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Breakfast Outside of Metro-Seoul [Part 1]

Breakfast Outside of Metro-Seoul [Part 1]

There’s a lot of things people talk about when they’re living and working abroad on countless blogs and YouTube channels. For some, it’s the pulling on the heartstrings about loved ones who aren’t physically close anymore. For others, there’s the adjustment to wet rooms over a solid bathtub. Yeah, boo-hoo or whatever. I’m here to talk about real heartache: I need a feast.

For about, oh 3 weeks…

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To Go To The (Foreigner) Bar or Not To Go To The Bar?

To Go To The (Foreigner) Bar or Not To Go To The Bar?

After a few weeks of having every single Korean native you meet go “Huh?” to you when you speak in Korean (honestly, it doesn’t matter at all that you know you’re speaking sentences properly. Why else would your tutor tell you otherwise?) , you’ll eventually find yourself hoping you’ll literally bump into a native English speaker. Hard. And preferably with them salivating for English…

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"I want to go to Seoul."

“I want to go to Seoul.”

When I first learned about South Korea roughly 6 years ago, it was certainly through its entertainment industry. All I could recall about the peninsula was what I’d learned through many years ago in high school (North Korea is the Hermit Kingdom and there was a longstanding war between the two Koreas), so the entertainment side was refreshing. I wanted to go to Seoul. It wasn’t on my initial…

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Over 30 and Teaching Abroad: Lindsey Nave

Months ago, we met Lindsey Nave. Here's her story - Over 30 and Teaching Abroad

When Lindsey submitted her essay, I knew I wanted to feature her story first.  She’s a beautiful girl with a wonderful heart.  Her stories of social work with children from other countries were extremely moving and I’m excited to share them.  Lindsey is one of those teachers over 30 who is extremely motivated, bright, and talented.  I believe her thought process on deciding to teach abroad and…

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Get Ready For More Kimchibytes!

Get Ready For More Kimchibytes! Welcome, @multifacetedacg @macgproductions

Hello, Kimchibytes (KB) readers! KB has grown from an awesome blog into a following of people interested in South Korea around the world. Comment sections and Facebook pages have influenced awesome conversations and a lot of learning. It’s exciting to know that KB has impacted you in a positive way. Transitioning to/from living abroad is an adventure we value, just like the contributors to this…

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According the burnt out search engine that brought you to this page, you desire to know the secret of how Korean women, and more increasingly the men, are so impossibly thin. We’ve seen how they can eat a family sized portion of carbs and top it off with soju yet still weigh less than your average, robust American toddler. It’s time to spill the beans. No, it’s not magic weight loss senzu beans.  The reasons are a combination of factors genetic and otherwise.

To better break it down let’s analyze every aspect possible. Firstly, there is immense pressure to be thin. Thin is akin to potential success in the job market. If there are two candidates for the same job the better looking and skinnier of the two will more than likely be chosen. There are weight loss powders, pills, vinegars, girdles, and diets galore promising to make your emaciated dreams come true. The subway walls are plastered with weight loss surgery advertisements where bodies can be sculpted like clay through enough suction and bandages. Instagram and facebook ads display straps to slim your face, massagers to dissolve fat, and powders that will enable you to eat like a monster. They are inescapable. KPop has industrialized beauty standards. There is a beauty prototype and society pressures women to conform. There is no “eye of the beholder” it’s become “beauty of the double eyelid holder.” Deviating from the standards is dangerous and diversity would be frowned upon if the jaw wasn’t botoxed during lunch break recently. If that isn’t aggressive enough go into a random Korean family’s home and you can hear a mother berating her daughter to lose more weight while simultaneously complaining she didn’t eat enough rice. Disclaimer, it is not actually advised to go into a random strangers house.

Societal pressure and plastic surgery aren’t enough to make weight dissolve permanently, however. How is it that that a petite frame could stuff away 5,000 calories during a night out with her friends but manage to keep her weight in check? That night of binging will probably be followed by 3 days on a cucumber or sweet potato diet. If foregoing food isn’t the preferred method, a couple hours walking very slowly on a treadmill quite often will do. Either way there is a pattern here.

There is no secret lifestyle or gifted genetic pool with revved up metabolisms. It’s an energy in and energy out game.

In summary, the main reason that Koreans or any person on this good Earth remains thins is –drumroll, please– calorie deficit. That’s it.  Maintaining a calorie deficit takes willpower. Balancing calories after your ideal weight is reached is a lifestyle. Remember that thin doesn’t mean there aren’t fat stores and disregarding health can result in muscle loss. Therefore thin doesn’t necessarily equate healthy. Simply put: maintain a caloric balance according to your weight goals. Put in the hard work, and you too, can resemble your favorite idol.

How many diets did you try last month?

