kimchi museum

this week, i had monday and tuesday off of work, due to buddha's birthday being on tuesday. even though korea is traditionally buddhist, it seems like a lot of people these days are either christian or not religiously affiliated. since i am not buddhist, and i don't know anyone who is [well, i don't know anyone who is a practicing buddhist], i'm not sure what people traditionally do on this holiday.

so, my friend and i decided to go to coex mall and check out the kimchi museum. coex is a ginormous mall, build underground, and it's quite famous in the seoul area. it has tons of stores, an aquarium, casino, kimchi museum, and a large food court with a variety of different restaurants [and a sbarros--heckyess]. the mall is also arranged like a giant maze, and i'm pretty sure that i've never walked around the entire thing before...

jen and i had never visited the kimchi museum before, although we had been curious about it for a while. we decided that it could be something interesting and cultural to do for buddha's birthday.

the museum itself was much smaller than i had anticipated. the displays detailed the history of kimchi, as well as how it is made [then and now]. it also explained the importance of kimchi to korean culture, and how the taste is different between the different regions.

all-in-all, it was an interesting experience. although, i wouldn't recommend travelling all the way to coex just to see the museum...but if you happen to be at the mall already, it's definitely worth checking out.

coex mall is located on seoul subway line 2 [the green line] at 삼성 [samsung] station, exit 6. the museum itself is a bit trickier to find. it's on level B2, but you should look for the signs inside the mall. the museum is closed on mondays, and the entrance fee is 3,000KRW.

hello kitty cafe~

yesterday was children's day, which is apparently a pretty big holiday in korea. i think that children are supposed to get presents and/or money on this day. since i am [shockingly] neither korean nor a child, i received nothing. other than a day off of work, which is a pretty great present.

to celebrate, my friend reallywally and i went to the hello kitty cafe at 대학로 [daehakno]. there are several hello kitty cafes sprinkled around seoul, and last year i went to one in 홍대 [hongdae]. but since this one was brand new, we decided to check it out.

the menu was virtually the same as the other HK cafe, and the interior was very similar. pink, girly, kitty. cuteness overload. [basically, it's like my dream house.]

the cafe had two floors, which looked pretty much the same..and the world's cutest bathroom. there was also a separate room for couples, although i can't imagine dragging my boyfriend there [assuming i had one]...

i enjoyed a delicious iced caramel machiatto, and we shared a choco-banana waffle. [it was shaped like hello kitty!!]

it's definitely worth a visit...especially if you're a kitty fan^^

happy black day~~

april 14 is black day in korea…it’s supposed to be a depressing singles’ holiday, following valentine’s day on feb 14 [the boy’s holiday] and white day on march 14 [the girl’s holiday]. so i guess it’s only fair that they should have a holiday for the remaining 5% of the population that is not currently in a relationship. [seriously…i’m pretty sure that everyone in this country is in a relationship…either that, or singles never leave their homes…whatevs.]

anyways, on black day, singles are supposed to gather together in depressed little groups and eat 자장면 [jajangmyeon], which is a black noodle dish. oh, and they’re also supposed to cry bitter tears into their jajangmyeon, as a horrible reminder that their lives apparently suck so much.

will i be celebrating black day? ~only absolutely.

will i be crying bitter tears into my dinner? ~ummheckNOO. and here’s why

1. jajangmyeon is freaking delicious as is.


2. quite frankly, i’m just excited that there’s a korean holiday i can celebrate.


3. OMYGOSH BIGBANG’S NEW MV CAME OUT TODAYYYYY. i’m too busy spazzing about that to be sadㅋㅋㅋ