Got a Glimpse of...

of..something that caught my attention at Samgakgi station when I was going home.

Did not have time to learn what it was all about until the train arrived.

So...I just managed to take one click of I-still-don't-know-what.

My guess is that some kind of 'natural showcase of Norway....."

I should've stayed longer....

Halal Cosmetics....

Never thought that I would find this in Korea. Well, what do you know..

As for the food, Muslims in Korea usually go to Itaewon 

where halal restaurants are lining up just around the area. 

But, for Halal cosmetics in Korea? Well, I guess this is one solution. Daeduck Lab. * Need to scroll through what this company has to offer.

Never thought about it before, though.

For those living in Indonesia or Malaysia or any countries where majority Muslim do not need to worry about their cosmetics (since most of them have halal label on them), this halal cosmetics is an everyday 'encounter'. 

But, what about in Korea? Sometimes or most of the times, we never (do not want to) consider of this issue?

So, it is a very interesting thing that a Korean company raises this issue.

What is THAT???

Just walking by Imun street when I got a glimpse of what i thought to be a tractor on top of the rooftop. It turned out to be what I thought it was.

It IS a tractor. Well, for some other people, it may not be a surprising thing. But for me, it was.^^ 

They were demolishing a building to make a better new one, of course. I just wonder how the tractor could end up being up there? Of course, some huge crane must've put it there. But how? For an ordinary people like me who know nothing about how such thing came to work...I was just spell bound.^^

A trivial thing that does not seem too trivial for me.^^

Jegidong: A different facade of Seoul

Jegidong area. This afternoon (March 19), I was walking down the intersection where a lot of sellers (of fruits, fish, snacks, hangwa (Korean snacks), ginseng, etc) were all there for us to see.

 Just took the picture while waiting for the green light for pedestrian to cross the intersection.

It is indeed a differently lively intersection. The fun part was that I--almost-could not find any teenagers or those shopping-spree-hooked ladies or girls on high heels. Well...it is NOT Myeongdong^^ 

The fun part was that...the sound and smell and scent and scene and sight and....

were all there. 

A truly exciting part of Seoul for anyone who wants to linger and try to taste something unique.

In fact, the Seoul City Tour Bus has recently incorporated this intersection into one of its routes.

I could not agree more since this kind of place also has its own unique features.

It is about time that visitors to Seoul not only set their eyes on Myeongdong-like places. ^^

LOLLIPOP

White Day had passed us bye without any traces. 

I guess...being in Korea also means that we cannot escape from being soaked or exposed to what Koreans celebrate. On February 14, Valentine's Day set in (the time when girls--are supposed--give chocolate to men)...then... March 14 would be a White Day where men are supposed to give girls candies--but of course anyone could just give away candies or chocolates to anyone else irrespective of whether he or she should start giving. 

The other day, my wife received lollipops from her friend and tucked them into her bag...

 and she almost completely forgot about them until today....(March 17, 2013).

It's a good thing that it is candy not some tofu. (ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ); otherwise...

Angry Bird T-Money for Eyra

Now that we have moved into a new house which is farther away from Eyra's elementary school, we bought her a new T-Money transportation card. Actually, we bought her one last year, but to our dismay simply because of our stupidity & ignorance^^...the supposedly child ticket with its discounted rate...had changed itself into a normal adult-type card. That's why we bought another one. 

Yup...Angry Bird T-card WAS the one Eyra chose from other ranges of available accessory-typed card.

It is so small that I am afraid it is easily overlooked or left-behind. 

So, we might as well have it chained into a   lace. 

We also learned that within 10 days after purchase, we got to have it registered at the T-Money official website to make sure and have it certified that Eyra is indeed a child/teenager eligible to receive a benefit of discounted rate. 

So, WE DID.^^

Eyra is ecstatic..........................

Moving in....(part 2)

Before moving into a new house, I checked about what it looked like on Daum.maps. And...it looks like an old apartment since the red-bricks layer on the surface of the building's wall are apparent. That't the first feature. But...it looks just nice. 

And the fact that the neighborhood is somewhat a new atmosphere for us...we are so excited. Moreover, other foreign students and faculty members live here, so I am sure that the facilities are just fine. Love the fact that it is clean. 

We are on the 2nd floor. Like it. What not to like, especially after living in a basement for more than a year in our previous "two-room". So, this is surely one of the too-good-to-be-true kind of excitement.

As soon as the university offered me to move into this apartment complex, I said "YES", well of course after some consideration. And that is: transportation expenses. 

