빼빼로 Day!

Pepero promotional display in Lotte Mart in November

As I wrote about yesterday, November 11th is Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth countries.  Korea also observes a special day on November 11th: Pepero Day!

Pepero is a Korean confection, made of a cookie stick covered in chocolate.  There are a number of different flavours, but my favorite is definitely almond!  On Pepero Day, couples exchange boxes of pepero in order to show their affection.  Also, students will buy pepero for their teachers, and people often buy pepero for friends in their workplace.

Pepero is manufactured and sold by Lotte, a Korean company whose influence cannot be escaped in Seoul.  Everywhere you look, you will find items and services carrying the Lotte name.  Lotte Mart, Lotte Department Store, Lotte World (a huge indoor amusement park), apartment complexes known as Lotte Castle, hotels, insurance coverage, and even two baseball teams: the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan, and the Lotte Giants in Busan.  According to Lotte, Pepero Day was not started by them.  Rather, they apparently noticed a spike in the sale of pepero on November 11th, after which they encouraged the holiday with special gift packaging and promotions of pepero during November.  November 11th is considered Pepero Day because, apparently, the date "11/11" resembles four sticks of pepero.

Original pepero

Regardless of the origin or "legitimacy" of Pepero Day as a holiday, Korean couples and children have a lot of fun exchanging pepero and surprising friends and family with the treat.  I, for one, enjoyed receiving pepero from many of my students, and I even bought a couple of boxes to bring to work and share with my co-workers.  I wonder if something similar could be introduced to Canada?  I personally think that pepero (and/or pocky) should have more of a presence in my home country.  Perhaps Lotte could expand their operations even further?

Lest We Forget

Today is November 11th, and in Canada, that means it's Remembrance Day.  Well, strictly speaking, it's not Remembrance Day yet, because it's only still the 10th in Canada as I write this.  You see, the time zone thing is very strange.  I'm currently living in November 11th here in Korea, which means... whoa, I'm in the future!  This is incredible!  Let me see if I can get today's lotto numbers for people back in North America... okay, something's wrong there, the Lotto 6/49 website hasn't updated to today yet.  Wait... if I'm in the future, what happens to past me?  Could I conceivably meet myself and somehow screw up time?  What if I do something to alter history so that I'm never born?!?  Wait, it's only a sixteen-hour difference... but I could change things... oh, this is far too much power for one person to have... I can't...

Okay, sorry about that, I've now upped my meds, and can continue on in a semi-rational manner.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in
Ottawa on Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day is observed on November 11th in order to mark the date of the Armistice following the First World War.  Historically, that war ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" of 1918 when Germany signed the Armistice.  Remembrance Day is observed by the countries of the Commonwealth.


Traditionally, one or two minutes of silence are observed at 11:00 a.m. in memory of the soldiers who fought and died since World War One.  In Canada, official Remembrance Day ceremonies are held at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, with the Governor General and other government representatives in attendance.  In Canadian schools, Remembrance Day assemblies are held, usually the day before Remembrance Day as the 11th itself is a national holiday.


A small red flower, called a "poppy," is worn on the left lapel during the two weeks before Remembrance Day, and on Remembrance Day itself.  In many of the battlefields of Europe, poppies grew, leading Canadian military physician John McCrae to author a poem entitled "In Flanders Fields."

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
         In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
         In Flanders fields.

Since the 1920s, poppies have been a symbol of Remembrance Day throughout the Commonwealth.

I hope that this post has been at least a little educational to my non-Canadian (or Commonwealth country) friends.  Tomorrow, I'll write a post about a special day that is celebrated in Korea, which also falls on November 11th.

Confession time...

During my time here, there are many things I've had to keep quiet about.  You know what they say, "when in Rome..."  Maybe they are a little less liberal here, maybe some things just aren't spoken about...  Sometimes I can't help but think things like, "we don't do that in Canada... how strange."  But most of the time, you accept things because that's the way they are done here, and after all, I am a guest, and I want to learn how Korea does it.

However, I can't keep silent on this issue anymore.  It threatens to come bubbling to the surface, and I feel like I can't be myself.  So, revealed here for all the world to see is my shameful secret, something I've only told a few, very close friends:

I don't like kimchi.

