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.