Pok Po!

Pok po is the Korean word for Waterfall. They chose this word because Pok Po is the sound that the water falling makes when it hits the water beneath. So basically Pok Po is the word to describe the sound that a waterfall makes!

So my friend Liz and I decided to visit the only other city on Jeju island, Seongwipo,and check out the sites around the immediate city! On Saturday we hopped on a bus and took a trip down. The bus trip itself was adventurous, including a moment when another passenger (male in his 40s) dropped a lighter. I picked up the lighter for him and gave it back. 10-20mins later he hands me a note with a 'Thank you' and his number and name written on it. Creepy...


The theme of Saturday was basically going to 2 waterfalls : JeongBang and Cheonjiyeon, but seeing whatever we wanted along the way!


We first headed to JeongBang and came across a cultural centre for Chinese and Korean relations explaning all about JeongBang waterfall. It was absolutely gorgeous and even included a beautiful garden and multiple stone art works.

And this is what we learned about the myth surrounding the waterfall:

A Chinese Emperor was powerful but was no longer in his youth and worried about his old age. He had heard about an Elixir of Immortal Youth, but no one seemed to know where one could obtain such a thing. One day a wizard claimed that he knew of an herb (on Mt Halla in Jeju) which could make this elixir. He claimed he needed many virgin boys and many virgin girls along with archers and scribes to help him procure this herb. So this wizard went across the ocean, fought a sea dragon and eventually found this herb. Before he left he made multiple prayers to his god in front of the JeongBang waterfall, as well as inscribing "I was here" on the stonecliff wall beside the waterfall. [Actually he wrote his name, but I can't remember the name]

And so we went to see the waterfall!

The waterfall is actually right up against the sea. The sea is literally 5 meters to the left of me there. And of course we did find the inscription on the rock!

Actually a very nice inscription considering that it is just graffiti saying "I was here". It's actually just to the right of the waterfall (perhaps you can notice the wet rocks to the left in this photo)

So afterwards we headed to the Cheonjiyeon waterfall, which is substantially more touristy than this one was. Of course as with most things on this island, it was filled with newlyweds and newborns. To my horror along the way back from the waterfall I saw a grandmother help a little boy pee into the grate, despite a washroom literally being a 1 minute walk away. The entire walkway up to this waterfall is paved and less natural than the last one. But of course it was still very pretty (and who can complain when I can get in for free!)


After this, we decided to wander around aimlessly. We ended up finding a beach with ancient fossilized shells stuck within the rocks. I think that experience would have been more interesting if it wasn't for the fact that the rocks were surrounded by these earwig-cockroach type bugs that were EVERYWHERE and at times got just got a little too big for comfort!



Finally after climbing up a brutal hill we headed to a peninsula that had very beautiful rock formations. A lot of Seongwipo ended up being rocky cliff edges, but there were a few neat places where you could climb down stairs and go onto the rocky shore. One place had a bit of a natural rock pool, so Koreans made a cement wall and actually created a semi pool (I know, a vague description)


By the time we got to the peninsula, the sun had set and you could see little white lights on the horizon from the Squid Fishing Boats. Cus, as it turns out, the squid are the moths of the sea and are attracted to light! Tiny delicious squid happens to be Jeju's specialty, and you can see many restaurants with mini aquariums infront of their store with the Jeju delicacy swiming within.

After that we headed back to Jeju-si and got more Pot-bing-su

Pot-bing-su

Hello Korean Desserts!

First off, I don't tend to like asian desserts. Almost everytime the sweetner is red beans, which is deeply wrong and disturbing for me, and the actual sweet taste... well it is INTENSE. Often the sweet is so overpowering that I almost feel sick to my stomach and start having nightmares about my next dentist visit. So believe me when I say that I was pensive about my first true Korean dessert experience.

Pot-bing-su... which if you mumble fast enough, comes out as poppinzoo (or at least that's how I say it and hear it) is an interesting delicacy.

First imagine a bowl that looks very beautiful. There is a delicious pile of ice cream at the center on top of a massive mound of shaved ice. Surrounding the ice cream is well...

Rice Cakes

Watermelon

Tomatoes

Corn

Corn Flakes

Kiwi

Banana

Pineapple

Yes indeed folks... cherry tomatoes and corn. Then you grab a bowl of red bean sauce (full beans still intact) and begin pouring it over top of everything and start mixing it all together. And then you are left with a bowl... of what may appear to be cold sweet oatmeal. You are also given milk, but I was told that the secret is not to add the milk as it makes the concoction too runny.

My friends who took me can't get enough of it.

I can.

Your Blood Type and Personality

One of the other many quirks of Korea is their belief in personality based upon blood type. Sorta like a blood horoscope.

It was invented in Japan and became popular in the 1930s. It was actually more of a reaction to a European survey that basically said that because Asians tended to be of a certain blood type (I believe A) they were closer to animals who also tended to have that same blood type.

Of course this was blatant racism but still one Japanese man reacted and created the personality blood type concept. His research was ultimately just as faulty as the European and had about as much validity as the Germans did when they made claims about their Aryan blood.

