Hello to my lovely readers, 
Wow I cannot believe that I have kept you waiting for so long. So, what made me come back to this all? Well to be honest, lately I've been having a lot of personal thoughts that I needed to vent out with so much more happening in my life. I mean, I put in so much effort to this blog and to let it go to waste like that? Not by my means. Okay well now that that's out of the way, I can officially begin updating you guys on some of the recent highlights that had occurred in my life. 

1. I'm still with my boyfriend after this long! Can you believe it, that me and Seongju oppa are still together and its closing upon 3 years now!? Honestly, I was doubting my relationship skills at the very beginning, but I have pretty much become a dating veteran - the one to give advice to my friends who are new to the dating scene. 

2. My Korean skills have somewhat improved! I wouldn't say my skills are at the native level, but I can pretty much sing in Korean without an accent and eavesdrop on Korean conversations in public transport, and understand about 80% of what is being said.

3. I quit my shitty job at McDonalds! This has honestly been the highlight of my year. After working 2 years at McDonalds, I was repeating the same thing, interacting with the same customers, and getting paid no attention whatsoever for my persistency within the company. I decided, I aint going to stay in a job which I am not happy in. It just makes my time there more of a drag. So yes, I've been progressing through a few jobs this year, and none of them have been consistent. You could say, that I've had a pretty rough job path up until now. Don't worry guys, I am currently on the lookout for a stable job. I've just been unfortunate with incompetent managers, to put it simply. 

4. I can kind of sing now! Okay this I am pretty proud of. In 2016 I was so shy to sing in front of people, even in Karaoke my heart trembled when it was my turn to sing. However now, since I listen to music pretty much every day on the train, and hum the lyrics in my head, I can confidently sing out loud. I even discussed with Seongju oppa, about doing a cover of a Korean song during my upcoming uni holidays! Stay tuned for that haha.

5. I've seen quite a few KPOP bands live now! So at the end of 2016 I saw B2ST live, which was the first time that I had been to any KPOP concert. During this year, I got to see BTS live which was just "sensational". Then just recently, KCON came to Sydney, yes fckin Sydney alright. For those of you who may be unfamiliar, KCON is a huge KPOP convention, where a few groups come at once and has mainly been prevalent in America. OKAY SO THANKS TO KCON I GOT TO SEE WANNAONE, MONSTA X, COSMIC GIRLS, SF9 and UP10TION! 

So I will keep it short and sweet since it's my first post back in a while! That sums up five key happenings of my life, until I last posted. I have a Marketing exam in 2 weeks, so I won't be posting much until after my exams. Sorry but please do anticipate me guys, this time I will stay until a while. 

Funky must-try Korean snacks

There are some interesting  Korean snacks or 'gwaja' out there, which I recommend trying because of its uniqueness and great taste. I know the feeling of going into a foreign grocery store and seeing aisles and aisles of brightly coloured packaging, and being astounded by it all. Don't you worry child, I am here to give you that extra confidence next time you step into a Korean grocery store and to save you from looking like a 'pabo'. This has especially happened to me on countless occasions during the early days of my Korean cultural obsession. So, here's my short list of some of those wacky Korean snacks! 

1. Tteokbokki chips/crackers (떡볶이): These chips or crackers or whatever you choose to define them as, are my all time favourite Korean snack. Hands down! The snack tastes just like the Korean street food 'tteokbokki', except crunchy and having a sweeter taste to it. These goodies are just so irresistibly tasty, that I highly recommend. 

2. Kokal corn chips (꼬깔콘): Say Halloween is coming up and you plan on dressing up as a witch, yet you haven't got the appropriate fingernails for it. Don't panic, because you can always resort to Kokal corn chips. I'm kidding, but boy do these chippies remind me of witch finger nails. According to my Korean boyfriend, these snacks are meant to be put on each finger prior to eating them, as it's the "Hanguk way". The snacks don't have an exceptionally unique taste, pretty much taste like typical corn chips but it's
the way these chips are presented that make it something more unique. 

 

3. Corn-shaped ice cream (찰옥수수): Korea has a lot of weird but cool shaped ice creams, I've seen watermelon shaped ones, fish shaped ones and of course ice cream that legitimately looks like your vegetable corn. It's like your eating a soft version of corn on the cob, filled with ice cream inside. This ice cream can pretty much be eaten like an ice cream sandwich, it's just too good to be true! 

