This past weekend in Toronto was the Korean Film Festival. It was held at Yonge and Dundas at the AMC Theatres. The event ran from Friday evening till Sunday evening and there were 5 different Korean films being screened. During an event at the Korean Consulate (check out here for more on that), I found out about the festival. We were shown a trailer on each of the films and given a quick written synopsis of each one. There was a good selection of different genres of films and they all looked great. Here is a quick list of each one:
GLOVE - About a hot tempered baseball player who finds himself coaching a hearing impaired team of young boys.
NAMELESS GANGSTER: RULES OF TIME - Set in Busan, this film is about the under belly side of this city. Organized crime, drug trafficking and corruption.
THE FRONT LINE - This is a war story set back in 1951 and is set all around the ending of the Korean War, the fight for territory and the lives it affects.
SPELLBOUND - A love story between a haunted girl and a magician.
The last movie was HELPLESS, and this is the one I went to go see. It was a really heavy movie and not a 'happily ever after' flick. It is about a man whose fiance disappears at a rest stop on the side of the road. The plot traces him devoting all of his time and energy into unraveling the mystery that unfolds and finding out who his fiance really is. Both the main character Lee Sun-kyun, and the detective he uses to help him solve the mystery, Jo Sung-ha, do a phenomenal job as their characters.
I recognised
Jo Sung-ha from another Korean movie, called The Chaser (I think) where he played almost the exact same character of a washed up detective and he does it so well. Although I was only able to catch one movie at the festival I really looking forward to eventually seeing all of them. As long as your okay with reading subtitles I think these will all be worth the watch.
For a more detailed review on the films check out Cindy's blog on all the movies she watched here.
If you asked me 3 years ago, if I ever thought I would be spending a Friday night in the basement of the Korean Consulate in Toronto and feeling totally at home, the answer would have to be, no way. But the world works in funny ways and last Friday, my boyfriend and I attended an event, with no expectations, and had a really, really good time. Seriously.
I love Korea!
A few weeks ago I had the privilege to be a part of a great meet and greet with Kwang Kyun Chung, the Consul General and his 2 lovely coworkers (check out here, Finding Korea in Toronto, to read more about that blog entry). At lunch I was given the heads up about a few upcoming events in the Korean community and was openly welcomed to them. After spending so much time in Korea, I felt like this was the perfect way to fill the void of Korean culture in general in my life.
Last Friday's event was called "I Love Hangeul Because...." (FYI, hangeul is the Korean alphabet). After a busy day at work, my boyfriend and I headed to the consulate for 6pm. We were starved, and not knowing what to expect, I promised him just a quick pop in to check out the event, snap some pics to blog about it, then we could be off to find dinner somewhere and fill our bellies. As soon as we walked down the steps to the event room we were instantly transported back to Korea with the spread that lay in front of us! We both lit up and I think we may have even started drooling a little. One of the biggest things I miss about Korea is the delicious food and a perfect selection of all our favourite bits and bites lay ahead of us. We grabbed a plate and a drink and filled up on kimbap (Korean sushi rolls, without the raw fish), japchae (glass noodles mixed with some veggies), kimchi (spicy fermented cabbage), bulgogi (marinated beef), and some type of other roll, which I don't know the name for. We pigged out. I went up for seconds and by the time that plate was cleared neither my boyfriend or I had any room left for the best part.... bibimbap. Bibimbap is one of the most famous Korean dishes and it's similar to a stir fry. It is a whole bunch of chopped up veggies, sometimes some beef or an egg mixed in, and then added rice and gochujang, which is fiery, delicious red pepper paste. Luckily I was toting around one of my kitchen sink kind of purses so we actually took the bibimbap home with us as leftovers. Such a good souvenir from the night (and we heated it all up in a wok at home the next day for lunch, so delicious)!
Japchae & kimbap.
Bibimbap & the food spread.
