Be sure to buy your pepero! If you work at a public school, you'll probably receive tons of these chocolate sticks. Keep the boxed ones from Lotte and give away the rest. (Size doesn't matter on pepero day. Skinny is best). Want to learn more about Pepero Day look here^^ Pepero Day is coming! Look at those huge boxes to the left! Even the 7/11 is getting ready for Pepero Day Don't forget to get your pepero gift pack for your girlfriend, wife, or friend!

I am trying to get better with my video blogging. Here is my most recent video and I even edited it! Check it out! It's on the best Dakgalbi Restaurant in Chuncheon: Myeongdong Dakgalbi 1 Bonji. Hi this is Dan Gray from Seouleats.com, showing you the best eats in Korea. This is Chuncheon's most famous Dakgalbi Restaurant: Myeongdong Dakgalbi 1-Bonji. They have the best sauce and amazing buckwheat noodles. It's easy to find, because it's the only one with a line far out the door. If you are looking to find the best food in Korea, take a food tour with me at www.ongofood.com Come take a cooking class or take a Culinary Tour in Seoul! http://www.ongofood.com

Letters to Seoul Eats I love letters and these days, I'm getting quite a few because of the upcoming G20 Summit. Here's a recent one. They are looking for star chefs. Any recommendations? Here's the letter: Dear Daniel, I hope you are well. As F--- mentioned I’ll be in Seoul this Thursday and Friday. I’d like to find a great food neighbourhood where a great chef is causing a stir and that has a great selection of food shops - delis, markets, wine-shops, patisseries, cafes or similar. Would you have any chefs and undiscovered foodie neighbourhoods in the city to recommend? Any tips are most welcome! Many thanks, Liv Read what I recommended after the jump

Welcome to Korea! I know that many people that are coming for the G20 plan to venture out of their hotels to see the real Korea. I wanted to give you 20 tips so you won't be too shocked about the Korean food culture. Don't worry, it's safe and it's great to learn about the food through the culture. Take a Korean friend (or you can take me). 20. Wear clean socks free of holes at all time, you might end up in a restaurant where you'll have to take off your shoes. 19. You're going to have to use thin metal chopsticks and long stemmed spoons for eating. You might want to take a different set of utensils if these are too difficult. 18. People might greet you by asking if you had eaten rice (bap mok-eossoyo?), it's not because you have rice in your beard or on your clothes. 17. You shouldn't pour your own alcohol. Drinking is a very social event and you don't want to exclude yourself. 16. The little button on the table is to call your waiter- it...

photo by Lunalil Here is a repost on pepero Day 11/11 or November 11 th is Pepero Day in Korea and there is a very good chance that you will receive a couple of boxes of these long thin snacks on this day. The classic pepero sold by Lotte is a thin biscuit stick that is dipped in chocolate. Over time these have evolved into thin pretzel wrappers with chocolate inside (called Nude Pepero), Almond Chocolate, Strawberry, Blueberry, Nude Lemon Cheese, and then huge peperos that are the length of an adult’s arm. It is easy to get overwhelmed by the number of these strange thin snacks that swarm the Korea landscape on 11/11. So how did it start? The Lotte Confectionary Company introduced Pepero to Korea back in the 1980s. Many people believe that the company invented this day to increase their sales. If the Lotte Company did do this then it was a huge success. It sells almost two-thirds of it’s yearly total of these snacks in the two months before November 11 th (Source: Lina Yoon Wa...

Hotteok Hotteok is Korea's Boston Creme Pie and it's one of my favorite snacks when it gets colder. It's a simple recipe. You put a little sugar, cinnamon and ground up peanuts into a risen dough disk and then fry it up in some oil. It's very much like a donut, but chewier. My favorite place to get it is out Anguk Station Exit 4 past the palace. There is an old grandpa there that's been doing it for years. It's good stuff and his is slowly cooked with little oil. Delicious. The Hotteok Truck Hotteok Grandpa

  Title Warmth: Vegetarian Dinner Party When Saturday, November 20th, 2010 2:00 PM Details In case you hadn't noticed from the avalanche of flannel cascading from the mountains into the markets of Myeongdong -- it's fall. There's a bright energy in the air, a new mental focus, a welcome cooling. It's time to bid farewell to our beloved bowls of mul nangmyeon and twice-daily cold showers, and usher in a new season of WARM foods and cozy ondol-heated evenings. And what better way to do that than to gather around a WARM stove with other food lovers? We can't think of a better way. so we're doing it. This November 20th at 2pm , at the O'ngo Food Communications School in Insadong. Join us for a hearty taste of seasonal vegetarian foods, from WARM mulled libations to a WARM apple dessert. 30,000w per person includes an apertif, four courses and good company. Bring a homemade vegetarian dish of your own and get in for 20. Come early if you'd like to help ...

