Koreatown Night Market, Success!

KTOWN NIGHT MARKET INSTAGRAM

Wow, what a night! Koreatown finally received some well-deserved attention through their epic event, "Koreatown Night Market." Modeling other events such as the "626 Night Market" and the "Obon Festival," the K-Town Night Market was definitely an unforgettable event as thousands of people from all over California traveled into my neighborhood. This was the first year that Koreatown held such an event, and it was long overdue. There's actually another annual Korean festival called "Jangtuh," but I feel like that event is more catered towards the Korean community exclusively. This new Night Market was created to generate more awareness for Koreatown and to show just how diverse our culture really is to people of all races and ethnic backgrounds. Although I did notice that it was more targeted towards the younger crowd, which ranged from high school students to people in their mid-30's. There were over 100 food vendors which included, but was not limited to, Seoul Sausage, Takoyaki, Mister Potato, and many more! I also got to see one of my favorite artists, Dumbfoundead. If you don't know who he is, do check out his YouTube channel. He is a Korean-American rapper who specializes in witty freestyles and lyrics. And did I mention that this event was free?! The only downside that I would mention about this event was that the venue was a bit on the small side. Hopefully next year's KTOWN Night Market will be held at a bigger venue. It was difficult to maneuver my way through the crowd without bumping into someone else's shoulders or stepping on their shoes. I guess the great people who put this event together weren't expecting the huge amount of people. I'm happy to say that this event will be happening on an yearly basis, seeing how successful the first ever KTOWN Night Market was. So if you didn't have a chance to go this time around, there's always next year!

Your Seoul Survivor,
Albert Ko

Koreatown: Lights, Camera, Action!

The world of cinema has always been fascinating and intriguing to me. Films make us cry, laugh, smile, shout, scream, tremble, and much more. They also expose us to different countries and cultures all over the world. Since I do not have the time or money to travel to all these countries as a full time college student, I choose to watch these countries' movies instead. I am interested in learning about Korean culture in particular because I am a Korean American; I want to know the similarities and differences between my upbringing and the upbringing my parents had. Then I found out about CGV. 

PC: CGV Cinemas Los Angeles Google Plus Website

WHAT. A. GREAT. THEATER. Seeing as it is the biggest movie theater chain in Korea and the fifth largest theater chain in the world, of course they saw fit to place one of their theaters right in Koreatown, Los Angeles which is located just a couple miles outside of HOLLYWOOD. I remember going to a CGV theater while I was studying abroad in Korea. And it was a cool experience. All the American Hollywood movies were shown with Korean subtitles for all of the Koreans to comfortably view (without trying to translate the limited English they knew). The CGV in Los Angeles shows both Hollywood movies and Korean movies, and just like the CGV in Korea, they provide Korean subtitles for the American movies. But most importantly, they provide ENGLISH SUBTITLES for the Korean movies shown for all the Americans/Korean-Americans to comfortably view (without trying to translate the VERY limited Korean I know). What a great service! Now I don't have to watch Korean movies on my 16-inch laptop screen. I can finally watch them in the IMAX form they were meant to be viewed in! Even the concessions stand was very comparable to the one in South Korea, right down to the sweet caramel popcorn and fried shrimp/squid snacks. I also find Korean movie theater seats to be much nicer than those at American theaters. Ever wonder about Korean culture and don't want to pick up a textbook? Come down to CGV Cinemas, where you don't have to understand a single word of Korean. Just come ready to watch some great acting, directing, and effects!

Your Seoul Survivor,

Albert Ko

Schoolboy Chew

My most pleasant memories in elementary, middle, and high school all have one thing in common: they occurred during recess/lunch. Want to know why? It's because I loved the food my mother used to pack me everyday for school. Growing up in America, my mother used to pack me all kinds of sandwiches, chips, and fruits. On special occasions such as field trips, my mother would buy me a lunchables so I could share with my buddies. One day, I wondered what my parents' parents packed them for school recesses and lunches. They told me they usually ate rice, spam, and kimchi all mixed up in a metal lunchbox their parents packed for them. My mother then recommended I try this restaurant called "School Food" which wasn't too far away from where we lived in Koreatown. I have fallen in love with the place ever since.

The name of the restaurant is what first intrigued me. I felt like I could travel back to the time when my parents were elementary students. The main dish of the restaurant is the combination Gimbap roll (shown in the picture below). This is the most popular item packed by Korean parents when sending their kids off to school in Korea. Some of my Korean friends even here in America came to school with Gimibap rolls. They're like the Korean version of sushi, but instead of wrapped in raw fish, they are wrapped in dried seaweed. Another popular schoolboy and schoolgirl dish is tteokbokki, which are spicy rice cakes. My parents told me they would run to the tteokbokki stands afterschool to munch on these tasty treats. The nice thing about School Food is that they cater to the American taste buds, as the tteokbokki is served in many different flavors, such as carbonara and cheese so they're not as spicy. I highly recommend this restaurant if you want to try some authentic, traditional Korean school-food.

Tteokbokki (left), Gimbap Combination Roll (right)
Taken with my iPhone

Your Seoul Survivor,
Albert Ko

Korean Supermarket: Saving One Homemaker at a Time

We've all been to our local Ralphs, Vons, or Albertson's at least once in our lives. But I can bet many of you have not been to a Korean supermarket before. THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE. There are about 10 Korean supermarkets just in the Los Angeles area, but there are many more in Glendale, Fullerton, Cerritos, etc. These friendly supermarkets are the only place you can get Korean-imported goods at a very friendly price (mostly due to the intense price competition between the supermarkets). I know all you college students love instant ramen noodles. Well, you can find over 50 choices of instant noodles here! Also, make sure you check out the immense Korean snacks/chips section. These snacks are highly coveted because of the fact that they are much healthier than the salty and fatty American snacks such as Doritos and Twinkies. You can also buy pre-made fresh side dishes for your meals so you don't have to cook as much! Koreans are known for their side dishes such as Kim chi, pickled radish, and seaweed! Here is another fun fact surely to intrigue you: most of these Korean supermarkets are located inside of a huge mall which consist of clothing stores, karaokes, bakeries, and luxury jewelry stores. So once you're done shopping for groceries, you can do some extra shopping for the whole family! Feeling hungry after grocery shopping? Every Korean supermarket contains restaurants or food courts inside of them. Next time you don't know what to cook for dinner or tired of eating the same old pasta dish, I recommend you flirt with the idea of starting a Korean dietand making your way to a Korean supermarket.

Your Seoul Survivor,
Albert Ko