2S2 Anguk: Get Your Coffee Snob On!

Hey there coffee lovers!  Hope you're well... you may have heard of this thing called 2S2 that I regularly plan -- it's a come-as-you-are expat-and-anyone-else get-together aimed at meeting and making connections.

Well, this week, I'd like to share something that's given me much joy lately: coffee!  See, lately, in the Gyeongbokgung Station area, I've been finding a whole slew of amazing coffee shops, and I'd like to share them with my readers and friends.

So if you're free this Saturday, at 2pm, I'll be on the second floor of Twosome Place, near exit 1 of Anguk station, and anybody who comes out to meet up, will be treated to a coffee shop crawl of the neighborhood west of Gyeongbok Palace.  There are a handful of places there selling a variety of great beans, and slow-drip coffee, siphon coffee, and other stuff; they are also selling top-quality beans, and if you're a Seoul-based lover of coffee, I'll level with you, and tell you that you really need to come out and find out about these places!

Show up at 2pm, and don't be late: we'll be leaving fairly promptly, because the coffee at twosome place doesn't stack up, compared to the awesome places we'll visit thereafter.

Stop having these kinds of coffee experiences: (discarded dishwater coffee handed out before a concert I attended once)

and start having experiences like this:

and this... if it were coffee, instead of ice rink:

and this... not that luwak's on the menu, but you might make the face I make when I smell, and then sip it...

2S2 Anguk... World Cup Edition

Dear readers...

Downtown Seoul is going to be a zoo this weekend.  The Twosome Place by Anguk Station will doubtless be overrun by red-clad Chukkumaniacs, as will the rest of Jongno, so here's the plan:

skip Anguk station.  Seriously... instead of going to Anguk Station, go to Gwanghwamun Station Exit 5, and walk straight ahead.  The Korean Queer Culture Festival, including the Pride Parade will be there, and there will be tons to see, including face painting and all kinds of stuff.  Look for me.  I'll definitely be there for part of the day. 

If you head either down to City Hall Plaza, or up to Gwanghwamun Plaza, as the evening wears on, you'll want to switch your rainbow gear for a red t-shirt, to watch Korea play against Greece.

I am dead serious that some time during the world cup, it is imperative that you see a world cup game with 600 000 other people, in one of those mass gatherings Koreans do so wonderfully, chaotically, brilliantly well.  Believe me, it'll be worth it.  Gwanghwamun or City Hall will probably both be good for seeing the game, both will have stuff set up - souvenirs, flashing lights, silly hats etc., I'm sure, and you might want to bring a picnic mat, to stake out a spot on the ground from which to watch the game, and stake it out early - the game starts at 8:30, if memory serves, and people will be claiming spaces, I'm sure, three or five hours before that.  Bring water, bring a snack, bring your cheer gear, look for me at the Pride Parade, and enjoy the party!

That's where it's at for 2S2 Anguk this month.  Send me your pictures!

2S2 May: Gwangjang Market

Thanks to Amy and Chris, 2S2 May, in Anguk, was a success.  Here are some photos Amy sent me, by way of a fella named Richard.  Thanks for the photos!

Jongmyo Park: all the old guys playing games.

Gwangjang Market, a 25 minute walk from Myeongdong, one of the top brand-name shopping districts in Seoul, still evokes old - really old Korea.

Traditional dolls.

And... the amazing Kwangjang Market food...

Chapchae with a side of sundae:

Bindaeddeok - Korean savory pancakes.

This is the market as seen from outside

Gwangjang Market also has long, hollow, haunted-looking halls, lit this way, selling tons of fabrics.

2S2 Anguk: Gwangjang Market and the World DJ Festival

Remember: 2S2 Suwon is also a go!  No word yet from Yongin and Wonju.

So Amy and Chris, minor deities in their own rights, have offered to help me out by running the upcoming 2S2 by Tag-Team, so that I can go tuxedo shopping on Saturday with my fiance, and still get married in July.  Thanks, you two.

The plan remains as stated:  Meet at 2PM on the second floor of the Twosome Place coffee shop by Anguk Station (Anguk Station exit 1, turn right).

Look for either this handsome guy (stolen without permission from Chris's Blogger Profile), who answers to the name "Chris" or "Thou Austere Keeper of the Sword That Wails, And Curator of Awkward Silences"

Or this curly-haired young lady, who radiates "awesome" (picture stolen without permission from her facebook photo album... I didn't have time to check if the picture was a good one; it's late and I wrote this in a sleepy rush.  Sorry if it's not you at your best, Amy.)

She answers to the name Amy.  I think the picture might be old; she may have changed since it was taken.

Once the crew has gathered, there are two ways to get to Gwangjang Market.  Either by following this path:

View 2S2 Saturday May 8 2010 in a larger map
(If the weather's awesome and everybody is healthy and mobile)

Or by subway, Anguk Station, transfer at Jongno 3-ga station, get off at Jongno 5-ga station, exit 8, and head for the center of the market, where all the best food awaits.

