CGV Junggye (중계점) Grand Open Fiesta

I saw two special buses parked outside CGV theater at 중계. I guess...the mouth-to-mouth marketing and the internet sensation that Junggye CGV theater has been making for the past week are deemed incomplete without these buses^-^ 

What's not to like? The Grand Opening of this theater (as I wrote in my other entries) teased the movie lovers to have the too-good-to-be-true offer: all movies for only 3,000 Won and that's roughly 2.5 US$ each. What a treat. Even I won't be able to see movie (let alone the 3D ones) in upscale cinema Indonesia. (except in small cities I guess). So...this is a madly insane marketing of the CGV. 

I am happy to be the member of CGV.^^ 

See the buses? They are just parked right outside the Homeplus Mall where CGV occupies the whole 8th floor.

A new Headset with Microphooe

Got back from Tesco's Homeplus at Shinseoldong. Just to get myself warm inside the buiding...^^ in the midst of chilling winter...going inside a mall is a bliss.^^But..the consequences of such an activity is....at times...an impulsive shopping. 

Out of the blue and nowhere...I was just strolling on the electronics section when my eyes caught some interesting thing that I'd want to buy. 

Of course I would not have bought it, had it not been so cheap...

it cost just a mere 3,900 Won or US$ 3.9. Hahahahaa..what a bargain.

And..I am using it for Skype-ing..^^

Thanks you HomePlus..Tesco

Night Shopping

It was meant to be a usual night-out for dinner--nothing else.
What was supposed to be a dinner-then-go-straight-home occasion turned into a prolonged night of shopping. Not to our nearby E-Mart--where we mostly go.....BUT to a 20-minute-ride-by-metro shopping center called HOME PLUS at Yongdo station.

On the way back home...

It was supposed to be me and Wawan having dinner.
Then....Ilya, my friend from Kazakhstan, reminded me as to whether I wanted to go to E-mart for daily shopping.
As I had also a plan of going out for buying some stuffs, I asked him out to go to Homeplus, instead. Afterall, I've been meaning to ask Wawan to go there as I had promised him some weeks ago. ^^
So, here we were.
Three of us were walking down to the Metro station when someone we knew showed up walking towards us. It was Elmira.

Since she was actually not in the mood of going back to the dorm--well, she kinda like to stay out for some more shopping....as I learned, so...she decided to join us.
---off we went to Home Plus....thinking that it was like weekend. Well, in fact...we ARE in the midst of holiday.

After 20 minute ride from our campus, we got there at about 8 pm. Since the store opens 24 hours, it did not matter what time we got there as it'd be open as usual.
We started our shopping journey from the food and fresh market section where we encountered lots of discounted foodstuffs. We bought some potato crisps and other stuffs.
Then..we went to fashion and toys section where we spent most of our time. We were like zoomed into the labyrinth of endless temptations since Winter fashion was on sale. Wawan, Ilya, and Elmira were undoubtedly tempted to buy some for themselves. As for me, I bought some gloves for my daughters.
let's highlight what we bought: Emmi could not decide which one to choose to buy, as to whether the red sweater or the blue one. She ended up buying BOTH:) *chuckles*

on our way back home. hwajangsil? ^^ (it's a toilet)

Ilya bought this dog-shaped pencil-case where he put his three little mice that he bought into it. So, instead of mice eating cat, he made a funny rendition of mice eating dog:)
As for Wawan, he could not decide as to what kind of sweater to buy--just like what Emmi was experiencing. But, he bought one in the end-the better one.

Then....we went to the 2nd floor where electronic section was. We checked out the prices of rice cooker, camera, television set, toaster, mixer, and others that we might need to buy later on.
The time flew so fast that we had to rush home since it was already 11 pm.
As a token of our memories of doing some midnight shopping, we took some pictures as posted on this entry.

