Spring is finally here!! The weather is finally humane enough for hanging out (at least for me), and the flowers are blooming everywhere and it’s beautiful~~
So to commemorate the beginning of spring I went with my friends to watch the film Twenty starring Kim Woobin, Kang Haneul and 2PM Junho! Some of the cinemas in Seoul offer English subtitles for Korean movies so be sure to check it out before heading down ^^ The Sinchon CGV is one of those that offer movies in English subtitles (for certain showtimes), as well as Hongdae CGV as far as I know.
Korean film Twenty starring Kim Woobin, Kang Haneul and 2PM Junho!
Popcorn is a must for me when I come to cinemas ㅋㅋ Large popcorn + 2 drinks + nachos is only W10,500!! Much cheaper than Singapore I think.
So I came to watch it for Woobin and Kang Haneul, I won’t lie about it. But I was also hoping to find something that would make me think about my 19-year-old self too (Korean age 20 is international age 19). It turns out that the film was quite a male perspective so it was hard for me to identify with, but it was funny enough. Plus I think there seem to be this genre of Korean films that is comedy but tries to bring up social issues. It’s sort of using comedy to attract people into the theaters and then put before them the ills of society faced by the main characters. This film for instance, is not only about 3 guys searching for their path in life at the crossroads, nor is it only about their love stories. It’s also about society and the problems with redevelopment of towns for instance, or having to give up their dreams to face up to reality and get a job. It also criticizes the drinking culture in universities (where the sunbaes make hoobaes drink up so much) and it questions the society — why can’t a student date her professor?
After the film we headed to one of our favorite spots — 고삼이! Basically it’s famous for it’s Fried Mackerel and my friends love to order the stir-fried squid (오징오 볶음) which is cooked in a very South-east Asian style.
Fried mackerel and stir-fried squid at 고삼이 in Sinchon!
Personally I don’t like fish because I’m afraid of the fishy taste, and I don’t like squid too. I don’t eat fish unless forced to, and I usually don’t touch anything squid at all. But in this eatery I really go against all my “principles.” The fish is just so good!! There’s no fishy smell at all and it really goes well with rice. As for the squid, I guess I tolerate it because of the sauce. I’m pretty sure it’s sambal, or something similar! It always reminds me of home whenever I eat here 🙂 Actually they even have a VIP table for Malaysians, and many tourists come here too! It’s quite popular among Muslim travelers as it is one of the non-meat options available (since it’s not so easy to find halal food in Korea) plus it’s made in a very Southeast Asian style. And the price is pretty reasonable too, it was W15,000 for the two dishes + 3 bowls of rice. They also serve barley tea (보리차), which I find refreshing especially when it comes to summer months.
For directions to 고삼이:
Address: 53-8 Changcheon-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul
After dinner we were about to go home, and we saw that there was a concert going on right in front of Sinchon Uplex (as usual). It turns out that Haha and Skull were performing for the 평화나비 Concert!
You can’t see them (well I was all the way at the back of the crowd) but yes I assure you that is Haha and Skull ㅋㅋㅋ
Basically the 평화나비 (translates literally to “peace butterfly”) is an organization that fights for the rights of the comfort women. The concert was organized by the National University Student Council to urge the resolution of the problem. Two grannies who were comfort women during the Second World War came to say thank you to the students who were participating in the concert too.
A short clip that I took of Haha & Skull performance:
And to end off the night, photo of cherry blossoms along Sinchon!
Cherry blossom trees along Sinchon.
The trees used to be much bigger and the view used to be so much better, but after the reconstruction of Yonsei-ro two years ago the old and huge cherry blossom trees were chopped down ): They replanted these trees again but they are just so tiny and the feeling is just different…
Anyway I’ll be sneaking off to some nice cherry blossom locations this year to take some photos! I’m thinking of doing up a post on spring in Korea (and I mean it this time, for real!) Till then, take care and good luck to everyone who submitted their applications!
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