KOREAN SPRING

Namyangju is definitely not a city you would consider for tourist activities when you're traveling in Korea. In fact, there are plenty of Koreans who've never been to, or never even heard of the place. It's actually a pretty big city to the north of Seoul, but Namyangju is still far from being one of the big places to go for fun. A close colleague of mine lives there and it takes her two hours to get to Gangnam for work. Since she's always the one who has to travel to do anything, I figured I would pay her a visit and check out what her hood was like. After a 45 minute drive which really wasn't bad, I arrived at Soriso, a themed "village" which is actually just two restaurants, a cafe, and a few random landmarks. The parking lot was nearly full even though it was a rainy day, and after a short walk around I could see why. The place is filled with cute little paths, benches, and sights to see while you walk around, making it a perfect destination for

It's time for some dirty talk - literally dirty, as in poop. So constipation is something I've been dealing with since birth. My mom would tell me that when I was a baby, she had to dig out my poop with a cotton swab because it always seemed stuck halfway. While my brother would effortlessly shoot out copious amounts of poop that sometimes even clogged the toilet from its tremendous amounts and thickness; I'd sit for long, excruciating minutes, with my red little face scrunched up in pain, failing to do the same. I don't think it changed much as I grew older. Daily bowel movement, or even regular bowel movement, is not something I can relate to. I envy with a passion those lucky bastards who wake up every morning and can take a successful dump each time. Me, I'm always counting the last time I went to the bathroom; calculating, worrying, trying to find some sort of permanent solution. I've tried plenty of home remedies: sweet potatoes, all sorts of vegetable

Cyworld, a Korean social media platform which was like the Facebook of the day back in the early to mid-2000s, has recently drastically changed its layout and now it's just so strange and unfamiliar and not what it used to be. Which I believe is pointless because nobody in Korea bothers to use Cyworld anymore; we've all moved on to Facebook and Instagram and all the American stuff.  I mean, I know changes and updates are necessary in an ever-changing and fast paced world, especially on the internet. But seriously, do they think changing the layout will attract people back when it's already nearly dead? The reason I feel so indignant is that I'm one of the very few people who still bother to update Cyworld - sporadically, true, but regularly even so. Since 2007 I've been uploading the movie poster image of every single movie I've watched. Every single one. The album now contains hundreds of movie posters and from time to time I enjoy scrolling through the albu

I just got back from three nights in Hong Kong, and am suffering from that mixture of feelings one probably always gets after coming home from vacation - the rush of comfort and relief in returning home, the frustration in not having been able to experience more, the depression and stress that comes with the mere thought of having to start work again on Monday, and pointless longing for a longer and much more extended holiday. It always sucks to have to jump back into normal life again, and I already cannot wait for my next trip, regardless of where it may be. I didn't bring my digital camera with me to HK, because I figured my phone would be good enough and I'd surely ruin the moment by taking forever to whip out my camera, remove the lens cover, and find the right setting and all the hassle. In such a fast-paced world, smart phones work much better in capturing the moment, even though the quality of the photo may not be as refined (that, and it's so much more conven