Working Hollyday

 Today, my friend and I used an electric bike to head downtown and enjoy an afternoon at the market and riding around. Many places in Korea offer hourly electric bike rentals, BUT it should be noted that you need a valid Korean driver's license or international driving permit with passport and native license to be allowed to use any kind of electric bike, scooter, or other vehicle in Korea. That said, it is much cheaper than taking a taxi and gets you to a lot more places than the bus or subway!  We stopped at the market (really a MUST for anyone making a short-term visit) and had some ice cream and a traditional Korean rice drink called shikhye (very similar to Mexican horchata, though less sweet). It is a very cheap and refreshing drink - give it a try! I also picked up a couple Disney-themed outfit sets - each was only 5,000Won (~$4.50US)! Lots of great bargains at markets - especially with clothes - so it's definitely worth it to check these vendors out before head...

The GJC Co-op is now offering job assistance to any individuals wanting to find work in South Korea. For more information, please check and join the Facebook group "Korea Working Holiday" and contact Holly (Working Hollyday). https://www.facebook.com/groups/gjccoop/

 A great way to explore Korean culture is to visit an outdoor market. Flea market culture in Korea tends to be much more intricate than in other countries. In Korea, flea markets offer a chance for vendors to exchange business cards and phone numbers and build there own networks and communities. Finding and befriending a variety of vendors with many diverse products allows for future sales to include different sales strategies and items available for purchase. Fleas market culture in Korea has its own level of prestige, and being accepted into the vendors' community can be a huge boost to one's own business and networking.

Chae Jeom Seok Bakery & Coffee offers some great dessert options that are perfectly sweet.  One of their most famous items is their powdered cake "doughnuts". They are uniquely shaped and coated in delicious powdered sugar. On the inside, they have a dense but fluffy yellow cake. Although it may look like a lot of sugar, it is actually a slightly sweet but not overwhelming treat! Definitely give it a try if you like desserts!

 The Jeju Museum of Art is located along the "Mysterious Road" in the mountains of Jeju. It has a number of outdoor features including metal sculptures and reflecting pools. The view outside is just as gorgeous as what you can find on the inside.  Admission to the museum is less than $2 per person and grants full access to the museum and its surrounding grounds. You can see the culture and history of Korea in each piece on display.  Many of the more colorful pieces show the celebrations and traditions of Korea.  Other pieces show the history of Korea, including creation myths and political turmoil. Overall, this is a great stop to add to any Jeju travel itinerary. It is definitely worth a visit, whether you are an art fanatic, a history buff, or are just passing through the mountains.

Today, I invite you all to check out and join my newly created Facebook group "Global Village Jeju". This group aims to bring people from all over the world together online and then bring them all together in a real village here in Jeju! Please feel free to share it with others who you think would like to promote diverse people of different ethnic, racial, social, religious, and other backgrounds to all come together and share our cultures to build more community in the world! This is a big project, but together we can make a true global village! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1390394271026411/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

 One of the most vital aspects of understanding another country and its people is to know that country's history. Visiting these significant locations helps to better understand the culture of the place where you are staying, and thus I give my strong recommendation to pay a visit.  In Jeju, one of the most important historical sites is Seotal Oreums, though it is commonly just referred to as Sa-Sam (43). This site was heavily used by Japanese soldiers during the occupation period in Korean history.  Plane bunkers were dug out by Korean locals - under Japanese command - to house planes during WWII.  From above, US planes could not distinguish the bunkers from other hills and mounds of the mountainous landscape of Jeju. All they saw were Koreans working on the farmland. Today, this place is still considered a very dark tourist site. Locals continue to farm the land and sometimes put on performances in the bunkers. While Sa-Sam has a dark past, the determ...

 For my final tour with my first group of students, we visited the tourist-popular island of Udo. Udo is incredibly famous for it's ideal location between many islands, giving a great opportunity to view all of the surrounding islands. It is also famous for its white sand beaches and black rock coasts.                                                   We stopped for lunch at Uncle Tong's Kimbab - one of the most famous restaurants on the island. You can order several dishes to share with friends for quite cheap. We had about five dishes for $6/person. Perhaps one of the reasons why Udo is so popular is because it has a number of "photo zones" where you can take stunning photos of the landscape and sea. You can also take boats to explore caverns.                           ...

