Kid sized Kimchi Pots !!!

Kimchi Pots

We continue our trek beyond Dongdaemun. Instead of taking the easy route (hopping on the subway and 'riding' five stations to the west) we opt to meander the busy city streets on our way to Insadong--as rnrB & trkr were acting rather 'squirrely'.

Insadong is one of Seoul's many treasures. It's a little section of Seoul that boasts a ton of personality. Its narrow alleyways house lots of antique shops, tea rooms, art supply stores, art exhibits, eclectic clothing and miscellany from Near & Far Eastern regions and other oohs & aahs that are difficult to describe with mere words. This is one of my favorite spots in all of Seoul! We stopped for a quick traditional Korean meal--I opted for the dolsotbibimbap--a flaming hot stone bowl filled with rice, traditional seasonal julienned vegetables, beef with a raw egg on top and a large 'glob' of spicy pepper paste. The kids opted for the twigimmandoo--fried pork dumplings with a side of cabbage slaw with that awesome Asian salad dressing that reminds me slightly of Thousand Island--but MUCH better! The meal came with the traditional 'dim sum' bowls of various appetizers--kimchi, pickled daikon radish, pickled/peppered julienned radish, a cold vegetable omelet sliced into 'rolls' and two bowls of piping hot miso soup! Yum!!!

After the meal, we wandered the bustling streets--I was searching for more silk scarves--similar to the one I purchased in Insadong back in Nov 04. Eventually, I found a vendor with ones that I liked and I haggled for an agreeable price. I made my purchase and then we continued to explore the nooks and crannies in this little neighborhood. We visited alleyways we somehow missed on previous visits--so we stumbled upon this chic little teahouse and ordered cinnamon tea that was accompanied by crunchy 'rice' cookies and the traditional rice paste 'cakes'. The tea and cookies were awesome! Somewhere along our wandering we stumbled upon these giant kimchi pots! They were probably ornamental but the lids were not fastened down so I presume they may, at some time during the seasons, actually be used for 'bulk' kimchi production--as it seems every square inch of Korea is used for producing something--be it food, harvest, materials, clothing--you name it, capitalism has certainly taken root here in this country!