4. Whale crackers (고래밥): These are minuscule fishy snacks, that taste like it has been coated in vegetable seasoning. However, if you sniff on the packet closely, it actually has a fish scent to it! These snacks are certainly there to play with your senses. The Korean name of the snack translates to "whale food", and while eating the snacks you truly feel like a whale devouring tiny sea creatures. 

5. Ojingeo Ttangkong (오징어땅콩): The Korean name of these snacks literally translates to squid and peanuts, and this is certainly the highlight of these snacks. The outer coating of the snack has a strong sea-like taste, with a peanut in the center. How I like to eat it, is by licking the outside the then crunching on the inside. These snacks really do have a unique taste to it, which might not accord well with some of your taste buds. If you are however, down to trying new flavours, then this is the perfect snack for you!  

   
6. Spicy chicken pop snack (치킨팝): I've noticed that a lot of Korean food and snacks have this certain mixture of sweet and spicy, which Korean people just can't get enough of. These chicken popping balls are a combination of sweet and spicy, and similar in presentation to KFC's famous popcorn chicken. However, rather than being tender on the inside, these are definitely crunchy! The fact that these snacks are bite-sized pieces, is pretty much an incentive to gobble down a whole packet within a few minutes.

7. Crunky chocolate (크런키): You know what I just realised, the taste of this chocolate was certainly familiar to the mouth at first bite. Now that I think about it, it reminds me of Cadbury's  'Daily Milk Crunchie'. If your a frequent purchaser of Korean choclates, you will notice that the slabs are a whole lot thinner than say, "American" chocolates. I think this makes it easier to break down, literally, you can probably eat the whole bar without getting a stomach ache from the excessive chocolate. The whole packet is very lightweight in nature. This chocolate combined with crunchy malt puffs gives it a very desirable taste, that will probably stay with you for a very long time!  

 

Ways to experience a bit of "Korea" in Sydney

For all you individuals that live in Sydney and have a soft-spot for Korean culture, whether it be through K-pop, K-dramas or the food you can experience a bit of the Korean lifestyle through three of these suburbs. For first time visitors of these suburbs, I recommend you some of these fantastic Korean style places to visit. 

1. Strathfield: This suburb in my opinion, is the number one Korean suburb in Sydney. As soon as you walk out of Strathfield station, you will be greeted to the (not so lovely) sight of Korean men smoking, Ajumma's chitchatting and the smell of Korean food. I visit Strathfield almost on a weekly-basis, so you can basically consider me an expert within this area ^^ 

Hello Happy Cafe: Located on 22 The Boulevarde, this cute little cafe will certainly remind you of those cafes in Korean dramas. They sell all sorts of desserts such as cakes and macaroons but are renowned for their beverages, especially their cute coffee art. The prices aren't that expensive as well, and as I recall it cost us for the below items around $26 altogether. 

Green tea lattes with animal designs and oreo cake slices 

Jo Ja Ryong: Located on 20-34 Albert Rd, this place is hands down, the best Korean BBQ restaurant in Strathfield due to the quality of food and exceptional service. The meat for the KBBQ is always fresh, succulent and evenly seasoned. They also have a wide selection of traditional Korean side dishes or "banchan" as known in Korean, and they do refills of the side dishes as well if you ask as well. Although this place is a bit on the pricier side, the taste of the food makes up for this and it is certainly worth the visit. 

Waffle Bant: Located at shop 73, Strathfield Plaza, this Korean waffle store is similar to Oliver Brown except that it serves a slightly modified version of the traditional Korean "patbingsu". I haven't tried anything else, BUT the oreo and mango bingsoo here which are both so refreshingly tasty. This is the perfect Korean dessert to eat on a sweltering day! 

Red bean bingsoo and mango bingsoo  

A'HA Beauty Store: Located on 1 The Boulevarde, this store sells products from popular Korean beauty brands such as 'Tony Moly' for a decent price. Both outside and inside of the stores, are posters of Korean stars promoting the wonderful makeup products of Korea! You can look the part with such Korean stars, by trying out some of the products at this store. From cute animal shaped cologne, to an array of face whitening products, this store is representative of typical Korea.  

Posters of Korean stars outside A'HA

Crispy Cluckers: Located at 37 Everton Rd,this place sells typical Korean-style fried chicken which will blow your socks away because it is packed with flavours which you cannot even compare to mainstream KFC. They serve boneless chicken, chicken in a cup, and a whole lot more varieties which you can choose to have there or takeaway. You can also get extras with your fried chicken, such as rice, radishes and spicy sauce. 

