Seoul Theatre

This weekend a co-worker of mine invited me to see a production she was part of, called “Love Recipe”. It was my first non-professional musical that I’ve seen here and it was so fun to watch! The cast was having a great time on the stage and even though I didn’t understand all the jokes, it was very enjoyable.

It got me thinking that I have actually seen a lot of theatre in Seoul, so I thought I’d share my experiences with you :).

A free dance recital, downtown Seoul over Chuseok.

Some bigger productions that I’ve seen are: Les Miserables (in Korean!), Wicked, Phantom of the Opera and the Nutcracker. I absolutely loved each of these. The prices are not outrageous for world-renown shows such as these. I think a tickets for the balcony are 50-70,000 won and the best seats might cost 150,000 won (under $150). We went to see these shows at either the Seoul Arts Centre or Blue Square theatre. The quality of the show is amazing. I saw ‘Wicked’ in Toronto and Seoul and the second time was just as good, if not better (because I knew all the songs ^^).

The girls at Phantom!

These days there are tons of English musicals being adapted into Korean. For example, Les Mis had the exact same music and story line, just the words to the songs were different! I have seen advertisements for Bonny and Clyde, Hairspray and Jersey Boys in Korean. Personally, I think it’s incredible how they can translate songs still with keeping the same tune and meaning.

There are many smaller theatre companies which provide non-verbal shows, such as Nanta, Bibap, and Fanta-stick. Many of these shows include b-boy dancers, and since Korea has some of the best b-boys and b-girls in the world, these shows are unbelievable!

The Ballerina who feel in love with a B-Boy. A must-see!

I would definitely recommend any kind of dance show, and Nanta is also fantastic. The non-verbal shows are great for an international audience, but the few shows I’ve seen in Korean are very easy to follow along with.

These kinds of shows are great for getting involved with Seoul’s modern culture, however there are many traditional performances as well. I’ve stumbled upon many stages with women in hanbok singing or dancing or drumming. It’s always been by chance, except when my Mom came to visit we attended the Andong Mask Festival which is held every fall. These performances were all free and are usually held at festivals with awesome street food :)!

Andong Mask Festival, held every fall.

Those are just a tiny snippet of what is actually available in this city. You could probably go to a new show every night of the week if you wanted to! I didn’t mention concerts and dance festivals and that kind of thing because that is a whole other blog post!

Overall, theatre in Seoul is amazing quality, abundant and relatively cheap. I really want to go to more shows so when I do I’ll keep you updated. 🙂

Our class at the LATT Children’s Theatre.

still thinking about boys…

Korean boys part 2 😉

Over a year ago I posted a blog about Korean men and how they differ from Canadian men. You can read it here. Over the past year I have done my fair share of dating, especially with Korean guys. Here are a few more ways that dating Korean guys can differ from dating Canadians:

Korean men text you back. Like, right away. And they get verrryy antsy if you don’t text back immediately in return. It’s a nice change from the Canadian ‘I’ll give it a few hours/days so I don’t seem needy’ approach however it can get f*&#ing annoying overwhelming. I don’t like being glued to my phone and Korean men sometimes find this a difficult to accept.

Now if any of THESE guys were on the other end… I would be texting back INSTANTLY ^^

They make that inhaling shh noise when they’re thinking. I know this sounds funny but anyone who lives in Korea knows what I’m talking about! It’s usually accompanied by a head-tilt.

Hair and make-up. Yes, you read that correctly. A lot of Korean men wear make-up. Personally, nobody that I have dated has worn make-up (I think!) but there is definitely a growing interest in the man cover-up and eyeliner especially. Make-up withstanding, all the Korean men I know are very well-groomed, always use nice skin-care products and never leave the house without styling their hair.

Doesn’t show BB cream but he totally has it on.

They tend to jump into relationships. At home, I found that dating was mostly to have fun and get to know somebody before you decided you wanted to be bf/gf. Several times at home, I found that I wanted a more serious relationship with guys who weren’t ready to commit, even after weeks or months of dating. In Korea, I have found it’s the opposite. On three separate occasions, I have dated guys who wanted to move way quicker into a serious relationship than I did. For example, saying the ‘L’ word after only knowing each other for 5 days!