  Note: According to the Korean Herald Seoul Metro will soon, “introduce a ban advertisements for plastic surgery in Seoul’s subway stations. “

It's time to reveal the real reason Korean women are impossibly thin. According the burnt out search engine that brought you to this page, you desire to know the secret of how Korean women, and more increasingly the men, are so impossibly thin.

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Being Lonely in Korea And Creating Community Through Volunteering

Network, mingle, and make new connections the easy way though volunteering.

As the winter frost recedes you may find yourself wanting to unfurl from hibernation. If you find yourself craving human interaction or a greater sense of purpose check out a few of my favorite volunteer organizations that will fulfill those nagging needs. One such organization offers a unique opportunity to aid North Korean defectors. There are plenty of programs for children but if you are…

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The Terrifying Side Of Korea, Nature

What's the scariest aspect of Korea you can think of? While dwindling, the natural side of Korea is the creepiest. Get to know some of the unfamiliar animals and learn about the origins of the ones too often taken for granted.

While Korea has developed with lightning speed and will continue to do so with its ever-changing landscape into the foreseeable future, there is a more underrated side that is inching its way to oblivion. Take a moment to appreciate the natural side before the rest of it goes the way of their beloved national animal, the tiger.  But it might just scare the crap out of you. When the forest is…

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How I Hired Someone to Break the Law in Korea

The bulldog couldn’t be bothered to even raise one of his meaty eyebrows in acknowledgment when I slipped into the room. As I waited I pestered him, pressing the tip of his protruding tongue until he responded to my presence. He then happily tilted his square head to better fit the curvature of my hand. While I was occupied with my new friend the paperwork was being prepared. I signed a form and…

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Fallout In The ROK

Want to live? Great, read on. For those of you who patiently wait for the occasion to put your scout skills to use, the time to do so has crept up on us like a sneaky, grabby Trump hand. Alternatively, for the futon riders among us who want to cash in those innumerable hours of watching Doomsday Preppers, you too are in luck. The media shouts it from the rooftops about the pissing contest that…

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What it's like being single in Korea

What it’s like being single in Korea

Imagine living in an alternate reality multiverse where the middle of every month you are reminded of the choice, or lack thereof, that you made to be alo…ahem, single. In this dystopian future companies shout at you with megaphones as a reminder that you cannot participate in the capitalistic events. The preexisting couples parade around looking like near clones, donning matching garb with baby…

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Korea is for Extroverts. Japan is for Introverts.

Korea is for Extroverts. Japan is for Introverts.

A COMPARISON BETWEEN TEACHING IN KOREA VS JAPAN: PROS AND CONS This review contains sweeping generalizations and swearing up the wazoo. If you’re the sensitive type, best to pass on this one. Also if you don’t give a shit about living and teaching in Korea and Japan than I doubt this will be of interest to you. With that out of the way, let’s get to it. Some of my teacher friends in Korea have…

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How to Become A Licensed Teacher in Korea: TeacherReady

How to Become A Licensed Teacher in Korea: TeacherReady

What Am I Doing With My Life? So, you decided come to Korea for a year.  Maybe your plans were to travel, save money or take a break between schooling.  Then, it happens.  One year becomes two.  Two years grow to three.  All of sudden, your life is Korea.  You’ve established a network of friends and professionals in the expat and local scenes.  You’ve contributed to events, causes, or…

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An Inside View of Work Life in Korea

An Inside View of Work Life in Korea

The work culture in Korea is very different than that of the United States.  People have a unique style of communication even in English.  The decision structure is a little more vertical instead of horizontal as it can be in other places.   The work ethic is very strong and relationship based.  It is very rewarding if you keep an open mind and try to see things in terms of “this is different”…

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5 of the Best Foods to Try While Traveling in Korea

5 of the Best Foods to Try While Traveling in Korea

Korean food is delicious. This cannot be debated. After traveling for 2 weeks in Korea, where I am writing a travelogue ebook that can be ordered on Kickstarter for just the next three days, I have had amazing opportunities to taste this first hand. Although there are many delicious foods in Korea and I haven’t had a chance to try them all, I will list some of the tastiest, most interesting, and…

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Why are Koreans so Skinny? Korean Women Weigh In.

Why are Koreans so Skinny? Korean Women Weigh In.

Well here it is- the last installment of my series on Korean diets. I’m all packed up and ready to go- back to the land of the lumberjacks and hopefully back to feeling normal around bodies! But I didn’t promise one more article, so here it is. At the beginning of this series, I asked some of my Korean co-workers to complete a short survey about their diets. I also asked some expats living here,…

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Visiting the Place Where the Gwangju Uprising Started

Visiting the Place Where the Gwangju Uprising Started

Outside the gates of Chonnam University in Gwangju city, in a patch of overgrown grass, next to a silhouette of a person walking, is a photo of a mass of students holding signs at the gate and facing down paratroopers. The photo was taken on May 18, 1980. It was the start of the Gwangju Uprising. The Gwangju Uprising was a seminal moment in the Korean democracy movement. After years of autocratic…