Bukchon Hanok Village

I can see N-tour (Seoul tour).  Can you?

The shadow look like a dragon.

SEOUL – HYUNDAI Motor Co said on Saturday it will pull out of the Japanese passenger vehicle market amid sluggish sales, and instead focus on commercial vehicle sales there.

Hyundai, South Korea’s No. 1 automaker, has found it tough going in Japan and sold only about 15,000 passenger cars there since 2001 when it made inroads into the home market of international rival Toyota Motor Corp, the world’s biggest automaker.

‘Hyundai Motor has decided to suspend passenger vehicle sales in Japan and will instead allocate its resources to focus on commercial vehicle sales in the country,’ Hyundai said in a statement.

If the market environment improves in Japan it could resume passenger car sales there, it said.

The timing of the pull out will be decided after consulting with dealerships in Japan, said Hyundai spokesman Ki Jin Ho.

Though Hyundai’s sales remain sluggish in Japan, Hyundai said its global auto sales in the third quarter surged 41 per cent to 824,181 vehicles compared to the year before, helped by increased demand for fuel efficient cars. — AP

Source: Straits Times, 2009

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Dinner dates, a night at the town, private massage service or whatever else you fancy.

Metro Touch Singapore Escort Companionship

(+65) 90973455 ( 24 hours )

www.metro-touch.com ( visit us )

there is an angel in us all

。

*love this cute little angel smiling at me in Seoul*

.

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  Have you ever heard of Hanok? Hanok is one of the Korean traditional Houses. And there are villages of Hanok named Bukchon Hanok Village and Namsangol Hanok Village. Joseon Dynasty’s royal family, nobilities and high-ranking officials lived there.

  In the late Joseon Dynasty, the large-scaled land was partitioned into small-sized building sites because of social and economic reasons. It is assumed that Hanoks closely located together in the village were rebuilt in around 1930. The change in the form of Hanok reflects the densification of the society due to urbanization began at that time in Korea.

  The present day, still some people live in Bukchon. That means Bukchon is private residential areas. So Seoul bought a Hanok to exhibit to citizens as a traditional culture center. You can see inside of hanok, and feel cozy.

   Nowadays, contemporary and tradition coexist in Bukchon. There are not only Korean traditional restaurants, clothing shops and workshops but also cafes, restaurants, boutiques and galleries near the Bukchon. 

If you want to get more information about Bukchon, visit here :

http://bukchon.seoul.go.kr/eng/index.jsp

Hanok is so peaceful house.

There are a lot of preparations going on just now.

The week after next it’s time for the climate conference in Copenhagen with all that that means. Working on trying to get as many Swedish liberals as possible to get interested in joining us at the Liberal Network Event on the 14th of December, and also investegating which FP-people are coming to the conference.

Also looking at the possibilities for Daniel to join me in Seoul as soon as possible and what money I can save now before in order to have more over til the trip. One thing I have to sacrifice is the trip to Stockholm for the Liberal Students congress. I’m very saddened by this since I was looking so much forward to the congress.

I’m feeling very happy!!!!

I promise I’ll do much better next time!!!!

Wait!

Instead of eating dog, I went out to the Grand Hilton Hotel in Seoul for their Thanksgiving buffet with this fantastic bunch:

And we ate all this:

for $54. Worth the won. Happy Thanksgiving.

Have you booked your online tickets for Seoul cheap flights? You will then soon be in the fantastic city of Seoul. Ask in your hotel about Cheonggye. It literally means, “Clear creek”, referring to the clear natural water which flows in the Seoul city centre. The creek has quaint canopy, which is a safe haven for the people, from the defiant stares of modern Seoul.

After convincing yourself it is worth the visit, take a Seoul Tour bus, and reach the creek. It is not far from the City Centre, and you will be there in a jiffy. The stream has wonderful array of fish glides, with plants and small stones for you to step on them, conveniently placed at regular spaces throughout the waterway. When you have traveled in the transport provided by Seoul Tour operator, you will be surprised to see this ethnicity just across the huge skyscrapers of Seoul.

