Time is Running Out for the GFN DJ Contest

Posted by GwangJu (at 2012/01/26 09:31)

User image


GFN 98.7 FM, Gwangju and Jeollanamdo's only all English radio station, is holding a DJ contest to discover talented individuals and recruit one of them as a freelance DJ for a locally produced music program.


Please submit the application form with a demo file by January 27th. The application is available for download here. The required running time of the demo is a minimum of 3 to a maximum of 5 minutes. The demo should be produced in a radio show format.


There will be a public audition on February 4th at 1PM for those lucky individuals who pass the preliminary round.


The top five applicants will win a prize and the opportunity to become DJs or Guests at GFN. The top applicant will be hired as a freelance DJ for GFN.


What to Submit:

Preliminary Round – Send an application form (available for download here) and a demo file (in English) to gfn@gfn.or.kr. Please be sure to include your name in the files names.

Final Round – Send a resume and a personal statement to gfn@gfn@or.kr.


Evaluation:

The Preliminary Round will be based on your performance in your demo file.

The Final Round at the GFN Hall on February 4th will be based on an interview and audition.


Schedule:

Application Period: Jan. 1st ~ Jan. 27th Friday

The results of the preliminary round will be announced on February 1st.

The Final Round: Saturday, Feb. 4th, 1PM at the GFN Hall 1F

The results of the final round will be announced on Friday, Feb. 7th.


Prizes:

First: 1,000,000 Won, selection as a freelance DJ at GFN

Second: 500,000 Won

Third: 300,000 Won

Fourth: 200,000 Won

Fifth: 100,000 Won

Runner-ups will also get future chances to become DJs or Guests for GFN programming.


For more information: www.gfn.or.kr / 062)460-0991 / gfn@gfn.or.kr

2012/01/26 09:31 2012/01/26 09:31
 

A tour and temple stay are scheduled on February 4th. The price and the duration are both reasonable as well as a grereat chance to experience something out of the ordinary. The schedule, contact, and registration information follows:

February Temple Stay Tour Program - Gogeum Island and Wando Five-Day Traditional Market

Februay 4th(Saturday):
2:00-2:30PM: Pickup Gangjin Bus Terminal
2:30-4:00PM: South Province Travel Program – Gugang Port Mud Flats and Sea Views
4:00-4:30PM: White Lotus Temple Room Assignment and Unpacking
4:30-5:00PM: Orientation (Temple Introduction and Etiquette)
5:00-6:00PM: Forest Trail Trekking
6:00-7:00PM: Evening Meal
7:00-7:15PM: Evening Worship
7:15-8:00PM: Meditation
8:00-9:00PM: Tea and Conversation
9:00-10:00PM: Free Time
10:00PM: Bedtime

February 5th(Sunday):
4:30-5:00AM: Morning Ritual, Temple Bell Ringing, Morning Chant
5:00-5:20AM: Dawn Worship
5:20-6:00AM: Morning Meditation
6:00-6:30AM: Free Time
6:30-7:30AM: Morning Meal
7:30-8:00AM: Collaborative Work and Room Cleaning
8:00-9:00AM: Tea Drinking
9:00AM-5:30PM: South Province Travel Program
_________________

9:00AM: Departure from White Lotus Temple
9:40-11:20AM: Chungmu-sa Discussion
11:20AM-12:30PM: Sangjeong Wharf and Wando Market
12:30-2:30PM: Wando Traditional Five-Day Market and Market Stall Restaurant
2:30-3:30PM: Transfer from Wando to Haenam
3:30-5:00PM: Singing Grandmother from Haenam
5:30PM: Arrival at Gangjin Bus Terminal
_________________

Registration: Contact – Ildam Seunim
Email: ildams@hotmail.com
Telephone: 010.2969.8686
Inquiries and Information: Contact – Warren Parsons
Email: warren.parsons@gmail.com
Telephone: 010.7213.7463

**Price: 50,000 Won(1 Day/2 Nights) – Ferry tickets and restaurant meals are not included.
**Guests should prepare their own towels, toothbrushes and individual toiletries.
**Late guests should arrive at the temple by 5:00PM.

