drinks were mixed.

After a day of great tours, great food, drinks, and great company we called it a day. The guys from the importer company have requested we get together for drinks again before I leave. I think I was the entertainment for the evening, and they liked the fact I could drink, haha. As Russell always said "alcohol is a social lubricant" and it is so true in Korea.

Till next time!!

Beef is back

Well it was official today. As of 5:00 a.m., July 10 (USA central time) beef is officially being slaughtered for Korea. So in a few short weeks US beef will be arriving here for consumption. It will be interesting to see what the reaction is. The good news is that the protests will only happen on the weekends from here on out. They have estimated that the month and half of protests have cost $2.5 billion in damages; which is in lost business, the ruined buses, hiring of extra police, restaurant and taxi business losses, etc., plus the grass at City Hall has to be replaced. And to top it off the founders of the Mad Cow group are holed up at a temple. I guess if they remain there, the police cannot come onto the temple grounds to arrest them, the only way it can happen is if the temple wants them to leave. President Lee has replaced 3 more of his cabinet in hope of trying to get public sentiment back to a reasonable level.

Burger King is under some fire now. In the US they released a statement saying that hamburgers were from cattle over 30 months of age (really? who would have guessed? I mean come on people, what happens to all those old beat up cows?). Well Burger King in Korea was telling people that their burgers were cattle under 30 months, so I guess the head office put their foot down, and now Korea Burger Kind has announced that yes, their burgers are from cattle over 30 months of age too. The good thing is that when we went there for lunch today, it was not busy at all.

Tomorrow I will tell you all about the farm and import visit, oh and the dog!!

Happy Hump Day

Well it is Wednesday, and I only have 2 1/2 weeks left here - it has gone by really fast. Well more like a rock rolling down a hill, a little slow at the beginning, but then it gains momentum, and at the end it is going so fast it is almost out of control.

I forgot to tell you guys that last Thursday night (July 3rd) we all went out for dinner to a seafood buffet called Makinochaya. There was so much food there; I had three plates and then dessert. There was some stuff that I have never seen before. I have some congee thick rice porridge) with Abalone – not my favorite, but the co-workers raved about it. There were about 40 different types of sushi and sashimi. There were little cups of various eggs, live octopus, and well things I couldn’t tell you about; because all the descriptions were in Korean only. After gorging ourselves we went and had drinks. I had some beers, didn’t want to get too crazy and scare them with the “drunken Lindsay”. Do you know that you can order a bottle of alcohol for your table? Pretty cool, beats the heck out of ordering a lot of shots or mixed drinks – and probably a lot cheaper.

Monday my co-worker and I went to Suwon, another city (but so close to Seoul, I thought that we were still in Seoul). We met with a galbi restaurant owner about the idea of using US beef. Galbi is marinated beef rib, the meat is cut into a long, thin strip that is cooked over a table grill with garlic and mushrooms. And as tradition goes in Korea, about 10 side dishes accompanied it. We had kimchi, salad, pumpkin, spinach, soup, etc. After the meat is cooked, it is rolled up in a leaf (sometimes sesame or other varieties), with onions, chili paste, and garlic if you choose; you then wad it up and shove the whole thing in your mouth. It was so good, and I ate a ton of meat, as red meat here is few and far between. After lunch, we met with a famous chef (Mr. Kim) about the idea of doing some promotional things when beef come back to Seoul. Although I couldn’t understand any of the conversation, it was great picking up on the non-verbals and facial expressions – I guess my Communication degree has really paid off. After a day of eating and listening to Korean, it was time to return home. At 5 p.m. our cab driver said he had to return to the shop. And they will literally just drop you off on the side of the street to get another cab. My second cab ride was like taking my own life into my hands. There were several times I thought we were surely going to hit another vehicle, and the driver would look in his rearview mirror; I think to see if I had a death grip on the oh shit handle. I got home safe and sound!!

It is so hot and humid here that it feels like you leave a path in the air behind you as you walk. And the fact it is sticky makes it so much better. They said it gets worse in August, so you can bet I am thanking my lucky stars I will not be around to witness it.

Friday is D-Day (dog eating day). I will post again once I taste Fido. Take care!

Happy 4th of July

Hello all--

Hope the 4th of July was great, and if you were able to see fireworks, that they were explosive. We had Friday off at my office too. So on Friday I went to Itewon, which is where some of the military bases are, it is the Americanized part of Seoul. There was nothing special there, I had some ice cream and left. I also watched the movie "Hancock", and I really enjoyed it. It was in English, with Korean subtitles. The weird thing, when you buy a ticket, you get an assigned seat. It is strange to see a theater with lots of room with the people all sitting right next to each other, or walking over each other to get to their seat when there are plenty of others they can sit in. I do not why they do this, maybe so they can accommodate large groups of people, and guarantee they can all sit together. On Saturday I went to the Seoul Tower. After riding the sub there I thought I would be ambitious and walk there, but it is more hilly than San Francisco, so I got a cab. It would have been dang near impossible to get there from where I was at. The cab took me as far as he could, then I walked the rest of the way. Of course when I got to the top it started to rain, so it seemed like a good time to get inside and get to the top. An elevator took us almost to the top, the very top is reserved for people who are going to eat a meal up there. It was overcast and the view wasn't that great, but it was still pretty amazing. There are thousands of locks on the chain link fence at the bottom, I think they are good luck for couples. On the way down I took a cable car, much better than walking. Next I wandered around town and finally decided to go to the Olympic Stadium. It is huge and pretty amazing. Inside of it they have put in a big grocery store, and a 6 screen movie complex. There is also a large buffet room for weddings and such. By this time I was wore out, and damp from sweating in the humidity and the rain. So I thought another movie sounded good, so I watched "Wanted". It was alright, but probably a better renter. I went home through Insadong (a shopping street) and bought a couple of things. Sunday I slept in and did laundry, went out for a little walk; and called it a day.

