Channel GWHY

道路元標 (四十七) 海南 해남 Haenam

2011-12-29T17:33:00.001+08:00

Location: In front of 해남군청 [전라남도 해남군 해남읍 군청길 4 (성내리 4)], by the side of 하늘재공원 facing 군청길 next to a tall sculpture.

道路元標 (四十六) 珍島 진도 Jindo

2011-12-29T17:31:00.000+08:00

Location: Stone marker by the corner of 남문길 and 남동1길 intersection, in front of the shop with an address of 전라남도 진도군 진도읍 남문길 34 (남동리 499).

道路元標 (四十五) 長城 장성 Jangseong

2011-12-29T16:40:00.000+08:00

Jangseong's stone marker dimension is different from the specification and smaller in size.

Location: On the right side of 장성군청 [전라남도 장성군 장성읍 영천로 200 (영천리 1061-2)] entrance from 영천로, across the road from the shop with the address 전라남도 장성군 장성읍 영천로 189 (영천리 1057-7).

道路元標 (四十四) 靈光 영광 Yeonggwang

2011-12-29T15:47:00.001+08:00

Location: Brass marker is located at the 군청사거리 cross junction between 중앙로 and 물무로, in front of 영광우체국 [전라남도 영광군 영광읍 중앙로 200 (무령리 368)].

Location: Stone marker is placed in front of 영광군의회 [전라남도 영광군 영광읍 중앙로 203 (무령리 198-4)].

道路元標 (四十三) 寶城 보성 Boseong

2011-12-29T15:10:00.001+08:00

Location: Next to the fountain in front of 보성역 [전라남도 보성군 보성읍 현충로 90 (보성리 891-1)].

道路元標 (四十二) 務安 무안 Muan

2011-12-29T14:55:00.001+08:00

Location: By the landscape garden next to 제2별관 of 무안군청 [전라남도 무안군 무안읍 무안로 530 (성동리 712-1)], on the left of the entrance from 무안로.

道路元標 (四十一) 羅州 나주 Naju

2011-12-29T14:43:00.001+08:00

Location: Next to 완사천, in front of Naju City Hall [전라남도 나주시 시청길 22 (송월동 1100)], near to the cross junction of 시청길, 예향로 and 빛가람로.

道路元標 (四十) 求禮 구례 Gurye

2011-12-29T14:18:00.000+08:00

Location: The stone marker is placed in the middle of the roundabout (intersection of 로터리길, 봉성로 and 봉성산로) in front of Gurye's Police Station [전라남도 구례군 구례읍 봉성로 74 (봉동리 315-1)]. When the road view was photographed back in 2010, it was obstructed by the wooden panel.

道路元標 (三十九) 光陽 광양 Gwangyang

2011-12-28T21:59:00.000+08:00

Location: Brass marker is located at the centre of 시청사거리, which is the cross junction of 중마중앙로 and 백운로. Stone marker is located at the corner of the junction, near to the outdoor amphitheatre 야외공연장 of 광양시민광장 [전라남도 광양시 중마중앙로 99 (중동 1310-1)].

道路元標 (三十八) 潭陽 담양 Damyang

2011-12-28T21:58:00.000+08:00

Location: By the side of 중파사거리, intersection of 추성로 and 중앙로, in front of a small park across the road from a shop with an address of 전라남도 담양군 담양읍 중앙로 78 (객사리 280-3).

道路元標 (三十七) 高興 고흥 Goheung

2011-12-28T21:57:00.000+08:00

Location: Intersection of 봉황길 and 고흥로, in front of the shop with the address 전라남도 고흥군 고흥읍 고흥로 1737 (남계리 631-22).

道路元標 (三十六) 木浦 목포 Mokpo

2011-09-04T15:03:00.001+08:00

Mokpo's zero kilometre marker is perhaps the second most blogged location behind Seoul's marker. Not only it has a stone marker and a brass disk at the centre of the junction, it also has another stone marker showing the starting point of national road route 1 and 2.

Location: 윤달동사거리, cross road junction between 영산로, 해안로173번길 and 영산로29번길. Near to 목포유달산 post office [전라남도 목포시 영산로 33 (대의동2가 1-6)].

2011.09.04 | 지도 크게 보기

Thailand Site Filtering

2011-08-23T16:08:00.002+08:00

I did two posts here, and here on web site filtering. I have almost forgotten I have done another screen capture a couple months ago. The notification page from Thailand, as shown below. Unlike the other two, Thailand's message is very much simpler text based message in both English and Thai.

道路元標 (三十五) 漆谷 칠곡 Chilgok

2011-08-21T11:16:00.000+08:00

One of the challenges to locate zero kilometre by means of street view is view obstruction. This can be caused by difference of ground level, vehicle in the line of sight, structure like pillar, wall or fence around the marker blocking the view. Chilgok stone marker is on a higher ground than the road where the surveying vehicle passed. It is made difficult by the wall and fence around it.

UPDATE: Daum has update road view to include view from the parking inside.

Location: On the south eastern side of county office parking [경상북도 칠곡군 왜관읍 군청1길 80 왜관리 177-1], hiding among the trees by the fence. It is placed closed to the junction between 군청2길 and 석전로10길, just across the road from 왜관온천웰스파 [경상북도 칠곡군 왜관읍 군청2길 21 (왜관리 167-7)].

道路元標 (三十四) 靑松 청송 Cheongsong

2011-08-21T10:31:00.001+08:00

Cheongsong is one of those places that I have found the brass disk but not the stone marker. Anyone knows if the stone marker exists, please drop a comment. If you can send in a picture of it, that would be most welcome.

Location: In front of FamilyMart 청송 중앙점 [경상북도 청송군 청송읍 중앙로 249-1 (월막리 347-1)], at the cross junction of 중앙로 and 금월로.

道路元標 (三十三) 義城 의성 Uiseong

2011-08-21T10:17:00.000+08:00

Location: In front of county office [경상북도 의성군 의성읍 군청길 31 (후죽리 509-2)], by the junction of 군청길 and 중앙길.

道路元標 (三十二) 蔚珍 울진 Uljin

2011-08-21T09:49:00.000+08:00

Location: In front of SK petrol station 울진충전소 [경상북도 울진군 울진읍 울진북로 331 (읍남리 350)], at the junction of 울진북로 and 토일1길, across 읍남1리 local bus stop.

道路元標 (三十一) 醴泉 예천 Yecheon

2011-08-21T09:33:00.001+08:00

Location: Near to the junction of 충효로 and 중앙로 beside intercity bus stop. Across the road from 백두쇼핑 supermarket [경상북도 예천군 예천읍 충효로 280 (남본리 196-9)].

道路元標 (三十) 永川 영천 Yeongcheon

2011-08-21T00:11:00.001+08:00

Location: Garden inside city hall compound [경상북도 영천시 시청로 16 (문외동 27)], near to the entrance from 시청로.

道路元標 (二十九) 英陽 영양 Yeongyang

2011-08-20T23:55:00.000+08:00

Yeongyang is one of the few places that I have yet to find the stone marker using Daum's road view function. The brass disk marking the exact location is found however.

Location: 농협사거리 cross junction between 중앙로, 영양창수로 and 여남길, in front of 영양농협 [경상북도 영양군 영양읍 중앙로 140 (서부리 326-1)].

道路元標 (二十八) 盈德 영덕 Yeongdeok

2011-08-20T23:08:00.002+08:00

Location: Near to bus terminal [경상북도 영덕군 영덕읍 군청길 58 (덕곡리 248-3)] and close 쳥련교. Stone is by the road side of 영덕로.

道路元標 (二十七) 安東 안동 Andong

2011-08-20T22:52:00.004+08:00

Andong's zero kilometre stone is located near to 동부교회 [경상북도 안동시 강변마을1길 101 (당북동 391-2)] towards 영호대교. According to the inscription on the stone, distance measurement starts at the centre of 제일생명교차로.

Location (Stone marker): Traffic island at 영호대교북단 junction, intersection of 제비원로 and 육사로.

Location (Brass disk): 제일생명사거리, cross junction between 경동로 and 제비원로.

道路元標 (二十六) 星州 성주 Seongju

2011-08-18T12:54:00.002+08:00

Location: Corner of a traffic island at 군청삼거리 in front of county office [경상북도 성주군 성주읍 성주로 3200 (경산리 283-1)]. Intersection of 성주로 and 심산로.

道路元標 (二十五) 尙州 상주 Sangju

2011-08-18T12:06:00.001+08:00

Location: Sangju city hall, Muyang (상주시청 무양청사) [경상북도 상주시 중앙로 111 (무양동 33-4)]. Close to 낙양사거리, at the intersection of 중앙로 and 경상대로.

道路元標 (二十四) 奉化 봉화 Bonghwa

2011-08-17T15:18:00.001+08:00

Location: Entrance of 봉화군보건소 [경상북도 봉화군 봉화읍 봉화로 1203 (내성리 285)], by the intersection of 봉화로 and 거촌로.

道路元標 (二十三) 聞慶 문경 Mungyeong

2011-08-15T21:44:00.002+08:00

Location: By the 당교로 main entrance of Mungyeong city hall [경상북도 문경시 당교로 225 (모전동 200)].

道路元標 (二十二) 金泉 김천 Gimcheon

2011-08-15T21:32:00.001+08:00

Location: At the corner of 삼각로타리, next to the fountain in front of 중앙시장. 삼각로타리 is located at the intersection of 자산로 and 중앙시장길.

道路元標 (二十一) 軍威 군위 Gunwi

2011-08-07T20:38:00.001+08:00

Location: By the side of the road, outisde Gunwi County office [군위군 군위읍 군청로 200 (동부리 229)].

道路元標 (二十) 浦項 포항 Pohang

2011-08-07T15:03:00.000+08:00

Location: Traffic island at 육거리, intersection with 중앙로, 중앙상가길 and 서동로.

2011.08.07 | 지도 크게 보기

道路元標 (十九) 慶州 경주 Gyeongju

2011-08-07T14:36:00.000+08:00

Location: Traffic island at 팔우정삼거리, by the T junction of 원화로 and 태종로.

2011.08.07 | 지도 크게 보기

道路元標 (十八) 慶山 경산 Gyeongsan

2011-08-07T14:28:00.002+08:00

Location: Left of city hall [경상북도 경산시 남매로 159 (중방동 701-17)] entrance from 남매로.

2011.08.07 | 지도 크게 보기

道路元標 (十七) 統營 통영 Tongyeong

2011-08-07T12:53:00.000+08:00

Location: Traffic island between 중앙로 and 북신발개등1길 at 무전사걸리. In front of 삼성생명 [경상남도 통영시 중앙로 297 (북신동 696)], beneath the big electronic screen.

2011.08.07 | 지도 크게 보기

道路元標 (十六) 鎭海 진해 Jinhae

2011-08-07T12:35:00.000+08:00

Although Jinhae now is part of Changwon, it was a city by its own self before the merging. Thus, it had its own stone marker. The location of the stone marker is not an easy find, since it is not placed near a city hall, a train station or at a main traffic junction.

Location: Small park beside 이동우체국 [경상남도 창원시 진해구 충장로 432 (이동 611-8)]

2011.08.07 | 지도 크게 보기

道路元標 (十五) 昌原 창원 Changwon

2011-08-07T12:16:00.001+08:00

Changwon's stone marker is placed by the driveway on the left from the main entrance. It is in front of the main building's 시민홀 wing.

Location: Changwon city hall [경상남도 창원시 의창구 중앙대로 151 (용호동 1)]

2011.08.07 | 지도 크게 보기

道路元標 (十四) 昌寧 창녕 Changnyeong

2011-08-07T11:57:00.002+08:00

Location: Traffic island between 우포2로 and 우포1대로 at 오리정사거리.