Visit Seoul should have ample meaning for you inasmuch as you should learn something of the history as well. A visit to Cheonggye exposed you to this. Not long ago, say about six decades ago, this very beautiful stream had homeless people putting shelters and living here. The water stream’s banks broke even for a drizzle, even as the place reeked of sewage. Things have changed the history. Seoul is now an ultra modern westernized city, where the citizens enjoy the best of facilities.

The Creek was restored by the turn of the century, flyover, scenic bridges – twenty of them – came in even as the stale water was replaced by fresh water with wildlife and greenery being placed just across the banks. Seoul tour will expose you to all these details. Don’t forget to visit the place when you are on visit to Seoul.

Today the creak is something like oxygen provider to the city, which is growing in gargantuan proportions. It is a fresh whiff of breeze to people here, amidst concrete jungle.

Come summer, Cheonggye Stream would dry up and appear like a broken stream bed. The city planners have brought water from Han River to see the stream continues to flow through the year. Isn’t this stream worth visit to Seoul? From your hotel plan your trip to this place not once, but many a time during your Seoul tour. We suggest follow link http://seoul-cheap-flights.com and book yourself in the nearest hotel to the creek, even as you book your Seoul cheap flights. Your nights and your holiday will be different then.

The river breeze which flows into the stream mingles with the new waterways and bridges that have come up, to successfully create a fantastic dream like ambience in Seoul. As a visitor to Seoul, you shouldn’t miss to experience this dream ambience.

My latest live videos for PHONEBOOTH.

제가 세폰부스의라이브비디오

The best “Fuck Off” in Korea

Cameras/가메라: Hye Won, Jae Ho, Me

Edited on CS3

Bus Door Opening

The sound of the #5413 bus in Seoul stopping at Nakseongdae Ipgu.  The familiar ‘door opening’ buzzer sounds, and the door opens.  Maybe not the most exciting of samples, but it’s useful.

Recorded 11/24/09, 9:24PM (local time)

*Sorry for the recycled image.  Actually, it’s a picture on my harddrive and isn’t the right bus for either of the last two posts.  I kind of got caught up recording sounds and failed to use my camera.-SM

I assume those of you in America had a more traditional Thanksgiving than I did: it isn’t hard to do. I didn’t have the motivation, or the proper kitchen, to plan ahead, find, and cook a turkey and other thanksgiving foods. These foods are expensive in Korea and are only available at Costco, the military base, or certain specialty stores in Seoul. I also didn’t feel like spending an hour and a half traveling to Itaewon and then spending $30+ on a Thanksgiving meal at a restaurant. Also, most of those places require reservations, which means planning ahead. As an alternative, I went with a friend to the TGI Friday’s in Gangnam, the southern part of Seoul.

I don’t usually go to TGI Friday’s in America; the only times I’ve been there were to get a drink and appetizers when nothing else was around or open. In Korea, though, I will probably go back. The food appeared to actually have been made in the restaurant, not simply heated up, and everything we had was delicious. Even better, though, the servers all wore hats: there was a raccoon hat, a polar bear hat, several cowboy hats, mickey mouse ears, and bunny ears. Someone in the restaurant near us apparently had a birthday, and the song they sang was quite a production. It sounded nothing like the Happy Birthday song I’m familiar with, and I am curious if it is just something they do at the restaurant, or if Koreans sing it to each other at birthday celebrations.

Despite being pretty, the green tea doughnut was just weird.

Koreans don’t eat turkey, although they do eat other poultry. So, as a substitute, I had chicken. It was on a sandwich accompanied by cheese, tomato, and bacon, but at least it was a bird. Instead of mashed potatoes I had french fries; for stuffing I had bread; and the mayonnaise was the gravy. By the time I had eaten half the sandwich, which was surprisingly delicious, I was too full for desert, and so abandoned my plan of having cheesecake replace pumpkin pie. However, we stopped at a Krispy Kreme before getting on the bus and I picked up some doughnuts to enjoy later.

The Krispy Kreme was different from what I’m accustomed to- it was cute, cozy, and trendy, like everything else in Korea. The interior felt very modern, and very much like a coffee shop, with nice couches and tables to sit at. They also had really interesting doughnuts. I bought an apple doughnut in the shape of a star- it’s almost like apple pie, and therefore American and a good Thanksgiving desert. I also bought a green tea flavored one, which I don’t recommend. Soon I will have to return and sample their other offerings.