We need to take subway that would take us around 20 minute (including transfer) from home to campus. That's more than tolerable.^^ The subway is just 2-minute away from where we live.

After all, the house is much much more spacious than the one we used to have before. 

And...the facilities are just ample. We got everything we need, for the universities provided everything for us, even the internet and cable TV. (It means... we do not have to extend the one we subscribed when we were still at Imundong). 

And...Eyra got her own room. That's something that she likes about. 

She just put all of her stuffs on her desk right away. Oh, see the Taegukki or Korean flag, there? She made it out of the color clay. She loves it. 

The good neighborhood, and a large parking lot (for the children, it means....large playground:) ^-^

Bismillahirrohmanirrohim...We are going to live in this apartment until I finish my study at HUFS. 

Bismillah hopefully in 2015. 

Thanks to HUFS and all the staffs at International Office for having given us a chance to stay here.

Spring Semester Meeting

On Friday, March 15...we got together to celebrate the start of Spring semester at our department.

Apart from welcoming the new students, we also got to know our professors and the classes they teach. 

I don't know why...girls dominate our department.^^ (chuckles) 

Prof. Cho Young-han, our head of department, was explaining about our department's activities. What would we do w/out FB, eh? ^^ (chuckles) 

What would be a meeting without Coffee Shop as what others would normally have done in Korea?

Oh, btw...we had a pizza party and ended it with a coffee.

An Art Gallery Tube in KBS

A tube? A Tunnel? A bridge? An art gallery? well...all of them. 

This is actually a tube-shaped connecting bridge that (of course) connects things. What to connect? Building A and Building B inside KBS Complex. I pass this through 'tube' when I go to KBS World.

So, what is so interesting about it? 

See the pictures posted on each side of the glass-pane tube?  

Any familiar photo? "BOYs BEFORe FLOWERs? Yes, it highlights the achievement made by KBS through its television programs. Most representative programs are posted on this so called 'wall of fame'.

BUT....that's not all. Apart from highlighting the achievements, this tube is also dedicated to the pictures that show the less-fortunate friends of ours who live in different parts of the world. Captured on the camera, these pictures are for anyone passing by this hall.......to see and take a moment to think about the situation. 

The left side: the dramas and programs made by KBS and on the right side: the pictures that would encourage us to take a closer notice and look into our world. 

The tube is long enough for any representative dramas produced by KBS to be re-introduced. Even the 1980s hey-day were also portrayed here. Surely...none that I know of. But, that's the purpose of this art-gallery turned tube-bridge. Impressive, eh? 

Once again: the section that would remind anyone of what KBS has achieved.... 

And...one section: for us to take a closer look at the colorful life in other parts of the world. 

I think (if I am not mistaken), one of the reasons as to why these pictures are posted here is the fact that some renowned Korean actress did their voluntary work in this part of the world as part of the awareness program. 

Then..why the hall is empty? Well..actually I made it so. I had to wait until no one was visible^^

Of course...lots of people kept on passing by this tube. 

It just so happened that I took the picture patiently right until no one was visible.^^

* I think I love this tube for it really captures the spirit of how a space is well utilized into something meaningful.

And..the sun rays that penetrates the glass overhead...it's just perfect.

Moving Out...(part 1)

What a mess, well...we just moved in.

Spring or at least.....February and March are the best months to move into new homes. I just found out that Koreans tend to change their address a.k.a. moving out into new apartments, houses, one-rooms, two-rooms, villa, and other types of housing....before Spring or during Spring.

and...so do we. 

Last week on March 9, just one day after my birthday...we moved into a new house. Previously, we lived in  a "two-room" where we stayed for a year and two months. 

Now we have moved into a new small apartment ...a very small but surely this one is bigger than our previous one. It is actually our university's apartment for foreign students and faculty members. 

(GOOOOSSSHH just look at the boxes, stuffs, and other gosh-I-don't-remember-what:) Anyway,thanks to  our friends who helped us out during the moving-out and moving-in parts, we finally made it. 

We brought all of our stuffs and stacked and squeezed them into boxes. See those? Apparently, we used the used-boxes we got from the stores and some we bought from the post office. One thing for sure....we just thought of the best and efficient way of bringing in all the stuffs we had. 

So...bye-bye our "two-rooms" in Imundong.

Thank you soooo much for being our home for the more than a year.

We now live in Nowon-district. a 20-minute ride by subway ^-^ Horray...:( ^-^ just to get to campus.

