The Seoulite

타블로가 10년전에 찍었던 S.E.S영상 화제

This is my notoriety for the year.

http://www.diodeo.com/starfollower/001091639

http://www.ietn.co.kr/2007/entertainment/view.php?idx=33588&code=0178

http://www.newsen.com/news_view.php?uid=200812140953381002

People sang it. Do they know what it means? Auld Lang Syne means in the days of ‘old long ago’ or rather in the good old days in Old Scots. So on New Year’s you’re supposed to remember the good from the past year while you move into the next year.

New Year’s over the past few years have been transitions for the Seoulite. So he’s gonna take a moment to make up for December 2007 along with December 2008. He went from San Francisco to Los Angeles to Seoul in the span of two new year’s celebrations. It turns out that during New Year’s 2007 to usher in 2008 - which he spent in Korea - this horrific article was printed in the San Francisco Chronicle! Always the last to know… a year later too!

Well, he’ll just take it as a compliment that his departure from San Fran was so tragic to the industry that it qualified as the ‘lowest’ moment in 2007! Oh Bobby Hurwitt… why were we always your favorite company you loved to bash.

The Seoulite was never able to properly say good-bye to the precious memories of being an activist in the States. He is glad to leave this hat for a while. It can be such a mindscrew to be in America. The Seoulite will tell you it is such. a. relief. to be in Korea... so Auld Lang Syne to that baby!

Above and below are videos of two of his role models and mentors… David Henry Hwang and Philip Kan Gotanda. May they keep thriving in their artistic endeavors and find great success in 2009!

Rob Hurwitt… a concession since it is the new year… and it appears you had redeemed yourself in late 2008 with this article. Much love and best wishes for a successful new year for Asian American Theater Company and the Chronicle.

And of course Rob… I am very grateful for your support at the beginning… kicking it back to 2003!

And I forget how sassy I was. See my sassy quotes:
Sassy Article #1
Sassy Article #2

Sandra Oh just hits it on the nail. Christina Yang. Rocks. The Anatomy.

The Seoulite doesn’t have many pictures from his time at AATC on his computer in Seoul but he was able to find a couple on the internet… why aren’t there more photos?

A montage of one of the many magical moments of working together towards a mission to better the world. For real. It feels good. Everyone at AATC… the Seoulite misses you!

Here’s an Australian’s take on racial politics… maybe if Asian Americans all had Australian accents things would immediately change. It’d be a mindscrew back in the other direction!

And the Seoulite was happy to discover on Youtube that the student theater group (originally started by David Henry Hwang in 1979), which he helped revive while at Stanford, is still alive and so funny! This is a spoof the Asian American Theater Project did on ‘The Office’. The more things change… they really do stay the same.

Regrets for 2008… I had a few… but then again really really too few to mention. More grateful than anything else. Many prayers for a roaring 2009! It’s an 11 year!

Oh… and Auld Lang Syne. We need to hear someone sing it. Sing it Mary Poppins!

Postings will resume after the holidays! In the meantime Happy New Year! Please take care not to get sick with the cold/flu that’s going around Seoul lately. If you’re wondering… it starts off with a scratchy dry throat, then progresses to some vocal change, head cold, sinus pressure, and lastly (I hope!) runny nose.

2009!
2009!
2009!

Where do Seoulites go if they want to get all the latest wrapping, baking and gift supplies? You go to Bangsan Market… a ‘dongdaemun’ style market district for professional businesses and ambitious home-ec housewives.

Here is the entrance. The closest subway station is Ulchiro-4-ga exit #6 (을지로4가역 6번 출구).

Do you fancy yourself a cookie cutter?

Boxes of all shapes and sizes. But you have to buy in bulk.

There are many variations on packaging and custom designs are a phone call away.

Trendy wooden cutlery.

I wish someone would have told me I could come here when I was tearing the city apart trying to look for a KitchenAid Mixer.

Want to start a carry-out business? The Seoulite is glad he can choose to use British English in Seoul if it suits the linguistic style of the moment.

Or a coffee shop!

