Girls Generation Chocolate Phone

Companies have always found interesting ways to hawk their wares. Way back in the day the Hasbro company brought us the great cartoon show, "Transformers," in order to sell their toys. These days in Korea, phone companies are using pop bands to sell phones. I think the first one was called the Samsung Anyband, and it featured prominent K-pop stars singing about and using the Samsung Anyphone. After that Samsung came out with the Amoled phone and took girl band "Afterschool," added Son Dam Bi to form the voltron head and created the Amoled band.

Not to be out done, LG decided to give me all kinds of queasy and uncomfortable feelings by dolling up 소녀시대 (Girls Generation) in all kinds of different outfits to sing about the new LG chocolate phone.

A few years ago, back when I was working in a box factory, in between stints in Korea, I remember how Verizon wireless was advertising the Chocolate phone. The chocolate phone was simply the free phone that came with the Verizon service. The commercial was in no way interesting, it was just a guy saying that when you sign up for the service you can get blah blah blah minutes free and take advantage of their 3g nation wide service, "Can you hear me now."

I can't help but wonder how the 30 second spot of the above chocolate commercial would go down back in some parts of the states. I would play this commercial mostly on CNN, FOX news, or MSNBC. Most of the commercials on those channels are for erectile dysfunction drugs, when they aren't commercials for other programs on their own channels. (Damn you CNN, I love watching 50 seconds of Anderson Cooper 360 then watching 10 commercials, one of which is a commercial for Anderson Cooper 360, eight other are for other shows on C.N.N, and then the only commercial that C.N.N. makes any money off of is for Cialis, great job guys.)

At any rate, the iphone is slow to come to Korea, and the Korea times has already started its doomsday predictions about how it won't be popular in Korea. For all of the fear of foreign competition I think that Korea should just boost its domestic cell phone ads in other countries in order to increase sales. Either one of two things could happen, people would buy more chocolate phones, or more people would associate their phone with sex and slink off into a locked closet every time someone calls them.

Actually I think the worst thing is that, I kind of like this song. The beats are kind of cool.

고집불통

Had lunch today at a place called "Go Jib bul tong" Once again I wish I had charged my camera battery because this samgyupsal place has a nice picture of a pig giving a thumbs up. I felt that having a full samgyupsal meal by myself for lunch would have been a bit extravagent so I opted to merely have a bowl of 해장국. The Haejang gook it's self was nothing to write home about. The pork tasted old wasn't very tender. The meal was passable though. I'll give it Two and a half ajosshis.

김밥 천국 2 부

Ladies, gentlemen, Romans, countrymen, I have finlay gotten around to writing a review for for the other Kimbab Chungook in Geumsan. Before I get started, I would like to thank reader .... for pointing out my mistaken Korean and lazy blogging. The franchise is not called 김밥청국 but rather 김밥천국. So thanks to .... for clearing that up.

At any rate the meal was very interesting because this was a different Kimbab chungook than the one that I reviewed before. Last time I ordered a tuna kimbab, a salad kimbab and some kimchi mandu. Last time I wanted some fried mandu, but it wasn't on their menu. Curiously, though, there was fried mandu at the kimbab chungook that I went to today.

Today I once again had a tuna kimbab as well as a bowl of 육게장 Yook kae jang. The service today was a bit late but that had only to do with the place being swamped during lunch hour, and there was only one lady cooking. (The other place had a lady making kimbab and the other making kitchen items.) It was quite a novelty to see this lady in her pink rubber boots slamming together lines of kimbab faster than the wink of an eye, and seeing her friend brow beat her husband the delivery man for being too slow and for answering the phone with a mere grunt rather than saying anyong hassaeyo kimab chungook imnida.

Slow as it was though, I was treated to a four sided plate of banchan. Present were some blanched potatoes, some kimchi, some kind of dwenjang and vinegar green thing which was quite delicious and some candied fish which I didn't touch. Eventually my kimbab came. I was pleased to find that the rice was a little warm. There existed some differences in the tuna from the last time though. Last week the kimbab's tuna went straight from can to roll, while the tuna today seemed to have some kind of tangy sauce mixed in it. Perhaps a miracle whip or something. This pate of tuna and special sauce fit nicely with the gentle sour of the 단부지. This is not to say that one is better than the other they are just different. Strangely different since 김밥천국 is a franchise, one would think that there would be some consistency in the recipes.

I polished of the kimbab in a few minutes before the soup came with a fresh plate of banchan and a bowl of rice. There isn't much to report about the soup. I wonder how they make it. I doubt that an instant place like Kimbab heaven would put time into boiling beef parts in order to make broth, so I wonder if the broth is from some kind of can or something. I enjoyed the soup, salty could describe it best. Surprised was the face of a customer who inquired to the lady about what I was eating. Other than that the soup didn't have much to offer.

