all in Korea, only in Korea

Requirements to get a visa to Korea

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:09:00 +0000

If you're a foreigner living in Korea and want to invite your family, here are the requirements that you need to get a visa.

1. The person that you are inviting need a passport, the copy of his/her passport (front page) and a passport picture.
2. A copy of your passport (front page). You and your husband if you're married to Korean.
3. An invitation letter written in an A4 paper. You don't need special document or paper for that. Just write on a piece of paper the reason why you're inviting him/her and then your sign at the bottom page.
4. A copy of your NSO marriage contract if you're a foreigner married to Korean.
5. A marriage certificate from the government office in Korea.

Send the copies of #2,3,4, and 5 to your family to present at the Korean embassy including your family's requirement (#1). Goodluck!

The season changed

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:50:00 +0000

It's getting colder here everyday. Winter is coming again but of course fall will come first or I think it's already here. The leaves of the trees in my areas haven't changed in color yet but in some places like mountains have already changed in colors. I don't like cold weather but I waited for this season to come. Just because I wanna finish this year soon. My hubby and I have lots of plans next year and I'm longing for the year to come. Plans that were supposed to be done last year but because of economic crisis and money exchange rate, the plan changed. And now we can't just leave and go back to our plan easily because there are lots of things that we need to settle first. Next year is probably the right time. Let's see!

I want a change

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:21:00 +0000

My hubby said that I have to get go to bed early because I have to get up early tomorrow. We are planning to climb up a mountain in the morning but I'm not sure if I can get up that early because it's weekend. I sleep as much as I want during the weekends specially on Sundays. But I really want to climb up the moutain tomorrow but how can I force myself to sleep early? I'm a night owl and 2a.m. is the earliest time for bed. I watch every programs on tv and I sometimes get tired of watching or hearing the sound of the TV. And sometimes, I get a headache because of watching too much TV. I have to change my lifestyle but I don't know how to start. I really want a change!

Welcome USA

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:52:00 +0000

Last Thanksgiving Day, we visited my hubby's friend's house. He kept saying that he wanted to play a card game. My hubby refused I didn't know why until we came home. My hubby said the game might not be fair. He thought that his friend and his wife would play together so he can't win. Oh, I got it! I couldn't think about that. It's true that in some games it's hard to avoid those cases specially when it regards to money. It's better to play the online casino because no one can't see the other cards. But you also have to make sure to play the best and most popular online games like those who give higher deposit bonuses, high payouts and rewards program. Who said that USA players are not accepted? Of course USA players are always welcome!

I'm a different?

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:03:00 +0000

I thought I'm different to others who always want something bigger after getting what they want. I thought I'm already satisfied of what I have now. A few years ago, we bought a new car and we were very happy for that. Then we also moved to our own 3 bedrooms apartment. We were satisfied for a few years. Just last month when my hubby said that he wanted to change his car. My hubby is very careful when he drives and he didn't want his car to have scratches so it still looks new. This evening, we also talked about moving to a new and bigger apartment. He said 3 bedrooms is enough but he wants more bathroom and bigger living room. And he said new apartments have better interior. I agree with him and I can't deny that I also feel the same way. We are planning to sell our apartment and move to a bigger one after 3 years of living here and that's next year. We have to pay tax if we sell it before 3 years.

No matter what

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:51:00 +0000

It's not surprising here if there are many eyeglasses shops because most everyone need a pair of eyeglasses including kids. No matter how many shops they open, I'll still stay with my My favorite high fashion eyeglasses shop. Can you imagine getting $ 8 Rx eyeglasses? Why spend expensive eyeglasses if you can get what you want with the very low price? Well, it's about time to learn on How You Can Start Spending Smart.

Korean Thanksgiving Day

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 07:38:00 +0000

Like what I've said on my previous post, this week Chuseok is on weekend. There's always 3 days holidays on this occasion but this year it's on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It's until today. Some people didn't bother themselves to visit their family who live in very far places because the holiday is too short. That's alright though because it means less traffic and less pollution. But there was still heavy traffic but there aren't many cars and accidents as what happened on the previous occasions.

Like what we always do every Chuseok, we visited my in law's and stayed in their house for 2 nights and 2 days. We arrived there late at night and we left yesterday afternoon but we arrived home at night. We cooked lots of food like different kinds of "namul" (vegetables and sprouts) and "jeon" (fried food), steamed fish and soup that is always prepare every occasion like Chuseok or seollal. People usually make "seongpyeon" (half-moon shaped rice cake) specially those in the provinces but my mother in law just bought some in the supermarket which made my father in law angry because she bought much. We also usually prepare daejigalbi (sweet and sour pork) but this year we had sokogi (beef) and ogyeopsal (thick samgyeopsal or friend pork) instead.

