Heading back to ROK for Xmas

[Seoul_lasers]

I am on my way back to S.Korea to deal with a family emergency for 3 weeks. While I am there I will be visiting the FABspace in Jongro, the electronics market (what's left of it) in Yongsan-gu, and few other electronic centric areas to inspect components. Should be interesting. I'll be doing a tonne of driving over there as well. Seoul to Songju, Jeonju, Busan, Maybe Jindo and Bosung...we'll see.
Pictures will be posted...so stay tuned.

 

[BowtieGuy]

Nice hearing from you again, Seoul; pictures are always welcome, can't have too many pics!

Be careful on your trip, and hope the family emergency works out for the best.

 

[paul1598419]

My father was second in command as IG during the Korean war. Take care while there.

 

[Seoul_lasers]

Yes, I'll be careful. The tensions this time around are elevated. Nothing out of the ordinary. More concerned about the weather and driving conditions. Heavy snow in the near future forecast. Already -11c / 12F in Seoul. Cold.

 

[paul1598419]

Yeah, it is warmer here around Puget Sound. I spent a couple of winters in Montana where the temperatures dipped to -45* F. THAT was cold. It hurt to breath in those conditions. Even though I had a heater on my car's cooling system it wasn't enough a couple of times. Stay out of trouble over there. That would be my concern.

 

[jbuenavides]

I can't wait to know your stories the moment you come back. Happy Holidays to you and your family! I hope that everything will go well!

 

[Seoul_lasers]

Yes, it was quite the trip. I just got in on the 29th 10:25am PST at YVR. So I have only really had 2 or so days to recover from jet lag. The flight coming back was cramped (typical Air Canada) but only around 8hrs 45 minutes of actual flying time. Not terrible.
Tensions on the peninsula were pretty low. North and South still seem to be talking to one another, so... However, relations with US are another matter entirely.
Biggest issues in Korea this time was the catastrophic air pollution that for 4.5 days kept us from going anywhere. 160-250 ppm of micro particles ( soot from power plants) Not generated in S.Korea.
Other than that I managed to visit the new Maker City (maker space) at 55-8 Jongro 3(sam)-ga and meet the head maker/curator. I am going to try and bridge our victoria makerspace with maker city somehow. Will get in touch with VIATEC makerspace to see if this is indeed possible.
I was able to meet ex-colleagues from Seoul Metropolitan Government, as well as other associates. More importantly I was able to have time with family. That was the highlight/main purpose of the trip.



Air in this shot is clearing up. When pollution was at it's worst you couldn't see the school next to the highway. (air here is at around 90-100ppm)..note the mist (actually pollution)


No mountains visible from Gwangwhamun (day 3)- Pollution is at 230ppm here. Very hazardous. I am wearing a hepa mask. Sky is completely greyed out.



Maker city at 55-8 Jongno 3(sam)-ga. Maker City Seun (Se woon) is not correct romanization


Students filming a youtube series for the makerspace. ( not a huge amount of physical workspace) but it's spread over 2 rooms.
Note the 3D printers..

Big CO2 laser cutter with under water chiller at the base. (100W) I think.



The makerspace is also complete with its own biolab and bio-hacking lab. TIDE institute. Students here were making plastic from bacterial rafts from Kombucha. - Synth-bio leather. very cool stuff.
Currently the biolab is starting to print biomaterial (living cells using current off the shelf 3D printers that have been modified)



modded 3d printers for 3D bio-printing.



Makerspace tool cabinet!



Day 4, off to Yongsan to see the part vendors at ETLAND. Yongsan has had a few major changes. The old computer shops are pretty much all gone and 2 massive new hotels take up the space. Novotel and ibis STYLES (Seoul Dragon City)...
Across the way is ETLAND parts vendors, a movie theater, makerspace, lego land, Youtube studio ...etc
Great place to get cameras..etc There are several battery stores all stocking LG chemical nad Samsung breaded 18650 cells upto 3500mAh. Sorry, nothing larger than 18650 cells available on store shelves in ROK due to safety regulations.




Bottom of ETLAND mall... every arduino compatible board you could ever want is here. I recommend the Korean nockoffs... they're cheaper and use the same components. 5,500KRW for an ATMega 2560 board! Pretty nice!

 

[paul1598419]

Yeah, there's no such thing as "clean coal". We had been shutting them down here because of the extreme pollution they cause, but not so sure now.

 

[Encap]

My father was second in command as IG during the Korean war. Take care while there.

Second the above--things are unstable there in many directions fir many reason at the present ---just be mindful and careful, be safe.
Hope you are able to impact the family emergency in a positive way----best of luck

 

[Seoul_lasers]

I am actually back in Canada now ( stated earlier) . I was only there for 3 weeks. Glad that I got to see my family again. Things were fine.
I think the alarmism around the DPRK and ROK is quite unwarranted. I would be more concerned about the US starting a regional wide conflict in the middle east at this point... Anyways.




Picture below is of Seoul, Dragon City ( Yongsan)




Next day, to the traditional market to buy 100Kg of veggies. I only buy Kuknaesan ( grown in Korea) to make our (Kimjang) Kimchi.





20Kg of Radishes. I got put on Radish duty this time.




Green onions ( Pa) and Mustard greens (Gat) -- being added to our Kimchi




After several hours of hard work ... off to the street vendors to pick up the family lunch. Good old DdokBokki, Odeng and Twigim
A match made in heaven.




My Wife and I took a trip down South to Busan - Dec.18th Love the efficiency of the KTX!