“I will make you so happy” uuuuuuuuuuumm..!

Skinship. In Korea in general, you don’t see as much PDA as you do in North America. A lot of couples will go on several dates before they even hold hands. ‘Skinship’ is a Konglish term that encompasses anything from holding hands, to massaging, and cuddling. You will hear in interviews that certain celebrities ‘enjoy skinship’ while others are more hesitant. A few guys have remarked that I like skinship, and while to me it’s fun and innocent to touch someone’s skin, it can mean a whole lot more to a Korean guy.

OMG! Scandaaaaalllll ~~

Work. A lot. Like a lot. I dated a guy who wouldn’t get off work until midnight most days and had to be there at 8 the next day. Dating a K-town man requires a lot of flexibility, because their job will not give them any. Long hours and not much time off… and it doesn’t stop if you get married! My Korean co-workers who are married say their husbands are the same. LG, Samsung, Hyundai (to name a few)… WHY U NO GIVE UR EMPLOYEES A BREAK!

Seriously, I don’t know how they do it.

Love sleeping on the floor. Many Koreans grow up sleeping on floor mats, so having a snooze on the hardwood can be nostalgic for them. Also, it’s really good for the back and you save room space ’cause your bed can fit in a closet!

Sorry adjussi, you’re doing it wrong.

I want to say again that I am not trying to stereotype anyone, I am just basing this on my own experiences. Not all Korean men will do all the things I have described! My boyfriend has grown up in Seoul and acts more American that I do most of the time! Ok, maybe he does a few of these things but that’s why I like him so much 😉 kkkk

On our second date ^^

I’ll leave you with a few more reasons to appreciate Korean guys :)!

The gorgeous Ricky Kim (Actor, half Korean)

Lee Byung Hun (actor)

Seungriiiiii! Aka. VictoRI from B-B-Big Bang

how to be Korea cute

Do you love adorable, random cuteness? Who doesn’t!? If you’re in Korea, you’re in the perfect spot to be bombarded with it daily.

I think there must be a rule that all stationary, pillows, and any kind of container must have one of the following: a face, ears or cute Konglish sayings. Honestly, my pencil case looks like a 3-year-old’s toy box.

My white-out and tape measure. See? Not kidding.

Some other things that are often over-the-top cutesie in Korea:

Glasses and jewelry

Hair accessories

Everything’s gotta be ears or bows.

T-shirts and sweatshirts

Not sure if my shirt says Your, Tour, or Jour. Any guesses?

Anything from Daiso.

Daiso is a Japanese dollar store. I think a lot of the cutie-pie trend originated in Japan but Korea has totally made it its own.

My dad and sister LOVED their cute Daiso purchases when they visited!

Konglish – signs, advertisements, stationary, cafe walls – they’re all full of it! But Konglish (Korean that has been poorly translated into English) really needs its own blog post.

Phone apps – not just photo-editing, which I’ve mentioned before. Every game, background screen and emoticon is hilarious and adorable.

Kakao emoticons are the best! Facebook stickers are catching up though!

Koreans have perfected the art of cuteness, and they even have a name for it! ‘Aegyo’ is a style of acting, dressing and posing to seem cuter than you actually are. This is not just for girls, as you can see below ;)!

There are people who are professionals at this who are called ‘Ulzzang’. Ulzzang are people who post tons of photos of themselves on the internet and some become internet celebrities for…. looking like they have big eyes (?!? somebody help me out here).

The point of this picture? Not tooooo sure.

Korea is ALL about random quirkiness, even though it is quite a conservative culture. I think that since Koreans have such an intense work ethic that having cute things and being cute is a way for them to release some of their inner quirkiness. People really dress up for work and dress professionally but after hours, the inner quirky-loving side comes out and makes everyone’s life a bit more loveable and liveable.

Personally I love all of the accessories and clothes… it’s just that after I buy them I can never bring myself to wear them out in public!! Those are my two cents, thanks for reading and good luck with being ‘Korea cute ;)’!

a few highlights

HI!!! Wow, it has been 6 months since I last wrote a blog… and what a 6 months it has been!

