The new amazing podcast SeoulGlow is featuring the eponymous street food, Ddeokbokki (ë–¡ë³µ… nah, I can’t spell it) with SeoulGlow creator Michael Hurt (Mr. Metropolitician himself) and radio DJ Susan Choung, whose background includes working for Alice Waters.
Alice freakin’ Waters, dude.
Susan knows her stuff. And what’s with the vinegar drink Mike is trying to push on her?
This was the first video I made back in September 2004, around Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving. Brant and I were shopping for stuff for a foreigner party at his place. I found out later that Home Plus doesn’t let people film in or near its stores. I guess I got away with it.
While we were shopping, Eric, our supervisor, was trying to track us down because the school owners wanted to have us over for some small face time. We found out by the few who weren’t so evasive that we didn’t miss anything. In the background in one shot, you can barely make out Brant saying on his phone, “Tell Eric that we went out of town.”
Home Plus is a little different from your western big box superstore, with shrink-wrapped octopus,
rows of fresh kimchis,
and tables of meat!
There are also some western fusions of traditional western cuisine, such as sandwich kimbap.
Since it was Chuseok, all the stores were selling gift packs. It seemed a popular one was a gift set of tuna and canned ham…
with its own carrying case.
I have finally gotten around to editing the second in a series of three or four videos of my week long trip to Osaka almost a year ago.
This picks up where “Part 1: Kyoto” left off. I had a hard time getting to Kyoto because there was little to no English on any of the signs. The only English at the Information Booth was the word “Information.” I took the slow trains up there and figured out that I could have been taking the express trains all along.
So an early departure ended up in a late return. It was night by the time I returned to Namba Station in Osaka. Kids were breakdancing in the courtyard. The streets were buzzing with locals and tourists looking for fun, food, and robot clowns beating on drums.
This, so far, has been my most fun video to put together. There were a few inside jokes and some bad, bad jokes in there. I eat some blowfish and survive. I had more danger eating Takoyaki, fried octopus balls. Those buggers come out hot!