Thanksgiving Day is coming!

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 10:59:00 +0000

I went to the supermarket today and the it was crowded by people buying some presents. I don't if it's too early to buy presents for Chuseok (Thanksgiving Day) which starts from Friday to Sunday this (October 2-4) year. I told you I hate this year's calendar because the reds (holidays) are usually on weekends.

The famous presents that people give or receive on Chuseok is set of toothpaste and bar soap that mostly have shampoo or body cleanser, fruits, healthy food like ginseng or vitamins, sets of olive oil, set of ham or tuna.

It's too noisy in the supermarket. The salesladies are dragging you and forcing you to buy things that you don't want. I pretended to smile even when they are annoying. I know they are just doing their jobs but I'm sure they also hate what they are doing. Don't you think so?

Books Vending Machine

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 14:44:00 +0000

Whenever we go somewhere and use the expressway, I always expect to stop by at the Resting Area (Hyugeso). It's not only to take a rest or go to the bathroom but also you can buy different kinds of food. There are lots of korean snacks like hotteok (korean pancake), squids, drinks, and almost everything that you are craving for. I've been to lots of Resting Area but it's my first time to see this vending machine for books.

Sorry for the picture. It was late at night when I took the picture. My hubby likes driving at night because there's no traffic. Besides, he's a night owl so he's more awake at night than driving in the morning.

Influenza in Korea

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 04:36:00 +0000

How's everyone doing? I hope everyone is fine and is safe from the pandemic disease called H1N1 (influenza). Here in Korea, it's getting worse everyday. There are lots of people specially students who get the disease. It's really contagious that no one can avoid. They say you can avoid it by frequently washing your hands and covering your mouth when you sneeze. It could help I think but not a 100% specially when you're in public places. Students and parents are worried now that the second semester started and the number of students who get flu increased to 3 digits everyday. As of now, there are more than 7,500 people who have H1N1 and there three or more people died here in Korea. It scares me that I can't even take the bus, go to the supermarket or go to any places where there are crowds. I'm also worried at work so I go out every hour to wash my hands.

How about in your country? Is it worse than here or getting better?

A surprised visit

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 05:46:00 +0000

We were sleeping when my hubby's cellphone rang. It was 10a.m. and his friend called 'cause he wanted to have breakfast with him. My hubby doesn't eat breakfast and we usually sleep until noon on weekends. My hubby just told him to come home because we have lots of dishes. We visited my mother in law yesterday and she gave us 5 or more kinds of side dishes except the main dish that we had to eat last night but we dined out so we still have the duck stew (main dish). I think I already mentioned that Koreans eat different kinds of side dishes every meal.

We got up as soon as hubby received the phone call 'cause I needed to prepare breakfast. I just served all the dishes that my mother in law gave and added some side dishes that we had in the refrigerator. After breakfast, hubby's friend walk around the house to check everything in the house. He entered the rooms, touched everything that amazed him and he even opened the cupboards and refrigerator. Did I get angry? Of course not! I already got used to it. Besides it's Sunday today and I've done all the household chores yesterday. On Saturdays, I always clean the house because I always expect a surprised visit like this. My in laws, hubby's friends and sometimes my friends. Well, we were happy to hear some good words from hubby's friend. He got a good impression and we're happy that he likes our nest.

Grapes Festival

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 06:57:00 +0000

Yesterday my hubby invited me to buy some fruits. There are lots of fruits stands here but because it has been a long time since we gone out so we decided to go to Grapes Plantation. First, to get some fresh air. Second, it's cheaper to go to plantation. Third, the fruits are fresh.

We were on our way to the Goseo Podobat that we've been before but we saw these big balloons.

They balloons that you see when there's a festival. If you wanna go to a festival, just follow the balloons hanging in the air and you can reach the place. Or if you see this kind of balloons that means they are holding a festival in that place.

After a few minutes we saw this place. Luckily, the people in Goseo are celebrating the Grapes Festival. There are many tents who are selling grapes. They also made a stage and put lots of chairs. It seems like they will also hold a singing competition.

There are also some games like catching fish in the pond.

But we didn't go there to join them in the fun but to buy grapes. Besides it was too hot so after buying two boxes of grapes, we drove home.

We gave the one box for my sister in law and another box for us.