The protesters were out and about Saturday night. The police estimate 50,000 people and the organizers say 500,000; who knows what the real truth is. But since there are religious organizations involved, there were no violent clashes at all!! They were drumming and making a lot of noise right outside my hotel, after about 20 minutes they moved on - thank God. I don't think I could have handled that racket all night. The good news was there was a pro-beef rally this weekend also. About 300 people rallied to say they want US beef back. While not even close to 50,000 ish people; at least they now feel safe and confident enough to come out and say they want US beef back. Who knows what will happen this week with beef. If any more was able to get through quarantine inspections, more may start appearing in the stores.

Have a great week!!

Interview with Rural Route

Hello all-

Well Trent Loos invited me to be on his radio program Rural Route Radio. So if you are interested in listening to me go to www.ruralrouteradio.com and I am on Tuesday, July 1. It is so weird to hear yourself on the radio, and I noticed how many times I say "so" and "um"! Ah need to work on that.

Some US beef was officially sold in small retail stores today. It was discounted 30% off and they sold out in just a few hours. So the good news is: there seems to be a demand for US beef. The bad news: the religious organizations have become involved in the protests. The Catholic, Buddhist, and Protestant religious leaders are now spearheading the rallies, and are trying to get them back to a peaceful level. While the intensity of the rallies has calmed back down, there are speculations that through the religious affiliation the Korean people will come back out in masses to attend the rallies since they are back to a peaceful level.

The leaders of the civic groups that were heading up the violent protests have been arrested or will be arrested. Their homes and offices have also been searched and material that can prove they had intentions to turn the protests violent was confiscated to be used as evidence at later times. The restaurant and business owners are pushing for compensation of business lost since the protests have begun. Either due to blockage of their establishment or due to fact that no one wanted to face mob to get to that area. And finally, the mothers, wives, and girlfriends of the men who are on the police crews have pleaded with the people rallying to stop the violence. They are worried about the safety of their loved ones. So there are lots of new developments in the rally department.

Tomorrow night my co-workers and I are going to dinner. At a seafood buffet - YUM. And then out for drinks. One of the alcohols that Korea is known for is Soju (which is compared to vodka). Korea is also known for their beer and they are known to be whiskey drinkers. We also have the 4th off, so I am going to take advantage of the fact that most people will be working and get some popular sights seen.

Till then - cheers.

Good bye June

Well half of 2008 is already over, how time flies. Speaking of things that fly - there were lots of very hard inanimate objects flying this weekend at the protests. The protests have taken a very violent turn as you may have seen on tv. As soon as it was announced that Korea was officially open for US beef imports, the riots have escalated to a new violent height. While police were able to deter protesters from gathering in City Hall, they pushed them to rally in front of my hotel. I was peacefully napping, and it was so loud it woke me up. So I saw things were getting crazy, with fire extinguishers and yelling. When I went downstairs to try to get some photos, the hotel persons would not let me go out. Ahh safety precautions, so after a trip to the roof, and back down I was able to get out and check things out. By that time things had died down to a dull roar. It has been estimated that over 150 police officers were hospitalized (as well as some protesters), some for critical conditions (and one guy had his skull bashed in), over the weekend. And do you know what their injuries were? Broken and bruised bones due to hits from hammers, pipes, rocks, and water bottles inflicted by the protesters!!! I have asked my co-workers why does this madness continue? Why are the police not enforcing stricter behaviors? Because in the 80's when Korea was still becoming democratic, the police were very violent to the citizens who protested; pepper spray and violence were used quite often. So the police (and gov't officials) vowed that pepper spray would never be used again. I guess you should never say "never"! I will never understand why the police can be used as punching bags, and the citizens boo hoo if they are hit back. Perhaps if these violent rallies continue more drastic measures will have to be taken.

This weekend, in an afternoon outing I went down to City Hall. Home of the protesters. I was amazed to see all the buses that have been destroyed thus far (over 100), were parked up and down the streets, they were lined up in front of the statue leading up to the Blue House (President Lee's house). My co-worker said that the buses have been placed there to get people to realize what is happening; to see the damage that is being done. And in some way get them to stop protesting. I am doubtful it works.

