I know your country has some drinks which I never tasted or heard. Cha Yen, Cendol, Lassi, eggnog, Bandung... What are them all?? I just saw those names on Internet right before.
I know I could never know what you drink at home. So I know you don't have a clue about what Koreans drink! Today is the time to introduce you fun Korean drinks which you can easily try when you visit South Korea! Here goes 4 drinks!!
*this is not about Korean traditional drinks but very unique drinks, which particularly I think tasty!
1. Banana Milk[바나나맛 우유]
I am sure this is quite far from the real banana plus milk thing, such as banana milkshake. HOWEVER, if you want to want to know about what Koreans drink when they are... not really thirsty but want to drink something sweet on the street, go to the convenience store next to you and get the Banana Milk!
This milk, which looks like large Korean jars, is sold 0.8 million bottles today! And yesterday, and tomorrow as well!! This is really untouchable bestseller in convenience stores.
Where to try? - You must be able to find it at any convenience store.
How much? - About $1 (1000 ~ 1300 KRW)
How to drink? - Drink with a straw. You can find cute yellow straw which is only for the Banana Milk(if you can't ask to a shop keeper)
2. Sikhye[식혜]
Sikhye is a traditional sweet Korean rice beverage, usually served as a dessert. This white translucent drink contains grains of cooked rice, and sometimes served with pine nuts. Koreans really likes to drink iced Sikhye when they finish washing at Jjimjilbang[찜질방] - Korean style public bathhouse.
This is very delicious if you are a Korean. But like many traditional drinks in your country, it depends on.
Where to try? - At any convenience store, you can find yellow can of 비락식혜(Birak Sikhye). Also you can try it after bathing at Jjimjilbang. They must sell it.
How much? - About $1(800 ~ 1000 KRW) for Birak Sikhye, 2000 KRW at JJimjilbang.
How to drink? - Stir or shake well, and drink with grains.
3. Denmark Morning Cereal Milk[덴마크 모닝 시리얼 우유]
In Korea, there is eatable power called Misutgaru[미숫가루], which is consist of various grain powders. And people mix this powder with water or milk with some sugar or honey, and drink it. Its really tasty specially in summer. Many Korean moms make and give the whole bowl of this Misutgaru drink with ice, for her husband when its very hot. Misutgaru drinks taste like, a bit similar to cereal with milk? Or watever.
And the Denmark Morning Cereal Milk, which is supposed to be a lot far from the any Korean thing by its name, is actually a Misutgaru milk product for the convenience stores! "Denmark Morning" is the name of the product series, so never expect the taste of Denmark.
Where to try? - Many convenience stores have it, but not all. Try visiting 2~3 stores and look up the drink section.
How much? - 1100 ~ 1500 KRW
Hot to drink? - Shake well before open, open, and drink.
4. McCol[맥콜]
Have you tried barely tea? OK, some of you. Then how about barely soda? I know you never tried! Here is McCol for you! Barely soda, barely coke. That's all!
McCol was really popular in early 90's, and now it feels like a bit old fashioned. But there are still McCol fanboys because of its unique taste.
However, some people hate this drink because of a religious reason. Yes, RELIGIOUS reason. What a drink!! For you who scares of drinking it, I should inform this : The company which makes McCol is owned by the Unification Church and some people hates it. This is all.
Where to try? - Some convenience stores. try searching 2~3 stores' drink section.
How much? - 600 ~ 1000 KRW
How to drink? - Drink
How was it? If you have the chance to visit South Korea, try all of them!! Those are really easy to get.
Also if there is any interesting drink in your country, please introduce here :) Thank you.
Showing posts with label korea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label korea. Show all posts
Friday, March 15, 2013
Monday, March 4, 2013
Have you ever eaten Korean strawberries?
Have you ever eaten the Korean strawberry? Strawberry("딸기[ddal-gi]" in Korean) is one of the most delicious fruits that can be tasted in Korea! It is the mainly season of strawberry from January to May! Strawberry is very popular in South Korea because its flavor is very sweet and rich. So, I can say “Every Koreans love Strawberry :)” No doubt!
You can enjoy Korean strawberry even through cakes, pie and jam! But, it is better taste a strawberry to eat as it is just wash with running water. You can buy fresh strawberry for KRW 10,000 ($10) to 1 kg on any market or super market! Tips for selecting good strawberries are as follows: The stem shouldn't be dark or dry, choose the strawberries which are whole ripe red colored!
