Inner Journey

  2023 marks the 50th anniversary of Bucheon's promotion to the city. Looking back on the last 12 months, I realized that there were many events celebrating it, but I had never been to. The overall population of Bucheon is declining, and it is understandable because major manufacturing sectors moved out of this city for some other places. Other than the anniversary, nothing much had happen to the city. Hospitality industries went to through tough time even after COVID19 year and we do not know yet if this is the end of the ordeal of service sectors. I however think this place has potential of being more attractive for both people at home foreign tourists. As I mentioned in the very first post, while Bucheon has not so many places for sightseeing, here We do not have tourist traps thus you expect to find out things available in Seoul at cheaper price in this city. This is the charm of Bucheon with its convenient location of being between main entry point to Korea, Incheon, and...

  For Saturday night outing, we tried gin highballs and the most exotic Korean food (but it is not an exotic for us because hagfish dishes are not rare in Korea at all!) hagfish restaurant. Certainly, highballs remind us of whiskey and izakaya. But recently, many also recognize gin-based highballs too. This is because gin highballs, which seems to be fresher than whiskey highballs, have appeared and started to gain popularity in Korea. In the late 1800s, as carbonated water was invented in the United States, Scotch whisky and cocktails mixed with carbonated water began to be called Scotch highballs, and later in Japan, whiskey highballs were introduced when Western culture was imported in the early 1900s. As I mentioned in the past post, it became very popular in Japan, resonating with Japanese consumers who hate the strong taste of whiskey and later the influence of the depression, people tried to seek something cheaper than pure whisky. In Japan today, highball is a combi...

  Here, the popularity of highball is still soaring up with no sign of abating. Due to the high ball boom, the import of mid- to low-priced whiskey has increased, and whiskey's status is growing day by day. According to the Korea Customs Service's trade statistics, imports of whiskey such as Scotch, bourbon and so on from January to October this year were 26,937 tons (ton), up 26.8% from the same period last year. The increase in whisky imports is due to the steady popularity of highball, which is combination of sparkling water or tonic water and whisky. It is said that major consumers are the MZ generation (born in the 1980s and 2000s), but my observation is that the trend spills over to the whole generations of Koreans. Of course, I am also drinking these beverages more often than ever. Above all, the number of whiskies imported has increased significantly compared to the past. Whisky, which used to be "expensive alcohol," is gradually changing into popular al...

  The weather got cold, and I missed my furry friends, cats again. We went to a local cat café to meet furry cuties. And to talk about cat, purring is the most fascinating thing. I remember especially in cold nights; purring is the best lullaby I have ever heard, a simple low frequency vibration with repeating beat. Although you can always hear such delightful sounds whenever you stroke your furry friends, the mechanism of purring has been surrounded in the mystery. Here, I want to share the efforts of scientists conducted interesting study to crack secrets of purring. According to these studies, our feline friends have pads embedded within their vocal cords, which add an extra layer of fatty tissue that allows them to vibrate at low frequencies. The article was published in ‘Current Biology’. Larynx or voice box (Hereafter I use voice box because this is easier word for laypersons) of cats doesn’t need any input from the brain to produce purr. Scientists involved this rese...

  The lofty pavilion is standing in the backdrop of the perfect autumn sky. The structure is called Banghwasuryujeong, meaning seeking flowers and willows along the stream. This building is a part of Suwon Hwaseong, which is a castle built to make a new town in the current location of Suwon by the 22nd monarch of Joseon, Lee San. However, there is more than such practical reason to build this castle and fancy pavilion overlooking dragon pond. The castle was also meant to be a part of mausoleum dedicated to his father, a crowned prince Sado or Lee sun. Lee sun was confined in a rice chest and left there for nine days, eventually starved to death. For me Banghwasuryujeong seems to be a giant rice chest. The cross patterns, a symbol of Christianity, on the western wall of the pavillion facing Hwahongmun Gate, have been enduring mystery for long time. At first glance, it seems to have been carved to avoid monotony, but if you look closely, it seems to be an intentionally done for some...

  Despite the worries on release of radioactive water of Fukushima, the season of dotted gizzard shad (Hereafter just DGS) has come, and everybody seems to enjoy. I had this fish several times with friends and family members too. DGS was famous for its autumn delicacies but was cheap and considered side menu rather than main dish in the seafood restaurants. In the past, due to the lack of the development of transportation technology and infrastructures, these perishable fish were mainly consumed in ports and coastal areas, and the amount that could be transported inland was limited. Therefore, it was not uncommon to sell this delicious fish at a lower price. In addition to DGS, monkfish (Angler fish if you like to call) have also been rediscovered as delicious fish in modern times, but they have been treated like garbage or something in the past.   The reason why autumn DGS is delicious is because of its rich fat. From September to November, it boasts three times as much fat a...

  Honestly, I did not think much of kimbap before. It has been always there, and I remember that my mom painstakingly rolled sea weed with ingredients consisting of ham, beef, pickled radish, spinach and more before picnic or school travel. It was so popular at home for being street food and served mostly in small local eateries and always available at convenient stores. People in this country typically associate this sea weed roll with picnic because there seemed to be no picnic food that is more popular. This food stems from the kind of sushi roll called norimaki, which is sushi made with see weed and many stuffs inside roll. However, these days many don’t know this origin and enjoy. Before this year, for tourists and foreign residents, this is nothing but one of readily available street foods when you are in hurry or hungry something, you just go outside and can pick for cheap price. As you may also noticed, starting in 2023, the popularity of kimbap is suddenly soaring in...