Advertising in South Korea

The Koreans have a unique way of advertising their businesses. Last week, a new beer hof (bar) opened near our apartment. The music and dancing girls began at about one in the afternoon. Even with all my windows closed, I could hear the blaring music and the nonstop Korean pouring out of a microphone.

This isn't the first we've seen this in our neighborhood but this time it was close enough for me to capture some of it on our video camera. Korean girls DO NOT normally dress so scantily but it is common for these type of dancers to dress in very short shorts and skimpy bras. They also always have lots of blown up props to draw attention along with a disco ball.

The bar was on a rooftop and with all the noise, the bar generated three patrons in the course of the afternoon and evening. I don't know if I would call that a success but at least it only lasted one day.

New Development at Yoga

After yoga, we always sit on the floor around a table and drink some tea. Conversations go on around me in Korean and I usually have a conversation with my 72 year old yoga buddy. It has been this way since I started back in March. Last week as I sat down to drink my tea with my yoga buddy, the manager (owner) came out. She doesn't teach very often but she recently told me in her limited English that she really wants to learn English. She sometimes joins us for tea but what was unusual this time was that everyone got up and left as soon as she came into the room.



This left me and my yoga buddy. They began a conversation that got more heated by the moment. After about 10 minutes, I asked him what was going on and he didn't want to tell me. After five more minutes, I asked again and he said that the manager was complaining that we were talking in English too much. My yoga buddy was really offended and was letting her know. I was really shocked! I asked him if someone had complained and he first denied it but later confirmed that it had happened.



Apparently, people are wondering what we are talking about. In our defense, most of our conversations he interprets for the others because a lot of times I am asking questions. I know a little Korean but not enough to carry on a conversation. I do talk to the other women in the dressing room even if we don't totally understand each other. I've had most of them show me their phones which have pictures of their grandchildren.



Finally, after 20 minutes, she looked at me and said, "Becky! I love you!" I said, "Kamsamnida (thank you in Korean)." We then got up and left. My yoga buddy was really angry and I was still in shock that the whole thing happened. I have no idea who would have complained about it. My yoga buddy also said that they complained that when he spoke English, he spoke very loudly which isn't true at all.



Honestly, this did upset me and I wondered how I would feel about yoga. I am only going on Tuesdays and Thursdays right now because of how busy I am. When I went the following time after this incident, everything was as it always was. I decided to do a little shopping after yoga, and as I exited Home Plus, I ran into one of the yoga ladies. She speaks absolutely no English but we seem to communicate fine and she is one of my favorites. She always has a huge smile to greet me. She insisted on taking me for mandu for lunch. My bag was pretty heavy and she also helped me carry that with her taking one handle and me, the other handle. It's a common thing to see in Korea.



She ordered mandu for us and honestly, seven mandu fills me up. Somehow that got lost in communication and after the mandu came the pork cutlet above for me. I thought I would die! I was so full but I had to at least make an attempt and I ate half of it. She was watching everything I was doing and I didn't want to offend her.



While we were waiting for our food, she wanted to see what I bought at Home Plus. So I pulled out my spaghetti sauce, potatoes, milk... She was fascinated with what I bought. We had a great lunch and parted afterwards. It was a wonderful experience.


She did let me take a picture of her. I really need to learn her name but I have a hard time remembering Korean names. They are very different than U.S. names.

A Trip to a Korean Dentist

Curt (hubby) has had a tooth that has been bothering him for awhile now. He decided to visit a dentist here in Korea instead of waiting until our U.S. visit at Christmas. He's a lot braver when it comes to dentists than I am. I had a tooth start to hurt shortly after we moved here but it only hurt to eat on that side. So I only ate on the opposite side and saw my favorite dentist during our Christmas visit. I ended up with my first root canal and I was happy to do it in the States. I have a extreme fear of dental work due to some nasty experiences as a child.

