Korea: 짬뽕 Jjampong

짬뽕, or Jjampong is one of those delicious soul-warming foods you never knew you were missing until you try it and realize in shocked horror that you've been sorely lacking something in your life all this time. Typically served with a bright, fiery red broth based on pork or seafood and loaded with a variety of delicious goodies foraged from the waves, it'll cure what ails you whether it's a hangover or homesickness. There are endless varieties and iterations on the dish, some with a white or light colored broth, some with more or less seafoods, some with oysters and some without. As with most foods, the variations tend to be regional as tastes change from region to region, and these differences are highly esteemed and valued in their communities. The dish itself isn't even of Korean origin, it's one of their Korean-Chinese fusion dishes, much like jjajangmyun or tangsuyuk. The Japanese version is Nagasaki-champon, for those familiar with the dish. I was definitely introduced to Champon first, in Japan, by my friend Yuka, but I never associated the two dishes as being one in the same due to the strong differences between the first versions I tried and those I had later on in the US or Korea. Given that's it's one of their Chinese fusion dishes, you can find it at restaurants that cater to that genre of foodstuffs, and it's often exceptionally affordable to boot. For example, I had this meal in Dongdaemun, only a short walk from the train station, and paid less than $5 US for the heaping bowl of sea-filled goodness. Not only did it warm my tired, hungry, homesick soul, but it didn't break the bank, either! Koreans seem to have a pretty good handle on how to make really good food at reasonable prices, and jjampong is a shining example of this ethos. Delicious, full of vegetables, noodles and plenty of healthy protein- but don't mistake this as a health dish, there's tons of fat and sodium to give it all that flavor, too!

 

You don't have to book a trip to Seoul to enjoy jjampong, there's plenty of restaurants that serve it stateside too! You can even find instant noodle versions if you're really craving for it. I definitely recommend trying it fresh, at least once in your life!

I may have been doing some research for my impending return to Vegas... lol!

Korea: Dongdaemun Grilled Fish Alley 동대문생선구이골목

One of my favorite things in all of this great big, beautiful, strange, horrifying, ecclectic world is certain to be the immense and borderline incomprehensible variety of things we can dredge out of the depths of our oceans and waterways. From cute little crustaceans and mollusks filtering particulates out of the water for sustenance, to the big burly beasts lumbering in the deeper reaches of the unknown. Most seafood is something I'm quite resolutely content to devour, whether its completely raw and potentially squirming or cooked until crisp and crackling over charcoal. Luckily, being a peninsula, South Korea has no shortage of delicious options to satiate any seafood fan! 

An especially apt location to find your fix is Noryangjin market, of course, where you can pick out and point out your unwilling dinner while it swims hopelessly in a tank, but if you prefer your food already dead and long detached from consciousness before you interact with it, 동대문생선구이골목, or Dongdaemun grilled fish alley, is going to be your destination of choice. You'll probably catch a whiff of the signature charcoal and fish smell as the fresh catch is thrown atop the grill, one after the next, to fill the aching bellies of the various visitors who filter through the many restaurants lining the small alleyway. If you'd rather have chicken soup, or dog meat stew, those were both available in their own restaurants during my visit, though the dog meat (보신탕 or "Boshintang") may be growing harder to find these days. Obviously, it's a bit of a controversial food, just saying that as of late 2016 it was still very much available and visibly advertised. While this alley might not be at the top of many tourism to-do plans, it's really not a bad option for a delicious and affordable meal with a real taste of South Korean hospitality. My grillmaster was exceptionally friendly and accommodated my foolish over-ordering of fish with patience and a smile. Cheers, my friend. Thanks for an excellent meal! 

And, I mean, what's not to enjoy about piping hot fish fresh off the grill, the grease still sizzling and sputtering from the crispy skin? While I'm not one to be upset by the scent of any fish, I can understand that some people don't necessarily want their house to be perfumed with the pungent scent of fresh mackerel. To each their own. Another benefit to eating here, though, is the smell only lingers on your clothes for a short while. It felt almost like dining in a private home, with the small restaurant I dipped into being empty during the majority of my meal. It was a bit early in the evening yet, though, and the flocks of hungry visitors had yet to really descend upon the area. As was always the case, there were plenty of banchan side dishes to nibble on alongside the main course, and some even danced for me! Dinner and a show, how can you beat that?

