It would be impossible to cover our 6 weeks in South Korea this summer in only one post, so for the sake of catching up, I will have to settle for two.
Our time was divided between Seoul, where we took Korean language classes during the week at Sogang University, and Incheon, where we spent the weekends visiting family. I think I shall start with the latter.
One of the major perks of returning to South Korea this summer was getting to meet our new nephew, Sun-yul, for the first time. He was just shy of 2 months old when we first saw him... check out this little bundle of joy.
We were immediately dubbed 이모 "Emo" and 이모부 "Emo-bu" - the Korean words for Aunt and Uncle, respectively (but used only on the maternal side for siblings who are younger than the mother... it's very complicated).
When not subjected to hunger or long car rides, Sun-yul is a very happy, mellow baby, and we loved spending time with him.
In this picture, Patrick and I both think he looks rather wise. (What sage would be complete without a diaper to prop his head up?)
He particularly loved hanging out with his Emo-bu, who sang him Disney songs like Under the Sea.
And he accompanied us to fancy restaurants, like this buffet at the top of a hotel. Here he is posing with his 할머니 (grandmother) and his 엄마 (mother).
For the most part, we used our time in Incheon to hang out with Sun-yul and the rest of the family, practice our Korean speaking (and get help on our homework!), attend church, and relax.
On one particularly hot and sunny weekday, we played hooky and spent the day with the family on a small, nearby island called 무의도 (Muido).
For breakfast, we fueled up on kimbap, my favorite Korean snack (like a Korean-style maki-roll).
We were accompanied by Omma, Appa, Ji-hoon, Bora, and Caeun, our adorable 10-year old cousin who will be spending the next 1-2 years in New York attending an American school and studying English.
During late morning, we hiked up a mountain on the lower part of the island. Because of the intense heat and humidity that day, we got about halfway before turning back.
We then made our way to the upper section of the island where we spent a couple hours relaxing on the beach. The tide was too low to swim, so we ate an assortment of fruit and ice cream and rested.
For lunch, we feasted on 조개구이 (Cho-Gae Gui) - an assortment of roasted shellfish... some of the biggest shellfish I have ever seen!
Incheon is particularly famous for its 조개구이 (Cho-Gae Gui). Since it's a port city, the seafood is extremely fresh.
After they are grilled, the shellfish is cut up with scissors and dipped in a red chili sauce or a wasabi soy sauce.
I'm still trying to figure out what these things are...
Of course, once roasted on the grill the shells are extremely hot, so before handling them, you have to don these thick gloves.
After all of the shellfish was roasted, we also ordered a huge bowl of 칼국수 (Kalguksu) - a Korean soup consisting of clams and hand-made noodles... one of my favorites!
At the end of the day, we reunited with Jihye, Sun-yul, and Kihyung at the apartment. We ate watermelon (which costs about $20 per melon in Korea!) and 팥빙수 (Patbingsu) - a traditional Korean summer dessert that consists of shaved ice, sweetened red beans, ice cream or yogurt, sweetened condensed milk, and a variety of toppings that include fruit, rice cakes, and cereal.
Koreans love Patbingsu so much that they even have a popular song about it. If you mention Patbingsu to a Korean, chances are they will know this song:
Patrick is not much of a Patbingsu fan but I happen to love it! (And apparently Caeun and Jihoon do, too).
If you're not a fan of Patbingsu, perhaps you would prefer some cheesecake? Jihoon and Bora were kind enough to buy this cheesecake assortment from Paris Baguette for my birthday. (Don't worry this was a different day than the Patbingsu fix).
Seafood was a common theme during our stay in South Korea as it is ingrained into their cuisine. On more than one occasion we ate 해물탕 (Hamultang) - a spicy seafood stew that happens to be my family's favorite food in the whole wide world.
Admittedly my Midwestern, meat and potatoes spirit was a little shaken the first time I ate Hamultang.
I'm slowly starting to acquire a taste for octopus, squid, and conch, although I still won't touch the fish intestine or the unidentified pillows of exploding juice (I don't know how else to explain them).
And I'm sure it won't be too long before Sun-yul's devouring Hamultang with the rest of the Koreans.
Lucky for Patrick, there was plenty of meat intake on our trip as well. One of Patrick's top 5 favorite dishes is called tonkatsu, a European influenced Japanese dish which is basically breaded pork (their version of Weiner Schnitzel). It's rather popular throughout East Asia, including South Korea. We ate this at least twice a week... sometimes in the form of katsudon in which it is served on top of rice with eggs and onions.
And of course we had ample opportunities to eat Korean BBQ - our ultimate favorite Korean meal.
For our wedding anniversary (7-11!), Patrick and I treated ourselves to some expensive galbi. For us it was the perfect way to celebrate 3 years together!
And on the last weekend of our trip, 할머니 (grandmother) also generously treated us to an expensive galbi restaurant.
They had fancy appetizers, like this tofu served on lotus root.
And galbi to our heart's content.
As always, we had an amazing time in Incheon. We're so thankful we were able to meet Sun-yul for the first time and communicate in (broken) Korean with the family... all the while eating incredibly delicious food. Stay tuned for an update on the Seoul portion of our trip!
oo,
No comments:
Post a Comment