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only recently- like, in the past two years- have i been interested in anything korean or korea-related. took me more than two decades to come around. for shame! better late than never, i s'pose. here are some fun things i've found / been reading about as of late. onwards!
photographer kim kyung soo did an amazing photoshoot for the october 2007 issue of Vogue Korea. shown in the photographs is the hanbok, the traditional korean dress which has been worn for more than 2000 years. the outfit is made out short jacket with long sleeves tied into a goreum (half bow) in the front, a high waisted wrap skirt, silk shoes, and white cotton socks. i love hanboks and the ones shown in the vogue shoot are so gorgeous and lush. it's the textiles. just look at the mix of colours and textures!
what intrigues me most about this photo is neither the composition nor colour- though, they are indeed, wonderful. rather, it's the Gat, a traditional korean hat made out of a bamboo frame and black horse hair, that i find particularly interesting. as you can see, the threading is such that the brim is almost entirely transparent, which i just absolutely love! during the late nineteenth century, gats were typically worn by married and middle class men in order to show social status. they were also exclusively worn by those who had passed the gwageo civil service examination. the photo shows a re-enactment of the exam.
every year, seoul hosts a huge lotus paper lantern festival, to celebrate the birth of buddha. festivities begin with exhibits of traditional paper lanterns, followed by buddhist ceremonies held at the 14th century jogyesa temple on the eve of the festival. the opening ceremony is a procession of hand-held lanterns in the shape of lotuses, carried by adults and children in traditional hanboks. here's a link to diy instructions on how to make a paper lantern.
bibimbap! okay, so i've only had this about two or three times before (see, i told you i was new at this!) and i am craving it like C-R-A-Z-Y. it doesn't help that i'm hungrily awaiting andy's return with cinnabuns for breakfast! bibimbap is essentially a bowl of rice topped with seaweed and chilli pepper. a fried or raw egg, or beef is commonly added along with julienned cucumber, zucchini, mushrooms, spinach, sprouts, and sometimes tofu. a sweet aesthetic touch? vegetables in the pot are usually placed in a way to complement the colours. learning how to make a proper pot of bibimbap is the first thing i'd like to do when i move into my new place. the ingredients are simple, but there must be some secret to making it taste incredible, right?
eta: i had bibimbap for dinner tonight. i am satiated. for now.
on my way home from bibimbap, i stopped by a cute little korean bakery on bloor. the place, called hodo kwaja, specializes in, well, just that. hodo kwaja = traditional korean walnut cake and stuffed with one of three sweet potato-based filling. they are actually shaped like walnuts, too, and so yummy! the baker was a friendly elderly woman; i started talking to her and found out she's had the place since 1992. what's interesting is that she uses an old school korean made machine from the 50s, which can be seen in use daily from 10 to 11 a.m., then again from 3 to 4 p.m. i just might have to make a stop there again sometime next week for some dough axn. oh yeah, the baker (not surprisingly?) asked if i was korean and then started teaching me words like hello/goodbye and thank you. i took this as an invitation to twenty questions, but asked her just one: "which is the BEST korean restaurant around here?" and gesticulating, she said: "1 block-2 block down the street on other side, yellow walls"- the south side of bloor, just east of christie. so there it is. the real deal holyfield. best korean restaurant. i will go. oh, last thing! she called tofu, "topu". i'm smitten.
i'm one month shy of 22 today. i'm giving myself ten years- till i'm one month shy of 32- to get myself together and visit ~teh motherland~. i'll take only one knapsack for my things and rent a bicycle for all my travels in the city. i'm trying to think of all the korean relics that were brought with me when i was a child and i specifically remember we had a fan made out of wood/silk and two small keychains. we displayed them on the bookshelf in the office and though it was a sweet subtle gesture to remind me of my heritage, it never inspired me to learn about korea on my own. so now i'm really excited about "connecting with my roots" and am stoked about reading books about korean history and culture. maybe i'll know how to cook bibimbap by 2018!
lastly, in seoul, the government installed a modern replica of the SHIN MUN GO of the Chosun dynasty, which once functioned as a service that citizens could use to make suggestions, proposals, and complaints to Seoul's open administration. the red phone is the hotline to the mayor's office, the blue phone is the 24 automatic recording line, and the yellow phone is for foreigners only. the foreigner line is connected directly to the seoul information center; all one has to do is pick up the phone and automatic recordings relaying information about seoul in either english or japanese will play. unfortunately, i've heard these have been since been ripped out and disconnected. bummerville! i totally would have used the foreigner phone during my homeland trip. oh, the irony!
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