2012/01/25 09:55 2012/01/25 09:55
UPDATE: I recentlly was having a chat with a group of expats who swore up and down that Korean food wasn't very spicy. I agreed that the spiciness of Korean food has been exaggerated but I felt one place exceeds all ideas of what is hot food here in Gwangju.

Getting out of the main part of downtown is very important in finding a culinary adventure in Gwangju. There are numerous places in the core of downtown that serve up a wide variety of delicious food. These places, however, are mostly large company owned eateries with all their ingredients prepackaged so there is very little actual cooking done on premises. A definite point loser for those that prefer qualtiy.

User image
Photo from blog.naver.com/laverene/30030595590

The place that I want to introduce today is a treasure that defies accurate description. All I can say is that you have probably never have had the opportunity to eat something as fiercely hot before in your life. The restaurant is simple and plain but the food is legendary for its destructive powers. Mom's  Incredibly Hot and Spicy Pork Stew House (엄마네 돼지찌개)  is a quaint place that has developed a huge following with the local lunch and dinner crowd near Gwangju River. The menu is simple and until recently not even posted. You enter and a promptly told where to sit. A quick head count is done and several minutes later this comes to your table.

User image
Photo from blog.naver.com/laverene/30030595590

Don't be fooled. This is an extremely dangerous, but oh so delicious, meal that will have you hooked and demanding to return for another go on a weekly basis. The sauce is made from some of the finest dried chungryang (청량) peppers found in Korea, garlic, onions, leeks with big chunks of firm tofu and lean pork. It is served with a bowl of rice which you dump into a larger bowl and scoop the stew over. .

The sides are all designed to give your tounge a break from the extreme spiciness. Soothing would be the term that I would apply to the sides that are given. The best part is the large plate of fried eggs that have been cooked together in one pan. They arrive as one big heap of whites and yolks. A definite help in trying to reduce the pain you feel as you scoop your way through your stew. The trick is to successfully eating a full serving is to mix the rice with the stew and alternate between stew/rice mixture, sides and eggs. Even though the stew is incredibly spicy,  the indivdual ingredients are easy to taste when eaten in this way.

User image
Photo from blog.naver.com/mint801/50046990898


This is a meal that should be shared between several people. In fact this should not even be attempted alone. Well, that being said, it is impossible to get
only one serving. The minimum order is for two and will run a mere 7000 won a person. There is nothing else on the menu other than cola and extra rice. Few choices makes for an easy decision when it comes to lunch and it allows the cooks to focus on producing quality meals for their patrons.

Please remember that I'm not joking about how hot this meal is. Caution should be taken if you are new to the world of hot food. This dish is so hot that I actually experienced dizziness and a slight euphoria the last time I had it. I was positively giddy for about two hours. The pain is definetly worth the taste and the experience.

 


View Larger Map
2012/01/24 08:28 2012/01/24 08:28

떡국 - Rice Cake Soup Recipe

Posted by GwangJu (at 2012/01/23 10:07)

User image


 

Today is Seollal or Lunar New Year in Korea. There are many food traditions associated with Korean culture and this day is no different. Most Korean households will serve a variation on 떡국 (deokguk) or rice cake soup today and my house is no different.


The first time I ate deokguk, I was unimpressed by the bland mess that was served to me in the university cafeteria. Swollen mushy rice cake with a huge pile of dried seaweed chocking me as I ate it. It wasn't until I had my mother-in-law's version that I fell in love with deokguk. She serves a milky broth teeming with rice cake and fresh oysters. My mother-in-law knows I'm not a huge fan of dried seaweed so she leaves it out for me as well.