Gyodae 교대(Seoul National University of Education Subway Line 2 and 3) has some excellent eats. Now this is partly because it is across from one of Korea's most prestigious universities. Oh! and don't get Gyodae and Seoul-dae confused. They are both on line 2 (the green line) but they are very different. Gyodae is right next to Gangnam station and Seoul-dae is farther down the green line next to Nakseongdae. The most famous restaurant there is Gyodae Gopchang. Gopchang is beef intestines. Now, there are many imitators, but there is only one true one. Look for this sign: Gyodae Gopchang  What you'll find here is amazing tripe and sweetbreads (heart, stomach, liver). The tripe is grilled before you and the oil that comes out of the meat are expertly sopped up with paper towel so the tripe stays crisp yet chewy. It's amazing. Tripe Fried Rice at Gyodae Gopchang near Seoul National University of Education Also after you eat the tripe, they take the leftovers and ...

I know, I should be writing about food, but I am just in love with my new camera! For years, I have only used Canon. I had a canon point and shoot and later graduated to the Powershot G9 before getting a Canon Rebel with a 35mm lens. The one thing that I always envied where the colors that Panasonic cameras could get. I finally decided to make the switch when the Panasonic DMC-G2 came out. This is what attracted me to this camera: the processor, the kit lens which was half decent, and the swiveling LCD screen. The main thing, I must admit was the ability to attach other lenses onto the body. I could easily get a lens adapter and add my beloved 35mm lens to the body and even get strange lenses like a CCTV lense with a 1.4 F stop. It's a fun camera to play with and I recommend it. Here are some of my pictures. Flower: taken with a Panasonic DMC-G2 camera with a Canon 35mm lens Anthony Rapp: taken with a Panasonic DMC-G2 camera with a Panasonic Kit Lens

Kimchi Chiggae I love Kimchi Stew and it's one of my goto dishes at home. I have found the best way to make Kimchi chiggae is to first fry up the kimchi with pork and then add just a little bit of water. When it gets cold, it's a great dish to have. Also, since the "Kimchi Crisis" is over (yes, kimchi is not as expensive as it used to be) I don't feel bad using kimchi to make a big pot of delicious spicy, salty, pork fat laiden stew. It's delicious and it goes very well with a grilled cheese sandwich. (Yes, you heard me correctly. I love to dip my grilled cheese into the stew).

Sadly, this is Lindsey's last column for Seoul Eats. I'm sad to see her go, because her articles have always been full of insight and thought. Lindsey, I wish you the best of luck on all of your endeavors.  Sincerely, Dan Rice Battered, Deep-fried Hotdog Written by Lindsey Huster The word meal came up as a vocabulary word a few weeks ago. When explaining this word to my students, I talked about the meals you eat throughout the day. For example, you eat consume different foods for breakfast, than you do at lunch, and at dinner. The idea of eating "different foods," however, did not register with most of my students. Many of them looked bewildered and confused. Some even laughed. I was told that no, this is not the case with some of my students. When I asked my students what they had for breakfast, most of them said rice. And for lunch? Rice. And dinner? Rice again. (Of course, many of the meals also included kimchi). In a number of Korean homes, there ...

On November 13th, we are having another expat special cooking class. Since the weather is getting cold, Chicken Noodle Soup is just perfect to beat the chill and just what the doctor ordered. In Korea, it's difficult to get your classic chicken noodle soup, but Korea has an excellent variation: knife-cut chicken noodle soup. You get silky knife cut noodles in a rich chicken broth. During the class, Chef Hyejin will teach you how to make the noodles, the soup, and and a fresh turnip kimchi to go with the dish. On the weekends we have an Expat Special so the class costs 55,000 won and you can get a 5,000 won discount by sending your money by bank transfer early. Be sure to RSVP by e-mailing Daniel Gray at ongofood@ongofood.com Come join Korea's exciting and fun food community. O'ngo Food Communications www.ongofood.com If you would like to send payment in advance you can send us a bank transfer at Woori Bank 1005-480-990616    (Choi Jia...