Of the 5,300 metric tons of beef that has been in storage since October 2007 (after bones were found in a shipment) only 85 metric tons have passed quarantine inspection. Things are moving so slow because 1) the protesters are wreaking havoc at the ports where the beef is stored - they are causing road blocks and doing more rallying, 2) restaurant owners and retail stores are afraid to sell/advertise they have US beef because the citizens may boycott their store/restaurant. And like I have mentioned before, it is not good enough to have US beef in retail locations, label it, and let the people choose for themselves. Korean consumers do not trust even the retail food owners because they may be mislabeling the meat. So it opens a whole new can of worms. While the US has yet to implement a traceability or COOL program; these are issues we may face when we do. Or will Americans really care where their food is coming from?

Hope all is well. Take care.

Welcome US beef back to Korea?!

Well it is official, beef was officially allowed back in Thursday, June 26. And things haven't been so great since. Starting Friday they were going to start scanning and inspecting the beef that has been in quarantine. There are 5,300 tons of US beef in storage around South Korea. And after it was announced that trade was back on people went out in masses and blocked the ports, stood in front of trucks, and basically made conditions so bad, that nothing was inspected on Friday. The protests are turning violent, to the point that citizens and police officers are being taken to the hospital, buses are being ruined, and an estimated trillion dollars of damage has been done - between taxis and businesses not being able to operate, all the buses being ruined, the extra cops and riot officers brought in. So a large majority of citizens are ready for the riots to stop. As far as the US beef goes, about 50% of consumers are ready for it, because the price is about half to three quarters cheaper than domestic, and tastes way better than the Australian grass-fed stuff. The reason that they won't let US beef come in, and then label the country-of-origin is that people think the restaurant owners and others will falsify documents, and say that it is domestic or Australian when it is actually US.

Then as if things couldn't get worse: there are e-coli recalls, beef heads recalled in TX for SRM (specified risk materials), the animal abuse video (which all happened within the last day or so) - there are many things keeping the natives angry, apprehensive, and doubtful.

Ok, on the fun aspect I went to a sensory lab on Thursday. Apparently it is one of the biggest and best in the world; and at an all woman's university. My co-worker's sister (no names to protect the innocent) is finishing up a masters there so we got an up close and personal tour. They do lots of testing on green tea and soups. Our tour guide is looking at the panelists and their responses, and trying to figure out how to get their terminology similar. It was interesting and that night we went to a Korean pork BBQ restaurant. Since I have been here I have only had this dish twice. What I had envisioned was way different than what was served. You get strips of raw pork belly (about 1/4 inch thick), put it over either a gas burner or charcoal burner, you then cut the meat into little strips and cook with garlic and onions. Then when it is done you wrap a piece of the meat, with some chili paste, garlic, onions, or whatever. And then you pop it into your mouth, not exactly the most dainty eating ever, but very tasty. Each Korean meal is served with many side dishes (when I say many I mean 4-8 different things)!! When I get back to the states I am going to try and mimic this style, I think it could go places.

Today we had pork dumplings for lunch. They were great, probably one of the tastiest things I have eaten so far. We also had pancakes (nothing like a breakfast one) - a potato one and another one that tasted like it had cheese in it. The chopsticks are still kicking my butt, my co-workers usually kindly get me a fork. Amazingly enough, there are never knives. If you need to cut something you use your spoon and try to hold it down with the chopsticks - nice visual huh?

Ok, that is enough for now. Kendra sent my camera cord and I got it today; so I will post some pics. Have a great weekend.

Rural Route Radio

Hello all-

Well first I would like to thank Dr. Lawrence for giving a presentation for my at the Reciprocal Meat Conference in Florida, that I missed so I could come to Seoul. And in doing so another advocate for agriculture was there as a keynote speaker; Trent Loos, who is responsible for a radio program called Rural Route Radio (www.ruralrouteradio.com). Trent and other advocates in the industry do a segment daily about issues we face in agriculture. If you are interested in hearing Dr. Lawrence and Trent, go to that website and click on Tuesday. They discussed among many things - my thesis project; so if you are interested check it out.

The 13th Canadian case of BSE did not help things here. Now people are wondering why Canada has detected all these cases and the US has only found three - they think the US may not be testing enough. And even more absurd, that the US imports all of its beef from Australia ("clean and safe"), and that is all American people eat, and then we export all US beef - meaning we never eat beef grown in our own country. Give me a break.

An interesting little BSE fact: South Korea does test for it, but only healthy animals, never the downers. The age at which a domestic Hanwoo or Holstein is slaughtered is 34-36 months; which may be decreasing due to high feed prices. But the OIE, which is based in France and is responsible for determining (among other things) the BSE status of a country. South Korea has not done enough tests to be registered with the OIE as being 100% free of BSE. I asked what would happen if a positive case were to ever be found in Korea. The people would stop eating beef all together or import from Australia only (they haven't had a case of BSE yet). But I was also told that Korea would never have a case of BSE; why? Because they would never report it! Wow! So if you ask me this is a great example of see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. And yes the protests continue, the media slander continues, and the public policy deterioration continues.

Till next time.

Korean sentiment

Of course the Koreans aren't happy with the new deal proposed. They think the new voluntary program - QSA (Quality System Assessment) program, set up by the USDA is not sufficient. That it does include the coverage of such items as specified risk materials (such as spinal cord, eyes, brains, etc.), and that no verification can be made that the animal is under 30 months of age.

