Mission to China

On March 22, 2025 0 Comments - Commissions

Let’s Go!

Many years ago I was invited by the Oysterlicious Group to work in Shanghai, China.

I had never traveled to Asia before and my first question was: “WHY? Why would I want to leave my home? Why would I want to go half way around the world to a place that I knew nothing about?” I couldn’t even speak the language.

But, after some time, my thoughts changed to: “actually…WHY NOT? Here I am with an offer of a free flight, accommodation and a job in a place that I would probably never think to visit on my own. This is an opportunity, not a problem”.

So began an adventure that would open doors to an exciting future. I packed my bags and set off on a journey that would change my life forever, a journey that has still not come to an end.

The beauty of Shanghai

Before coming to work in China, it seemed like a mysterious place, an unknowable place, maybe an unwelcoming place. But, from the moment I stepped off the plane, I was greeted with kindness and hospitality. I witnessed the beauty of natural landscape blending with space age architecture, ancient culture alongside ultra modern technology. Everywhere I looked there was something new and exciting to experience. Sights, sounds, smells and tastes that were exotic and irresistible. I was hooked on day one.

Work and Play in Shanghai

I was tasked with training a crew of young Chinese cooks. An exclusive oyster bar and restaurant in Shanghai would be my new workplace. At first, I was anxious about teaching them, especially since we didn’t speak the same language. But, my worries were short lived. These men were dedicated and hard working. They were eager to learn anything I was willing to teach them. With the help of our smart phones and sign language, communication became easy. We taught each other food words in Chinese and English and soon language was no longer an issue.

Outside of the kitchen, I was able to share time with the cooks and Oysterlicious hosts, eating and exploring Shanghai. China is a country where social connections are the greatest currency and it is not difficult to make friends over a good meal.

My kitchen mates often took me out to eat and drink at their favourite local places. These were real Anthony Bourdain style food adventures, memories I still hold dear many years later.

As a foreign professional, I was also sought after to promote oyster culture in Chinese media. I was a minor celebrity overnight!

Travel time in China

Being a cook is hard work anywhere in the world and China is no exception. But, it wasn’t all sweating and grinding away. There were also opportunities to relax and travel. The beauty, mystery and cultural richness of China went beyond all my expectations. And the Chinese people I was lucky to meet always treated me with kindness and patience.

This fateful trip was the start of a long and deep relationship with Asian culture. I have traveled back to China may times to see the friends I made on this first journey and I have traveled to Japan and Korea as well. Without the initial offer and encouragement I received from the Oysterlicious Group, I would never have had the opportunity to enrich my life in such a profound way.

Why go to China?? The reasons are endless. Better to ask: “Why not?” And then pack your bags.

Check out the Oysterlicious Instagram for more information.

Quick and Easy Napa Cabbage Kimchi Recipe

On March 20, 2025 5 Comments - Cooking

It takes 2 hours to brine cabbage. There is no way around this. So, if you are wondering what quick kimchi is, I would say “2 hour kimchi”. If you salt the cabbage first thing, it will take around an hour to produce the kimchi paste and then an hour of waiting for your cabbage to finish brining before you mix everything together. Relative to all the other ways of making cabbage kimchi, this would be the fastest.

I first started making Napa cabbage kimchi in my professional restaurant kitchen, 12-16 heads of whole cabbage at a time. Determined to do everything by hand, I bought fresh garlic and peeled and minced every clove with a knife (2-3 hours just for this). Carrots, onions, radish, ginger: all cut by hand. My goal was to produce the most “hand-made” perfect kimchi I possibly could. Efficiency was not so important. Between shopping for all the ingredients, hauling them to the restaurant and finishing the kimchi, it took me the better part of 2 whole days. Of course, I had prep cooks to help with all the peeling and a dishwasher to clean up after me.

Did all this hand-work make any difference? I am not sure. At the time, as a non-Korean chef, I thought I had better try my hardest to make it as traditional as possible. But after reading lots of recipes and speaking with Korean cooks and friends that I knew, it seemed that most of their moms or grandmas were using food processors to make the process more efficient. Efficiency: this is a Korean tradition as well! The kimchi I make at home these days is just as delicious and makes less of a mess. Making cut kimchi instead of whole cabbage kimchi also makes the whole process a lot faster and saves me the trouble of cutting fermented kimchi every time I want to use it.