인연 (Inyeon)

인연....(inyeon). Hmmm it is a bit hard to translate this word (term) into English. Well, Korean has specific way of addressing a relationship among people especially when this particular relationship last long or even when we do not want it....this still exists or linger through our lives. Some say that it is literally means 'the string of human'; the knot of people';  or some say it is 'destiny of people to people's relationship', or simply a 'fate'.
For what it's worth...
I just bumped into Prof. Lee Kang Seok, a professor from Hanseo University, who happened to be always visiting my university (Gadjah Mada University) in Jogjakarta twice a year. He always come with his students to carry out the saemaul undong project in one of the village in Jogjakarta. I met him in Jogja...and what's more interesting about our meeting in Seoul was ....that we just met in Seoul. And...what's more intriguing than that is the fact...that we met in HUFS....not in Hanseo. I've never expected to see him at Hanseo University myself....let alone meeting him in HUFS. But....fate just interfered this seemingly improbable thing.
I bumped into him when he was stepping out of the graduate school where I was studying.
I did not know that he had a class every Friday there.
He did not expect it, either.

We met and had a coffee at Dunkin for about 30 minutes.....only. Since he got to catch the train to Ilsan...which is a bit far from Seoul. Well, one thing for sure...I would definitely contact him again, after all, he teaches at my current university at the moment.
I also just learned that our university has this Aviation department. It was set up two years ago in collaboration with Hanseo University. Oh, I see now as to why he is teaching here.:)
What a small world!
I bet my fellow students who knows Prof. Lee would expect to see him again simply because ...he is such a down-to-earth, caring, and understanding professor: a simple reason as to why lots of students love him.
Good to see him in Seoul.

Moisture to nourish.....what is it...do I need this?

It's Autumn. So cold. terribly cold especially for a tropical guy like me. Being 'flown away' to the land of the morning calm (I hear say)....is like experiencing the cycle of life (read: four seasons). Well, it is not 'LIKE' then..I AM experiencing.
Back to Autumn...
my friends (who happen to be Koreans) told me that the first few days of October is too cold for them, too. ...My oh My....what about me? yes, as I jotted down earlier...I am fffhhhheeeeeelliiinnngg zzzzooo ccoocoodlddldldldldddd......
and...what irritates me is:
first thing first....my head is the first one to suffer....since I have no hair. :) it is like the icy (no ice, actually) prickles of the cold autumn wind (especially at night) sticks and penetrates deep into my scalp or beneath it.......gasp!
second....my skin starts to cracking up. It becomes so dry easily...that I feel the pain and irritatingly.... prickly.... dry....skin on most of my body. It's been like a few days since I first noticed the symptom:) (I think it is too weird to use the word 'symptom' to describe it). Anyway...still...it kinda make me want to scratch my skin every time I feel the prickles in my skin.
so....I learned that I got no other choice but to buy moisturizer for my skin.
so....I ended up buying this Vaseline . I might as well learn and practice my Korean, then.
1870년부터 세계인의 피부를 지켜온 피부 전분가, 바세린.
'Vaseline, the expert on skin care for the world's* skin since 1870' (*actually it should be literally translated into 'for the skin of the people of the world:)

I bought it at Lotte 999 Store. Well, it cost me 10,999 Won!!!
Two for the price of one. 

바세린 토탈 모이스처 나리싱 로션 or it reads like this...(baselin total moiseucho narasing losyeon)^^. hmmm interesting, isn't it? It is actually English, only it is written in 한글 'Hangeul'
so..it translates into...Vaseline total moisture nourishing lotion
This thing would give me this:
피부를 촉촉하게 해 줄 뿐 아니라 보호
Not only moisturize, but also protect the skin
빠른 흡수와 끈적임 없는 사용감으로 사계절 내내 이용 적합
literally translates into' fast absorption and non sticky in usage four seasons inside usage suitability'
well...what it means is that it is fast absorbed and non sticky (lotion) suitable throughout the year
24시간 지속되는 보습효과
literally means '24 hours of continuous additional efficacy'
I think it means it works for 24-hour
.................
I just put some on my skin....and it smells (well) like any other moisturizer....and more importantly...I do not feel the prickly heats on my moisturized skin....:)

Roti Boy in Seoul

The first Roti Boy I had in Korea:)

Just got back from having dinner with Seonhee and Hannah, two of my close friends we met in Jogjakarta a couple of years ago.
Having acknowledged that we cannot eat pork or any meat, they invited us to have dinner at all-fish restaurant near campus. It turned out to be quite a nice and clean place where I can eat beoseot suntubu (버섯순두부) while Wawan had his 구이참치, well I did not know what that was, but all I knew was that it was fish. ^.^
The price was the same as that in other places, around 4,000 Won.