道路元標 (十三) 晉州 진주 Jinju

2011-08-07T11:32:00.002+08:00

Location: Traffic island garden in front of Jinju train station [경상남도 진주시 진주대로879번길 18 (강남동 245-110)]

2011.08.07 | 지도 크게 보기

道路元標 (十二) 宜寧 의령 Uiryeong

2011-08-07T11:16:00.002+08:00

Uiryeong's stone marker is found near to GS Caltex petrol station 중앙주유소 [경상남도 의령군 의령읍 백산로 4 (동동리 1025-1)].

Location: Traffic island between 의병로 and 의병로24길.

道路元標 (十一) 密陽 밀양 Miryang

2011-08-07T10:44:00.000+08:00

I have posted about Miryang's stone marker back in 2009. It is hard to notice the stone from the street view shown below. It is inside the garden on the left of the city hall entrance from the main road, hidden between the trees.

Location: Miryang city hall [경상남도 밀양시 밀양대로 2047 (교동 1000-1)]

道路元標 (十) 梁山 양산 Yangsan

2011-08-07T10:18:00.001+08:00

I discovered Yangsan's stone marker by accident. If I did not take the wrong turn, I would have probably missed it. It is right in front of S-Oil Petrol station 양산목련주유소 [경상남도 양산시 남부로 29 (남부동 463-6)].

Location: Traffic island between 남부로 and 중앙로 at 남부사거리.

2011.08.07 | 지도 크게 보기

道路元標 (九) 金海 김해 Gimhae

2011-08-07T09:48:00.002+08:00

Gimhae stone marker can be found near the Gimhae City Hall LRT station by 시청사거리. It is next to the guardhouse of the vehicle registration office.

Location: 김해시차량등록사업소 [경상남도 김해시 김해대로 2406 (부원동 553-1)]

2011.08.07 | 지도 크게 보기

道路元標 (八) 大田 대전 Daejeon

2011-08-07T01:31:00.000+08:00

Daejeon stone marker can be found near to the city hall. From the inscription, the actual distance measurement starts at 서대전네거리, 3.2km from the stone marker location.

Location: Daejeon city hall [대전광역시 서구 둔산로 100 (둔산동 1420)] near to the parking entrance from 둔산중로.

道路元標 (七) 光州 광주 Gwangju

2011-08-06T23:46:00.004+08:00

Gwangju is rather special where not only it has a stone marker near to the city hall that was setup on 1 January 2001, it has another older stone marker that was setup in 1 January 1969 plus a brass disk next to it, marking the spot where the distance measurement is made. The latter is found near the famous shopping street at 충장로5가.

Location: Park in front of city hall [광주광역시 서구 내방로 111 (치평동 1200)], by the U turn at the junction of 시청로 and 내방로.

The original marker is found in front of a shop diagonally across 금남새마을금고. Brass disk is found immediately beside the stone marker.

Location: On the pavement in front of a shop with an address of 광주광역시 동구 구성로 168 (충장로5가 25-7), by the cross junction of 충장로 and 구성로.

道路元標 (六) 大邱 대구 Daegu

2011-08-06T22:51:00.003+08:00

Daegu has both the stone marker and the brass disk marker. The stone marker is within the historic 慶尙監營 park, across the Daegu post office. If you walk further straight down the road towards Jungangno subway station Exit 4, you can spot the brass disk at the cross junction.

Location: Stone marker at 경상감영공원 [대구광역시 중구 경상감영길 99 (포정동 21)], brass marker at cross junction of 경상감영길 and 중앙대로.

2011.08.06 | 지도 크게 보기

道路元標 (五) 蔚山 울산 Ulsan

2011-08-06T22:27:00.002+08:00

Location: Between the fountain at Ulsan city hall [울산광역시 남구 중앙로 201 (신정동 646-4)] and the bus stop at 중앙로 towards 시청사거리.

道路元標 (四) 濟州 제주 Jeju

2011-08-06T20:46:00.005+08:00

Jeju stone marker is next to the city hall parking from 광양7길 near to the 4.3 저항정신 표현 monument.

Location: Jeju city hall [제주특별자치도 제주시 광양9길 10 (이도이동 1176-1)] bus stop at 중앙로 towards 광영사거리.

2011.08.06 | 지도 크게 보기

道路元標 (三) 西歸浦 서귀포 Seogwipo

2011-08-06T20:07:00.004+08:00

Seogwipo is one of the cities that has both the stone marker and the brass disk marker. The brass disk marks the actual location since it at the centre of a busy junction, with the stone marker placed nearby. The stone marker is next to a public toilet by the junction in front of a library (서귀포중앙도서관), while the Seogwipo bus terminal (서귀포시외버스터미널) is just around the corner.

Location: 일주서로-월드컵로-일주동로 T-junction

2011.08.06 | 지도 크게 보기

道路元標 (二) 釜山 부산 Busan

2011-08-06T19:19:00.005+08:00

Although the stone marker is placed at a plaza behind the city hall main building at Yeonsan-dong, the actual measurement of distance from Busan to other places across the country starts from the junction in front of Lotte department store in Nampo-dong, where the old city hall was used to be. To locate the stone marker, walk pass the parking booth behind the city hall building towards the plaza. You may have to look closely to spot the stone marker from the street view shown below as the photo taking vehicle did not drive into the parking lot.

Location: 녹음광장 beside city hall car park [부산광역시 연제구 중앙대로 1001 (연산동 1000)]

2011.08.06 | 지도 크게 보기

道路元標 (一) 서울 Seoul

2011-08-05T16:40:00.074+08:00

A couple of years back, I have posted my adventure on tracking down kilometre zero marking stones in Korea [1] and [2]. I have always been wondering the locations of the remaining markers across the country, but looking up from multiple websites in Korea has so far cannot give me a complete listing of it. Overwhelming sites show the market in Seoul and the closest to a complete listing is the same article that has been copy-pasted and circulated multiple times by bloggers (try searching the keyword 전국 도로원표). Although the list is better than any other articles, some location information is incorrect or outdated. So, I have decided to set myself up for a mission to look them up.

Fortunately, street level view is now possible with online map, I can look them up without actually having to travel all the way to the actual location! The markers are mostly made from stone, while some places have round brass disk on the road surface. In addition, there are places having both as well. These markers are usually found at city hall, main junction or near famous landmark. However, some of them are really hard to find as the location is not at where you expect them to be. According to sources online, each city and county have one marker, except for Incheon (with another market at Ganghwa), but I have yet to find any confirmation. I have yet to locate all of it, thus I will show part by part with update once I found a new marker.

Seoul actually has two stone markers. One of them was created during April 1914 as shown in the photograph above, while a newer replacement was unveiled around 1997. Both are located close to the Gwanghwamun plaza.

The older stone was made during the colonial period, having a strong Japanese influence to it, with inscription on the stone shows ㎞ as 粁.

Location: Next to 高宗卽位40年稱慶紀念碑 at the junction corner of 세종로 and 중로 (세종로사거리), in front of 교보생명빌딩 [서울특별시 종로구 종로 1 (종로1가 1)]

2011.12.27 | 지도 크게 보기

The newer rendition can be found near to the office of Chosunilbo, a famous newspaper publisher in Korea. This is more elaborate, with distance to various parts of Korea and major cities in the world are shown, with information in multiple languages are shown.

Location: Next to 세종로파출소 [서울특별시 중구 세종대로 지하 141 (태평로1가 68-1)]

2011.12.27 | 지도 크게 보기

Korea FAQ - Getting There

2011-07-03T22:09:00.005+08:00

I have been getting a lot of questions about Korea, especially after AirAsia X's started flight to Incheon. I will be starting an FAQ from a Malaysian perspective since there are a lot of misconception or "distorted" information from hearsay and incorrect portrayal from various media. I will divide the FAQ by categories and if you have any more question, feel free to drop me a comment or two.

What are the options for me to fly into Korea from Malaysia?

Incheon? But I want to go to Seoul and not Incheon.

Is Incheon the only option? But I want to go to Jeju or Busan.

has been given approval to fly into Busan

I am from Johor, I think Changi has more options for me.

I am from Penang, I don't want to waste time travelling to the south first.

I have bought a ticket from AirAsia X from KUL to ICN. Is there anything that I should be aware of?

Are you sure I don't need a visa? Both neighbouring countries of China and Japan require a visa.

Korea Tourism Organisation

Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Malaysia Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Embassy of the Republic of Korea

View Larger Map

Busan Subway Map v4

2011-01-16T17:57:00.004+08:00

It's been awhile since I update this blog. There has been a lot of changes on the subway map since I last uploaded it. Busan Subway Line 4 and Busan-Gimhae LRT are scheduled to be open around March/April 2011. Line 4 has now been set with blue, so I have to re-colour the LRT line to purple. Line 4 station name has been officially announced earlier, although there is still on going request for retaining the actual place name of Bansong, I will use the earlier announced station names and update accordingly when there is newer announcement.

The LRT line station name, especially for Hanja and English name are not the official name given, but my guess that is how it would be named later judging from various sources online. Also, no news on the official colour for LRT line, and blue has been taken over by Line 4, so without confusing anyone looking at it, I will set it as purple for the moment.

Also, as part of the renaming of station name for Line 1, all stations with the word 동 will be streamlined without it and so are those with the word 앞. Since Line 1 extension all the way to Dadaepo is announced, I have added those in, but since no station name was announced yet (other than the potential location for station), I will leave it as it is for this version. Most likely we will be seeing the station of 장림, but I am not very sure how would they named those sharing the same area or road name, and there is nothing prominent but apartment nearby.

김탁구 = 金卓求 ≠ 金卓購 ?!

2010-08-21T14:37:00.002+08:00

If you have been watching 제빵왕 김탁구 episode 22, did you notice a letter with "unauthorised" seal? Observe the following :

The protagonist name as explained so many times in the drama is suppose to be with the character 求 and not 購, and they even highlight it with big characters as shown towards the end of episode 7 :

Although both 求 and 購 can be given as 구할 구, the latter is better to be known as 살 구. This 漢字 mistake reminds me of the writeup in Chosun Ilbo : 자격증 따려 속성 강의 매달려… 한자 2급도 '大韓民國' 제대로 못써 or you can view the Chinese version 盲考证书韩大学生样样通样样松.

Busan Subway

2010-01-31T19:18:00.002+08:00

I'm not sure anyone notice this, but Busan Subway announcement within the train and on the platform are actually available for download from the 부산교통공사 website. Announcement of next approaching station and approaching train are available, as well as some of the previous versions of announcement are available for download. One particular cool thing that I found available in Busan subway is the available of four languages announcement :

한국어 : 지금 장산, 장산행 열차가 들어오고 있습니다. 고객 여러분께서는 한 걸음 물러서 주시기 바랍니다.

English : The train for Jangsan, Jangsan is now arriving.

日本語 : 萇山, 萇山行きの電車が参ります。

中文 : 开往장산, 장산方向的列车马上就要进站了。

Do check out more of these announcements MP3 or WAV file download and also the statistics for passenger ridership of each line and stations are available.

Korean Air Advertisement

2010-01-11T14:29:00.006+08:00

Korean Air has launched an advertisement campaign promoting flights from Incheon to Xi'an and Zhengzhou in China. The advertisement contains famous location near these two destinations and also famous quote from old sayings and proverbs as shown in the picture above. In the advertisement, it shows some footage on the location and then comes a scenario based example showing how to use the proverbs. I think this advertisement campaign has become viral in Korea with some people trying to imitate the narrator but with random sound when reach the Chinese proverb portion. Check out the advertisement video at the end of this post.

There is even a parody going on as shown in the picture above, mocking the style of presentation in the advertisement. The first picture (from the original) stated "When you are always given small (unimportant) task to handle, 이사 said .. ". The second picture shows one line of Chinese character 河己失音官頭登可 with Korean reading of such characters at the bottom [하기실음관두등가] mimicking the same style used in the original advertisement. I have tried to decypher what does that proverb means, but apparently, that is where the parody is hidden. The Chinese characters is just some characters that was selected in place of the Korean pronunciation. The Korean reading of that phrase sounds like "하기싫음 관두든가" means "Should just quit if you don't like to do it." There are some website trying to explain the literal meaning of the Chinese "proverb" and trying to find the meaning. But to me, I just like the sounds-like idea more.