Strathfield also features Korean hairdressers, local Korean grocery stores, Korean karaoke bars, beer houses and much more! 

2. Eastwood: 

CARA Seoul Fashion: Located at Shop 18A inside the Eastwood Shopping Center, this hidden gem sells simple style Korean clothes for everyday wear at a pretty decent price! There's also another Korean fashion store a couple of meters ahead of this one called 'Mosura' which sells more formal women's attire at a higher price range. Cara Seoul also sells some pretty cute Korean accessories, like Korean handbags, hats, shoes, jewellery and much more.

Sydney Bookland: Located on 2/79-81 Rowe St, this is a Korean book store selling of course Korean books, CDs and stationary. The first thing that caught my eye as I entered the store was the K-POP CDS. I would definitely recommend this store if you want to 
buy a little gift for one of your Korean loving friends! 

Eastwood is also home to local Korean grocery stores, Korean hair dressers and typical Korean restaurants!

3. Campsie:  

Young Pastry Shop: Located at 43 N Parade, this is a Korean family run bakery that sells Korean baked goodies! I haven't been able to visit the bakery yet, and in fact I visited today only to see a horrible sign saying that they are closed until the 26th of January (Australia) so bad luck to me. I promise once I visit this place I will do a more detailed review, so stay tuned! 

EDIT: So I ended up revisiting this place, and my sweet tooth wasn't disappointed one bit. They have a lot of sweet pastries, cakes and buns that are made with traditional toppings such as red bean, which are adored by Koreans, and the regular stuff like custard, chocolate and coconut. I purchased a custard bun, eclair and a slice of sweet potato cake or as the Korean's like to call it "goguma cake" slice.
 
The custard bun tasted just like how you would expect a normal custard bun to taste like. The eclair however, surpassed my taste buds. As I took a bite into the eclair, custard started to ooze out of the bun. It was just so delicious! The sweet potato cake had a very unique taste to it, being filled with the sweet potato mixture and cream and was very light in texture. The mouse head design on the cake is just another creative addition of cream, cheese and almond. 

Custard bun

 

Sweet potato cake (left) and chocolate eclair (right)

 

Outside the bakery

Yum Yum Chicken:  Located at 196/198 Beamish St, this store not only sells typical Korean-style fried chicken but Korean style burgers and fries combos alongside their one and only "chicken & drink in a cup". I've only tried their burgers and chicken, and the thing I like about the burger is that they use the same sort of seasoning as the fried chicken for the burger patty which makes it more flavorsome. Although I haven't tried the "chicken & drink in a cup", I've observed several positive reviews about it throughout the stores recent opening. Note: The store only opened in June 2015, so it's pretty new to the area. Basically, the top of the cup is filled with bite sized chicken pieces of an authentic Korean flavour of your choice while the bottom of the cup holds the drink. How convenient is that! 

Campsie also features Korean hair dressers, local Korean grocery stores and typical Korean restaurants.

4. North Strathfield: 

Komart: Located on 5/24 George St, this is the Korean equivalent of our Woolworths having aisles filled with Korean food products! This place isn't like your typical Korean grocery store down the road, but it's massive and you can literally trolley your way through the store. It's basically dreamland for those of you who fancy Korean food products. From Korean sauces, to snacks, shampoo and every day home needs...this store literally has EVERYTHING. 

Vibrant packaging of Korean snacks

Entrance to Komart 

Still have to explore North Strathfield more, but I definitely remember seeing a whole lot of typical Korean restaurants! 

When I first started to like Korean culture some of these stores didn't even exist, but now thanks to Korean's and their business minded selves a whole lot more stores are starting to pop up!  Although I still wish I lived in Korea, I am thankful for these stores in Sydney because I get to experience a bit of Korea right here.

What me and my Hanguk namchin's arguments have ranged from

The order of these headings are in no particular order whatsoever, just whatever came up to my mind first.

PDA: When it comes to this topic there are two important pieces of information, if you’ve grown up in Western society you would to some extent think a bit of PDA is cool and would expect your partner to initiate sometimes. When it comes to Korean culture, well PDA is quite disrespectful. I remember having an argument with my boyfriend over the phone one day and shamefully thinking to myself, that my boyfriend probably doesn’t want to hold my hands or kiss me in public because he’s embarrassed of having a “weigukin” girlfriend. I remember confronting him about this over the phone, and he gives me a little chuckle and tells me that kissing and making out in public is seen as being disrespectful towards the Korean elders who mostly have a traditional mindset. In Korean culture and other Asian cultures such as China and Japan, age plays a very important factor and elders pretty much rule. Unless you want a scolding from an Ajumma or Ahjussi, I highly recommend keeping the PDA to a minimum.