The Korean people are still protesting; but luckily the numbers turning out for them are dwindling. The sentiment for the protests is turning bad and the violence is increasing; as reported by the following newspapers:
June 24, 2008, Donga Ilbo, A survey result by Donga Ilbo showed that 58.5% of respondents wanted the anti U.S. beef import candlelight vigil to stop while 35.5% wanted it to continue; Survey result shows 63.5% of Koreans say candlelight vigil must be held responsible for the violence and illegal actions.

JoongDaily June 24, 2008: About 58 police buses have been destroyed and 188 policemen have been injured trying to break up protesters in the daily rallies that began May 2, police sources said. Of the injured officers, 16 are known to be in critical condition.

So, I think it is a good sign people want the protesting to stop. And that the group "the People's Association Against Mad Cow Disease" will finally be held responsible for the damage and fearful sentiment they have been creating. Also, according to newspapers (only written in Korean), people are starting to worry about trade policies with the US if the protests continue; meaning you keep messing with the US, the US just may stop buying Korean made cars and cell phones; and was actually estimated be worth $120 million if that occurs.

President Lee has officially replaced some of his cabinet (7 members) and has publicly apologized twice for not taking Korean persons health into considerations when he made the beef deal in April. So it is still very much political. Basically, once the Koreans simmer down, then the government will officially release the details of the negotiation; which I am told may be another couple of weeks. In the meantime my co-workers have been trying to answer media questions and have been going to meetings to try and get things ready for the market to open.

As for me, nothing new to report. I was told today by my co-workers that they like the fact that I am not picky and I am willing to try any food item. They said it makes it very easy on where and what we can eat for lunch. So I think that was a nice compliment. One thing I cannot get over is that the "BBQ" here is eaten with so much fat still attached to the meat. And for those of you who know me well, you know I am not a fat eater; so that is taking some getting used to.

I checked into going to the top of the Samsung Building or the Seoul Tower for dinner; and for a mere $70+ I can enjoy a nice romantic dinner by myself- as great as that sounds I think I will pass; and just visit them as a tourist.

Plans for the week: visit a sensory lab on Thursday; Saturday I need to hit the Costco bus again, as I am down to Ramen noodles, tuna, and cereal.

Hope all is well. Missing you all. xoxo

Its another Sunday

Well it has been a few days since I blogged, I was waiting for something exciting to happen, and I don't know if I would classify it as interesting; but an improvement. The US and S. Korea have decided on "voluntary" importation of beef no older than 30 months. The US packers and government has agreed to not send and the Korean government has agreed to not accept cattle over 30 months of age. FINALLY!! More than 95% of the cattle slaughtered in the US are under 30 months of age anyway, so I don't understand why it has been such a hassle. I do not know how the Korean consumers are handling this news - as all the news stations are in Korean (and I am still a little rusty at my Korean, lol). But the news was announced at a press release Saturday afternoon. I hope that things will go well, and that by the end of this week US beef is sitting on Korean soil; and that at work we are able to do some promotions. It would be very exciting to go from thousands of people protesting to people eating US beef - all in the same month - and while I am here.

Saturday one of my co-workers and I hit the town. She helped me learn the subway system, which thankfully the exits are in English and Korean! We went to the area where Seoul's most famous art university is and browsed and had lunch at an Italian place. We then went to Lotte department store. A little history lesson on Lotte: the man that owns them is Korean but lives in Japan, and he has hotels, departments stores, apartments, etc in both countries. So a win-win; you get Korean shoppers and Japanese shoppers; and both of which will frequent the stores in either country -- talk about brand loyalty. But the department store was cool. We went to the food area, there were rice cakes, and fried odds and ends, all the different kimchi (chili marinaded vegetable - usually cabbage), there were tons of eateries, and things you could take home, and then you could buy groceries. I bought some roasted seaweed, it was obviously crispy, but kinda salty - very good. After a day of walking and shopping we were spent, but have made plans to see a movie and go to the Korean Folk Village (which is supposed to be pretty awesome). Also, on Thursday we are going to visit the biggest and best sensory (food tasting) lab in Korea, and perhaps the world. Should be very interesting.

Today I went to Insadong, which is an area close to my hotel where there are hundreds, if not thousands of shops, street vendors, and places to eat. Usually on the weekend the place is packed, but today was my lucky day because you could get around pretty good. So I did some shopping.

Ok I want to leave you with interesting things I have discovered through a series of 50 questions a day.
* Most Koreans will live with their parents until they get married - yes even if they are 30, 40 years old. They may decide to get an apartment with a sibling, but usually not.
*Koreans never live with someone before they are married.
*Koreans think the whiter their skin is, the better. If they are dark skinned it is seen as disgraceful.
*Tattoos and other than ear piercings are not things their cultures does.
*Koreans love to travel and most have deffinately been out of the country.
*It is not uncommon for a Korean person to go out of the country for college, and most will go to a country where English is the native language so they can perfect theirs.
*Ironically, Koreans usually never speak English except to someone who does not speak Korean - they will not speak English among themselves or at home.
*Most Koreans do not wed until after college and usually after they have a job and can "support" themselves.
*Rice is included in every meal.
*For breakfast the meal usually consists of rice and soup.

