Inner Journey

  The room we stayed during the short trip to the central Seoul faced west so we could see the crimson sky over the mountains surrounding the palace. It was beautiful, but lacked some sort of things that must be in the peaceful scene of setting sun. If you know all the bloodlettings of the earlier days of the Chosun, you might think the glow in the sky seemed to be blood-stained blanket. It was the very first impression I had when I saw the rosy sky above the palace. And it occurred to me that the many beings of old days with grudge might gather around the pavilion to weep and mourn. Among this horde, I bet I could meet the apparition of Jeong Dojeon, a founding father of the kingdom and later he was killed by former comrades during the coup. Of course, it was somehow little bit odd feeling because I didn’t particularly admire him or supporting his policy. However, it is because there are tons of people murdered and banished whenever upheavals happened. Therefore, the place natural...

  We found out a decent seafood restaurant called “Hoepo” nearby Four Seasons Hotel Seoul and dined there both in the morning and at night. Interestingly, the name is very similar to one of my most favorite seafood restaurant in Bucheon. Although the space inside didn’t seem to be big enough, it was cozy and there were many customers already there, only one table was left unoccupied when we got there. This place provided dishes that were not available in other average seafood eateries. They provided Korean east coast style foods, raw Spanish mackerel, and steamed roe of Spanish mackerel with tofu etc. The menu changes from time to time depending on the availability of materials and season. In the morning, we had flounder seaweed soup, which is not conventional way to cook seaweed soup in Seoul and Gyeonggi area. Mostly, in Seoul, beef is common ingredient used in seaweed soup. I think the addition of fish or oyster is popular way to cook seaweed soup in southern part of Korea. I re...

  Last week, with my family members, I had visited Gyeongbokgung (Gyeongbok palace hereafter) for the first time in almost 40 years. Gyeongbok palace was the first of the five major royal palaces built during the Joseon Dynasty. Yi Seong-gye, the first king of Joseon, set the capital Hanyang, which is the old name of Seoul and appointed Shim Deok-bu, who contributed to defeating Japanese pirates, as the general manager of the construction project of the palace. Sim Deok-bu's son, Sim On, is the father-in-law of King Sejong (Yi Do), who is considered the best king in Korea. Gyeongbok Palace was completed in 1395, one year after construction began. Jeong Do-jeon, who was a founding father of Joseon, named the new palace Gyeongbokung (Kung means palace or royal court). In this palace, Gyeonghoe pavilion is my most favorite place that took my breath away first time I saw it forty years ago. In 1411, Yi Bang-won, the third king of the Joseon Dynasty, ordered the repair of Gyeongbokgung,...

  Eventually, summer has come and we usually expect this is the best time for having beer. Particularly, this is going to be the first summer after more than three years long pandemic thus we are excited for many reasons. The liquor industries, in the middle of fierce battle to gain more market share, is also excited. I heard about rumors about newly released product Kelly and I bought four cans of them. Kelly is a good accompaniment to many snacks readily available in the groceries and convenient stores, to say the least. According to media, a total of 1.04 million boxes of Kelly which Hite Jinro ambitiously launched early last month, were sold by the 10th of May 2023. When converted to 330ml bottles, the amount is 31.62 million bottles. If the sales volume is converted into hourly units, about 10 bottles/hour. Hite Jinro launched a new beer product for the first time in four years and continues its aggressive marketing. CEO Kim In-kyu, who never exposed himself in the media...