Japan in particular will not only ask for your blood type in a job application but also seperate employees into groups based on blood types. Matchmaker sites in Korea and Japan of course will ask for your blood type to help with compatibility.

I have blood type AB and when I asked my students what that meant the students sorta laughed and looked uncomfortable. They believe that AB is a type that is a mix of both bloods so is a mix of two personalities. A bit of a neurotic and unpredictable personality.

Actually if you watch Anime (Japanese animation) you'll find that almost all of the bad guys have an AB blood type. Ultimately this blood belief has led to mistreatment of certain blood types. Jobs being lost, abuse, etc.

While it is more extreme in Japan, it is very prominent in Korea and it would not be uncommon for someone to inquire about your blood type. I will be sure to discuss it more as I find out more about it.

One last thing to ponder: On Average Japanese tend to have an A blood type, while Americans tend to have B.

Love Land Baby!

Now before you ask this is a strictly 18+ Park! None of my students have even heard of this park, and the only people inside were giggling adults and absolutely no children!

When I first arrived in Jeju I was given a map of Jeju island. One of the first 2 things I narrowed in on was 'Love Land' and 'Psyche Land'. This past Sunday my friend Mike and I headed out to check out Love Land.

First: A little Information

Jeju island is basically a honeymoon destination for Asia, and I have been told that places like Love Land and the Sex & Health Museum have be created to teach newlyweds about sex. Now when I went through high school I went through 4 Sex Ed. classes, so this theory was a bit strange for me. But after speaking to my students and learning just how... well little they know, I would not be surprised if there was a grain of truth to that theory. But don't worry Koreans aren't getting pregnant left right and center as they are rather more conservative than our culture; so, while they may be uneducated in safe sex, they aren't really having it. (Mostly, a 11 year old student was recently knocked up in Jeju-si according to my students). I've asked a few Koreans and many say that the average age for sexual activity is about 17. I hope by then they've googled some of the basics...

Onto Love Land!

Mike took me there on his motorcycle up until a fateful red light, where his gear switch wire broke from the handle. So after pushing it down into some random road and leaving a note asking that people not steal the bike, we walked the rest of the way to Love Land.

Love Land is basically a park with sexual statues depicting 'interpretations' of sex. I can't even really say that it shows off all the Kama Sutra moves, because it really doesn't. So Mike and I headed in. It basically is a giant garden (of sorts) with a pond in the center and numerous themed statues dotted around the area. The interpretations were varied, from extreme abstract statues of 2 people having sex, to a horrendous fat woman chasing an old skinny man, to world themes, and even a man and his dog both doing perverted things.

There were a couple of buildings you could enter as well. One building had numerous sex toys and old 80s photographs of porn scenes. Luckily (?) there was a store where you could buy most of the toys in the showcases. In that same building there were little boxes with miniature scenes being acted out, reflecting supposed scenes of reality (strip clubs, voyeurism, prostitutes, classrooms, etc).

There was one scene of a an all-male bath house where men were laughing at one mans small penis. Do men really do this?

The other buildings housed more souvenirs. Although most of the souvenirs were big phalices carved from wood... which I'm not sure I'd ever really want sitting in my house as 'art'.

Ultimately this 'museum' was worth the 7$ I spent and gave me more than one laugh and definately a couple of awkward moments. However I have no idea what sex education any human being would have grabbed from that place. Since most of the statues were 'imaginative' to say the least, it wasnt' educating in that form. And apart from a store where you could buy protection, there was no section on safe sex, or AIDS, or STDs. But it certainly a good definition of Amusement Park!

White Hair Sexy?

I haven't been updating as much lately because to be honest, I haven't had overly much to say. Sadly I haven't made it out of the city yet, and I still haven't seen very much. A fact that is becoming embarassing to say the least.

So instead of telling stories of drunken nights, I figure instead I'll talk a bit about K-pop. K-pop can probably be best described as very formulaic. They're definately sticking to a known style of music that inevitably becomes very popular. My kids will probably be more likely to talk about the 'hip-hop' (and believe me, I use that term very loosely with these bands) bands "2NE1" and "Big Bang". They were created by the company, YG entertainment, who at some point decided that Hip hop was an untapped market in Korea and decided to form the 5-boy band: Big Bang. They were of course a hit, and so YG decided to create a female counterpart, having just released the band 2NE1 this year.

Because the music is so formulaic there is a definite 50% chance of you liking the song or at least having it stuck in your head. It wont change the face of music like Bohemian Rhapsody, but it will be your favourite guilty pleasure.

The latest hit is "Heartbreaker" by G Dragon (the leader of Big Bang). G Dragon is famous for having a different look for every song/album release. Sorta like Madonna... but perhaps you'll find yourself staring at G Dragon a whole lot more.


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As you can see he looks a bit like an anime character, and I honestly can't tell whether I find this sexy or not. I think so? In Korean music videos, the dance moves can make the song more popular than the song itself. So you'll find that every video will have signature dance move :D. In case you can't tell, the signature move would be the running move he pulls off twice in the vid.

So what do you think? Is G Dragon's new look hot?