Well I will leave you with that for now. But I found a place today in my wanderings called "Beer and Chicken," which is like us having wings and beer. So yes, I will have to check that place out, and it is pretty close to the hotel.

Take care, Love Lindsay

t-shirt

I saw this today and think it is great. Maybe one of the smartest things Jessica Simpson has done.

http://justjared.buzznet.com/2008/06/13/jessica-simpson-real-girls-eat-meat/

I want one!

Middle of the week

Well my sister read that all talks have stopped. So I thought it was a good time to put up some info for my fans, haha (tooting my own horn here). Anyways, well Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon has been sent (last week) to Washington DC to discuss imports with Susan Schwab, our Trade Minister. On Friday it was reported that Korea's trade Minister took a train to NYC to catch an earlier flight than planned back to Korea. The US officials sent a message for him to come back so they could keep talking. Now I do not know what happened; and I don't think anyone here knows (or if they do they are keeping it on the down low). I do not know why he left, but I think it is a good sign he went back to DC. So we wait with baited breath on what happens in the negotiations.

On other interesting note: the report about that woman in Virginia, who supposedly died of vCJD (which is the human form of mad cow disease) -- did not die of vCJD - great news! When she first died the media here ran (and even sent a reporter and cameras to her mother, who was of course an emotional wreck) with it saying she died from Mad cow disease and Koreans will too if they eat US beef - which I found out today is kinda what got the whole anti-US beef thing started. So yeah CDC for saying she did not have vCJD; so now we wait to see what she did die of.

Also, the protests have died down to only ~500 people (as estimated by the police, and as you know, it is a lower number than the organizers ever report), and have moved from being against beef to: a truckers strike over low wages and high gas prices, citizens calling advertisers in a popular newspaper and harassing them - so they feel threatened and have no business (all in an attempt for the advertisers to go somewhere else with their business; and to get to the newspaper about publishing the truth about US beef and our safety regulations!), and of course the government. It amazes me how distrustful Koreans are of their government and of each other, and the means they will go to to let people know. I guess it may be all the years of oppression.

The above are some good signs that negotions may be in the favor of the US beef, and hopefully Korea getting what they want. As soon as I know more, I will let you know.

As for my project. I am looking at home meal replacement trends and the move into the Korean market. I am also researching dining out trends, and doing a compare and contrast thing. Also, I have been looking at COOL, National Animal ID, and traceability (are they interchangeable?), and natural/organic. So no matter what happens I will have projects and I will be here the remainder of my internship. I kinda wish I could do some crisis management stuff, but that is what they pay the big guys the big bucks for.

Ok, so something fun = food. Let's see... Since I last wrote I had a seafood bibimbop, which is like Korean goulash (rice, some sort of meat, lettuce, dried seaweed strips, veggies, and a chili paste). This one had octopus and a nasty looking little fish (which was raw) that resembled a penis (sorry no better way to explain it) - good thing I saw that after I ate. For lunch today we ordered pizza since it was raining - oh monsoon season officially started Monday! So one pizza was regular Papa Johns peperoni, but the others were from a place called Mr. Pizza, which is in some Korean communities in the US. Well one pizza had huge shrimp on it, and then the crust had yummy melted cheese on it and was filled with a sweet potato paste. Now I am not a huge sweet potato person but this was freaking good. Then the other had calamari on it, with sour cream and the same crust. It was great and if you ever have a chance to try Mr. pizza - go for it; I don't know what the names of the pizzas were, so good luck with that.

I have inquired about the consumption of dog here, and yes it is still alive and well. I guess it started years and years ago when dogs were seen as a nuisance and were not kept as pets; people just ate them like they were any other animal. So from what I hear it is better than most other meats, and yes, there are some restaurants in Seoul that serve it. So, yes. you guessed it, I am going to try some dog before I leave. Don't get me wrong, I love all animals, even dogs; but while in Seoul, I am going to get the whole experience, and if that means I have to eat a little dog then I can do it. I have already eaten things I never imagined I would, so what is a little canine.

Ok, well my wine glass is empty. So I better refill. Cheers and I will write again when I know something.

The DMZ story

Well I am two weeks into my internship and have 6 weeks left; glass half full or half empty? This weekend I was able to get back to the cell phone store all by myself to add more minutes; and for those of you who know how bad my directional capabilities are - this was a personal victory. Saturday, a shuttle provided by the hotel, took a group of 7 of us to Costco to do some shopping. It is really hard to shop at Costco for one person. So what did I get, frozen veggies, chicken Alfredo, sushi, tuna, and cheese and crackers to go with the gallon of Carlo Rossi, lol.