INGREDIENTS:

1 whole Napa cabbage (around 2kg)
80grams (around 1/2 cup) of Diamond Crystal kosher salt ***if you are using another kosher or sea salt, weigh out 80gr. DO NOT use fine table salt in this recipe.***
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup rice flour
1 tablespoon sugar or maesil plum syrup
1/2 cup peeled garlic cloves
1 tablespoon fresh ginger sliced
1 medium onion
1/2 korean pear peeled (you can substitute a regular pear or apple)
1/4 cup fish sauce
1 tablespoon salted shrimp
1 cup mild korean chilli flakes (gochugaru) ***start with much less if your chilli flakes are very spicy. Taste first and add more as you like once the paste is done.
6 green onions
1 cup carrot cut matchsticks
1 cup korean radish matchsticks
1 cup chopped buchu (asian chives) or watercress (minari)

PROCESS:

Nappa cabbage split in to quarters by hand — Quarter the cabbage and remove stems

Example of bite sized cabbage pieces for kimchi — Chop into bite-sized pieces

Shows how to wash cabbage — Rinse cabbage a few times to remove dust and dirt

demonstrates drying cabbage in sieve — Drain it…

shows salt measure for brining cabbage — In a large container or bowl, toss the cabbage with the salt

shows to use big enough vessel for head of cabbage — I don’t have a big enough bowl so I am using a stockpot for now. Once the cabbage wilts, it will shrink dramatically and I will move it into a bowl…stir the cabbage up by hand once every 30 minutes. The cabbage will take 2 hours to brine.

shows measures of raw ingredients for rice flour slurry — Rice flour and water. I am using Mochiko brand but any rice flour will work. These ingredients will combine to make a slurry (juk) that will help feed fermenting bacteria and also hold your ingredients together.

shows finished consistency of rice flour slurry — Whisk water and rice flour over medium heat until it becomes thick and translucent. Set it aside to cool down. Next step…measure out fish sauce and shrimp…

shows example of quality fish sauce — I am using Red Boat fish sauce. I like this one but almost any fish sauce will do…

shows example of Korean salted shrimp in jar — This is tiny salted shrimp from Korea. They add a strong savoury flavour. I keep this jar in the freezer. The shrimp are so salty that they do not freeze but the jar lasts forever.

shows what salted shrimp look like — They even have little eyes 👀

shows raw ingredients loaded in food processor for kimchi paste — In a food processor, combine salted shrimp, fish sauce, rough chopped onion, peeled garlic cloves, and asian pear and sliced ginger

shows consistency of finished kimchi paste — Process into a puree and stir it into the cooled rice flour slurry (juk)

demonstrates adding of chilli flakes to kimchi paste — Use the best chilli flakes you can find. I recommend buying Korean grown and processed gochugaru. It is about 3 times as expensive as the cheap stuff but it tends to be more fruity and less sharp and spicy. How much you put in is up to you. The amount can be adjusted depending on how spicy you want it.

shows addition of syrup to sweeten kimchi paste — Stir in sugar or syrup. I am using plum syrup (maesil cheong). You can buy maesil syrup already made at any Korean grocer if you want to try it. If not, white or brown sugar work just fine.

shows what green onion and buchu look like — Chop buchu and green onions into 1cm pieces

shows Benriner mandolin for making vegetable matchsticks for kimchi — I use this Benriner slicer for the carrot and radish

shows size of cut carrots and radish — It makes quick work of a perfect matchstick

shows all ingredients prior to mixing into kimchi paste — Mix veggies into the puree

shows finished kimchi sauce — This is the finished sauce. It has an intensely savoury and meaty smell. It always reminds me of a Bolognese sauce for pasta.

shows cabbage wilted after some time — Once the cabbage is done brining, these two parts will get mixed together

demonstrates washing of cabbage — After 2 hours of bring the cabbage will have wilted and released a large amount of water. Wash it a few times and drain it completely.

shows two halves of kimchi coming together — Combine with the finished sauce and mix by hand…

shows the finished kimchi in bowl — Done! You can give it a taste at this point to adjust for sweetness or spiciness.

