Hyehwa Benefit Concert

My friends Hyung Ook and Gwon Won organized a benefit concert in Daehangno, my new neighborhood. Proceeds went to providing books for rural schools in Nepal.

Pluck and saw

Harmony

Gwon Won

Bless You

"You raise me up..."

Those two girls sing in musicals. Great, powerful voices. But as a side note, it’s a bit intimidating going to a noraebang (karaoke room) with them.

Mime

This girl has a beautiful voice, and sang a song titled “You’re My Universe”. I liked it so much I went online to find it. Turns out she wrote it herself…I’ll try to get my hands on it and post it sometime.

Center of attention

Alex

I’m not the type of person that gets easily surprised or impressed (understatement?). But the following act really did blow me away. This little girl can play the saxophone. Very well. They introduced her in Korean, so I couldn’t catch everything…but from what I understood she has serious health problems, and is nearly blind. She can’t read music, so just listens and replicates.

Amazing. Truly.

Finale

Gwon Won’s daughters performed in the finale. Very cute, and talented.

A good team

It also happened to be her birthday:

생일축하해

Then we were off to the after-party.

혜화동사람들

Good times

One not-so-funny thing was when everybody started clapping and chanting my name to sing John Denver’s Country Roads. I’m more than cool singing that in the noraebang. Not so much in front of singers and so many people. Thanks Nick. Payback time.

Please don't stop the music...

Remember?

물담배 친구

Here are a few random shots of friends.

Choo Choo

If you’re interested in some good shisha/hookah bars in Seoul, just let me know.

Cigarette

Heads Tails Heads Tails...

That was Gwendal, spinning stuff at one of my favorite hangouts in Hyehwa. Directions are here.

At a cafe in Jongno I happened to stumble upon Little Red Riding Hood:

Shake & Spin

The next two pictures were taken when I went to Gangwondo last weekend. If you don’t know the card blowing game, you’re missing out.

Soju + Cards = Fun

참

Paella in Seoul

Here’s the story. My Korean friend found a lost Spaniard on a bus in Seoul. The Spaniard is a cook in Tokyo, and was on a quick visa run to Korea. My Korean friend put me in touch with the Spaniard, and in turn, I got in touch with my friend who runs a restaurant/bar. We decided we’d have a Spanish cuisine night at the Korean restaurant. Here are those pictures.

Getting things ready

Cooks in action

The menu: Spanish tortilla, mejillones (mussels) and paella. I was too busy eating to take shots of every dish, but it sure was a good meal…even more so since it had been a few years since I’d had paella.

Mejillones

The Spaniard, Cook Extraordinaire

Gwon Won, restaurant owner.

Working on the paella

Incidentally, the only Spanish person I know in Korea happens to be from the same little town in Andalusia as the cook.

Andalusia 친구

Paella in Korea, a first.

Here’s another story. This made me realize how much my Spanish sucks now. The End.

Jeongdongjin Sunrise

Skipped a couple days of class for a quick trip to Jeongdongjin, not too far from Gangneung in Gangwondo.

My friend Alex and I took a bus, walked a couple of hours in the snow and were then picked up by our friends who own a condo overlooking the beach.

별장

It isn’t often I’m awake for a sunset, especially for one like this. Jeongdongjin beach (정동진) is apparently famous for viewing the sunrise. It’s also a popular place for couples…I guess I’ll have to try that next time around.

Beautiful morning

Balcony view

After the sunrise we went to a local restaurant for breakfast.

Pollock soup: it's what's for breakfast.

신선한 명용탕

An hour after breakfast, it was already time for lunch. This time around, sushi.

Veggies and raw fish: it's what's for lunch.

Woodfire stove, where we had most of our meals.

COEX Kindergarten

Who knew the COEX had a kindergarten in it? Not I. Then again, does anyone know everything that’s in the COEX? It’s massive: it houses the largest underground mall in Asia, an aquarium, a cinema complex, exhibition centers, two luxury hotels, a casino… And according to Wikipedia, 200,000 people visit the place every day.

This was the third kindergarten I’ve been to to take shots for some kindergarten magazine. Here are my favorites:

Traditional CPR?

윷놀이

Drink milk, kids!

Giant rasberries. And beauty can be tough.

Rabbit, Blue, Hot Biscuits, Bear, and Little Green Dog.

"And these are the wheels."

Bribed.

And what school's about...