Today was a lot more interesting. I had made reservations to go to the DMZ; and our bus left at 7:40 am. The DMZ is the demilitarized zone - or the area that separates democratic South Korea from communist North Korea. Technically the Koreas are still in war, and have been since the 50s. That is why we have so many American troops still here - to protect South Korea. Anyways, after all tourists were gathered from several locations in the city we made the 45 minute drive north. On the drive there we saw tons of rice patties and ginseng growing areas. When we got there we went straight to the 3rd tunnel (discovered in October 1978). There are 4 tunnels which S. Korea has found. North Korea was digging them to make a path to get to the southern side; and the 4th tunnel was only discovered in the 90s (even though the Koreas have a peace treaty)!! So anyways, we were able to hike down to the bottom of the tunnel. The tunnel is composed of granite and still has the yellow chalk circles where the dynamite holes were, and coal smeared on the walls - the North tried to tell the South that the tunnel was actually a coal mine tunnel. The grade into the tunnel was 7%. 8% is the steepest that humans are allowed to climb (well other than mountains or something), but you get the idea, going in was easy, coming out was a huffing and puffing experience. We had to wear hardhats because the roof was so low; well normal for Koreans, but for me it was a stooped over experience. Unfortunately no photography was allowed.

After the hike we went to the theater and exhibition hall and saw old photos and relics from the war, and saw a short documentary. And finally we went to the Dora observatory, where you look out over the zone and into North Korea and even use those huge binoculars; but you couldn't take pictures except from 10 feet back. So I got some "amazing shots" and used the binoculars; where you could see a large statue and the North's flag. The area between the countries it very green and lush, and it is estimated that since that area hasn't been touched in 50+ years the livestock there is only found there - no where else in the country. But yes there are thousands of landmines still active out there. So occasionally an animal doesn't make it. The only thing, well besides the armed guards, keeping the two sides separate is a string of electric fence type wire with the sign "mine" on it. Trying to cross would be taking your life into your own hands.

We then saw the Freedom Bridge, or the only road that connects the North and South and saw the monorail they have developed. The rail is only used to get government officials back and forth (even Pres. Bush was here when it opened) and now it will be used for trade. Before the South would have to ship items they were trading with China or other neighbors to the north, now that they can cut through the N. Korea it will save tons of fuel and time.

Right next to the DMZ there are a couple of small communities, where the US soldiers used to live; but they were being killed. So they moved into town and finally the government convinced farmers to move out there. The farmers were offered the land for free, did not have to pay taxes on it. When they had children, one child could stay in the town, but the others had to move (to keep population down). Our guide said that the farmers make about $100,000 a year. No big expenses and they have some awesome land to harvest rice and ginseng. Pretty amazing - oh and once the farmers moved to the village the deaths and assaults stopped.

After we went to the DMZ we went to the amethyst jewelry center. I guess Korea is known for their amethyst and ginseng. Walking into that center was like walking into Tiffany's or a huge jewelry store - a shoppers paradise. We then went to a ginseng center. The ginseng grown in Korea looks like a human body, and most of it is grown for up to six years!! They let us taste some ginseng tea (which is very bitter). It has a lot of health benefits (besides being known as an aphrodisiac), such as helping with blood pressure, kidney functions, energy levels, skin and beauty benefits, and so on and so forth. But woo wee was it pricey, for a small box of dehydrated roots it was $120. I guess ginseng has to be a taste you grow up with, or something that is acquired over time.

After we were dropped off, I got kinda lost. But doing so I found the city beautification project that the current President did when he was mayor (I think). It is kinda like the Riverwalk in San Antonio or in OKC. Kids and adults were wadding in it; and it is quite nice for the city. But another victory - I found my way back to Somerset, without asking for directions!! I guess when you traveling alone you are more sensitive to landmarks.

Sorry about the rambling, but this was a great experience and a great day, and if you get to ever visit the DMZ I highly recommend it. Or if you want some amethyst or ginseng, just let me know. Hope all is well.

Happy Friday the 13th

Well it's Friday the 13th, and I had a great day - knock on wood. I finally got my "lost" gate checked bag today - big shout out to Tammy. And everything was in it!! So I thought I would fire up the computer and write a blog.

A couple of my co-workers took me to a grocery store today. We looked at some of the meat products, especially domestic vs imported (pork only), as well as branded products. Grocery stores do things a lot different here - it is almost like being in Costco during the feeding frenzy - but they are cooking and feeding all day. Imported pork was the hot menu item for the export federation, so people were buying it right and left. June through August are big pork consumption months (or the summer time) and then the cooler months are big beef consumption months; so keeping pork bellies in stock during this time can be tricky. While I was there I did some grocery shopping. I got some marinated beef and veggies, and some pork belly strips. I also got some fruit and veggies, bread, rice, milk, pb&j, cereal and it came to about 70 bucks. The rice was over $20 for 2 kg (which is about 5 pounds of rice - which is a LOT of rice to eat), and a small jar of PB was over $5! But anyways at least I won't have to eat out all the time, and I can Americanize it.

My project is going good, I was able to find a lot of good info. today. I am looking at branded products and ready-to-eat meals. The home meal replacement sector is becoming huge here (it already is in the states), so I am trying to see what would work here. It should be pretty interesting.

Tomorrow I am going on a group trip, via my hotel to Costco - I know, exciting stuff - try not to be too jealous. I am going to go check things out and see what other goodies I can find. Plus, I probably will get some Korean beer to go with my Korean rice and other goods.

Rained again last night, and no rallies to really report since the big one on the 10th. Well the truckers union is rallying - but nothing compared to what was happening previously. So good news. Hopefully something useful will come of the Korean officials being in DC now. News reports are saying now Koreans are upset because the Ambassador of Ag has been making "insensitive" comments and they are offended by it.

