Korean Poopy Papers

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Somebody please, please explain this to us! We've noticed that all of the toilets in our schools and other public places have wastebaskets beside them. For some reason, these wastebaskets often have used toilet paper in them. We asked people about it, and this is the best explanation we've been given so far: the Korean sewage system is different than the sewage system we're used to in North America. It can't handle toilet paper, for some reason. And so, to prevent the toilets from deeply clogging, it's best to leave our poopy papers in the wastebasket. This is the main reason why so much Korean toilet paper is scented, to mask the scent that can't be flushed away. Is this really it? This was the explanation that was offered to us from a Korean coworker, but it doesn't really make sense to us. The toilet can handle big logs of poop, but not the paper itself? Surely there must be another reason. Anyone? Someone?

Anyhow, since we're in the business of being informative on all things Korean, this also has to be said about Korean Toilets: good luck finding toilet paper beside them. Every toilet in my (Simon's) school is paperless, and the same could be said about just about every other public toilet we've visited in Bucheon. It's quite annoying. I had to bring in my own roll. I left it in the mens washroom. It was stolen after a couple of days. I brought in another roll and it was stolen again. This could be the main reason why you'll never find toilet paper laying around: there are very efficient toilet paper thieves who make regular rounds. Your best bet - and supposedly common practice here in Korea - is to have pocket packets of toilet paper, sold in all convenience and grocery stores near you. Anyhow, click on the picture above to see our video documentary, or click here for our video on Korean Toilet Paper. See what we're talking about on YouTube if you'd prefer it that way.

Korean Middle School Halloween Bingo

Hopefully this isn't too late for those that need it. It's Halloween on Friday, so here's a lesson plan for you Korean Middle School teachers. Here are 20 different bingo cards, each with Halloween terms on them. The Powerpoint attached pops up these terms, but it's significantly nicer on a Mac if you have one: every card leads into the next by spinning all of the options on the screen, in a Wheel of Fortune kind of way, but without the wheel. This effect just isn't possible on a PC (re: get a Mac). If you have time left over there's a small wordsearch to calm everyone down (they're begging for more after the bingo). If you'd like to download this for yourself, you can do so at our ESL Resources page, or you can get them here, in either Mac format or PC format.

On the Korean Subways

We really like the movie "Lost in Translation." Any foreigner in Korea will easily be able to relate to it (or at least parts of it), and it's got an absolutely killer soundtrack as well. We strongly recommend watching it if you haven't already. Anyhow, the whole point of this Lost in Translation plug is that we keep on wanting to make artsy fartsy movies over its soundtrack. We have our first installment today. We were on Line 2 of the subway the other day, (the same subways from the Spudgy's Car Accident post, in which we show you how Awesome the Subways are here in Korea) and we started shooting the scenery outside. We cut the footage up, shifted it around, and slapped on Brian Reitzell's "On the Subway" from the Lost in Translation soundtrack. It's nothing special, but at least you'll get to see a bit more of Korea. Click on the picture above for the video, or click here for our View of Korea Through Subway Windows video. YouTubers can get this view here.

Our Bucheon Movies Blooper Reel

Hopefully, by now we seem like pros at this whole documenting of Bucheon and Korea thing. Our filming is top notch, our editing is impeccable, and our acting is - well - unbelievable...right? Right? Anyhow, people might be surprised to hear this, but when we make our movies we sometimes make mistakes. I know, I know: shocking news. Luckily for you, we've captured a lot of these embarrassing mistakes and moments on film. We didn't have the heart to delete them, so we've complied them into a good old fashion blooper reel. We hope you get a good laugh out of them, since nothing is better than laughing at other people's awkward mistakes, right? Click on the picture above to see the movie, or click here for our Bucheon Blooper Reel. YouTubers can laugh at us here.