If you have a plan to visit Korea from January to May, please come to enjoy the delicious strawberries!
You can enjoy Korean strawberry even through cakes, pie and jam! But, it is better taste a strawberry to eat as it is just wash with running water. You can buy fresh strawberry for KRW 10,000 ($10) to 1 kg on any market or super market! Tips for selecting good strawberries are as follows: The stem shouldn't be dark or dry, choose the strawberries which are whole ripe red colored!
If you have a plan to visit Korea from January to May, please come to enjoy the delicious strawberries!
Friday, March 1, 2013
Souvenir from Korea
Are you going to buy presents for your family? Want to use less money but more "Korean" things? Here I suggest REAL Korean stuffs, some of which may sound weird but possibly upgrade your friends' quality of life!
1. Green tea
Like Japanese and Chinese, Koreans also make and consume green tea. If you were from western countries, I swear our green tea is much better & fresher than the green tea in your country. Why? Simply, we drinks more green tea so we make more! If you have time and money more than usual, visit Boseong for the best quality green tea!
Where to purchase? Just visit any grocery store or big mart. You can find a 25 tea bag box for $3, which will give 1 month morning calm to your friend!
2. Nail clipper
One South Korea company is making world best quality nail clipper(yes! which you use meet every week). It is funny to think of giving a nail clipper for a souvenir. However, it can be one of the most useful gift which can stay alive in your aunt's closet for a DECADE!!
Where to purchase? You can purchase one nail clipper for about $2~3 at any convenience store! Also cosmetic shops sell nail clippers set for $6~15.
3. Gim
Gim is a kind of sea weed. Koreans and Japaneses enjoy eating gim in various way. Koreans usually toasted dried gim with rice. Fresh gim is really healthy and tasty(depends on your taste). If it is your taste, you can also eat gim as snack with beer. Other countries never produce this food. Isn't it the perfect precondition for the souvenir?
Where to purchase? visit any grocery store or big mart. 16 pack(1 pack is for one meal with rice) is for about $8
4. Socks
Korean socks quality is, just gorgeous. You can never buy that quality socks for that price in any other country. Just buy it. You will never regret this. Also, If you loves k-pop, you can try Psy, Super Junior, SNSD... any k-pop stars on your feet!! You can do this: "Yoona, I choose you today!"
Where to buy? Any big mart(E-mart, Homeplus...) sells nice socks. However if you are looking for cheaper, more(lots of) character designed socks, try visiting big arcade markets. $1~3 is usual for each pair of socks.
1. Green tea
Like Japanese and Chinese, Koreans also make and consume green tea. If you were from western countries, I swear our green tea is much better & fresher than the green tea in your country. Why? Simply, we drinks more green tea so we make more! If you have time and money more than usual, visit Boseong for the best quality green tea!
Where to purchase? Just visit any grocery store or big mart. You can find a 25 tea bag box for $3, which will give 1 month morning calm to your friend!
2. Nail clipper
One South Korea company is making world best quality nail clipper(yes! which you use meet every week). It is funny to think of giving a nail clipper for a souvenir. However, it can be one of the most useful gift which can stay alive in your aunt's closet for a DECADE!!
Where to purchase? You can purchase one nail clipper for about $2~3 at any convenience store! Also cosmetic shops sell nail clippers set for $6~15.
3. Gim
Gim is a kind of sea weed. Koreans and Japaneses enjoy eating gim in various way. Koreans usually toasted dried gim with rice. Fresh gim is really healthy and tasty(depends on your taste). If it is your taste, you can also eat gim as snack with beer. Other countries never produce this food. Isn't it the perfect precondition for the souvenir?
Where to purchase? visit any grocery store or big mart. 16 pack(1 pack is for one meal with rice) is for about $8
4. Socks
Korean socks quality is, just gorgeous. You can never buy that quality socks for that price in any other country. Just buy it. You will never regret this. Also, If you loves k-pop, you can try Psy, Super Junior, SNSD... any k-pop stars on your feet!! You can do this: "Yoona, I choose you today!"
Where to buy? Any big mart(E-mart, Homeplus...) sells nice socks. However if you are looking for cheaper, more(lots of) character designed socks, try visiting big arcade markets. $1~3 is usual for each pair of socks.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Structure of Korean Names
Today I'd like to post about the shapes of Korean names. Very basic things for me and all Koreans but I am sure it will be interesting to you, who visited here!