But, the thing that made us want to come back to this restaurant again was the fact that the rice was cooked/steamed with other ingredients like peanut-like vegetables..so that the rice was differently nice and delicious.
For sure, we want to go there again.
Then, we had a coffee afterward at Roti Boy.
Yes, this Roti Boy sells Coffee as a set menu.
We bought a set menu consisting of one cup of Americano coffee and one bun of Roti Boy (3,300 Won).
Since we really miss Roti Boy we used to have back home.....having this Roti Boy right in front of our campus was a treat in itself.
For sure, it will be helpful should we miss home:) ^.^ Especially since it is a bit different from what I had back home, this Roti Boy bakeshoppe sells coffee and ice cream!

Living Center at KT Training Center in Daejeon

We stayed at KT (Korea Telecom) Training and Development Center's dormitory. Interestingly, the dorms are called 리빙 센터 (living center). I stayed at A building where some of our friends stayed at B section.

After the show, we did not go to the room to sleep, instead, most of us went out and had fun outside the complex. So did I. After performing night prayer, my friends (Elmira, wawan, and Rois--the new friend from Indonesia) joined me to take a night stroll along the neighborhood to check how life was in Daejon. Well, it was not a perfect timing since most stores were already closed. So, we did nothing but to walk along the way to somewhat downtown while talking about stuffs.
We bumped into other groups of friends from other countries doing the same thing (strolling along the block) at that very chilly and windy night.
Since we could not use the internet in the dorm, we went into a PC Bang or internet cafe to check our Facebook and email. After asking how much the cost for 1 hour use of internet, we were surprised to find out that it was just a mere 600 Won. Wow, it was so cheap that 3 of us secured three comfy and cozy seats to do some surfing. As for Elmira, she was just waiting for us. To our surprise.....free coffee were served!!!! wow, what a service. Indeed, we were happy to know it. In fact, I had a passing thought of staying there overnight...but that would be preposterous.
------
Then, off we went home, went to bed to take a rest.
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In the morning, we had to wake up early since we were going to have a field trip to Daejon Expo Park--once a site of the famous Daejon 1993 World Expo Park.
These are the pictures of the room where we stayed, the atmosphere around the dormitory from the 4th floor where I was. A fly-over flying over the complex wa also visible. Then, I also took a snap of the front facade of the A dormitory building.
Some notes on the room: more spacious than what I have here in HUFS, but no internet access. Maybe it does, it just that we were just having one-night stay, they must've unplugged the internet access. hmm I don't  know.The room is so spacious that we could breathe easily and effortlessly.

Talent Show at NIIED Orientation

The talent show did steal the crowd's attention. Lots of performers from different countries representing their current universities managed to make the best program ever. Two Indonesian students, Ivan from Pusan National University and Gemilang from Yonsei University, contributed their talents to the crowd. Ivan played an acoustic version of 2002's World Cup's theme song. His friend from India accompanied him in singing.  On the other hand, Gemilang did an excellent job of dancing a Western Javanese Jaipong dance mixed with that of Balinese dance. It was so mesmerizing. I myself could not believe what I saw since she danced beautifully. I bet lots of people were bedazzled.

