Archive by Author
Korean Craft Beers Allowed to Play Fair with Hite, OB? Posted by Tony Kitchen on Mar 17, 2015
From Seoul to Busan, beer drinking in South Korea was always a steady pour from the usual suspects. Hite. Cass. OB Blue (Oriental Brewery). But starting next week, microbreweries will be allowed by law to sell their beers off-site from brewing locations, and will have their taxes lowered by nearly 15 percent. However, the road…
Korean Food Myth: Do They Eat Dogs? Posted by Tony Kitchen on Mar 4, 2015
Walk past any food stand selling an unidentifiable mea and the joke is its probably dog. In Korea, it isn’t. Westernized views of minorities are filled with this perception: Koreans eat dogs and the Chinese eat dogs and cats (and snakes and monkey brains). Although the consumption of dog (among others things) does exist, the practice is…
Korean Names: Many Kims, One ‘Dear Leader’ Posted by Tony Kitchen on Dec 4, 2014
The New York Times recently reported that North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, has continued the North Korean leader tradition of keeping his Korean first name his, and his only. The unknown number of Jong-un’s (정은), a common name for both genders, of North Korea must choose a new name. But not the Kims. A move…
Korea’s Jeju Island, a Vacation Worth the Fight Posted by Tony Kitchen on Aug 12, 2014
Jeju Island (제주도), Korea’s national pride, a popular regional vacation and honeymoon spot, was turned into one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World after a long and successful PR campaign for what essentially is little more than a PR title. The reason one must go to the self-proclaimed “Korean Hawaii” is not solely for…
How To Do Summer Like a Korean Pt. 1 Posted by Tony Kitchen on Jul 1, 2014
Busan, South Korea’s second largest city situated on Korea’s southern coast, can make an argument for having one of the best city beach scenes in the world. It’s the size of Chicago with the laid back charm. It’s two beaches, at times visible from the same situation are opposites: one long and wide with the…
A Korean temple as a seaside escape Posted by Tony Kitchen on Apr 4, 2014
In Korea, for the weary expatriate, one reaches a breaking point when it comes to Buddhist temples. But Yonggungsa Temple (해동 용궁사) in Busan brings the energy of the sea to land. It’s monks considered it the first place in their world to see the new sun, to see the new year, which is also when…
Korean Baseball and the World’s Greatest Karaoke Posted by Tony Kitchen on Mar 26, 2014
Sure, you can cheer for opening day of baseball in the States (actually, this year it was in Australia). But the games are a vast desert of silence compared to South Korea. Korean baseball houses some of the most passionate, hilarious, and intense sports fans in the world. They pile in with coolers full of…