For those of you who don't know. The KTX is Korea's bullet train... travels at around 330Km/hr at top speed.
~2hrs 15minutes to Busan. The KTX is permitted to go full speed after reaching Cheonan station ~1hr outside of Seoul.





Ahh, my favorite spot in Busan... Haeundae beach. What a gorgeous view from our hotel room at the Shilla Stay Hotel.
15th floor view, 15c in the afternoon, Sun, sound of the Ocean...... Man I need to buy a house here. Not a hint of garbage anywhere!
Spotless!

 

[NightExplorer96]

I’m really enjoying all your pictures!

-Alex

 

[paul1598419]

I worked around a Korean that ate kimchi and he stunk. It would literally oose from his skin. As I recall it is fermented cabbage that is buried in the ground in a pot. Maybe there are varieties that stink less, but everyone could tell when this guy ate his kimchi.

 

[Seoul_lasers]

I worked around a Korean that ate kimchi and he stunk. It would literally oose from his skin. As I recall it is fermented cabbage that is buried in the ground in a pot. Maybe there are varieties that stink less, but everyone could tell when this guy ate his kimchi.

ehm...... That's sounding more like Hongeo, not Kimchi. Kimchi definitely can get sort of pungent when it's closer to 2 months, but newer kimchi has almost no smell. The best Kimchi is always buried in the ground in an Onggi. Just a side note, Kimchi isn't restricted to napa cabbage, the "odor" from baechu kimchi actually comes from radish that starts to emit Methyl Mercaptan (CH4S) when it is undergoing fermentation. Kimchi is made with a variety of ingredients. Cabbage Kimchi is just one of a few hundred varieties. Some are made with blue crabs, others with mustard greens, pickles ( salted/brined cucumbers), whole garlic..... list goes on.

I think you might be describing Hongeo( Hong Oh) Hwe - which is quite "acrid" for those who are not from Busan, S.costal sections of Korea. You can literally smell Hongeo from over a 1km away. This is fermented, putrified skate. Trust me, it tastes like buckleys cough medicine mixed with dead fish.... Smaller amounts in a dish called Samhap is more tolerable. Definitely an acquired taste from older generations Taste is created by the build up of urea. This then reacts to form Ammonia upon contact with moisture in your mouth, similar to the strongest wasabi you've had. People who eat Hongeo definitely take on a funk....

 

[paul1598419]

ehm...... That's sounding more like Hongeo, not Kimchi. Kimchi definitely can get sort of pungent when it's closer to 2 months, but newer kimchi has almost no smell. The best Kimchi is always buried in the ground in an Onggi. Just a side note, Kimchi isn't restricted to napa cabbage, the "odor" from baechu kimchi actually comes from radish that starts to emit Methyl Mercaptan (CH4S) when it is undergoing fermentation. Kimchi is made with a variety of ingredients. Cabbage Kimchi is just one of a few hundred varieties. Some are made with blue crabs, others with mustard greens, pickles ( salted/brined cucumbers), whole garlic..... list goes on.

I think you might be describing Hongeo( Hong Oh) Hwe - which is quite "acrid" for those who are not from Busan, S.costal sections of Korea. You can literally smell Hongeo from over a 1km away. This is fermented, putrified skate. Trust me, it tastes like buckleys cough medicine mixed with dead fish.... Smaller amounts in a dish called Samhap is more tolerable. Definitely an acquired taste from older generations Taste is created by the build up of urea. This then reacts to form Ammonia upon contact with moisture in your mouth, similar to the strongest wasabi you've had. People who eat Hongeo definitely take on a funk....

Thank you. I definitely didn't know all that. You have educated me on the differences in kimchi.

 

[Seoul_lasers]

After arriving in Busan, we then took the Bus to BEXCO convention and exhibition centre.. had lunch and then back on the bus to go to Haedong-Yonggungsa. ( the Dragon temple)






Port of Busan. Busan harbour 5th busiest in the world, and largest port in N.E Asia.





Arrived at Bus station in front of the fisheries museum... If you look carefully you'll see well organized rocks in towers.. these are
돌탑 ( Doltab) made by people for bringing good luck to them. I've got a few around here too.


Entrance to Yonggungsa. Offerings below. Cabinets hold lit candles. One can feel the incredible heat they put out from all the candles burning.





A true picture of the temple at low tide. Gorgeous 14th century temple architecture at its finest!



complete with miniature monks with 학엄성취 (Hakeom seongchwe) written on their lecterns. Academic performance. Idea is that you purchase a figurine
and put it here so that you can get better academic performance.


This small shrine is for donations. Note the big red character 卍 . This is sacred to buddhism indicating the 4 sacred directions
as well as The Eightfold Path. This consists of eight practices: right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right samadhi ('meditative absorption or union').


Reclining Buddha, symbolizing Buddha in his lat days of illness before his passing



Yonggungsa main temple ( used to be called Bomunsa), built in 1376. Part of the temple was destroyed in the 16th century and then rebuilt in the 1930s



Stone monk figurine. 14th CE

 

[Seoul_lasers]

Thank you. I definitely didn't know all that. You have educated me on the differences in kimchi.

Kimchi takes a hell of a lot of work to make well! Every region has its own version. In Cheolla-do, Kimchi is made with raw oysters.
Their Kimchi is called Kul-Kimchi. Another, version called Nabak-Kimchi is actually drinkable. Not red like what we see so often in the west.
Before the 16th century, Red chillies were not very common in Korea and Kimchi was actually white or even pinkish in colouration. The red peppers came from Europe (Spain) via Japan.

Nabak-kimchi is bottom (#2) followed by Dongchimi (#3)