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Juliette Binoche in Busan


The Busan cinematheque is screening a handful of French movies starring Juliette Binoche. I’m a little surprised to see some of her best films (”Blue,” “Cache” and “Flight of the Red Balloon”) missing, but I’m also excited to see her earlier, more underground work for the first time.

When: May 27 – 31

Where: Busan Cinematheque

In French with English  Subtitles:

Rendez Vous (Andre Techine, 1985)

Jetlag (Daniele Thompson, 2002)

Bad Blood (Leos Carax, 1986)

In French without English Subtitles:

Paris (Cedric Klapisch, 2008)

Lovers on the Bridge (Leos Carax, 1991)

For screening information, please visit http://cinema.piff.org/main/theater/month_list.asp

* Tomorrow night, “Will It Snow for Christmas?” (Sandrine Veysset, 1996), about a rural family with an authoritative patriarch, is playing in lieu of one of the five Juliette Binoche movies.

San Nakji: Tying Up Some Loose Ends



I’ve wanted to try San Nakji (live baby octopus) ever since I first heard about it, some six months before touching down in Korea. When I finally got here, I made a few attempts to search out and consume this alien delicacy, but price and scarcity defeated me too easily and I climbed up onto my laurels and rested awhile. Luckily, however, neither were an issue last weekend as a trip to Geoje Island presented the perfect opportunity to get my gums moving.

Geoje lies about three hours west of Busan in Gyeongsangnam-do province. It is a popular tourist destination in the summer months, when both population and prices swell like a pigs head that’s been in the water too long (something we encountered there on a previous trip.) May, however, is a great time to visit so we spent the weekend in a sea view pension on Wayheon beach with my visiting aunt and uncle, Joan and Eric, and my cousin Steve and his girlfriend Vicky.



As usual food was never far from the centre of things, with highlights including an extensive Saturday night terrace barbecue capped with a bottle of beautifully smoky Bowmore Single Malt sent over by my parents. Things started to get really interesting however on Sunday, when on returning from a boat trip to a nearby island we happened upon a pier-side tent selling fresh sea slugs, sea squirts and live octopus.

Vicky and I wasted no time ordering a portion of each (20,000 won in total) and were soon cheek to tentacle with a plate of wriggling baby octopus and another of sea slug and sea squirt. Naturally, I went for the octopus first, managing with some difficulty to pry it off the plate with my chopsticks (apparently it didn’t want to leave,) before dipping it in sesame oil and salt and popping it into my mouth. The first mouthful was strictly damage control, as I chewed ferociously to prevent the suckers from sticking to my throat on the way down and choking me (on average six people in Korea die each year in precisely this manner.) After Vicky assured me it was too small to be a serious choking hazard, however, I got stuck in more heartily and began to understand why this delicacy is so popular.



Texture-wise, it felt at first a little like I was eating a wriggly stick of jelly. As I chomped down this soft outer layer gave way to a surprising dense inner core, giving it a strange but satisfying chewiness. As for the taste, the dominant favour to start with was that of the salt and sesame oil or spicy pepper dipping sauce, but this too soon gave way to a deeper, more pervading bottom-of-the-sea freshness. This sensation stayed in my mouth long after I finished up and left the island, and remained in shades even after a (second) lunch of Daeji Bulgogi (spicy marinated pork) on the way back to Busan

After battling the Nakji I next turned my attentions to the much more colourful plate of sea snail and sea squirt. The snail, for its part, seemed to consist of mostly shell and cartilage but nevertheless delivered a strong sea punch. As for the sea squirt, it proved to be much softer than the snail, breaking down easily in my mouth and leaving a slightly bitter aftertaste (nothing a shot of soju wouldn’t take care of!) Both tasted good dipped in either the spicy pepper sauce or the sesame oil and salt, but it was the still moving Nakji that I returned to time and again.



Mid-way through my meal the captain of one of the nearby vessels came over, and by grinning widely and grabbing his crotch tried to impress on me the “stamina” giving properties of Nakji before he was shooed off by the attending ajumma. I’m not sure how true this is, but I do know the San Nakji was much better than I’d expected and provided me with one of the most memorable eating experiences of my life.

Roh Moo-Hyun: ROK's Nixon, Lincoln?

The fracas is now in the works! Was Roh Moo-hyun Mr. Clean, or merely ineptly and insufficiently corrupt?In his retirement Mr Roh criticised his successor’s policies towards North Korea. At his village he began to reclaim some of his former popularity. His home became popular among tourists and the former president would often greet holiday-makers [...]

South Korea Trip - Ulsan 울산

Alright you can check out the video of my trip from Busan to Ulsan in South Korea. The trip in total was 180 kms. I rode the #31 highway out of Busan and the #35 back to Busan. On the trip I checked out a bamboo forest, underground cave and rode a ATV. On the travels I definitely see some strange things. Sometimes I can't really describe things other then WTF????? The statue was really in the middle of nowhere and really I couldn't see any possible explanation for it.