Eating: Yes as stupid as it sounds, we've had arguments over eating. Seongju oppa often complains about how slow I eat and I complain about how fast he eats. When Korean people eat, everybody usually tries to eat at a similar pace. I eat too slow, so Seongju oppa just eats at his normal pace. Oppa also doesn't fancy the idea of conversing while eating, so the conversations usually begin after the meal is over. So, it can get rather quiet at times when eating together. 

Working routine: Most Korean guys I've heard of are workaholics, and they usually work most days of the week. Seongju oppa for example, only gets Sunday's off and so we meet up every Sunday. Whenever we meet up, he is sleeping most of the time and feeling lethargic due to his strenuous working schedule. We usually end up relaxing at his house, so we haven't really had much proper dates. This was especially a bummer when we just started dating due to keeping that "spark" ignited. But as time continued, I came to the realisation that this will continue to be a normal part of our daily lives. Korean guys are highly future-oriented, and they will be thinking about the type of house, amount of children, marriage ceremony and the amount of money required for such expenses prior to even discussing it with their partner.

Phone calls: Most of the time my phone is on silent mode, and I usually don't see the calls until later during the day. There have been instances, where I have gone somewhere far forgetting to tell oppa, and he retaliates with six phone calls or so and a whole heap of kakao messages. Ladies and gentlemen, one of the aspects which Korean dramas portray which deems true in reality, is how clingy Korean boyfriends and girlfriends can be. Actually, I wouldn't say "clingy" it's just the normal pace of relationships in Korea. I would say, it is best to send a short message AT LEAST once a day informing him of your daily undertakings and whereabouts to prevent him from getting overly worried. 

Scene from 'Ex-Girlfriend Club' Ep 11

Weather: Me and Seongju oppa have frequent arguments over the weather. Well, when the sun is out shining I usually like to take advantage of the weather and have some fun outside. Seongju oppa however, nags me to stay inside during humid weather as he wants to protect his milky white skin from the suns rays. This is very common in Korea, and you will usually see Ajummas carrying around umbrellas, wearing wide brimmed hats and most Korean cosmetics will usually have some kind of SPF built into it. Basically this whole white skin ideal has pre-existed in Korea since traditional times, and is constantly fulled through the Korean media. This is especially evident within K-pop, where "dark skinned" idols such as EXO Kai and SISTAR Hyorin are made fun of by their members, while "light skinned" idols such as Miss A Suzy and BTS Suga are praised for their pearly-white complexions. However, I usually end up smacking some sense into oppa and convincing him to come and play with me outside ㅎㅎㅎ

Phone habits: For this, I am going to re-enact a scene for you readers. 

On the train heading out 
-Seongju oppa on his phone while I'm just staring outside the window- 
*KAKAO...KAKAO...KAKAO* IS WHAT I HEAR LIKE VERY FIVE SECONDS....WHENEVER I HEAR THAT SOUND I JUST WANT TO RIP SOME PAPER UP OR SOMETHING. I mean I really love Korean people, BUT WHY DO YOU PEOPLE HAVE TO BE SO ADDICTED TO YOUR GODDAMN HANDEU PHONES!?! I MEAN SOMETIMES I FEEL I CAN NEVER WIN TO OPPA'S PHONE ㅠ_ㅠ

So I've done a bit of research and understand that: 
1. Koreans replying to each other straight away is cultural etiquette, and a delayed response can be viewed badly and make the person on the other end feel rather uneasy. 

2. Koreans, compared to other countries, live a very fast-paced modern lifestyle. Everything is done in a hurry or "bali bali" as Korean's say most things are usually done as a collective, and the smartphone is regarded as the ideal tool to accord with Korea's extremely fast-paced lifestyle. Moreover, I have heard that Korean's like to look busy, whether its the art of going on their phones or just giving others the impression that they are keeping busy with school, work and university as this is viewed very honorably by other Koreans. 


I'm sure there's way more things me and Seongju oppa argue about, but when it comes to mind these are the top things we argue about. I am really curious about other Weiguk-Korean couples, and would like to hear about some of the things you guys frequently argue about. So, please let me in on it! ^^