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Continue reading →: Manhole Collection May 2024-July 2024More of my manhole collection. Even my friends point out interesting manhole covers to me now. Some shots from my trip to Gangneung in August: And a stray one from the Philippines before I realized I was interested in photographing manhole covers: My honorable mention: Happiness (행복), 2020 Uijeongbu (의정부),…
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Continue reading →: Review: Junji Ito’s Horror House: SeoulI would like to thank whoever was the first to mention the Seoul Junji Ito exhibit in the facebook group What Kind of Junji Ito Bullshit Is This, because it had flown completely under my radar. “Coffee, then screams?” I texted my friend, who had never read anything from Junji…
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Continue reading →: Rereading Goosebumps–Halfway There! Thirty One/Sixty TwoI am now halfway through the original 62 Goosebumps books! This particular set of books were all quite interesting in their own rights. Some of them could have easily been tailored for a more adult audience, some had major plot holes, but most of them were really enjoyable reads. I…
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Continue reading →: Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI) Pop-Up, May 2024Back in May, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea (also known as LTI) held a Korean writing pop-up event in Coex Starfield Library in Seoul. In addition to having numerous Korean authors give talks, they provided displays with information about leading Korean authors and included different editions of their books…
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Continue reading →: Best Coffee in GangneungI recently went to Gangneung, in Gangwon Province, along the eastern shore of South Korea. One of my taxi drivers was very confused as to why I chose Gangneung, of all places, because in his words, “Only Koreans come here–and only to see the ocean.” I wanted to see the…
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Continue reading →: Cafe Review: Blue Bottle, YeoksamMy silly little side quest of visiting all (permanent) Blue Bottle locations in Korea is quickly coming to its conclusion… Blue Bottle in Yeoksam is on the first floor of a big building and features large, floor to ceiling windows that allow in a lot of natural light. The wood…
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Continue reading →: Cafe Review: Blue Bottle, HongdaeLocated on the first floor of the Ryse hotel, the Blue Bottle in Hongdae has a unique set-up. In addition to tables, there is built-in seating along the stairs, and the iconic Blue Bottle image reflects a blue wall behind the espresso bar as well as a blue art installation…
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Continue reading →: Lee Taemin (태민) Birthday Cafe, July 21st, 2024Oddly, despite his ever-growing popularity, there was a dearth of birthday cafes for SHINee’s “ace” maknae, Lee Taemin, and many of them ended on Saturday. This was unfortunate as we were planning on visiting the cafes on Sunday, so we ended up just going to one birthday cafe before calling…
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Continue reading →: Cafe Review: Intelligentsia, SeochonI was super excited to see that Intelligentsia Coffee had opened their first Korean store in the Jongno district of Seoul. While I personally haven’t had any of their coffee, their reputation is favorable, with their sourcing of coffee beans directly from growers as well as a successful bid to…
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Continue reading →: Suwon Starfield LibrarySince I was out and far from home when visiting Blue Bottle Pangyo, I decided to go even further with my friend Amy and view the newest Starfield Library, located in the Starfield Mall, Suwon. Most of the mall is dog-friendly with the exception of the restaurants and cafes. The…
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Continue reading →: Cafe Review: Blue Bottle, PangyoWe created this serene space to juxtapose the bustling city of Pangyo. Large windows allow in a gentle breeze and fresh sunlight to bring the beautiful elements of outdoors inside.Wooden benches and comfy chairs offer you communal or isolated seating so you can choose between conversation or a moment to…
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Continue reading →: Rereading Goosebumps: Twenty/Sixty-TwoAnd with that, I’ve completed reading another ten original Goosebumps books. They are: Monster Blood and Say Cheese and Die! are the stand-outs of this bunch, although I have a soft spot for The Ghost Next Door, which I really believe could have been fleshed out into a much longer…
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Continue reading →: Namsangol Hanok Village, January 2021Namsangol Hanok Village is a “recreated village of historical Korean buildings” that seeks to represent all aspects of Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) life, from that of royalty to that of peasants. Several of the hanoks, or traditional Korean houses, are furnished as accurately as possible. On the premise is a beautiful…
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Continue reading →: Cafe Review: Rain Report, BritishThe third offering by Rain Report in Seoul, Rain Report: British is located in the Yeonnam area, an area I seem to be visiting a lot lately. The premise of the original two Rain Reports is rather simple: it rains. In one location, there is fake outdoor rain, and in…
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Continue reading →: Cafe Review: Blue Bottle, Yeonnam“Imagine the charming alleyways of Seoul, where people casually lean against walls, observe the hustle of passersby, and engage in lively conversations with locals while holding onto various tasks. Cafes, in these settings, embody the essence of Seoul’s old alley culture.” After visiting Mint Choco World, I really needed some…
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Continue reading →: Cafe Review: Mint Choco World, Yeonnam-DongMy favorite Girl Scouts cookie is the Thin Mint, so it would make sense that I like mint chocolate flavored things. Actually, I’m not that big of a fan of “mint choco” (as they say here in Korea). For me, there’s just something delicious about an icy, frozen Thin Mint…
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Continue reading →: Cafe Review: Bean Brothers Coffee House, Seoul (Sangsu)Recently, two friends and I met up at Bean Brothers Coffee House in Sangsu, Seoul. Located on the 6th, 7th, and rooftop of a building, it’s a fancy cafe with a minimalistic menu that is crafted to provide quality drinks, rather than a great quantity of drinks. And the view…
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Continue reading →: Delight Seoul, February 2021Here’s another one from the archives, an exhibit called Delight Seoul that ran in Insadong from December 2020 to June 2021. My friends and I went in February and it was still pretty crowded. I’ll be honest: many exhibitions like this one are what I call Instagram Exhibitions. They’re pretty…
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Continue reading →: Namsan Tower, January 2021Forgive me for posting an entry from January 2021. I’ve been slowly going through my photos and selecting (what I think are) the best ones and came across photos from when my friend Mary and I visited Namsan Tower. Namsan Tower, also known as N Seoul Tower, is Korea’s first…
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Continue reading →: Visiting a Doctor’s Office in KoreaFor about a week now, I’ve been dealing with allergies. My eyes were constantly watering, I had a runny nose, slight cough, and general tiredness, but otherwise I felt okay. Sometime Wednesday, my inner ears started hurting and Thursday the pain was awful. I went to the local clinic after…
Welcome to Koffee & Kpop, adventures of an errant American barista living in South Korea.
Koffee & Kpop 