Seoul: Dongdaemun underground at night

Dongdaemun is an absolute hub of business for Seoul, with immense buildings and alleys packed to the brim with an incredible array of goods- from an eye-melting mass of ribbon edging spooled onto massive holders pouring from one storefront to finished dresses with quaint details and quirky English phrases pressed into the fabric at another. There's something for everyone, and while much of the market is active into the late hours of the day, many of the smaller shops will shutter as their owners head home for the night. This can lead to a disorienting change in the volume of traffic as you turn from one street onto another, going from the well-lit crowded corners of Dongdaemun Culture and History park to the lesser-trafficked alleys. This is going to be true of most cities, of course- not every street in Vegas is going to be a non-stop flurry of activity, after all. As someone who walked about the city fairly frequently, though, I was surprised by the quiet, shabbier corners I found. There are less-well-to-do areas in Jogno that I'd passed through before, but this was distinctly more industrial in feel. 

This post will focus on the underground corridors I wandered this evening. I liked to explore a little after work when I was off early enough to be able to take a bit of time for it, and this was one such evening. Rather than walk the familiar route towards Gwangjang market area, I went the opposite direction and found myself in this expansive underground shopping complex after it's prime hours of operation. Being such a populated area, there were precautions in place for the potential of attack, given that Seoul is really quite close to the North Korean border and the terrifying attacks of cults in crowded areas like these in the past...I've noticed these little preparedness centers in the past, and they still leave me with a sense of disquieting surrealness. It doesn't feel real, more like stepping into a Fallout game, but this is life in the modern world, where terror attacks happen. Better to be prepared than not, I suppose, though I don't like the shadow cast on the collective consciousness by having these objects hovering in the peripheral.  

Seoul: Dongdaemun Morning

Mornings were typically not all that exciting for me.  I had my routine, where I'd wake up at least an hour or hour and a half before I had to leave for my day... there'd be the required shower to rinse away any sweat or sleep funk that had accumulated over the evening, and a meal- most mornings toast with eggs. Always some coffee. Back home in the states I often use a French press for my morning brew, as I like the balance in flavor and intensity, but I experimented with pour over brewing methods and instant coffees while living in Korea due to limited counter/cabinet/kitchen space and a hesitance to purchase any sort of appliances I'd have to leave behind or try to take home. Some mornings I might have a bit of worry as one of the other housemates occupied the bathroom and I panicked over whether I'd have time, but more often than not it all worked out fine. Once the house routine was all managed, off I'd go- to the elevator, then down the street at a brisk clip, then plodding down the stairs or escalators at Hwajeong station. The destination would change: some days I'd be working in Anguk, other days I'd be at Lotte world, so I'd have to plan accordingly. Some routes took much longer than others, but I was almost always on time! The trains tend to run pretty regularly, though some odd times I'd find myself switching trains as the car I had originally hopped on was retired for the time being. These things happen.

So, too, does pigeons finding their way inside the train stations from time to time. There are many smaller rural stations that are more open to the outside elements, but finding this poor bird so far inside Dongdaemun seemed a bit strange. An entertaining moment in the morning ritual. 

With the winter chill settling in more and more each morning, I was finding the brisk walks especially pleasant. Also good for taking photos, as the crowds hadn't really gathered yet as at this early hour many of the shops hadn't opened for business. I took advantage of this and captured a bit of the early morning calm as I enjoyed it. 

More photos below!

Seoul: Dongdaemun Plaza at night

As I've tried to express in previous posts, Dongdaemun is a serious business hub for Seoul with a lot going on. There's not only the wholesale and retail fashion business end of things going on, with purchasers and designers strolling vast alleys of fabrics and embellishments for their latest inspiration or line... or the floor upon floor of finished garments vying for your attention in any of the many multi-floored complexes littering this area. There is indubitably a lot of won exchanging hands, and a lot of people needing to be fed, entertained and charmed by the many business people frequenting the area. The entertainment industry and fashion are close here in South Korea and feed off of each other for not only inspiration and styling but as symbiotic entities pulsing together in syncopated unison. Not surprisingly, then, a lot of energetic and determined performers will grace the stages here in their attempts to win the spotlight and become South Korea's next biggest pop sensation. How many of them actually succeed and how many girls self-esteem, health or lives are destroyed in the process is unknown. It's easy to throw around talk about Korea's plastic surgery centers, or the prevalence of advertising through all the trains, buildings and streets normalizes the experience of undergoing plastic surgery, but your average Korean girl might not have anything done. The song being danced to in the video here is the Wondergirl's "Why so lonely", an older song that I was hooked on so I couldn't help but record a snippet of a live performance. I think they all look healthy and fit, and I hope their lives and careers have gone well since then. 