ESL Resources for Public School Teachers

After many hours of difficult work, the ESL Resources section is finally up and ready to go. We have compiled our lesson plans and materials, so that you could use them yourselves. We painfully discovered that finding resources online can be very difficult, as we have to sort through a lot of material before we find something useful for our specific classes. What we have here as a result is much of the materials we have used in teaching our classes, from the Powerpoints to the Handouts to the YouTube clips. The public board is supposed to be teaching a uniform curriculum, as all of the textbooks should be teaching the same content in the same week. And so - all of you current or potential GEPIK teachers - the week that you're teaching Comparative Adjectives to your second graders or Emotions and Gestures to your first graders, you should surely find something here of use to you.

The materials are free to download, in both Mac and PC versions. Only the Public Middle School section is up right now, but Martina's High School section should be up soon as well. Some materials from our Extra Classes are up as well, which are not as strictly textbook-based as the other materials. These lessons can be used in classes of 2-20, and can be used for any level. Let us know if these materials are of any use to you, or Contact Us if there's anything you need us to clarify. Finally, if these are useful at all to you, don't be shy to spread the word through the following links:

How to Drink in Korea in Seven Easy Steps

We understand that this might be a sensitive post. Let us begin by saying that not everyone in Korea is a drunkard. What we want to talk about is the differences in the drinking culture here in Korea compared to what we're used to in Canada. Not everybody drinks excessively here in Korea the same way not everyone in Canada drinks excessively. But, when you do go out for drinking here, be prepared for a different mentality, approach, and game plan. Follow these steps and you should blend right in.

1) Don't Decline the First Round - Even if you're not a drinker, you should accept the first glass poured for you. If you decline, you'll ruin the drinking mood. Afterwards, you're safe, and can back out. Cite religious or health reasons if you must, but - be warned - drinking is an important part of Korean socializing, and if you refuse then you won't be considered sociable. This is high-school peer pressure to a whole new level. So, when you finally cave, and give in to drinking with others, watch out for the next step

2) Watch Your Hands - Never pour your own drink, for starters, and never let anyone pour their own drinks. Afterwards, when someone older than you offers you a drink, hold the glass with two hands. When you pour a drink for someone older than you, hold the bottle with two hands. It sounds odd, but you'll get used to it. In fact, we recently met up with a friend here in Korea, and he was fully confused to see us holding our glasses when he poured out beer. Finally, refill someone's glass if you see that it's empty as well.

3) Don't Stop Drinking - The big difference between Korean and Western drinking is how we handle our limits. See, the way I've been raised is to respect my limits; if we get to the point that we're drunk then it's time to stop, drink some water, and sober up. Mission accomplished! The Korean attitude is different here. Getting drunk is only half the battle. Once you are drunk, the real challenge is in how much more you can drink before you drop. And when you drop it is only a timeout for you; get back on your feet and drink some more.

4) Encourage Others - It is perfectly acceptable, and even encouraged, to drink beyond your limits here in Korea, as your friends will goad you on. We're used to saying "Chug Chug Chug!" back home; here, you'll often hear "One shot! One shot!" which - obviously - suggests that you should drink it all down in just one shot (but it's beyond me why this is in English and not Korean). As well, instead of the "cheers" we're used to saying, get prepared to say "Kon-Bay!" before you clink your glasses.

5) Drink in Public - There are no laws against public consumption of alcohol or against public drunkenness. Drunk and Disorderly conduct - though not appreciated - is common. After all, the restaurants people eat and drink in are too small to house all of their customers, so many people eat and drink outside. In fact, quite often we'll see people drinking outside of convenience stores, as rickety plastic tables and chairs have been set out for people to sit and drink at.

6) Drink Any Day You Want - What surprises us the most about drinking here is that it is done every day of the week, and isn't necessarily strongest during the weekends. When we walk around Bucheon on Wednesday nights we see people in business suits shouting Kon-Bay and slamming down shots of Soju, then staggering home just as they would on the weekend.

7) Have a Meal With that Drink - While we're used to thinking in terms of having a drink with our meal, here in Korea the mentality is often to have a meal with that drink: the alcohol is the main course while small shared appetizers compliment the drink. Small fruit salads or crackers and chips will go nicely with that Soju.