From there, on the other side of the market is the Chunggyecheon Stream, which is a nice walk, and if some of you want to go to the Seoul World DJ festival, you'll have to work that out.  The facebook page is here.  The google map is here.

If you really want to go to the DJ Festival (which is awesome, by the way, but'll cost ya), here's the map to catch the bus from World Cup Stadium Station;

View Seoul DJ Festival in a larger map

Wish I could be there, readers.  I'll post pictures of me in my tuxedo when I can.  Don't you know I look dazzling in a suit.

If I have the energy (clothing shopping tires me), and Girlfriendoseyo has the patience, and the store has one in stock, I'll be sure to get at least one picture of me in a ridiculous tuxedo for you.  If all those things occur.  Have a good time eating food and walking around a market I wish I could join you for, readers.

-Rob

2S2 Anguk: Donating Blood and a Photo Show

OK, readers. Here's the news for our blood donation trip:

(Facebook event page here)

1. 2S2 Anguk will need to split into two groups: one group will go to donate blood, but those of us who don't meet the requirements for donation will still meet up and do something else that'll be fun: at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, there's a photo exhibit of National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry, the guy who took this photo, and a bunch of others: (more here) Admission is 8000 won for adults. (photo source)

2. But if you want to donate blood...

A wonderful lady names Ms. Ban helped me get the full information about the blood clinic situation, and I'm passing it on to you.

First of all, as mentioned earlier, there are some caveats to donating blood; if you're B- or, under specific cases (if I have this right), if you're AB-, you might have the platelets necessary to help out our man Yoo-woon. If you're not, you might still be able to donate blood, but it'll be out of your own general awesomeness, not for helping out his boy specifically, provided you pass these hurdles.

Take a look at this document. Read it carefully.

Take a look at this document. Read it carefully.

If any of the questions/explanations on those two pages preclude giving blood, sorry: you can't do it. Yep, that means our UK friends can't give blood in Korea. Enjoy the photo exhibit!

Next: if you meet those requirements, and want to donate...

First of all, the nurse we talked to wants saying that everyone at the blood clinic really appreciates our desire to contribute. Next, here are the other requirements for foreigners who want to donate blood. There isn't much information on whether Korean-Hyphenated expats will have an easier time of it than straight-up non-Korean foreigners, but this lady had no trouble.

1. you need to have been in Korea for at least a full year. The person interviewing might take that to mean continuously (without leaving) or they might take it to mean you've lived here for a year with a few excursions, as long as you haven't traveled to those malaria-risk areas mentioned in the donation interview linked above.

2. you must have an Alien Registration Card.

3. you must be able to speak enough Korean to answer the questions in a personal interview about your medical history. There aren't English speakers in the clinic who can interview you, and we tried to suggest some work-around options, but we couldn't get it done. Sorry folks, but that's just the way it is at this point. I'm sure by 2015 there'll be workarounds in place, but for now, there aren't. Sorry.

So if you're stuck at "멕주 하나도 주세요" then look forward to hanging out at the photo exhibit.

If you're confident enough in your Korean that you could still donate blood, here's the next thing.

There are several types of blood transfusions. Our man Yoo-woon needs a different type of transfusion than the regular blood donation, because of his situation. It's a bit more involved than a normal donation: it takes 1-2 hours, and it can rupture blood vessels in some donors, so if you've given blood before and had no problems, you're eligible for this one. If you haven't given blood before, even if you're B-, the nurse suggests giving a regular, 10-15 minute donation on Saturday, and getting your name on the list of people they call when they need B- platelets (there's a list that they have, kind of a volunteer group of people whom they regularly call when they need it; the nurse says the B- supply is not reaching dangerous lows, but the larger that pool of volunteer donors is, the better off everyone is).

The nurse recommends this, first to check that your blood vessels will be robust enough to handle the more involved donation, second, because the special kind of donation Yoo-woon needs is perishable, so they can't keep it in storage: collecting a week's worth of B- platelets doesn't help much when it only lasts 3 days, and third, if we have a group going, it'd be really hard to process a bunch of 1-2 hour donations at the clinic's busiest time of week (Saturday afternoons) - we don't want to overwhelm the clinic on our first try, so that they decide "Forget it. Accommodating foreign donors is too much trouble." And start rejecting us out of hand, rather than just putting us through a bit of a rigmarole. If it's a smaller group and people meet all the criteria, they might be willing to go for the long version, but if we have a big group, I think that the best thing we can do is make this a really positive experience for the clinic, so that they think, "Yeah, we really SHOULD make it easier for foreigners to donate, if they're all as nice and cooperative as that group was."

So, given that this is going to be a first-time experience for this clinic, let's make sure this is a positive experience for them, so they'll be more amenable to accepting foreign donors in the future, and will be more likely to see the value of finding workarounds for that Korean language interview that, for now, rules out a lot of healthy, eligible donors from donating: I think that kind of long view is a good one to take, because it will enable us to help out more people in the long run, than if we come on too strong this time, and cause a negative reaction.