Here are the 3 of the 6 TV advertisements from Youtube. You can check out the rest from Korean Air website at http://chinatravel.koreanair.com/

Engilsh Room

2009-12-02T22:44:00.004+08:00

This is so funny, I saw this moments ago from the 10pm news of Arirang TV on 2 December 2009, on a segment called Jonalyn's Dream, about an English teacher who came from the Philippines. Gosh, the TV crew should edit this shot off and should inform the school about it. I'm not sure why no one in the school notice this in the first place. You can read the news report here.

Quarified

2009-11-21T11:33:00.002+08:00

As I mentioned in previous post, there is an episode from Tantei Gakuen Q that as the R/L mix up commonly found in Japanese. This is from Episode 11, where Dan Sensei explained what is the difference between Class A and Class Q.

Toiret

2009-11-01T19:59:00.004+08:00

Problem with R and L is a frequent mistake found in Japan or Korea. Lately, I saw this from Detective Conan Episode 547 - 犯人との二日間(一日目). Where Conan was in a shopping mall overheard about a kidnapped child and ran to the car park to look for the suspect. I remember seeing R/L problem in one of the anime episode of 探偵学園Q, where the founder explained about how the founder 団守彦 named the class with the letter Q. Then there is a scrolling word at the background showing 'Quarified'. I think you know the proper word.

Starting from this post, I will be listing Chinese cover version and the original counterpart as a closing remark.
클론 — 도시탈출
Cover : 徐懷鈺 — 妙妙妙

Original Tune <6>

2009-10-08T12:54:00.003+08:00

Non English songs are also a good source to import tune. Here are some songs that have made it to the Chinese song arena.

Hélène Rollès — Je m'appelle Hélène (French)
Cover : 蔡淳佳 — 依戀

Son By Four — A Puro Dolor (Spanish)
Cover : 李玟 — Baby 對不起

ВИА Гра — Стоп! Стоп! Стоп! (Russian)
Cover : 蔡依林 — Love Love Love

O-Zone — Dragonstea Din Tei (Romanian)
Cover : 郭美美 — 不怕不怕

Jean-Jacques Goldman — Comme Toi (French)
Cover : 林志炫 — 散了吧

Original Tune <5>

2009-10-08T10:18:00.005+08:00

Another source of cover version in Chinese songs is none other than from English songs. Unlike Japanese, Korean or Thailand songs where the words are syllable based which is similar to Chinese, making new lyrics to have similar word beat; Chinese lyrics in English songs might not have the same beat. Here are some of the songs originally in English. Note that some videos do not allow embedding, click on the link for video instead for original.

Bodies Without Organs — Sunshine in the Rain
Cover : 蔡依林 — 日不落

i5 — Cinderella
Cover : S.H.E. — 半糖主義

Daniel Bedingfield — James Dean (I Wanna Know)
Cover : 羅志祥 — 精武門

Nathan Stone — Shake It Mama
Cover : 羅志祥 & 蔡依林 — 真命天子

Lene Marlin — Sitting Down Here
Cover : 林憶蓮 — 我坐在這裡

Robbie Williams — Better Man
Cover : 林憶蓮 — Better Man

The Cranberries — Dreams
Cover : 王菲 — 梦中人

Britney Spears — Everytime
Cover : S.H.E. — 別說對不起

Backstreet Boys — How Did I Fall In Love With You
Cover : S.H.E. — 遠方

Fool's Garden — Lemon Tree
Cover : 蘇慧倫 — Lemon Tree

Original Tune <4>

2009-10-07T10:16:00.006+08:00

Although not as popular compared to Japanese and Korean originals, Thailand is also a good source for Chinese cover version. Here are some of the songs I managed to find.

พั้นช์ — ยิ่งกว่าเสียใจ
Cover : 蔡淳佳 — 風鈴

ปาล์มมี่ — อยากร้องดังดัง
Cover : 蕭瀟 — 愛要坦蕩蕩

อัสนี–วสันต์ — ยินดีไม่มีปัญหา
Cover : 草蜢 — 寶貝對不起

ไอซ์ ศรัญยู — คนใจง่าย
Cover : 黃曉明 — My Girl

ดา เอ็นโดรฟิน — ได้ยินไหม
Cover : 金莎 — 這種愛

Original Tune <3>

2009-10-06T15:10:00.005+08:00

Chinese songs contain tunes imported from Korea as well, although not as many as Japanese tunes, it is a sizable import as well. Here are 10 original tunes from Korea which managed to be covered by Chinese artists.

파파야 — 내 얘길 들어봐
Cover : 王心凌 — 愛你

홍경민 — 사랑, 참...
Cover : 林峯 — 朋友，請不要傷悲

임창정 — Smile Again (하늘에서)
Cover : 張智霖 — 祝君好

거북이 — Come On
Cover : 潘瑋柏 & 張韶涵 — 快樂崇拜

DJ DOC — Run To You
Cover : 杜德偉 — 脫掉

브라운 아이즈 — 벌써일년
Cover : 許慧欣 — 愛情抗體

세븐 — 와줘
Cover : Energy — 某年某月某一天

쿨 — 아로하
Cover : 許志安 & 許慧欣 — 戀愛頻率

타샤니 — 하루하루
Cover : 張智成 — May I Love You

주주 클럽 — 나는 나
Cover : 蘇慧倫 — 鴨子

Original Tune <2>

2009-10-06T14:22:00.007+08:00

Real significant big portion of cover versions in Chinese are via Japanese import. The following is a selection of 10 original tunes in Japanese.

織田哲郎 & 近藤房之助 — ボンバーガール
Cover : 張學友 — 愛火花

田原俊彦 — シルエットには踊れない
Cover : 郭富城 — 對你愛不完

サザンオールスターズ — 真夏の果実
Cover : 張學友 — 每天愛你多一些

米米CLUB — 愛してる
Cover : 張學友 — 還是覺得你最好

THE虎舞竜 — ロード
Cover : 孫耀威 — 愛的故事(上集)

大黒摩季 — チョット
Cover : 鄭秀文 — Chotto 等等

徳永英明 — レイニーブルー
Cover : 張學友 — 藍雨

チャゲ&飛鳥 — 男と女
Cover : 周華健 — 讓我歡喜讓我憂

尾崎豊 — I LOVE YOU
Cover : 郭富城 — 到底有誰能夠告訴我

森山直太朗 — さくら
Cover : 張善為 — 真夏的櫻花

Original Tune <1>

2009-10-06T13:56:00.010+08:00

Wonder why all the songs you heard sound so familiar? You might know these songs in their cover version, but how many of these songs you have heard the original instead? Try listening to the original and judge for yourself how well the cover version is compared to the original version.

Infernal — Keen on Disco (Denmark)
Cover : 蔡依林 — 愛無赦

ธงไชย แมคอินไตย์ — คู่กัด (Thailand)
Cover : 草蜢 — 失戀

Patricia Kaas — Venus Des Abribus (France)
Cover : 草蜢 — 半點心

長渕剛 — とんぼ (Japan)
Cover : 小虎隊 — 紅蜻蜓

Bro'Sis — I Believe (Germany)
Cover : 羅志祥 & 徐熙娣 — 戀愛達人

Speedy Korea

2009-07-14T15:47:00.002+08:00

Just to be frank, I have never seen 4 digits download speed back in Malaysia. A 2-digit would be rather blessed back home, and most of the time we just pray the 0kB/s is not a permanent figure. Will I be able to attain such speed in Malaysia when I am back? I think I will get the sinister "Dream On!" comment from everyone I know. Even Korean started to ask whether it's true that Malaysia Internet speed is that bad. I'll leave it for you to debate on it. Try on the Broadband speed test or just read the statistics available in this site.

T-money vs Mybi

2009-07-12T17:22:00.006+08:00

One of the good news for this year is you can now use Mybi in Seoul and T-money in Busan for public transportation. But can I reload my T-money in Busan and Mybi in Seoul? Well, the answer is yes and no. Automated credit reload machines available in subways at both cities do not support reloading of the "rival" card, but there is an alternative. A quick search on Naver, there are a couple of places that allows you to reload:

Reloading Mybi credit in Seoul

GS25 본점	영등포구 문래동6가 10번지	문래[2]
GS25 문래 임광점	영등포구 문래동6가 8 임광그대가 1층상가 123호	문래[2]
프리마트	관악구 봉천동 두산아파트 208-1604	봉천[2]
팬시코아	중랑구 면목동 102-20	면목[7]
코레일네트웍스	중구 봉래동2가 122 코레일서울지사 8층 코레일네트웍스	서울역[1,4]
코레일개발	용산구 한강로3가 40-1	용산[1,중앙]
스마비스	금천구 가산동 459-11 제이플라츠 914호	가산디지털단지[1,7]
이-프랜즈 명지대점	서대문구 남가좌동 351-1	증산[6]
오거리편의점	은평구 응암동 4동 589-38	새절[6]
엘지카드	강남구 역삼동 679 LG 강남타워	역삼[2]
아이피앤씨	용산구 서계동 219-1 창성빌딩 3층	서울역[1,4]
스마트원	은평구 신사동 588-19 동남빌딩 205호	응암[6]
서울역우체국가판	중구 봉래동1가 123 서울역 우체국앞 가판	서울역[1,4]
상봉가판점	중랑구 상봉동 83-1	망우[중앙] 상봉[7]
마이비 서울사무소	영등포구 여의도동 12번지 CCMM빌딩 305B	여의나루[5] 국회의사당[9]
롯데카드주식회사	강남구 삼성동 157	삼성[2]
롯데백화점앞가판	동대문구 전농동 620-69	청량리[1,중앙]
구의3동가판점	광진구 구의3동 548-2 시민공원앞	강변[2]
교통카드충전	서초구 서초4동 1316-24	(강남역 5번출구)
가판점	도봉구 쌍문동88-24	쌍문[4]
가판점	서대문구 대현동 27-7	신촌역 이대[2]
브로스아이엔씨	구로구 구로3동 235번지 한신IT타워 1005호	구로디지털단지[2]
보광훼미리마트	강남구 삼성동 141-32	선릉[2,분당]
IB영업센	중구 을지로1가 16	을지로입구[2]

Reloading T-money credit in Busan

FM남포중앙점 중구 남포동2가 24-2 남포동
오렌지데이부평점 (간판:원바이원) 중구 부평동2가 68-4 남포동
마마수퍼(역전수퍼) 동구 초량동 1207-1 부산역
미니슈퍼(부산역지하) 동구 초량3동 1206-1 부산역
25시슈퍼 동구 초량동 1198-4 부산역
논스톱진역점 부산시 동구 수정동 1-14 부산진역
노포동센타 금정구 노포동 133 노포동
미니스톱 자갈치 서구 충무동1가 12-121 자갈치
공중센타 진구 부전동 468-19 서면
훼미리마트서면동보점 진구 부전동 165-4 서면
공중센타 진구 부전2동 517-41 서면
FM남구청점 남구 대연6동 1767-15 1층 대연동
포시즌슈퍼 (경성대점) 남구 대연동 54-1번지 경성대
하모니레코드 수영구 남천1동 29-16 광안리
쎄븐편의점해운대점 해운대구 중1동 1393-31 해운대
플러스할인마트 해운대구 우동 602-6 해운대
와이에이치닷컴 (맥스이벤트) 해운대구 우동 568-1 해운대
노벨안경원 동래구 사직1동 25-28번지 사직동
CS25부산대점 금정구 장전동 41943 부산대

Korea as well? - Variant Screen

2009-05-14T20:22:00.002+08:00

Stumbled upon another variant of the site blocking which I have shown earlier. Again, pop up ads that did wonders, giving me a new variant to be discovered.

