Jan 26 3 comments
FASHION AND BEAUTY, MUSIC, SUSTAINABILITY

RADIO DEBUT AND SHOPPING

I just found out that I have been chosen to be on radio on Saturday. I’m guessing it’s pretty small scale, but still I’m really excited. I will get to choose a couple of songs to play, and then talk about the artists of my choice; Wagwak and GogoStar. I’ll post the link later on the blog where I’m on air. If I’m not too embarassed of course!

Now I just came back from my little 45 minute shopping trip to H&M in Myongdong. It’s so easy to shop when you know exactly what you are after, and what kind of budget you have. I wanted a dress that works at parties as well as work (for me that means sitting in a coffee shop), and it has to cost under 100 000 won ($100).

First I found this black dress. The first I tried and it looked perfect, was comfortable and only 79 000 won. However, I put it on hold while trying on the rest, because even if I loved it – I really don’t need one more little black dress. 

Then I tried this interesting little number. It is from H&M’s Conscious collection, meaning that to most part it’s made from organic materials and fabrics. However, even if it was size 36 which normally is the only size I need to bring into the fitting room at H&M because it ALWAYS fits me, this was probably two sizes too small. Maybe wrong lable? Anyhow, I just didn’t have the energy to go out and find another one. Mind you, winter is not an ideal season to go shopping – Gah! The layers!

Then I tried on this dress. It looked as if made from black suede, and I thought it would look interesting with something white and perhaps lacy under. But the shape was just all wrong for me. I looked pragnant.

Last but not least; or in fact the first one I picked up in the shop, was this orange dress - which I ended up buying. And this whole story explains me as a ’shopper’, in a nut shell. I saw this dress months ago, but thought at this point that I wasn’t entierly sure if I wanted to spend that much money on an orange dress. And so I thought, that if I am REALLY supposed to buy this dress in the end, it will still be here when I get back next time. But the thing is, I didn’t buy it the next time either. Beacuse I still wasn’t sure if I LOVED it or simply LIKED it, and I do have to absolutely LOVE something to feel its worth my money – more or less regardless or price. But so anyway, when I got into the shop today and saw Her (yes, the dress has even become a “her” now) it looked as if she had just been waiting for her rightful owner (me) to return.

It looked great in the dressing room, and the price was taken down. How much I wasn’t sure, but now only 79 000 won. It’s also from the Conscious collection, and the ONLY one left in the shop – and it happened to be exactly my size. Destiny! With some money left I bought a couple of rings too. And to me this is the ultimate satisfactory shopping experience; when you find something that seems to already be yours. Because when you do, anything is a bargain price, and you know you will probably cherish it much longer than you would for another random party dress bought in the heat-of-the-moment. To me this is “conscious shopping” – sustainable fashion. YEY!

Love, Paula

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Jan 26 3 comments
CITY LIFE, FASHION AND BEAUTY, OTHER RANDOM, SUSTAINABILITY

JUST A WINTER DAY

Today I’m going to do something I haven’t done in a long time. I’m going to go shopping at H&M. My goal is to buy a dress that looks just as good with Dr Martens as it does with heals; one that looks expensive but is fairly cheap; one that feels up to date but will keep in style for years. It might seem too much to ask for, but I very rarely buy anything that doesn’t fill these qualifications.

I have enjoyed my morning, cuddled up in my fleece oncie, with a cup of coffee, re-writing some interview articles. I’m planning for something tomorrow, so I’m waiting for people to answer my Facebook messages, but apparently they don’t.

Anyway, as I’m sitting here, looking out my window, I can’t help but notice the little gaps where my window glass fails to reach the wall. It’s a definite construction fail, but more importantly it is a waste of my precious warm air. And it just makes me wonder. Korea must have been just as cold as Sweden in the winter for a pretty long time. Why it should come as no surprise that the heating is just as expensive on cold days here as there. Still, how is it that most houses in Korea sill only have one layer glass and no insulation between window and wall, when that can’t cost more, than it does heating the apartments up.

