South Korean Shoebox: 11월 2006

월요일, 11월 27, 2006

National Museum of Korea

In early October we spent a few days in Seoul, and visited the National Museum of Korea, which is full of amazing artwork including ceramics, calligraphy, textiles, paintings, and historic artifacts. We mainly took photos of the collection of Buddhist art, which, though very large, was only a small part of the museum's enormous collections of Korean artwork. If you are ever in Seoul do not miss it.

These iron Buddhas are very large & incredible to see up close.

Stone Korean Buddha.

These are small close ups of an incredible and large wood carving relief wall panel from Indonesia. These scenes are full of rich detail & delicate wood work.

A carved & painted wood display with ritual gong, very beautiful.

This stone pagoda is one of the tallest found.

This tapestry was used in outdoor ceremonies, it is three stories tall, and was displayed with the very very long narrow wooden box it was rolled up & stored in.

목요일, 11월 23, 2006

more signs

일요일, 11월 19, 2006

Gwangju Kimchi Festival

Yesterday we took a bus to the 13th Annual Kimchi Festival, where kimchi makers from all around display their wares (free samples!). There are lots of other traditional Korean foods & crafts on display, and performances. This is a giant version of the mascot, a cabbage man giving you thumbs up.

This guy is waving some cabbage while I hold up a toothpick of kimchi.

There was a big auditorium where we saw a traditional drum & dance recital, and later this pop singer sang a few songs.

There was a hall of kimchi, where winning dishes were displayed and the story of kimchi was told through panel cartoons & displays. There were examples of ingredients, video presentations, and even some of the pots the kimchi is fermented in.

This is one of the lovely winning kimchi recipes.

목요일, 11월 16, 2006

puzzling ice cream

I grabbed some ice cream novelties quickly when renting a movie last week, not really checking what I had bought until I got home. I was pretty surprised to find this rubber full of chocolate soft serve. According to the visual instructions, you are supposed to snip off the tip(!) and suck the slush while squeezing the bulb. I had some trouble cutting the end, and I guess I cut too much & the balloon snapped! It retained the bulbous shape & I threw it in a bowl & ate it with a spoon.

월요일, 11월 13, 2006

random junk

These spinning beauty salon poles are everywhere.

This vending machine sells hot instant coffee & tea, cold canned drinks, and lottery tickets.

토요일, 11월 11, 2006

Waste Not

A couple of weeks ago we visited the Gwangju Biennale exhibition, but didn't take many pictures because the camera's batteries were dying. It was an interesting collection of contemporary Asian art, anchored by a survey of Chinese archival propaganda photography side by side with the undoctored photo sources, as well as a collection of Fluxus films and artifacts. Mindy did take some photos of an installation by Chinese artist Song Dong, titled Waste Not. It displayed the entire contents of her mother's house, over 30 years of accumulation, reflecting on the older generation's tendency to save anything that might be of use later, a holdover from times of scarcity. This should be a warning to all of you pack rats out there!

화요일, 11월 07, 2006

a recent meal

The black bowl is full of hot bean soup with tofu, onions & clams. The blurry hand holds chopsticks full of kimchi. Going sort of clockwise from the kimchi is a bowl of small clams with red chili paste, a covered silver hot bowl of rice, then a dish of chili coated seaweed leaves. The red stuff on the middle plate is pork in a red chili sauce, the main course. You pile a selection of these items onto one of the many leaves (on the platter to the left of the soup), fold & eat. The plates in the foreground are chili paste & raw garlic slices, cold bean sprout medley, some sort of radish, dried anchovies with chili paste, and some spicy steamed spinach. This is a delicious meal.