Aside from the great food put out for everyone, the rest of the night was really enjoyable. Ji In Kim was the hostess and she did such a great job. She was one of the people that took me out for lunch with the Consul General and she just naturally puts people at ease and makes them smile. She commanded the room really well and kept the evening running smoothly. To start things off Consul General Kwang Kyun Chung welcomed everyone with a lovely speech. There were a few more welcoming speeches to follow him and then we were treated to 2 musical performances. The first was Minkyo-seo, who sang his heart out to us and that was followed by two beautiful songs performed by Seohoo.
Consul General and our hostess for the evening.
Minkyo-seo
Seohoo
The Korean Film Festival in Toronto happened on May 4th, 5th and 6th. In order to promote it, we watched all the trailers for the five different films being screened. The titles were Glove, Spellbound, The Front Line, Helpless, and Nameless Gangster. To read more about the film festival, check out my blog entry on one of the movies, or Cindy has a great review of all of them here.
Next up was a speech, which I unfortunately didn't understand because it was all in Korean. Yuki Sakai was a student who learned Korean and had won a speech contest. Her pronunciation to my untrained ears sounded great, and it seemed like everyone in the room loved it, so congrats to her. Philip Leal was the next person up at the mic and he was telling people about something I know very well, moving to Korea to teach English. He did his time in Korea with a company called TaLK, a little different than GEPIK, which is who I was with when I was in Korea, but basically the same principles. Contract work, flights and apartment paid for, support, and wages. It's interesting hearing about other peoples' experiences in Korea, especially now that I am back. It is so nice that so many people (especially so many Canadians) have had such great, positive and fun experiences working and living in Korea. After leaving Korea just a few months ago, I know that I look back on it so fondly and miss so many different aspects of living there.
Philip Leal does an impromptu tae-kwon-do demo.
The next guest speaker was Cindy Zimmer. I have met Cindy a few times now and our connection is basically blogging and a love for Korea. Like me, she is a Worldwide Korea Blogger, which means we both blog for THE KOREA BLOG. She said a fantastic speech, accompanied by a great slideshow and it was all based on her love for Korea. Cindy used to teach English in Korea, and upon her arrival home she has submersed herself in all things Korean, based out of Toronto. Check out her blog here.
Go Cindy!
Cindy shares her love for Korea to everyone.
All throughout the evening there were short little quizzes to win prizes. Some of the questions seemed a little difficult and they were obviously all Korea-based. I managed to win a cute little prize for answering the question "What is the tallest mountain in Korea?" I choked a little (Garry's fault, not that I am blaming anyone. Garry! Garry! Garry!), and initially answered Seoraksan, but then *realized it was Hallasan. Hallasan is the massive mountain that is on Jeju Island. I visited Jeju a few times whilst in Korea, so I should've known that answer much faster. But Ji In was lenient and gave me a lovely prize anyway. It was lots of fun.
The very last part of the evening was an unbelievable performance by Sungmi Kim. She spoke a little to get things started and taught us about the traditional Korean instrument she was going to play a few pieces on. The instrument was called a geomungo sanjo and it reminded me of a Korean version of a sitar. It sounded so raw and beasutiful and was a really nice way to end the evening.
Sungmi Kim playing the geomungo sanjo.
From there, there was a little bit of mixing and mingling. Interviews were done and lots of photos were taken. All in all, a very successful event put on by Toronto's Korean Consulate. A nice variety of guests and performances went on. I am so happy I was invited to attend as an Ambassador of Korea. It was a total pleasure to take part in and I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to go.
Here are a few more photos from the end of the evening.
What's a Korean event without a group photo to end things properly?
Media stuff.
New chingus (friends). Posing with Ji In.
Korea & Canada.
Worldwide Korea Bloggers unite!
Bibimbap..... great leftovers.
Everyone received red ginseng candy on their way out.
Here is a short clip from all tv news, who covered the event (it's in Korean but it sets the scene nicely).