Farther away...but the neighborhood is comfier. 

rambling on the train...집으로 가는중

대머리에 대해 원래 신경을 안 썼는데 겨울이 오자마자 생각이 바뀌었다. 모자도 써야 되고 때때로는 캡도 쓴다. 근데 지금 봄이 다가와서 왜 아직 까지 모자를 벗어 야할 생각이 안 들었지?익숙해졌을까? 몰라! 너무 추워서 그런지도 모른다. @일단 지름의 스타일로 계속 이어지는게 나갰다.잠깐....여름이 오면 모자도 써야할까? 고민중이다.왜 이런 소용이 없는 것을 썼죠? 할 일이 없어서 그래^^ ㅋㅋㅋ . 오케이 ...시간이 아직 있으니까 ...영화나 보러 갈까? 웜바디스 라는 영화가 재미있대오. CGV에 가 볼까 라는 생각이 있지만 집에서 할일이 많아서 안 될 것 같다. 이사한지 일주일도 안 되었는데 정리도 아직 안 끝나 가지고 집이 이렇게 오망하게??? Messy하게 두면 안 되찮아. 주말에 손님이 있을 지도 모르니까 그래.

on the train...

한국방송공사에 가는 중인데 할 일이 없어 가지고 이터넷을 커서 블로그에다가 방금 겪었던 것에 대해서 ㅆ는게 어떠느냐에 생각윽 들었다.몰론 좀 불편했지만 시간을 냉비하기보다 더 나겠다고 해서 ... 지금처럼 열심히 스마트폰의 스크린에 몰두하고...빠져 있어.....자기 생각을 정리하고 있다.

My 39th Birthday^^

Sure. Having a birthday party or celebrating birthdays are not my stuffs. 

So, if every year I do seem to 'celebrate' it does not necessarily that I am the one behind it.

(This year's cake) 

So, who are behind all of the B'day' bash'. "Bash"? Oh come on...this word is too outrageous for me.^^

Ok, anyway...my daughters are the ones who always insist me on buying a CAKE on every birthday.  

They know that March 8 IS my birthday. So, they kind of planned it before. Especially, Eyra. I bet she just could not wait to get back from school and run to the bakery just to pick one cake for me.

This cake was her choice+with a help from her sister, Freya. 

Freya finds birthday amazing. She loves celebrating birthdays even if they are not hers.

So, this is, too. She knows it all along that it is her Dad's. 

"I love you, Daddy" pose. Eyra and Freya are my angels indeed. They keep me making me smile everyday. 

They love the fact that today is their Daddy's birthday. 

Freya wrote a note "Papa Ulang Tahun" 'Daddy's having a birthday"

Oh..that is so cute.

To my wife and Freya:

"Thanks, girls"

Love you always.

Happy Birthday, Suray

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SURAY.

A HAPPY 39 y.o. AJEOSSI, STUDENT, DADDY!!! ^-^

생일 축가해요, 아빠!!!!

My Rants & Ramblings....

 Let us think of a very simple and yet funny example of 'seeing' things. Now, suppose we have three apples right in front our eyes. 

What can we say about them?
 Well, we might say that they are having differences or/and similarities in color, shape, weight, smell, quality, etc..etc…etc.

Well, of course, saying that they have different gradation of color, shape, and weight is also one part of comparing. Or…we could also say that they share similarities, e.g. the fact that they share quite similar color!

Okay, now let me take another example. Suppose there is an alien spacecraft hovering over our earth and it is so camouflaged that no earthlings are able to spot it. Thus, it gives the aliens to ‘scrutinize’ and to ‘observe’ us from above. 

My first question:

“What would be the aliens’ reactions as they see us?”

Hmmm, it’s a tricky question since we have to put ourselves on their shoes. (that..if they even have ones^^). Anyhow, they could be so aghast and so perplexed as they see us. It is their first time ever to spot and have a closer look at us—human beings.

BUT….

The question is….do you think they alien call us ‘human beings’? or they have decided to come up with their own term to address us?

NOW…

Let us go back to the apples, first. The first thing we got to do when we are asked to compare is that we need to find the similarities. By doing so, we are trying to find the common properties or the shared properties that the apples have.

Can you answer what their common properties are?

NOW…

Let us go back to the aliens, again. The first thing that we need to do as an alien is that we need to tell others about what we see on earth. In this case, supposed we (remember: we are pretending to be aliens) must make a report to our ship commander.

Express yourself in explaining or retelling what you saw on earth!!!