Korean kimchi

I know, I know!  It's shocking!  I can hear Koreans and fellow ex-pats alike, crying "how could you!"  "I thought I knew you!" and even "That's unnatural!"  I know, and I'm so very sorry.  I tried.  Oh, how I tried to like it!  Every day at the school lunch, I would take three or four pieces, slowly eat them, and try my hardest to hide my grimace as they went down.  However, last week, the kimchi tasted... different.  Almost as though it had gone bad.  (Of course, this is a very relative term, as kimchi is made of fermented cabbage.  Can fermented cabbage "go bad"?)  Since that one experience, I haven't been able to eat kimchi.  I do my best to hide the fact that there is no kimchi on my tray during the lunch break, but it's only a matter of time before it's noticed and commented on...

Radish kimchi

There is another variety of kimchi made of radish that is occasionally on the menu.  It is still not one of my favorite foods, but I can eat it.

The Koreans in my reading audience will tell you that it's very healthy, and that eating kimchi actually burns fat.  I know that can't be true, however, it is high in fiber and low in calories.  It is, in many ways, a good food, just one that I find myself unable to stomach any longer.  Besides, one study links kimchi to higher risks of developing gastric cancer.  So, you know, there's that.

There are many aspects of Korean culture and food that I am wholeheartedly embracing.  It just so happens that one of the most visible parts of that culture turns my stomach... to my Korean friends, and other kimchi sympathizers, I'm so sorry.  However, it leaves more for the rest of you!

Officially swearing off kimchi for the time being,
Dan.

Remember, remember the fifth of November...

Portrait of Guy Fawkes

Many people in Canada know very little about Guy Fawkes Day, which is celebrated in the UK.  The day commemorates the uncovering of the "Gunpowder Treason," a supposed attempt by Sir Robert Catesby and a number of Catholic co-conspirators to blow up the British House of Lords and kill the Protestant King James I during the opening of Parliament on November 5th, 1605.  The attempt was thwarted when, after receiving an anonymous letter detailing the plot, British authorities discovered one of Catesby's co-conspirators, Guy Fawkes, guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder beneath the House of Lords.  Fawkes was arrested, and while most of his co-conspirators attempted to flee London, eight men, including Fawkes, were arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered.

A bonfire on Guy Fawkes Night

The outcome of the Gunpowder Treason is felt even today.  Traditionally, before the opening of Parliament, the cellar of the Palace of Westminster is inspected by the Yeomen of the Guard in order to ensure that no one has planted explosives in a modern-day attempted Gunpowder Treason.  Only once the cellar has been declared clear is the Queen permitted to enter.  In Great Britain, Guy Fawkes Day (November the fifth) is celebrated by lighting bonfires and setting off fireworks.  Small representations of Guy Fawkes are purchased and displayed, and these effigies are burned in the bonfires.  This practice has diminished over the years, slowly being replaced by American Halloween.  In Canada, Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated in a few areas, such as Nanaimo BC and Newfoundland.

British Yeomen of the Guard

In Korea, no one celebrates Guy Fawkes Day, and mention of it here draws only a blank stare, much as it does in most of Canada.  So, how will I be commemorating Guy Fawkes Day, you ask?  Well, I will be going to a friend's apartment tonight, where three of us will gather in front of my computer and watch V For Vendetta.  There is definitely something to be said for tradition.  I wonder where I can buy some popcorn?

Some thoughts...

Well, here it is, over two months into my Korean adventure.  I arrived in this country on the 25th of August, and it is now already the 4th of November.  The weeks are flying by at a rapid pace, and I scarcely have time to blink before the weekend ends and Monday arrives once again.  In the past two months, I have seen many things and experienced many aspects of Korean culture and sights in Seoul.  Still, it really feels as though I've barely scratched the surface of what I want to do here.

So far, I've been up the Namsan Tower, visited Insadong, toured the Namsan traditional village, been to Bukchon, visited Gyoungbok Palace, been solicited on the street in Itaewon, discovered the only place that sells pies in Korea, and even found time to clean my apartment somewhat.

I've eaten many types of Korean foods, including kimchi, galbi, gimbap, bibimbap, danmuji, quail eggs, and bulgogi.

I've picked up a few souvenirs already, too.  I already have my official keychain, and there is also a Korean flag adorning my apartment.  I've also picked up a few souvenirs for friends and family, and I want to send those soon...

