Korea's National Student's Uniform: The North Face Jumpers

Hey, hey! Have you guys heard about this brand before?

I'm pretty sure everyone has at least heard of it.

If you want to really see it, don't go to the U.S. Just come to Korea.

This guy who works in the North Face company says that Korea is the #2 biggest market for the North Face products. Korea's probably one of the smallest countries in the world, yet it's #2 biggest buyer in the world???

And even worse, it's because of the STUDENTS?!

 

That can't be true.

Like... these cost up to $1000, and students can't really afford this.

Some parents may grant this, but not every parent can afford this either!

 

Holy mother! Yes it can!!!

Korea really is the #2 biggest buyer

thanks to Korean students very very vulnerable to trend.

As I have mentioned before, Korea is all about trend. Let me not tell you but SHOW you guys this time.

 

Dude.

No joke.

But why???

Honestly, they look too casual to me, and there are plenty of other jackets that look just as good as North Face jackets. Why the ones from the North Face company???

Is it the celebrities wearing them bringing some kind of a trend?

Before assuming, let's hear what the students say about this.

Headline says: "Costly sports jumper as a uniform?"

These girls say: "If you don't wear this brand, you'll be looked down upon."

This guy says: "It's famous, so everyone wears this, and it kind of makes you look bigger..."

No good reason, like I expected.

It's merely a trend, just a lot more costly than other trends that came around.

Let's hope that diamond accessories for both genders will never become a trend...

I really criticize the way Koreans tend to be so vulnerable to trends :(

It'd be so much better if they could just have their own thing.

Korean Health Food: Chung Guk Jang (Part 2)

3 days later...

remove the gauze and the blanket on top of the beans,

and it should look like this:

It now has a rather brownish color than a vanilla color.

So the color is supposed to get darker during the 3 day fermentation process.

After taking out the straws, just stir them a little bit.

They should be REALLY sticky....

It was pretty hard to stir.

In this process, you can put some salt if you want.

If not, then you could just put some salt when you use this food to cook something.

You could stop here,
but if you want to make it better, here's what you do...

Put the beans in.

This Korean traditional grinder made of rock would be ideal,

but it's not easy to find these, so you can just put them in a bowl.

Then rather than grinding, just smash a part of them.

Dont' smash all because it tastes good in food when you can kind of just

taste the beans that are not smashed....

Smash maybe 30~40% of them...?

...and we're done! :)

If you made a large amount, and if you cannot finish this in a couple days,

then preserve it by putting them in a freezer.

Unfreeze as much as you would like to have that day, but keep the rest frozen to preserve!

Enjoy some healthy chung guk jang...! :)

Sukara, Korean Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurant (Part 1)

This restaurant called Sukara is not only for vegetarians but also for vegans because

this place does not use butter or eggs to make their food.

But since there's no rush, I'll show you guys their interior first just to tease you!! :)

Pretty unique door color, eh?

I think it's turquoise...

Their interior's calm and spacious.

It was amazing how people were energetic but not loud in that place.

Good way to keep the atmosphere cool.

It's also cozy in this place, too.

I meant cozy atmosphere-wise, not temperature-wise.

... and it's also like a casual cafe.

One cafe, multiple atmosphere?

That's got to count as a talent!

Here's their introduction and drink menu:

As if being a healthy vegetarian/vegan restaurant isn't enough,

this place uses organic vegetables as well!

Now, here comes our next blog about their food...

Get excited!!!

Korean Health Food: Chung Guk Jang (Part 1)

Chung Guk Jang (Korean) and Natto (Japan) are very similar in a way that

they are made from the same beans in very similar ways.

They even have similar health benefits.

I know some people are really interested in making them,

so I decided to show you guys how to make them...

Boil it at night and let it stay in water till the morning.

It should be so soft you could smash it easily with your finger.

Stick some straws in there...

I don't really know why,

but I think it's to provide some oxygen for the ones under the surface,

so that the healthy bacteria could breatheeeeee.....(ew?)

**btw, there is some straws on the bottom, too.

Put some thin gauze on top of it,

and then a very thin futon.

OH WAIT

Don't use futon(blankets) that you would need when you sleep.

As the beans start getting fermented, it will start smelling,

and that smell isn't going to be all that pleasant for some people

espcially because chung guk jang and natto are food that usually requires "acquired taste"

which means you have to kind of learn to like it.

Wait for 3 days.....!
See you in our Korean Health Food: Chung Guk Jang (Part 2)

Chinese Kimchi and Korean Kimchi

So... there's something I would like to say about Kimchi and other Asian food...

Some people think Sushi is totally Japanese.

Some people think fried rice are totally chinese.

Likewise, some people think kimchi is totally Korean.

They are true, yet false because they do very much exist in the countries the food is known to come from,

but it's not the country's food alone...

Sushi is found in Korea and China,

and fried rice are actually more common in Japan and Korea...

and kimchi is found a lot in all three countries: Korea, Japan, and China.

Although they all differ in taste and ingredients, it's the same concept.

So, now that I made clear that Kimchi is not Korea's alone, but is shared in China and Japan,

let me tell you the difference of Chinese kimchi and Korean kimchi...

Japanese kimchi is different, too, but our kimchis are similar.

Anyway, the main difference of Chinese kimchi and Korean kimchi is that

Korean kimchi has more "stuff" in them, like

vegetables or sliced radishes.

Sliced radishes makes the kimchi more suitable to Korean taste,

and some people like just the sliced radishes without the actual cabbage that makes the kimchi.

The sliced radishes look like this:

and it is often eaten a lot with Bossam (steamed pork).

There are other types of kimchi in Korea, Japan, and China,

but when we're looking at the ordinary kimchi,

this is just about all the difference.

Not so different, is it?

Here's an extra thing just because the baby looks pretty cute eating those kimchi.

Honestly, why kimchi is hard to like is not because it's spicy.

It's mostly because of the smell and the taste of the kimchi that comes from salted fish or their extract that makes it hard for everyone to like kimchi...

Well, this kid seems to really love it.

I mean.. that's pretty damn cool!!!