I don’t really know where to start with this so I’ll just jump into my summer vacation! Over June, July and a bit of August I was lucky enough to travel through 3 countries in South East Asia. Here are a few highlights from each:

Thailand!

Stayed with Jess for a week in Phuket!

Amazing fire shows on Koh Phi Phi!

Phranang Beach – the most gorgeous beach EVER! Railay, Krabi province.

Smell something tasty little guy? Tiger Kingdom in Chiang Mai.

View from the top of an elephant! 2-day trekking trip from Chiang Mai.

Taking a motorbike around Pai!

Met Helen in Bangkok and got to travel together for about 2 weeks :)!

Cambodia!

Sunset and sunrise at the Angkor temples.

Banyon temple, Angkor. 1,000 year old temple, NBD!

Some more of Cambodia – relaxing in Kampot, visiting some caves and mass graves at Choeung Ek.

Khmer BBQ in Phnom Penh with some lovely people 🙂

Vietnam!

Riding bikes through islands near Hoi An.

Awesome snorkelling off of Nha Trang!

So much amazing food (and company ^^) in Ho Chi Minh City!

So those were some of the highlights from the past few months! It was an incredible trip and if you have me on facebook you can see/read a lot more about it there :)! I was so fortunate to be able to go on this incredible journey and I am so happy to share it with you!

I’ve just started a new school year as a Grade 2 teacher and it has gotten off to a great start! If things continue this way I think I will be able to get back to blogging because I haven’t been so stressed about work. Hopefully you will read a lot more from me soon :)! Bye for now! x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2013 favourites

After writing over 50 posts, I have a whole 16 people following me :)! This may not seem like a big accomplishment, however I haven’t been actively trying to get followers so I think it’s pretty cool! Some of you lovely people, like me, love reading about different beauty products from around the globe, so today I will be sharing some of my favourite beauty products of this year so far.

1. Clinique anti-blemish solutions toner. I only started using toner this year and I’ve found it’s made a big difference. I explained in a recent post about how clogged pores can lead to acne. What I didn’t know is that even cleansers and other facial products can cause this clogging. Toners free up your pores and really let your skin breathe. Fun fact! I learned recently that vinegar can be used similarily.
2. Skin food foodtherapy stick perfume in Happy Vanilla. Aptly named, since whenever I smell it I feel soo happy :)!! I’m pretty bad at describing smells so you’ll just have to take my word for it – it’s amazing! It helps that it’s solid because with liquid perfumes I always spritz too much by accident!

HAPPY vanilla is right!

3. Clio twisturn liner in brown earth. This waterproof liner glides on easily but takes a lot to come off! I love the colour because it’s dark but not too dark. I’ve always been partial to brown – for years, I only owned brown eyeshadows.

Wow, I never realized how hard it is to take pictures of makeup!

4. Nature republic eco eye crayon in 1호 and 3호. I love these crayons because they’re super easy to apply and they’re so shimmery and soft. The lighter colour I usually wear in my tearduct and along the lower lash line (top pic). The goldish colour I wear on the top lid and sometimes below my eye as well (bottom pic). I don’t usually wear them at the same time cause it’d be shimmer overload!!

Part of my pre-makeup routine!

5. Tony Moly Panda’s dream dark eye corrector. To be honest I was first attracted by the panda on the packaging. How cute!? After a few weeks of using it I did notice a difference in my dark circles! I assume that it’s just a whitening agent, which is contained in a lot of Korean cosmetics, but it does help to concentrate it on the areas you want whitened!

scrub-a-dub-dub

6. My final favourite product (for today’s post) is the Innisfree green tea lip scrub. I never thought of exfoliating my lips before and it’s definitely working! This lip scrubber is more like a brush with plastic bristles. The liquid inside reminds me of vegetable oil… takes yucky but it does the job! I’ve only been using it for a week and my lips have never felt better :)!