P.S. All evening I thought of what I would say if someone were to actually ask me why I love hangeul (which for the record they didn't). My answer to the question would be this. I love hangeul because it is Korean. It is something I didn't know before I moved to Korea and it is something I learned there. It made me understand and appreciate so much about the culture that I wouldn't have know otherwise. There you have it.
Spring is probably one of the best times of year for a lot of people. I am actually a summer girl through and through but it doesn't mean that I can't appreciate all the wonderful things happening in the spring time. After a long winter, there is nothing more refreshing and awe inspiring than a breath of fresh spring air. The grass starts to grow, brown turns to green and flowers come into bloom.
In Korea, spring was beautiful. Spring in Korea = cherry blossoms. I highly anticipated this time last year because Korea needs no special reason to throw a festival and cherry blossoms, are as good of a reason as any. Last April I went on an amazing biking trip to Gyeongju, a very historical city in Korea that is infested with cherry blossom trees and eye popping scenery. It was pretty epic.
This year, although I am not in Korea to experience the cherry blossoms at their finest, I did the best I could do here in Toronto. The biggest collection of cherry blossoms in one area in the city is in High Park and it is usually mayhem there at this time of year. People flock from far and wide to walk under the arched branches strung with the light fluffy cotton puffs of cherry blossoms. On line, like in Korea, there are ways to monitor what the exact day is that the blossoms will peak, but because of moving and life's general craziness I missed the height of the frenzy (my boss went and said frenzy was an understatement). This was actually a blessing in disguise because the day my boyfriend and I went, we were able to grab a coffee just before the sun went down, and stroll through the park without being crushed by a herd of others. It was busy, but not to the point that it was over crowded. Just a bunch of like minded people, out in nature, enjoying the beauty around us.
Typically, I took a slew of pictures (before the battery on my DSLR died) but due to aforementioned move (and again, just general unorganization), I cannot find my camera cable to download all my pictures to my laptop, *sigh*. Luckily, when camera #1 died I switched to my iPhone. So below is a collection of iPhone pictures and when I finally organize my life (and my new house), I will find the camera cord and do a separate "Cherry Blossom Photo Blog". But here is a little teaser just for now.
Happy Cherry Blossom Season!
Last rays of golden sunshine of the day.
Posing with coffee and camera with dead battery :-(
It has been almost 2 months since I left Korea and I miss it. After a year and half of living there and blogging about my life in Korea, I was curious how to continue my 'travel blog' when I arrived back in Toronto. I am still blogging for THE KOREA BLOG, which means I am still expected to have Korean content. I knew I was itching to explore Korea Town in Toronto and I can't wait to attempt to cook Korean food at home, but I wasn't really sure where to take it from there. Just last night I was driving through Toronto's 2nd Korea Town further north of downtown and it took all my power to focus on the road instead of reading all the Korean signs written in hangeul, for restaurants, norebangs (Korean karaoke) and private academies.
The day after I arrived back in Toronto I received a phone call from the Korean Consulate. My presence was requested for lunch with the Consular General and 2 other Officers. I was a little shocked and my interest was totally piqued. So just last week, another Toronto based blogger Cindy, also from The Korea Blog (check out her blog at www.lifesanadventure2.com) and I met outside the Consulate and headed in.
The Korean Consulate in Toronto is gorgeous. It is located in a beautiful old house at St.Clair and Avenue Rd. We were led straight up to the Consular General's private office for tea. I was instantly taken back to Korea. Even though it is all so recent and relatively fresh in my mind, it still feels like Korea was a lifetime ago. It's like as soon as I stepped foot back into Toronto, it's like I never left. So sitting with a bunch of Koreans, switching back and forth from English to Korean, and sipping tea was such an unexpected and pleasant surprise.
