Fish Market: Busan

One of the most famous attractions in Busan: the Fish Market.

The main building is separated into two floors. The first floor is all vendors selling all sorts of seafood. You roam the aisles and take your pick of the selection.



They will cut up your fish for you, and if you want to eat your goods quickly, you can head up to the second floor, which is basically an eating/cooking hall. You hand over your fresh seafood and for 10,000 won, they will cook it for you & you can enjoy your seafood from tank to plate in mere minutes :)



Besides all the amazing shellfish, I tried abalone for the first time--and it was not at all like how I thought it would taste. Not sure if I'm a fan. Overall, everything was amazingly delicious and simply prepared to allow for the freshest taste :)

Munchies: TACO SENORA, Busan

Being from Southern California, one of the things I find myself missing the most from back home is good Mexican food. There are places to get "Mexican" food here in seoul, but my one and only time doing so was such a disappointment that I gave up altogether. Because it just looks pathetic if you are crying into a burrito.

But in visiting Busan, I was led to this little taco shop and although weary, I took it as a good sign that the inside looked like this:

Taco Senora is this tiny shop that has become sort of like a pilgrimage sight for travelers in Korea in search for a culinary awakening.

Another good sign. Real avocados!

The menu is simple: burritos, tacos, fajitas, quesadillas. But their guacamole is fresh and is the best thing this side of the pacific, no joke.


The thing that I appreciate the most about Taco Senora is the attention given to each plate that goes out. Taco Senora tries to give an authentic experience--because you can get "Mexican" food in Korea, but wrapping rice & beans with cheese & lettuce in a tortilla does not mean you are having an authentic experience. Taco Senora tries to mimic the flavors of something I would eat back home--and sure, some things will be different as some ingredients won't be readily available here in Korea that are found in Latin American cuisine, but Taco Senora does it's best.

And it's best is pretty darn delicious. I nearly cried when I sat on the beach with my burrito...this time out of sheer happiness.

Bungee Jump # 1: Fail

After what seemed like forever, my friend Christina and I arrived at Yuldong Park to bungee jump 45 meters off a tower situated over a lake. It was a beautiful day, we were feeling good.

And then disaster struck.

This side of the Pacific: Haeundae Beach, Busan

Having been born and raised in Southern California, there are no words to describe how much I needed/wanted to see the ocean. And just how much it meant for me to do just that, in Busan, at its most famous beach: Haeundae.

A few friends and I made the 2.5 hour trip (KTX fast train) & the 5 hour trip back (slow train) over this past weekend, which was Children's Day/Buddha's Birthday.



,It's amazing how similar, and yet, how different it was to be back at the beach for the first time in over two months. I've definitely taken it for granted that I could visit the beach anytime I wanted back when I was in San Diego.

And I was definitely glad to be there, not in august, when the crowds hadn't yet come, when the weather hadn't gotten too blistering hot, and there was nothing but ocean water and sand before me.

Munchies: The Library at Shilla Hotel for Afternoon Tea

I know I said that I would update about Busan, and I will, but I ventured out with some friends for Afternoon Tea, and it just needs to be written about.

It was a taste of England, right in the heart of Seoul.

For those who know me, and know me well, it comes as no surprise that I make it a point to take about tea. More specifically, I make it a point to go to Afternoon or High Tea. What may come as a surprise is that it's taken me almost two and a half months to finally go out for tea here in Seoul.

Part of the reason for this delay is that, and this should come as no surprise, Seoul/South Korea isn't exactly keen on English tea service. Tea houses are aplenty, but they are decidedly Eastern in service, presentation, selection, and ceremony. And for good reason too.

So what is a girl to do when craving for a nice, dark, cup of tea, a flaky scone, and some clotted cream?

Even trying to find a tucked away English tea house was difficult to find--most places that had a so-called Afternoon Tea Service actually only had tea available with a variety of dessert. You can get that in any cafe, in any city, and for a lot cheaper than they were promoting. A random assortment of tea, served with with whatever bakery's signature cake? No thank you. That is not what I want.

I found that hotels are your best bet for a decent English Tea Service. No buffets, no dessert platters masking as a tea tray, no teabags.

Today, I opted for the Shilla Hotel's Afternoon Tea Service held in their Library.

Before we get into the tea service proper, a word on the Shilla Hotel. It is gorgeous. The staff was friendly and spoke English, which was nice, and the structure itself is a mixture of modern design and Korean traditional architecture.

The lobby has a stunning chandelier display made of crystals what was simply breathtaking.

Shilla's Library is dark wood and lots of light, which is nothing less than handsome.



Like many places in Korea there is a smoking and non-smoking section. We opted for the non-smoking.

The Menu:

A decent menu that includes all the favorites, and two unusual teas for variety: Pearl Jasmine and Wedding Imperial.

There are three kinds of service you may order: traditional, champagne, and the champagne Piper Heidsieck.

I opted for the traditional tea served with the Wedding Imperial. Mostly because I can find Earl Grey and English Breakfast anywhere, and wanted to try something different in this tasting.

This was exactly the cup of tea that I needed. Fragrant, acidic, scents of caramel and delicious sweetness. A splash of milk and I was in heaven.

Tea, poured into your cup, served table side.

Yes. On the left, my friends, is clotted cream. I could die.

The Assortment:

The Standouts:

Pieces of Roquefort between croissant-like bread, touched with a dab of real, honest to goodness, honey.