These have been my favourite products of 2013. I bought them all in Korea but I think you can buy most of them worldwide. ‘Like’ if you liked this post and want to read more beauty-related blogs!

shopaholic’s paradise

It’s been a while since my last post so I was trying to think of a new topic when it hit me…. I haven’t done a post about shopping!!! :O!
How could I have deprived you of such a post for so long!? Most of you know that shopping has become an addiction of mine this past yeat, and those of you who have come to visit me know why! Shopping (for me) is so abundent that I can’t step out my door without being tempted.

Just. Walk. Away. Haha no chance.

I have to specify “for me” because I happen to be a) female and b) small enough to shop at most stores in Korea. The sad truth is that if you’re above a medium at home, you won’t be able to shop at stores where most of the clothes are “free” size. My feet are also juuust small enough to buy shoes here so shoe shopping is a pleasure for me, rather than the struggle most of my friends go through to find footwear.
Let’s start with my most-frequented shopping district, which is my home, Gangnam. Yes, most of my clothing comes from Gangnam station which makes me officially “Gangnam Style”!! ㅋㅋㅋ

With my Gangnam crew… hard to see but we’re rockin the horsey dance.

The subway station, like many in Seoul, is jam-packed with clothing stalls, jewelry, phones, cosmetics and the best konglish^^! Here you can find adorable dresses, sweaters and skirts on racks that will say ₩5,000 or ₩10,000 (roughly $5 or $10). This is my #1 downfall if I’m trying to save money. It’s just so easy to slip a green bill out of my pocket in exchange for a panda bear sweatshirt.

₩5,000 animal shirts for people?!

Gangnam is also great for brand name stores as the retailer will usually put a really BIG store close to the station. Super fun stores like top ten, innisfree, giordano and kyobo have huge stores along Gangnamdaero.
If you keep going along that main road you’ll get to Sinsa which hosts the famous Garosugil. I mostly go to Garosugil when I want to hit up Forever 21 but there so many nice places along the street. It’s the best place to go if you want to see some funky chic street style. I’m not sure how it magnetically draws in all these super hip people, but everyone there looks like they walked straight off the catwalk.

Looks like I’ll have another reason to visit!!

Myeongdong is a great area to go if you want the (shopping) comforts of home. Tourists and locals alike flock to this shoppung district for stores like h&m, zara, mango and forever 21. The street shopping is really fun here too, if you don’t get carried away by the crown before you have time to look at a booth.

The fun and occasionally offensive hat selection.

Another thing I love about Korea… girls actually wear stuff like this!

The fourth and final area I’m going to write about is Insadong. It’s very different from the shopping I’ve mentioned because it’s not only girlie stuff. Insadong is the best place to buy souveneirs, art, antiques and handicrafts. If you’re looking for a break from the bustling, plastic-surgery ad-strewn streets then head over to Insadong for a different cultural experience.
There are so many more great shopping spots (hongdae, dongdaemun, yeongdongpo etc.) but you get the idea! Oh I almost forgot! The best thing about buying cosmetics- free samples!! Lots of them! I have more free samples than i know what to do with, but they sure come in handy for travelling and to have in my purse!

A small selection of the free samples. FREE ^^

I also have an over-flowing closet… most of my hangers are doubled up, but I do donate clothes every so often.

My closet… never too old to have boy band posters, right!?

So there you have it. Confessions of a shopaholic in Seoul!
Like and comment if you want to hear more about fashion and shopping! ♥

Juno what I want.

There arent many better ways to feel awesome than getting your hair done. I’m currently munching on a blueberry bagel after a wonderful experience at Juno hair and I’m feeling pretty great ^^!

Juno is the second hair salon I’ve been to in Seoul and I think it’s gonna be my new go-to. The first was the Green Turtle in Itaewon which was really nice but after my first visit they stopped giving me the nice head massage. Plus Juno hair salon in Gangnam is much closer to my house.

My visit started with the staff taking my coat and giving me a drink with clementines and cookies. Pretty good start. Then my stylist came over to consult and gush over my hair colour (apparently lots of Asian women spend a lot of time trying to get my colour!).
Already feeling pretty good, I headed over to the shampoo room for a lovely 20 minute wash and massage. Awesome~! Then I sat down with my new bff while she gave me the exact cut I asked for. I had shown her a pic of Emma Stone with a nice side bang and she gave me pretty much exactly that.

