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Sehee

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I realise the start of a new season by seeing spring flowers, like forsythias, azaleas and cherry blossoms when I lived in Korea. Here are some of the spring flowers in the UK bringing this news when I walk in town or the woods. Snowdrops The first snowdrop encounters of each year cheer me up to get over the long winter. They also nudge me that I should get on with the new year’s resolutions. Although I like winter for family events like Christmas, this season sometimes makes me feel down because of the weather. Daylight is still lacking after the first day of the new year; rainfall is more common than snowfall or sunlight; and walking paths are thick with mud… Then one day, I see the delicate but brave snowdrops breaking through the cold! They instantly encourage me to feel positive about what might be ahead. This feel-good…

I love making gifts for those I care a lot about, for their birthdays and Christmas. Although it’s pleasing to spot good presents on the high street, in my experience, handmade pressies go down better. I also find it more rewarding when my own ideas are transformed into something tangible. So, here, I’m going to write about some of the DIY gifts and personalised items I’ve created. I hope they give you some fun ideas for your own DIY gift ideas! Order customised jigsaw puzzles Jigsaw puzzles are great presents for indoor entertainment, especially in winter when it gets dark so early and it’s too nippy to go out. I had a special person to give a Christmas present to, who loved jigsaw puzzles and hadn’t been to Korea. So Josh and I ordered a personalised 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. Good jigsaws have plenty of colour, variety and things going on…

My winter Norway trip with Josh in January/February gave us several good experiences to remember for a long time. To start, we saw plenty of snow, probably a year’s worth (!), and I felt even closer to nature! Before my memory gets blurry I wanted to jot those experiences down, which may also inspire someone wondering what there is to do in Norway in winter… Husky sledding (highly recommended for a Norway winter trip!) The husky sledding experience in Tromsรธ was the pinnacle of our Norway winter trip. Before this tour, I’d been slightly concerned about how fast the dogs might run. There were moments indeed where I found it very speedy, but it was AMAZING… It was so exhilarating that we both commented ‘we wouldn’t say no if there were another chance’. Lucky us, as we had an incredible team of 6 dogs (Soko, Hey, Mons, Dee-Dee, Storm and…

Kong-guksu (์ฝฉ๊ตญ์ˆ˜) is a must-have for me on a scorching day… so Park House decided to serve the dish the other day! This noodles in a cold soup made of ground beans is one of the Korean seasonal dishes. Soybeans are the typical choice to make the liquid part (kong-mul, ์ฝฉ๋ฌผ), but you might also see it in a dark colour form if black beans (seoritae, ์„œ๋ฆฌํƒœ) are used. I didn’t use to like kong-guksu when I was a child and personally it had always felt like the older generation’s favourite. Maybe I’ve finally entered that generation as I love it so much now… Yum! Type of beans to make kong-guksu When I first made kong-guksu in the UK last year, I had soybeans and mung beans kicking around in the cupboard as I had been in a frenzy of homegrown soybeans and making Korean mungbean fritters called bindaetteok (๋นˆ๋Œ€๋–ก),…

Did you hit upon this blog post because you were looking for a good Indian restaurant in Seoul? Great! Indian food is one of Josh and I’s favourite cuisines, so we often try a local Indian restaurant(s) wherever we go. Having spent quite a lot of time in Seoul together now, we’ve tried enough Indian restaurants to have a preference. So far, Taj – Taste of India (ํƒ€์ง€) in Myeongdong is our number one choice! It was actually our most recent trip to Korea when we came across Taj (March 2022). Myeongdong Cathedral view (๋ช…๋™๋Œ€์„ฑ๋‹น) The reason we wanted to try Taj was the view of Myeongdong Cathedral, which is Korea’s first Gothic-style brick church. Located across from the Cathedral, one side of Taj boasts an excellent view of the Cathedral, with the N Seoul Tower in the distance! Booking for guaranteed window-side tables As it was this Cathedral view…

South Korea may not (yet) be best known for wildlife, but it actually has a variety of amazing animals. For example, 172 species of migratory birds (an estimated 1.37 million individuals) visited the south of the peninsula last winter. About 90% of the world’s water deer population is found here, while the country is home to a wide range of carnivores from the government-led moon bear reintroduction to raccoon dogs in the heart of Seoul. So, it’s clear South Korea can be an exciting destination for wildlife watching… with some good research (hunting for SNS photos/videos and blog posts like this one!), time and a bit of luck. I say a bit of luck, as a lot of Korean wildlife remains shy around humans. Where can we see wildlife in South Korea? Josh and I have had the same question over the years, and Eocheongdo Island is one of our…