Or you can make your own soap with these molds.

Take a survey of the goods and prices from several shops before buying. Negotiate if you're buying in large quantities.

On the way to the Bangsan Market is the sewing machine market. Just so you know... if there are any future clothes designers out there.

So what kind of results can one have with an armed and dangerous kitchen and stockpiles of frilly boxes?

First, make some bomb-diggity cookies.

Enlist the help of those with decorative skills... girls!

Turn your room into a factory! Wuh Shang Mai Gong Chan!

Patience, trial and error. Turns the ordinary... into...

Into something beautiful!

Local ingredients create quite a challenge for baking - an art that is very close to a science. These were my final product and did not go into the gifts we gave out. Many apologies if yours were subpar! The Seoulite has now found the perfect cookie recipe and is done with experimenting with various blends of sugars, flours and special ingredients. On to the next challenge... cupcakes!

Here is the contact information of some of the baking shops at Bangsan Market… and the article of one very ambitious writer here in Seoul that also gives more information on the shopping experience.

Seoil Total Bakery System
02-2267-0871
suhilco@naver.com

d & b
02-2267-4000
www.bakingmall.com

Happy Baking
02-2268-6009
www.happybaking.com

경훈공업 Kyoung Hoon
02-2275-5902
www.kyounghoon.com

의신상회 (Weishin Sanghee)
02-2265-1398

The Seoulite wishes everyone a safe and happy end of the year! On to a glorious 2009… let’s turn this world around!

Here’s “All I Want for Christmas” from the fast-becoming classic Christmas movie… Love Actually!

Do you really need Christmas to get this kind of courage? Seoulites use Soju year-round.

The Lake Scene with Aurelia.

Did President Lee Myung Bak have a little chat like this with George?

Woody Allen may very well have made a precursor to ‘Love Actually’ (2003) with his film ‘Everyone Says I Love You’ (1996). If you imagine ‘Love Actually’ as a musical, you get this…

and this…!

The President and the Press-JFK warns USA about secret societies

Time to finalize those new year’s resolutions… and hope for revolutionary change next year! One of mine will be to be a trustworthy and entertaining news man. JFK was too ahead of his time, which is why they probably killed him off! Let’s hope Obama’s security and guardian angels are top-notch.

Communists and Socialists looooove independent film festivals. I thought the hipster trend was limited to Americans or at best hyphenated Americans but no…… it is alive and well in Korea. The Seoulite went to the 2008 Seoul Independent Film Festival on a whim. And the movie he watched… was a documentary of a documentary of the Film Festival’s movie makers! It was artistic masturbation at its best… the film was called ‘Into the Breeze’ by Mario Lee.

The location of the festival was at an independent art house theater called Joong Ang Cinema. The theaters are small and intimate... more like studio or agency screening rooms.

The organization is a bare bones non-profit group with a big heart and an even bigger mission... plus selling all sorts of chotzkeys in the lobby. Seeing them in action brought back all sorts of nice memories of my time with AATC.

They talk about the same battle for 'going commercial' or 'keeping it real' that people in the states constantly have in their Communist book club gatherings. Isn't the point of art supposed to be subversive within the mainstream? If you're afraid to lose your voice... then you probably aren't strong enough to keep it in the first place. Nobody said being an artist would be fair or easy. It can suck balls actually... so work harder so it can suck less. You're making a sacrifice for the world anyhow.

The popcorn does not come from a machine. But you can get caramel or cheese... just like in those 20 pound tins from American drug stores or department stores!~

Was the movie any good? Eh, it was not bad for a documentary of a documentary. It gave a very intimate glimpse into the underground art scene here… and the struggle is very similar to that in the states. The cast was there but we dashed before the Q&A… but I was able to tell my favorite ‘actor’ he did a great job. Great job!

SIFF Website
www.siff.or.kr

To get to Joong Ang Cinema:
Myeong Dong Subway Station
Exit 10
Walk north until it appears on the left

What does an enterprising Seoulite do with a former hof not fulfilling its potential in an amazing location off of Apgujeong Station exit #2? Build a multi-thousand square foot seafood buffet of course! If you want a step above Todai… head for Ebishura.