It ended up the purpose of the meeting was solely to thank us for our efforts in reporting about Korea in the blogosphere. How humbling. After our tea, the 5 of us were driven in 2 private cars down to a nice restaurant down on Bloor St (Korea Town). I think Cindy and I were the only 2 non-Koreans in sight and I was basking in it. It was such a familiar circumstance for me from my time in Korea. It was so nice to practice Korean customs in Toronto! It was great to use chopsticks again (I really miss chopsticks in my life on a daily basis) and to say hi and thanks and the basics in Korean. It lit a little fire inside me to really find a place for Korea in my life back home.
The best part of the whole meet and greet was the invitation to be an ambassador of Korea here. In a nutshell we were invited to the next few events at the Consulate and Korean cultural events in the city (like the Korean Film Festival). As I know from living in Korea, there is so much to take part in if you're aware and connected. So this was the perfect first steps to take here. They were really adamant about us covering events here and taking part in the Korean community. So with me feeling a little homesick for Korea, this is happened at the most ideal time.
So now along with my own explorations of finding the best bibimbop in the city and tracking down the best Korean grocery stores to stock up on my favorites, I am now going to be part of the more official side of things here, totally well connected at the Korean Consulate. 아사!!!
Below is a photo of us with Kwang-Kyun Chung, the Consul General.
One of the many reasons why I love Korea, is the food. One of the many things I will miss about Korea, is the food. One of my many favorites meals here, is shabu-shabu. I was reading an article (looking for shabu shabu restaurants in Toronto) and loved when the writer said, the dish is so good it is deserved to be named twice.
Shabu shabu originates from Japan and the name is supposed to be reminiscent of the swishing sound the broth makes while cooking the food. The dish is also closely related to the Chinese version, called a hot pot. In Korea, when I am going out for shabu shabu, it's a good idea to fast before hand, because it is quite the production from beginning to end.
Just as I am about to leave Korea, my old coteacher Mrs.Kim and a few other teachers from Osan showed me THE BEST shabu shabu restaurant. I actually took a friend back a week later, it was that good. I had to get one more fix before I left the country.
This is how the whole meal plays out. A big pot of broth is brought to the table and put on a burner. Sometimes there is nothing in the broth, but in this particular restaurant it came with a few pieces of deokk (rice cake), a few small fish cakes, some tofu, and a bit of cabbage. Next came a large platter filled with veggies. On one half was an assortment of leafy greens, shoots, mushrooms, onions, and a pair of scissors to cut them all down to bite sized. On the other half of the plate was more veggies (carrots, cabbage, onion, pineapple) but these were chopped up into small pieces, more on that in a minute. On the next platter is the finely sliced and rolled up pieces of beef. Lastly, is another big plate with noodles and jumbo mandu (dumplings). Of course along with these platters are the typical array of Korean banchan, side dishes. There were a few salads and a big plate of water kimchi, and each person gets their own set of 3 bowls of different sauces. One had a lemon flavor, one was spicy and another was a mystery, but very tasty.
The first thing to go in is the big veggies, followed by the meat, which takes less than a few minutes to cook in the boiling broth. Another item on the table is a stand of dried rice paper and a big bowl of hot water. The rice paper is submersed in water for a moment and then it's ready to be filled. You dip your chopsticks in the pot and pick out whatever you want in your rice paper. Once it's full, but not too full, because these are one bite delights, it's wrapped up, dipped in your sauce of choice, and down the hatch it goes. Repeat this process as many times as you can. The platters are full of veggies and meat, and the pot isn't very big so it is constantly being filled. It's a work for your food type of meal, and lots of fun with a good group of people. You can substitute the rice paper wraps for some of the leafy greens and make a wrap with it, or you can just eat straight out of the pot, piece by piece.
Once your veggie and meat plates have dwindled down to nothing and the broth has taken on a fuller flavor, it's time for the next part. In go the noodles and the mandu. It tastes just that much better because of everything that has been cooked in the broth throughout the meal. The noodles are infused with lots of delicious flavor.