We could say things, like, say:

“THEY have two visual optical balls on their visage” (our eyes:))

“THEY have developed some sorts of branches with ten sub-branches on both sides of their bodies” (our arms and hands:))

“THEY have funny fibers grow on their heads” (our hairs:) )

“THEY walk on their long pipes” (our legs:))

“THEY do not wear any masks and their membranes are of varied colors” (we probably do not wear any astronaut-like helmet to aid us breathe:)  and our skins are of different colors:) 

OK….simply put, those are things that they might say when reporting to their commander in chief.

Interestingly: they started their report by saying “THEY!!!!”

WHY is that?

Anyone could answer that?

THE PROBLEM is….

“Do YOU think the aliens call us ‘humans’ or ‘human beings’?”

Probably NOT. After they gathered some information about us, they might call on a meeting with other fellow aliens to DECIDE what to call us ^-^.

After a while, they ended up calling us DOODOO
Well, it is all up to them what to call us, right? 

Why Not?

WHY Not? Yes..why not. After all, it's free. 

A great companion for a movie experience. 

I didn't expect it when I was buying the movie ticket. 

One ticket attendant g presented me with a free coupon for this set of movie companion on my birthday.^^

On what occasion? 생일이야!!!~.~

One of the privileges of being a member of CGV Cinema.

"Thanks CGV" from a movie-freak on his birthday!!!

New Semester - Early Spring 2013

New Semester. Spring Semester. I was walking towards the gate of my campus when I caught a glimpse of the stretched banner hung over the gate. 

The banner congratulates and welcomes all incoming freshmen of 2013 to our campus' HUFS'

Just out of my curiosity and out of fun, I took a picture of it just before crossing the intersection when the traffic lights turned green. Should have taken a closer look, though.

Anyway: Spring 2013: I'm now at my 2nd semester.

Bismillahirrohmanirrohim. 

STOKER: Mesmerizingly Twisted!!!

On March 1, I was somewhat lost in CGV Cinema as which movie to watch. I was coming with an expectation to see "Jack the Giant Slayer" but to no avail. No tickets were available at that time. All's sold out. And not a minute too soon ...I spotted one seat left on the screen. STOKER had one more seat and the movie was about to start in 5 minutes.

Without further thinking, I bought one ticket and got myself sulkily lured into the dark theater....with no anticipation of what would come ahead.

I was uneasily beaten right through my heart and felt restless throughout the movie.

I heard about this STOKER film before. The buzz on the internet was going on. It is Korean director--Park Chan-wook's English-language debut in Hollywood. 

A lot of Koreans were talking and making it one of big headlines over the weeks.

So...there I was. seated at the back row of the dark room when the stories began.

Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode, Mia Wasikowska.....gave chilling performance that I more than often got on the edge of my seat and squirmed.......

I came without knowing at all what the movie was all about and..I came out....speechlessly dumbfounded in sheer trembling of what the movie was all about.

"TWISTED"

"DISTURBINGLY NAUSEA-TIC"

"HAUNTINGLY PERVERTED"

That's all I could say.

@ Mr. Pizza: A Dinner

Did you have fun, gals? Sure they did. 

They were so excited when we told them that we would dine out. Especially..as they found out that we would have pizza over dinner. Hmm...having pizza is actually a bit hard right here in Korea where most of the ingredients are meat that we cannot eat. So, the only safe choice we could have is (chuckles) always to make sure that we have either vegetarian pizzas or seafood pizzas. 

So, the other day (Monday night), we met our two students who happened to be also studying in Seoul. Diana (white jilbab): arrived a year ago to start her MA at Hanyang University. And Hesti (black jilbab): just graduated a week ago from Ehwa Womans University.

So, the occasion: was to welcome Diana and at the same time to congratulate Hesti on her graduation.

Once again: Eyra and Freya could not keep themselves quiet for a while. They kept on moving about the place: Oh, they loved seeing the cook make pizza live. Yes: one of the characteristics of Mr. Pizza is that customers have a chance to see the pizzas being made right in front of their eyes.  

Now it's a picture where my wife's in it^^. See all the girls are clad in jilbab. And I was the only man in the group. One man with three women in jilbab and two kids:)^^ I wonder if there were other customers who might have misunderstood the situation like: 

"Wow, that man has three women!!!!^^^ hahahahahahahahahaha

Of course...I was just making fun of myself.

But, with more and more Moslems students coming to Korea or Seoul in particular, I am hoping that more and more people are more accustomed and welcome to seeing women in jilbab. 

After all, Korea is transforming itself into a multicultural society. 

And we are a part of Korean society at the moment. 

Oh..ah..about the pizza: We loved it. We love Mr. Pizza.!!!!