Fall is a special time of year in Korea: it’s the time when kimchi reaches the perfect age.  Like a good bottle of wine, kimchi has just one month to shine while on its journey from fishy to spicy to way too fermented.  That time is now.  Let us seize the moment with several unusual but delectable uses for our favorite side dish.  Click on the photos to access the complet ...

"Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory" -- General George S. Patton There comes a moment in every man or woman's life when he is faced with a profound opportunity that challenges him to his very core.   He stares into the nature of his being only to see danger's dark eyes flashing in the abyss.  The time has come to test his mettle or forge the bitter ir ...

No one would have believed in the first years of the 21st century that such a crisis would hit man so quickly and so hard…    

If you end up staying in Korea for a while, eventually those people back home who threatened you with, “Oh, we’d love to visit!” unexpectedly actually do so.  What was once a very far off, misty idea ends up being a very real challenge to your daily life.  Suddenly, your family pops up at the airport, expecting you to drop everything and play master tour guide.  

 This isn’t the time travel part.  This is the heading to Sangumburi part…the second crazy-green volcanic crater I peered into on the sweet isle of Jeju.  Same day, even.  It was a Sunday.  I had risen before dawn.  Suddenly the day was so much longer!  So I decided to take in a few sites post-Seongsan country stroll.  After ...

Back home to my Busan pad after an eight-day vacay into the south of South Korea…land of islands, mountains (okay, this whole country is covered in mountains), volcanoes, trees so lush they appear to burst from the countryside, flat-stone, black-rock, and gold-sand beaches, caves and waterfalls, too much rice, and permed ajummas renting floor mats to ...

With the Boryeong Mud Fest quickly approaching, I’m on the hunt for a bathing suit here in Busan.  I’ve spotted a couple shops that sell them in the Seomyeon underground mall, though a recent jaunt to Songjeong Beach revealed that the Korean girls don’t usually, well, reveal much.

Days in Korea: 108

Nobody uses dryers here.  I kind of like it that way.  The garments hanging off the rack in my apartment don't look nearly as vibrant as these linens--lots of greys, blues, and whites have claimed the suitcase backpack closet this year.  But summer's here, and I'm craving colour.  Perhaps the Korean towels drying in the sun have inspired? &nbs ...