It was one of those holes in the wall, a place you’d never notice unless someone deliberately pointed it out. A grungy basement with little décor, reminiscent of an abandoned warehouse, perfect, one would say, for a rave party. And so, the ambiance immediately brought back grand memories of parties past where Goths, artists, punks, posers, hipsters, candy ravers, Old-skoolers, Junglists, Emos, outcasts and other liberal eccentrics could gather to dance the night away…

which is exactly what I did.

Quickly falling for the beats of YACHT and White Rainbow, my mind, body and soul fully immersed into its euphoric vibrations. I thought to myself, this is the s***…Armin Van Buuren can wait another day. The switch was definitely worth it as this was a once in a lifetime performance of music soo inimitable, I could only describe as being parallel to its written definition: a fusion if you will. If you’re still not getting me then go to Urbandictionary and type in the world YACHT. Its meaning as endless as is its predecessors, Jona Bechtolt and Claire Evans.

At first glance, their polished appearance and attire emit the look of luxury. Like the 1^st definition (from Urbandictionary) white suit and peach split hair dress a clean faced gentleman and its partner, a simple but elegant form fitting black skirt over tights. They wield you to be part of an exclusive party in YACHT.

Then go to definition 2, 6 and 7 and perhaps the band wanted us to interpret it as the feeling(s) we get when involved in various methods of piping hashish. It is that of pure bliss amongst a sea of turbulence. And with every song presented there grew an intense hunger for more. Undoubtedly this was confirmed by the crowds chanting “encore, encore, encore!” Other definitions (such as no. 8 & 9) are a little dubious but either way, you can see why I still have a hard time defining this band.

Topping their music, they also brought high energy with funky, bold body movements. Sometimes, a complacent jolt of the arms or a twist of the head, their dancing too reminded me of a well choreographed electronic dance picnic. After a few songs to start off the crowd, someone brought out a vegan cake for Claire’s birthday. Sharing this special moment (and delicious cake), we felt like close friends. The night continued with more great hits, Summer Song, and Ring the Bell. My favorite part was during the lyrics of Psychic City (Voodoo City), ‘Hang around baby we’ll be baking a cake for you,’ when they began throwing handfuls of cake and causing a slippery yet well received mess on the stage’s dance floor. After their main show, they also did some mixing w/ White Rainbow during which handfuls of courageous fans scurried to request photo ops with them, causing a rush of fans later on and more dancing.

On that note, I guess what I appreciated the most (in a country where stardom means exclusivity and untouchable immortality) was their laid back persona, making it easy to exchange a few words and smiles. I could see why people love them and will continue to do so in greater numbers.

*Note: See a preview of YACHT in my videos bar.

Seoul Strobist Club
“Strobist: The Metro Project” – SSC Shoot 7

Date: Sunday, December 20th, 3:00pm

Shoot Description:
We haven’t gone out and done any strobist work in a while, so I thought we should get one more in before everyone splits for the holidays. With a lot of action this fall concerning the Metro Project, I thought it would be nice to get together and help each other get creative in and around the tube.

Shoot Objectives:
-    Learn how to effectively balance difficult lighting situations indoors and outdoors
-    Learn how to use strobes and small aperture photography together
-    Gelling for dramatic effect

These are the three areas that I’m going to focus the workshop on, but obviously we’ll get through a whole lot more action on the day of. If there’s anything anyone wants to try or practice, by all means, let me know and we’ll get to that, too.

Meet-up Point:
Sindorim Station
Exit 1, 3:00 pm – (?) 7:00 pm
* Subject to chance. I want to do this at a large, outdoor station with some character. If anyone has a better idea for a station, let me know please.

Shoot Leader(s):
Shawn Parker        parker.shawn@gmail.com         010-5824-2632

Shoot rental fees, etc.:
None.

Models:
I think we’re past shooting each other over and over – I know I’m sick of seeing my own face in the group photos – so I’m going to ask a couple of models that I’ve worked with in the past to come along. It’ll be cold and a chunk out of their day, so I’m asking anyone who is interested to fork over 10,000 won to cover the cost of the models’ time. Payable day of.

Food & Beverage:
Not too worried about this pre-shoot. We’ll figure out a place to have a bite once we’re done.

