Underground Christmas

Merry belated Christmas everyone!
These pictures may also be belated, as Christmas was 2 days ago, but I thought I'd share some photos from the Gangnam Terminal Underground Shopping Arcade in Banpo, southern Seoul.



The arcade is full of stores selling EVERYTHING. Well, almost everything. There are fresh flowers:

fake flowers and plants:



dinnerware and products for interior decorating...like gourds:



earthenware:



more fake plants/interior decorating products:


plastic fruit:


bags:


And for the last two months of the year, many of the stores are full of all things Christmas:







Sorry for the poor quality of some of these photos. I had a bunch more that were too blurry due to insufficient lighting (I hate using the flash). I was also taking pictures as I walked up and down the strip, making sure not to stop long enough for a store owner to decide he/she did not want me there simply taking pictures.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the photos. I'll try to work on steadying my hands for my next photo shoot :)

Happy holidays, everyone!

DJ For A Day pictures!

So, here they are! These are some pictures from the "DJ for a Day" contest we held in early November, in honor of KPOP Connection's 1st anniversary (November 12). We invited 3 listeners to co-host with Chris and me. Selene, Paul T. and Steve came to our studios and (I hope) had a blast.

Lunch with Selene. (Sophia, Mr. Chae and Joe the intern are on the right).

Selene and Sophia discussing how the show is made

Right before we recorded Paul T's noraebang-themed show

Paul T. and his fiancee, Sophie

Getting ready for Steve's show. There are too many pictures of me with my mouth open like that.

See?

After we recorded the shows, we went to Hongdae to let loose. We had dinner, then went to the noraebang, of course :)

All work and no play makes Yoon-Gook a dull boy...

so he decided to put down the camera and join in on the noraebang fun.

Chris and fellow-KBSer Sue Park picking out songs

Some more food and drinks in Hongdae

Sophia, Chris and I had so much fun doing the specials, even though our guest DJs outshone us :)
I wanted to thank them and all of you who participated in the contest. We wouldn't be here without your love and support! Gamsahamnida!

Here's to another great year of KPOP!

Autumn in Seoul 2008

I was supposed to post pictures from the whole "DJ For A Day" experience, but have yet to retrieve them from Sophia, the show's producer. Thus, in the meantime, here are some pictures from a trip to Olympic Park in Eastern Seoul.

은행나무/Eunghaeng namoo/Gingko trees lining the perimeter of the park

단풍나무/Danpoong Namoo/Maple, some tree with yellow leaves and another unknown tree that was laden with red berries.

감/Gam/Persimmon

Gingko leaves upclose

More Gingko. Though Gingko berries stink to high heaven when they fall onto the ground and begin to rot, the trees ARE gorgeous.

Men playing 장기/Janggi/Chinese Chess

갈대/Galdae/reeds -- they look like they're glowing

Right??

Gingko berries! They are delicious! But I hear they're harmful (and may even cause death) if you eat too many. I ate most of the ones you see in this picture and I'm fine!...well, sort of :-P

you're all winners

Hey, everyone!
As Chris and I mentioned on KPOP Connection on Monday, we've picked the winners of our "DJ for a Day" contest.

They are:

Paul T. from USA, now living in Korea

Steve from Malaysia, now living in Korea

Selene from Malaysia

Congratulations to them, and thank you to everyone who entered. It was so great hearing from you all! And your ideas were AWESOME, but unfortunately, we had to pick just 3 to come to KBS to record a show with us.
Though you guys didn't win this time, we'll have a bunch of contests in the future (we have our on-going "Listener of the Week" contest) and if you ever come to Korea, come on over to KBS!

I'll update next week when we air our 1st year anniversary show.

Take care!

extra info

Hi guys!
We've received a bunch of entries from abroad and are looking for more from Korea :)
Of course, we'd love to receive more from abroad, too.

Just a reminder--you guys have until October 26th (just under a week left) to submit your ideas and personal info (name, address, phone number) to kpop@kbs.co.kr.
Also, don't forget to check your passport--make sure it's valid until at least May 2009!!

Hmm, what else? Oh yeah, you can submit more than one entry if you think of a better idea.

Hurry and send one in! And if you've sent one, send in another!

DJ For A Day~~~!!!

“DJ For A Day”

Hey K-Poppers! KPOP Connection is turning 1 on November 12th and to celebrate, we’re planning a week of special shows and contests! As part of the festivities, 3 of you listeners (from Korea and abroad) will get the chance to co-host KPOP Connection with Sarah and Chris! To enter the contest, simply pitch an idea for an episode of KPC (for example: the Top 5 songs you listen to when you’re happy). The 3 listeners with the best ideas will be invited to KBS in Seoul to guest DJ for a day (1 day per listener)!
Email kpop@kbs.co.kr with “DJ For A Day” in the subject line. Include your name, your address, your idea for an episode of KPC and your cell/home phone number. We’ll call the finalists to hear their ideas in detail and then we’ll pick 3 lucky winners!
So, hurry up and send in your ideas as soon as possible! We’re waiting~!


**If a listener outside Korea is chosen, KBS World will provide airfare and 3 nights’ accommodation**

Insadong

One the places I like to visit when I have some free time is Insadong. It's a touristy spot, yes, but it's also home to many small art galleries and restaurants that serve 한식/Hanshik/Korean food. It's fun to go with friends (especially those visiting from abroad) but it's also fun when you're alone, since there's so much to do, see and eat. I like taking pictures, so I usually carry around my dica (digital camera).
Here are some pictures I took on two trips to Insadong during the summer:

antique road show

i have a thing for taking pictures of alleyways

떡/ddeok/rice cakes

one of the many shops that sell various "Korean" products

핸드폰 걸이/ handphone geori/ cell phone accessories. I've bought butterfly ones for all of my girl friends.

삼겹살/samgyeopsal/pork belly & 대나무통밥/ daenamu-tongbab/rice cooked in bamboo cups.
the bamboo rice is so delish. they put rice, a jujube, a chestnut, some nuts and some gingko berries in a bamboo cup and then steam it.

many restaurants deliver food no matter where you are. it's common to see street vendors eating food delivered by someone [in this case an 아줌마/ajumma/(older) woman] from a nearby restaurant. then the trays, dishes and utensils are picked up by the delivery person and returned to the restaurant. good for the environment, tough on the ajumma.

Hwang Jini on a card

tea cups and pots

my only fans. haha

raspberries and mulberries

these masks kind of scare me.

one of the many kiosks that line the main strip of insadong. you might be able to haggle well, but in my experience, most of the jewelry sold in insadong is overpriced.

pigs really do fly. wait, does that mean hell has frozen over? i like that some of the pigs are wearing undies :)

한지/hanji/korean paper. you can use hanji as wall-paper and for various arts and crafts (the window a few pix up is covered in hanji). i like to use it as wrapping paper.

호떡/hoddeok/fried dough stuffed with sugar and cinnamon, and sometimes pine nuts. this hoddeok stand is really popular and there's usually a long line of people waiting for this not-for-those-on-a-diet treat. warning: the cinnamon/sugar liquid center is often ridiculously hot. i've burned my tongue on several occassions because i usually want to devour the whole thing as quickly as possible.

some more ddeok. this is totally froufrou ddeok, but it is delicious. i like simple ddeok without all of the nuts and berries. my favorite is 무지게 떡/moojige ddeok/rainbow ddeok, which you can see on the far right. it is subtly sweet and maybe a bit boring to some, but i like vanilla ice cream... so there you go.

novelty pens. not very traditional, but very korean and very cute.

무궁화/moogoonghwa/rose of sharon a.k.a. hibiscus: the national flower of korea.