This post was inspired by this movie here. We were walking around Bucheon on Friday night and saw two men violently hugging each other. We watched them for a bit and realized they were drunk. Then we realized that this had to be captured on film. You'll see just how drunk people can get in public here in Korea. You should also know that, after we stopped filming, all four people walked right back into the bar for what we assume will be more alcohol. The worst part about it all is that we've seen this time and time again. Drinking is a big part of Korean Culture, and - as a result - so has become drunkenness. Click on the picture above for the movie, or click here to see Korean Drunkenness at Its Finest. YouTubers can see the drunkness here.

Rare Spudgy Bees in Bucheon

We haven't posted anything about Spudgy lately, as most of our posts have been about Korea and Bucheon and have been somewhat informative. Today we're going to snap out of that pattern. A while ago our brother-in-law Mark made a really pretty video about bees and sent it to Vimeo.com. He composed his own music for it as well (he's a music composer after all), and altogether the video has inspired us. We decided to make a similar video. We captured a very rare bee on film, the Spudgy Bee, which is native to Bucheon and Bucheon alone. We shot it at 60 fps and then slowed it down, and slapped on Mark's music. Here, for the first time on film, will you be able to see it for yourself! Click on the picture above for our video on Bucheon's own Spudgy Bee, or go over to YouTube and watch it there yourself.

Bucheon's Best Chicken: Chicky Pub

When we started out our Restaurant Reviews section, we knew that we would soon be doing a review of Bucheon's Chicky Pub. We love this place, love the Chicken and the fries and the yakee, and we think that everyone should be eating here everyday. There are two locations that we know of for Chicky Pubs in Bucheon, but we're only talking about the one close to the Emart, and not the one close to GS Square; we haven't been to the other one yet.

We really like this restaurant. It's small and cozy for starters, and the owner is really nice. He has a Canadian flag hanging under the clock, because he has family in Toronto. His English is good as well, so if you're uncomfortable speaking Korean, this is where you can safely order chicken in Bucheon without being embarrassed. Finally, he's nice enough to always put on some English television for us! We haven't seen the cooking channel in a long time, and never thought we'd see it again for as long as we were in Bucheon, so we were really happy when he put Jamie Oliver on for us.

Anyhow, here's our final review:

1. Taste 5/5 - The best thing about this chicken is that it's fried AND covered in sauce. It retains its crunchiness and sauciness all at once. And the sauce is great; it's also covering the yakee (Korean Dumplings) and tastes just as delicious.
2. Side Dishes: Inapplicable - Chicken places don't usually offer side dishes, apart from small snacks. We get great popcorn, but that doesn't really fairly compare to the many side dishes you get with traditional Korean Cuisine.
3. Bang for your Buck 4/5 - It's not cheap. Fries and Chicken will set you back 20,000 won, but it's worth every last won, because it's so delicious. The price is comparable to all other chicken places as well, but we wouldn't pay half the price we pay here for some of the chicken we've had elsewhere.

Altogether, we give this place a 4.5/5. If you're in Bucheon we strongly recommend you go here; you won't regret it. Click the picture above to see our video review of Bucheon's Chicky Pub. You'll see what the place looks like, where its situated in Bucheon, and you'll get a good look at the food as well. YouTubers can see the video review here.

Bucheon's Jung Ang Park Revisited

A long time ago we posted a video of us riding our bikes through Bucheon's Jung Ang Park. As well, we showed you a time lapse of the sun and clouds over the park, as well as a concert in the park, but we never actually gave a proper tour of the park. And so, we decided to put together a cheap, National Geographic knock off video of things you can find in the park, (and many other Central parks in Korea), from indigenous birds to foreign photographers, stampeding students and odd mating rituals. You'll get a better look at the park from the inside, though we can easily say that there's still a lot of the park that we've missed out on. Stay tuned for more videos on Jung-Ang Park in the future. For now, click on the picture above for the video, or click here our edition of Inter-National Geographic in Bucheon's Jung-Ang Park. Check it out on YouTube if you'd prefer that instead.