My Little PMP

2009-04-25T15:55:00.008+08:00

This morning started off with a super foggy skyline, damping my spirit to finish my journal paper writing (Lame excuse!). What I am happy with, however is that my little portable multimedia player was safely in my hands. Yes, I purchased a imuz MU-1000 player from the Internet on Wednesday. The delivery guy came in the middle of my Korean class on Friday, which I told him to wait while I "excused" myself and ran all the way back to my lab. The guy told me he would just leave it by the office same floor as my lab. Lucky it was still there when I returned. I guess no one is interested to know the "story behind" and would like to see the product directly. Here you go.

4.3" touch screen player is not cheap (I have paid ₩167,600 around RM450 for everything including the accessories I needed) but considering I can't afford an iPod Touch or iPhone, this could be the closest I can get. Although I was hoping to get Cowon, Samsung, iStation or even iriver, but after browsing, they are way beyond what I can afford. Let me put some more photograph on how it can be compared in term of size with some objects. Sorry for my poor photography skill and especially I'm using one of those old digital camera.

It can support quite a number of files without conversion, RMVB in particular is what I have been looking for. It also comes with FM radio receiver and so on, you can read the product specs from the product link above.

It is about similar size to RM1 bill, and thickness wise, the following picture could tell you more. The PMP is on top, while the bottom is my (technically it's my sis's) portable HDD, with my Dell Vostro 1400 next to it.

The device cannot support Vorbis Ogg and H.264, which I really hope they will soon release an update to the firmware, given that they are going to launch MX6 soon here in Korea.

Miryang Kilometre Zero

2009-03-29T22:32:00.003+08:00

Haha, I can't believe I'm looking for another kilometre zero all the way to Miryang. It's right outside the city hall by the walkway on the main road. If you refer the map below (you need to click the map to see in detail), notice the zebra crossing near to the entrance. If you are coming from across the road, after crossing the zebra crossing, you would see it right in front of you.

지도를 클릭하시면 위치정보를 확인하실 수 있습니다.

Kilometre Zero

2009-02-06T22:33:00.008+08:00

I didn't know that Korea has Kilometre Zero (도로원표 道路元標) as well, until I visited Daegu (대구 大邱). Before this, I have heard of London Stone and the Kilometre Zero of Japan at 日本橋 in 東京. So, I give it a try to track down Kilometre Zero for Busan and its neighbouring city of Yangsan and Gimhae to check whether these cities have a Kilometre Zero as well.

But the marking stone might not be the actual point, as the case for Seoul, Daegu and Busan. Below the marking stone in Daegu, they stated where the actual point is, and so did Busan. At Seoul's, it is located 151m away; Daegu actual point is 215m away and located right in the middle of a main thoroughfare. Busan actual spot for Kilometer Zero is even further away, 9.74km from the marking stone.

I'm not too sure whether they have specific guideline on where to setup such marking stone, but as far as I know, they usually located near to city hall or town council. I have to remind you that near might be at some unexpected spot or unsuspecting location. There might be exception as well. Daegu's marking stone is not near to city hall but at Gyeongsang-gamyeong Park, which is the former Gyeongsang Provincial Governor’s Office. Maybe for historic reason the marking stone was placed there.

Usually for Kilometre Zero in Korea, they will provide the distance from the spot to various cities around Korea. I will provide some information on where I found the Kilometre Zero I have visited.

Yangsan 양산 梁山

Yangsan's Kilometre Zero is located at 남부동 남부사거리 front of a S-Oil petrol station, near to Yangsan's City Hall. It is on a junction between 시청로, 남부로 and 남부1길. If you refer to the map below, it is at the lower triangle traffic island. Click on the map for sky view.

지도를 클릭하시면 위치정보를 확인하실 수 있습니다.

Daegu 대구 大邱

As mentioned previously Daegu's Kilometre Zero is at Gyeongsang-gamyeong Park, in front of a post office. It is located at 중구 경상감영길, which is fairly straight forward as it is on tourist map as well.

지도를 클릭하시면 위치정보를 확인하실 수 있습니다.

Busan 부산 釜山

Busan's Kilometre Zero is located behind Busan City Hall, and if you walk pass the car park, you will see a park with a lighthouse. As you walk from the car park, you will see it as it is right in the middle of the path from the car park to the light house.

지도를 클릭하시면 위치정보를 확인하실 수 있습니다.

Gimhae 김해 金海

I've been to Gimhae twice just to locate Kilometre Zero. Only on the second attempt I managed to find it. Gimhae's marking stone does not have clear indication of the name of the city, just plain simple. It is located next to the guard house of vehicle registration office (차량등록사무소 車輛登錄事務所), by the crossroad of Gimhae City Hall. If you refer to the map below, it is at 시청사거리.

지도를 클릭하시면 위치정보를 확인하실 수 있습니다.

Korea as well?

2009-01-11T00:40:00.003+08:00

Wow, didn't know that Korea has something similar, which I saw in Abu Dhabi. Actually, it was from some ads banner that causes this. The wording used in Korea version sounds more serious than those in UAE. It stated that illegal information (or site) was intercepted. Again, when in Korea, do as the Koreans do. But I think for foreigner not familiar with Korean language might have a problem understanding it. Probably KCSC can provide dual language just like how UAE has done. It is better to get the message clear than to keep people wondering what's happening.

T★O★F★U

2009-01-07T09:49:00.002+08:00

Japanese are really good at creating a catchy campaign. What campaign you wonder? It's tofu campaign. It comes with a catchy song by KAME & L.N.K. named I Love Tofu. Check out the original Japanese website, or you can check out the Taiwanese website, since they have made inroads to Taiwan.

Here's the original Japanese lyrics:
太陽と大地の力　ギュッと一杯詰まった豆から
生まれたトウフ食べれば　全身に元気みなぎって　Yeah!
春夏秋冬おいしくいただけま〜す　安心安全いただきま〜す
みんな大好きトウフでeveryday　健やかスマイル　good day

奴っこ、湯ドウフ、お鍋にステーキ、アイス、ドーナツ、ケーキも素敵
デザート、おつまみ、ごはんの友　メインディッシュまで何でも
まかせてメニューも星の数　毎日のオカズでも飽き足らず
値段もお手頃家計の味方　マメでマネ〜貯まるありがとう
おトウフは兄弟も一杯賑やか　厚揚げ、豆乳、おから
揃いも揃って栄養満点　トウフ兄弟100点満点
さらにお豆がトウフになるまで　無駄が殆んど無い！ご存知で？！
全部丸ごと大地の愛　トウフ食べてみんなでエコライフ

アメリカ、ヨーロッパ行ってもTOFU　「This is TOFU」で通じる
インターナショナル万能食材　さあその豆知識ご紹介
原料は別名「畑の牛肉」　タンパク質豊富の大豆
タンパク質と言っても植物性　体の応援団結成！
植物性だけにヘルC〜　ダイエットに最高うれC〜
コレステロール低下、体内正常化　成人病予防に効果絶大
さらにビタミンEにより　お肌活々若返り〜
美容に健康に元気の具　トウフ食べて体調バッチGood!

トウフを食べれば　良い事一杯なのに
なぜかな？なぜだろう？？　いつも脇役っぽい
それてもみんなの健康守るため
僕らトウフは、いつも、いつでも、ずっと
みんなの味方だから…

And here is the Chinese translation:
从满满凝聚了太阳与大地力量的豆子
诞生出来的豆腐　吃了就会全身充满活力Yeah！
春夏秋冬都能吃得喔伊系～　安心安全吃得喔伊系～
大家都爱吃豆腐everyday　身心健康笑脸常开good day

做成凉拌豆腐、汤豆腐、火锅　还有豆腐排、冰淇淋、甜甜圈、蛋糕也很赞
甜点、零嘴、小菜　甚至主菜通通由豆腐包办嘛呒问题
各式各样菜单像星星一样多　每天照三餐吃也不会腻
价格实惠帮助家计　可以一点一滴存猪公～实在揪甘心
豆腐有很多兄弟姊妹超热闹　油豆腐、豆乳、还有豆腐渣
全部都营养百分百　豆腐兄弟满分100分啦
再说豆子变成豆腐为止　几乎没有一丁点浪费！　你知道吗？！
从头到脚都是大地的爱　大家来吃豆腐响应环保生活

到了美国、欧洲也是叫TOFU　「This is TOFU」嘛耶通
纵横国际的万能食材　来为大家介绍豆腐的小常识
原料的外号叫「农田的牛肉」　就是富含蛋白质的大豆
而且还是植物性蛋白质　简直就是生来当身体的拉拉队！
因为是植物性所以超安心～　最适合减肥超开心～
降低胆固醇、体内环保化　预防成人病效果绝佳
同时拥有维他命E　让肌肤粉嫩回春～
给予美容与健康的活力泉源　吃了豆腐身体一级棒Good！

吃了豆腐　好处多得不得了
但为什么呢？原因是什么？　总是扮演配角
尽管如此为了守护大家的健康
我们豆腐、永远、永远、一直
都是大家的好朋友喔……

Go go tofu!

University Demystified

2009-01-06T16:19:00.004+08:00

When everyone ask about my university, I am totally clueless, but when I ask some of my peers, they are as blank as I am. Some of us did attempt to decode what does our university slogan Top Ten & To The World is trying to convey. Perhaps it is one of the issue related to branding, which reminds me of some article published by the Korea Times a couple months ago, Korean Slogans Comical to Foreigners. Do read the whole series they covered, very interesting indeed.

Now, back to my university, there are way too many divisions, departments and other confusing and inconsistent terminology used here, making you really wonder how would you answer question posted by someone back home. Question like "What is your major?", "Which faculty are you from?" can be a multiple answer question. For us (to me at least), terms like department or division should be used in context referring to administrative department or division and not as a equivalent of faculty and major.

So, generally the mapping of term according to what I'm familiar with, would be division = faculty, department = major. Then another most common question is, what are the faculties available in my university. I did some checking, and found some fairly interesting information, and not to mention scattered and not organised, even for the Korean version. Why can't they just put such basic information into one?

Let me start off with graduation school (대학원 大學院), which has less "options"

Graduate School of Design & IT (디자인 & IT 전문대학원 Design & IT 專門大學院)
- IT Field(IT분야 IT分野
  - Ubiquitous IT (유비쿼터스IT학과 Ubiquitous IT學科)
  - Visual Content (영상콘텐츠학과 映像Contents學科)
- Design (디자인학과 Design學科)
Graduate School of Internation Business (국제경영대학원 國際經營大學院)

Execute MBA (E-MBA과정 E-MBA課程)

Graduate School of Missionary Welfare (선교복지대학원 宣敎福祉大學院)
- Social Welfare (사회복지학과 社會福祉學科)
- Missionary Music (선교음악학과 宣敎音樂學科)
- Psychology for Christian Counselling (기독교상담심리학과 基督敎相談心理學科)
Graduate School, General (일반대학원 一般大學院)

Japanese Studies (일본지역연구과 日本地域硏究科)
Biotechnology (생명공학과 生命工學科)
Civil Engineering (토목공학과 土木工學科)
Architectural Engineering (건축학과 建築學科)
Information System Engineering (정보시스켐공학과 情報System工學科)
Footwear Engineering (신발공학과 신발工學科)
Footwear Design (신발디자인학과 신발Design學科)
Social Welfare (사회복지학과 社會福祉學科)

With numerous other courses available for undergraduate and some with graduate courses, I just list down the name of faculty and college.

Business Administration (경영학부 經營學部)
Foreign Languages(외국어계멸 外國語系列)
International Studies (국제학부 國際學部)
International Studies (국제학과 國際學科)
Visual Communication (영상매스컴학부 映像Mass Comm學部)
Social Welfare (사회복지학부 社會福祉學部)
Tourism (관광학부 觀光學部)
Health Science (보건의료계열 保健醫療系列)
Information Systems Engineering (정보시스템공학계열 情報System工學系列)
Computer & Information Engineering (컴퓨터정보공학부 Computer情報工學部)
Architecture & Civil Engineering (건축토목공학부 建築土木工學部)
Applied Bio-Engineering (에너지/생명공학부 Energy/生命工學部)
Digital Contents(디지털콘텐츠학부 Digital Contents學部)
Design (디자인학부 Design學部)
Leisure & Sports Science (레포츠과학부 'Leports'科學部)
Im Kwon Taek College of Film & Performing Arts (임권텍영화예술대학 林權澤映畵藝術大學)
General Education(교양교육원 敎養敎育院)

Except probably for the Korean name, the English name is inconsistently used. The main university website give one version, while the faculty website shows another. Terminology is also not standardised, they just jumble between faculty, department, division, school, college.... Is it that hard just to standardise it across?

