Granted it’s far from -30 (Celsius!) like it gets back home, but it is getting damn cold in Seoul. And if you’re looking at how to warm yourself up this season, Zenkimchi’s got a great post on winter eats. My holidays kick into high gear tomorrow so I’m going to try and get to a few more places before I leave for Holland this Friday. As I mentioned, posting will be a little light after the 25th. I have a few pieces for CNNGo I’m working on and the one I wrote for SEOUL’s January issue will likely be online toward the end of the month. I’ll throw all those links up when I get ‘em. In the meantime, bundle up, keep that belly full and stay festive.
This month’s issue of 10 Magazine has a nice summary of tasty venues that’ll treat you to a hearty meal this holiday season. And it looks like there’s plenty to choose from. I notice that Table 34 is mentioned. Great place. I wrote a review for SEOUL magazine (Page 50) about that very establishment last year. The views from up here are pretty darn good.
The Wolfhound Pub in Itaewon will be hosting a charity buffet dinner on Christmas Day with all proceeds going to Myongdo Services for People with Disabilities. Dinner starts at 5pm and tickets are 40,000 won. Come out and celebrate for a worthy cause. Reservations can be made by phone (749-7971) or through email (wolfhoundpub@gmail.com).
Got a few hours to kill on a wintry Sunday afternoon? I highly recommend strolling over to Cha Masineun Tteul, a beautiful hanok teahouse in the Bukchon area, for some sweet pumpkin rice cake and omija cha, a five-flavor berry tea. It’s now one of my favorite weekend hideaways.
From the press release sent to me this morning: Snow Jam (FIS Snowboard World Cup Big Air Competition) drew an impressive crowd of 260,000 spectators, including 45,000 foreigners, to the center of the city over the weekend. A total of twenty-nine snowboarders from ten countries competed in the tournament. Switzerland’s Gian-Luca Cavigelli took first place, with Austria’s Stefan Gimpl and Finland’s Markku Koski finishing in second and third, respectively. The three-day event won considerable praise, with 92% of respondents (from a survey of 650) citing Snow Jam significantly helped raise awareness of Seoul to the rest of the world.
But all figures aside, the fact that a 34-meter ramp was set up right downtown along the newly revamped Gwangwhamun Plaza was reason alone to celebrate. And with Pyeongchang’s 2018 Winter Olympic bid looming just around the corner, city officials hope the event will provide a little added momentum in clinching the IOC’s vote.
The set below came bundled in the press release. You can view more here. The photographer, Oliver Kraus, is a PR coordinator for FIS.
UPDATE: This post was featured on Korea. net this morning (December 16th) under Blogging on Korea.
Private Curve is organizing a few cool concerts to get people in the party spirit this holiday season. I’m looking forward to D’Sound. The Norwegian pop outfit are playing an intimate gig at Melon-AX Hall on the 19th. As far as I know tickets are still available for that show. Dutch singer-songwriter Wouter Hamel marks his return to Seoul with a string of exclusive performances at Hongdae’s V-Hall from December 29th to December 31st. Having already made a name for himself in Europe, Hamel’s got quite a following in Asia as well. Tickets are 88,000 won. Doors open at 8pm. To get there take subway Line 2 to Hongdae Station and get out exit 5.
Also returning to the capital is Lenka, the charismatic Sydney native with great looks and talent to boot. If you missed her at last year’s Pentaport Rock Festival then be sure to catch her this time around when she plays V-Hall on December 22nd. Tickets are 77,000 won. Currently one of Australia’s most representative performers, it promises to be a good show.
For further details contact info@privatecurve.com or (02) 563-0595. English service is available. Ask for Jane.
As we’re almost into 2010, I thought I’d narrow it down to give you a better idea of which posts generated the most feedback, comments and traffic on here. I posted far more this year than I did last year, namely because… well, I had a great deal more to get off my chest! That and the fact that I was lucky to be a part of some pretty cool projects along the way. As always, you can email me questions directly or write them in the comment thread – I’ll try and get back to you as quick as I can. So, without further ado:
1) Infinitely yours, Seoul | Global Campaign
5) East Coast Set | Naksansa Temple
Pumped for the weekend? I noticed along Gwangwhamun Plaza this morning that they’ve already started packing down the ice (base layer) on the snowboarding ramp. Remember, it’s a free event and the first of its kind in Seoul. In other words, you don’t want to miss it!
Feeling festive? I’m getting there. Christmas isn’t for another few weeks but I’ll be trying to post as much as I can until then, namely that Snow Jam thing and a few food write ups. Why I don’t post more about food on here I have no idea, as eating seems to consume more of my time than sleep. After the 25th I’ll be in Europe (Holland) so posting may take a backseat for a little while. Unless, that is, you’d like to see photos of me inhaling Heineken and patates frites. Didn’t think so. We are, however, planning a side trip while we’re there and if it turns out to be anywhere pretty, then I’ll break convention (that is, keeping this blog strictly Korea specific) and share a few pics with you all here. Deal? As for food posts, I got a couple of crackin’ ones in mind. I’m a big fan of Garosugil and will head back real soon – tons of great places to eat along that strip.
How big a fan am I of figure skater Kim Yu-na? Enough to scribble down a little write-up about her and forward it off to CNNGo’s list of Asia’s Greatest Sports Heroes. Incredible talent with great looks to boot. A winning combo indeed. And she’s training in Canada. Not bad, eh?
Here’s my piece on the Taekwondo demonstration at Gyeonghuigung Palace. Pretty amazing stuff. These guys jump over people. One master even performed a back-flip and fly-kicked an apple clean off the tip of a sword… blindfolded. If you need more info, grab it here. The event wraps up its nine-month run this weekend before resuming again in March 2010.
UPDATE: Just got word that CNN International is featuring the piece under Editor’s Choice.
My SEOUL piece is up (pages 71~72). Go have a peek if you want to find out what’s going on around town this holiday season.