shows a fully loaded onggi container for fermenting kimchi — I start off the fermentation process in this onggi jar made especially for kimchi fermentation. It is not strictly necessary but I have them around so I use them. You can also age your kimchi in any glass or food safe plastic container. Remember to leave some space in the container for the kimchi to expand as it ferments. Don’t fill it to the top. If you start it on the counter, leave the lid loose and put a tray or towel underneath just in case it overflows a little. The fermentation will slow down in the refrigerator, but it’s still a good idea to keep your container on a dish or tray for a day or two until you are sure the fermentation has settled down.

shows closed onggi container demonstrating finished process — I usually leave it out at room temperature overnight to get the fermentation started and then move it into the fridge in this container. That way I can enjoy it fresh for some time and let it ferment slowly in the fridge. When it is sour enough, I will move it to airtight glass containers. This amount usually lasts me a month or so by which time the kimchi is quite sour. If you like your kimchi more fermented, just leave it out on the counter until it is as sour as you like before moving it to the fridge.

VEGETARIANS/VEGANS

You can find my straightforward recipe for vegan napa cabbage kimchi here.

IF YOU DON”T LIKE SPICY FOOD…

…just leave out the chilli flakes. Your kimchi will still ferment and be delicious.

Enjoy!

That’s it! A very simple kimchi recipe. It is still pretty messy and time consuming but, it will always taste better than anything you will buy in a jar at the grocery store and you will have the satisfaction of handpicking all of the ingredients yourself and making it as spicy as you like. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments.

If you are interested in seeing past fermentation experiments including scratch made doenjang, gochujang and vinegars have a look at my instagram highlights. Any future stuff, I will post here.

Here is a link to my favourite kimchi fried rice recipe. And for more ideas about what to do with your new batch of kimchi, have a look at this post.

cooking, kimchi, Korean

서울 안녕 / Seoul Annyeong

On March 17, 2025 2 Comments - Korea 2025, Travel

Why do i keep coming back?

I have been to Korea many times and each time I come here, I like it even more. By now, there is nothing really difficult about travel here and it is starting to feel a bit like a second home. I am always happy to arrive and a little sad to leave. Over the years I have gathered up more and more friends with every visit and I always look forward to seeing them. This month long trip was evenly divided between Tokyo and Seoul. My two weeks here felt much too short. There were a few people that I wanted to see that i wasn’t able to connect with this time around. All the more reason to come back soon : )

These are a few images that I like which didn’t really fit anywhere else:

Colourful Buddhist temple in Seoul Korea near Namdaemun — One of my favourite pictures that i took of Seoul. It is a tiny Buddhist Temple (용궁절) on a bridge on Sowol Ro near Sungnyemun (Namdaemun) Gate. The back-turned golden Buddha, the deflated red lantern, the spikey trees and the smiley face on the wall next door, the sunshine on the building and the blue sky above. To me this is perfect.

View of different rooflines stretching across Seoul Korea — The angles and random level changes of a city haphazardly built. Old crushed together with new. Ultra modern and futuristic alongside little islands of ancient wooden gates, stone walls and palaces. 5 star steel and glass hotels with crumbling 100 year old restaurants in the alleys behind them. Seoul is a city that seems to be hiding a secret, a new discovery, around every corner. It is what I like the most about it.

A cute snowman slow down sign walking down from Namsan Tower — 천천히: If it rains, or if it snows…slow down, at least to enjoy it for a moment. Good advice.

A flower market in Jongno Seoul Korea — I have walked by here a hundred times and never noticed the Jongno Flower Market. A happy discovery on a sunny weekend morning.

Seoul Station, a major travel hub in Seoul Korea — The massive Seoul Station at night looks like a space colony.

A demonstration on a Saturday night in the streets of Jongno Seoul Korea — This is a photo of a Saturday night demonstration against the impeached President Yoon. I like it because Brad Pitt is chilling with his DeLonghi coffee in the middle of it. He looks like he doesn’t have a care in the world while the shouting protestors march by.

