During these two weeks, I have interacted with the Korean culture in a joyful manner! Choongman Chicken opened up in downtown Richmond! Choongman chicken is a franchise Korean Fried Chicken restaurant and it is known to be as close to authentic Korean Fried Chicken you can get to here in America. So as soon as I heard that they have opened, my roommate and I went to Choongman chicken on my birthday. Let me say, it was a birthday well spent. At first bite, tasting the Korean fried chicken brought back very dear memories from Korea. I remembered the time after our family read through the Bible together, we would celebrate by ordering from the closest Korean Fried Chicken place. Without shame, I can share that I came back the following week with my roommate and indulged in some good Korean food. During the times at the restaurant, I was able to briefly practice my Korean. Not to mention, I saw a familiar face working for the restaurant, my friend Jun. I highly encourage anyone reading this to try Choongman chicken!
I also watched an episode of Hospital Playlist, a Korean drama that explores the daily lives of doctors. It specifically follows a friend group of five doctors who all met during college and are working at the same hospital. It kinds of reminds me of Grey’s Anatomy. Watching the Korean drama helped me reminisce about the times when I visited my brother in the hospital after he had gotten into a car accident. I also learned that it is common for patients to call doctors “teachers” instead of doctors, especially if a doctor is in a higher position. I also have been practicing my pronunciation by signing some Korean hymns. Playing the guitar while singing these songs truly does give a nostalgic feeling as I grew up within the Korean church. Korean hymns also tend to be more emotionally in terms of both lyrics and melody compared to English hymns.
I have been practicing my conversational skills with So Myung as well. In one instance, I asked her in Korean, how her family was doing. She told me that her sister was actually having trouble attending online classes. In fact, she has to call home to remind her mother to tell her sister to get to class. She then asked me how my family was doing. I told her that my mother’s body was recovering well after kidney stones. We then strayed from conversing about our families to talking about how each of us deals with anger. I told her that I usually express my anger through passive-aggressiveness and through intentional disregard towards the person I am mad at. So Myung also told me that when she is mad at someone she gives them the silent treatment as well. She then told me of the struggle of wanting to invite people over to her dorm but not being able to due to COVID. Her little brother is high-risk to COVID so she has to be more careful than other people.
Comments
Hey Seokjoon, great biweekly journal post. I have never heard of Choongman Chicken, but I will take any opportunity to eat Korean fried chicken. I am glad to hear that you had a good experience with this chicken place. Hopefully, when I get the opportunity to go back to Richmond, I will go and try their chicken.
Would love to try out Choongman chicken but pandemic makes options limited. Interesting that you brought up Korean hymns and their differences from English hymns. Any hymn you particularly like and want to share?
Hey! I enjoyed reading your blog post. I have never heard of Choongman chicken and only been to Bonchon chicken if you have heard of that place. I think it is similar but I know Bonchon incorporates a lot more American aspects into their food. I am definitely going to check out Choongman chicken because that sounds really good! Also, the Hospital Playlist sounds really cool! I am a pre-med student so I am definitely interested in the subject of Hospital Playlist.