Heading back..., ending my Korea Trip (15-28 Oct 2016)

After spending 2 weeks in Korea, it was time to head back to Singapore. We had lots of luggage as we bought stuff like baby bumper bed from Geum Bi (http://dreamb.co.kr/). Baby bumper beds are common in korea and I first saw it when I watched Return of Superman. What I liked about such beds is that it has multiple usage and kids can use it all the way till they are even 4 years old. Our box was about 140cm long and it is within the 150cm limit of Singapore Airlines. We only had to bring it over to the odd-size luggage check in counter to drop the boxes.

Time for some photos while waiting for the Bus Limousine back to Incheon Airport.

At Incheon Airport (Arrival Hall), there is this porridge restaurant which I liked their beef porridge. It was a must have before I left Korea. Not sure when I will be back again. Maybe another 1 year?

Korean Folk Village (한국민속촌)

Next stop, we went to Korean Folk Village which is the filming site for many Korean Period Dramas, such as Jang Ok-Jung, Dong Yi, Dae Jang Geun. At this Folk Village, you will be able to experience Historical Drama Set, watch Farmer's Music and Dance, Equestrian Feats, etc

Tried some chewy Hagfish at 기장꼼장어

If you like to try some hagfish 꼼장어 which is very chewy and tastes like octopus, I will recommend you to go to 기장꼼장어 which has a 12 yrs history, opened by my mil's sister-in-law. :)

A day visit to the country-side near Boeun

To fulfill my little wish to see the country side and plucking fruits, my parents-in-law suggested us to go visit my mil's sister's home which is near Boeun. The journey from Daejeon to the aunt's place is about 1 hour drive away. Time did not feel that long as we sang and hummed to the Korean oldies music.

When we arrived, uncle just harvested a batch of the rice and he was busy with the milling process to remove the rice husk. We took our chance to take a picture with the tractor.

His uncle used to be an engineer but because he was passed down a large piece of land and he wanted to make good use of it, he decided to do this full time, of course he hired some people to helped out. 

Look at the vast field of land behind us... makes me love yellow even more. Air is so fresh and "earthy". There are hardly any sound except the occasional vehicles passing by and welcoming buzz from the carefree dragonflies. Besides eating fresh dates, I also attempted to pluck the persimmons. 

On our way back, we passed by a carnival. The people were celebrating dates festival. Harvesting red dates can be a huge thing and worth celebrating. There is even a bulls fighting arena.

Well, an apple lover who happens to also be a "city bumpkin" needs to take photo with it. (아버님 stopped the car in the middle of the way back just to let me take this photo. ^^)

A Fun-filled Chillax Korea Trip before delivery

It has been a special birthday month spending half the time with my family and friends in Korea. Glad that I was still able to make it for a quick trip and up the plane despite being 28 weeks preggy.

The first thing when we arrived at the airport on 15 Oct was to rent our Wifi Egg. Wifi rental differs from different companies, ranging at a rate from 4500₩ per day to 8000₩ per day. There is also a cash deposit of 200,000₩.

As my husband's hometown is in Daejeon, we will need to travel down south. Comparing to taking train, I prefer to take the Bus Limousine. Although train is faster (about 45mins) compared to Bus Limousine (2 hours), I do not have to change and I can take a nap. The Bus Limousine is about 24,000₩ per person. Train is probably about twice more expensive.

One of my favourite places to eat is the Samgyupsal restaurant 우렁쌈밥정식 near his home, which is very generous with their banchan (=side dishes). It was also my first stop when we arrived.

My mil was very sweet to prepare a surprise birthday cake for me, coupled with welcoming flowers.

My husband and I have been very well-fed throughout the trip. We had 밥 for almost every meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner), and each time the table was filled with sumptuous dishes.

And breakfast always end off with a nice bowl of homemade yogurt. After trying homemade yogurt, I didn't even have the craving for the yogurt drinks I used to have when I come to Korea. Sweetness is customized, texture is smooth, topped with my favorite fruits and perilla seeds. 

On Sunday, We went to visit Junmo at his salad bar (Bowl & Bottle). He is Squirry's first friend who I met when Squirry came to SG in 2010. Junmo has started a salad and juice bar in Daejeon, with his own self-made salad dressing recipes. Squirry liked Avo Green bowl with basil dressing and I liked Shrimp & Noodle bowl with peanut dressing. Yum.

One of the best places to shop is Costco, which is within walking distance from our home. My husband managed to get his own sub-card as his mom was already a member. As usual, we bought quite a lot of stuff, including waterpik (cheaper than Gmarket), many packs of seaweed for souvenir, Calvin Klein underpants, Adidas socks, etc. 

Korean Husband Singaporean Wife

I have been pretty inactive in blogging for 10 months, thinking that life has been rather routine and that not much people read blogs these days as Facebook/Instagram became the common medium for sharing info. I was surprised to know that there are many Korean boyfriend/spouse with local Singaporeans. I recently joined the kakao group, which in short we named the group as KBS, which comprises more than 15 couples and still growing. However most of the members' spouse are from Seoul, Busan, etc. Squirry is probably the only one from Daejeon so far in the group. I believe there will be more to come as more people from Daejeon travels out or picks up English.

Picture above was taken during a recent gathering on 25 sep at Oven & Friend Chicken (Telok Ayer).

Dating a Korean

I did a quick google on "dating a Korean". It is interesting to note there are many sites providing advices. Some of which are listed below:

1) Dating a Korean Guy (The Things We Should Expect)

2) Dating Korean Guys (Advice and Stuff) 

3) Want to Marry a Korean? Here's 7 Things You Should Know!

4) Advice on Dating Korean Men Attracts Anger, Support

5) How do Korean guys treat their women?

6) Misconceptions about Korean Men (Part 1)

7) Misconceptions about Korean Men (Part 2)

8) Discover how Korean Guys Are Different 

9) The Shocking Truth About Dating Korean Men

10) What to Expect when dating a Korean Guy

11) Many more... 

A quick compilation of some generalized traits:
1) Possessive
2) Self-driven (money, career)
3) Particular about appearance and style
4) Expectations on gals (appearance, smartness, ability to cook)
5) Dramatic (hot tempered, expressive when talking)
6) Health conscious

Yet, each and every person has their own uniqueness, depending on their upbringing, exposure to overseas, person's strive, interests and priorities. 

My unique Sungsoo have some special non-Korean characteristics. 

1) Sungsoo can't take kimchi spice well. In fact, he loves Western food more (e.g. Pizzas), while I love korean food more and I eat more spice.

2) Sungsoo doesn't smoke. His family doesn't. Korean male smoking is among the highest in the OECD at 47.3%. Thank goodness, my Sungsoo doesn't. Well, I dislike the smell of smoke and the action of people smoking.

3) Sungsoo is very obsessed with doing work-out, building muscles and keeping fit. He was once 8% body fat. He started his work-out training when he was in America. He thinks guys in Korean shows (꽃미남) are too girly. *LOL* 

4) Sungsoo often gets mistaken for his nationality. The Singapore hawker aunty spoke to him in Mandarin and asked if he is from Hongkong. When we were traveling around, people thought he is a Japanese. 

5) Sungsoo loves a Singaporean (that's me). And his parents love me (a non-Korean). 

So how is it like dating Uniquely Sungsoo? We have done crazy things like dancing tango on the Singapore MRT platform. Once, we danced to the music in ThatCDShop in Raffles City Shopping Centre and the music was abruptly stopped to "get us out". Life has been interesting every since I met Sungsoo. Hope we continue to live what we love, and to have an enjoyable and fruitful life together. :)