So, on Saturday afternoon, at 2PM, meet me on the second floor of Twosome Place, to the right of Exit 1, Anguk Station. At 2:30 sharp we'll head out to our various destinations.

See you there!

Special 2S2: Bilingual Korean/English speaker needed

Hey there.
You've probably heard about this guy: There's a Korean student, about 19 years old, who's suffering from lymphoma, a kind of blood cancer. There's a page for him on Facebook. Basically, he has B- blood, which is extremely rare in Korea, and also a bad blood type to get sick with, because it can only receive from O- (in certain cases) and other B- types. There's been a push to get some help for him, and because so few Koreans have B- blood, word has been circulating among the expat community.

Now, on Saturday, for 2S2, I'd really like to bring a group down to the blood clinic to donate blood. If you have B- blood, especially, really, seriously think about coming out and helping out, because this kid is not doing well. Even if you don't, giving blood is a cool thing, and, frankly, a powerful symbolic action that projects a really positive image at a time when English teachers in particular are taking a beating.

(Arafat giving blood after 9/11 - the picture says it all. source)

I've located a blood donation clinic in Shinchon, and I even went down there today with a good friend to talk with the people. After a bit of talk, here's the score:

They don't usually take blood donations from foreigners, because of communication problems, concerns about where we (typically well-travelled folk) have been, and maybe also other... um... less scientific reasons, that aren't the focus of this post.

Now, we might be able to go down there and give blood on Saturday, but before we do, the lady we talked to gave me her phone number, and has asked me to have a bilingual friend contact her, to make sure she can explain the process in detail, and have that information accurately relayed to any would-be expat donors. She spent a lot of time talking about the correct process for donating blood... fair enough.

So, readers, here's where you can help: I really want this to happen, and I have a phone number, but not the language skill. Is there a reader out there who's fluent in Korean, and able to talk to this lady, and then explain the "process" to me, so that I can clearly pass that on to anyone else who needs to have it explained? I'd totally owe you a beer at the microbrew of your choice.

And that's our tentative 2S2 for Saturday: Meet at Anguk station Twosome Place (same time, same place, every month), go down to the donor clinic in Sinchon, and give blood... IF we can get the communication issues cleared up. This means that if you can talk to the lady tomorrow, I need you to send me a message tonight, with your phone number, so that we can clear up her concerns about misunderstandings or improper adherence to due process.

Also, if any of my bilingual readers are free on Saturday afternoon, please accept this as a gentle nudge that your presence would help de-stress these poor, nervous nurses at the clinic. It would be hugely appreciated, even if you're not B-!

If you want to donate blood, here's the nitty gritty:
1. You need to have an Alien Registration Card. Bring it, and be ready to present it.

2. You need to have been in Korea for a year.

3. You need to be able to answer some questions about your medical history... this part was a bit murky, and this might be the deal-breaker which will decide if we can go ahead or not. The guy at the Seoul Global Center, while very helpful, was pretty sure that if you don't speak enough Korean to answer the medical history questions yourself, you wouldn't be able to donate; hopefully we'll learn a way that we still can tomorrow, even if we can't speak all the Korean. I'll keep you posted.

If this doesn't work out, we'll do something else for 2S2, probably involving really, really good food. But I hope we can make this work.

Seollal Swing with Chris in South Korea

The Seollal long Weekend is coming up, and it's also the second Saturday of February. Some of you may already have plans, and some of you may really, seriously have nothing to do. If that's the case for you (especially because traveling is so hard on holiday weekends), you might be stranded in Seoul with no one to hang out with.

Well, fret no more: 2S2 has the event for you.

Here's the plan:

We'll get started around 11:45am - I'll meet people at the top of Sinsa station, line 3, exit 8. From there we'll walk down to the dancing place. If you want to get there on your own, the directions are below.

So what are we doing? The plan is to get together around noon for an absolute beginners swing dance lesson, taught by two English-speaking teachers with years of experience. If you've never tried swing dancing before, this will be the class to take - it assumes no previous dance experience or knowledge. Bring your boyfriend, your girlfriend, or someone you like - coming by yourself is fine as well.

From there, we'll head up to the Twosome Place, hang out for a cup of coffee / tea / sa-ee-deo, and socialize with all the cool people.

Before long, we'll head out to an ice carving place, where we'll go through an ice gallery / museum, then try our own hands at carving something out of ice ourselves.

After some dinner, we'll be off to move our feet at the same place we had our lesson - since we'll get there early we'll have the floor to learn a few more moves. Depending on how the night goes we might end with a nightcap, but we'll play that by ear.

Come on out! If you have any questions, e-mail me at chrisinsouthkorea AT gmail DOT com :)

Directions to the Swing Bar:
Take line 3 of the Seoul subway system to the Sinsa station. Take exit 8 to street level, then walk straight to the J Tower - about 200 meters ahead. Take the first left after J Tower, then the 1st right to walk along a side street. Look for 'The Swing' sign and a restaurant with an outdoor awning - take the stairs down just before the awning. The basement is 'The Swing'.

See you there, readers!