Korean Grafted Cactus Fascinates the World

Let us pay some attention to the newly developed Korean grafted cactus that comes under such sweet names as “seolhong,” “hoohong,” and “saekdong.”

The usual association with cactus is some thorny, misshapen, rough-looking plant standing under the scorching sun in the desert.

Well, time to shatter that association.

<Researchers at Rural Development Administration reviewing the quality of the grafted cactus>

The grafted cactus of Korea comes in numerous splash colors (red, pink, yellow, orange….) and sizes (a cute little cauliflower-like thing the size of your fist!).

The Rural Development Administration(RDA) exhibited its newly developed grated cactus at the horticulture fair held last November 11. The Korean grafted cactus has been garnering excellent reviews from the worldwide horticulture market with its annual volume of export exceeding USD 2 million to over 30 countries including the U.S. and the Netherlands, the leading floriculture nation. 

At the flower fair, a series of rigorous eval!uation was conducted on the presented cactuses including how vivid the color is, how firm it is, its capacity to produce “baby” plant, its commercial potential and so on.

After passing through a set of meticulous tests and screening, 4 qualified cactuses will be selected to be distributed to the farms. Then they will first undergo a test production to be followed by mass cultivation. The RDA aims at USD 3 million annual export by 2012.

Well, at this rate, not reaching for stars!

Korea on the Road to First Class

Chairwoman Lee Bae-Yong of the Presidential Council on Nation Branding on November 15 gave a lecture for the KBS program “The Road to First Class.”

Web site of the KBS program “The Road to First Class"

The lecture was on the subject of Korea’s nation brand and the impact of the G20 Seoul Summit.

“Made in Korea” Impact

“Despite the increasing sales of Korean products globally nowadays,” Chairwoman Lee explained, “they still get about a 30% discount compared to similar products made by some other nations because of Korea’s undervalued nation brand.”

Giving examples of French perfume and wine which are products backed up by the country’s strong nation brand, Lee emphasized the importance of nation brand in generating economic profits.

“We need to work on increasing trust and preference for so-called “Made in Korea.” Also, it is getting more and more important nowadays to have strong “software” such as cultural content, human resources and spiritual values as well as hardware.”

Lee also touched upon Korea’s numerous timeless cultural heritages, saying, “I wish to share Korean values and spirits that are imbued in those historic and cultural legacies with the world. Korea’s astounding growth in the 20th century was made possible only because it was backed up by such virtues as harmony, sharing, communication, regards for life and nature.”

“To raise Korea’s nation brand, it is important to have active civic participation. The Council will make best efforts to achieve the goal with 5 major areas of work that we designated which include contributing to the international community, cultivating global citizenship, promoting multiculturalism, developing attractive culture and tourism, and showcasing advanced technology.”

Tripitaka Koreana woodblock at Haeinsa temple (designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site)

“Korea, as seen in its age-long history and countless cultural relics, has admirable spirits – perseverance, cooperative and pacifist inclination, modesty, warmhearted regards for others. It is important that we remember these timeless virtues of ours,” Lee stressed.

* Chairwoman Lee Bae Yong’s lecture on the program “The Road to First Class” (aired on November 20) can be viewed at the following web page: http://www.kbs.co.kr/1tv/sisa/firstclass/vod/

Exploring Korea's rural areas - trip to Handeumi village

"Your body realizes the marvelous nature before your brain does. In harmony with mountains, fields, valleys and caves, the whole village is nature's playground where even grown-ups become children again and have fun. If you are bored with same old daily routine, come to Handeumi," - travel brochure about rural areas in Korea runs like that^^ When you travel to different countries you really want to visit famous tourist attractions, but how would you feel like when you live (or have to live) in foreign country for a quite long period? You'd get bored with it very fast! So, when I found out about this programm for foreigners I didn't hesitate at all to try and see it - real country people busy with their village work and whose life doesn't depend on money spent by tourists there.

Handeumi village (한드미) is situated in Ghungcheongbuk-do in Sobeaksan National Park (1000-1400m height) 

we just took a walk there to see life of village.
and first was met by curious dogs very interested in new visitors:

Korean Jindo dog

First snow on this season! 

