Today I met up with my Korean tutor Eunha for a kimchi and tteokbeoki cooking class. I hadn't seen Eunha for about 3 months since I started my Korean class at Yonsei so it was nice to hang out again. She's one of the coolest, most interesting Korean girls I've met. She worked in the import-export business in China and Vietnam for a bit after finishing university but decided the industry wasn't for her and started tutoring Korean to the expat community in Seoul. She teaches all different kinds of people - CEOs, English teachers, international high school students, Samsung MBAs, European interns, etc. She is also really good at K-pop dancing, studies at a dance academy, and wants to open her own dance school some day. She speaks English, Korean, and Chinese and is super open-minded and really good at dancing. Such a cool person!
I've decided to take a break from learning Korean until around September to focus on my upcoming travels and accounting exams. I will continue to study with her through Skype once I'm settled in the States, which she has done with several other of her students. The thought of laying in my big bed at home with the AC blasting and a can of Diet Mountain Dew in my hand while speaking Korean with Eunha sounds amazing!!
Our cooking lesson was at Kimchi World near Insa-dong. They had hanbok (Korean traditional clothes) for us to try on and take pictures so naturally we opted in.
I've decided to take a break from learning Korean until around September to focus on my upcoming travels and accounting exams. I will continue to study with her through Skype once I'm settled in the States, which she has done with several other of her students. The thought of laying in my big bed at home with the AC blasting and a can of Diet Mountain Dew in my hand while speaking Korean with Eunha sounds amazing!!
Our cooking lesson was at Kimchi World near Insa-dong. They had hanbok (Korean traditional clothes) for us to try on and take pictures so naturally we opted in.
First we made kimchi. Kimchi World is operated by the world famous kimchi brand Chongga. One of the secrets to their kimchi recipe is using sun-dried sea salt (I bought a little bottle to take back to the States). We had fun spreading all the spicy mess into the napa cabbage leaves.
Our finished kimchi take-home containers. The kimchi needs to ferment for about 2 weeks in room temperature.
When Koreans make kimchi and eat it, they hold a big piece up and eat it at once. The instructor and Eunha wanted me to do the same so I did and they were laughing at me while I was taking this picture and telling me I was a real Korean. : )
After the kimchi we made royal tteokbeoki. Street tteokbeoki is made with red pepper paste (which I generally find to be too spicy to be delicious) but royal tteokbeoki is made with soy sauce. It tasted really good! I will prepare this nice and easy dish when I introduce Korean food to friends and family back home.
The instructor and I.
After our cooking class, we walked around Insa-dong and headed to the basement of Ssamziegil, where you can make a lot of different hand-made things. We decided on wood carving. We were given little pieces to practice on before marking our purchased materials.
The finished product: a wooden pen key chain!
Then we stopped for a snack: funny poop-shaped stuffed pancakes and sikhye, a traditional sweet Korean rice drink.
Last, we came across these funny Korean statues. In the old days, these statues were the guards in small towns and kept out evil spirits. Now they are funny tourist photo spots - haha.
We ended up having dinner together, talking in Korean about traveling, her other students, men, what "real America" is and a bunch of other random stuff. In a touristy area fully of... tourists, it was cool to be able to eat and talk naturally with a Korean. What a great 2 years it's been in Korea. I hope I have a chance to come work here again in a few years. Eunha, I love you! Thanks for everything! Let's hang out again before I leave and see you on Skype. <3
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