But I promised Dr. Isaacson that if I did indeed go to a Korean dentist I would take pictures for him. So this is for you, Dr. Isaacson! I'm just so glad it was Curt and not me in the chair! I researched the local dentists with my yoga buddy, Mr. Choi. They all had their chairs lined up one after the other and you could watch someone being worked on not only next to you but as you wait in the waiting room. We found this dentist that has a partition so you can't see people being worked on from the waiting room, and he also had a private room (very important to this American). Mr. Choi said that he was very expensive but I told him I didn't care, so we made an appointment.

The appointment was for Saturday and luckily my Korean girlfriends were coming over to help me with my book and for a sleepover. They were happy to accompany us to the the dentist. The photo above is Curt filling out the paperwork with the help of Hellena.



The dental office was a little taken aback by the arrival of Curt and his entourage (me, Hellena, Hannah and Jennifer). They thought we must be pretty important.


Here is Curt in the semi private room (no one was in the other chair until later) waiting for the dentist.

Some of those scary dental instruments.

The back counter was covered with stuff.

This is warning you to not using your cell phone during the exam. That's an important reminder for Koreans.

Here is Curt's x-ray. It's funny in Korea he is 51 when he is actually 49.

This was the other chair area. I looked into Curt's bucket and it contained a couple of dental scraps. Yuck!!

They also assigned three assistants to Curt instead of one. The dentist came in and spoke very little English. He sprayed air on Curt's tooth to make sure it was the correct tooth. It ended up being two areas that were bothering him. The dentist gave Curt some Novocaine and then did a little drilling of some decay and filled the areas. He said that if he still had pain, then he would need a root canal.

While Curt was getting worked on, I sat in the waiting room with Hellena and Jennifer. The receptionist kept apologizing for how much this was going to cost. She was clearly upset. We are not on the National Health Care plan and the total bill was 200,000 WON ($200 US). Normally, it would have been 7000-30,000 WON ($7-$30US). I told Hellena to reinforce to the receptionist that it was OK! The staff was also commenting on how tall Curt is (just under 2 meters). They had never seen anyone so tall.

After Curt was done, we were told that if he needed a root canal they would put the 200,000 WON towards it. The root canal would be an additional 100,000WON ($100US). So far so good, no more pain. I asked if they offer gas (laughing) and they were really surprised I asked and said that it was only for children.

Of course, we had to have some lunch afterwards. We found a restaurant that specializes in gamjatang. I didn't know it was made with pork spine but it was really good.

Lots of sides. Hannah was picking up each black bean with her chopsticks. I asked her why she didn't use a spoon and get a lot more for the effort. She gave me a funny look and said that they wouldn't taste as good. After lunch, the girls went back to Seoul and we went home. It was a great time.

Pink and Orange

Pink seems to the the mandatory color wore by little girls here in South Korea. It may be as little as a hair bow or shoelaces but I have yet to find a little Korean girl without some pink on her. One time when I asked my Korean girlfriends what their favorite color was, they answered "pink." Backpacks come in pink and blue along with pencil cases and everything else you can imagine. We also have seen a few little Korean boys carrying pink backpacks. I'm sure it's gotta be hand me down from an older sister. Maybe that's what starts the pink trend with the 20 something Korean males. They love their pink shirts and ties.



A new boutique opened up in my neighborhood and this little orange (yes, I said orange) purse was accessorizing an outfit. I walked by it for a week and was just drawn to it for some reason. I really wanted it. Then one day it was gone. Oh, well. A few days later I noticed is had just been moved from the front window to a shelve inside the store.

I was telling Curt (hubby) about it on one of our walks. As we walked by the store, we went it and I picked it up for the first time. I just loved it and so sweetheart that he is, he asked if I wanted it. Of course I said, "YES." The salesclerks were pretty excited to have us in the store and thrilled that we bought something. I never thought I would want an orange purse but I love it!

