K is for Korean

(This photo actually just shows a mix of friends :)

Korean Friends
Being in an international school, the boys have made friends from all over the world and especially enjoy their Korean classmates. (Koreans make up about 1/3 of their school population.) I wondered what drew my American boys particularly to the Koreans on campus, and decided that perhaps they were curious about the strong sense of cultural identity and community they saw. Then again, the Korean appeal could merely be that they're pretty nice kids and lots of fun to be around. (Or maybe it's the food the boys keep mooching.)

Anyway, because of this Korean influence in our world, our whole family loves Korean food.

Korean Food... Yum!
Our favorites are:

Bibimbap 비빔밥
or rice topped with mixed vegetables, possibly ground beef, and egg; served with a chili paste

Bibimbap - Cafe Mi Hee by avlxyz

Kimbap (Gimbap) 김밥

or Korean Sushi (rice & seaweed wrapped around vegetables and egg or cooked, processed meat of some kind - beef, hot dog, fish). I don't actually like the fishy, seaweed taste; but I'm the only one.

Kimbap by manda wong

My boys love Kimchi (Kimchee, Gimchee) 김치 or spicy, pickled cabbage.

Kimchee Jar by TheDeliciousLife

Korean BBQ...

Sides by nate steiner

tends to be a favorite with lots of people; especially when you get to grill the meat and vegetables yourself and then wrap them up in fresh green lettuce leaves. When we order, I also like to request a plate of Tteokbokki (Ddeokbokki, Topokki) 떡볶이 or sliced rice cake in a spicy sauce.


But my favorite Korean dish is possibly Curry Rice (Indo-Carae, Indian Curry Korean style) 카레라이스

The two images above both come from Migi's kitchen photo set by minwoo. You can find these recipes here.

Are you hungry yet? Because I'm kind of moving on to another interesting "K" word.

Kawaii (かわいい)* .... I learned a new "K" word while searching the web for Korean fashion images to use in this post. It means "loveable" or "adorable" and relates to things found particularly in, though not limited to, Asian pop culture (including entertainment, clothing, food, and toys). (Wikipedia)

I always thought the culture of cute spread to China from Korea, but I discovered that this phenomenon actually originated in Japan. The thing is that young Koreans (particularly girls) seem irrepressibly drawn to all things Kawaii; and then Chinese young people, strongly influenced by Korean pop culture (especially films and music), do the same. For a great article on Japan's cuteness culture check out Wikipedia here.

Another online source defines Kawaii as "cute" or "pretty," stating that it "generally relates to someone wearing clothing that appears to be made for young children or clothes that accentuate the cuteness of the individual. Ruffles and pastels or bright colors may be worn, and accessories often include oversize toys or bags featuring animated characters."
http://amfibang.wordpress.com/2008/06/25/harajuku-style/

I've included some Kawaii fashion below as well as other cute things.

Kawaii Fashions for Spring

Kawaii Fashions for Fall

Most of the fashion images came from JE551 (HK wholeseller) unless stated otherwise on the photo

Hello Kitty is Kawaii.

Hello Kitty bus Japan by Andrea Nanni

Hello Kitty Store Hollywood by NightRPStar

Hello Kitty Store Caracas by blmurch

Japanese Kawaii by Yumi X Peach (And let me just say she is the king's wife of Kawaii swaps. You can check it our here.)

Kawaii erasers by rkeohane

I also consider ball-joint dolls to be a pretty fun example of Korean Kawaii; so I'll leave you with some cute bjd pics. You can find my Korean bjd, Uri, here along with a little more information.

These sweet photos were taken by Rainb0w-dolls.

As always thank you for stopping by! I love your visits.
Kamsahamnida 감사합니다!

I am participating in Alphabe-Thursday hosted by Jenny Matlock at ...off on my tangent... You can join in and find other kool "k" posts here.

*귀여운 Kawaii (Korean) 可爱 Kawaii (Chinese Simp)