more Korean cartoon characters

Or Not???

Oslo 'priciest city in the world'
BBC World

After 14 years as the world's most expensive city, Tokyo has been knocked off its top spot - by Oslo.

10 MOST EXPENSIVE CITIES
1st - Oslo, Norway
2nd - Tokyo, Japan
3rd - Reykjavik, Iceland
= 4th - Osaka, Japan
= 4th Paris, France
6th - Copenhagen, Denmark
7th - London, UK
8th - Zurich, Switzerland
9th - Geneva, Switzerland
10th - Helsinki, Finland

I just read on the Korean Times that Seoul was 8th on the list... what happened? Where did they get their stats???
And... I guess it all depends on who is doing the survey, and what they include.

Oslo joins the group of most expensive cities in the world
By Tann vom Hove, Editor

1 February 2006: Deciding on which is the world’s most expensive city is a little bit like choosing between the merits of various world heavy weight boxing champions. Until recently the choice has been between Tokyo and London. But in its latest ‘Worldwide cost of living survey’ the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) says Oslo had overtaken Tokyo as the world’s costliest city. And in June 2006, Mercer Consulting says Moscow was the most expensive city in the world, with Oslo being ranked 10th. Meanwhile, Swiss Bank UBS puts London in first place, followed by Oslo, New York and Tokyo.

London is the most expensive city in the world while Swiss cities are home to highest earners
A report by UBS

London is the most expensive city in the world due to the UK capital’s high cost of renting accommodation. If rents are excluded, Oslo, Copenhagen, Tokyo and Zurich are among the most costly cities in the world. In terms of living costs, Oslo remains the most expensive of the 71 cities surveyed, now followed by Copenhagen, Tokyo, Zurich and London.
...
Rank/City
1 London
2 Oslo
3 New York
4 Tokyo
5 Copenhagen
6 Hong Kong
7 Zurich
8 Paris
9 Chicago
10 Geneva
...
27 Seoul

Expensive??? Or Not?

Seoul Ranks World’s 8th Expensive City
By Ryu JinStaff Reporter Korea Times

Seoulites live in the world’s eighth most expensive city, according to a survey released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) on Monday.
It is the first time that Seoul has been placed on the top-10 list for the cost of living.
Oslo was in first place, followed by Tokyo, Reykjavik and Paris, in the survey conducted biannually by the EIU. Seoul was in the 16th and 13th place in August 2005 and January 2006, respectively.
...

I don't think so.
I'm not sure what their criteria are. I suppose things like rent are very expensive, so they live in smaller homes. The fuel prices are also up there. Other things, though, I find to be lower than at home. The cost of food, for instance, is much lower than at home in Edmonton.
As a foreigner here, I find the cost of living to be very cheap. So many foreigners regularly go out for lunch and/or dinner, because it is so cheap. If you add in the time it takes to make a meal, and the cost of the food, it is much easier to just go to a little Korean restaurant for a quick, big, delicious, cheap meal. I also regularly take taxis here, as they are so readily available, and cheap (Korean's don't think so).
I think the standard (usually one room) school provided foreigner home in Korea costs the hagwons around 300,000 Won per month. Mine is a bit more at around 600,000 Won (or so I've been told), but I have a Korean home rather than a one room villa or officetel room.
I suppose it is difficult for many Koreans, as they don't really do mortgages here... you have to have the money up front. It is possible to get a loan, but you have some sort of collateral, or a huge amount of money to begin with.
I guess if you include the cost of all of the after school academies and hagwons that the parents send their kids to, the cost of living goes up quite a bit.

Still raining... and more to come

Heavy Rains to Pelt Korea Till Next Week
[Chosun Ilbo]

The rain front that unleashed torrential downpours across the nation over the last week will continue to influence the weather through the beginning of next week. With the remaining influence of the typhoon and the high chance that cold air from Manchuria will push down south, it appears that the front will not be able to recede northward.
...

More Rains to Come as Korea Assesses Flood Damage
[Chosun Ilbo]

Localized torrential downpours over the last four days left 19 dead and 31 missing, most in Gangwon Province. Altogether 2,902 people and 1,168 households became victims of floods that damaged 163 homes and flooded 1,506. Some 6,336 hectares of farmland were submerged, and 1,376 hectares swept away or buried. Some 127 roads were closed to traffic due to landslides.
...
Roads near the Han River are partly submerged after torrential rains in Seoul on Monday morning./Yonhap

Yum... or not

In pictures: Food for thought

The frogs are but one of the delights that are mentioned.

Dried frogs
Dried frogs are extraordinary. Even Yoon Jung, our South Korean fixer, hated the idea of them. They are steeped in hot water to make a sort of stew or infusion and fed to sick children. There seemed to be some debate about whether they were used as a cure, or a threat.

The River

I just took a little walk to the bridge to see what the river was doing. It is very high. Where I am, the Olympic Expressway, and the one on the other side of the river, are fairly high, so they weren't affected, unlike other stretches of the same roads. It is a good thing that the river is so wide, as it takes A LOT of water to make it rise enough to do real damage. Other areas are not so lucky.