Of course, on top of the entertainment, there's going to be the need to feed. There is no shortage of food carts and stalls waiting to satisfy your aching belly. Whether you're craving dakbokkeumtang, hot dogs wrapped in french fries, what-have-you. There are endless options available to fill your tummy, from sit-down restaurants to street carts ready for take-away.  

Seoul: Octopus Stir-fry and Seafood pancake Street food stall in Dongdaemun

The food in South Korea is bountiful, beautiful, and naturally quite delicious. You have an incredible variety of options for getting fed, too! Not only was South Korea way ahead of the US on the McDonald's delivery service, you can have all sorts of different foods delivered almost anywhere, whether you're beachside, at the park, or fervently studying at the library. This could be in part due to the fact that being a geographically small country makes it easier to ensure delivery to all its corners, and the little scooters used specifically for delivery are deftly able to navigate the winding alleys and side streets of the city. If you're feeling more like going somewhere sit-down, there are the food carts and stalls such as this one where you can get to pick out your food from either a menu or a mountain of ingredients, then wait while it's prepared (or be annoying like I was and hover with a camera). Your food will be made hot and fresh!  It will likely be pretty reasonably priced, too, unless you're silly like me and accidentally over-order and feel obligated to stuff as much of it in as you can. Even so, for the amount of food, it wasn't very expensive at all.

You'll find these little food carts all over Seoul and, presumably, the rest of South Korea, too. I can only vouch for Seoul as that's where I'm familiar with, but given their ubiquitous appearances, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find them all over the country. You can always go to a more enclosed sit down restaurant if you aren't keen on the plastic siding that constitutes the barrier to the outside world.  Personally, I don't mind it, but on extra cold days it might be a challenge to endure the blistering chills creeping in. Luckily your meal starts with a hot bowl of soup, free of charge, or at least mine did. Most meals in Korea will have some form of light soup and various side dishes included unless the main itself is a soup, which makes sense, right? It's a small touch, but a nice one. 

For this meal, I opted for stir-fried octopus with vegetables, and accidentally also ordered a seafood pancake that ended up being massive. Both dishes were good, but could have easily been shared with 2-3 other people, so I walked out quite stuffed. I hate to waste food but I doubt they do take out, and even if they do, my Korean skills were pretty weak and I doubted my ability to relay my request after failing to communicate my order properly already. Chalk it up to live and learn. 

More photos below!

Seoul: Dongdaemun neighborhood stroll

Dongdaemun is a pretty big, busy neighborhood with a lot going on throughout much of the day with a lot of tourists and vendors coming and going at all hours. Despite being a prodigious business hub, there are plenty of residents who have made this corner of the city their home. Small apartments and homes hide amongst the taller, window-studded shopping centers and restaurants and fruit carts jostle for sidewalk space among the foot traffic. Signs in a wide array of languages join the visual mix, advertising to the international community any number of delicious looking foods and mysteries only the language speakers themselves would know. It's quite fun to walk the little roads and alleys interlacing the larger roads and intersections, zig-zagging and winding their ways through the city like a maze. I definitely recommend taking your camera because you never know what you might stumble upon in your adventures! Check out that art above, I never would have been able to share that with you all if I hadn't thought to take my camera along on my stroll. 

Dongdaemun Market, advertising in another language as well as the local Korean! You certainly see a fair bit of English and Chinese throughout Seoul given the American occupation and proximity (and cultural interconnected-ness) of Japan, but they're absolutely not the only country in this great big beautiful world of our's who share an interest (or ex-pat community) in South Korea! After all, Russia isn't that far, either- did you know there's actually an 11-mile area of the North Korean border that's shared with Russia? Given their proximity, it should come as no surprise that there's a pretty good Russian ex-pat population living in Seoul. This has lead to an area in Dongdaemun that's come to be known as "Little Russia" where you can find Russian signs crowding in and restaurants serving nostalgic favorites. I'm not too familiar with Russian cuisine, I must admit, so I won't hazard a guess at what those dishes might be. There's also a large Central Asian population, making this a mini-melting pot in Seoul. It's an interesting cross-section of cultures, for sure, and it makes me happy to see different communities and cultures mingling and coexisting with eachother in peace. It's not a far walk from exit 5 of Dongdaemun Culture and History park station, so if you find yourself in the area and curious, check it out for yourself! 