Have a steak and drink a Pr. Pepper for me. Thanks.

Hello -

Another update from Seoul... Well things on the beef trade are still being negotiated, as Korean officials are in the U.S. and are trying to renegotiate the deal. The Korean people do not want renegotiation, they want the whole deal to be scrapped, and for the officials to start from scratch. More rallies are planned; and unfortunately for U.S. beef the rallies are for completely unrelated things. For example, it is nearly the 6th anniversary of an Army vehicle hitting and killing two girls, the transportation folks are upset at the high price of fuel, and other civic demonstrations - so the rallies will continue for now. On an upnote (or I am making it that way), many of the Korean people and business owners are getting frustrated at the continuance of the rallies. Some businesses are suffering due to a lack of people/traffic, and those who commute are sick of the road blocks; so perhaps after these next couple of weeks the rallies will stop - keep your fingers crossed.

So the other day, my co-workers and I usually go to lunch together everyday, we went to a tofu place. I am not much of a tofu person, but while in Korea do as the Koreans do. So anyways, out comes this bubbling pot of a tofu soup, and it smells pretty good; well there is a basket of eggs on the table, and everyone gets one - even me. They crack the egg - yes raw - and put it into the soup, then stir quickly. I am not sure why, but I do hope that the soup was so hot, it cooked it. I do have to say the soup was pretty tasty. Nothing else weird to report in the food department. I have had Chinese (Korean style) a couple of times and there is no fried egg roll or soy sauce to spread over things - more of a bean paste (which is quite tasty).

Well plans for the weekend... my lost suitcase should be here within the next day - so welcome me back to the world of Internet access and make-up! Also I guess my hotel has a service that takes you to a grocery store so you can shop. Now I want to know why the heck didn't anyone tell me that a week ago? I mean cooking for myself in my own room would be better than eating out everyday; it is fun at first, then it gets pretty old eating by yourself all the time. But that is one good thing about eating alone, on my "bucket list" I had dine alone at a nice restaurant - and I have done that on this trip!

This weekend I hope to visit the DMZ between N. and S. Korea and maybe go see a play - nonverbal only - so no language barrier.

Hope all is well. Take care and keep in touch.

After math of a huge rally

Hello and good morning from Seoul. Well last night was the biggest rally ever. The organizers of the rally estimated there were 400,000 that attended (just in Seoul) while police say it was only 60,000; so who knows where the truth is. June 10th also marked the 21st anniversary of the move toward democracy; so there were other civic group also rallying. A colleague and I decided to check things out first hand and went down to ground zero. As you may have seen on tv they moved containers in to block the streets; there were people everywhere, with signs and the infamous candle. We walked around for about an hour then had dinner at TCIFridays - I had a good ol Australian hamburger and fries. When we got back to the hotel the ralliers had moved in that area as well. I went to the roof top to get a better view of the situation; I asked some of the other people up there what the crowd was chanting - "Impeach the President!" Most of the cabinet has put in resignations; is it too little too late for the Korean people? Not sure, but time will tell. I read this morning that business owners are asking for an end to the rallies. So maybe with some pushing from the community the rallies will die down and the Koreans will reconsider the beef import situation. Ok, well I better get to work. Have a great day and I will write again soon.

Just another Monday

Well it is Monday afternoon, and I have the I am tired of working already blues. So to get me reinvigorated I will post a blog! Friday I went shopping in a district close (very close actually) to my hotel with a couple of guys from the states. The area we were at is like a street that has shops on both sides, some food vendors, and some artists. It was pretty cool seeing all the different things and man did those streets fill up. There were people everywhere. For lunch I had bibimbop; which is a bowl filled with rice, vegis, an egg, and then you put a chili paste in there to give it a little kick. It is kinda like goolash; the Korean version.

After lunch the guys went back to their hotel, and I decided I was still going to be a tourist. I went to Gyeongbokgung Palace, which is close to my hotel too. I watched the changing of the guards, then went inside and looked around at all the buildings. After browsing around for awhile, I went into the Korean Cultural Museum; I bought a cookbook, so when I get back you guys all get to taste the things I have been living on!!

The museum closed at 5:30 p.m. so I wondered out and ate at an Italian place (had some seafood pasta) for dinner. The roiters were in full swing that night- and yes they pulled a three day riot which escalated into new levels; with violence against the police and rioters.

Saturday I went for a walk around more of the city; I was trying to find the city hall (home of the riots). I wanted to see what was going on there during the day; I never found the hall, maybe next weekend.

Sunday I tried to work on my tan, but Mother Nature was not going to have any of that. It pretty much rained all day. So luckily for me CSI and NCIS marathons were going on - and surprisingly you get used to the subtitles.

As you may know the riots have moved past being about US beef and are becoming political. The Korean President is not a very popular man right now, as his popularity rate is about ~20%. He visited with Pres. Bush about the beef deal; and sticks with his guns that Korea will not renegotiate the beef trade. Bush told him that we would not send over anything older than 30 months. This is an interesting spin on things because now the Korean people are angry and distrustful. The US doesn't want to give up trade with Korea because it is a $1 billion market annually. So the Korean President is going to rearrange some of his cabnet and hope that helps the sentiment of the Korean people.

