Jang Sa Ik, famous Korean folk singer
Enthusiastic Opening Ceremony Performers
This picture was in the Gwangju newspaper.
This man, dressed in the traditional hanbok, loved Jenni!
Various dishes of kimchiGwangju is such a fantastic city. Not only does it have great transportation, inexpensive dining/nightlife, easy access to neighboring mountains, but it a place where modern life and traditional culture co-exist. Korea seems so developed, but it isn't uncommon to see a tractor holding up traffic on a busy street, hanbok (traditional clothing), and nothing, not even fried CHICKEN, can dethrone the beloved kimchi and other traditional foods.
A few weeks ago, I made spaghetti for the church I worship at on Sundays. It is small and intimate with less than twenty members so after mass we always eat lunch together. Not many people stray from sticky white rice, which is eaten at every meal including breakfast, and Korean side dishes. Therefore, the church was excited for me to cook something. My spaghetti turned out pretty good (thank goodness! I definitely don't consider myself a good cook and it was hard to find certain ingredients at a decent price!). But regardless of my western influence, it was humorous to see some individuals mix kimchi and rice to their own spaghetti. :-)
Gwangju is famous for the Kimchi festival. There are various types of kimchi, but basically it is seasoned, pickled vegetables (most commonly made with white cabbage) that is stored underground or in refrigerators to keep from fermenting during the winter months. It can be traced back to ancient times. It also helped Korea during extreme poverty, especially during the winter months. It is a huge source of fiber and Vitamin C. Today, it is still the most important component to every meal, even breakfast. Koreans believe its the cure-all food and that it brings good health. Often times I hear messages of how eating kimchi prevents the swine flu. :-) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimchi
At the Kimchi festival, there was traditional music during the opening ceremony and we had the chance to season cabbage for kimchi production. I was excited to hear Jang Sa Ik sing live. Dad and I listened to him sing "Arirang," one of the best-known Korean folk songs, on youtube before I came here to teach. This song is powerful for many Koreans and Dad remembers listening to it live when he was in Korea.
Making kimchi was a bit overwhelming, because of all the cameras that swarmed around the tables with foreigners. At one point I could have counted more than ten cameras! Not only was that a bit uncomfortable, but this woman kept hand feeding me bits of kimchi so that the camera men could get a good shot of westerners experiencing "the healthiest food on earth." This was such a strange ordeal, but it was a huge realization of how much Korea and Korean culture wants to be recognized in other parts of the world.
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