At this point in the meal I am usually so full I can barely move, but most Korean meals traditionally end with rice being served at the end. This signifies the last of the dishes have been brought out. But at the shabu shabu restaurant it's done with a twist, and I pretty sure this is unique to Korea. Instead of just serving each person their small rice bowl, there is just one larger one brought out. The server comes over and scoops out any left over noodles from the pot and all but about 2 inches of broth. In goes the rice (usually with bits of seaweed and maybe an egg too) and it is all mixed in. In Korea, there is a soup called juk, which translates to a thick porridge, from a rice base. The server slowly adds in a bit more of the broth. There are also tons of small chunks of meat and veggies left from the meal to add to the taste. The juk cooks for about 5 minutes till it is a thick consistency, and then it's time to dig in, again. This version of rice is a lot more interesting than just a plain bowl of it served. So even though, after sampling so many different foods through the meal I have started to resemble one of the big dumplings, there is always rooms for a little more. So down goes the soup.
Shabu shabu is an interactive, fun, do-it-yourself kind of meal. Not to mention cheap (in Korea). At this restaurant in Osan, it was 12,000 won per person (just over 10 bucks). It works for 2 people, or a huge group. There is lots of reaching and sharing and everyone takes part in the meal. It is similar to Korean BBQ because you cook your own food, but the soup element is unique. And I love soup! I am aiming to recreate this meal at home with friends and see how it goes down.
This is where all the magic happens.
Meat platter, veggie platter, and dumplings and noodles.
Anthony Sudakov is my God Son. Anthony's mom Natalia is from Russia, and his dad Denis is from the Ukraine. Anthony has a Korean birth certificate. In just over a year he will apply for a Canadian passport, once his parents, our good friends, immigrate from Korea to Toronto. At less than 4 months old, he is more cosmopolitan than a lot of adults I know.
Baby Anthony & I
Last weekend was Anthony's baptism. His parents found a Russian Orthodox Church in Seoul and we spent Sunday at the church baptizing him and then celebrating afterwards. It was a little strange seeing an Asian looking man speaking Russian and performing the service. I didn't understand anything that was said (I am used to that, living in Korea) but it was held in a small basement section of the church property and it was beautiful to look at. Anthony was so well behaved and spent a big part of the ceremony asleep in my arms. As an aside, he is SOOOO heavy, so much respect to Natalia, she is so strong to lug that little man around all day and all night. I am pretty sure his limbs are made of steel.
We have arrived!
The God Parents
Denis, Natalia & Anthony
A big difference between an Orthodox baptism and a Catholic one, is that the Holy Water is usually just poured over the child's head in the Catholic church. Sweet little Anthony got stripped down to his diapers (luckily it wasn't cold in the church) and he was dunked right in a huge bowl of the water, right up to his shoulders. A rude awakening from his slumber but he took it like a champ. He barely made a peep. The priest sang most of the words through the service in a loud, monotone and almost droning voice, the way priests tend to have, and I think it was a lullaby for Anthony.
The location: St.Maxim Orthodox Church, Seoul
The Priest.
The big bowl on the bottom right is where he got dunked.
Being blessed.
After the baptism we headed to Dongtan, a new and nicer suburb off of Osan. Natalia and Denis took us to Ashley's, a great buffet place with unlimited, free flowing red and white wine from a barrel. White wine is a rarity while dining out in Korea, so already, I was over the moon. Lunch/dinner was amazing. There was so much selection (some Korean, but mostly western food) and one dish was better than the next. Anthony was definitely the star of the show. Natalia has told me all about this phenomenon but it was fun to experience. Koreans LOVE white babies! Apparently she gets stopped all the time. It makes sense, cause they look different front what they're used to, especially when they are cute little ones (I LOOOOOOOOVE Korean babies!) So hardly a person could pass us without stopping and staring and smiling at Anthony. He is one popular little baby.
