What an impossibly large place to blog about, the above photo is only a quarter of Seoul, taken from the heights of Seoul Tower. Seoul is less than a third the size of Tokyo and because of its sprawl does not feel terribly large when in the midst of it. Take the subway, download the iPhone app "Jihachul" and get lost with much less frequency. The poetic and amazingly efficient nature of the transportation system in Korea allows one to take a bus into Seoul from just about anywhere in the country, hop on the subway which goes directly to the world-class Incheon Airport, and proceed to anywhere in the world you should desire to go. People who have been around a while call this a miracle.
For any Western dog lover, rest-assured that the meat used in Bosintang (Korean dog meat soup) is a specific breed specially raised for the purposes of human consumption. Bosintang is available throughout Korea, even in the smaller cities. The taste is okay, a little chewy, reminiscent of duck meat, and the broth is said to be spicy, but for this lover of spice, did not seem to be too extreme. If you have no qualms about eating one of our furry friends, try this at least once. It is traditional Korean food said to give men especially, strength and stamina.
The following is an excerpt about Bosintang from an article published by an
American envoy to Korea, in 1891:
Soup made of dog's flesh is one of the favorite tonics, blood purifiers,
and cures for sore throat, etc. It is, in short, the panacea of
Korean doctors, and every one considers it a duty to take a bowl of
it at least once a year to insure good health. In December, 1884,
when Prince Min Yung-ik was cut down by the revolutionists and
dreadfully wounded, the native doctors tried to cure his wounds by
giving him dog soup. Another of the popular notions of this people
which I beg to call to the attention of all mothers blessed with small
children is that of making them eat walnuts when suffering from indigestion caused from swallowing copper cash. Walnuts are said to
dissolve the copper, or rather to cause it to crumble into small pieces,
and I have seen a Korean demonstrate the accuracy of this by crushing a cash in his mouth with walnuts; but good teeth and bad copper are most likely sufficient to explain the mystery.
-W. Woodville Rockhill, "Notes on Some of the Laws, Customs, and
Superstitions of Korea," published in American Anthropologist.
A popular dessert during the summertime, patbingsu is a dessert of shaved ice and sweet red beans. Red bean paste is used cross-culturally in Japanese desserts as well, particularly in the small rice cakes called Daifuku. While Daifuku are available at specialty Japanese shops in the US, patbingsu is harder to come by outside Korea. The above photo is patbingsu covered in green tea ice cream with various fruits and a small amount of what Westerners would know as corn flakes. The items on the right side of the image are near-flavorless Styrofoam-like confections called Yumilgwa.
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| Japanese Daifuku |
The traditional Korean country house features a distinctive roof, but you have to get up close to observe specific details such as the tiles affixed to the four lower corners. In past centuries roof tiles have been distinctive works of art and this tradition is still carried on. The National Museum of Korea features a small but impressive collection of tiles donated by a Japanese collector. As you travel through the Korean countryside you will notice that even the smaller cities are dotted with clusters of ugly, bland apartment buildings with giant numbers printed on the side. When you get out of the car or the bus or train, spend some time among the more traditional houses which still feature classic Korean architectural styles.