The best way to impress diners is to display rows upon rows of empty wine bottles. Don't they know it's bad feng shui!

There is so much room and interesting interior decor inside.

Seoulites love to sit under trees in fine dining environments.

This is the highlight of a seafood buffet for Korean parents... and people of the Seoulite's generation getting to their 30s... crab legs!

Do you miss mozzerella tomato drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette?

Or oysters on the half shell?

Amazing bionic mushroom plate.

This is going to be a long entry. Light on commentary... Long on pictures to make you hungry.

Make your own shabu shabu.

Roasted garlic done to perfection. Pizza actually good too. There were nachos as well. Thanks but no thanks to that bridge to Taco Bell.

Spicy salmon rolls - very good.

Sundried tomato. How I missed thee.

Amazing spice fig pound cake.

Lychees. I saw a woman shove these into her purse... not here... but at a wedding... won't name whose... but she wasn't a Seoulite I could tell you that. The lychees were still wet yet she wanted them so baaad it wouldn't matter if she ruined her purse.

Yummy pears.

Happy ice cream eater.

Ice cream eater's reaction to a comment that it looked a little fruity. Don't mess with a man and his ice cream.

This is a great place to go with large groups. We were seated next to a wedding... and we even made the wedding video!

Merry Christmas!

Ebishura Seafood Park
It’s called a park… hence the trees.
Apgujeong Station Exit 2
02-3443-4455
http://www.ebishura.co.kr/

Food: 4/5
Service: 3/5
Ambiance: 5/5

It is almost Christmas and the streets of Seoul are buzzing. So what do some Seoulites do the weekend before? Call up their old wedding photographers to take ‘friend’ pictures. After a two hour photo shoot and hundred of shots to choose from… you get the perfect memorabilia to celebrate the holidays.

Seoulites love taking pictures of themselves... this is so beyond the sticker pic!

You can look like the Wonder Girls on an album cover.

Or on a concert poster!

Who takes these photos? One of the more popular wedding photographers in Seoul… Wonkyu Noblesse. If you get married in Seoul… you should definitely check out this photographer. He does magazine shoots, music videos and is very much at the top of his game.

Click here to see sample wedding photos from the studio.

Wonkyu Photo Studio
16-11 B1, Chungdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea
Phone: 02-518-6232

All Seoulites know that the best Korean food is north of the river. And chicken soup is no exception. However, in Korea, there is literally a whole chicken in every bowl. Instead of bread, chickens are stuffed with ginseng, jujubes and rice. You’re supposed to have this dish at the start of every summer to acclimate your body to the upcoming heat. But it is good year round.

This restaurant is around the corner from the Joong Ang Cinema located in Ulchiro 2 ga. Don't be fooled by its commonplace appearance. Food north of the river has more soul... and a little less 'Seoul.'

There are medicinal qualities to the soup - both to prevent and cure colds. Some places actually do put oriental medicinal herbs in the broth! So chicken soup really does work.

Pickled radish. Self serve by the bucket on your table.

Pickled garlic stimulates your body heat and burns off many colds if caught in the very early stages.

There is only chicken at this place... that's the type of place you want to go for this dish... one that specializes only in chicken soup.

The chicken soup here comes with a shot of ginseng liqueur. It's fragrant and will also kill off any winter cold bugs. One meal here and you're cured!

Jun Tong Sam Gae Tang
Seoul, Jung-gu, Euljiro 2 ga, 166-1
In the alley behind Joong Ang Cinema
2nd Floor
Phone: (02) 318-4406

Food: 4/5
Ambiance: 2/5
Service: 3/5

Hi, I’m Sean Lim, an American expat living in South Korea.  This is my blog about becoming a Seoulite.

What is a Seoulite?
A ‘Seoulite’ (서울깍쟁이) is a citizen of Seoul, just as a ‘New Yorker’ is a citizen of New York. Of course the label ‘Seoulite’ doesn’t simply denote a place of residence [...]