More photos below~

Seoul: Dongdaemun views

View from the Dongdaemun building we had a Fun Caricature location in. Not the worst view of the city, eh? I discovered this scenic spot in the stairwell, as I strove to hit my step count for the day and stay active. Some days it was a bit less colorful, with the winter grey skies coming in heavy but inconsistently by this point. There was definitely more need for steaming hot cauldrons of bubbling stews and soups, of which the surrounding neighborhood was ready to supply. Not only were there a coffee shop and several restaurants inside the building itself, but the neighborhood of Dongdaemun is a bustling hub of commerce that has a steady influx of humans coming through needing to eat at some point in their long days. Just look at all those multistoried buildings! It's always something of a novelty to me, as skyscrapers are still relatively few and far between in my hometown of Vegas. I mean, sure, we have the Stratosphere and some gleaming monoliths on the Strip, but the majority of the valley is limited to 6 stories or less for the vast majority of structures, and the residential sprawl typically only sees second story buildings unless you're in the part of towns with mansions... Anyway, I especially found that clusterf**k of air conditioning units fascinating to see. It's kind of an interesting visual symmetry to the buildings beyond. 

On top of food, of course, there are plenty of entertainment options! That's where the Fun Caricature location came into play, as we had recently opened this new spot near a Van Gogh art exhibition. It seemed only proper for a caricature spot to cozy up to this beautiful Van Gogh exhibit, no? That was the premise, anyway. It wasn't a very busy location compared to some of the more bustling ones, at least while I was there, as most people were more focused on the stunning art inside the showroom rather than us, though we did get the occasional client. There was a cafe in the same area, but it was infrequently open. The other floors of the building were primarily fashion oriented, with the floors divided into Men's, Women's, accessories, but there was also a gym, indoor putting range, and the aforementioned restaurants and cafes. I imagine the other buildings nearby were similar, packed with busy workstations and shops, then restaurants and things catering to their needs.  Dongdaemun is essentially a working fashion hub, the actual business behind and retail shops side of things, but there are museums and other culturally beneficial activities to enjoy aplenty.

  

I didn't take any photos inside the exhibit, but I did take plenty of photos of the view from the building as I enjoy the urban scenery. Check those out below!

Seoul: Hangover stew in Dongdaemun and snacks

After having lived and worked in Seoul for a while, the company I worked with opened a new location in Dongdaemun. If you're unfamiliar with the area, it's a fashion shopping mecca and houses multiple buildings tailored to a variety of textile needs, whether you're a casual shopper looking for something cute and unique or a maker searching for your latest inspiration. There's truly something for everyone! And it's a massive area, too, because despite the relatively small footprint there are multiple high-rise buildings packed with shops on every single floor to explore, along with many small shops spilling onto the streets and alleys below. On top of all that, there's a thriving immigrant community with Cyrillic menus and writing popping up alongside buildings. If you've been missing some Russian or Eastern European classics, this would be a good neighborhood to find some. There are also many food stalls, street vendors, restaurants and chains proliferating here, so there's no shortage of options when it comes to food. I tried Korean Street Toast in this neighborhood for the first time and found myself hooked, unfortunately. So tasty, but not the sort of thing that really made it's way back to the US yet. It's not the most difficult of things to make, I suppose, and it was a lot of fun watching the ladies make it on their hot griddles in a stall the size of most bathrooms stateside. The billowing steam, rife with the smell of hot butter and sizzling ham, would attract many visitors and there was often a line. Some days, however, you need something more substantial, and that's where the hangover stew comes in.

It's not going to win any awards for beauty, but it's a hearty, filling soup to heal what ails you. If you're squeamish, don't ask what cuts of meat are used. It's full of protein, though! And the broth is studded with enough spice to wake you from a half-drowsed state and reinvigorate your senses. Good stuff. Not to mention the serve-yourself banchan bar so you can load up on all the crunchy pickled radish (spicy kkaktugi this time), kimchi and other goodies your heart desires. It's good stuff. I ate it a couple of times during my stay and I'd recommend it to any brave eater. It kind of reminds me of posole, actually, so if you're familiar with that dish it might be an easy one. 

The restaurant I ate this in, this time, was right behind the building I worked in and I think it was actually more of a barbeque restaurant than a stew one, but I digress. There were at least 20 restaurants nestled among the buildings and alley, though, to be fair. No shortage of options, believe you me. They left me to my stew and banchan with no fuss, though they may have judged me. I left happy with my belly full, reenergized and ready to tackle the remainder of my day!

More photos below!