I think the Koreans driving past me thought I was crazy out going for a walk in the rain. I had almost every single taxi honk at me... hoping I wanted or needed a ride. I got my feet quite wet, and my jeans are soaked almost to the knees. Walking along the roads and sidewalks in Korea is, at times, a bit of a chore. Everything here is very uneven. As a result, there are big little puddles everywhere, of varying deepness. At times it is difficult to avoid stepping in these puddles, as they cross the entire sidewalk or road. Some parts of the sidewalks and roads are basically mini streams as the water tries to find somewhere to go.

The Olympic Bridge
A little riverside road/path.

The little road/path goes to the expressway on the right and disappears into the river under the ramp to the left.

I think the only ones enjoying the parks right now are the ducks. They were swimming around the trees quite contently.

Still Raining!!!!!

20 people dead and 32 missing

By Annie I. Bang The Korea Herald

The death toll from heavy rain rose to 20 yesterday after it swept through northern and central parts of the nation, causing massive floods and landslides in the regions. Another 32 are missing.

...

On Sunday, heavy seasonal rains cracked part of the Anyang Stream enbankment in Yeongdungpo-gu, southwestern Seoul, flooding over 1,900 low-lying houses and apartments.

...

A resident watches water being pumped out of flooded residential areas in Yeongdeungpo, southwestern Seoul. [The Korea Herald]

Crisis Warning Issued Amid Torrential Rain

By Kim RahnStaff Reporter Korea Times

The disaster authority issued an ``Orange'' crisis alert for the downpour in Seoul, Inchon, Kyonggi and Kangwon provinces in the morning, and a ``Yellow'' warning for other parts of the nation.
The colors indicate the seriousness of a disaster: Blue, Yellow, Orange to Red. Red is the most serious. An Orange warning is designated when a heavy rain alert is issued and extensive damage is expected. It is the first time the government has issued an Orange alert since adopting the warning system in 2004.
Heavy rain alerts in Seoul, Kyonggi and Kangwon provinces were eased to heavy rain warnings last night, but the regions will keep receiving rainfall until Tuesday. With the rain front moving southward alerts were issued for North and South Chungchong and North Kyongsang provinces.
In Kangwon Province, where more than 500 millimeters of rain fell, 32 people are listed dead or missing as of 10. p.m on Sunday. Most roads connecting the western and eastern parts of the province were cut by landslides and flooding. About 10,000 people were evacuated from their houses, and tens of thousands of households had electricity cut. Hundreds of residents were also isolated due to cut roads around their villages.
...

Kangwon in Chaos From Heavy Rain

By Kim RahnStaff Reporter Korea Times

Residents of a village in Inje, after being evacuated from their houses due to rain, walk through broken trees and rubble that drifted from valleys in Kangwon Province, Sunday. [Korea Times]

In the Chosun Ilbo:

The Olympic highway, one of the main roads of Seoul, is underwater after torrential rain in Seoul on Sunday./Reuters

Parking in Korea

There are so many cars in Korea. They have to park somewhere. They end up parking almost everywhere and anywhere.
For those living in the big apartment complexes, there are big parking lots. But, if you don't live there, you can't park there without special permission. They have parking attendants that keep a close watch on who is parking there. If there is a car that is not on their list, they stick a big yellow warning sticker on the window. The stickers are NOT easy to get off and require some chemicals and scraping.
Most of the main roads have no parking signs.
There are no no-parking signs in a lot of the residential areas. It is mostly 2 way streets, but there is barely enough room for one car to go through because in most cases, cars are parked on one or both sides. For the most part, I think those that live here have first dibs on the spots in front of their homes. If they are not there, you can park there. If they return and want you to move, they will phone you.
In Korea, everyone leaves their contact number (cell phone number) in the window. That way, if you are parked in someone's spot, or in someone's way, they can phone you. Some parking spots in the little villa homes around here, are set up so that one car parks behind another. If the inside car wants to get out, they have to phone the owner of the outside car to have them move it. I guess it would be a big problem if they were not around to move it.
In some of the big store parking lots, once they start getting full, the cars are parked behind and perpendicular to the other parked cars and set in neutral. When the other cars need to get out, that car is just pushed forwards or backwards out of the way.
You have to be very good at parallel parking in Korea, as they park almost bumper to bumper. In some cases, you have to phone to have cars moved, if they have parked too closely.

more rain

out my window...
Last night:

This morning:

There was lightning and thunder for quite a while last night. It has been raining on and off for a week now. Last night I got some broadcast messages on my phone, all in Korean, of course, that said something about 150 to 200 mm of rain. I'm not sure where the warning was for or if it was a general warning for all over the area.
I get advertisements and broadcasting messages sent to my phone all the time. I don't know why.

Pucca

Pucca is one of my favorite Korean characters.

Pucca [www.wallcoo.net]

Garu and Pucca [www.wallcoo.net]

Some Pucca Animations

A picture of one of my notebooks: Pucca kissing Garu (a common event).
On the notebook, it says:

Pucca is a sweet daughter of the Chinese restaurant.
She is a mania to a zzazzangmeon.
Her boyfriend is GARU. He always chased by her.
You will going to expect their funny love story.

Check her out at the Pucca Club.
(There is an option for English.)

The option 'Pucca Is' is very cute... you can see personality, likes, dislikes, etc. From there, you also have the option to check out 'Pucca's Friends' and 'Soonga Village' where you can check out the individual locations.
There are flash animations of Pucca under the option 'Amusement' (some of the animations are different from those on AsiaFinest, at the above link).