A colourful truck stacked high with boxes at night in Hwanghak-dong Seoul Korea — Sleeping Hwanghak-dong Market late at night

A fruit cart rolling through Hwanghak-dong carrying apples melons and tomatoes — Hwanghak-dong fruit cart passing through the market on a busy Saturday afternoon

An orange cat perched on a temple roof at Beomeosa Temple in Busan Korea — The cutest temple kitten at Beomeosa in Busan

A couple taking photos in Hanbok at Changdeokgung Palace in Seoul Korea. — Couple in hanbok doing a photo shoot at Changdeokgung Palace

Red pine tree next to roof detail in Chandeokgung secret garden Seoul Korea — Red pine tree, one of my favourite trees here. They are very common but, to me, the colour of the wood and the shape of the canopy is beautiful. In Gangneung, these trees line the beaches making it one of my favourite landscapes in Korea: red pine, sand and sea.

Overhead coloured light at dusk in a lower area of Itaewon — Itaewon in the evening. I had never been to Itaewon so I went to have a look and take a few pictures. We passed by the Hamilton Hotel where 160 people were crushed to death in the Halloween crowd surge in 2022. It just looked like any little street on a hill, like nothing remarkable had ever happened there. No more memorials remained but I felt sad seeing it.

Man in Hongdae Seoul Korea selling egg bread from his street stall — 계란빵: steamed egg breads, great snack to warm you up when it is chilly outside. I think this is Hongdae.

Pair of carp resting near the sandy bottom of Cheonggyecheon stream in Seoul Korea — Carp in Cheonggyecheon stream

We were on the 19th floor in our building so I was forced to watch this advertisement screen to the point where I actually developed a favourite..this was it. I really don’t like elevators but this stupid ad made me laugh every time.

Woman petting kitten near Naksan Park Seoul Korea — Naksan kitten

Travelling Partner:

Father and daughter travel together and share a meal with friends in Busan Korea — I normally take these long trips alone. There are very few people that I can think of that i would want to spend a month with in planes trains and tiny hotel rooms. But, traveling together with my adult daughter has made this trip so much easier and so much more fun. I am good at traveling solo but this time having someone along to share all the adventures made the time away even more precious. We probably won’t get this opportunity again in the future so I am so grateful that we had this time to share together. I have learned a lot from her and I hope I have passed along some knowledge about how to get along on the other side of the world. Sumi took this picture of us in Busan.

Our trip here was long and exhausting with many many flight delays and bad weather. So far we are starting our trip back with only a 2 hour delay. Hopefully it won’t get any worse! Wish us good luck.

한국 안녕! 다음에 또 만나요

If you plan to travel to Korea, check here for ideas.

Namsan and Seolleongtang

On March 16, 2025 0 Comments - Korea 2025, Travel

A day spent travelling up to Namsan Tower by cable car and then having dinner at Seoul’s oldest restaurant, Imun Seolleongtang.

First stop: coffee along the old city wall near our home base. There is a strip of cute tiny coffee shops perched on the hill. You can get a good view of Seoul from here. It seems like a very popular spot for couples at sunset.

Cute takeaway coffees from Horse House coffee near Naksan Park

A woman sips her coffee at Cafe Horse House with Seoul old city wall in the background — Along the old city wall, Naksan park became one of our favourite places for a quiet walk. We spent the morning here cat spotting and drinking coffee at Cafe Horse House.

A wide view of Seoul from Namsan — Later, a trip up Namsan by cablecar let us have a bird’s eye view of Seoul. I tried a panorama picture with my camera. You can see how the city sprawls into the horizon around the mountains.

View of Seoul to the north east from Namsan — This is to the North-east. Over those mountains is North Korea.

east-north-east view of Seoul from Namsan — A little further east looking straight at the part of the city we were living in.

South-west view of Seoul from Namsan — Towards the South-west. You can see the Han river reflecting the afternoon sun.

Namsan Tower with traditional Korean roof detail and blue sky

Namsan Tower at the top of Namsan Park. We didn’t go up inside. The view from the top of the mountain was good enough. If you want to visit click here

seollongtang at Imun Seollongtang in Jongno

I have been to Korea many times and I always have the same last meal: Seolleongtang at Imun Seolleongtang. It is a favourite to strengthen body and spirit for the long road home. Read all about it

In his excellent book “Eating Korea”, Graham Holliday made a joke about Seolleongtang being the perfect meal to say “so long” 👋 to Seoul. I couldn’t agree more. I have read this book at least three times and would recommend it to anyone visiting Korea. Buy local ok?

