Taylan and Jess's Visit

Dojang End of the Year Party

First dinner in Korea - Dokalbi

It cooks at the table. Waiting for it, while hungry, is difficult, but the cheesy, spicy rewards is worth it!

Weird tube worm mirror thing in Sinchon

Chris and Taylan cooked a meal and we busted into %45 soju from An dong

Out dancing the first Saturday night

On top of Ingwansan (small mountain covered with temples)

Market right near Dojang

Korean BBQ - they had pig skin and Chris decided to try some; once we discovered a nipple on one piece, we knew we had to get a video (turns out we ate it VERY undercooked, which is why it is so rubbery-oops!)

Jess, Taylan, Chris and Mel in Dojang

Working on what they call "special kick" - I suck at this, like supremely suck; it's a spin kick meant to hit someone's jaw

Our kitchen - red light because our blinds are red

Hooka!

Sea cucumbers (eating them raw, like MANY things here, is supposed to help with, ahem, endurance)

Impromtu Hopkido Nori Bang

Dojang End of Year Party

 

Next to Melanie is Kwan Jang Nim, who is our Grandmaster. He is amazing, and seems reasonably entertained!

This guy, Ho Yeon, is a Master. He is one of the ones who run classes.

This is the other main Master who runs classes, Duk Jin (DJ), beat boxing, and Daniel, a senior student from Germany, rapping a traditional Korean kids song.

Dog

Re: Eating Dog - If people eat dog, now and for hundreds (and hundreds?) of years, there's something to it, something I haven't considered. Right. So, while Chris and I both felt conflicted and emotionally unsettled about eating dog, we both agreed this was a chance that would not likely come again. Here's my review: It was quite tender... a mix of pork and beef. The dishes we had were very fatty. We tried dog spicy, steamed and in a stew - all three ways the restaurant served it. I talked myself up to it by telling myself 'Go big or go home', and I had traveled too far to go home now.

It was relatively hard to find a restaurant that served dog. The ladies in Chris' adult moms' English class were instrumental. After trying to convince Chris not to eat dog, these three very sweet and kind women called every person they knew to find us a place. As they relayed it, eating dog is not common in Korea, and it is "looked down upon". The Korean government doesn't condone eating dog and, in an effort to discourage such a practice, doesn't regulate it in the same manner as other meats. My understanding is that the practice was more common in the past and among poor folks and those rural areas. Dog is believed to increase "male" endurance, so it costs about 2-4x what other dinners would (it cost 22,000 won, which is about $20, per person). As far as I understand, Korean women don't and didn't eat dog - it's a man thing.

All in all, I am glad to have tried dog, conditioned guilt on the side and all, but I don't plan to revisit it for the time being (unless, perhaps, someone visits and is looking for try it).