What a strange weather

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 12:41:00 +0000

My mother in law called while I was at work. She said she prepared dinner for us. That was too early for dinner because she told us to go straight to her house after our work and that was 5:00 o'clock. It wasn't raining when we left from work but on our way to my mother in law, it rained a lot. We were scared because we couldn't see the street. The raindrops was too big with strong wind. The cars walked too slow and the orange lights of the cars twinkled as a warning sign. A few kilometers away, the road was drier and it seems like there was only rainshower in that area and after a few kilometers we saw the dry road and sunny weather. It was too strange and funny. It seems like we went to another country. A rainy season and then went to a dry season. My mother in law was surprised when we said that there was heavy rain a few kilometers away from her house. What a strange weather!~

Lotteria

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:44:00 +0000

Do you think it will refrain me from eating hamburger because of the Mc Donald issue? Of course not! There's also a Korean Fast Food Company like Mc Do and it's called Lotteria.

My hubby met his friend and on his way home, he dropped by to Lotteria and brought this for me. There's a newly opened Mc Do near my place and it always attracts me to visit there whenever I passed by. But I tried not to but of course I can't deny that I'm also craving for a hamburger. Instead of going to Mc Do, I have to replace it with Lotteria. Btw, Lotteria has delicious hamburgers. Try their bulgogi hamburger, it's delicious!

I suddenly remember that I also saw Lotteria in Thailand and Vietnam. I was surprised!

Wax in her Sunglasses Dress

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:27:00 +0000

Wax (Cho Hye Ri) is one of favorite singer and Hwajangeul Gochigo (Redoing My Makeup) is one of my favorite songs. The song that I usually sing when I go to noraebang (karaoke room). Wax is old and not pretty but I like most of her songs. I like her voice and I like the way she sings. She sings with feelings.

When I saw her singing in one of my favorite programs which is on every Friday evening, I was amazed not with her new song (I don't like her new song but the music video is good) but with dress that she was wearing. Her dress is made of sunglasses. You could even see several faces of the person that she was talking. If you saw Park Ji Yoon in her rag fashion, Wax was wearing her sunglasses dress. Wow!

New Korean Bill

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:45:00 +0000

It's the new Korean bill that the government released last month June 23rd. I was planning to post about it earlier but I couldn't get enough time. It's the most expensive bill. It used to be 10,000 around 10 dollars (over ten dollars before but the exchange rate increased) but now it's 50,000 won, around $50.

The problem appeared when some people say that the bill was too weak and sensitive. They said the money tears easily because the vein (or root? what do you call the tie inside the money?) can remove easily because of its big hole. But later on they said that wasn't a problem so they would continue to release the money.

High Five

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:20:00 +0000

It's not unusual to see kids wearing eyeglasses at their very young age. You'll see them wearing eyeglasses everyday. There are kids who can't go to school just because they broke their eyeglasses. They can't study without their eyeglasses. I guess it's time for them to have many pairs of eyeglasses rather than missing their classes. You'd better watch Zenni Optical on TV!!! Isn't it great to know that you could get $ 8 Rx eyeglasses? Good news, isn't it? High Five to Zenni Optical for this wonderful service for everyone.

Park Ji Yoon in her rag fashion?

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 08:54:00 +0000

Isn't she so pretty?

She's Park Ji Yoon, one of the famous singers in Korea. She's so pretty but I was surprised to see her wearing that clothes when she appeared as a guest at Yoo Hui Yol's Sketchbook. An entertainment program of KBS2. Doesn't her blouse look like a rag? I remember when I was in Elementary, we had to make a doormat as a project in Home Economics and her blouse is similar as that. I don't know much about fashion but even when it's in, I would never wear that blouse. How about you?

Anyway, her blouse didn't look like a rag because of her jeans. She got the perfect match for it. I'm interested with her jeans but never with her blouse.

Two days weather in Korea

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:58:00 +0000

Did it rain in your place? Well, it did here and it wasn't only rain but also strong wind. The wind scared me a lot. Imagine yourself living in the highest floor of the building. I was sleeping and the wind blows woke me up early in the morning. I heard a loud bang of the windows. My hubby said it was okay. He tried to make me calm but the loud noise from the windows bothered me a lot so I couldn't sleep well. It rained for two days here. Yesterday, it was very dark and windy. Thanks God because the weather was clear today and so it's a happy Friday.

Btw, the bad weather left some victims in some places. It created damages to some buildings that hurt some people and there was flood in some places. We are still lucky because we are safe and it didn't give us some damage except the fear that I got and lack of sleep during those nights.

Does jealousy exist in your heart?