 Today, I helped with a community dinner service for the elderly. They were quite chatty with me, as most of them had never met a foreigner before. It was a learning experience for all of us. ^_^  This is one example of why I will always encourage foreigners to come to Korea. While Koreans may seem a bit distant at first, they are actually quite curious and just shy. They love to learn about others - something that is especially true of the older citizens in Korea (and Jeju in particular). It was an easy and fun work experience that was as focused on sharing food as on sharing culture!

 The filming project we worked on was finally broadcast last night in Korea! It's now available online. Below is a link and (if that doesn't work) a step-by-step process for how to view it. Fair warning, it's in Korean. BUT my interview is in English, so if you want some context of the program and of what we do here, you can check that out. (My section starts around the 8min40sec marker.) If you do happen to watch it, please leave a comment below! http://www.jejumbc.com/programDetailW.do?searchDivision=&menuCode=0407&programId=89&tabMenuId=191&boardCommonId=148&boardCommonDetailId=6168&currentPage=1    Step 1: Go to jejumbc.com and select "TV".  Step 2: Scroll down until you see the square with the cursor on it and select it. Step 3: Click on the second tab (highlighted in orange above) and then find the 2017.7.10 program. Step 4: There you go! You should be able to view the GJC camp and see what we do. Enjoy!

 Today was a busy day in the kitchen! I made some hotteok - sweet pancakes filled with a sugary peanut powder. Very common to find them at markets. Not too sweet, crispy outside, fluffy inside.  We also made tteokbokki - one of the most popular dishes in Korea. It is made with rice cakes in a chili powder sauce. One of the reasons it is so popular is that you can add just about anything with it: meat, vegetables, noodles. We added some odeng (fish cake). You can eat it with dumplings (dipped in the sauce is fantastic!) or kimbap (similar to a sushi roll) or different types of twigim (fried foods: fried chicken, shrimp, squid, or even fried veggie rolls).  Lastly, we prepped some halabong (a mix between a lime and an orange) with sugar for making preserves. It will sit for quite a while before it is made into marmalade and jam. The halabong we used were quite young, so it will take time for them to ripen and slightly ferment before being ready.  Tteokbokki ...

Last night was a girls' night out for my roommates and me! We took a trip to the other side of the island to go to Jeju City. Such a big change from the countryside but so beautifully familiar.   We did a bit of shopping around and then had a spectacular dinner of pork belly and pigs' feet. I know that for some Americans and Europeans, pigs' feet may seem unappetizing, but I HIGHLY recommend that you try them - ESPECIALLY in Korea. Koreans sauce and season the meat to absolute perfection. While they may be on the fatty side, they make a very filling meal and are generally not too expensive. You can get them in a variety of flavors and spice levels, so I definitely suggest that you try one or two types. You should ALWAYS try the best selling items in a restaurant or do like we did and go to a restaurant that specializes in certain items. Don't be afraid - try it! And I will always recommend travelling with friends. It is even better if you are still getting t...

 Today, I went with several other staff members and one of my students to Hyeopjae Beach, Jeju.  The sky was overcast, but the weather was absolutely gorgeous! Water was a bit chilly but so refreshing in this humid rainy season weather.  We made a food stop at this lovely little Lobster&Chicken shop right by the beach.  Their boneless chicken is absolutely spectacular, with the option of regular fried or yangnyeom - a soy sauce, chili paste mix (the classic Korean sauced chicken). Around 16,000Won (~12USD) for a basket that can be shared with three or four people. Cheap and tasty! The lights out on the surrounding islands were the perfect scenery to the end of another beautiful day of island life in Jeju.

 My first time working at a flea market in Korea, I sold mini-pumpkins (above) and bracken (below).  We made quite a few sales - bracken is very popular in Korea and is considered very delicious! It was the more popular of our two products, though the pumpkins sold well too. It was a long, tiring day, but we made out pretty good in the end. Always nice to have new experiences that will become repeat adventures in the future!