                   Korean Pictures 3 Shoes category What’s Your Shoe Size in Korea? My shoes are killing me! I need a bigger pair. So off I go to my favorite shoe store at Doota. Doota, or more specifically, Doosan Tower, is a large shopping centre in the Dongdaemun Stadium vicinity. This area is definitely a shopping hotspot. Speaking of shoes, is it just me or are the design of Korean men's leather shoes (for office/formal wear) rather peculiar. Have you noticed that these shoes get really flat towards the front. I mean really flat. I won't say that I have large feet. Just normal-sized feet. But I can never squeeze my toes into these shoes. So I guess I can never buy leather shoes here. My feet are really small, honest! I finally ended up getting my shoes at Migliore. I have, for the fun of it, bought a pair of traditional Korean shoes. Not that I have a han bok in that color, not that I have anything in that color. Unification Shoes are shoes in which the soles are made in South Korea. Unification Shoes are shoes in which the soles are made in South Korea and the uppers are made in North Korea. The shoes are marketed under the "Stafild" brand name in South Korea. The North Korean portion of the shoes is manufactured at the Kaesong Industrial Region.
I am just too busy at the moment to blog about them. Last buy was two
pairs in Paris - one nice office shoe (I promise to blog a picture later
on) - inexpensive and lovely small in number and one really practical
and comfy Bensimon shoe La Tennis Elastique - classical, white and
really great to wear. Kim Jong-il's 'Platform Shoes' Caught in Pictures 
Korean Air unveiled new uniforms this week joining an elite group of airlines that have haute couturier-designed attire. Korean Air’s new outfits have been created by Italian designer GianFranco Ferre, who is recognized worldwide for blending east and west aesthetics with traditional and modern concepts. Korean Air is one of a handful of airlines to heighten its fashion image with the help of couturiers. Richard Tyler designed Delta’s new look, Christian LaCroix has designed for Air France, Yoshie Inaba created new uniforms for JAL and British Airways retained Julian MacDonald to spruce up its style. This is the first time Ferre has designed an airline uniform and he’s come up with clothing that he says “guarantees performance, comfort and practicality, and is simple, uncomplicated and informal. This can only be accomplished by paying absolute close attention to such fundamental matters as line and construction.” “Uniform designs are an integral part of the corporate image,” said Ferre. “They must capture the airline’s identity; express its values on the spot. The characteristics of the new uniforms have no trouble keying into the quiet elegance that has always distinguished Korean Air.”
The new uniform signifies the first uniform change for Korean Air since cabin attendants selected the current design in 1991. The traditional skirt uniform will now be augmented with a dress pant option for female attendants.
second semester at my elementary school started back up on wednesday,
august 23rd, and the saturday after that i had my first opportunity
to attend a korean wedding, the computer teacher from our school's
wedding. funny enough i don't actually know her name, she is always
referred to as computer teacher by the korean english
teachers, and to speak directly to one another we just use the
korean word for teacher, 선생님 (seonsangnim). the wedding was held in
a wedding hall connected to a hotel in seoul.
a picture of the bride (computer teacher) and
groom and their parents
Sunday, 13 August 2006
Korean Festival
The 9th Korean Festival on the Fairfield today was a delight, in
spite of the chilly breeze. I was expecting to find...
... wonderful silk costumes, exciting new foods (that's the Mayor of Merton tasting kim chee - pickled cabbage - with me), music and dancing. But I wasn't expecting to witness a traditional wedding, which we were assured was a real one. The couple bowed to each other several times and shared cups of wine before being congratulated by the large crowd that had gathered. Here they are with the Chairman of the Korean Residents Society in the UK, Mr W I S Seok.
I had supplied a greeting for the Festival brochure and wrote:
I also had the privilege of meeting the Korean Ambassador, Dr Yoon Je Cho, and hope to meet up with him again during the year. He spends some time in the Kingston area, and consulate services are provided locally in New Malden. This is because the Korean Community in the borough, and stretching across the border in Merton, is the largest one outside South Korea itself. In fact, Koreans comprise 12% of the population of the Royal Borough and make a significant contribution to the economic as well as cultural well-being of the borough. The day actually began with a parade of veterans of the Korean War, in the 1950s. They had assembled from all over Britain and were warmly welcomed by the Korean hosts.
(Thanks to Carl Brown of Merton for this photo) This was not my only encounter with the Korean Community this week. On Wednesday the Korean Restaurants and Supermarkets Association in the UK (KORSA) kindly presented me with a cheque for my charity.
The weekend is over, and the retreat was lots of fun! We were in Gyeongju, about 3 hours south of Taejon. The hotel we stayed in was great- I ended up staying with two other girls, Becca and Angie, and I loved it. It was great getting to connect more with Becca and getting to know Ang. And staying up late playing card games… I learned a new game called “Don’t Get Angry” which is a Mongolian version of Uno. I’m telling you- these people have been EVERYWHERE. Especially the single RAs. They travel like crazy to some really great places. Hearing their stories was cool. Somewhat depressing since I’ll probably never see half the places, but cool. Saturday, April and I went on the cultural tour with a bus full of others from TCIS to a couple of different temples and then to Folk Art Village. I have no idea what the name of either of the temples were- something big and Korean and that I didn’t understand, but I took pictures!
Behind the fence is the main temple area- not what I expected, but still cool.