Juniper tree

I trusted our guide I ate some berries - very sweet and delicious!
Hope, it doesn't have any long-term poisonous effect^^

making kimchi

Drying some greens~ good place for drying something else thou, hehe^^

Also we experienced traditional cooking using hot stones and steam - called 아궁이. Potatoes, batata, eggs, corns were cooked in this kind of furnace from ancient times. I don't want to bother you with explanations what it is, just see pics

Food is cooked by steam generated from water poured inside the hill we made above stones.    

 

Arirang TV

ready to eat just after getting cooler

KOAA Show 2010

KINTEX - (Korea International Exhibition Center) - is really large exhibition center situated in Goyang-city just 20km from DMZ. Korea Autoparts and Auto-related Industries Show (KOAA Show) were taking place there this week and I couldn't lose a chance to see it. Actually, I was going to work there for 3 days as Russian-Korean-English interpreter but I was too late with job application, so I had to enjoy it just as "international visitor" today. 

To tell the truth, it was quite boring - the main goals of organizers were attracting foreign companies to buy korean auto-parts, establishing partnership and so on. But of course there was a little exhibition of tuning cars to attract attention of simple people like me^^ 

GTR - 3 letters that make my heart beat faster!

Корейский вариант русского "тюнинга" - зачем пилить витки на пружинах, если можно просто сделать пневмоподвеску и опускать машину хоть до пола, просто нажимая пультик:

I couldn't even imagine that 2 litre engine of 10 years old hyundai tiburon could be upgraded to 430 horse power!

trank of that car

Dessert for the end:

do you know why koreans usually go to car shows? Not  for cars) Well, I'm not a snob and I also like racing models but koreans really get mad of that dolls!

Korea’s Women of the Sea ("Haenyeo")

"Haenyeo" (the sea women) are female divers in the Korean province of Jeju. What used to amount to as many as 15,000 haenyeo in 1970 has now plummeted to a mere third of that number; and most of them are over seventy years of age, meaning that haenyeo are fast disappearing. Nowadays, instead of the strenuous lifestyle as a haenyeo, many Jeju women are turning elsewhere for other possibilities of living. In light of this sad reality, The LA Times published a feature article on Korean haenyeo, including interviews with the youngest haenyeo in Korea (33-year-old Ms. Kim) who has chosen the harsh path so that the precious tradition could be preserved. 

John M. Glionna, Los Angeles Times / October 27, 2010

At 33, Kim Jae-yeon, left, is the youngest of South Korea’s haenyeo, or women of the sea. She takes to the water with her aunt, Kim Choun-geum, from whom she is learning the diving craft.

You can read full article here http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-korea-women-divers-20101027,0,1663729.story?page=1

Cycling at the National Parks of Korea

Missed out on the peak foliage season? Then how about going cycling to a mountain park? If hiking is about getting to the top of a mountain, with cycling, you get to savor and appreciate the beautiful scenery and ambience you often just pass by. The Korea National Park Service announced that they are going to create extra cycling courses of 20km at the four parks: Seoraksan, Naejangsan, Jirisan and Woraksan. Also, in the cycling programs offered at the Hallyeohaesang National Park and the Deogyusan National Park, you can rent bicycles for free at their respective park offices. Read more about it here http://blog.naver.com/korea_brand/10097437668

Seoul Lantern Festival

The weather in Seoul is getting colder this days so yesterday I went to Dondaemun to find boots for winter. Unfortunately, I couldn't buy anything because koreans usually don't sell 300' size( ah, my russian feet are too big  for korean fashion kk Have to search for boots in internet later.

Then I just took a walk along Cheongye Stream in the heart of Seoul and...

 beginning from the middle of this stream
I saw a lot of lanterns placed in it

That was an open exhibition called 2010 Seoul Lantern Festival and almost its last day before closing.

the further I went more interesting it was:

              and even like that:

As usual in Seoul exhibition place was crowded  by people, but surprisingly there weren't many foreigners that evening