My favorite part of the day is showering; because that’s the only time I’m completely warm. However, my least favorite part of the day is getting in to the shower. The time it takes for the bathroom to fill up with steam from when I take my clothes off is always long enough to get a sense of what it’s like freezing to death.

Anyway, that’s what I will do. And then go shopping. At H&M.

By the way – if you don’t have any plans on Friday, you should come to club FF in Hongdae. Not only do they play great live music, but also between 11.00 and 12.00 they usually have an open bar. Take advantage!! Haha ^_^ see you there!

X Paula

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Jan 25 7 comments
OTHER RANDOM

TODAY’S DISCOVERIES IN PICTURES

Today started with discovering that snow had fallen on the ground, the sky was perfect blue, and the air crystal clear. It’s freezing in Seoul now, between -10 and -15 degrees, and the ground is dangerously icy.

A few days ago I discovered that the instant coffee I have been drinking at home is the worst tasting coffee in the world (the yellow). If you are also drinking this coffee, or any other for that matter, you should change to Arabica 100 (the brown/red), because it’s just so super duper delicious.

Waiting for the bus with Cory, we discovered a couple of awesome mini-size game machines just waiting to be used. Cory popped a 100-won coin in and started playing. I played too, until I realized that my ninja-character was actually computer controlled.

I discovered today that my right foot toes go numb even when I’m wearing my most comfortable shoes – with thin socks. I will stop complaining about my shoes and socks, and instead start complaining about my feet.

I went to Dongmyo’s Caffé Bene, because I have been craving real coffee during this whole last week when all I’ve been drinking is instant crap. I discovered a little smiley-face in my coffee, which was pretty random for an Americano.  

I discovered that I was humming the theme song of “My Neighbour Totoro” and then started thinking about it. I haven’t seen the movie since I heard that the story apparently is based on the Sayama Incident in Japan, when a little girl was raped and murdered. There is some discussion on whether or not this is true, but I definitely think so. Simple reason being that if I was a movie maker, I would rather make a hidden story with a deep meaning (to remember these girls, and this horrible event) rather than a completely random movie with no message at all. Furthermore there are way too many similarities in the movie and this incident. What do you think?

I also discovered that I haven’t picked a winner for the CD yet. I was going to choose one carefully, but I think everyone who wrote on Facebook seem to want it just as much, so I did a lottery like last time with the tickets. And the winner is: Diana! I’m sad not all of you can win, but I think there will be more chances!

And now I’ve discovered that this post is insanely random, but that I don’t care and will now go to do my laundry instead of re-writing it! ^__^

X Paula

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Jan 24 4 comments
CULTURE, FOOD AND COFFEE, KOREAN LIFE, SOUTH KOREA

SEOL-NAL: THE KOREAN NEW YEAR

It’s been the biggest Korean holiday weekend of the year, and I’ve celebrated it like a true Korean.

On Friday night we, my boyfriend and I, took the bus from Seoul down to Mokpo in the South by the sea, where his relatives live. Although the four hour ride felt more like a rollercoaster than a bus, we managed to sleep almost the whole way.

Finally there, as we were walking up to the apartment building, I realized Mokpo is a bit like Stockholm at night. No cars, no people, and not much open except for street corner marts. It’s probably about the same size too. I’ve only been there in the summer before, and although I prefer the weather not to be freezing cold, it was a nice welcome to feel so unexpectedly at home.

On Saturday night we went out with his high school friends. Separately I’ve met most of them before, as they live in Seoul now, but it was great to see how this whole group of six boys interacts in its “natural habitat”, haha.

When we got back, his little sister had arrived from Seoul as well, so we stayed up, talking and drinking makolli until 7am. Even if I have met his sister before, I’ve always been kind of shy and thought that she didn’t really like me, but after this weekend the one thing I feel most happy about is how close we have suddenly become. As she too has moved to Seoul now, we have decided to meet often! ^_^

On Sunday all the uncles and aunts from his father’s side of the family came to their house to do the traditional ancestor worship ritual. To my observation it went down pretty much like Christmas does in my home: The women all gather in the kitchen to prepare food, while the men help with the practical stuff like carrying things. When that is done, the women place the food on little round dishes, while the men place themselves in the sofa.