Emergency Backup Plan:
We should be fine indoors or outdoors – the only thing that will really hinder these plans is rain. But pray for snow…that’d be awesome! Just pack a garbage bag to cover your gear.

Gear Inventory:
When you post your interest, please list what strobe-related gear you’ve got and are willing to bring to the event. We will do our best to pare down the inventory this week so you don’t have to lug all the stuff you own out of the house.

For example, we’re usually not going to need more than 4 strobes for a single shot. That means four flashes, preferably two light stands, a monopod, a trigger and one or more receivers (depending whether the flashes can be triggered wirelessly or not). SB-26s, SB-800s and (I THINK) SB-600s and SB-28xs have this function built in. I don’t know about non-Nikon gear.

I’ll pack most of my stuff so we can run a couple of crews at the same time.

나는비비안. 지금나는인천공항에 있어요. 하글 type uh… I can. 모르게서. 시발, 나의 책을 잊었어요. (XINLEI, YOU HAVE MY KOREAN BOOK! You’ll have to give it back to me sometime T__T)

와, 이거 “pear drink” = 너무 단것 (???).

Since my Korean sucks and I can’t type anything, really, that makes sense, let’s list what foods I had this time!

SIDE DISHES

김치 (Of course…)

MAIN DISHES

국밥 (Delicious……………..!!!!!!!!! I want to eat it now!!!!!!!!!!)

떡볶이 (Same ol’, same ol’ — didn’t actually see 볶이 anywhere!)

오뗑 (Meh)

버페 (Vegetarian buffet @ New Start — clockwise from top: eggplant, candied yam, spring roll, tofu, soybeans, weird apple cinnamon mash thing, vegan quesadilla, and in the center, potatoes and vegetarian flour pancake thing.)

된장지개
해물파전
김치순두부지개
빵
김밥

DRINKS

바나나우유 (Well, I’ve made myself sick of it. Naturally.)

“링빵” (Well, not in cake form, but doughnut form. )

햇밤우유 (So good, kinda tasted like coffee milk…)

아침햇살 (Some kind of rice milk, I think. YUM!)

민트초코레트
커피
허니레몬
맥주

SWEETS

와플 (Waffle with tiramisu gelato!)

바나나초코레트

More later, MAYBE. Flght’s boarding to go to Narita.

Dude, in other news, I’m pissed! Twice now I’ve paid for internet at Narita and it’s just fucked up! This time I changed companies, thinking maybe it would be better, but at the moment, I think it’s worse! Fuck this shit! For motherfucking $6 a day I damn expect it to work and to work awesomely. I mean, the Taiwan airport has free internet. Damn you, Narita. Damn you to hell. So ghetto. Still not fixed. Godamn it Narita; time’s a tickin’ and money’s a drainin’. Not that I can even complain to someone, cause the last time I asked for any kind of help in Narita (losing my jacket and trying to claim it from the ridiculously lost and found and then being utterly unable to communicate what kind of jacket it was that I lost) soured me in asking Japanese people for help in any capacity than looking for directions or something! It’s just too hard to communicate.

In the meantime, I guess I’ll just keep adding shit to this and hope that the internet comes back in time for my flight for me to actually post it, cause if not, that’d be stupid, too.

General observations about Korea, which is no doubt the weirdest freaking Asian country I’ve been to:

THE PEOPLE ARE HIVE-MINDED AS FUCK.
Everyone is the godamn same! They all wear the same kinds of clothes (the fashion is boring as can be, which was a huge disappointment), drink the same drinks, eat the same things, listen to the same music… it’s sooooooo boring.

THE SUBWAY 90%+ OF THE TIME SMELLS LIKE OLD PEOPLE AND KIMCHI.
It’s truly horrible. That’s all there is to that. The only times it didn’t smell like that was like, at 11:00 in the morning when no one was really riding the subway. It’s truly, truly foul.

SEOUL IS LIKE A CONFUSED WESTERNIZED COUNTRY.
Everything in Seoul seems to have a huge Western feel, which makes it a really weird place and really different from other “first-world” Asian countries I’ve been to (and even different from developing Asian countries I’ve been to). Nearly everything has English signs and a shitload of their signs are in Konglish or English — generally making pretty decent sense, even.

