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food

Parental supervision required

by Cat on May 22, 2007

I’ll be on a pretty strict blogging diet the next few days, as my parents are visiting from the States. And, as many of you know, writing about one’s parents on the Internets can be all kinds of dangerous. Don’t want to offend and jeopardize the inheritance.

With that in mind …

I hope that I’ll be able to update soon with pictures of the fun! amazing! things! that we’ve been doing. But I did want to say that in their first 24 hours here Mom and Dad have really been troupers—going shopping in our neighborhood, eating Korean food* and—in my dad’s case—taking the subway and neighborhood bus solo (without even a cell phone for backup) to explore the city.

Since David and I haven’t both been able to take the entire week off (I am only working part-time, anyway, and only three days this week), this really put my fears to rest about leaving them to fend for themselves for several hours the first day.

My confidence was slightly shaken, however, after finding out that my dad returned from his trip to the Yongsan area yesterday afternoon and proceeded to drink an entire regular-size bottle of Chamisul soju by himself while watching TV, mistaking it for the Korean equivalent of a “light beer.”

When informed that this “beer” was, in fact, a rice-based liquor consisting of 20% alcohol by volume. He protested, “It doesn’t say that anywhere on that bottle!”

“Well, uh, no, not in English, Dad, but it does say that.”

Dinner last night was pretty interesting, (and involved even more soju) but both Mom and Dad got up bright and early and out the door at 6 a.m. today to take the USO tour to Panmunjon.

I’m trying not to watch the wires for news of an international incident.

*(Kimchi–not a fave; bulgogi last night was just “meh.” Surprisingly, kimbap, bibimbap (for Dad) and a side dish of spicy zucchini (Mom) have been the big hits.)

Snack

by Cat on April 22, 2007

OK. Time for comic relief from Annamatic’s photo stream.

>
Snack
Originally uploaded by annamatic3000.

It’s ddeokbokki-flavored snack chips. Check out the piece of ddeok with the fork in his head!

Cheaper eats: Who’s paying?

by Cat on March 20, 2007

It’s interesting to me that I’ve been seeing a lot of stories in the press lately about the high price of food here. I can’t help but wonder about the timing, as South Korea and the United States continue a sometimes contentious effort at nailing down a free-trade agreement.

From Friday’s Chosun Ilbo:

Koreans pay more for their beef than residents of any other country. A private organization called Consumers in Korea released on Thursday a survey of the prices of 20 major commodities conducted earlier this month by consumer groups in 29 countries. The results showed that the price of domestic and imported beef in Korea is the highest.

Prices of other food and commodities in Korea are also comparatively high. The consumer group said Korea ranked among the top five most expensive countries in eleven categories out of twenty.

U.S. beef imports have been a major sticking point in the ongoing FTA negotiations. But, as the article points out, the food-price disparities don’t end there. According to this speech last year by U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow to the Korean Importers Association, Koreans pay up to 10 times more for agricultural products than the average international consumer.

Added to high housing and fuel prices, the situation is particularly acute in the nation’s capital, as I’ve mentioned before, and as pointed out in this editorial in the Korea Times.

It is serious indeed that prices in Seoul for the three basic necessities of life _ food, clothing and housing _ are more than double those of New York, while the per capita income of Seoulites is less than half of New Yorkers. The rapidly strengthening Korean currency is one reason. But there are other structural problems, too.

[snip]

Food prices, particularly meat prices, are two to four times higher here than in the U.S.

This can be attributed directly to restrictions on the import of foreign agricultural products, high tariffs on what is imported, and government support for Korean farmers, many of whom work small plots, and use older, less-efficient farming methods. This makes food production more expensive, with higher prices passed on to consumers.

As an urban consumer in Seoul—one who was previously accustomed to the cheap, plentiful and diverse foods available in a U.S. supermarket—the contrast is stark.

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Super Papa’s family size

by Cat on January 20, 2007

There’s not been much interesting stuff to report lately.

I’ve been busy with classes and work and Dave’s just been working his regular schedule, which includes 12-hour days, plus some nights and weekends. I believe many Koreans consider this to be simple, full-time employment.

Also, while I really like living here, I am not particularly enamored of the winter. It’s cold. It’s dark. There are strange things blowing in from China. There are too many long walks to the subway station or bus stop. And, too many long walks back from the subway station or bus stop.

Now, If I were maybe the right kind of expat, I’d be out taking pictures of the crowded pojangmachas where people grab a quick bowl of hot soup (and sometimes soju) on their way home from work or out for a night on the town. Maybe I’d be doing a first-person account from inside a jimjilbang (the 24-hour sauna/salon/gym/PC bang/sleeping area combos that are really popular here.)

But, I am not that kind of expat. Instead, I am the kind of expat who writes about going home on Friday night to order pizza.
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