The pic I showed her.

The side bang! Don’t worry Grandma, they won’t always be in my eyes, just showing a close-up!

 

I wouldn’t say I’m over the moon about the new cut, simply because it doesn’t look much different than before. I do think it frames my face better and gives my hair more shape. Plus it’s gonna be fun to pin it back with cute clips ^^!
Overall it was a really nice experience and now with my fancypants phone I’m able to update my blog almost immediately! Aren’t you so lucky ;).
Oh, and the whole thing cost ₩25,000 which is quite reasonable- especially for Gangnam.

Bithday shoutout to my baby brother who’s 24 today :D!

noteworthy

After only a year and a half in techno-heaven I have finally got myself a smartphone! And not just any smartphone… the galaxy Note 2 is up there as one of the best phones atm.
Coming from my t9 good-for-one-thing phone, this thing is blowing my mind!! I guess the first and foremost advantage is having the nice big keyboard to type on, but thats not exactly cutting-edge technology. The camera is pretty incredible and because the screen is so huge theyre super easy to see and edit. I am using apps like instagram and photowonder for the first time and it is
SO much fun!! Heres an example of photowonder before and after:

Haha I’ve already gotten a bit carried away with it and it’s only gonna get worse ^^! I havent even discovered half of the things this phone can do!
I’m really hoping that it will help me communicate better with friends and family back home. Its a pretty big investment but with free apps like skype and kakao I can communicate with everyone from anywhere!
I hope I can update this blog more frequently now too as it will be easy to upload little snapshots of my life :)!
Ta for now, don’t forget to follow and comment :)♥.

sunshine, lollipops, hearts and butterflies

Hooray for cute nails! Over the past month, my nails have never had a boring moment. Sure, they’ve had their chipped and dry moments but overall I’ve loved experimenting with different polishes and tools.

Shortly after my pandas, I got these cute nail stickers at Nature Republic and decided to experiment a little bit!

Mine weren’t exactly like this but you get the idea!

They were so easy to stick on then I just added some of my own little designs like dots and hearts. I was pretty happy with how they turned out although my base coat was a little sloppy as you can tell! I think next time I will try it with girlier colours.

Pretty butterflies and hearts!

Speaking of girlier colours! For the past 2 weeks I’ve been wearing this super girlie pink from Innisfree (colour #8 if you wanted to know). It’s just so sweet and goes with a lot of different outfits. I tried doing a heart stencil using scotch tape BUT it took me several tries to get a shape that I liked then it broke after the first nail (#pinterestfail)!! So I just took a toothpick and made little hearts on a few fingers.

Girlie in pink!

My most recent nail colour is also from Innisfree! It’s number 104 and it is really really cool!! It’s a sparkly purple but depending how the light hits it, it can look blue as well. It’s very 3-dimensional-looking and reminds me of the “galaxy nails” that I’ve been seeing a lot on pinterest.

AH! Giant man fingers :P!!

Nail art is not nearly as scary as I thought it was! If I can do it, anyone can :)!!

Let me know if you like reading these beauty-realted posts! Thanks for visiting and please like, follow and leave a comment :)!

halfway?

Time for a bi-annual update on how long I’ve been in Korea! I think I started with 1 month, then 6 months, then a year… so now it’s time for 1 and a half years!!

My new contract is for 18 months so I COULD be half-way through my time in Korea. When I got to my first 6-month mark I knew there was no way I was leaving Korea after one year. At the moment I’m unsure about what I want to do a year and a half from now (seriously, who plans that far ahead?). I still love living in Korea and my new job is going really well so who knows?!

The one thing I do know is that I haven’t been this permanent since I left home at 18. I did 4 years at U of Ottawa but always went home for 4 months between and spent most of my 3rd year abroad in Switzerland. Then I did Teacher’s College and came here! I like the feeling of being settled but am also itching to explore more of Asia. I like the familiarity of my little neighbourhood where I can say good morning to my favourite delivery man or gossip with my Starbucks barista.

So for now I’m definitely staying put but who knows what the next year or so will bring for me :)!