SWEET SHIT REIGNS THE FOOD MARKET.
If you look at Korean imported drinks in America, the ingredients are surprisingly similar to those in American soft drinks. If you look at the same drinks imported from Taiwan or Japanese, they are generally pumped with sugar, yes, but at least it’s sugar. Korean drinks, on the other hand, taste fake, even when they taste good. They’re pretty much all high-fructose corn syrup, and some have phenylalanine. As a drink whore, I still drank a good array of shit in Seoul, but I showed

ATTENTION TO DETAIL IS KEY.
All new restaurants, all tour book guides, all the subway messages, hell, even the airport shuttle bus… it’s all done very, very well, generally with an adorable flair of kid-like proportions. Attention to detail seems pretty immense.

THINGS ARE APPARENTLY BETTER NEW.
From houses to eyelids, all things seem better if newly renovated in Korea… including older neighborhoods, which are being demolished by the dozen to make room for newer condos.

MOST PEOPLE SPEAK AT LEAST A *LITTLE* ENGLISH.
As opposed to Japan where people will barely ever talk to you in English even if they know some, in Seoul, it seems like everyone speaks a little English, including old ahjusshis and ahjummas. And I find that even if they don’t really know English in Seoul, they will at least try and talk to you. Which is appreciable.

This is My favorite Korean Singer 2PM

This is their recent music video – song Heartbeat

And here’s another song- again&again

Aren’t they cooool!:D

You’re Beautiful ! It’s English name of 미남이시네요(Minam-ishineyo). You’re Beautiful (Y.B.) which is also famous in other countries even though it’s Korean drama ended on 26th of November as Ep 16.

You’re Beautiful is about a korean boy singer group A.N.JELL which is going to join a new member Minam Go (Minam means Hansome in Korea). A.N.JELL is worldwidely famous, especially in Asian countries, group like TVXQ. They are going to join a member “Minam Go”, but he had a problem with surgery so his twin sister Minyeo Go (Minyeo means Beautiful) have to join that group and perform as a member of A.N.JELL for a month.

Even though this drama had been showing at the same time of Iris (Popular Korean drama with famous actors and spectacular scenes), this could be successful because of the story. Every girl has curious part of Singer Group, and sometimes, girls imagine about it. This Drama showed exactly what they imagined.

Also, member of A.N.JELL was great. Geun-Suk Jang (starring Taekyung, main character) is popular in Korea, he is an actor who started to actor since long long time ago, and Hong-ki Lee (with blonde hair) is a main vocal of korean singer group, F.T. ISLAND, and he is an actor who started long time ago, too. Finally, Yong-hwa Jeong is a member of CN BLUE, korean band which performs in Japan mainly.

Also, Y.B. could be loved by foreigners because of subtitled-version of YB on YouTube. There are many videos which have English subtitle on YouTube, so if you want to see this Drama, just search it! Y.B. was so popular that fans of this drama are asking Season 2 of this drama! I hope it too, but this end was good.

Korean Dramas are keeping being improved. Like Iris, new genres are comming too! You should see some K-Dramas XD

Bus Announcement

The voice of the Seoul metropolitan bus system announces the stop for ‘Seoul Art High School’ on the bus #5413.  After the announcement comes a typical location-activated advertisement.

Recorded 11/24/09, 9:20PM (local time)

Anyone who loves food would love Seoul. The city is absolutely full of restaurants, bakeries, coffee shops, and phenomenal street food.  For the most part, restaurants I saw tended to focus on Korean specialties – soup, Korean barbeque, etc. – but there were also a lot of restaurants with foreign themes and menus.

For example, there were quite a few Italian and Japanese restaurants, so pasta and sushi were never too far away. And of course there were the requisite American chain restaurants – TGIFridays, Bennigans, Burger King, and so on. With all of the wonderful Korean food, it made me sad to think of Americans playing it safe in Itaewon eating Monte Cristos at Bennigans. Yuck!

The most interesting and entertaining restaurants I found involved either strange concepts (a restaurant specializing in grilled hot dogs) or just plain funny names.

Here are some of my favorites:

Big Bobby grilled hotdogs. Scary, or tasty - who knows?

and something I found on the side of a bar:

We were in the 700 beer?

and since I am a U2 fan, I liked this quite a bit:

Bono Bono Sushi