Raisin scone. Not dense as a rock like the Starbucks kind. Buttery. Moist. And yes, that golden sheen is due to egg wash <3

Macaroon. There was another macaroon on the top tier of the stand (purple), but this one was larger, and, I suppose the best way to describe it would be to say that it was an artisan macaroon. It was malformed but well-crafted as only handmade baked goods can be.

The Disappointments:

I don't know exactly what this little cake was supposed to be--the best I can figure is that, taste wise, it resembled the sponge cake often found in sticky toffee pudding, the different here being, of course, no toffee sauce. There was nothing exceptional about the cake, and it would have been fine, if it didn't taste like it had sat in a refrigerator for an extended period of time.

Super duper dense chocolate cake. There was dark chocolate in the center. Maybe I was expecting too much, but this fell rather flat for me--and I love myself some chocolate. The texture and everything was fine, but much like the other sponge cake, it tasted like refrigerator. And not even the strong taste of dark chocolate could change that.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the tea service at the Shilla hotel. Someone asked me if how it compared to any other tea services that I had been to, both in the US and in England, and for the most part it was pretty comparable. There was nothing, on the whole, that I thought was seriously lacking and I would definitely come back again.

The Library at the Shilla Hotel, Seoul
202 Jangchung-dong 2-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, Korea 100-856

Directions:
-subway line 3. Dongguk University Station (Dongdaeipgu), exit 5

How to get a job with EPIK

I got this email asking about how to get a job teaching in South Korea, and I thought I'd share it for anyone who was looking to do the same.

hi, i'm from singapore. Read your blog and would like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind. I'm really interested in teaching in Korea. My i ask how did you get your job in Korea? Is there a need for me to be fluent in the korea language?

First, if you want, you can back track through my blog to read more detaied posts on how I got here. Check out the "pre-korea" labels on the right side.

Second, as an addendum to the information above, you can also see my old blog, which had some other things about EPIK interviews at the like: Mirth_Korea

Third, I should mention that there are many ways to land a job teaching English in Korea. You need to decide first, whether you want to teach PUBLIC school or PRIVATE school--in general terms. This matters because if you teach in Public school, you'll need to apply with EPIK/GEPIK (English Program in Korea--the gov't based organization that places and supports all native english teachers in S. Korea). This is a long and often arduous process with a lot of red tape and paperwork.

On the other hand, you can take the Private school route--and by private school, I mean Hagwon/English Academy. That is not to say that all private schools are hagwons, or that EPIK only places in public school, because I am an EPIK teacher currently teaching at a private school, but in general terms, we say EPIK=Public and Hagwon=Private.

Hagwons are easier to find work at, requiring maybe a fraction of what you would need to provide for EPIK. I'm not exactly sure what the process is like for obtaining a job at a hagwon--if you can do it from abroad or if you need to come here first to do it--but visas for South Korea are only good for 90 days (tourist visa). Hagwons are academies, that is, students attend their regular school, and THEN go to Hagwons for extra lessons. They play for these lessons at hagwons--that is to say, Hagwons are businesses.

There are a lot of differences between Hagwons and Public school. Both will usually put you up and pay for your apartment, but the hours you work and the amount you teach differ with each system. Furthermore, vacation/sick days often seem to be the biggest issue. By contract, EPIK teachers get 21 days of vacation leave, usually scheduled during school holidays, but we can take sick days if needed. For some reason, it seems that at Hagwons you vacation days are scheduled for you, and its harder to take sick leave.

Also, another issue is job stability at hagwons. Because they are businesses, your job depends upon how many students are attending the hagwon. If there are no students, you lose you job, you visa gets revoked, and all sorts of messy business occurs.

In any case, like I said earlier, there are several ways in which you can apply with the EPIK program. The most common ways are:
-directly, through EPIK website
-indirectly, through a recruiter.

I should mention that no, there is no reqirement for knowing Korean language in order to be successfully hired as a Guest English Teacher (GET)/ Native English Teacher (NET) in Korea. Any Korean language you know will be a benefit for your everyday convenience, but it is not required at all for placement.

All you need is university degree. If you are TEFL certified that can bump you up on the pay scale. The university degree doesn't matter what subject it is from, but if you did english or english education, you may be eligible to teach in Seoul or get a pay increase. If you've got a master's degree you can opt to teach at university--not with EPIK though.

You can peep the payscale & degree requirements here:


Other things you will need:
- University transcripts
- Letters of Recomendation
- Copies of your degrees
- Criminal Record Check
- passport photos

Some Tips:
- Get your application in early--EPIK is already accepting appliations for the Summer 2011 intake of teachers!!!! Deadline is June 1st!
- This means doing everything ASAP
- Make copies of everything
- Keep in contact with your recruiter, if you are using one, so you're always in the loop
- Ask questions if you don't understand something, better safe than sorry.
Hope that helps. Any other questions feel free to ask!

unwrapping: YG box :)

I spent the weekend in Busan (will post more about this later) but when I came home there was a package waiting for me. Finally, my YGE shop order came in!

little black box~~VIP is the name of Big Bang's fanclub

First item: the BB "paper" photo frame in black. It's not really paper as it is foam.

Picture options for the frame. 12 in all.

And the one I chose. This photo frame is going to come with me to work to sit on my desk. So while my coworkers have pictures of their families up in their offices/desk...I will have my TOP :)

Item number 2 came in that nice cylinder.

It's official~~ my Big Bang light stick!! Can't wait to use it :)