Korean Products

In North America, you have your common big-name products: Pepsi, Oreo, Tide, Heinz, Dentyne etc. In Korea, we've got different name brands; and so we made a short video for you to familiarize yourselves with these products. If you don' t know about Xylitol, Dr. You, and Chilsung, then it's about time you learned. We made a short video (with our new camera! woohoo!) to highlight some of these products, so that you could get an idea of what we're used to. Click on the picture above for the video, or click here to see our Korean Advertising video. If you'd rather see the video in low quality, watch it at YouTube. Thanks to Wayne's World for the inspiration.

Korean Toy Coin Machines

What can be better after a hard day of grocery shopping then buying more stuff? Look what we found at Bucheon's Emart: for a mere 1000 won (you have to use your 500 won coin x2)
These machines have it all! Just to name a few:
-Hello Kitty
-Winnie the Pooh
-Thomas the Tank Engine
-Cats, Cats, Cats
-Cars
-And so on...

Let's not ruin the video's surprise...click on the picture to see what else it has, or just click here to see our Grocery Store Toy Coin Machines in Korea video. For a less ridiculous title, view the video at YouTube here.

Korean Costco via Bucheon

We were really excited before coming to Bucheon, Korea when we found out that Korea has many Costcos. We finally decided to go to one, and documented the whole thing. Here are a few things you need to know beforehand:

1) The easiest location to go to from Bucheon is the Yangpyung location. You can take Line 1 of the subway to Sindorim, and then transfer to Line 2 and get off at Youngdeungpogu Office station. From Bucheon, you can take the 2300 red bus to the same station. Catch it right in front of the Hyundai Department Store. From Youngdeungpogu Station, the Costco is close. We asked someone for directions and they pointed our way. Here's the map for more detail.

2) Supposedly, this location isn't as good as others, according to our friend Sue, who is our leading authority on all things Korean (she's Korean, by the way). Simon was disappointed because the electronics section was really skimpy. For food, though, this will be more than enough

3) Come to Costco hungry and skip the samples. What you want is the food court. Yes, the food court. It had the most delicious pizza we have ever tasted in Korea. Buy a hulking huge one for 12,000 won and thank us for the advice afterwards.

4) Costco will fill you in on many of your Western Food Needs. It had great bacon, cereal, cheese, and gummy bears, just to name a few awesome things.

5) Be warned! If you have missed out on the comforts of your home for a long time then you might go overboard like we did. Our final bill set us back 270,000 won, and we know there was lots of stuff we could have gone without.

6) Costco is Cash Only: Memberships will cost you 35,000 won, and you will need to bring your Alien Registration Card with you. There are cash machines in the store, so don't worry if you didn't bring enough. Just make sure to go soon after you get paid so that you could have more room to play.

Altogether, we really enjoyed the experience, and plan on going there from now on. We made a video of our Costco experience, so click on the picture above or click here for our Korean Costco Experience (YouTubers, here's some Korean Costco for you). Also, you'll notice our friend Chris in the video; if you remember him from his introduction months ago, then you'll be happy to see that he has moved on from Korean chicken to something else.

Bucheon's Dubu House Restaurant

The first video we ever posted for this site was of our first meal in Bucheon, Korea. It was at the Dubu House, which is right beside our place, and so we now find it only fitting to give the restaurant a proper review. We loved it back then, but what do we think of it now that we're a little more seasoned in Korea? Is it still as good, or were we newbies who didn't know any better? Today comes our second installment of "맛있은-Delicious", Eatyourkimchi.com's Restaurant Reviews, featuring Bucheon's Dubu House Restaurant!

Right off the bat we can say that we still love this place; Dubu House is an excellent, excellent restaurant in Bucheon if you want to have some cheap and delicious Soon Dooboo Jigae (Soft Tofu Stew). They offer many different varieties of 순두부 (which translates phonetically to "soon doo boo") soup, most of which are really delicious.

