Winter Sonata

Winter Sonata, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

After watching a few classics, I decided to attack one of the most famous Korean drama, Winter Sonata. Heike, who watched and survived the whole 20 episodes, already poked my curiosity with her descriptions, so I had to try it.

I have to admit that anything ‘romantico-dramatic-cheesy-melo’ drives me nuts after 5 minutes. WS is no exception, but it’s such an important chunk of pop culture here in Korea that it’s a must see. It’s like living in the States and ignoring Sex and the City or other such cornerstones of mass culture.

So there I go: watched 7 episodes of the 20. So far, the story is… predictable, simple, manichean (the good characters are really good, the bad ones really bad, boring!) Well, I guess its something to take your mind off work, daily problems, loneliness! I don’t have a stressfull life at this point, so I still really enjoy movies/books/tv shows that challenge me, make me think, show me new things, raise questions, well, the opposite of WS and its fellow dramas!

And like Heike, what gets most of my attention is the following: costumes (pastel galore), mysteriously knotted scraves (it’s set in the winter, so they wear pretty scarves all the time), amazing hair colors without a single root showing, tons of plastic surgery of all sorts (if you want to know what Korean PS are capable of, have a look!). And the main character’s acting: she has about no facial reaction besides tilting her head back slightly, which is the appropriate reaction for everything! (Not that she can move any part of her face normally, so she has to find other ways to show her amazing range of emotions…..) I’ve seen her pull a ”’real”” (ahem) smile only in episode 7, where I discovered she actually has nice teeth! That must have hurt to use all these facial muscles at once! It’s such a contrast to the Classics I was mentionning in my previous post: Hayworth, Brando, European actors from the 40s till the 80s…

Anyways, if you like WS, I hope I’m not bashing it too harshly, but if are allergic to dramas like me, you’ll probably have the same reaction! All in all, it’s good for what it is: relaxing entertainment!

 

Visiting the Classics

Gilda, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

There are so many books and movies that I should have seen, but never got around to it…Well, now is the time!!! Movies are easier as it takes only a couple hour to watch VS many hours to read in the case of books on the ‘must read’ list!
I started off with Gilda! Well, I was expecting to get bored after 30 minutes but actually, it was really entertaining and the photography is amazing. Marlon Brando is a highlight of the movie, in all his 22-year-old glory. Too bad he’s got a minor role!
Any suggestions regarding classics?

 

Yeouido Flower Festival

Yeouido Flower Festival, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

Last weekend was the Yeouido flower festival, a nice occasion to go stroll under the canopy of cherry blossoms along with …. tons of people! But you have to admit, without the crowds, it wouldn’t be quite the same! I like crowds in Korea: I still get to feel ‘invisible’, unlike in other parts of Asia, and people are really used to be in crowded areas, so everybody cooperates and makes this a pleasant even.

The blossoms were really pretty and smelled nice too. I was surprised to see so many lilacs on Yeouido, and actually all around Seoul. This really makes me feel like home! I am now looking forward for the peonies to bloom, my favorite flower!!!

Last week all the leaves suddenly came out and we went from the ‘barely green buds on the trees’ look to the ‘wow, it’s almost sumer already’ look in a mere 4 or 5 days.

Besides updates on the flora here, nothing too special is going on: just regular happy life in the city! Midterms are this week already, meaning half the semester is over! Where did time go?

Anything made you wonder where the time went this week???

 

Spring is Here!

Gyeogbokdung Palace, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

Spring is really finally here! All the cherry trees are in bloom, and magnolias, forsythias and so on. It’s such a pretty time of the year!

 

Wall-E

Wall-E, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

I know it came out last year, but I just saw it over last weekend! This is by far my favorite Pixar movie of all times and I’d say it’s like an E.T. of the 2000s. Wall-e is just too loveable and the story is cute, touching and significant at the same time. It has something for everyone and the story has biblical undertones of Noah’s Ark myth.  Highly recommended!

How could the Pixar team make a trash-compacting robot living in an abandoned wasteland cute and touching? Talent, creativity, genius and hard work!

 

A visit at Ingwansan, Seoul

Ingwansan, Seoul, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

Saturday afternoon was nice and sunny, I went with my friends to Ingwansan, in Seoul. Accessible by subway, this nice mountain of 329 meters is located near a residential area and makes for a nice afternoon of ‘nature’ with great views of downtown Seoul! It is also a shamanistic shrine, were people go to pray the stones to have a son. The girlfriends and I all prayed for a nice husband!!!! Let’s see if the stone will send us some good energy!
A temple is also located on that mountain, and the resident monk is nice and affable. He invited us for coffee and even let us take his picture! He said he plans to start a ‘temple stay’ soon, meaning that foreign visitors will be welcomed to stay overnight at the temple and experience temple life for a weekend. It’s already a popular activity in Korea and such a smart initiave.

 

Spring Semester

Wulai village, outskirts of Taipei, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

A new semester is starting this Monday, I’m very curious to see my new students. I hope I will meet their expectations. My new uni limits class size to a maximum of 12 students, which is a teacher’s dream! Can’t wait!!!
For the teachers out there, what is your dream as a teacher?

 

Finally!

Overview 2, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

My place finally looks like a home! I moved to Seoul at the end of January and it took some effort to get some cool furniture at a decent price. Thanks to internet and some kind friends, I was able to put together the look and feel that I wanted. Now I just need some huge paintings for my two blank walls.
I’m so happy to be living in the ‘action’! Incheon was ok, but Seoul is where I wanted to be! So here I am!!!!

 

Happy Year of the Ox

Ox by Dury Luong, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

We just welcomed the year of the Ox. Let’s hope it will be good for everyone! How did you celebrate Lunar New Year?

Here is this cute illustration by Dury Luong, found on the internet, to put a bit of color to my post! I loved it the minute I saw it.

Check out her designs on her blog: http://duryluo.blogspot.com/  Very talented!!!!

 

My new apartment

Plan of my new apartment, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

Found a nice loft style apartment exactly like I was wishing for. Will be moving in shortly, really looking forward to it. It took only an afternoon to find that place. Diana was a good sports/great friend/lucky charm and came with me to hunt for a flat. Thanks to her intuition, we found a friendly English speaking agent that really understood what I was looking for and took us to visit nice places. And there it was, first place we visited: my new place!