The Seoulite

What’s one of the first things that impressed the Seoulite? There are more Coffee Beans here per square kilometer than in Los Angeles. Whereas he spent a decade in the Bay Area only to have two Coffee Beans open up by the time he left… in Seoul there are at least two Coffee Bean locations within walking distance.

This is his favorite seat at the local Coffee Bean… a chair right by the window.

Does it feel right to drop so much money on coffee? Well most of the time it feels right. And according to Oprah Winfrey… only do things when it ‘feels right’. You can spend less money on shoes. Or food. Here’s Oprah’s speech from Stanford’s 2008 Commencement.

Over 20 years ago, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf invented their trademark The Original Ice Blended drink, which launched the blended coffee craze and inspired dozens of imitators. The Original Ice Blended is the worlds favorite frozen coffee drink with over 40,000 Ice Blended drinks served daily and over 12 million annually worldwide. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf - sometimes shortened to simply The Coffee Bean - is a Los Angeles, California-based coffee chain, owned and operated by International Coffee & Tea, LLC. The company was founded by Mona and Herbert Hyman. The first store opened in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood in September 1963.

Here’s the Coffee Bean’s website in Korean: http://www.coffeebeankorea.com/

Where’s a perfect place to meet for lunch with a bunch of college friends whom you haven’t seen for years? Well, if two of them are investment bankers on travel and working out of the Seoul branch office… they will probably have Sushi Cho at the Westin Chosun Hotel on their short list.

The restuarant floats on the 20th floor of the hotel and the views are spectacular. Bankers who work for Barclays don’t mess around… she reserved one of the private rooms for our meal… from which you can almost close an M&A deal if you bring your own projector.

The restaurant is part of the recent major renovation of the historic hotel.

On a sunny afternoon, the lighting is perfect.

No bread at this place... it's sushi! So there's some pita chip-esque snack to get your palate started.

Or vegetables. They really think their clientele is concerned with their weight! The slender green vegetables are actually the stalks of the garlic plant.

This is a delicious monkfish.

This is a delicious pastorfish.

This is the delicious wasabi steak.

The Seoulite didn't really know what kind of fish his friends ate... and he was very focused on having beef no matter what the setting. This is the delicious ice cream they give you for free if they spill coffee on you accidentally. Props to Ms. Barclays investment banker who handled it with such grace.

This was the respectable Stanford grad picture.

But the Seoulite insisted that since we were in Korea, it is not possible to restrain hands from flashing the Seoulite symbol whenever there is a camera near.

Such remarkable restraint. We have matured. Go class of 2000 and 2001!

Sushi Cho
Westin Chosun Hotel
87 Sogong-Dong, Jung-gu
Seoul 100-070 · South Korea
Phone: (02) 771-0500

Hours: 7:00 AM - 10:00 AM (Except weekends); 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM; 5:30 PM - 10:00 PM.

Subway: Myeongdong Station or City Hall Station.

Click here for a restaurant review from the Korea Times.

The first Western-style hotel in Korea, The Chosun Hotel was built in the heart of Seoul. It left a trail in the history of firsts such as the first ice cream, first elevator, and first dance party. Laying the foundation of Western culture in Korea, it has always been the center in Korea politics, economy, and culture.

To the world he is known as ‘Tablo’, the leader of Korean hip-hop group Epik High. At Stanford he was known as Daniel Lee. Then Daniel ‘Armand’ Lee. And now this talented renaissance man has published his first novel - a collection of short stories written during his time at university.

‘Pieces of You’ is the title and though originally written in English, it has been translated in Korean for its release in Korea earlier this month. 50,000 copies have already sold out and the publisher ordered an additional 20,000 copies. The English edition is expected to launch in February 2009.

The stories focus on broken individuals searching for their identity - troubled, but tenacious characters who keep chasing their dreams.

'Every era puts importance on different social values. Once, it was arts and at times, religion or truth,' says Tablo. 'At present, people value comfort and money the most, which limits their passion for other things, like the arts.'

The Seoulite and Tablo were friends for a while in college. Here is a music video they made when they were dorm mates in Okada. Tablo stole his sweaters. But the Seoulite stole his jackets. They did it for art.

Daniel Armand Lee (born July 22, 1980), more commonly known by the stage name Tablo (Hangul: 타블로), is a Korean hip hop musician, rap artist, songwriter and lyricist. He is best known as the rapper and leader of the South Korean hip hop group Epik High. Tablo produces almost all the songs of Epik High with DJ Tukutz, and writes the lyrics with Mithra Jin. He has also produced and featured on many songs in South Korea. His work incorporates numerous musical styles, ranging from hip hop, to electronic music such as trance, trip hop, as well as rock.

Order the book in Korean here.

Note: The Seoulite also underwent a name change/modification for artistic purposes.

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 [...]