H Mart in Urbana—a Local Korean Happening Note: We took a lot of photos, so enjoy scrolling through them! The long-awaited H Mart in our town, Urbana, opened with great fanfare on Thursday January 16, 2024. We didn’t go on the opening day, but Korean students and post-docs of ours went and told us about the excitement ..read more

In a city that loves coffee and where we found so many coffee shops that we lost count, this one is outstanding and different. Last August and September we spent some time in Korea and Japan. The main reason was to attend the 13th JRS Symposium (Joint Symposium on Rumen Metabolism and Physiology), which is held ..read more

Last time we were in Korea we stayed the night at Hotel Incheon Ora near the airport before flying back to USA (see here https://vivskoreanadventures.wordpress.com/2023/12/03/hotel-incheon-ora/) The shuttle from the hotel dropped us at the airport many hours before our flight, so we had time to kill. We got a table at Lina’s, a café just before ..read more

Fire extinguishers are a mundane, but necessary, feature in most buildings. They are also usually not very attractive. So, we thought this way of “decorating” them was very inventive and you have to admit that it does make the fire extinguishers look less intrusive and unsightly. We found these in a building on the Seoul National University (SNU) campus.  Yay for flowers ..read more

Our friend Mi and I Outside Hanam Pig When we were staying at the Hoam Faulty House at SNU our friend Mi Kwon, widow of the late Jongsoo Chang (see here https://vivskoreanadventures.wordpress.com/2023/11/02/remembering-a-wonderful-friend-jongsoo-chang/ ) came to visit us late one afternoon. We spent a few hours at the small café in Nakseongdae Park, having coffee and reminiscing about Jongsoo. It was lovely to see her again, but sad that it was in such circumstances. Rod and I outside Hanam Pig Inside The brand story (Mi didn’t translate it all for us) Then she wanted to take us to d ..read more

A lesson on the Importance of Language and Communication, and the French Cuisine Influence in Korea On our last trip to Korea, when we were staying at Hoam Faculty House at SNU, we had a free day. So, we decided to go to Nakseongdae Park and then have lunch in the shopping area close by, on our way to the Nakseongdae subway station. I wrote about Nakseongdae Park before (see here https://vivskoreanadventures.wordpress.com/2024/01/19/celebrating-general-kang-an-ancient-local-hero/ ) Our Korean hosts have been wonderful about taking us to various restaurants and sharing stori ..read more

On Saturday February 10th, 2024, the Lunar New Year will begin. In many East Asian countries, the New Year festival lasts for 15 days and ends with a Lantern Festival. For countries that use the lunar calendar, they have a zodiac of 12 animals, and 2024 will be the Year of the Dragon. The dragon is an auspicious and extraordinary creature, symbolizing power, nobility, good luck, strength, and health. It is the only mythical creature in the zodiac and, because of its allure, many Asian communities have a “baby boom” during the Year of the Dragon. I’m told it’s forecast that 2024 will be ..read more

On our last visit to Korea in early fall, we needed to spend one night at Incheon Airport, as we were flying from Hokkaido, Japan, and had to make a connection the next morning to fly back to the USA. It was easier to find a hotel near Incheon rather than try to get into Seoul and then back the next morning. We got a reservation at the Hotel Incheon Ora, which is outside of the airport grounds, but very close. They do offer a limited hotel shuttle, but our arrival time from Japan didn’t fit in with the times, so we caught a taxi. Luckily, the following morning we were able to use the sh ..read more

The entrance Menu (which only our host can read!) It’s definitely true that Korea has one of the great cuisines of the world and, for us personally, French, Japanese and Korean top the list. Of course, they have adopted some of the typical western-style dishes, but they still have wonderful dishes and styles that are unique to that country. Over the years, we’ve had many amazing meal experiences in Korea, and it was true of our last trip too. As I mentioned earlier, we were staying at the Hoam Guest House on the SNU campus before, and after, moving to Pyeongchang for the JRS symposium. We had ..read more

Cooking at a Korean grill restaurant Saying hallo to some of the cows on his farm With his family on the road trip Rod met Jongsoo Chang (holding the flag in the picture at the top of the blog) many years ago through their mutual scientific connections and at various conferences. We got to know him, and his family, much better in 2009. We went to a JRS symposium in Seoul, Korea, that he helped to organize and after the conference he took Rod and I, with his wife and two sons, on an amazing road trip. They were so excited and happy to share parts of their country with us, and we were happy to l ..read more