Hwanghak-dong / 황학동

On March 15, 2025 3 Comments - Korea 2025, Travel

Sounds of the Market

These sounds of Hwanghak-dong market give the pictures a little more life: look and listen

A wide view of Hwannghak-dong Market with colourful umbrellas

Hwanghak-dong is home to a permanent full time flea market. It is busy everyday with sidewalk and shop vendors selling absolutely everything. I won’t even try to list what is available. Anything you can think of…you can buy it here. It is crowded with people young and old from morning to sundown.

Crowds of people exploring Hwanghak-dong Flea Market

Perfume seller at Hwanghak-dong Market — perfume and aftershave

Miscellaneous pile of stuff spilling out of a store onto the roadway in Hwanghak-dong — clocks, blenders, clothes, rice cookers, shoes…..

Old Korean men looking through record crates on the street in Hwanghak-dong — fellow ajeossi crate diggers

Power tool seller and repairman at Hwanghak-dong — power tool specialist

Steam rising from a street stall where kwabaegi and steam buns are selling — loads of food: this is steamed buns and kwabaegi, a kind of korean doughnut twist. We almost always get toast here 토스트. It’s a white bread sandwich fried in butter, stuffed with egg and veggie scramble, ham and cheese, cane sugar and ketchup. I like ordering it because I get to say 치즈 (cheese) in Korean.

Gold jewelry on display at Hwanghak-dong Flea Market — gold jewellery

Shoe seller at Hwanghak-dong Flea Market — shoes..this looks like a bargaining standoff

brass animals and mounted rocks (scholar’s rocks?)

The Mystery of Old Photos

Personal photos that have become separated from their families are a mystery. There is always a story in the image but it is almost impossible to know what it is.

I found this loose snapshot in a basket in a store at the flea market. Because it is black and white and from the look of the cars in the background, it must be the 60’s. There is a building and statue in the background that look European. I love the kids faces (kids making funny faces in family photos is a phenomenon that knows no cultural boundaries). They look so unhappy in the moment. Maybe they have had to pose for too many photos that day or maybe it’s too hot outside to stand in the sun. The woman is most likely their mom. It is such a good photograph.

Old family photo with writing on the back in Korean

The best part is that there is writing on the back. I have trouble reading handwriting so a friend helped me to read and translate it: It says:

“This is the entrance to the Eiffel Tower where you can get off the bus from our place. The building behind is a military school. The statue behind us is far from where we are standing and the building is across a wide road.”

Korean writing on the back of a photo explaining where they are on the front

I looked up “Eiffel Tower” and “Military School” and found out that the building they are standing in front of is the Ecole Militaire in Paris. It faces the Eiffel Tower. Here is a modern picture of it including the statue she mentioned. I wonder if they were living in Paris and why? Or maybe they were just visiting. How many Koreans travelled to Europe in the 60s? I am sure it was unusual. How hard was it for a foreigner to use French buses back then?

I hope you had as much fun in Paris as I had finding your picture at the flea market. How did you get separated from your photos? Where are you now? Have I seen you on the subway sitting in the blue seats?

Lazy day in Seoul

On March 14, 2025 0 Comments - Korea 2025, Travel

Coffee and Cats

A walk up the old city wall near Dongdaemun to feed cats was not a great success. It was a hot afternoon and they were probably asleep in the shade somewhere. Instead, we stopped at the little 3 story “Cafe Reading Cat” overlooking the west end of Seoul and sipped coffee in the sunshine. Cats are everywhere outdoors in Seoul. People who live here seem to take care of the homeless ones, bringing them food or setting up little shelters for them. If you want to see a post where we found lots of cats up here, check this one.

Cute coffee mug with cat and book at Cafe Reading Cat in Seoul

View of Namsan from Cafe Reading Cat with cats on the building

Plaster cats adorn Cafe Reading Cat coffee shop in Seoul — Cat sculptures along the outside walls

Picture perfect weathered yellow entranceway in Seoul — Picturesque entryway

Gas and electrical meters with rusty pipe along white wall in Seoul — Electrical conduit, gas pipes, water pipes, sewers, valves and gauges: these are the nervous, circulatory and digestive systems of a city. I like seeing how different places have these arranged. I am a utility-tourist

Dinner with Minu

Alleyway flower stand at night in Jongno — On the way to meet Minu for dinner I noticed this old man had set up a flower shop in an alleyway in Jongno. There are many businesses like this that appear after dark and disappear by the next morning.