The Deliveryman

2008-12-01T08:25:00.001+08:00

Korea has so many express delivery company aka courier service provider, in which I believe that is the reason why online shopping is popular. It's so convenient, you can delivery almost anything you ordered via Internet, from the regular product of books, cloths, to fresh produce like fruits direct from the farm, meat, seafood, toiletries .... It's really amazing. I have tried ordering pear from the city famous for pear, thus in Korea, you can order special product directly from a particular city, town or village which it is famous for. Also, it is not impossible to get free delivery service for product you wish to buy.

Another thing about delivery company is that, I have noticed a similarity of mascot or character delivery company use to represent their company. Like the example above, they all spotted with a hat or helmet carrying a box and most importantly, the wireless headset. To be honest, I have never seen them wearing any head gear, especially not those cool wireless speaker-phone device. Hmm... marketing branding perhaps? Or the standard stereotype of deliveryman?

Misnomer

2008-11-24T12:57:00.002+08:00

Sudden recall of Malaysian food, and reminds me of the unexplainable naming of some of the food. For example:

燒雞 - Chicken is actually 炸 not 燒
鹵肉 - Again, it is 炸 not 鹵
白咖啡 - Not white at all
白咖喱 - Also it is not white like 魚頭米粉
海底椰 - Nope, the plant does not originate from the sea

I wonder who came up with these misnomer...

Where was I? (4) - Seoul

2008-11-21T20:40:00.002+08:00

It was a quick trip to 서울 (Seoul) on a Monday 25 Aug, because I need to get some document signed at the embassy. Since it was not my first time to Seoul, I did not prepare much on sightseeing, as I expected to return to Busan on the day. Took an early morning KTX to Seoul, which cost me a bomb. I headed straight to the embassy once I reached Seoul station by taking the subway. Two 아줌마 asked me on separate times how to get to their destination. I just simply answer, as if I'm very familiar with Seoul. Lucky my guesses are correct.

Going to the embassy was actually quite a hassle, as the nearest train station is Hannam (한남 漢南) on the Central Line (중앙선 中央線). The station has only a single exit, and the embassy was on a slope, and require walking 15-20 minutes from the station, depending on how busy is the Hannam junction. When I finally was there, the staff (nice Korean lady who can speak fluent Malay and English) by the counter told me the person-in-charge was not available and told me I should have made an appointment before I come. I was stunted for awhile, but she was kind enough to get my number and try to schedule it as soon as possible.

I met a friend of a friend in Soongsil University to get Singapore mooncake from him. There, I had lunch at the university canteen. I did some sightseeing on my own, since it's not that hard to navigate around Seoul, since I was there just a year ago. Too bad that Monday a lot of museum and palace were closed. My focus of sightseeing this time was historic building, especially those of Japanese colonial building which I have missed last year. Here are some of the random scenes I took.

After my short sightseeing, I was about to head back to Busan, the embassy called to inform that I can drop by the next day to get my document signed. I was lost for a moment since I did not want to do another trip up from Busan again, I need to get a place to spend a night. I was so lucky that Jimmy (a friend of a friend mentioned above) managed to find me a place to rest for a night at Dr. Andrew's place at Ramada hotel near to City Hall. Great place to stay. And for the first time I saw Korean drama (식객 食客) on HDTV, super clear. So clear until it lost the drama feel to it, as the images looks like those shot with a news camera.

I spent my birthday in Seoul, which the staff by the embassy noticed as well. Anyhow, here are some of the scene I took, especially around Gangnam (강남 江南).

Korea Map & Busan Map

2008-11-13T23:40:00.005+08:00

There are so many maps available online from Korea. It is really amazing on the details of such map, and some of them can even roughly detect your current location. If the following map is not detail enough, always check out the city or county government website, where they have even more detail map available, such as the land contour and elevation. Here are some of the example, and take note that as with a lot of Korean website, they are IE only.

For Busan specific, I like to use the 부산시 시내버스 노선개편 안내 시스템 Busan Bus Line Information, which link the bus line to the map. Also, the Busan City Hall has a rather detail map of Busan in PDF for download, made available here.

A general idea of how Busan is administered: Busan has 15 districts (Gu 구 區) and 1 county (Gun 군 郡). Read this if you are not sure what is it all about. Here is the breakdown of each districts, extremely useful if you were to take a bus in Busan.

중구 中區 Jung-gu

중앙동 中央洞 Jungang-dong
동광동 東光洞 Donggwang-dong
대청동 大廳洞 Daecheong-dong
보수동 寶水洞 Bosu-dong
부평동 富平洞 Bupyeong-dong
광복동 光復洞 Gwangbok-dong
남포동 南浦洞 Nampo-dong
영주동 瀛州洞 Yeongju-dong

동구 東區 Dong-gu

초량동 草梁洞 Choryang-dong
수정동 水晶洞 Sujeong-dong
좌천동 佐川洞 Jwacheon-dong
범일동 凡一洞 Beomil-dong

부산진구 釜山鎭區 Busanjin-gu

부전동 釜田洞 Bujeon-dong
범전동 凡田洞 Beomjeon-dong
연지동 蓮池洞 Yeonji-dong
초읍동 草邑洞 Choeup-dong
양정동 楊亭洞 Yangjeong-dong
전포동 田浦洞 Jeonpo-dong
부암동 釜岩洞 Buam-dong
당감동 堂甘洞 Danggam-dong
가야동 伽倻洞 Gaya-dong
개금동 開琴洞 Gageum-dong
범천동 凡川洞 Beomcheon-dong

남구 南區 Nam-gu

대연동 大淵洞 Daeyeon-dong
용호동 龍湖洞 Yongho-dong
용당동 龍塘洞 Yongdang-dong
감만동 戡蠻洞 Gamman-dong
우암동 牛岩洞 Uam-dong
문현동 門峴洞 Munhyeon-dong

해운대구 海雲臺區 Haeundae-gu

우동 佑洞 U-dong
중동 中洞 Jung-dong
좌동 佐洞 Jwa-dong
송정동 松亭洞 Songjeong-dong
반여동 盤如洞 Banyeo-dong
반송동 盤松洞 Bansong-dong
재송동 栽松洞 Jaesong-dong

금정구 金井區 Geumjeong-gu

서동 書洞 Seo-dong
금사동 錦絲洞 Geumsa-dong
회동동 回東洞 Hoedong-dong
부곡동 釜谷洞 Bugok-dong
오륜동 五倫洞 Oryun-dong
장전동 長箭洞 Jangjeon-dong
선동 仙洞 Seon-dong
두구동 杜邱洞 Dugu-dong
노포동 老圃洞 Nopo-dong
청룡동 靑龍洞 Cheongnyong-dong
남산동 南山洞 Namsan-dong
구서동 久瑞洞 Guseo-dong
금성동 金城洞 Geumseong-dong

연제구 蓮堤區 Yeonje-gu

거제동 巨堤洞 Geoje-dong
연산동 蓮山洞 Yeonsan-dong

사상구 沙上區 Sasang-gu

삼락동 三樂洞 Samnak-dong
모라동 毛羅洞 Mora-dong
덕포동 德浦洞 Deokpo-dong
괘법동 掛法洞 Gwaebeop-dong
감전동 甘田洞 Gamjeon-dong
주례동 周禮洞 Jurye-dong
학장동 鶴章洞 Hakjang-dong
엄궁동 嚴弓洞 Eomgung-dong

서구 西區 Seo-gu

동대신동 東大新洞 Dongdaesin-dong
서대신동 西大新洞 Seodaesin-dong
부민동 富民洞 Bumin-dong
부용동 芙蓉洞 Buyong-dong
충무동 忠武洞 Chungmu-dong
토성동 土城洞 Toseong-dong
아미동 峨嵋洞 Ami-dong
초장동 草場洞 Chojang-dong
남부민동 南富民洞 Nambumin-dong
암남동 岩南洞 Amnam-dong

영도구 影島區 Yeongdo-gu

남항동 南港洞 Namhang-dong
영선동 瀛仙洞 Yeongseon-dong
봉래동 蓬萊洞 Bongnae-dong
신선동 新仙洞 Sinseon-dong
청학동 靑鶴洞 Cheonghak-dong
동삼동 東三洞 Dongsam-dong

동래구 東萊區 Dongnae-gu

수민동 壽民洞 Sumin-dong
복산동 福山洞 Boksan-dong
명륜동 明倫洞 Myeongnyun-dong
온천동 溫泉洞 Oncheon-dong
사직동 社稷洞 Sajik-dong
안락동 安樂洞 Allak-dong
명장동 鳴藏洞 Myeongjang-dong

북구 北區 Buk-gu

구포동 龜浦洞 Gupo-dong
금곡동 金谷洞 Geumgok-dong
화명동 華明洞 Hwamyeong-dong
덕천동 德川洞 Deokcheon-dong
만덕동 萬德洞 Mandeok-dong

사하구 沙下區 Saha-gu

괴정동 槐亭洞 Goejeong-dong
당리동 當里洞 Dangni-dong
하단동 下端洞 Hadan-dong
신평동 新平洞 Sinpyeong-dong
장림동 長林洞 Jangnim-dong
다대동 多大洞 Dadae-dong
구평동 舊平洞 Gupyeong-dong
감천동 甘川洞 Gamcheon-dong

강서구 江西區 Gangseo-gu

대저동 大渚洞 Dajeo-dong
강동동 江東洞 Gangdong-dong
명지동 鳴旨洞 Myeongji-dong
가락동 駕洛洞 Garak-dong
녹산동 菉山洞 Noksan-dong
천가동 天加洞 Cheonga-dong

수영구 水營區 Suyeong-gu

남천동 南川洞 Namcheon-dong
수영동 水營洞 Suyeong-dong
망미동 望美洞 Mangmi-dong
광안동 廣安洞 Gwangan-dong
민락동 民樂洞 Millak-dong

기장군 機張郡 Gijang-gun

기장읍 機張邑 Gijang-eup
장안읍 長安邑 Jangan-eup
일광면 日光面 Ilgwang-myeon
정관면 鼎冠面 Jeonggwan-myeon
철마면 鐵馬面 Cheolma-myeon

Where was I? (3) - Bongnaesan

2008-11-06T21:08:00.000+08:00

Another one of those hiking trip, this time was to Bongnaesan (봉래산 蓬萊山 395m), which is located to Yeongdo (영도 影島), an island on the southern side of Busan, which is famous for Taejongdae (태종대 太宗臺). Apparently the current showing Korean TV drama Beethoven Virus has scene shot at Taejongdae.

We were there just next day after the Korea won the Olympics gold medal, thus you can see this at the top.

This particular mountain is quite accessible, not too high, but the view is stunning. You can see various Busan ports and piers from here by the Busan bay. Also, Nampodong (남포동 南浦洞) area, Jagalchi (자갈치) with Busan tower can be clearly seen as well. Another of Busan symbol, the 5-6 Island Oryukdo (오륙도 五六島) is within clear visible range. View of Korea Maritime University (국립 한국해양대학교 國立韓國海洋大學校) looks rather cute as well.

Where was I? (2) - Jangsan

2008-11-06T08:51:00.000+08:00

One of my many mountain hiking in the previous months. One of them is none other than Jangsan (장산 萇山 634m), my first trip with then newcomer Jiun Hau. If you are staying in Busan, probably you are familiar with the name Jangsan due to the terminus stop of subway line 2. If you were looking for the shortest path to the summit, do not attempt from terminus, it's really far away, which to me it is a misnomer.

