Links about Korea

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So, every once in awhile I end up clicking through links to other people's blogs in Korea and today I happened to stumble across a blog that I really enjoyed. The blog is called Seoul Sounds and each entry is made up of an audio clip of a typical sound you would hear in Seoul. A lot of the sounds apply to things either I or Meg had talked about in the past or they are just snippets which will give you insight to the soundtrack of my daily life in Korea. Here were some of my favorites:
10: Talking escalator. Yep, the escalators here talk.
16: Transfer station announcement. This plays when you are approaching a station where you can transfer to a new line. Conveniently, this clip is from the station I currently live by. So I hear it often.
23: The sound made when a subway train is coming to the station.
51: Starcraft channel. I get at least 2 of these channels...that I know of.
56: Shaky bus. It is true, every bus sounds like this.
58: The sound of 김치 찌개 (kimchi jjigae) upon being served. This kimchi soup is served so hot it is still boiling in the bowl.
63: Korean National Anthem. We sang this at spirit day and I was impressed by the fact that all the students, even the "5" year olds knew the words. I definitely could not have sung the American National Anthem word for word at age 4.
72: A forklift playing Für Elise when backing up. Many of the work vehicles here have interesting sounds to notify people that they are backing up.
73: Changing of the guards ceremony at one of the palaces in the city.
74: The sound of traffic. Provides a slight idea of how much traffic is crammed into this city.
82: "Good Morning Alarm". My cell phone does not have this particular alarm, but I do know other people who have it (and yes, even use it). It is definitely annoying enough to get you up to turn it off.
93-98: Various sounds from the Lotus Lantern festival.
106: A cheer at a bar during one of the World Cup games.
112: Another subway announcement. This is what plays when you are approaching a station with no transfer.
116: Another sample of transfer music. Each subway line has its own transfer music.
123: The sound of cicadas in the summer. The cicadas are ridiculously loud here. I can't teach with my windows open because my kids can't hear me over them.
132: Reloading a subway card. We use T-money cards to ride the subway and this is what it sounds like when you put more money on it.
139: A fruit truck. These drive through streets (usually at early morning hours) blaring their announcements over loudspeakers.

While I am in a link sharing mood, here is a link to a recent news story that is causing panic and distress in Korea: Kimchi Crisis. Turns out the bad weather has left Koreans searching high and low for cabbage to make kimchi. Seeing as this is a staple food here, I am not sure quite what would happen if Koreans can't get their hands on some, but I don't particularly want to find out.

Finally, here is one of my favorite Korean commercials. It is for Cass Light, a beer. I love this commercial for a couple of reasons. 1, it doesn't make a lot of sense (drinking beer will make you have muscles?) 2, their slogan is 'calorie down' (I understand what they are trying to say, the way they word it in English just cracks me up) and 3, for the last 3 seconds...makes me laugh every time. (For the record, Koreans usually pronounce 's' with an 'sh' sound, turning 'six pack' into 'shix pack').

And while we are at it, and just for kicks, here is a commercial for a refrigerator that has a special spot for your kimchi. This commercial is fairly typical of Korean commercials - annoying music, a lot of parts that don't really make sense, and the use of English words or easy to understand slang (in this case, they use 'asa' which Koreans have adapted as an "English" word to mean awesome.) The only Korean words I understand in this particular commercial are 'kimchi', 'asa' and 사랑해 (saranghae, I love you) which the guy says near the end when he is hugging the girl. Thus the message I get is if you use this fridge to keep your kimchi, someone will love you and think you are awesome.