Bar and restaurant alley in Jongno where we met for BBQ — Lively alleyways behind the main street, full of restaurants and young people just off work. When I first travelled to Asia, I remember being dazzled by all the bright signs and lights everywhere. I am so used to them now that I don’t notice them as much but I really do miss them when I get back home. It’s like when your parents take the Christmas lights down and your house returns to colourless normal.

Modern pork BBQ restaurant in Jongno — 무쇠옥, a modern pork BBQ joint. It was very good. Look here for details.

Pork BBQ cooking on hot grill in Jongno BBQ restaurant — This BBQ was not only different thick cuts of pork but also kimchi, bracken fern, minari and bean sprouts, all caramelized on the hotplate and wrapped in lettuce and perilla leafs. There was also ramp jjangachi and rich doenjang jjigae.

Naengmyeon and Emu Artspace

On March 14, 2025 0 Comments - Korea 2025, Travel

Pyongyang Naengmyeon

I love naengmyeon. The icy broth and chewy noodles are unlike anything else. Woo Rae Oak has been serving Naengmyeon in Seoul since the 1940s. Noodles, broth, beef, fermented white kimchi and sliced korean pear are arranged in a big bowl. You can sharpen the flavour with mustard and vinegar from the pots on the table. The kimchi here is probably the best I have had on this trip.

There is normally a lineup from the moment the doors open but we were lucky with our timing today and sat down right away. Woo Rae Oak as well as Pildong Myeonok are my two favourites for this dish in Seoul. you can read about Woo Rae Oak in the Michelin Guide.

Emu Artspace

I have visited Emu Artspace many times and I always leave wishing we had a place like this back home in Toronto. There is a small theatre on both the second and the third floor where they show mostly independent and arthouse films. The main floor is a cafe/bookstore where you can relax with a drink before your film. One floor below is Panta Garage, a live performance space that hosts music shows across all genres. In addition to this, a small wooden stage in the grass behind the building provides an outdoor space for performances in good weather.

It is truly an art “centre”, a place where artists of all kinds can come together under one roof and there is always something going on for lovers of books, music and film.

Emu Artspace at night from outside — Like so many places in Seoul, Emu is off the main road, up a hill, through the dark, around a couple of corners, behind another building, in a place where you would least expect to find it… Finding the place you are looking for in Korea is often a “light at the end of the tunnel” experience!

Emu Artspace coffee counter and lounge area with books — There are house copies of books that you can read while hanging out as well as volumes that you can buy. The books are mostly in Korean. This time I noticed a good selection of Han Kang’s novels.

Emu Artspace coffee lounge area with library — Around the corner towards the back, there are a couple of larger tables where you can read or work.

Woman having tea at Emu Artspace before film — Best ginger tea I have ever had, spicy and sweet made with real cut ginger.

Mickey 17 posters given at Emu Artspace as a gift when seeing the film here. — Many movies come with some free promotional items. These are high quality posters printed on heavy card stock. We saw Mickey 17 tonight, the new film from Bong Joon-Ho.

A Czech man poses outside the Czech Center in Seoul — Right next door is the Czech Center Seoul, a big three story building. I wonder what the Czechs are doing in there?

Beomeosa Temple 범어사

On March 12, 2025 0 Comments - Korea 2025, Travel

Built on Geumjongsan mountain and established in 678, Beomeosa Temple sits in a picturesque landscape of old forests and mountain streams. Most buildings are covered in exquisite painted images of the Buddha. Massive statues and stone relics have survived through the centuries. Climbing up from the nearest subway station takes about an hour on a steady uphill slope. Today, we exercised body, mind and spirit. This was another afternoon of high bright sun so the colours in the photos are a little washed out. It reminds me of old slide film.

Looking over the lower deck of Beomeosa Temple

3 tier pagoda, ancient treasure of Beomeosa Temple — 3 story stone pagoda from the Shilla era between 826 and 836

The details at this temple are intricate and beautiful with many original paintings on the walls under the rooflines

The forests around the temple are as beautiful as the temple itself, especially in the fall

Woman standing under coloured roofline at Beomeosa

Beomeosa Temple cat relaxing on a roof tile in the sun — A colony of mostly orange cats have made a home here. I think these are two littermates, the brave one warming himself on sunbaked ceramic tile and the shy one peeking over the wall in the shade. Look in the shadows of the top picture…

Beomeosa Temple also participates in a Temple stay program where visitors can enjoy an extended visit to experience everyday life as the monks do, participate is work prayer and temple meals. My friend also let me know that if you visit the temple between certain hours of the day (I think between 12 and 2pm) you can enjoy a meal of temple food for free. Here is the official website with more information Temple Stay and Other Info.