Where was I? (1) - PIFF

2008-11-06T07:50:00.002+08:00

It's now or never. That is what I have in mind. I decided to do short post instead of long, so that I can update on my progress here in Korea. Most likely be more picture and short caption, and order might not follow actual timeline of event.

First up, I was at Pusan International Film Festival. I have chose to watch World Premiere of Japanese film Happy Flight (ハッピーフライト) at Busan Yachting Centre on 6 Oct 2008. The director, leading actor and actress were there as well. Dual subtitles with English on the bottom horizontally, Korean on the right vertically. It was an entertaining film, much of our delight that it was showing way ahead of Japan. Ticket cost ₩5000.

Film was about an eventful flight from Japan to Hawaii. Director 矢口史靖 Yaguchi Shinobu (standing on the left on the following picture), is famous for films like Swing Girls and Waterboys. Also present was actor 田辺誠一 Tanabe Seiichi (in suit), and actress 綾瀬はるか Ayase Haruka (in 韓服).

電車男？鉄子の旅？！

2008-09-16T16:01:00.009+08:00

It seems that my other activities posting need to be on hold while I'm posting this. This is not a story about Hermès, and not the die hard train mania like 横見浩彦. This is one of my missions here in Busan to take photograph of all subway stations. Inspired by Tube Challenge of London Underground, my idea was not to be the fastest, but just complete every station in a day. It was the 3rd day of 추석(秋夕) holiday on 15 September 2008, I started my journey on 5:36am via 냉정(冷井) towards 양산(梁山). Since it was on a holiday, the frequency for trains was less, where I only managed to get every station done by 11:05pm or so at 주례(周禮).

Line 1

Line 2

Line 3

Here are some of the interesting bits I have encountered during my travel:

The only time my one day travel pass (₩3500) failed to permit entry was at 사직(社稷) station. The staff at 사직 station was very helpful, and spoke great English as well. The ticket was reported ok by the handheld reader, and after a few insertion of ticket by the staff into the turnstile, I was granted entry.
At 명륜동(明倫洞), the station master talked to me while I was about to take my photograph. He offered to give me a tour at his station, but noticed that I need to go to next station, he let me go. Spoke sufficiently well English. Maybe I should go and meet up with him again.
When I was on my way to 부산역(釜山驛), a senior citizen 아저씨 (more like 할아버지) tapped on my wrist commenting about my camera. He also asked about the price, but I just use my standard answer, "I don't know. I can't remember".
Line 1 frequency was way higher than Line 2 or 3, thus completing Line 1 was faster. Also, if stations are visited sequentially, not likely I would complete this. Thus, I had used Forward 2 Back 1 approach, which leverage on the time difference between arrival of opposite trains to snap pictures.
Make sure you have sufficient camera battery. For me, empty battery hit every time the train was about to leave, making me needed to wait for next train.
Some stations that allowed crossing over to another platform without exiting the ticket machine have only the middle staircase as the only option. Those on the side directly exit to the turnstile.

Where was I?

2008-09-09T14:09:00.002+08:00

OK, I have to admit, I have been very lazy lately to update my blog. Also, I was actually out and about during the past few weeks since August. First I was in Cheorwon, then in Chuncheon. Subsequently I was in Tongyeong, and Seoul. Of course, I did two mountain hiking trips as well. I will be reporting about the places I have gone to. In the mean time, check out Chee Min's blog here, here, here, and here on our trip to Gangwon.

Foreign Supplies 3

2008-08-13T20:39:00.000+08:00

With the returning of Seong Yee from Phuket, my supply of Mama Instant noodles has safely arrived! Thanks Seong Yee for getting me the noodle, although the mee hoon is not included. For pack of 24, it was ฿114, not too expensive actually.

I better start cooking after finish posting this blog. Really miss the tom yam flavoured Mama noodles.

More Hiking????

2008-07-28T17:37:00.006+08:00

Okay, I can't believe myself that I've done another round of hiking in such short span from my previous hike. Plus, we took on the highest mountain in Busan, 금정산(金井山), with its highest peak 고당봉(姑堂峰) at 801.5m. Photographs below are courtesy of Yun Yi, our professional photographer.

It was a lovely day, where I made my first mistake of the day to get down at the wrong bus stop. We walked to the entrance to 금강공원(金剛公園) to take the cable car up, which cost ₩3,500 for one way (₩6,000 for return). The five minutes ride view is amazing, but as you get higher during summer, it's foggy as usual, with nothing to see other than the clouds.

One of the main objective for us is to visit all 4 fortress gates (South → East → West → North), which we did. Here's the proof.

금정산성남문(金井山城南門)

금정산성동문(金井山城東門)

금정산성서문(金井山城西門)

금정산성북문(金井山城北門)

Of all gates, the West gate is the most secluded of all, no signboard showing how to get there and full of overgrown plants. I guess a lot of people will give West gate a skip as it is really out of the way, but its the only gate that has a river (대천천, tribunary of 낙동강) flowing next to it, which was rather nice. Also we discovered something interesting instead. There is actually a village within the fortress, which is famous for its barbeque black goat, and the village has its own 막걸리. Also, check out the village website here to better understand the village.

Getting to the North gate will require a hike on the tar road from the village until a junction to the right, and another 2km of garvel trail with an abandoned church along the way. At that point, the altitude is roughly 665m or so from sea level. From there, approximately 800m up will leads to the 고당봉. The view on top was amazing. Right behind it is the city of 양산, which you can see 낙동강 and its tribunary from 양산. Refer to the first map for location.

After screaming at the peak, we decided to head back home. By the time we get to North gate again, mistake No. 2, choosing 범어사 approach. Night fell earlier than expected and we had to rely on our cell phone to provide glimpse of light to show us the way. It was a rather dangerous experience I think, and shouldn't be done in the first place. I kept hearing water flowing nearby and afraid might step into the wrong path. Lucky that there was rope to mark the territory and I had to make sure I didn't step into the waterfall type of river. Do not try this in Malaysia as the trees are more dense, and thus darker. See Yun Yi's post here and here to read her part of the experience.

One piece of advice, the 범어사 approach is though interesting, but it's a long and challenging 2.5km route, and with a presumably scenic river flowing next to it, but potentially dangerous way to do it in the dark, which was what we did. At any time while hiking, always stay within the defined trail, and do not go beyond it. However scary it might be, if you don't panic, you will get to your destination safely.

If anyone of you would like to give it a try, if you like to see the scenic route, do it early. If you plan to do it easy, I would recommend taking bus either from 동래 or 화명동 towards 산성마을 and start from there. 범어사 approach is best during broad daylight and non-rainy day. After this hike, I guess both of them who came along made it to my expanding list of people that are afraid of going out with me, which also includes Hofun, Yu Shu, Shiew Woei, Chun Wei .....

Foreign Supplies 2

2008-07-17T22:19:00.000+08:00

With the safe return of Sing Hui from Japan, my supply of 桃屋　ごはんですよ!　has safely reached my hand. For those who are familiar with 焼きたて!!ジャぱん, ごはんですよ should be no stranger. This is the medium size, where I have been getting large size from KL before this. Sing Hui bought it for ￥278 each (approximately RM8.50 or ₩2,700). Great! I only need to wait for supplies from Thailand by next month for my delicious noodles.

Hiking Again?!

2008-07-17T08:33:00.001+08:00

Finally, my partial hike up to 엄광산(嚴光山) on previous week was a success this time around as I did get up to the top instead of the helipad. Okay, it was suppose to be a sunrise thing, but ended up can't see much stuff due to the fog and clouds. It was an experience by itself hiking up on the wee hours of 3am and reach the top at 5am or so. Judge for yourself for the view that we had as shown below, and compared it with other people's experience of sunrise.

Hiking?!

2008-07-14T22:54:00.001+08:00

Am I crazy or what? Of late, I've been doing what Koreans like to do best, mountain hiking.... I am not joking. I have done 황령산(荒領山), partial 엄광산(嚴光山), and of course, the current record for me, Busan 2^nd highest, 백양산(白楊산). 백양산 is my biggest achievement so far, as it involves a series of peaks before reaching the real thing. I think those who had followed me must be cursing me by now for dragging them along for the hike. Where the heck are all these mountains you ask? Here is a screen capture using Google map.

How to get up there? For those of you who are interested to try those mountains, here are the maps for your reference.

Some achievement photos to share.

Chee Min has done a software photo stitching taken on the way to 백양산. Quite cool, albeit some minor 'error'.

Busan Transit Map v3

2008-07-11T14:17:00.001+08:00

Finally, a version with legend. I have done some alteration on typo, and has done some alignment of the lines. Maybe this can be put on production, in software deployment speak. Hope to get a colour copy printed and paste it on my little notice board in lab.

Foreign Supplies 1

2008-07-03T00:24:00.000+08:00

Since coming to Korea, what is from Malaysia is considered as foreign, thus requiring import. Finally on 2nd July 2008, my order from Malaysia has safely arrived, courtesy of Sheng Chao's mother. It's been awhile since I have something Made in Malaysia, if you do not consider the margarine case.

Though Nestlé is technically not Malaysia, products shown in the picture are manufactured in Malaysia. Also, Marmite is actually imported from UK, you can't find Marmite in Korea, which is such a pity.

I'm looking forward for my Japan supplies and Thailand supplies soon. Sing Hui, don't forget my order! Seong Yee, I really miss the noodles!

GM Food?

2008-06-29T10:05:00.001+08:00

OK! After a long hiatus, I'm back blogging away!

Bought 5 corns from 하나로 마트 near by campus, for ₩1980. Since I hardly had any corn while I'm in Korea, I thought it might be the best time to buy for a bargain. Hmm... purple or red corn, looks pretty strange to me, hope that those are not GM corn.

BTW, corn is called 옥수수 in Korean, which sounds smacking similar to Chinese 玉蜀黍, but I have yet to find any entry in Korean dictionary that actually explicitly stated any Hanja for 옥수수. This might imply that 옥수수 is not a Hanja word. Also, 玉蜀黍 is pronounce as 옥촉서 I will go and find out from larger dictionary, and hope to get come clue out of it.

Korean Lesson 2

2008-05-04T12:55:00.000+08:00

Here's another device in dormitory, which is the floor heating controller. Floor heating is very common in Korea, and the only option of heating in dormitory, since the management forbid the use of heating mode of air conditioner. The controller shown in previous post for room air conditioner is only useful if the central controller is enabled. Also I was told during summer, they might just turn off the cooling in the afternoon to save on energy as they presume you are in campus.

Korean Lesson 1

2008-05-04T12:31:00.001+08:00

This would probably be a new series in my posting, where I will show everyday Korean words/phrases/expression that you might encounter when you are in Korea.

Today, I've done some Hanja mapping to the dormitory air conditioner remote control. I think it's pretty intuitive if you see the Hanja. Sorry for the amateurish photo taking and editing. Anyone intended to come up with better editing of the image is more than welcome.

*Note : I have keep the Konglish expression of 리모컨 (Remote Control)

Busan Transit Map v2

2008-04-20T13:35:00.000+08:00

This is the 2nd version of the map, updated from the 1st version, with amendment of typo, change of line colour to match those that is currently being used in subway. Also, I have added the under-construction Busan-Gimhae LRT line. The Hanja and English station names for Busan-Gimhae LRT are not from the official sources, but I translated on my own based on the map provided from the company's website.