Two singers from Yonsei performed their best in singing a Korean song titled 난 사랑할 수 밖에 몰라 'I know nothing but to love you', then four Myanmar girls dressed in their traditional costumes sang a Korean song. I also witnessed a at-first-it-was-kind-of-weird show from our friend Uganda, but it turned out to be one of the best show ever! I think most of us would never expect to have a kind of lecture or presentation about Uganda on power point presentation....especially during the Talent Show like that. But, it turned out to be quite an interesting twist of the night. We became aware of how little we know about other country's real condition. Bravo and Salute to the Ugandan team; especially after they closed their presentation with an energetic, electrifying rendition of kinda African-American music that did steal the show. The guys were so hilarious in showing off their booty dance. It looked like a poco-poco (Indonesian folk dance) at first, but it was somewhat different.
Indeed, that was a night to remember.

Orientation for 2011 KGSP Scholarship Student (part 2)

After a while, we finally arrived at KT Human Resources Development Center. One striking feature of the place was that it looked so much like a college, a campus, a training center, or like any other huge looking educational facilities. But, they did not entice me more than the flyover flying over the venue!
Yes, there was literally a highway dissecting the venue right in the middle of the area.
It is so visibly long that we had to go underneath it whenever we went to the auditorium or the cafetaria from our dormitory--which lied about 1 km away by walk. It was indeed an exercise in itself.

As soon as we got off the bus, we were ushered into the dormitory where most of the participants already came and have their names registered which in turn they would receive a T-shirt and a bag of orientation book, ballpoint, a calendar, and a signature towel.
Since we were like late in registering, we did not have enough time to receive the whole package, instead we just had our name tag ready in order to participate in the opening ceremony that would start in 5 minutes; the thing was that...it took us 10 minutes from the dorm to the auditorium.
When we arrived there, a video elaborating about Korea and its related information was being displayed.
No sooner than we arrived, the opening ceremony was begun by introduction of the whole 2-day session and the introduction of each GKS scholarship staff.

       

After a short and heartwarming welcoming speech from Mr. Chung Nam Jo ( the chair ), we had a chance to see the dazzlingly performed Korean percussion and other traditional Korean musical instruments. More important than that was the fact that the performers were all elementary school students!

It was a great time to be able to chance and see it for myself. 

Chihuahua at www.webkinz.com

A collection of dolls got me stand in front of it for a couple of minutes. It said that we can make or adopt an online pet if we buy this particular doll since it has a special membership number that people can use to sign up on the net.
I would not have bought it, had it not been so cheap: Only 3,800 Won for a doll this cute.
So, without further long ado, I took one and stuffed it into my shopping cart.


There were many selections of dolls to choose from: Bulldong, Chihuahua, Poodle, even a tiger or something like that.
But, since my daughter, Eyra, loves chihuahua so much, I snapped one of them.

It turned out just like those online pets that people take care of on daily basis through their computer.
It is that kind of stuff.
Then, Upon arrving home, I kept the secret code intact until I opened and then registered the number online on the website. It is good to know that there are these kinds off online stuff stuffed inside a doggy ball:)



I called it 'bimbim' and it is a female: that's how my daughter described it via Yahoo Messenger when we had the talk over the doll I bought for her.
I guess, they cannot wait to see it live in Korea this November, 2011.

Winter Clothes

Noooo..that really Winter clothes. But, I guess since they are thick enough, I can use or prolong its usage into the beginning of Winter this year. After a stroll along most of alleys in the basement, I was intrigued to come to a corner specializing in discounted clothes.
Indeed I found three: two for my daughters, while one for me and for my wife.
Most of them used to be around 60,000 Won each or more expensive than that. But, since they are out of date, they sold it for only 15,000 or even 10,000 Won each.
So, this was pretty much what happened when you did not know what to expect, Thus, by the time the shopping spree came....I  was just completely lost. I kept wandering each section to find the cheapest one. But, this corner did indeed sell inexpensive, yet good-quality jackets for my kids.

--
However, it would not have been complete without me buying the stuff for my won and own.

So, here I am.
I just bought two jackets for Eyra and Freya, then I also bought two jackets/sweater for me.
It was cold but still acceptably OK for us.
Off we went to other districts (floor) inside this humongous shopping complex.

The red jacket one is for Eyra, the grey one is for Mama, the dark blue one is for Freya, and then the black one with red and white stripe is for me. It cost me....well.....OK compared to other places.

