colourful Seoul

It is time to leave Korea and I wanted to leave you with colourful bits I noticed around the city. It was interesting to experience the differences between Hong Kong and Korea and I felt it through the people in the city and through our families most of all. I think I have a little better understanding of where Jin came from but he often tells me that the Seoul he grew up in is very different than the fast paced city it is today.

10 days barely scratched the surface of things to discover in Korea. Luckily, I am fairly confident I will come back here soon. I feel like a trip to Hong Kong will always be paired with Seoul in our future!

I became an aunt

If I learned one Korean word in Korea, it would be this one.

Wei Sungmo!!!! (that`s me!)

Meet my adorable little nephew and niece! Whenever I heard them call wei sungmo, I would look for Jin and demand for an instant translation on what they were saying to me!

I knew when I married Jin, I would automatically be an aunt as well, but it never became reality until we were in Korea. I have met my nephew before at our wedding (he was SO cute) but then I haven't seen him since.

Maybe I am a little biased, but I think they are the most adorable kids I have ever seen! And that last photo of my niece makes me laugh every time I look at it!

By The Sea

Jin's sister's family and his parents took us away to Jeju-do for a weekend, which is an island just south of Korea. It was nice to get out of the city and see another part of the country.

When we got to the island, Jin's brother-in-law took all of us to see a rock that looked like the head of a dragon, but Jin found something far more interesting down by the waters edge.

Ever since we watched this video from Bizarre Foods, we put eating San Nachi (live baby octopus) high on our priority of things to eat in Korea. Jin has had this before when he was growing up but this was a totally new experience for me!

I know the idea of eating something while it is still alive is unsettling to some people, but in a culture that is fresh obsessed about their produce, this is really as fresh as it gets (in a civilized way).

Eating seafood caught by these ajummas, sitting right beside the ocean on these pink and turquoise plastic stools, washing our snack down with Soju, was definitely a highlight for me on Jeju-do.