@ a stationery in Sinchon

Socks



Key holder

Korean Subway

Seoul is a very large city than you might think. About 10 million people live here.

Of course, if the population of near cities such as Incheon were included, the number would be bigger. Therefore, the traffic jam is not avoidable.

For this reason, the subway system is well-developed. In Seoul, the subway is one of the important transportations. It is so cheap and timely that most people use it for commuting. I use it, too. Almost within one hour, you can get anywhere in Seoul and near cities.

Some people say that we have so many subway stations that we can use it for shelter in case of war. Yes, it is right. Most stations are in the very deep place.

The below is the ticket gate for the subway. We usually use our credit cards for the fare.

You can put your card on it. That's all you have to do for paying.

The next is the inside of the subway. It is clean and very neat. 

And inside of the subway station, there are usually shopping mall like the below picture.

The space of the station is utilized for various purposes as well. Sometimes you can see anonymous singers' performance or little dancers' in the station.

People like to live near the subway station, so mostly the rent of the apartment or mansion around the station is expensive. But it's worth it.

Secret the Power

This book is what I received from my girl friend as a Christmas present.

I'm Rhonda Byrne's big fan. What she has made is incredible. It has changed my life.

I saw not only the movie "secret" , but also the book.

Last autumn, I've heard that she released her new book "the Power". 

I wanted it so much. But there was no Korean edition and it was expensive to buy the English edition as well. So I just waited for the time Korean edition would be released.

But my girlfriend bought me this as a Christmas present. I'm really happy with it.

I've already read it one time, and now I'm reading it once more. 

I think there are many good words in this book. Those are very touching and easy to understand. Even for non-native speakers like me. 

Why don't you try and read?

@ Coffee Bean

Soup of bone and stew meat(seolleongtang)

This is what I had for dinner, "Seolleongtang". 

It is one of my favorite foods, and made of cattle's bone and a variety of vegetables.

It is not only great in terms of nutrition, but also very tasty. 

Choo, Sung Hoon(Akiyama Yoshihiro), who is a world class fighter of mixed martial art, said that his mother brings this food for him so that he can keep his strength and stamina. 

There is an interesting episode that when his mother cooked the dish in Japan, his neighborhood called to ask what happened. That's because in Japan, there is no dish that takes six or seven hours of boiling like this. They thought that there could be gas leakage or something.

Anyway, it is very good for health. Most of all, it is very cheap. :)

Map

When I saw the statistic on my blog, I found out that my nation is very small.

I knew it, but I couldn't realized how small it looks like until now.

All of sudden, it came to my mind that what I have been seeing and hearing here is not everything. It seems that my life is just one of several examples about the way how people live, just like the point on the below map.

I like my life style, and I'm satisfied with my environment, people, and something like that.

But I'd like to experience more than I have now, since white parts are much larger than one point on the map.

Creyon Sinnosuke

This is my favorite cartoon "Creyon Sinnosuke". 

Even if it is a Japanese cartoon, it is very popular among young people in Korea.

I bought the Japanese edition not only for fun, but also for learning Japanese.

I'm not sure how much it would help me. But it is very entertaining.

Charlie Brown Cafe

These photos were taken in the Charlie Brown cafe in Korea. 

I've heard that there are another Charlie's in HK. I'm not sure which one is better.

But it is really good to spend time in here. Even if coffee and bread that they serve are not that good, the atmosphere is great. They also have several character dolls that are very attractive. 

See the below pictures.

Fast Food in Korea

The below photos were taken on my way home. 

You must be familiar with McDonald. Yes, of course you do.

But you know what? They deliver it 24 hours by motorcycles. 

See those motorcycles that they use for the delivery. We can have what we want to eat at any time anywhere. All you have to do is just a call.

The next one is Lotteria. You may not be familiar with this brand. 

This brand is operated by Lotte, which is one of the major conglomerates in Korea.  

I'm used to this fast food, as I've had it since I was in elementary school.

They delivery 24 hours, too. Because their rival, McDonald does it.

It must be very convenient to use this service. 

However, I'm not sure that they serve good quality of food as well.

I Love this boy

There is a Korean TV show about the star audition. It is like American Idol in the United States. Last year, one cable TV succeeded by making this kind of TV program. Its popularity was so high that one of Korean major TV channels, MBC decided to make this program as well.

Most applicants are very talented and full of passion, but sometimes there are funny people too. The below video clip is one of the examples. See and enjoy.


See the clip

Cafe Osijung

There is a village where French people live in Korea. 

It is called "Seo-Rae-Maeul" and well-known for lots of restaurants and cafes in good mood. The below picture was taken in a cafe around there.

A little toy are brought with the drink that you order. It depends on what you order.

In my case, the toy with yellow hair on the picture came. 

Isn't it cute?

Mustory (Toy Cafe)

Let me show you some interesting things.

About two months ago, I found some interesting cafe around Hong-Ik University in Korea.

In this cafe (its name is Mustory), you can make your own toy by drawing on the ceramic. 

See the pictures below.

There are a lot of toys that other people have made.
You can look around and take some photos when you visit there.
I went there with my girl friend. It was really fun and games.

Hong-Ik University is well-known university for art in Korea.
So maybe that's why you can see the pretty toys that very talented artists must have made in here.

On weekend, it is essential to make a reservation in advance, since there are a lot of couples waiting for this fun. I hope you can try it some day.

Coldest day for the last 14 years

Today is January 16th, 2011. I'm in Seoul.

It is said that today is the coldest day in 14 years.

It's minus 16 degree Celsius in here. I felt I almost died when I was out there.

I guess that others feel the same way as I did.

Look here. Below are the pictures I took while I was in a department store.

They seemed to come to the book store because of the coldness.

Usually there is few in that store. But today was different. 

Even in the part of religion, it was full of people sitting.

I like this department. It is not only fresh, but also very entertaining.

There are lots of stores and restaurants in here, including the movie theater. 

I spent my time with my girlfriend here and we had great time. 

I watched the movie called "Megamind". It is really fun and worth watching, I think.

It was more entertaining than I thought it would be.

I hope that it will get warmer soon. It was hard to walk around and date today.
As far as I can tell, it wasn't that cold last year. What on earth happened?
Is this the result of global warming? -_-;;