Han's Deli

We discovered Han's Deli when we were staying near the Suwon Station waiting for our ocean shipment to come it. It had a picture menu and when venturing out to eat with non Koreans, a restaurant with a picture menu is always a good idea.

Recently one opened up near our apartment and we were excited to visit. Their menu is definitely Western oriented from pasta to quesadillas. The picture above is what Curt (hubby) ordered.

I ordered a pasta with white sauce. I forgot the name that they used. The food is great and we also get free sweet pickles!

The restaurant is on the second floor looking over a busy intersection so we always seem to choose the same booth with a window view. This is one of the plants that was bought by friends and family for the opening. We never read the English on it until now. It says: Flower Garden Romantic style & Tomato. My mom would have to agree, tomato goes with everything!

Dinner with a Korean Family

Friday night we had dinner with a co-worker of Curt's (hubby) and his family. They have a six year old boy and a two year old girl. We went to a local restaurant and then returned to our apartment for brownies and ice cream. This is their little girl. They had just returned from 1 1/2 years in Poland. They brought us a bottle of Polish vodka. Both parents spoke English well.

This is their little boy. He knows English pretty well from attending an English only speaking school in Poland. His dad wanted him to speak in English but he was too shy. We had a great time.

The U.S. beef protest this past weekend totalled 50,000 and we avoided Seoul the entire weekend. We had plenty to do around the apartment. It is getting really hot and muggy out so whenever we venture out, we end up getting pretty sweaty. I can't wait for Fall! The air conditioner is running 24 hours a day.

Create & Decorate Magazine

I have a polymer clay project in the August issue of Create & Decorate magazine. It is a butterfly and caterpillar and can be found on page 61.

On a scarier note, we received an email from the U.S. Embassy in Seoul warning Americans to stay away from the beef protests this weekend. They are saying that 1 million Koreans are going to protest the resuming of U.S. beef imports. This has been going on for a few months now but it is getting a lot more violent. Here is the email:

The U.S. Embassy in Seoul is transmitting the following information through the Embassy's warden system as a public service to all U.S. citizens in the Republic of Korea. Please disseminate this message to U.S. citizens in your organizations or to other Americans you know.The U.S. Embassy urges American citizens throughout the Republic of Korea to exercise caution during demonstrations and vigils protesting the resumption of American beef imports and the policies of the Korean Government. The protests, which began eight weeks ago, have become more violent in recent days. Korean authorities stated on June 29 that they would crack down further on violent protesters. They have begun using water cannon and fire extinguishers to stop the advance of demonstrators and have stated that they reserve the right to use tear gas. Up to this point the demonstrations have not been overtly anti-American in nature, but American citizens are nevertheless strongly urged to avoid the areas of the protests and to exercise extreme caution if within the vicinity of demonstrators. The center of protests in Seoul has thus far been Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall, with demonstrators frequently attempting to move north along Sejongno toward the Blue House, the Presidential residence. American citizens should stay current with media coverage of local events and be aware of their surroundings at all times. The U.S. Embassy in Seoul will continue to keep the American citizen community informed of any changes in the overall security situation via this email system and the Embassy websites at http://seoul.usembassy.gov and www.asktheconsul.org. The Embassy encourages all U.S. citizens to register their presence in Korea with the American Citizens Services office at the U.S. Embassy or via the Internet at http://travel.state.gov/travel/abroad_registration.html or http://www.asktheconsul.org/.

We weren't planning on going into Seoul this weekend and will definitely being laying low. American beef sales just resumed this week and the first store to advertise selling U.S. beef sold out in 5 hours. It was also 30% cheaper than Korean beef.

This whole beef about the beef reminds of the problems Oprah had years ago with Texas beef producers. I'm learning that no matter what country you are in, DON'T MESS WITH THE BEEF!

Tonight is dinner out with a co-worker of Curt's (hubby) and his family. They have two kids who will also be going along. Dessert is at our house and I'm cracking open that box of brownies I paid way too much for.