South Korea

It's the 11th of June, and while we are 8 countries in for the month, I haven't posted any blogs. Now, I've been sort of smart about this- because while I haven't typed up the info section on each country, I've been posting the pictures and writing the dinner portion as I go. So, while it's going to take me awhile to get caught up on these blogs- it's not as bad as it seems. 

Let's first talk about this project for a minute, while totally fun, it is a bit difficult to have meals out or with friends, because if we're out, we're not eating a country meal. Last time our friend Tracy was over, we ordered pizza and explained the dilemma. She said she'd be happy to be here for a country. A couple of days after Calib's birthday is Tracy's, so we invited her over for dinner- a country of her choice. She picked South Korea. 

South Korea is like it's neighbor, Japan, in that it is also eccentric and traditional all at the same time. Japan also, is accessible to South Koreans by a three hour ferry ride, in case you were wondering. 

It's the country that brought us Gangnam Style, and K-Pop. There's a 'toilet themed museum' called Restroom Cultural Park (the building is shaped like a toilet and there is a sculpture garden dedicated to people on the loo), and it's a country who loves their strange gadgets and gizmos just as much as their neighbors just across the sea of Japan. 

But, they also honor their traditions with the changing of the guard at the 'Great South Gate' that has occurred for more than 800 years, a love for their national parks, and a whole day dedicated to their writing system. (It's called Hangeul Day and it is celebrated on the 9th of October). 

When I first started making all these little info sheets for each country, our 'landmarks' were often National Parks of areas of geographical significance. But, after so many countries, that kind of seems redundant, so I tried to mix it up a bit. (I did them all in alphabetical order, so now you can tell the ones that come later alphabetically have a bit more 'quirky' things for their landmark.) 

Our landmark for South Korea was Everland, South Korea's largest theme park. It's divided into five zones: Global Fair, European Adventure, Magic Land, Zootopia, and American Adventure. It sounds like a mix of all of Disney in one. It's also home to Asia's first ever wooden roller coaster. 

Some other interesting things about South Korea: 

It's home to Samsung, the largest smartphone manufacturer. And South Koreans love their smart phones, as 98% of the country has more than one of them! 

Also, in South Korea, when you are born you're already 'one' year old, because you're considered living in your first year of life. (Which means if we lived in South Korea, Calib would be 18!) 

The country also hosts a 'mud bath festival' every year where there are mud slides, mud showers and mud pools to play in! 

The boys made their South Korean postcards, and to the surprise of nobody they all included Everland. (My kids love a good theme park) 

Calib also noted the DMZ and missiles from our lesson on North Korea, as we continued to talk a bit about the Korean War and the relationship between the two countries.  

Peyton added some of the high tech skyscrapers of Seoul. 

It's hard to tell in this small picture, but Hayden's guard at the South Gate is drawn very well, complete with the scaly decorated uniforms they wear. 

We decided a good crowd pleaser for South Korean dinner would be Korean Barbecue, so Asa found a recipe for Korean Barbecue Pork Chops. We still had a big pork roast left from when Sprouts had an amazing deal on them, so we decided to go with that. But then, while on our trip to Trader Joe's this week, Asa found a bottle of Korean Barbecue Sauce with an ingredients list that read just like the recipe, so take a short cut where you can get it, you know? Not to mention, Trader Joe's has awesome sauces (ha! awesomesauce!), so we knew it would be good. 

Asa slow cooked the pork and the bbq sauce, and we served it along side some rice. He also made Sigeumchi Namui (Korean Spinach), and Gamja Jorim (Korean Braised Potatoes). Our fruit for Korea was strawberries. 

This dinner earned 5 spoons up. (That's out of six, since Tracy was here) 

Hayden was not a huge fan of the meal (he wanted to give it a spoons up- but he didn't pass the often sited 'Proposition One' which says you have to finish 50% of your dinner to get to pick a bedtime snack), but the four of us and Tracy enjoyed it. 

Obviously the pork was good. It was a little spicy for Calib and me, but if I made sure I had some rice with it, I could deal. 

The potatoes were the stand outs here. Everyone agreed they were yummy. Lots of people had seconds. 

The Spinach though was just alright for the grown ups, and the kids didn't particularly care for it. 

We let Tracy pick the color for the table, and color in South Korea, since it was her pick for her birthday. And of course, a birthday means cake, so we took a little help from the Publix bakery and ordered a mini yellow cake with chocolate frosting. 

There's South Korea colored in yellow. 

That's 90 down, 103 to go!

Next Up: Congo