When everything was done, it was time for the bowing. My boyfriend’s mom taught me how to do it, but I am pretty sure I failed all five times I tried. The children, including me, went into the room where the worship table and food was all set out in front of the pictures of the late grandmothers and grandfathers. One uncle said something in Korean, while we stood there holding our hands out with palms up, as if receiving something. Then we knelt down on the floor, did a bow with our heads to the floor, stood up, and then repeated it once more.

After that we sat down to eat together. The soju that had been on the offering table was now blessed by the ancestors and would bring luck. The uncles and cousins and aunts all seemed very happy to meet me, as I was them, and interested in what kind of person I was. As I was sitting there I knew it was a big deal being introduced as my boyfriend’s significant other, and for the first time in my life I felt my family had suddenly become twice as big.

On Monday morning all the family members from the night before came back, and we ate the traditional ddok-guk (rice-cake soup, pic below). It was really delicious, but the whole thing with eating proper food for breakfast is still something my Swedish stomach is not quite comfortable with. After that, we were going to bow for the adults. So one uncle at a time sat down on the floor in front of us children, and we bowed like we did the day before, but only once (the double bow is only for the ancestors). Then they gave us money, which came as a very nice surprise, which of course also was a part of this Korean tradition.

Later we were supposed to go out to the countryside where the mother’s side of family lives, but unfortunately, because of ice and snow, it was decided too dangerous to drive. Instead we left earlier in the day and got back to Seoul in time for dinner.

Today is still a national holiday, and I will spend it at home with my boyfriend. We have a new hobby which is to watch documentaries. We have already gone through everything we can find on the subject of space, aliens and time travel, haha, and are now on the mission of downloading everything labeled Egypt and ancient mythology. Today is also my boyfriend’s birthday, so I have decided to be his personal assistant for all purposes the rest of the day, so now I will go and prepare some breakfast!

See you tomorrow!

X Paula

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Jan 20 6 comments
CULTURE, MUSIC, OTHER RANDOM, THE NOONIES

M COUNTDOWN LIVE SHOW

Yesterday I went to the weekly, live-aired, kpop show M Countdown; with the ticket-winning Noonies Laura and Juliette. We had been especially invited by Mnet, and it was supposedly the first time they invited a foreign blogger like that. So, obviously we were very honored and excited. (I wasn’t allowed to take pic’s from the actual show, but I will upload some of theirs next time.)

As we came to the CJ building where the show was going to be aired, the first thing we saw was lines of young people standing outside. We later learned that they were the official fan club memeber of the kpop stars, and that they have special tickets. This is because these very dedicated fans don’t only spend incredible amounts of energy, but also money, on their beloved idols.

While standing outside the entrance to the studio, waiting for everything to get ready, I started to look around. Surprisingly, many of the fans who were standing there were foreigners; a mix of western-looking and Asian (non-Korean) people, most probably in their early twenties.

As they opened the doors we were the first to go in and got places right at the front. But as more and more people filled up the standing audience space I started feeling uncomfortably tall as most of them in the crowd were a head shorter than me. I let some children, who barely seemed to have reached their teens, stand in front of me.

Then the show started. It was very different from how I was guessing it would be. But I will go more into detail on what later on. Either way, it was really fun to watch the stars preform and it was certainly an experience, Laura and Juliette agreed ^_^

Although I must admit I didn’t know much about all of these new kpop bands, apart from MBLAQ, T-ARA and Boyfriend, before the concert we were informed that A-Pink sadly had to cancel their performance. I don’t really know how this happened, but apparently they were so sorry to us (Me, Laura and Juliette) that they instead gave us each a signed copy of their CD.

I don’t know how many of you guys know about A-Pink, but I have decided to use this precious signed (“hello~” by Ha-Young on the cover, and all of their signatures inside) A-Pink CD as a Noonie give-away!

