Open Class

First kimchi, now sauerkraut?

First kimchi was said to be the nature's vaccine against the bird flu, but now the Telegraph reports that sauerkraut might have the same magic healing powers. I haven't seen too much sauerkraut for sale on Seoul store shelves, but it would probably be a hot seller since "kimchi panic" continues unabated here in the local press. I've noticed lately that the story seems to have has caught on internationally too with stories by Reuters, the Financial Times, and San Diego Union-Tribune. Even the CBC did an item on the "kimchi crisis".

Remembering Korea

Remembrance Day is not commemorated as a holiday here in Korea. This year I really missed seeing people wearing poppies. This article appeared in the Chilliwack Progress, and is an interesting account of a Canadian veteran's experience in Korea. Looking around today, it is hard to reconcile his experience of war with the Korea of today.

I decided to mark Remembrance Day with a visit to the War Memorial of Korea. Despite this graphic taken from the official website which makes it look like a visit to Disneyland, the museum documents with a somber tone Korea's tragic state of almost perpetual war from the Three Kingdoms period through present day involvement in Iraq. As expected, the heaviest emphasis is on the Korean War. The cavernous museum makes extensive use of model dioramas to detail the brutal fighting between the two Koreas. English signs and display descriptions are few and far between, so I highly recommend the inexpensive audio guide that offers excellent commentary on all the displays.

If you plan to visit the War Memorial, try and do it on a Friday. At 2:00 pm on Fridays there is an Honour Guard ceremony that is quite an eyeful. Members of all branches of the Korean armed forces demonstrate weapon twirling and marching precision, then pose for photographs after the show. Watching the Koreans go crazy taking pictures after the show was as entertaining as the show itself. Click below to view a video clip from the performance.

To see my pictures from the War Memorial click here. Or, to view them as a slide show click here.

Pepero Day

Tomorrow, November 11, is Pepero Day. Pepero Day is a fake corporate holiday invented by the Lotte Corporation to sell their Pepero candy snack.

Pepero is basically a knock off of the better known Japanese snack Pocky — but don't tell Korean kids that. When my students gave me Pepero they asked if I had ever had it before. I made the unforgivable mistake of telling them no, but that it looked and tasted exactly like Japanese Pocky. They simply could not believe that Japan could have something as tasty as Pepero, and reacted with shock when I suggested that Pocky had been around long before Pepero. I don't for a minute want to minimize the Japanese atrocities committed against Korea, but sometimes the anti-Japanese animus I observe from my students is quite unsettling, especially since for the most part they are completely ignorant to the historical context that provokes it. Ironically enough, Lotte, one of Korea's biggest companies and the genius behind "Pepero Day," was actually founded in Japan by a Korean national that goes by the Japanese name Shigemitsu Takeo. Hmm, interesting.....

I highly recommend checking out the "Pepero Song" on the official website. You might have to wait a few moments for the animation to load, but it will be worth it to watch cartoon candy sticks singing and dancing, won't it? This short little cartoon provides more cultural insight to Korea that I can provide in this entire blog.

Gyeongbokgung

To see my pictures from Gyeongbokgung click here. Or, to view them as a slide show click here.