Korea- what we bought

So, I definitely went crazy shopping in Korea. The hanboks (already documented here) were by far the most expensive things we bought, and stretched our customs limit. Fortunately most of the rest of our purchases counted as fine art. Most of these pictures are taken with my camera, which I have dropped a few too many times, so sorry if they're a little blurry.

I bought this nativity in Itaewon at the same store that my mom bought one in the 1980s- the one I grew up with. It's hand carved by the same artist. Buying one has a three month waiting list. I'd emailed the owner the January before we'd come to reserved one, and he assured me that they'd have one. When we got there, they had no record of me requesting one, but I had the email. The owner sold me the window model and became my favourite Korean ever.

Totally worth the $300 and luggage space. 

In Naedaemun market, we bought a bunch of gifts which I didn't take pictures of. Namdaemun is where to buy kitchen items like bowls, chopsticks and spoon sets, other kitchen items, and clothes like socks. I bought some socks for Alana, and some rice bowls. I should have bought more than four, and looked for them stateside, but they wanted $5 each! Bit rich, considering they're a dollar each in Korea. We gave the chopsticks as gifts, so I only have the bowls.

In Bukchon, we stopped by the Gahoe Museum. After touring the museum, we printed off our own pujok, or amulets. I finally got them mounted:

Amulet of good luck and best wishes

Amulet of realizing good wishes

Insadong is where you can find art supplies or anything art related. I was determined to get dojangs, or personal stamps/ seals. We stopped by one store that I had read some good reviews online, but we overheard the artist tell another person that they would have the stamp to them the next week (!). Since we didn't have that kind of time, we headed down the street and picked a store at random:

Sabodang, located just next to the entrance of Ssamziegil.

The woman inside assured us that she could get the seals done and delivered the next day. We picked out same which marble. I showed her the Chinese characters of our names I'd looked up before we left. When she was writing them down, Justin said something in Korean that made her laugh. Apparently he had told her that I had drawn the characters, but she was actually writing them. There was a slight hiccup the next day when they didn't get delivered like they had been promised. We walked back to the store and asked about them. The gentleman there was mortified and called the delivery company. Apparently in the complex that we were staying in, which was made of up six buildings that look exactly the same, he had delivered our dojangs to another building. The store owner made him go pick them up and deliver them to the right building, and sure enough that afternoon they were waiting for us. The dojangs cost about $50 each, which is pretty good considering they are marble, hand carved, and were delivered (twice). 

Clockwise from upper left: Justin, mine, Alana, and Liam

This one is mine.  I love the carving on the side.

Some other kings we bought we some hand drawn prints (which were a steal at $10 even if the guy who sold them to me was a jerk) that I've gotten mounted and some scrolls that I intended to get our names done on.

Plum flowers, for Alana

Generic Asian print. I like it.

I bought this because it reminds me of Liam and Alana

From my instagram, hence the filter.

These were scrolls I bought. They cost about $2 each (I think). There's a guy in Pike Place that will do your name for $5 each. I brought the scrolls to him and asked him to do our names. It didn't work out so well, because I had never noticed how shaky his hands were before. He also did our names is simplified characters, and I had been looking for someone to do traditional. Oh well. He did only charge me $20, so the whole thing was $30, and I can try again in a few years, now that I know what I'm looking for.

I also bought some lotus lanterns from Insadong that I have every intention of selling on etsy as a kit, but I have yet to get my rear in gear and get started. How much would you pay for the kit for this?

길상사 Gilsangsa and the end of our trip

We intended to do the furniture museum first and Gilsangsa afterwards, but again we were early. 길상사 Gilsangsa ended up being Justin's favourite place, mostly because unlike every other site we had seen that was restored to be grandiose and impressive, Gilsangsa was a real working temple that people worshiped at. The signs were not in English, and Justin was the only non-Korean there.

The furniture is a beautiful, wonderful place. It ended up being my favourite place.The museum is also a restaurant available for private gatherings. Unfortunately, no cameras are allowed inside, so I don't have any pictures. It costs $20/ person and is only available by appointment, but it is worth every penny. We lucked out in that no other English speakers signed up for the same time, and we got a private tour.  The docent that showed us around was slightly disappointed that Justin and I already knew so much about Korean furniture. Even still I learned plenty, like that fathers often planted a certain tree when a daughter was born that grew so that when the daughter was of marriageable age, a chest could be made from the tree.