Today my wife and I cooked deokguk for breakfast and I wanted to share with you the recipe. You might not get to eat this today but I suggest you give it a shot. This has become one of my comfort foods and I expect that it will become one of yours as well.


떡국 – Rice Cake Soup

Serves two adults and a four year old


Ingredients:

User image

100 grams of beef

400 grams of rinsed sliced oval rice cake

300 grams of oysters (optional)

½ a sliced leek

1 beaten egg

Salt to taste

dried seasoned seaweed


Beef Marinade:

30 mg soy sauce

15 mg sesame oil

1 - 2 cloves of chopped garlic

pinch of pepper


Start off by marinating the beef for ten minutes. In a pot quickly stir fry the beef until well browned. Add a little over than one liter of water to the pot and bring to a boil.


To the beef stock add the rinsed rice cake and return to a boil. Cook until the rice cake become tender but do not allow it to turn to a mushy puffed up mess. This is where many people go wrong.


At this point you can add the rinsed oysters to the soup if you want. They will take only one to two minutes of cooking before they are done depending on their size.


Finally, add to the soup the beaten egg and sliced leeks and boil one more minute. Salt the soup to taste and serve immediately. You can top with shredded dried seaweed if you want.

No seaweed

No seaweed

2012/01/23 10:07 2012/01/23 10:07

Seollal: Korea's New Year Festival

Posted by GwangJu (at 2012/01/20 09:01)

from visitkorea.org

from visitkorea.org

 Seollal is the first day of the lunar year and falls on January 23rd this year. Korean New Year generally falls on the day of the second new moon after the winter solstice. Seollal is a three-day holiday usually spent with family and has many associated traditions.

The Seollal feast is prepared with great care, as it is thought that the look and taste of the food determines the ancestors’ level of satisfaction. Food eaten on Seollal is part of an ancestral rite. The food is arranged on a table with an ancestral tablet and a ritual called ‘Charye’ takes place. Incense is burned, the food is offered to the ancestors and the family bows to pay their respects.

from kimichi mamas

from kimichi mamas


Tteokguk, a soup made with rice cakes, is one of the foods representative of Seollal. According to tradition, eating tteokguk on Seollal adds one year to your age, so a fun way to ask someone how old they are is to ask how many servings of tteokguk they’ve had!

User image

Many traditional Korean games are played on Seollal, like yut-nori, tuho and go-stop. Yut-nori is a board game involving a board, four wooden yut sticks and small tokens. Yut-nori is played with two teams and each team gets four tokens. The yut sticks are thrown like dice and the first team to get their tokens around the board is declared the winner. Tuho is a game where players must throw sticks into a container from a distance. Go-stop is a card game played with hwatu or flower cards. There are usually two or three players and the aim is to score points and then call a ‘go’ or a ‘stop’. When a ‘go’ is called the amount of points increases and the game continues. When a ‘stop’ is called the game ends and the person with the highest points is the winner.

Kite flying is also a popular Seollal activity. The kites are raised into the sky and then their strings are cut and a wish is made.

In the lunar calendar, each year is represented by one of twelve zodiac signs, and 2012 is the Year of the Dragon. The dragon is the fifth animal in the zodiac and represents hope and courage. Those born in the Year of the Dragon are said to be passionate and have abundant health. People born in 2012 (and 1952) will be Water Dragons (water is the element associated with 2012). Water is said to calm the dragon’s fire, resulting in people who are able to see things from other points of view.

If you wish to take part in traditional Korean activities over the Seollal holiday period, head to the Gwangju National Museum, where an event called ‘Norimadang’, or Playground of Traditional Folk Games will take place. Visitors can fly kites, play yut-nori and tuho, watch movies and observe traditional dances, and anyone wearing Hanbok will be admitted for free!

Happy New Year to all and 새해 많이 받으세요 (please receive many blessings in the new year)!

By Emma Dooley

2012/01/20 09:01 2012/01/20 09:01