Bought the Green One Piece for Freya

The green crocodile drawing on the t-shirt caught my attention at the children outfit section. It was actually the price that attracted me in the first place. It cost only 7,900 for a pair of trousers and a long-sleeved  t-shirt. The green crocodile said, " I'm True About My Dad"

Way to go.
First, I did not quite look into what it says on the t-shirt, it was just that I felt like something got to be done right.
On second thought, I may not find the same pair of t shirt and jeans with the same value as I got today. I think it was relatively cheap, though. So, I forced myself to think the other way around.
It was cheap and in good quality. Enough said: I bought them.

Home Plus: Food Stuffs to Bargain For

생활에 플러스가 됩니다 'We Become the Plus to Life'  or better yet...'we become the added value to your life' I think that is the meaning of Home Plus Slogan.
Yes, finally I went to Home Plus Korea.
After hearing so much buzz about this so-called Korea's used to be Tesco, I finally set my foot there.
For the past three weeks after my arrival in Seoul, E-Mart has been the so-called shopping destination for us, me as well. Well, it is relatively close from campus to walk there. As simple as that. And I think the prices are relatively cheap.
But then...I went to this Home PLus...after even my teacher mentioned that she preferred this latter department store.
I browsed on the net that it is still number two in terms of the number of stores in Korea, but it is keeping its pace with its first rival: E-Mart.
So, I stumbled upon the advertisement on how it cut lots of prices for last year's stocks. And..I went up there to check it out.
The thing was...I was thinking of buying Autumn or Winter clothes for my kids who are going to Korea this coming November. So, I got to buy some clothes for them.
I found out that the Store is organizing 50% off for their out-dated stocks. Well, as for me, it won't matter as long as they are in good condition.
Off I went to the nearest Home Plus store at Yongdo station, about 8 km away from where I live. Of course, I took the Metro to get there since from what I learned, this particular subway station has connecting door directly to the basement of the Store. Way to go.
----
It was about 3 pm and it was a bit cold, but then....I dared myself not to wear any thick clothes..but I did bring one though.
---
Upon getting off at the station I found this comparatively huge store.
It is good to know that it exists near (not that near) my campus.
----
I check out the first and the basement ...only to my amazement and awe....since I found lots and lots of cheap stuffs (well...cheap compared to other places in Korea, of course). I would never...never...never compare the prices with those of my country's.....since it will be still considered as EXPENSIVE!!! :)
So, with the Won in my pocket, I was skimming and scanning the whole floors from the basement to the 3rd floor where electronic stuffs are displayed.
---
After about 1 hour of sight-seeing, I could talk myself out...that it was okey to start shopping.
The first thing that came across my mind was how varied and inexpensive the vegetables and the food items being sold here. So, I bought two huge bottle of grape juice for only 2,600 Won. So it cost me like 1,300 Won each for the juice. What a bargain.
Then, I stumbled across the huge pile of snacks imaginable. It cost only 2,000 Won for any three kinds of snacks. As I thought that no other more intriguing stuffs going on, I came across the huge piles of choco pie that I love the most. Better yet.....it was only 960 Won each box that contains 12 pies. So, without further ado, I took two boxes.
Then...the temptation did not stop there....
I took a sweet curry with banana and corn syrup in it. It'll be delicious. Well, I haven't tried it, yet...then..of course. It was a bit like a compulsive shopping.
Indeed it was.
Then....I also took a kimchi as the appetizer to my meal, took Ottogi's mayonnaise that I like so much. I just found out that this particular thing cost only 1,900 Won, whereas I got to pay for as much as 2,400 Won at E-Mart. Hmm...it is a good bargain eh?
Let's see what I also bought in the food hall.

oh yeah...tofu. Yes, tofu is the closest thing to tempe that I miss so much.
It cost me about 15,000 Won to buy all of these stuffs.
Oh no...Oh yes....it was worth-it.
I need those stuffs since I like munching any snacks at night. LOL:)