So to win it, please go on to the Facebook page and write why you want it. A reason such as “my friend really loves them, so I want to give it to her for b-day present” is perfectly legit too. I’m just not ok with anyone trying to sell it, but I trust you guys ^_^

They (Mnet) wanted me to share the information of their new voting system, which think is really great. From now on, if you go to their website, it is open for anyone in any country (not only Koreans anymore) to vote for the idol or group they want to win [the competition that is each week] on M CountDown! So go and vote for your loved ones! And by the way, here is a short clip of the winners from this week, T-ARA, and you can spot me (in my blue fur) and Laura right at the beginning! :)

And before I finish – just wondering – have you ever seen Rainbow Pixie? What did you think about them…? I’ll share my feminist opinions on this girl group next time ~ haha

Since I’m in the middle of packing for going away this weekend, to visit my boyfriend’s family down in the south or South Korea, I will have to continue blogging about the event some other timef

Love, Paula

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Jan 19 5 comments
CITY LIFE, FASHION AND BEAUTY, MUSIC, SOCIAL LIFE, STOCKHOLM LIFE, THE NOONIES

MOVIES AND ARTICLES

Yesterday morning I wrote an article about spring and summer hairstyles on the runway, and how to make them on your own. To my help I had my friend who is a hair stylist at the famous Avenue Juno salon. He helped me understand some important differences between Asian and non-Asian hair, from hair quality to what flatters different types of head shapes. Very interesting.

In the afternoon I organized a photo shoot to take pictures of all the five styles I’m writing about. It all went well and both my photographer (Will) and model (Falon) were very professional, and equally fun to work with. However, as we met quite late in the afternoon, we didn’t exactly have the natural window light cooperating very well in the end and it was really stressful. I was disappointed that we couldn’t shoot all of the pictures before the sun went down, but maybe it will turn out well anyway. I hope so ^_^

 After that I jumped on the subway and went down to Gangnam. I met up with my good friend Jiha, having planned a movie date a couple of weeks before. Millenium – the girl with the dragon tattoo. Awesome movie! I haven’t even seen the Swedish version yet, haha. But also in this one, there were some Swedish actors. For example, Stellan Skarsgård, aka father of Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood-Erik). The main character was played by Daniel Craig. I like him, he is a good actor. But what I really enjoyed about this movie, apart from the really great serial-killer story, was that everything – the littlest detail – was so super genuinely Swedish.

 

After the movie I had plans to meet up with my boyfriend to drink some beer and talk. I told him about the movie and what a strange feeling it is to see Hollywood actors walking the streets up and down of my little home town (Stockholm is very small; I know exactly where every street corner shot, café scene, or city overview in the movie were filmed). But it was not only that, they had really paid attention to EVERYTHING; the coffee cups on the train, the local supermarket paper bags, the newspapers, the apartments. I mean, it really isn’t strange as they obviously shot everything in Sweden, but it’s so strange when they are all speaking English. I explained to my boyfriend that it probably would feel the same if there was a movie with an English speaking Hollywood cast set in Seoul; them sitting around a table eating sam-kyop-sal, drinking soju, hearing kpop being played in the background.

Today’s plan can’t have escaped anyone. At 5pm I will meet up with the two Noonies (Juliette and Laura) and go to the Mnet CountDown live show. I’m suddenly surprisingly excited. If you are interested, here is last week’s show. I will write about it first thing tomorrow, I promise! :)

But first, I will do an online interview with the Cheap Monday designer Karin, who made a quick visit to Seoul last fall. She seemed to really like it, and I’m really interested to hear all the details!

X Paula

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Jan 17 6 comments
FASHION AND BEAUTY, OTHER RANDOM, THE NOONIES

CLOSET CREEPER

You probably know by now that I haven’t been active on Banana Milk for a long time, due to lack of time. I handed it over to Cory and AJ, who are working on changing layout and stuff right now. Anyway, Cory has another project going on together with some other people; an online fashion store called Closet Creeper. Its Korean made clothes, accessories and shoes, mainly directed to international buyers. Cory’s job is to choose and then model the clothes on the website.