Now I would like to introduce my rating system of ajoshis. Highest rating is the five ajoshi, which is the kind uncle who gives you money on holidays. Number four ajoshi is the guy who converses with you on the bus or subway and has interesting things to say. This could also be a taxi driver who takes you quickly to your destination and helps you practice Korean. Three ajoshi is the guy who gives you a nod and leaves you alone. Two ajoshi pees in the street. And the lowest rating of number one ajoshi is any drunk man who yells threats at locked up convenience stores trying to buy cigarettes at four in the morning.

The Kimbab Chungook next the D.C. Mart, and the Kimbab chungook on the other side of the mountain and next to morning glory paper supplies both receive three ajoshi.

김밥청국 1 부

Today for lunch I dined at the Kimbab Chungook that is next to D.C. Mart in Geumsan. Sorry no photos because my camera battery is dead and I only sort of suck as a human being.

Anyway I may have mentioned before in a post that there are two Kimbab Chungooks in Geumsan. My school lies between the two of them on an elevated piece of land that is not quite a mountain, but is a bit of an excruciating hill to walk up from each side. At any rate, today's lunch featured a dilemma as to which Kimbab Chungook to go to . A: Do I go to the one next to D.C. mart on one side of the land mass that I will refer to as 중학산 or do I go to the one that I have never been to before? I opted for the former and before I knew it I was greeted warmly at the door by the owners.

For my lunch I had a tuna Kimbab, a salad Kimbab, and an order of Kimchi mandu. Usually I am quite impressed with this branch's 단무지 or the yellow pickled radish that usually comes inside of a Kimbab, the 단무지 is usually crispy, but today it wasn't. I have to say that the kimchi mandu exceeded my expectations in that it was not too spicy and it also did not give me heart burn later.

I am sorry for this incomplete post but my computer keyboard is pissing me off. For some reason I can not type apostrophes so I am getting angry as I write this so tune in next week as I tackle the other 김밥 청국.

Geumsan Lotteria

Well everyone here is a post that is not in the chronological order according to the time and place of where I ate, but here is a review nonetheless of the Lotteria in Geumsan. Yesterday I had a nice Don Ggass at the Kimbab house, and I took some covert video of the experience, however I also couldn't find the power chord to my video camera and as the battery died, I couldn't transfer the video from the camera to my new computer so today instead of reviewing the Kimbab house I will review the Geumsan Lotteria.

Now the Geumsan Lotteria is a rather new venue. Last summer in the location where the Lotteria is, there was a soon dubu place called "Go Ga Nae," (Go family ........Nae) Go Ga Nae, made many fine things like a really nice dol sot bibim bab that came with many sides of Kimchi, Gak Ddooki, and a lukewarm bowl of seaweed and tofu. The drawback to the place was that it was kind of dirty, and the bathroom was kind of scary. (The faucet on the sink was attached to the pipes with a mountain of electrical tape.) Luckily for me I never got sick the three times that I ate there, and the last time I went, I found the place abandoned.

Then the Lotte Company came by, fixed the place up and turned it into a Lotteria. I was there for the opening and was treated to seeing the dancing girls that christen grand openings with some undulations to popular music in neon colored clothing. That day, like today, I had a Paprika Bacon Beef Burger. Apparently a paprika is a bell pepper (I think I may have been told one time that "paprika," is the word commonly used in Australia to describe Bell Peppers, the word is generally used in my parts to talk about the spice paprika, the stuff that people put on deviled eggs. I'm also not sure that I believe that bell peppers are called paprikas in Australia I stand to be corrected though.)

My dining experience today treated me to all of the wonders of a fine dinning experience, yet left me confused. I found it to be fine because at 12:30 in the afternoon the only customers were me and two motherly looking women eating chicken sandwiches. And that is what left me confused as well. I fear for the future of this Lotteria because during a peak lunch time, there were only three customers in the establishment!!! This is only after being in business for three months.

Now both Monday and Tuesday I went to the lake in Geumsan to enjoy some kimbab, and kimbab fried rice that my wife made for me, and I stopped by the lotteria on the way back to have cappuccino on Monday, and a Latte on Tuesday during my walk back to school. On both of those days, during a prime lunch period, the Lotteria was virtually empty as well. It really makes me wonder if this place has any hopes of surviving. I have been told that in the days of old there was another Lotteria that went out of business where a GS25 stands now.

That is something that I find interesting about Lotteria. That is that Lotteria branches go out of business. I think the McDonalds has a fail safe mechanism that ensures that it's branches stay in business, there is also a lot of market research that goes into an area in order to be sure that an area sees an adequate amount of traffic before the shovels even go into the ground. I think that can be seen in the relative numbers of McDonalds and Lotterias in Jinju. Jinju only has two McDonalds branches compared to Lotteria's eight.

