Coffee, and KPop, and KDrama... Oh My!

---

Okay. Now that all my blathering about classes is out of the way (sort of), I can tell you all about the wonders of KCulture which I've experienced here.

I suppose I should start with coffee. If any of you at home had hope coming to Korea would stop me from drinking coffee and coffee beverages-- THINK AGAIN. Coffee shops are MADD prevalent around here. And not only that, but many of them are cheaper and more freshly made than at home.

Stop right there. Are you thinking, "Woah, woah, woah! Did this girl seriously just diss her old M-town Starbucks hang-out where she spent upwards of 5 hours a day in the month before leaving for Korea?"

The answer: not quite. But what I am trying to say is that coffee is effing everywhere. You can go for the cheap stuff, of course, or the mainstream, of course, but there's a shit-ton of micro-coffee-shops... EVERYWHERE here. Folks at home, it's like having a Temptations or a Jersey Shore Coffee... ALL OVER THE PLACE.

Want the cheap stuff? Every morning before work, I grab a hot can of Maxwell's from the vending machine in the subway station for 500 W (less than 50 cents US). In the mood for a cool drink... maybe like a coffee-version of chocolate milk? Oh, look no further than the cold paper cups of caramel macchiato you can get from anywhere between 1100-1500 W in the convenience stores (that's like anywhere between a buck and a buck fifty, folks)!

Looking for something fresh and mainstream? Starbucks are flipping everywhere here, and there are 6 Caribou Coffees in the Seoul/Incheon area (I checked online... none in Daegu). There's also Tom N Tom's, Mr. Black, and several other huge coffee chains here, as well. In the morning, if I have time, I like getting a Latte or a Mocha from Tous Les Jours or Dunkin Donuts, which are down the street from my work.

Tired of mainstream, cupped or canned coffee? Well, there are a bazillion boutique coffee shops all over this country. I tried another one tonight-- Bonita Coffee. Cozy terracotta tiles; mossy, exposed beams; English Christmas music; and Korean books and magazine for folks to peruse... AND as a magical bonus, the barista spoke perfect English and very cheerfully wished me a Happy New Year, which I shall pass on to all of you. How much for the Mocha? 2,600 W take out. It took 5 minutes, was freshly made, and the coffee was strong and bold. Mm. Might be the best cup I've had to date in this country. All for about two and a quarter.

Moving on. KBS and SBS just recently had their annual music award/concert shows (the "Gayo Daejun"). I watched SBS's the other night and just watched some KBS videos on youtube to quench my thirst for KPop wonderfulness. What are these Gayo Daejun things I speak of?

Oh, only the most awesome concert I've seen on live television ever. It's literally 3 hours of KPop concert. First, MBLAQ and B2ST had a "new artist" dance off-- these KPop boy bands both have been "pitted" against each other as friendly rivals since they're both newbies to the industry. I nearly melted when MBLAQ did "G.O.O.D. LUV" because it's the catchiest song next to U-KISS's "Man Man Ha Ni" ...and possibly because I was able to do some of the dance moves as they did it live on television. I've been here a month, and thanks to my students, I am learning all about KCulture via KPop dance moves. Thanks, kids.

Then after the dance off, the girl groups performed. Some did their signature songs and others covered some of the boys' songs . THEN the boys covered the girls' songs... in drag... to the original dance routine. If I owned a comfortable chair, I would have fallen out of it. Watching 2AM, 2PM, and B2ST do Brown Eyed Girls' "Sign" nearly killed me. Seriously. It's a FAN DANCE. This would never happen in the good ol' USA. The best part is, no one is going "OMG ARE THEY GAY?" because everyone knows it's just all in fun. <3 And, plus, it was super epic.

Finally, a Michael Jackson Tribute, a few male signature routines, 2PM was the special guest so they did like four songs... AND PARODIED MY FAVORITE KDRAMA. Finally, it closed with Super Junior (9 of the 13 members of this massive boy group) and Girls Generation (all 9 members of this massive girl group) getting together and doing both "Genie" (Girls Generation's hit) and "Sorry Sorry" (Super Junior's hit). <3

AND ALL OF THIS HOSTED BY TWO OF MY FAVORITE KDRAMA ACTORS. That's right! Park Shin-hye and Jung Yong Hwa of You're Beautiful hosted! No one reading this blog is nearly as excited as I am, but that's okay. It just provides the perfect segue into my love for KDrama.

