"Millions of Kimchi"

"Millions of Kimchi"

[and now, for guest post by Dan, one of my partners in crime in Seoul. He was lucky enough to witness kimchi, live in the act of making.]

“Millions of peaches, peaches for me, Millions of peaches, peaches for free”

… if the Presidents of the USA were a Korean band, they would have written about kimchi, not peaches… “Millions of kimchi, kimchi for free” (though they’d probably have a different band name too). So so much kimchi, and always for free.

It was a nice distraction during my final week in Seoul to witness the making of a batch of kimchi right
out my apartment window. The owner of the restaurant that was making it is a very well respected
woman in the neighborhood, so it appeared that many people came out to help in the process. I feel
fortunate to have become friends with her. Even though we could not talk to each other, we seemed to
have been able to communicate successfully. She took good care of me, I’ll always be grateful for her
kindness.

I like kimchi, though I have become slightly picky, as each restaurant’s is a little bit different, so some I
find more to my tasting. As I always have at least one bite of the various banchans provided, I always
finished my kimchi. It will be interesting to see how I find the taste of kimchi back in the USA.

All these awesome photos courtesy of Dan.

 

 

Back in STL - Seoul Exhibition

Back in STL - Seoul Exhibition

Whew.

That's all i have to say to sum up that last few weeks. Even before school started, I was already in full gear, trying to finish up loose ends of the studio project from Seoul. I was instructed to rebuild my physical model (there was no way I was going to opt to ship it all the way from Korea... very unlikely foamcore would travel well). So, like a lemming, I convinced myself that I HAD to build a new one...so I did. Not quite sure if the labor was worth it, but it did come out decent.

Here are some photos of the exhibit that was in Givens Hall.

What a wonder korean characters do to a intro board

   

Dan pondering over Natasha's project

I'll have some model photos once I get my model back from administration.

Back Stateside -- Honey Pig

Back Stateside -- Honey Pig

Last night I ventured with friends (and Living Social voucher) to the Honey Pig in Ellicott City. I'm still in the afterglow of a great four months in Korea, so of course, I was a skeptic.

Before we walked in, the groups of people waiting were bursting out the door! Me having #gradstudentproblems, mumbled, "If this was Korea, we'd just walk to the place next door." Of course it was because Honey Pig sold a ridiculous amount of discount vouchers, but also because Honey Pig is now known for THE place to eat BBQ in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area.

Verdict: the place was delicious. I will always love a place with delicious pork belly. I was in great company with two good friends, so the time was well spent on eating meat and dishing dirt.

The Pros:

1) MEAT. Grilled. Duh!

2) It's open 24 Hours.

3) There's Korean beer! Yay, more Cass!!

4) the exhaust system seems to work more than the ones did in Seoul. I did the sniff test on my clothes after, and it wasn't too bad!


But... being fresh out of Korea, there were some cons:

1) They don't let you cut and cook your own meat! (I do understand it's probably better this way since some people don't know how to properly man the griddle...but still.... i would have liked the option to DIY)

2) The line was horrendous. We waited like 40 minutes for a table (Ok, they made bank doing that living social deal... and apparently they give 25% off the entire bill if the Redskins win.)

3) The location is in a strip mall. The great thing about the BBQ places in Seoul were that they were smack dab in the middle of the city, so you can stumble out of dinner and down the street to a bar afterwards.

4) The sparse banchan... left so much more to be desired. what happened to the mounds and mounds of kimchi and seasoned bean sprouts! They don't serve their korean peppers whole -- they're sliced.

5) No wet naps?! Koreaaaaa, come back to me. Those were the best things ever / no-brainers for a restaurant where you eat with your hands.

Again, I am being too critical. It was a delicious BBQ meal, and just makes me reflective of the awesome culinary times I had. Can't wait to do it again. I need to brush up on my korean food words again!

From Bojagi to Model

From Bojagi to Model

Bojagi: wrapping cloth

I told myself I'd make more models in Grad school. As of yet, I never really gave myself the time to invest in a quality physical model. Which is why I told myself I couldn't wuss out on the 1/50 sectional model we were "required" to complete for our final review.

For those non-architecture, 1/50 means 1/2 centimeter = 1 meter. Which means, big model.

My project was inspired by the traditional korean dress, the hanbok, as well as the korean quiltwork, jogakbo. Themes included use of crease, seams, and folding to create an envelope that wraps the site. This wrapping was inspired by the bojagi, which koreans use as a utilitarian way to wrap objects for transport, storage, or gift wrapping (sometimes a jogakbo is the bojagi wrapper).

the traditional hanbok

jogakbo = jogak (pieces) + bo (cloth)

bojagi

Here are photos of some process...

folding / creasing a flat plane

 sewing fabric in different jogakbo seams

Older process model, made after midreview

Consulting the digital model

Roof Terrace

Final Review

Final Review

There are a few basic rules of studio I always try to tell myself to keep no matter what:

1) Always maintain a regular shower regimen. No one likes greasy hair (among other things)

2) Try to get sleep every day. Yes, naps (meaning 0-3 hrs of sleep) do count.

3) Always leave studio before the sun rises.

Well, at least I kept up with rules #1 & 3. The day of final review, I had been up for around 36 hours already, and running on adrenaline. I promised myself I'd finish that 1/50 scale model before I went home, which I did. I walked home a few hours before review to accomplish Rule #1, and eat. I had thoroughly impressed myself with how I had survived in the past three weeks with such lack of sleep, and I must admit, I was getting delirious towards the last night, especially when I was the only one left in studio.

I was third to present, and I presented without coffee coursing through my veins, which was surprising to me. My tactic to stay awake was not to wear a jacket. It was bloody freezing in the presentation space (Koreans, ever heard of proper insulation?!?). After taping (masking tape, classy) my boards to the wall, my brain went dead. I couldn't seem to mentally prepare my thoughts, so I said to myself, "I guess I'm winging this thing again."

Somehow I pulled it off because afterwards my professor said to me," I don't know how you pulled it off, but you did!" Comments from the jury were all positive; and I was glad I made that big model. It's good to finally get an overall good review after a blood-sweat-tears kind of semester.

Me trying to gather my thoughts

Showing my stitchwork, done with lack of sleep

One happy Seoul studio (afterwards of course)

Our last time at the Black Tent

After BBQ we walked to another place to have drinks. On the way, I walked beside Junsung and asked him if he was going to miss us American kids.

He replied: "Oh yes, or course. My body will not have the ability to NOT miss you all. You know, before you guys came, I was really discouraged with teaching the Korean students. They aren't easily self-inspired or self-motivated; it's really hard to teach them. After teaching you guys, I have more of a motivation and inspiration to keep teaching."

I was really moved by that. Junsung is usually a very dramatic person when it comes to expressing his feelings about architecture and whatnot, but I really felt that he was being really candid. I'm glad we could affect a professor just as much as they have affected us.