Disproportionate Scrutiny Falls on Foreigners for H1N1

Hey! Hot For Words! Meet Sparkling Chaos. H1N1 certainly looms large in Brian's life. I did get an email from a good friend, the Reuters Bureau Chef for Seoul and he said that internationally, our H1N1 story is not making a splash yet, due to the Roh suicide and the nuclear test. [...]

Between a Rock and the Spastic

Without elections to hold or a stock market to bolster, DPRK is conducting a realist push for nuclear status and sovereignty in Northeast Asia. Governments regurgitated the standard, bloated adverbs and scary factoids. Two reports in The Economist and NYT make contradictory claims without attribution, about whether Washington - "The test [...]

Daejeon, Manyeon Dong - Dongbangsak Leports

*The homepage needs to be opened with IE, firefox doesn't seem to support the graphics. When you open it, then click on "메인으로 들어가기" on the right side.

This place is great. It's the biggest jjimjilbang in Daejeon, and not only that - it's one of the loveliest!
Though not exceedingly easy to find at first, it's totally worth the search. If you get the bus towards the Primus cinema, then walk up the road (north-south running Daedeok Dae Ro - 대덕대로) to the very big, very noticeable modern church on the east side of that road (north of Primus cinema, south of the KBS Tower). Turn in at the S-Oil station, putting Chowon Apart. #110 behind you, and walk east for 2 minutes. You'll see the large building on the left side just ahead.

Spaning 7 floors (large floors, not just little spaces), this establishment has done it right. Aside from a couple little things, like some broken toilet-door-locks and no soap in most of the bathrooms, I love it here. The first impression is good - many staff people to assist people coming, going, and getting lockers and clothing. Plus you can see Leports is the only business in this building - must be a good sign. The women's and men's saunas are on separate floors, 2nd and 5th respectively.
Inside the sauna, you'll find a clean area with many lockers, a hydrotherapy room (sitz-bath), nice vanity area, and then the baths. This is where the lovely-ness starts: it's decorated with pretty tiles and agates. There are tubs of all different temperatures (each with its own spout to massage your shoulders), a cooler massage tub, and an ice bath. Then, two drier sauna rooms, the scrub/shower area, and even sleeping caves with infrared lighting! That's unusual in the sauna area. Also, from the locker room, you can access a small loft sleeping area so you can spend the night for only the price of the sauna.

Moving out to the jjimjilbang, you can go back down to the 1st floor to find the first (and quietest) sleeping area and the super-hot cave-rooms. The lovely-ness continues through the building as the stairwells are decorated with historic items, themed pictures, and nice carpets. All the rooms are thoughtfully finished as well.

Back up to the 3rd floor you'll find one of the main areas. This floor has most of the hot rooms, the ice room (small but effective), a large body-temp oxygen room, the snack bar (which has a great variety of drinks, the typical snacks, and lots of cheeses strangely enough), and sports massage. Around this area flows a small stream of water with some waterfalls and landscape dioramas to keep the sound relaxing and natural.



The 4th floor is the theme area, with the PC room, PlayStation room, singing rooms, movie room, children's play area, Korean food restaurant, nail art, and main area (where the free yoga class is held once a day for jjimjilbang guests). This is also one of the central sleeping areas at night.

The 6th floor is the entrance to the fitness center (to use this, you need to be a paying member) and the swimming pool. Typically only for fitness members, the pool is open to jjimjilbang guests during daytime hours on Saturday, Sunday, and holidays. It has a waterslide! The last level is essentially the roof, where you can walk on a sole-stimulating stone path, catch some sun, listen to water flowing, and watch the fish. When I've been there, though, the fish pond hasn't been filled. Maybe come summer? Lovely anyway.



Dongbangsak Leports
대전 서구 만년동 330
Daejeon, Seo Gu, Manyeon Dong 330
Open 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week
042-489-6677

Wikimap of Dongbangsak Lesports

Dongbangsak Leports Website
(Best viewed in IE, sorry Firefox/Opera users!)

Daegu, Yongsan Dong - Samjeong Oasis

This is a place I know my friends have gone to. I need more info about it because I only went there once myself (ages ago), though I did walk by it everyday! I was told that this place has a nicer sauna area than Hwang-so in neighboring Seongseo. Go find out, and report back. ^^

용산동법조빌딩삼정오아시스
Yongsan Dong Bup-jo Building Samjeong Oasis
대구 달서구 용산동 230-21
Daegu, Dalseo Gu, Yongsan Dong 230-21
053-564-8800

Wikimap of Samjeong Oasis

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