I began watching "You're Beautiful" while flipping through channels on TV. I caught and watched, without subtitles, episodes 5, 7, 8, 15, and 16 (the final episode). I only had half a clue what was going on, but I needed to know more. SO I went onto mysoju.com and located "You're Beautiful" only to see the first two episodes were broken links... and couldn't find any torrents online! But then, I found them (in great quality) on youtube, of all places. Subbed and everything.

So, since getting here, I watched all of Boys Over Flowers on mysoju.com, all of You're Beautiful on youtube, and I downloaded the "Coffee Prince" torrent, so I'm in the midst of that... Long story short. KDramas are awesome, because unlike American ones... THEY ALWAYS HAVE A DEFINITE END. Ugh. It's not like LOST or something where there's a million seasons and no end in sight and and plot only gets more ridiculous. Instead, it's a set number of episodes, usually between 15-25, and THE SERIES PROGRESSES LIKE A NOVEL. Intro to the characters, inciting incident, rising action, falling action, and the wrap-up. When KDrama plots are ridiculous, it's not because they are grasping at plot straws, but because the situation calls for it!

And that's all I have to say about that.

---

Photos

Annah!
Modeling a mask and drinking what might as well be the chocolate milk version of coffee.

Caribou
in Gangnam, Seoul

Coffee Bean
in Gangnam Seoul

Classy Coffee
At an adorable shop in Sinnonhyeon near Kate's apartment

Yum!
It takes longer to make, but it is delicious

Service Coffee
When you are a good customer, or a usual, sometimes, you get service items, like this carafe for 3 cups of coffee. Or like the kimchi mandoo the lady near my work will give us :)

Comments

[Krista]

This has nothing to do with Korean coffee, but I'll tell you anways, haha. When Will and I were driving back to Ford City last week, there was a detour on the normal route. We were redirected through some lovely parts of East Liberty, Lincoln-Lemington, Homewood, and Highland Park. On the way, we passed that coffee shop that we saw on the Rick Sebak special. Tazza d'Oro, or something like that???? We never made it there. :(

[HeartandSeoul]

Ooooh! No!!! You're right! We'll just have to go when I come back!

[Andrew L.]

Sweet?
Some of my friends in Korea say that everything is really sweet there compared to the states. I'm not sure if it's sweet compared to Starbucks, but could you provide some more insight on that? I heard that you kind of have to search for *good* coffee, which doesn't seem to be what you're saying, though I guess it depends on the locale. Looking forward to probably having a coffee shop within a few blocks of my house. I sort of have it that way now (Berkeley, CA), but it's a tough walk since it's down a hill and around a few streets.

[HeartandSeoul]

Sweet? Hmm. I'm not sure about that. It probably depends on what kind of food your friends prefer eating. A lot of "spicy" food is pretty sweet-- like Ddukboki, but you can get plenty of soups, meals, and street food that isn't. In fact, if you like things like Korean BBQ, you can throw whatever you want on the grill and leave the sweeter sauce to the side. I guess it's what you make of it. As far as "good" coffee-- if you like strong, bold coffee, it's definitely harder to come by, but if you're persistent, you will find it. In general, standard tea and coffee here seems to actually have a rice-like after-taste (in my opinion, some people have compared it to some other flavors, but in the end, it all tastes like rice to me), but if you like Coffee Bean, Starbucks, or Dunkin Donuts, it all tastes pretty much the same. The only thing I can really comment on is the whipped cream is better, the milk is always whole, and the coffee isn't served as hot here. But if you can find a small shop (which you'd have to try really hard not to find a small cafe or coffee shop, regardless of where you are, it seems to be), a good chunk of them make delicious coffee. My friend lives in the Sinnonhyeon neighborhood of Seoul and frequents a cute place called "Coffee Fly" which has some of the most bitchin' coffee. And at the place I refer to in this entry, "Bonita Coffee" in Daegu, I know for a fact they roast it themselves. :) So if you're a coffee lover, like me, you'll be able to locate a decent cup o' Joe for sure. Order it "Americano" anywhere, including McDonalds, and you'll have a semi-decent cup of coffee [sure as hell beats 7-11 back home]. And if you're super lazy and just need a little taste of coffee, the hot cans of Maxwell House are in like every subway station. It's not good, but it's coffee. It just takes a little effort to find the really good stuff.