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:29:00 +0000

There are two people that me and my hubbt know a lot. They are very close friends who do lot of things together. Let's just call them J and D. Both were living in the same size apartment but J moved to a bigger one and D wanted to move, too. I heard that she planned to move next to J's apartment but until now she hasn't moved, yet. I don't know what the problem is. I hope it's not because of the noise pollution where J live.

A week ago, D bought a new car. I told my hubby that J would buy a new car, too. My hubby said, he doesn't think so because J thinks that her car is more economical. So we bet. Yesterday, I heard that J bought a new car. Oh yes, I won! muhaha... I told hubby about it but he didn't wanna pay $10.

Jealousy is in the heart of everyone. Don't tell me that you don't feel envy sometimes. My hubby's friend is planning to divorce his wife because of it. His wife wants to move to a bigger apartment but they haven't paid their loan, yet. She's also forcing her husband to get a part-time job on weekends. He did before but he quit and now their relationship is in trouble. tsk..tsk..tsk..

Does jealousy exist in your heart? How do you manage it?

The elementary school near my apartment

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 07:00:00 +0000

This picture is taken from my apartment. It is the elementary school and it seems like there was an occasion in the school so the children were celebrating it by dancing and playing. I guess it was their sportsfest. I just heard a noise and when I looked out, I saw the children formed a circle and moving with the tune of the music. After dancing they played and cheered.

On weekend, it's also fun to see some people or children playing soccer that sometimes looks like a real game because you'll see some shades and you'll hear some noise of an MC or announcer. Well, I don't need to go there to watch the game. I can just sit on the veranda and watch them if I want but I don't like sports. My hubby sometimes watch using binoculars. But that doesn't take longer, I think he's just curious about the players or the games.

Memorial Day

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 14:35:00 +0000

Today is Memorial Day. On this day, the nation pays tribute to the war dead, and memorial services are held at the National Cemetery in Seoul. It is a holiday but I went to work. Do I deserve an award? kek..kek..kek...

There are lots of Taegukki (Korean National Flag) raised in most people's houses or apartments and in the streets. You can get a flag for free at the city hall according to my mother in law. But we never bothered ourselves to get one. Is that mean we aren't good citizen just because we don't put flag on our windows? Of course not! As long as we don't break the law, isn't it?

Samul nori (Korean Percussive Band)

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:47:00 +0000

Samul nori (Korean Percussive Band) is spotlighted on the international stages of Korean music and dance. Both players and an audience easily get in high spirits. While the western orchestra or chamber music has delicate and harmonic expression of rhythm and melody, Korean samul nori has rather rough and naive expression of percussive rhythm and spirits. Folk music relies largely on metal gongs, the hourglass-shaped drum called changgo, a small hand drum and sometimes a loud, trumper-like oboe. Farmers' music is the most popular tyupe of folk music. A percussive ensemble called samul nori was originated from farmer's music. Samul nori consists of a large gong, a small gong, a changgo and a small drum.

Stupid Roh Moo Hyun

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:39:00 +0000

Stupid Roh Moo Hyun (Babo Roh Moo Hyun) is what they called him even when he was still a South Korean President. It's because he's very kind and now he committed suicide, I guess. Since he passed away, he's always the heart of the news. I usually feel like crying and sometimes cry when I see him on tv specially the program this evening where they show a lot about him. They show about the good things that he did for his country. They interviewed the people who was closed to him and showed the people who feel sorrow because of his lost.

I just can't explain how I feel for him. What I know is I like him since the first time that I saw him on tv while he was running as a President. At that time, I felt that he was the right man to lead the country. He made me cry when I knew that he won as a President on Presidential Election. I felt nervous when he was in trouble on his presidency but felt relieved and made me cry again because everything went well and had to continue his job as a South Korean President.

Me and hubby was watching his life on tv and we were both crying. Then hubby said, he couldn't watch it anymore so he changed the channel.

To Mr. Former President, wherever you are, you'll always be in our heart. We love you!

Roh Moo Hyun killed himself

noreply@blogger.com (idealpinkrose) — Sat, 23 May 2009 17:35:00 +0000

It has found out that Roh Moo Hyun, the Former President of South Korea killed himself. He left a message on his website Roh Moo Hyun Ui Saram Saneun Sesang (Roh Moo Hyun's Know How) thirty minutes before he went hiking. He also left a note for his family and for the people.

"I'm weak. I can't even read and write. Don't be sad. Don't feel sorry. Burn my body. Make a small tomb just near our house. It's destiny, etc.." Inspite of his bribery scandal, people still show how much they love him. The whole country is in deep sorrow because of his lost. Those who can't go to his funeral gathered together in some places to show their support and love to him. Even when you just watch on tv, you can't help but to cry.