The house is a hanok brought to it's current location. I wondered how it was done, if it was brought totally whole, or if they had dismantled it and reassembled it like the flat pack from hell. The docent did confirm that they did take the building apart to move it. The docent also took pride that at the recent G20 summit in Seoul, they had been visited by some nation leaders. "Oh, like Obama?" She said no, sadly that it was more their wives that visited. "Oh, so like Michelle Obama?" She looked even sadder and shook her head, no not Michelle Obama. I stopped asking at the point.

We hopped on a bus that seemed to be going in the right direction, but buses are harder to figure out, and we ended up getting off to early and then walked in the wrong direction from the subway station. I was so tired, I hailed a taxi and hopped inside before giving the driver our destination. He in a panic while I was trying to get in where we were going to make sure it was worth his while. Always get in the taxi first, folks.

We went back to Gwangjang market to pick up our hanboks. The hanbok ahjumma was very insistent that we try them on: 

After picking up our hanboks, and dragging everything back to the flat, we finally found a small restaurant across the street that sold some of the typical Korean snacking food we'd been looking for:

Tuna kimbap

Naengmyeon, which means cold noodles, and I always forget that I can't stomach a full bowl of it because of the vinegar. It's great for eating with bbq because it cuts through the grease.

Omurice, a Japanese dish that's migrated over to Korea.

After a disappointing last dinner, we hopped into a cab to Lottemart by the Seoul station to find some treats, and I finally found a hotteok press (yay!). I tried to get some pictures of Namdaemun as we passed by.  Here's some blurry shots from the taxi taken with my phone:

There seemed to be a party at Gwanghwamun including a stage with some K pop band. A change from the protests that had been going on all week.

I caught this walking the streets around the flat looking for some silk ties. I never found the ties, but I felt like this made up for it.

So that's the last of our trip to Korea, I'm sure you're very interested in a trip I took nearly a year ago (seriously, it would be a year from tomorrow), but it's nice to look back. Every day, I want to go back so much it aches, but for now it just has to remain a special treat every few years. Next time will hopefully be in 2018 when the kids will go with us and we'll stay for about a month.

White Chocolate Fruit Tart

White Chocolate Fruit Tart: (adapted from here and here)

Shortbread crust: 

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, cut into small pieces
2 cups all-purpose flour 

½ cup confectioner’s sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Process butter, flour, and sugar in food processor until dough starts to form. Press into 9 inch tart pan or 6 4" tartlet pans, docking liberally with fork.

Bake for 13-15 minutes until crusts start to brown around the edges. Cool and remove from pan.

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1-2 tbsp whipping cream

Microwave semi-sweet chocolate chips and whipping cream for 15 sec bursts until melted. Brush and coat bottom of shortbread crust(s). Refrigerate until hardened. 

1 (10 ounce) package white chocolate chips or 1 (10 ounce) package vanilla chips 

1⁄4 cup whipping cream 

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

Fruit- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, kiwi, mandarin oranges, etc., washed and well dried, sliced if desired.

Apricot jam or preserves

Microwave white chocolate chips and whipping cream until melted. Beat into cream cheese until smooth. Spoon over semi-sweet chocolate in crust(s). Refrigerate for 4 hours. 

Arrange fruit over white chocolate. Microwave apricot jam for 30 seconds until smooth and liquid. Brush over fruit for a shiny glaze. Refrigerate until serving.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (adapted from here)
Makes 24

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 package milk or semisweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
2 cups mashed bananas  (about 4 bananas)

Measure flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips into a large bowl. Mix thoroughly, and make a well in the center.

Beat the eggs in a small bowl until frothy. Mix in cooking oil, milk, and bananas. Pour mixture into the well. Stir only to moisten. Batter will be lumpy. Fill greased muffin cups 3/4 full.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 22 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan and cool.

My Little Korean

I sometimes call Alana my little Korean. She feels way more Korean than Liam. Mostly because she's more interested in Korean culture. She's obsessed with her Korean name, she's loved kimchi ever since she got her first taste, and will prance around in her hanbok at the slightest chance. She told me she wants to take Korean lessons, and will scream "Oppa!" at Liam at the playground.

There is no "F" or "V" sound in Korean, so they sometimes get pronounced like B's, P's, or H's. Last night I was explaining what "novel" meant to Liam, when I hear Alana singing "na-bel, nabel" over in the corner. Earlier in the day, she had called what we call a "force tickle" (when you are able to tickle someone across the room without touching them" as a "horse tickle."

Very cute. For the record, she can pronounce "F" and "V", but sometimes the wires get crossed.