我家有個洛東獅

2008-04-19T22:28:00.002+08:00

今天非常高興，請到我們的韓語嘉賓，宇曙來教大家簡單的韓語。也非常感謝我們的攝影師，浩文提供畫面以方便解說。来上课吧！

好了，好了，不要再闹了。今天去了乙淑岛（을숙도）一趟，是位于洛东江中的一座岛。七早八早就与被我游说而还有睡意的两位同学一同去搭68号巴士去了下端，再步行渡江去看鸟。要渡江就必须过一道515米的河口堰桥（하구언다리）。

要过桥的当儿，在那么狭窄的人行步道，竟然有一大坨的钓翁在垂钓。钓翁们都是有备而来，在禁区内垂钓的也大有人在，也不知是如何攀过篱笆，总之是要霸个风水位就对了。所以我们都小心翼翼地经过，免得大动作碰到鱼竿被老人家臭骂就不太好。怎么上图看都都还好，不见什么人潮？请继续看以下的图片吧。

之前一直想要来都没来，现在终于来到了乙淑岛。乙淑岛基本上是候鸟息栖地，可是应该是时候不对，没什么看到鸟儿的踪影。今天比较有看头的应该是洛东江下游堤岸水博物馆，里边有介绍关于洛东江的咨询。就在隔没多远有瞭望台，可看到洛东江的景色。洛东江是韩国最长的河流，长1300里(韩国单位），公里单位网上资料有别，约500多公里，源于太白山黄池。平时大学看到的洛东江是在比较上流的部分，下图最远的部分为上流。

乙淑岛以鸟而闻名，所以电灯柱都以鸟为图案。

鸟儿瞭望台是在岛的南部，要走一段蛮长的路才到（请看下图）。走到一半，看到工地正在建筑另一座由下端区经乙淑岛去江西区的桥。浩文自问此工程难道不会影响岛内的自然生态吗？最可爱的是，海鸥都一只一只息栖在浮漂上。

瞭望台都是从小洞观看，免得吓跑鸟儿。到底有没有看到鸟？有是有，可是都非常的遥远，相机拍的不是很清楚，自己看看是否找得出鸟躲在哪儿。最后也送上一张鸟儿合成图。

如果要简单的来介绍乙淑岛，看以下路牌好了。没有看过如此长的英语路牌。最后要感谢浩文同学提供以上的部分照片。

Food Experiment - 豆腐花

2008-04-13T16:52:00.001+08:00

There are so many things you would probably craving or miss from back home when you are in a foreign country. Limited range of ingredients can be a problem, like my margarine experience. So, today, after numerous hours of coding of Naïve Bayes Classifier, I finally felt like getting out of the room, and left it idle for some hours.

So, what I did is, I decided to make my own 豆腐花, given that inspiration from one of my English tutoring student suggesting 순두부 as 豆腐花, which is a type of soft tofu used as cooking ingredient. So, what the heck, just give it a try. I bought a pack of sugar and one tube of 순두부.

With some boiling water & sugar, and a few minutes later, the syrup was ready to be added directly to the 순두부. The result? Have a look:

The tofu had similar taste, even right after opening the package, you can smell the aroma of soybean easily. Great! After adding in the syrup, it's done. First time in Korea I had my 豆腐花. The only drawback was that, since it was put at the refrigerated food section, it was slightly cold. But if anyone of you who like it cold, probably you might find it all right. It was rather tasty and a big bowl for only ₩650 (sans sugar pricing).

So people, you know how to get your own 豆腐花 here in Korea now!

鎭海진해

2008-04-08T22:09:00.007+08:00

Photo courtesy of Chee Min

Finally, after numerous discussion, I finally set foot on Jinhae, the city of cherry blossom. Just an hour bus ride from Sasang Terminal for ₩4200, the whole group of 15 students from China and Malaysia happily snapping pictures all the way. I met our nice 韓警備 (Gosh, what was his full name again?) inside the lift, he was asking where were I going on such an early Sunday morning. After telling my destination, he told me he was once a marine at Jinhae as well, and it was a nice place for flower viewing.

How nice is nice you ask? Here is my best photograph shot. A super famous spot which you have to rush for a chance to take it there. You'll be the judge whether it's nice or not.

First stop after arriving at bus terminal was 제황산공원(帝皇山公園), which has Jinhae Tower 진해탑(鎭海塔) on top of the hill, a prominent landmark and a good point of reference. You can walk up to the hill via 365 steps stairs. Apparently, it symbolises the number of days in a year. It reminds me of a Chinese proverb, 一年之计在于春, which is appropriate as it was spring when we were there.

The park and the view from the tower was rather nice. There is also a nice little museum on 2nd floor, but again, Korean only. You can see Jinhae city and Jinhae Bay from here. Cherry blossom was planted everywhere in Jinhae.

Photo courtesy of Li Chun

Out of a sudden, we saw something flying by. It was a blimp by South Gyeongsang Province Election Committee urging people to vote on 9 April for National Assembly Election. Probably it was a good chance to put on this campaign as the crowd was huge and good way to catch attention.

Photo courtesy of Chee Min

There were carnival stalls nearby which was rather commercialised. Probably it was the only chance of the year for local people to earn tourist money, thus price was inflated. We should have listened to our kind security guard to pack our own food, as he told us food price was going to be expensive. Anyhow, here are some photos.

Just right behind the stall we went, it was one of the historic landmark of Jinhae, the Jinhae Post Office. Looks like I'm the only one interested in this. There after, we walked to another prominent landmark of Jinhae, the statue of Admiral Lee Sun-Shin, alongside with a model of his famous turtle ship. One fun observation; if you look closely at the photo, you can see a smiley face instead of the boat. Nice eh?

The main highlight of the day is none other than Yeojwacheon Bridge area, as shown on the 2nd picture above. It was so crowded owing to the fact that it was really beautiful. If I'm not wrong, the place that was photographed most using our cameras was here. So enjoy there following pictures.

Sakura Drop courtesy of Li Chun

We had a great day as the weather was good, the view was stunning. So here are some of the photos, which I do not know how to describe it in words. Just too bad the final place at the Navy Academy, the railway track was out of bound, and only pre-defined pedestrian walk path was opened to visitors.

Photo courtesy of Cherry

What surprise me at the end of the trip when heading to the bus terminal, was the super long queue. Busan seemed to be the best transit point for visitors from elsewhere. This was not the ticket queue, but the boarding queue, and picture show was only half of the queue.

Fun Section

Also, it was a lovely day, wasn't it? For those of you who has seen the original, you are lucky. For those who missed it, never fear, you can ask around. There was a similarity of theme when you look closely at the photos. Here is my list:

The 'L' Finger Duo

Photo courtesy of Li Chun

The V Finger Duo

Photo courtesy of Cherry

The Positive/Negative Vibe Duo

The Flowery Duo

Photo courtesy of Cherry & Ting Ting

The Necklace Duo

Photo courtesy of Rui Ting & Seong Yee

The Camera Duo

Photo courtesy of Rui Ting

SAKURAドロップス

2008-04-05T11:45:00.001+08:00

It's getting warmer here, and flowers has been blooming these few weeks. I'm suppose to wait for tomorrow when I go to Jinhae for cherry blossom to take photos, but I just do not want to waste the opportunity to have some taken in around campus. Plus weather forecast stated tomorrow's chance of raining is rather high. You can really feel spring this time, as seen from the following before and after picture which just 2-3 weeks difference.

Today was probably my lucky day, I took another picture on the same place as the picture above, but hey, the following picture actually has a bird on the branch! When I try to take another close up, there goes the bird, so enjoy this.

Also, I took the following picture for the contrasting colour scheme, blue with pink, yellow with some green. Probably can be my sample test photo next time on image editing.

The following pictures are taken on the main road to the entrance of the university.

When I saw the petals falling off, it was rather nice and pleasant, but my photography skill is not that good with moving objects. When seeing the petals on the ground, it reminds me that this will not last for long. That is why I must go to Jinhae by tomorrow. Ah, and that song by 宇多田ヒカル comes to my mind when I saw this picture.

What's that sound?

2008-04-05T10:53:00.001+08:00

I woke up early today as usual, and was thinking of taking some pictures in campus since flowers has bloomed for spring. Not too long later, there was Big Bang going on. No, not the science stuff, but the Korean rap group Big Bang music was blasting from speakers. First thing that came to my mind was some new electrical store open for business, which it very common to see loud music and dancing girls. Later, as I found out, it was Busan Inter-varsity Games just right across International House where I stay.

Well, the picture above clearly states that, and the team with baby blue T as shown above is none other than DSU team. There are a couple of university like Silla University, Busan National University, Dongeui University and so on, each with their own colour.

There are a lot of cheering, slogan hollering, picture taking among friends (not too much focus on the game though). Some event brought along drums and almost every team had inflatable noise-making air plastic. If you look closely on the picture above, you can see they actually prepare cheat sheet or cheat board for the cheering and slogan shouting. You have to check out the text.

The board on the right, is actually for getting guys attention, since it is an all-girl contingent. The title is 남친소, not too sure what 소 is but 남친 means boyfriend. The content roughly translated as: I want to have a boyfriend, with sporty figure, dark tanned face, who fights like a tiger, who will love me warmly. It's that guy! It's that guy! Whom which I like~ Whhhhooooo, there goes my goosebumps!

But what is more important than getting a boyfriend or a girlfriend? It's none other than the refreshment, which I think is the most important element, and something that I only look forward to during sports and games event. I did not find out which university was it, but the following picture clearly shows it must be well stocked and the priority is the same as the cheat sheet next to it.

8 Reasons to visit Busan

2008-04-03T10:45:00.003+08:00

Why 8 you ask? Probably it's auspicious or people here in has caught on the 發發發 trend of commercialisation. Various districts in Busan has came up with poetry like phrases to describe the best 8 scenery of their respective districts, while Busan city itself is going for product differentiation but still maintain the lucky number 8. Suyeong, Haeundae, Geumjeong, Dadae (in Saha) and Sasang has their own list. You can see some explanation here, or you can click on the links I added. Note that Suyeong website seems to miss out one in the explanation.

So here is the list I compiled for quick reference. Since I'm not good at translating poetic text, I keep it as it is, but I added Hanja for those of you like me who prefer Hanja for understanding.

부산팔대 釜山八臺 해운대 海雲臺 신선대 神仙臺 의상대 義湘臺 강선대 降仙臺 겸효대 謙孝臺 오륜대 五輪臺 몰운대 沒雲臺 태종대 太宗臺	사상팔경 沙上八景 구덕조무 九德朝霧 원포귀범 遠浦歸帆 평사낙안 平沙落雁 칠월해화 七月蟹火 팔월노화 八月蘆花 서산낙조 西山落照 운수모종 雲水暮鐘 금정명월 金井明月
수영팔경 水營八景 운대귀범 雲臺歸帆 봉대월출 烽臺月出 진두어화 津頭漁火 남장낙안 南場落雁 장산낙조 長山落照 백산만취 白山晩翠 재송직화 裁松織火 연산모종 蓮山暮鐘	금정팔경 金井八景 의상망해 義相望海 청련야우 靑蓮夜雨 대성은수 大聖隱水 어산노송 魚山老松 내원모종 內院暮鍾 계명추월 鷄鳴秋月 고당귀운 高幢歸雲 금강만풍 金剛晩楓
해운팔경 海雲八景 해운대상 海雲臺上 오륙귀범 五六歸帆 양운폭포 養雲瀑布 구남온천 龜南溫泉 봉대점화 烽臺點火 우산낙조 牛山落照 장지유수 萇旨流水 춘천약어 春川躍魚	다대팔경 多大八景 아미완월 蛾眉翫月 몰운관해 沒雲觀海 야망어창 夜望漁唱 화손낙조 花孫落照 두송만취 頭松晩翠 남림숙하 南林宿霞 팔봉반조 八峰返照 삼도귀범 三島歸帆

Don't cry for me Margerina

2008-03-31T08:04:00.002+08:00

There are a couple of things here in Korea that you would never had imagined it would be so hard to come by back home. One of it would be margarine. Since I do not have a fridge with me, butter is out of the question. Back in Malaysia, numerous brands and flavours crying for your attention, but here, you would be crying to find it.

I have been checking out E-Mart, Home plus and even Hanaro mart here in Busan, not every store has margarine in their inventory. The only option I found so far is from Ottogi, as seen from the picture above. Even if you found it, most likely you won't be getting the whole range, as advertised on their website here.

