Noribang redux!

I realize that I've mixed my languages a bit in the title, but what fun is language if you can't play with it?

So Noribang (pronounced "No-re-bong") is the Korean word for Karaoke. My first trip to a Karaoke bar was with a large group of Americans who pronounced the word in such a way that i thought I was going to be introduced to some sort of seaweed/pot-smoking apparatus. I ended up in a room full of couches complete with disco ball, tambourines, multiple microphones, and a wall of television sets. So in the end, it was a bit psychedelic, and we mostly sang classic rock because those are the only songs everyone knows the words to. We went after a wedding reception, so the group was already a bit rowdy, and the "singing" probably would have put cats in heat. I fit right in and screeched the night away.

I had my second nori-bang experience this evening with two Korean vocalists. I learned that the bong part is pronounced somewhere between bong and bang, and that bang means "room." I'm guessing that Nore means singing or music. I went with a friend of mine who sings opera and a friend from work who has a gorgeous choir voice. I was way out of my league vocally, and I think the Koreans take recreational singing much more seriously than we do, but they put up with me as I belted out my Elvis and Madonna. I clapped along as they sang songs in Korean, and then we sang Christmas carols in both languages at the same time. It was awesome.

Rockin' the Vote

Korean style! I knew that Korean Presidential elections were coming up soon just from the news and talking with my friends here, but it still took me a couple days to put the elections together with the recent explosion of group street dancing.

On my last few walks about the town I've noticed large groups of color-coordinated people standing in front of large speakers and dancing. Now the Koreans like to have loud music and dancing girls for all kinds of things like store openings, big sales, you name it, so I'm used to seeing this on a small scale, but there were lots of people, and their dances were choreographed.
And they were dancing in the streets! Then I noticed the candidate posters behind them. Yes, these dedicated campaign workers with their matching uniforms and cute white gloves seem to be everywhere dancing for their candidates! I think it's a fabulous way to increase candidate recognition in the populace! They certainly catch my attention. :)

Seriously though, the Koreans are very organized with their campaigning. Each candidate has a color and a number with which they are associated to help distinguish between them. The Koreans also have all kinds of voting methods, including texting in your vote! How cool is that? I also like that their President can only be elected for one six-year term. That takes a lot of re-election politics out of the decision making. So, I have made an important decision. I would be willing to put the little white gloves on and dance in a line of supporters on a street corner if my candidate were willing to forfeit going for a second term. That seems reasonable right?
:)

Open your mouth and close your eyes!

Boy did I get a big surprise. I was invited out to dinner this evening by a Korean man I met at a party recently. He speaks pretty good English and runs an academy here, so I figured dinner could be fun. It was certainly an adventure!

So he originally wanted to take me to a traditional Korean restaurant, and I love Korean food so I was excited about that. Unfortunately we couldn't find the restaurant he was looking for, so he asked me if I liked crab. Of course! So we head for a crab restaurant where we could pick from steamed, pickled, or boiled crab....or so said the menu. And of course he says the pickled crab is best, and when in Korea.....

So I'm thinking pickled in terms of salty briney...maybe boiled in a brine? What did not occur to me was that pickled really did mean fermented. Yes folks, I ate crab that had been sitting in a pot in the ground for "at least three months" It appears to be raw, but the fermentation "cooked" it. And believe it or not, it was delicious. I mean really good! Even better than the fermented oysters (which I also ate this evening) that had been rotting for "at least two months." I should have known by now that as much as Koreans love their kimchi, anything that is labeled "pickled" is actually fermented. And just to put in perspective their love of this process, in addition to the kimchi oysters and crabs, I also had kimchi seaweed, radish, kale, cabbage, and tree leaves! All with one meal! It was hilarious, and seriously, it was truly tastey.