The other day I was sitting on the bus with Cory, talking about random things, when she suddenly comes up with the idea that the Noonies should get a discount code for the website. So she talked with her co-workers and decided that until the end of January, you Noonies will get 25% discount on everything. According to Cory, they deliver anywhere. Shipping within Korea is free, and orders over $150 also have international free shipping. The clothes are all made in Korea.

Also the first one to order over $50 will get a free pair of glasses of their choice. If you like their stuff, it’s a good deal right? ^_^

So, the discount code that is legitimate until the end of January is “noonablog”. If you have any problems or questions, Cory said that you can email her directly. It’s cory(a)bananamilk.net.

Happy spring shopping! X Paula

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Jan 17 6 comments
CITY LIFE, CULTURE, FOOD AND COFFEE, SOCIAL LIFE

ITAEWON REVISITED

Yesterday I had dinner with a friend of mine, Sunwoo. He is a hair stylist and I wanted to ask him some questions for an article on spring hairstyles that I’m writing. However, once we sat down, we didn’t talk very much about that, but instead everything else that is happening in life.

We met in Itaewon, because that was half way home for both of us, and once I got there I realized it was a long time since last. As I arrived, too early per usual (I’m the worst time-pessimist ever), I walked around while waiting for my friend; it’s become quite a nice part of town.

Itaewon has had a bad reputation for a long time, for being sort of a foreigner-ghetto, a bit dirty looking, and full of drunken westerners from the army base. Even when I came here a few years ago it was still not a place I’d prefer hanging out at. But starting then, it has changed a lot. It’s clean, and tidy; full of classy wine bars, coffee shops, and some really cozy Korean restaurants.

To me it feels like the vast foreigner crowd has started hanging out in Hongdae instead. It’s not that I’m anti-foreigner – of course not. But there is something about (many of the) foreigners who come to Seoul, for reasons other than just being in love with the country, that can makes them behave really badly. Disrespecting the culture, letting the “foreigner-fascination” get to their heads, thinking they have privileges, etc. And naturally, if they come to a new place where they don’t really NEED to care about anyone or anything but for them having a good time, they can be just as ass-holy as they want.

So anyway, now days there are really much less obnoxious foreigners in Itaewon. It’s actually turned into an international type of Hongdae I would say. So, anyway, me and Sunwoo went to a very popular little Korean restaurant, hidden off the main road. I can’t explain exactly how we got there, but I’m sure you’d find it if you look around a little. Go across the street from Hamilton Hotel, turn right after the cross-walk and walk a few meters. Then you will see a tiny ally on your left, and there is some kind of clothes shop on your right in that alley if I remember correctly. After just about 5meters or so, the “alley” ends, and there are some steep stairs all the way down to the street below. It’s right there on your left, and by now you simply cannot miss it.

This type of restaurant is fairly common in Seoul; it’s cheap, unique, has delicious Korean food, and is above all super cozy. For example, one unique thing was that they had written the menu on a round lid (see picture) with a bunch of cute stickers attached to it.

Another thing that’s kind of special for these types of restaurants, are the little notes that people write a message on and stick to the wall. It’s completely covered in little notes, some still white and some turned brown and yellow; on the walls, table legs, and even dangling from the lamps.

We ate a delicious noodle thing, with red sauce (medi-spicy, aka not spicy, in Korean), rice cake (ddok) and octopus, some special kind of [awesome] Korean fish, and drank a few beers. All of that; and a priceless atmosphere, for like 25 000 total.

I definitely recommend you going there if you visit Seoul in the future!