Also from the website, there is supposed to be a larger 400g size, but what I have found so far is stores only stock the 200g (limited) range. That explains why I have bought 3 in a span of a month, including two from the picture above and one just 2 days ago, the olive oil version. Hmmm.... the company should give me a discount or free sample given that I have bought so many of it.

Ah, one other thing, which aisle or section in supermarket would you think you can locate margarine? Edible oil section you say? That is where I never found margarine. One store "categorised" it as baking product, one placed it near to the chill dairy section, while another store placed it together with jam, peanut butter and so on. It reminds me of the game show Supermarket Sweep, or even Finder's Keeper.

If you look closely at the product information behind the box, you will notice something familiar. See those portion I marked in red, 말레이시아산, which means produced in Malaysia. Apparently margarine here has palm olein and palm stearin in it, despite having picture of soybean, corn flavoured margarine, or even olive oil margarine. What the heck is olein and stearin? According to Malaysian Palm Oil Council, olein is the liquid component and stearin is the solid component of palm oil. Now I see why palm oil is one of the main export of Malaysia. Maybe they should start exporting palm oil based margarine from Malaysia to Korea, given that now they know there is a demand, i.e. Me, in Korea.

It's Spring!

2008-03-29T20:30:00.000+08:00

You can feel that spring is finally here. With flower blooming everywhere, but campus flower is a bit slow. Today, I did my weekend walk to Sasang and the picture above was taken at a street near my dormitory. I was in E-Mart and Homeplus both in Sasang, but I had to take a bus back since it was drizzling and I bought too many food stuff again. It looks like there is some mass rapid transit construction going on at Sasang area. Geez, I forgot to took a picture of the construction site. Anyway, here's another photo of the same area close up, except I didn't notice that road sign was blocking the best view when I took it this morning. Anyhow, If I have any picture taken in campus, I might post it in future post.

Welcome Party

2008-03-26T23:09:00.003+08:00

Fellow Malaysians have took the trouble to have a welcome party for newcomer like me on the 15th March 2008, at UIT Building 6th Floor. It was rather eventful, given that the time had been changing from 6pm to 6:30pm and later 7pm, but in the end, I have lost track when the event started.

It was also on the same day of my walking tour to Seomyeon checking out 3 bookstores after seminar on Saturday, which it was also my first presentation as well. I was rushing back trying to be on time, as the tentative time was on 7. But all I heard from some early birds, asking where was the party. Geez, so much for rushing for nothing. All I know it was started rather late, until the security guard had to do a force eviction to get us out of the place.

The food was also on the same trend of switching plan, from 삼겹살, to pizza, and in the end, just fried chicken. Apparently the pizza place was no longer in business, as I was told. Food was rather good, especially the 간장치킨.

We had some foreign students, Ting Ting from China, and 3 Japanese girls, Yunoue Mika, Arima Erina and Natsuaki Kumi. Thank you for everyone who has taken the trouble to have this welcome party. Looking forward to another round of eating.

Channel GWHY

道路元標 (四十七) 海南 해남 Haenam

道路元標 (四十六) 珍島 진도 Jindo

道路元標 (四十五) 長城 장성 Jangseong

道路元標 (四十四) 靈光 영광 Yeonggwang

道路元標 (四十三) 寶城 보성 Boseong

道路元標 (四十二) 務安 무안 Muan

道路元標 (四十一) 羅州 나주 Naju

道路元標 (四十) 求禮 구례 Gurye

道路元標 (三十九) 光陽 광양 Gwangyang

道路元標 (三十八) 潭陽 담양 Damyang

道路元標 (三十七) 高興 고흥 Goheung

道路元標 (三十六) 木浦 목포 Mokpo

Thailand Site Filtering

道路元標 (三十五) 漆谷 칠곡 Chilgok

道路元標 (三十四) 靑松 청송 Cheongsong

道路元標 (三十三) 義城 의성 Uiseong

道路元標 (三十二) 蔚珍 울진 Uljin

道路元標 (三十一) 醴泉 예천 Yecheon

道路元標 (三十) 永川 영천 Yeongcheon

道路元標 (二十九) 英陽 영양 Yeongyang

道路元標 (二十八) 盈德 영덕 Yeongdeok

道路元標 (二十七) 安東 안동 Andong

道路元標 (二十六) 星州 성주 Seongju

道路元標 (二十五) 尙州 상주 Sangju

道路元標 (二十四) 奉化 봉화 Bonghwa

道路元標 (二十三) 聞慶 문경 Mungyeong

道路元標 (二十二) 金泉 김천 Gimcheon

道路元標 (二十一) 軍威 군위 Gunwi

道路元標 (二十) 浦項 포항 Pohang

道路元標 (十九) 慶州 경주 Gyeongju

道路元標 (十八) 慶山 경산 Gyeongsan

道路元標 (十七) 統營 통영 Tongyeong

道路元標 (十六) 鎭海 진해 Jinhae

道路元標 (十五) 昌原 창원 Changwon

道路元標 (十四) 昌寧 창녕 Changnyeong

道路元標 (十三) 晉州 진주 Jinju

道路元標 (十二) 宜寧 의령 Uiryeong

道路元標 (十一) 密陽 밀양 Miryang

道路元標 (十) 梁山 양산 Yangsan

道路元標 (九) 金海 김해 Gimhae

道路元標 (八) 大田 대전 Daejeon

道路元標 (七) 光州 광주 Gwangju

道路元標 (六) 大邱 대구 Daegu

道路元標 (五) 蔚山 울산 Ulsan

道路元標 (四) 濟州 제주 Jeju

道路元標 (三) 西歸浦 서귀포 Seogwipo

道路元標 (二) 釜山 부산 Busan

道路元標 (一) 서울 Seoul

Korea FAQ - Getting There

Busan Subway Map v4

김탁구 = 金卓求 ≠ 金卓購 ?!

Busan Subway

Korean Air Advertisement

Engilsh Room

Quarified

Toiret

Original Tune <6>

Hélène Rollès — Je m'appelle Hélène (French) Cover : 蔡淳佳 — 依戀

Son By Four — A Puro Dolor (Spanish) Cover : 李玟 — Baby 對不起

ВИА Гра — Стоп! Стоп! Стоп! (Russian) Cover : 蔡依林 — Love Love Love

O-Zone — Dragonstea Din Tei (Romanian) Cover : 郭美美 — 不怕不怕

Jean-Jacques Goldman — Comme Toi (French) Cover : 林志炫 — 散了吧

Original Tune <5>

Bodies Without Organs — Sunshine in the Rain Cover : 蔡依林 — 日不落

i5 — Cinderella Cover : S.H.E. — 半糖主義

Daniel Bedingfield — James Dean (I Wanna Know) Cover : 羅志祥 — 精武門

Nathan Stone — Shake It Mama Cover : 羅志祥 & 蔡依林 — 真命天子

Lene Marlin — Sitting Down Here Cover : 林憶蓮 — 我坐在這裡

Robbie Williams — Better Man Cover : 林憶蓮 — Better Man

The Cranberries — Dreams Cover : 王菲 — 梦中人

Britney Spears — Everytime Cover : S.H.E. — 別說對不起

Backstreet Boys — How Did I Fall In Love With You Cover : S.H.E. — 遠方

Fool's Garden — Lemon Tree Cover : 蘇慧倫 — Lemon Tree

Original Tune <4>

พั้นช์ — ยิ่งกว่าเสียใจ Cover : 蔡淳佳 — 風鈴

ปาล์มมี่ — อยากร้องดังดัง Cover : 蕭瀟 — 愛要坦蕩蕩

อัสนี–วสันต์ — ยินดีไม่มีปัญหา Cover : 草蜢 — 寶貝對不起

ไอซ์ ศรัญยู — คนใจง่าย Cover : 黃曉明 — My Girl

ดา เอ็นโดรฟิน — ได้ยินไหม Cover : 金莎 — 這種愛

Hélène Rollès — Je m'appelle Hélène (French)
Cover : 蔡淳佳 — 依戀

Son By Four — A Puro Dolor (Spanish)
Cover : 李玟 — Baby 對不起

ВИА Гра — Стоп! Стоп! Стоп! (Russian)
Cover : 蔡依林 — Love Love Love

O-Zone — Dragonstea Din Tei (Romanian)
Cover : 郭美美 — 不怕不怕

Jean-Jacques Goldman — Comme Toi (French)
Cover : 林志炫 — 散了吧

Bodies Without Organs — Sunshine in the Rain
Cover : 蔡依林 — 日不落

i5 — Cinderella
Cover : S.H.E. — 半糖主義

Daniel Bedingfield — James Dean (I Wanna Know)
Cover : 羅志祥 — 精武門

Nathan Stone — Shake It Mama
Cover : 羅志祥 & 蔡依林 — 真命天子

Lene Marlin — Sitting Down Here
Cover : 林憶蓮 — 我坐在這裡

Robbie Williams — Better Man
Cover : 林憶蓮 — Better Man

The Cranberries — Dreams
Cover : 王菲 — 梦中人

Britney Spears — Everytime
Cover : S.H.E. — 別說對不起

Backstreet Boys — How Did I Fall In Love With You
Cover : S.H.E. — 遠方

Fool's Garden — Lemon Tree
Cover : 蘇慧倫 — Lemon Tree

พั้นช์ — ยิ่งกว่าเสียใจ
Cover : 蔡淳佳 — 風鈴

ปาล์มมี่ — อยากร้องดังดัง
Cover : 蕭瀟 — 愛要坦蕩蕩

อัสนี–วสันต์ — ยินดีไม่มีปัญหา
Cover : 草蜢 — 寶貝對不起

ไอซ์ ศรัญยู — คนใจง่าย
Cover : 黃曉明 — My Girl

ดา เอ็นโดรฟิน — ได้ยินไหม
Cover : 金莎 — 這種愛

파파야 — 내 얘길 들어봐
Cover : 王心凌 — 愛你

홍경민 — 사랑, 참...
Cover : 林峯 — 朋友，請不要傷悲

임창정 — Smile Again (하늘에서)
Cover : 張智霖 — 祝君好

거북이 — Come On
Cover : 潘瑋柏 & 張韶涵 — 快樂崇拜

DJ DOC — Run To You
Cover : 杜德偉 — 脫掉

브라운 아이즈 — 벌써일년
Cover : 許慧欣 — 愛情抗體

세븐 — 와줘
Cover : Energy — 某年某月某一天

쿨 — 아로하
Cover : 許志安 & 許慧欣 — 戀愛頻率

타샤니 — 하루하루
Cover : 張智成 — May I Love You

주주 클럽 — 나는 나
Cover : 蘇慧倫 — 鴨子

織田哲郎 & 近藤房之助 — ボンバーガール
Cover : 張學友 — 愛火花

田原俊彦 — シルエットには踊れない
Cover : 郭富城 — 對你愛不完

サザンオールスターズ — 真夏の果実
Cover : 張學友 — 每天愛你多一些

米米CLUB — 愛してる
Cover : 張學友 — 還是覺得你最好

THE虎舞竜 — ロード
Cover : 孫耀威 — 愛的故事(上集)

大黒摩季 — チョット
Cover : 鄭秀文 — Chotto 等等

徳永英明 — レイニーブルー
Cover : 張學友 — 藍雨

チャゲ&飛鳥 — 男と女
Cover : 周華健 — 讓我歡喜讓我憂

尾崎豊 — I LOVE YOU
Cover : 郭富城 — 到底有誰能夠告訴我

森山直太朗 — さくら
Cover : 張善為 — 真夏的櫻花

Infernal — Keen on Disco (Denmark)
Cover : 蔡依林 — 愛無赦

ธงไชย แมคอินไตย์ — คู่กัด (Thailand)
Cover : 草蜢 — 失戀

Patricia Kaas — Venus Des Abribus (France)
Cover : 草蜢 — 半點心

長渕剛 — とんぼ (Japan)
Cover : 小虎隊 — 紅蜻蜓

Bro'Sis — I Believe (Germany)
Cover : 羅志祥 & 徐熙娣 — 戀愛達人