Busan Subway

On March 12, 2025 1 Comments - Korea 2025, Travel

Just like in the Seoul subway system, Busan subway stations are mostly enclosed so you can’t see the trains. You enter through glass elevator style doors once the train has stopped in the station. Busan trains have their own unique seaside themes in the way that they are decorated and in the sounds that they make. We took a few lines that travel above ground for some time with an especially long stretch between Gwangan and Beomeosa. On a sunny day it is really pleasant to watch the city race by as you make your way to your destination.

Gwangan Station on the Busan subway — Home base at Gwangan Station. The stations are not quite as numerous here as they are in Seoul so you have to walk a little more to get to a train unless you are right on a line. I don’t mind.

Sparkling interior of Busan subway car — Like every subway I have seen on this trip, they are sparkling clean and colourful. This is a particularly sunny stretch on the way to Beomeosa Temple.

Fish mosaic tiles in a Busan subway station — Fish tiles in the station

Seagull patterned seats on a Busan subway car — Seagull seats

Sounds of the Busan Subway

Busan stations and trains have cute and interesting sounds from the “bling bling bling” of the door closing signal to the flock of seagulls or boat horns announcing the arrival of a train. The terminal station song is especially cheerful and cute but I can’t quite make out what they are singing (at 3:55). I only had a day or two, but I got quite a few sounds. The last one is clomping up the stairs..you climb a lot of stairs here! The repeated phrase is “발빠짐 주의”. It means “watch your step” in Korean.

Subway sound collage:

Here is a link to an official Busan metro website for info Busan Metro Site. Just like everywhere else in Korea, you can use Navermaps or Kakaomaps apps to get good directions.

If you enjoy subway sounds and want to hear more, have a look at this post from Seoul or this one from Tokyo.

Welcome to Busan

On March 12, 2025 0 Comments - Korea 2025, Travel

Gwangalli Beach 광안리

Busan, compared to Seoul, has a much more relaxed and slow vibe. It smells like the sea and has the feel of a resort town near the water. Of the famous beaches in Busan, Gwangalli is the one I like the best. It has a youthful and relaxed atmosphere and there are good restaurants, cafes and cheap hotels nearby. Our strange hotel was right on the beach this time.

Busan Station from the front with "Busan is Good" sign — “Busan is Good”: the city motto. It sounds kind of flat in English but in Korean 부산이라 좋다! has a much livelier feel. It’s more like “Busan is good! Yeah!!👍”

Gwangan Bridge lit up at night viewed from Gwangalli Beach — The crescent shaped stretch of Gwangalli Beach takes about 40 minutes to walk slowly from one end to the other. Along the way, little art installations and places to sit dot the blonde sand. The Gwangan Bridge is lit up at night in colours and patterns and there is often live music. I saw fireworks a few times and I hear that there is an impressive drone show on Saturday nights.

Seashells lined up in the sand at Gwangalli Beach

LISTEN TO THE BEACH 🏖

Older citizens of Busan walking Gwangalli Beach in the evening — Older folks out for an evening walk on the beach.

Gwangalli Beach at dusk with hotels lit up in the distance — Dusk on the beach with hotels lights coming on in the background

Picturesque group pf Red Pine trees lining an entrance to Gwangalli Beach — A group of Red Pines at the edge of the beach.

Busan Food and Friends:

We met Sumi for Dwaeji Gukbab 됀지국밥 (pork and rice soup), one of my favourite Busan dishes. This restaurant also made the best sundae (blood sausage) I have ever eaten. I forgot to take pictures: too delicious, too much talking. Later, Sungmin joined us for some Kelly Beers (new Korean brew) and some snacks at a Gwangan local bar. A tiny place with maybe 4 tables run by a couple in a small alley, it is the kind of place that I would never find by myself. I am lucky to have some friends here to show me neighbourhood spots like this. The food and drinks were delicious, crispiest kimchi jeon I have ever had.