Our favorite is the cheese soon dubu, though the dumpling soon dubu is really delicious as well. If your Korean isn't up to snuff, you're in luck as well, because every kind of soon dubu is translated for you into English. We can't attest for all of the varieties here, since we've only had around half or so. Some of the flavors are a little scary, like the "Small Intestines of Cattle Soondubu." Click on the picture here to see the full menu and all of the different varieties of soon du bu.

Anyhow, here's our final review of Bucheon's Dubu House.

1. Taste 4.5/5 - Every single soup that we have tried from here has been delicious. We would give this a perfect score, but we haven't been to enough restaurants yet to definitively say that this is the best.
2. Side Dishes 3/5 - You get a decent amount of side dishes, but none of them are really stellar. Kimchi, Seaweed, pickles - all are fine, but very common.
3. Bang for your Buck 5/5 - If you need to save some money, this is the place to eat. 6000 won will get you a great meal that you'll be lucky to have enough room to finish. Take the rest home for leftovers and you've got something that microwaves really, really well. Two meals for 6000 won? Now that's a great deal.

Check out our video review for more details. We place the restaurant in context via landmarks. It's really close to Don Day Restaurant, which we reviewed last week. As well, you'll get to see what the food and the restaurant look like. Click the picture above for the video, or click here for our video review of Bucheon's Dubu House Restaurant. YouTube users, here's your video.

How to Use Korean Washing Machines

This is for all the expats living in Korea and trying to operate their Korean washing machines. We translated the buttons and we explained how to operate our washing machine in this video. No more shrunken sweaters! No more accidental pink shirts! We also drop some important hints on how to have soft and manageable hair...I mean....clothing. Really, here in Korea, you have to use fabric softener. For our first month here in Bucheon we didn't use any, and our clothes and towels often had a funky smell to them, regardless of how much detergent we put in the machine. Fabric softener is the key. It's optional in Canada, but absolutely necessary here.

Check out the translations below or click the picture above to learn How To Use Korean Washing Machines. Click here for the YouTube version.

The main operations:
표준 NORMAL WASH
합성 We don't know what this means...help!
란제리 DELICATE
울 WOOL
손세탁 HAND WASH
헹굼 + 탈수 RINSE AND DRY

Self Timer:
배수 WATER SUPPLY (?)
예약 Make a RESERVATION (SLEEP TIMER)
예비세탁 SET TIMER
시간단축 REDUCE TIME and also STOP/ START

Extra cycles:
헹굼 RINSE
헹굼추가 ADD FABRIC SOFTENER AND RINSE
탈수안함 NO SPIN AND DRY
탈수 DRY
배수안함 NO WATER

Adjustments:
구김방 PREVENT WRINKLING
세탁온도 CHANGE TEMPERATURE OF THE WATER
배수안 함 WATER SUPPLY (we don't know what this means)
강 중 약 HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW

General Buttons:
동작/일시정지 PAUSE
버튼 잠김 PRESS DESIRED BUTTON
문 잠김 CLOSE LID
추기석택 ADDITIONAL SELECTION

Bucheon Aiins World Acrobats

To begin with, we have to make a quick apology to people who comment on our site: due to some spammers, we had to close off anonymous comment posting. We had to delete around 20 messages in one hour, so comments are only open to people with Google IDs now. Again, sorry.

Anyhow, on with this post: when we were walking through Aiins World in Bucheon we stumbled upon an acrobatics show. We were impressed by how strong the acrobats were, sure, but we were a little put off as well. First of all, within the span of fifteen minutes we saw three or four jokes where one acrobat would pretend to lose his step and get hit in the groin. What was more odd was how small child volunteers were used as props. Maybe it's our parental instincts hitting in, but we were pretty worried for them. As you'll see in this video, it looks like the girl was crying on stage. That kind of put us off the show, so we left soon afterwards. Check the video out and tell us what you think. Click the picture above for the video, or click here to see Bucheon's Aiins World Acrobats. Click here for the YouTube version.