Still, there are many more things that I would like to experience.  There are many items on my "to do" list, not the least of which are:

Visit the DMZ

Travel to Japan, China, and possibly the Philippines

Visit Jeju Island

Travel to Busan

What do you think?  What should I add to my list?  Please leave any suggestions for me in the comments, any and all ideas would be very much appreciated.

Random Subway Occurrence

So, I'm riding the subway on the way to Itaewon.  Beside me is a boy (about 12 years old) and his father.  The train stops at a station, and when the boy turns his head away from his father, the father very quietly and quickly gets up and slips out the open door.  A few seconds later, the boy turns back to see his father gone.  He looks around, confused, muttering something that probably translates as "Wha... I... wha?"  He then catches sight of his father looking at him from the platform laughing his head off!  Soon, a number of passengers (myself included) are grinning and smirking, doing all that we can to not burst out in peals of laughter.  As the train pulls out of the station, the father signals his son to catch the return train at the next station.  Needless to say, it was extremely hilarious.

I'm sure the child-abandonment issues and psychologist bills will be well worth the lols.

Bread and Circuses

So much has happened in the last few weeks, I scarcely know where to begin.  I realize it's been forever since I last wrote.  I didn't want this to become one of those blogs where there's a new post every few months apologizing for the lack of posts, followed by a promise to try to write more often.  So I'm not going to do that.  Moving on.

Chuseok gift: Delicious!

Tuesday, September 21st marked the beginning of Chuseok, a nearly week-long Thanksgiving celebration.  During this period, Koreans traditionally return home to celebrate with their families and exchange gifts.  Also during this time, many stores and businesses were closed.  Those of you who follow me on Facebook have probably seen the pictures of the gift of rice cakes (song pyun) and the awesome letter given to me by one of my students. If not, get on Facebook and/or pay more attention to me, dammit!  I'm looking at you, Jason!

Chuseok dinner

During Chuseok, one of my co-workers who goes by the English name "Clouds" invited me to his apartment to celebrate with his family.  They are a great group of people, and the food was more than excellent.  We played games and watched a couple of movies.  With it being Chuseok, we of course watched two traditional Korean films: downloaded copies of 21 starring Kevin Spacey and Christopher Nolan's The Prestige.  Oh, and to Greg and Pat: I know it took forever for me to watch The Prestige, and you were right, it was an amazing film.

Dominoes!

Amy and Erika from Newfoundland!

The Saturday following Chuseok, I went to the National Institute of International Education (NIIED) for a five-day orientation with EPIK, which stands for English Program in Korea.  Most of the lectures were helpful and informative (with one notable exception - the people reading this who were there, you know what I'm talking about).  We had classes in teaching theory and lesson planning, most of which were old news to me.  What was helpful was the beginner Korean language classes, which have given me a good starting-off point to learn the alphabet and begin to really learn how to communicate and understand Korean.  The true value of the week, however, was found in the new friends and contacts I've made here, both in Seoul and in the rest of Korea.  There were only four of us from Seoul at the orientation, but it turns out we're all Canadian!  Amy and Erika (who lives only one subway stop from me) are both from Newfoundland, so hanging out with them definitely makes me feel like I'm back home in Grande Prairie, Alberta!

Gyongbuk Palace

Other highlights of the EPIK orientation included a visit to Gyongbuk Palace and the Korean Folk Museum, as well as watching the musical performance "Nanta."  When I saw this show, I wanted nothing more than to have my friends and family there to see it.  What an amazing performance!  It's been performed in countries all over the world, but sadly not in Canada.  Toronto and Vancouver, get on it!

Cookin' With NANTA!

The only noraebang picture I got
before my camera batteries died!

The last night of orientation was sad, as we had to say goodbye (for awhile) to our new friends who were leaving for various parts of Korea.  A bunch of us went out partying that night after the farewell dinner: Erika, Amy, Pat from Calgary, Linda from Ireland, Alex from Australia, and George and Amber from the US.  And let me tell you, I never thought this sort of this would happen to me, but let me just say we noraebanged like crazy that night!  (That was just for you, Jason and Greg.  That's all you're getting!  And to everyone else, my sincere apologies.)

I think I'll wrap it up there for now.  So much is continually happening here, and there is always so much to do.  I've never seen a city more active at four in the morning than Seoul, with the possible exception of Vegas.  I'm sorry, I haven't written lately, and I promise to write more often.  I know I said that I wouldn't type that, but what can you do?  Old habits die hard.  From Seoul, South Korea, Cheers!