Some things I did in October

This last semester had been unusually stressful. Work, studying and family stuff.

In any case, my vacation has started at last, so let's see if I can remember some of the things I did over the last three months. Here's October...

One day I quickly spent an hour or so at a music festival in the middle of the city, went by a gallery and watched children play and people enjoy the famous Cheongyechen brook that runs through downtown Seoul.

During October I also went to several dance performances, such as Compagnie Linga - "Re-mapping the Body" @ Seoul Arts Center:

I also enjoyed I the Canadian dance compagnie of Virginie Brunelle, and the wonderful Danish Dance Company's "Black Diamond" performance.

Some art at the Gangdong Art Center:

I had to go to the Japanese Embassy (more to follow), so spent an afternoon in Insadong which is close by.

One Sabbath at the international church that I go to sometimes attend I saw this cute scene during congregational prayer:

The gym I train and teach martial arts at moved and my friend got his 4th Dan in WTF Taekwondo:

Mmm

"(Worrying keeps me in touch with my family.)" -- Andrea Gibson

"Bitter, Sweet, Seoul" -- A Beautiful Depiction of Seoul

Bitter, Sweet, Seoul is a beautiful unnarrated documentary about Seoul. It was put together by brothers Park Chang-Wook and Park Chang-Kyong. The former is one of Korea's most celebrated filmmakers (e.g. Old Boy and Joint Secure Area), and the later is an equally celebrated artist and occasional filmmaker (e.g. Manshin and Night Fishing). The documentary is a montage of video clips that were sent in by residence living in Seoul of whatever they found interesting. The cinematographic selection is clearly heavily influenced by Park Chang-Kyong's artist's eye; while Park Chang-Wook is most likely behind the narrative line. This movie is a professional accomplishment of my amateur attempt of representing Korea on my blog Korean Minute. What I like most about Bitter, Sweet, Seoul is that unlike other typical Korean "promotional" depictions of Korea which seem very one-sided and plastic, only focusing on the beautiful aspects and hiding the negative, this film doesn't hide the grime and uglier parts of Seoul. As a Seoulite myself, I find Bitter, Sweet, Seoul a much more authentic rendition of Seoul than what is usually shown. So, if you have an hour to sit back and just enjoy the sights and sounds of South Korea's captical, then I highly recommend watching this dreamy documentary. As I mentioned earlier, there is no narration, no "story" so to speak, creating a mesmerizing flow of images, allowing the viewer to find their own narrative line. 

Some things I did in September

One of the definite highlights of September was to go and have a three course dessert meal at Dessertree in Sinsadong. I've been wanting to go to this place for months now, and finally got to go there. It was a brilliant culinary experience. At one point I cried.

In the pictures you can see:
1. Fresh figs with sour cream sorbet
2. Soufflé with Korean herbs and chrysanthemum
3. Salted caramel, dark chocolate and vanilla ice cream éclairs
4. Fresh fruit with rose jelly and meringues  

Dessertree에: 서울시 강남구 신사동 653-7  www.dessertree.com

On the same day I also had a quick visit with my friend Roni, whom I haven't seen in months. We are both so busy and living relatively far apart, so it is difficult to get an opportunity that we are both free.

Roni owns a lounge/gym in Apgujeong called Roni's Project.




Speaking of food, I got to visit Dochi Pizza, one of the top five clay oven pizzarias in Seoul, and tried their trademark "Star Pizza". Not bad at all.

After one of the dance performances that I attended in September there was a little kiosk outside with French people making Nutela crepes with bananas, fresh whipped cream, and ice cream. Of course I had to try it.

 

Later in September I came down with serious toothache. The dentist checked (even took X-rays) and confirmed that the toothache is not because of cavities or anything to do with my mouth. So no, all the good food I've been eating is not too blame. Instead, he said, it is tension related. He followed the pain along my temple and down my neck, and showed me that it is because of tension and stress. His recommendation was that I should figure out what is giving me so much stress and that the pain will go away as the tension reduces. Much of the stress had to do with familial matters of the soap opera kind, over which I do not have much control.

In any case, one way in which I decided to reduce my stress was to go for a Thai massage!

I also tried ear candles for the first time. Can't really say that I felt anything. The act of lying there, just waiting for the candle to burn its way down, is probably therapeutic in a ritualistic sense.

The fall season in Korea is full of concerts. When I saw that the National Dance Company of Korea will have another performance, I just had to see it. "Tournament" was not as awesome as "Altar" which I saw in June, but it was still quite a spectacle.

This was just the start of my "season of dance". A friend and I bought a set of tickets for the international dance festival over September and October, a number of which I have already seen.

The four pictures above are from Philippe Genty's dance performance, "Forget Me Not".



Also in September I went one morning the the 2014 Incheon Asia Games to watch some field and track. Actually, I really wanted to go see the Wushu championships, but the venue was unfortunately too far for me to get to, so I had to settle with track and field. Nevertheless, it was quite interesting to see these amazing athletes from greater Asia.

In September I also had the opportunity to spend some time with ITF Taekwon-Do Master (Dr.) George Vitale (8th Dan) who came to visit Korea for a few days. We had wonderful discussions about the state of Taekwon-Do in Korea and around the world.


Well, that's all of the highlights I can remember. Workwise I've been very busy. This semester feels quite heavy compared to previous semesters -- or rather, the way my schedule is arranged makes it feel quite heavy. My PhD studies is also going well. In one of my classes we are discussing ancient Taoism, and their view of the body and immortality. Fascinating stuff.