This is a very interesting time to be here. And someday in the Agricultural history book, I can look back and say I was there! The VP of the USMEF is coming into town tonight, and will be staying at the same hotel as me. So it should be interesting to get his perspective on things.

Send me your addresses, and I will send postcards.

Have a great day and take care.

Love, Lindsay

One week under my belt

Well today is the end of the work week, as tomorrow is Korea's Memorial Day, and is observed. Since I last blogged I have been able to go to some retail stores to see how meat is marketed and sold. It amazed me that what they call BBQ (thin strips of meat) is more expensive than a fillet - differences in cultures I guess. Yesterday we also went to a street market where they sell all the offal, heads, intestines, and pretty much anything you can imagine right out of the booth. Everything was laying on the ground before it was washed and put into a bucket or refrigerator - and they are worried about importing beef from the US!

For lunch we had Korean BBQ, which consists of cooking thin strips of meat over a charcoal/gas burner. It is served with about 10 side dishes. It is actually pretty good. I have always told myself I would try anything once, and if I did not like anything I would never have it again, but at least I could say I tried it. Well yesterday was that day. One of the side dishes was little pieces of raw liver and tripe served with a sauce; so I tried the liver; ewww, tastes too much like blood; then I tried the tripe, flavorless and chewy. Now I can scratch those of my list of things to eat; I better watch out, the travel channel will be calling for an episode with Andrew Zimmern.

Tomorrow I will be meeting up with a couple of guys that are here from DC doing some research and we are going sight seeing and will do some shopping. It should be pretty fun since I haven't ventured far from the hotel.

The riots are still going, but are becoming less about beef and more political; the hotel and the US Embassy have both sent out warnings for tourists not to go out at night and just to be safe - no worries, I am in before dark.

Some of you have asked about culture shock, and some things I am still adjusting to are: the fact there are very few non-Koreans here, the meals always have a lot of vegetables (I probably get more vegis in one day than I would in 4-5 in the states), of course the language is difficult and luckily for me ~85% of Koreans speak good English, the dress code for business professionals is dark clothing (yeah, and I have a lot of bright things in my wardrobe). That is all I can think of now; if you want to know something just ask, I ask a lot of questions - even if they may not be appropriate.

Have a great weekend. Cheers.

Getting settled

Hello -

Well I am getting settled in and am relieved because my bag has been found. Sending out a big Amen on that one. Well as you may know, Korea is still not importing our beef. So in the meantime, I will still observe the riots and the constantly changing media (here are some websites to check out on what they are saying here concerning the issue: http://english.chosun.com/ and http://joongangdaily.joins.com/). And don't fear, the riots are relatively safe; by no means will I hold a candle and chat, but I am safe.

Monday I had the opportunity to listen to discussions between folks from the US Embassy, guys in from Washington DC (writing a report), and large domestic importers on the situation; it was very informative and gave me a whole new insight to things.

Today I was assigned the projects I will be working on this summer. It will include product labeling, organic/environmental concerns, and traceability. So I am researching these and will soon get started.

Tomorrow should be an exciting day, as we will have tours of COSTCO (yep, same as in the states), E-MART, and some other retail stores; I think this perspective will be cool.

Site-seeing has been minimal; we have a 3-day weekend coming up, as it is their Korean Memorial Day; so hopefully I can get out and about then. I did go by a Buddhist Temple today - it was very ornate and beautiful.

I hope everyone is doing well; and as far as things I am missing from home - chips and salsa, lol. And steak!! Realistically Kel, put together a surprise package for me. Anything from home would be cool.

Have a great day, and keep the comments coming - I enjoyed reading them and hearing about what is happening there.

Missing all of you-

Love,
Lindsay

I am here

Hello all-

I have made it after 18 hours of travel and one gate checked bag missing - don't ask, because I am perplexed by it myself. Mr. Lee picked me up at the airport and took me to my hotel, very nice accommodations. Then we went and had a traditional Korean dinner - I must say I was greatly surprised. I was expecting the kimchi (pickled cabbage) to be like our sourkrout and thank goodness it was not. There were pork strips, similar to a thick piece of uncured bacon, as well as a spicy cabbage mixture. So far the Korean beer is very mild; just like something you would find in the states.

After dinner, on the way back to the hotel, we were in the direct line of the riots that are occurring to keep U.S. meat out of Korea. Mr. Lee said approximately 100,000 police officers have been brought in just for the riots. But thousands of people are marching and chanting; just like what you see on CNN and the police are there to protect the citizens and some areas from them.

Breakfast consisted of french toast, tater tots, fruit, yogurt, and toast; and also included rice and a broccoli dish.

I hope this finds all of you well. As soon as I can get my computer back, or more regular access to one, perhaps at work, I will try to post pictures. Take care of yourselves.

Love, Lindsay

Before I go

Hello, I think I am finally getting the hang of this thing, a little tricky at first. As you read this, I am finishing up some odds and ends for my Seoul trip. I will be spending two months there, so I am making list after list of things to take, things to do before I go, etc. As I begin this adventure I would appreciate any comments or e-mails keeping me in touch with America. I hope you find this blog interesting and informative. Signing off for now.