Do you know any Korean? Probably PSY will be the best known Korean these days. However, that "PSY" word is definitely not a Korean name. So I would give another world-famous example. Rising star, the man of 2012, Pyongyang style Kim Jong Un(김정은)~!!
First let's check which part is the family name and the given name.
Can you guess what Kim Jong Un's family name is? Usually globally, given name first, family name last so Un is his family name right? Definitely not. If you remember his father's name(also world-famous or infamous) Kim Jong Il, then you will notice that "Un" is the only part changed from his father's name.
Then the answer came out! "Kim Jong" has not been changed so its their family name! No, went too far. Almost every(not all but 99%) Korean family name is consist of one Korean character(which usually is one English syllable). So in this case, Kim(김) is their family name.
Also almost every Korean given name(again, 99%) is consist of two Korean characters, 2 syllables. So "Jong Un" is his given name. We use family name first and given name last every time in Korea. Never use given name first.
But outside Korea, we usually follow westerner's rule, first name first. If you ever heard "Yu Na Kim"(figure skater) or Ji Sung Park(football player), or watched any sports game versus Korean team, they are probably using family name + given name style. Kim Jong Un is very rare case. His whole name has already been used as one specific word following his father's name.
There are one more thing happening by the translation from Korean to English. Koreans do not give spacing between characters of names(for example, "Lee Dong Hae" is written as 이동해, no spacing between first and last name). When somebody converting his/her name, for example 이동해 to English, he should choose which spacing type he will use.
At first, many Koreans used their given name without spacing, like "Donghae". However it confused people who do not know Korean naming. Probably he meant it to be read as "Dong Hae" but someone could think it as "Don Ghae". Someone possibly give a call to speak to Mr. Don Ghae.
So recently many Korean uses hyphen(-) between the 2 given name characters like this: Dong-hae. There is another type I used in this article, giving spacing between every single character of given name. However, as you have seen from the case of Kim Jung Un, it could result more confusing. Someone might find Mr. Un on phone.
I prefer and would suggest inserting hyphen between characters of given name. In this way, people can tell each Korean characters and are not confused as middle name.
Do you know any Korean? Probably PSY will be the best known Korean these days. However, that "PSY" word is definitely not a Korean name. So I would give another world-famous example. Rising star, the man of 2012, Pyongyang style Kim Jong Un(김정은)~!!
First let's check which part is the family name and the given name.
Can you guess what Kim Jong Un's family name is? Usually globally, given name first, family name last so Un is his family name right? Definitely not. If you remember his father's name(also world-famous or infamous) Kim Jong Il, then you will notice that "Un" is the only part changed from his father's name.
Then the answer came out! "Kim Jong" has not been changed so its their family name! No, went too far. Almost every(not all but 99%) Korean family name is consist of one Korean character(which usually is one English syllable). So in this case, Kim(김) is their family name.
Also almost every Korean given name(again, 99%) is consist of two Korean characters, 2 syllables. So "Jong Un" is his given name. We use family name first and given name last every time in Korea. Never use given name first.
But outside Korea, we usually follow westerner's rule, first name first. If you ever heard "Yu Na Kim"(figure skater) or Ji Sung Park(football player), or watched any sports game versus Korean team, they are probably using family name + given name style. Kim Jong Un is very rare case. His whole name has already been used as one specific word following his father's name.
There are one more thing happening by the translation from Korean to English. Koreans do not give spacing between characters of names(for example, "Lee Dong Hae" is written as 이동해, no spacing between first and last name). When somebody converting his/her name, for example 이동해 to English, he should choose which spacing type he will use.
At first, many Koreans used their given name without spacing, like "Donghae". However it confused people who do not know Korean naming. Probably he meant it to be read as "Dong Hae" but someone could think it as "Don Ghae". Someone possibly give a call to speak to Mr. Don Ghae.
So recently many Korean uses hyphen(-) between the 2 given name characters like this: Dong-hae. There is another type I used in this article, giving spacing between every single character of given name. However, as you have seen from the case of Kim Jung Un, it could result more confusing. Someone might find Mr. Un on phone.
I prefer and would suggest inserting hyphen between characters of given name. In this way, people can tell each Korean characters and are not confused as middle name.
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