In Korea, meals always happen really quickly. You're in, you eat, and you're out. At this restaurant, we took our time and no one rushed us and it seemed like we were on par with everyone else's pace. It made me a little nostalgic of home. We ate, talked, drank wine, ate some more, had coffee, drank some more wine and talked some more. It was such a great Sunday. We arrived at the restaurant at around 4, and I am pretty sure it was after 8pm when we left. Food, wine, good friends and great conversations. I left my house just after 10am to make sure I was on time to meet Denis, Natalia, Anthony and Tyson (the Godfather), and didn't make it back home until around 10pm. A very enjoyable Sunday!
Digging in.
One of the few dessert plates that were on the table.
Happy faces & full bellies.
US.
I already have 2 God daughters back in Canada, my niece Belle and one of my besties' daughters, Ella. I look forward to the day when Anthony is settled with his parents living in Canada and I can introduce one side of my little clan to the other.
***The photos here are all from Natalia's camera, because I was too busy holding Anthony and coo'ing over him all day (okay and eating and drinking) to have my camera out and active.
Garry left Korea today. I am pretty confident my life will carry on smoothly without him here for a mere 12 more days, but it's more what it signifies that has my wheels turning. My time in Korea is quickly coming to an end. Without being over dramatic, it is the end of a really fun era. Okay that is a little dramatic, let's say the end of a beautiful chapter. The plan to teach in Korea was slowly planted in my head back in 2009, when I fell in love with Asia. It was on my first trip to Southeast Asia, backpacking through Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, that I knew in my head I had to find a way back for an extended period of time. All my time back in Toronto was just laying the ground work to make it all happen. Next was a trip that started in India and was supposed to end in Korea but ended up bringing me back to Toronto after 6 months of travelling. It was then, the pieces started fitting together and Korea came into focus.
Before I knew it, all my paperwork was done, a one year contract was signed, and a job was waiting for me on the other end. A year turned into 16 months and it was just right. After a fantastic experience teaching in Osan for a year, I had another perfect opportunity handed to me. It was right at the time when I had decided one year was not long enough in Korea, but two years may be too much. I hadn't quite had my fill of life in this country- but was a little skeptical (for a number of reasons) to sign on for another long haul. So when the offer of a four month stint, closer to Seoul, came up- I jumped at it.
There was again, another option for a new one year contract at my school in Anyang, but at this point everything was pointing towards going back home. As soon as I made the definite choice a few months back to leave Korea and return to Canada, I knew it was the right one. I was 100% confident in my choice. So the past few months have consisted of checking off all the stuff I wanted to do in Korea, and I am pretty satisfied with it. I am totally ready for something new, a change of scenery in my life. A world where everyone speaks English!
So with Garry making the first move, it now seems real. We are spending a few weeks in the UK to *decompress* from east to west, visiting his family in Scotland and friends in London and Brighton. It is the perfect segway back in to our lives at home. But the fact that he has already left makes me want to speed up time until I get there.
I have just over one week left here. Work is a breeze. It is the last week of school before classes end for spring break (Yes, we just came off 2 months of winter vacation. I don't get it either). So it is the last week of school before kids advance to the next grade, book ended by vacations. Basically, a joke. Attention span of both students and teacher are almost non-existant. Thankfully I finished the text book material with all my students before Christmas so they (by they I mean I) get rewarded with a week of watching movies. Nothing too stressful. Aside from that my week will consist of packing and saying goodbye to my coworkers and some friends.
Korea has been a fun, adventurous, and really rewarding part of my life. Garry and I had such a great experience here individually, but mostly together. After a fun filled trip to the UK, I am so excited to see what lies around the next turn. I know vaguely we need to find a place to live, jobs, a new car.... but I am so excited (and scared!) to make it all happen. In time, I have faith everything will work out just how it should. As stuff in my life has a tendency to do.
From one continent to the next, it is tough to say goodbye to Asia, but I know from past experiences the pull is too strong. I will be back for sure . Garry and I speak of how interesting it will be to come back to Korea in 10 years time and see all the changes. If not Korea, then Thailand, or maybe Mongolia? Who knows? But for now, I am going to *try* to live in the moment, and enjoy my last few weeks in the place I have called home for the last 16 months.