There were little buddha statues you could buy all over the gift shop. I figured a picture of one was good enough, but then I got clapped at by the tiny Korean woman working and she said, “No picture!” I’ll show you no picture…
Again with the rusty metal. What can I say? It’s love at first sight…
This guy was hanging out in one of the smaller hut type things.
Inside of the main temple area.
Tops of pagodas in the temple area (i think that’s what they called them…) While we were in the main temple area, there were a bunch of students from a summer program where I’m assuming they were learning English, and they were supposed to have conversations with people in English. We got asked quite a few workbook questions by kids who probably had no idea what they were saying and what we were saying in return, but it was pretty cute to see them try to communicate with us. They’d just run up, ask a question, give us the answer and then run away. So cute. One girl was really struggling- her teachers kept encouraging her and people were taking pictures of her talking to us. Again, so cute! I don’t know what made me stand out as an American, though. I mean, I thought SURELY people would think I was Korean… The next temple, we had to walk a path through the mountains to. There were monks that lived at this one, but they didn’t really come out. I only saw a couple coming out of what I assumed to be their private worship area.
This big guy was in a grotto, which I have no idea what that is, but that’s what it said, so that’s what I’m calling it. I guess it’s one of the oldest grottos in Korea or something. There was a no photos sign on this one, too… This was actually a “hold the camera at the hip and hope something comes out” shot. Try to stop the mad photographer. I dare you.
These were taken inside of a little temple area where people were actually bowing before stuff inside. It was really sad to see their empty worship… The hardest thing was seeing kids doing it. I mean, well… yeah. It was just hard. After the two temples was the Folk Art Village… holy pottery heaven. Let’s just say that my pottery collection has been expanded. And I love it. We only got 30 minutes there, so I was hurriedly trying to figure out what I wanted. I almost cracked under the pressure, but thankfully, I made it out okay. That night, we had a Korean dinner and cultural show experience. I hate Korean meals. I hate them. I hate big pans full of meat cooking in front of me. I hate eating rice all the time with random soups on it. I hate kimchi. I hate pickled stuff. I hate spicy stuff. So what did I eat? As little as possible. I mean, what does a girl have to do to get a sandwich? The experience was cool, though. After we ate, there was a traditional Korean show which was pretty stinkin’ cool. There was dancing, lots of drumming… amazing drumming, and by chicks, none the less, and singing. I really enjoyed getting to see it.
This morning, while they were having their last session, I decided to go on a little adventure back to the Folk Art Village for a little somethin’ somethin’ that I didn’t think to get the day before. The bus ride the day before didn’t seem too far, so I thought I could get back no problem. It was raining, but it looked like it was letting up, so I decided to just brave it and go for it. Keep in mind that I really didn’t know where I was going. And I was by myself. And it had rained. And was still sprinkling. Oh, and I don’t speak Korean. (who does this kind of stuff?) The lady at the front desk said I could catch a bus, but I didn’t know where or how much or what bus… her English wasn’t too great, and as already stated, my Korean isn’t so great. So I walked to the sign that looked like a bus stop, but when the bus came by, it went by… and I just stood there and watched it go by. Here was my moment of truth- I could turn around and walk back to the hotel, or I could earn myself a gold star of bravery and forge on. Of course I chose to forge on. Don’t you people know me by now? I started walking in the direction that I thought the bus came from the day before, hoping I was right. So, as I’m walking, the light sprinkle just turns into rain. Don’t be fooled- trees provide no protection from rain. So don’t try. I’m walking… and getting wet… and walking… and getting wetter… and walking… and… well, you get the point. Taxis kept honking at me, but what kind of fun would that be? I can’t tell them where I want to go, and I’m already wet, so QUIT HONKING AT ME!!! Just when I was thinking it might be a good idea to turn around, I saw the sign telling me I was headed in the right direction. So, I turned down the next main road to get to my destination, and walked… and got wet… and walked… and got wetter… wait, have we been through this already? I was just about to give up- I told myself that if I didn’t see it around the next corner, I was giving up. (did i say i also had no watch so i had no idea how long i’d been walking?…) Just then, a bus honked at me, pulled over, and the driver waved me on. I wasn’t about to turn him down. So I got on on the bus, told him Folk Art Village, and he looked like he knew what I was talking about. I was just grateful to be out of the stinkin’ rain. I was trying to shake some of the water out of my hair, and the driver handed me a bunch of paper towels to dry off with- I fell in love right then. I knew I left the hotel at 10:20ish, and when I got myself dried off a bit, I saw the clock in the bus that said… 10:54. I had been walking for 35 minutes… Oye. He dropped me off at my destination, and didn’t even charge me for the ride. Seriously, I’m pretty sure this is what love is. I got my goods at the pottery place, and then decided that maybe I should take the bus back. Anyone else agree with that decision? Good. We’re all on the same page. Caught the bus, and made it back to the hotel by 11:30, just in time to get cleaned up and check out.
In case you haven’t seen the Sibu Central Market before, here I have tonnes of photos for your eyes and I bet they are as good as you visit Sibu yourself. But before that, let’s have a quick tour around the market first.
The Sibu Central Market is located at Channel Road, one of the busiest road in this town. Does Sibu town look clean and organised to you? Of course cleaner and more organised as all hawkers previously located along the riverfront, side and back lanes are resettled in the new market.
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