Monday, April 5, 2010
Organic Farmers fight Injustice in Paldang and a visit to Slow Food Korea
2 comments Posted by Hilary D at 1:13 AM
Last week I came across the Seoul Study Group , a discussion group that seeks to inform itself on global issues. It meets once a month, and luck had it they were focusing their discussion this month on issues related to organic agriculture in Korea. We were a group of over 20 students and two professors: Layne Hartsell (school of global studies at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul) and Dean of Liberal Arts and Chul-Kyoo Kim (Vice dean of Liberal Arts at Korea University) who facilitated the day's discussion.Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
In keeping with my New Year's Resolution to become better involved with my Korean community, I finally fulfilled one of my long-held ambitions to participate in the WWOOF program. WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. The program began in England in 1971 in the aims of providing London-dwellers with the opportunity to get involved in the organic farming activities in the countryside. The program became increasingly popular and is now an international phenomenon.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
I was feeling a little grumpy Wednesday morning about having to go to work a little over three hours early without any change in pay, but my kindie kids quickly melted that bad mood with minutes like they always do. We were going on our first field trip of the year, to the National Folk Museum of Korea and the National Children's Museum, both situated at Gyeongbokgung (Gyeongbok Palace) in the Jongno area of Seoul (an area known for its many traditional sites and maintained dedication to Korean culture.) Sunday, January 24, 2010
Following my second resolution, getting more involved with my community, I spent hours on the Internet, looking up clubs and volunteer work I could participate in. I came up with several answers.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
After waking up without setting an alarm, I get dressed and head to the subway to travel 40 minutes and meet friends in Gangnam (the official ritzy area of Seoul). In short walk we arrive at the Big Rock. This pub is popular among foreigners for its quality imported Canadian beer on tap, many TV screens tuned to a football or hockey game back home, and has a relaxed atmosphere, but that's not quite why we are there. On the weekends it also has a superb western-style brunch buffet, and buffet have become my new hobby. I was too busy eating the food to take a picture, but next time I will make more of an effort.As it turns out, I had been walking underneath a Korean gym twice a day for the last six months on my way to the subway and back. I finally spotted it one night from a taxi on the other side of the road while scanning the tall buildings for 헬 스 (hail-suh -> health) and 피트니스 (pi-tuh-ni-suh -> fitness). I ran in and got a phone number, and had one of my Korean coworkers call the next day. It was perfect, $100 for three months, open 6am-midnight, and a minute or so walk from my house, depending on the traffic light.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Yesterday, Seoul had its heaviest snowstorm in several decades. Here is a full article by the Korea Herald. Apparently the 25.2cm (roughly 10") was the most snowfall they have had here in here in 41 years, and the second biggest storm since they started recording snowfall back in 1937. To me it looked just like a normal snow storm, but here it wreaked complete havoc on transportation.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
New Year's in Korea was quite similar to New Year´s at home, except for the fact I was in a very big city celebrating with some new friends and strangers. Champagne was involved and we spent a good part of the night in an Irish pub, and that's all I'll say about that!