Football only part of Choi’s journey
Here’s a very culturally sensitive article written about Nebraska University football player Seung Hoon Choi, who started his first game last week against the Washington Huskies. The article is partly in response to a Washington player who was lining up against Choi who reportedly called him a “fat Asian.”
“He’s actually kind of an extraordinary person,” said Roxane McCoskey, a kind of second mother to Choi in America, who wore his No. 77 jersey to Saturday’s game. “He’s very charismatic. He’s not really a life of the party, but everyone loves him.”
Fell And Cole Controversy: SF Businesses Give South Korean Ice Cream Shop The Cold Shoulder
Huffington Post
Thanks to our friends at CNN, we recently learned about a little spot in Seoul, South Korea called Fell and Cole — a San Francisco-inspired ice cream shop.
According to CNN, owner Ho-June “Tristan” Choi fell in love with our local flavors while gaining an MBA at the University of San Francisco. “I can have my little San Francisco right here,” he said in the story. And he isn’t just talking about the ice cream. Mumford and Sons blasts from the stereo and the walls are adorned with Michael Schwab’s graphic prints of Bay Area landmarks.
But while some of us couldn’t be happier about the SF-trend-gone-global, others (more specifically, those who actually created the trend) are seething. After seeing an exact replica of company flavors like Jesus Juice (title and all), Humphry Slocombe tweeted “Um @CNN, if by “Organic & Honest” u mean blatantly ripping us & BiRite-u nailed it. Anyone for a cease & desist sundae?” Ice cream with attitude is right!
[South Korea’s] First lady ‘coaches’ chefs on Korean food amid criticism
Korea Times
The South Korean government has been pumping money into the marketing of Korean food abroad. Korea’s first lady went to an event in New York to offer encouragement to Korean and Korean American chefs.
First lady Kim Yoon-ok stepped up efforts Thursday to promote Korean food in New York, the Mecca for dishes from around the world.
Kim coached chefs and owners of Korean restaurants on how to meet the expectations of New Yorkers with the traditional cuisine.
Her “offering of tips” for the successful spread of Korean dishes comes amid skepticism over the government-backed drive to promote the food abroad.
Critics say the multi-billion won campaign pushed by the government has not borne fruit so far and is wasting taxpayer’s money.
S. Korea leads the world in download speeds
Washington Post
Not that it’s a surprise, but South Korea smokes the rest of the world when it comes to Internet speeds, according to a recent study from Pando Networks. Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia and Japan also made the top of the list. Worldwide, the U.S. ranks 26th, according to the study.
South Korea outstrips the rest of the world by a healthy margin — an average speed of 2,202 KBps — which is more than Great Britain, Turkey, Spain and Australia combined. The U.S. clocks in with a mean speed of 616 KBps, above average but far from the speediest.
Debutant in England hoping to make his mark
Yonhap
Park Chu-young started his professional career for FC Seoul back in 2005 and was instantly the most popular player in the competition. At the time, he was regarded as the next big thing in Korean soccer and six years later, that has proven to be the case. After three seasons in the K-League and three seasons with AS Monaco in France, the 26-year-old striker will be playing alongside some of the best players in the world under the watchful eye of legendary French coach Arsene Wenger.
“We are always happy to see players who started in the K-league go on to play for some of the best teams in the world in some of the best leagues in the world,” said Kwon Sung-jin, deputy general manager of the K-League. “The likes of Ki Sung-yong, Lee Chung-yong, Ji Dong-won, Koo Ja-cheol and Lee Young-pyo have all shown over the years that the K-League is a competitive league that develops talent that can play anywhere in the world.”
Seoul’s 6 coolest subway stops
CNNGo
Even apart from the people-watching (ajummas with sharp elbows, ajeoshis in soju-induced comas, young women in gravity-defying mini-skirts and kill-heels) Seoul subways can make for some amusing rides.
We’ve rounded up some of the coolest stops and rides on the Seoul subway. Next time you’re heading near any of these stops, try to tear yourself away from Angry Birds and take a good look around.
Makgeolli bread
The Korea Blog
Makgeolli is a milky colored Korean rice wine, usually with an alcohol content around 6-8%. It’s often drunk in combinations with 파전 (scallion pancake) or in Jeonju with exotic side dishes. It’s also great for making bread.
Wait, what? You can make bread with makgeolli? How on earth is that possible? Don’t bother googling it in English, I tried. There is not one single web page in English that has the exact phrase “makgeolli bread” (and I tried other spelling variations as well, nothing comes up). Don’t worry, I’ll explain.
The first thing you need to do is mix makgeolli with flour and make dough. Makgeolli is made with a yeast called 누룩 or nuruk. This yeast also makes dough rise. And you get something that looks like this:
“Better You” by David Choi
YouTube
[ad#graphic-square]