The scant amount of people, though, is a definite plus in my book when it comes to lotterias. I have found that lotteria French fries are frequently cold. At the Jinju, Geumsan branch though, my meal was cooked to order, and I enjoyed some nice, hot fries. The same could be said for the burger too. The burger was cooked to order with fresh vegetables and was nice and warm. Comparing this to a much more profitable Lotteria next to Jinju's city hall, and also nearby a girl's middle and highschool where I can expect to be bothered by students of all variety wanting to know what my name is where I am from. (I usually tell them I am 구준표 from 강워도) Also at the city hall branch I can usually expect uncooked and soggy fries.

So to anyone who is out for a hike on any of the two peaks of wol ah san, and fancies having a prompt and fresh ticket to an upset stomach, please visit the Geumsan Lotteria (seriously before the place goes under, I give it five months.)

Apologies for the Delay

I promised last week that I would be bringing you all restaurant reviews for the finest dining in Geumsan Myeon. Unfortunately I couldn't adhere to that promise so far since both yesterday and today I had lunches made for me by my dear wife of two going on three weeks now.

That said, I have to say that the lunches made by my wife were fine dining experiences in their own right. One might ask, "Why you crazy bird. You school provides food for you, why not just eat in the cafeteria instead of wasting all that time and money? Are you mad?"

In a word, yes. Yes I am a bit stricken with the vapors of Delphi, and my lunches outside of school grounds is nothing but pure tonic for the humors. It is said that the extroverted among us find solace in camaraderie and busy areas like middle school lunchrooms where teachers dine and police the area, ensuring that students with full trays or half empty trays don't bump into students waiting in line for their slop. Teachers also make sure that students don't mix genders in their seating assignments, and make sure that tables fill up with due efficiency and speed. It is because of this highly controlled, yet highly chaotic situation that I choose to leave school grounds after spending a few hours trying to control chaos in an incomprehensible language.

Both yesterday and today I retreated to the scenic splendors of Geumho lake seen at the beginning of "The Final Wol Ah San Video". (Not a video I recommend) Yesterday I heartily devoured some tuna kimbab 참치 김밥 made for me by my wife. While we are still trying learn how to use our rice cooker it should be noted that yesterday's 김밥 was extremely edible. It lacked the normal mayonnaise that normally goes into making tuna Kimbab, but that could be considered a heart healthy plus. I finished the Kimbab and two 귤 rather quickly and then I departed on the walk back to the school.

Today was a bit different. She had made some fried rice for lunch, using the leftover Kimbab ingredients. I worried about about the quality of the fried rice, but soon found that my worries were unnecessary, and I thoroughly enjoyed the meal, once again while taking in nature and all of its glory. Unfortunately I hit a bit of a snag to day as well. I was thinking of this blog post today, and I fully intended to take a picture of my view as I ate, but instead of forgetting my camera today, I learned that the battery had died and needs recharging.

That only emboldens my plan for tomorrow.

1. Charge my camera battery.

2. Go to the 김밥 청국 that is next to D.C. mart, and in front of 농협 .

3. Get some 김밥.

4. Go to 금호지.

5. Wax poetic about the crispiness of the 금산 김밥 청국 단무지.

See you then :)

A Series of Blog Posts that Nobody could Possibly Care about Except Me

Hello Everybody. I have been gone for a while, I was spending a lot of time doing things like getting married, preparing to get married, and just being lazy and not writting in my blog. Now that I have completed all of those tasks, I plan on starting a series of restaurant reviews for the area of Geumsan myun in Jinju. 진주시 금산면. I don't know if I should include pictures of those places or not but I think the reviews will go in this order.

1. Kimbab House
(By far my favorite restaurant in Geumsan.)

2. The Kimbab Chung gook that is in front of Nong Hyub.

3. The Kimbab Chung gook that is next to the stationary store.

4. Ji Jung Hwan's Imshil Cheese pizza

5. And Finally lotteria.

For all of those people out there who do not know, Geumsan is a suberb of Jinju. It is a quaint area of farms and apartment buildings. There is almost no traffic there during the day time, and people are few and far between. On the other hand there are many somewhat new apartment buildings, an airforce base, a nice little lake, and a mountain that has two peaks called, wol ah san, 월아산. Honestly there aren't many culinary delights in Geumsan apart from Kimbab places and meat grilling places, (Too much grease for lunch) but I do enjoy dining in the Geumsan area. I figure next week I'll dine in each of the places that I mentioned before and give a little write up about them. I may edit the list though. I had some Carbonara in Ji Jung Hwan's pizza, and later that night I had a terrible headache. I am not saying the two are related but I'll have to see how I feel before trying that place out again. (They also surprised me with the bill, the lady pushed some pinaple soda on me when I was ordering, me thinking it was free, took the bait and was later surprised to find out that it cost me 1500 won, 참)

So see you all next week.