Have you ever tried eating raw beef? I wouldn't recommend slicing a raw steak into noodles, then eating it - normally - but Korean 육회 (YUK-HOE) can give you that opportunity, if you're so inclined. It's made with fresh (very fresh), cold beef, so it's safe to eat. But if you have a weak stomach, or don't like beef, then you should probably avoid it. The flavor was similar to eating a really, really rare steak, but it was also cold. As someone who often cooks and enjoys steak, I really liked it and it was better than I thought. Now I can say that I've tried raw beef.

Another feature of this dish is the sesame seed oil mixed into the beef. It gives the beef a deep, nutty flavor and smell that many first-time visitors to Korea can find off-putting - but only at first. Once you're familiar with it, it won't seem so strange anymore, and I quite like the smell and taste.

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This is a local re-post of my monthly op-ed for the Lowy Institute: here.

It has been quite a year for me, and, as usual, when I get busy, I tend to let blogging slip. And boy has it slipped. To be honest, ever since the old blog died its slow and anticlimactic death, I’ve struggled to figure out exactly what I want to do going forward. I’m sure that struggle has been tangible for those of you who have made the transition with me. It’s coincided with a series of crises about picking a lane in life, which feels more and more urgent with every passing year. But things have been pretty tumultuous, and I’ve had some trouble taking hold of the reins.

I’ve always been able to see the vague outline of a future I might someday want to arrive at, but I’ve never been very good at plotting a course to get there. At least that’s how it feels. I’m impatient and afraid to commit to anything that might not work out. But I’m getting just a little bit too old to keep hopping on every semi-enticing vessel that drifts past, just to see where it will take me.

Have you ever wondered why North Korean news announcers seem to talk so differently than South Koreans?

Do you want to know how North Korean and South Korean dialects are different?

Ever since my last dialect video I made in 2016, I've wanted to tackle the topic of North Korean dialects. But it's just such a large topic, and it's difficult to find information besides vocabulary words and a plethora of North Korean TV dramas.

So over the past year or so I've been collecting North Korean language resources (textbooks, grammar explanations, vocabulary, phrases, intonation samples, and more) to compile a long list of differences and unique points about North Korean dialect to create a video. Finally this January I started putting those items together and shortening the list into what might be an easy-to-digest and watchable video... and here it is!

South Koreans were exhilarating at 1:00am on June 28 when South Korean soccer team beat defending champion and world #1 Germany in World Cup match in Russia. It was the first time Asian country ever defeated Germany in World Cup history, and the first time Germany got eliminated in the World Cup preliminary league since 1938. Another news with South Korea over Germany came as Hyundai Genesis ranked highest in the recent influential J.D Power 2018 U.S. Initial Quality Survey(IQS) which measures the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles during the fist 90 days of ownership.The lower the score, the better. Its sister Kia took the 2nd with 72, followed by Hyundai with 74. Impressed with Korean Hyundai and Kia in top 3, Forbes magazine compared it "man biting dog." Premium German car maker Porsche ranked 4th with 79 while BMW and Mercedes-Benz found themselves at 11th and 15th, respectively. My German friends won't call me for a while..

A friend asked about cycling from Seoul to Busan and although I haven’t done that, I’ve been to the starting point. The Bukhangang (northern Han River) cycling track is an incredibly scenic getaway east of the congested Gangnam/Jamsil area. It’s the first leg of the 700km Seoul-Busan route, but it’s also a perfectly good destination in itself, suitable for those of us who can only peddle for an hour before our butt hurts too much.