Take care, xoxo Paula

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Jan 16 4 comments
CITY LIFE, MUSIC, SOCIAL LIFE

NAMES IN A BOX

Yesterday the audition for the Korean cast, of the short film I will be in, was held in a little theater in Haebangcheon. It was so much fun to sit there and just watch all of these young talented actors and actresses preforming their monologues. The talent ranged from being “ok” up to “wow – mind blowing”, but overall it was a great casting day. I also got the script and realized just how much of it I will be a part of which of course was very exciting. At the end, when the best three guys (for the main part) had been chosen we did a test filming where I read a scene with each of them. It was so much fun. I can’t believe I haven’t thought of acting before; it’s awesome!

After that I went home and spent the rest of the evening watching documentaries about space. I don’t know why, but thinking about space and wondering about “life out there” has always been something very close to my heart. Although I don’t care as much about the “truth” as I enjoy just philosophizing about it, I’m open to any kind of explanation. One of the documentaries I saw was about the Phoenix Lights. Has anyone heard about them? It was back in 1995 or so, when suddenly a huge craft hovered down over the state, and approximately 10.000 people, including military officials and pilots, saw this phenomenon and simply could not give an earthly explanation to what it was.  

Why I enjoyed this documentary especially, is because I am convinced (kind of) that I have seen it too. The same kind of lights. Twice; first when I was seven, and then once more a year later. I’m not sure if you are interested or not, so I won’t go in to detail about it, but still I think these experiences have changed how I consider the possibility of others being “out there”. Has anyone of your, or someone you know, ever seen a UFO?

OK, getting back to more earthly matters. I have a surprise – Mnet has decided to give me one extra ticket (as in me and two Noonies) for Mnet CountDown on Thursday. I am really sorry that I can’t bring all of you, but I tried to do the draw as fairly as possible. I put little pieces of paper with names on them in a box, and just pulled one out after another while closing my eyes. And the names I pulled were Juliette, and Laura. Congratulations! And to the rest of you, I’m sure there will be more chances in the future!

Now I have to get ready and head down town. I have a dinner interview with a hair stylist at one of Seoul’s best salons, with whom I will talk about spring hair-trends! You’ll also get to read that later of course!

Love, Paula

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Jan 14 8 comments
CITY LIFE, FASHION AND BEAUTY, KOREAN LIFE, MUSIC, SOCIAL LIFE, THE NOONIES

INDIE DISCO PUNK

I just finished writing an interview with the famous Korean model Noma Han. He is such a genuinely nice person; I’m really happy he wanted to do it. His was the first of many interviews to come, on the subject of fashion, for the “project” I’m working on. It’s supposed to start up in February, like in two or three weeks, so that’s when you can read the interview. I’m the worst at keeping secrets about myself, so it will be a nice relief to tell you about this so called “project”. You might be a bit disappointed having heard me go on about it for ages, because it’s not THAT big of a deal, but I still think it will be a lot of fun.

Last night I was in Hongdae and had a great time at Gogos2. It’s in the same area, kind of, as most other underground/indie clubs are such as Club FF and Freebrid. The main band of the night was GogoStar. Their music is an awesome mix of disco and punk rock; a sound I really haven’t heard before. They have their own style, also when it comes to stage wear; punk clowns with  heavy circus-type of make-up. I have never been into neither disco nor punk especially, but I’m definitely into whatever it is that they are playing. And they are so awesome live! If you are in Seoul you should definitely try to see them if you want to experience something new, and indie-Korean!

GOGOSTAR – Black Comedy MV from Sounion Hong on Vimeo.

By the way, speaking of music, remember that the ticket for Mnet Countdown is still available (and not many people have singned up for the “lottery”) so if you are ni Seoul and want to go with me, write a line on the Facebook page, and you will have the chance to win it! Mind you, kpop fan girls wait in line from like seven in the morning (!) for these tickets, and we can just slide passed the line and get good seats. At least that’s what I was told. So it’s a good deal! And you’ll get a whole afternoon with me! Isn’t that amazing, haha ^_^

In the last post I asked what you wanted to read more about, especially those of you who will be coming to Seoul in the future, so that I can help you out with whatever I can. Van asked about places to stay, so I asked a friend of mine who visited last summer. He said Seoul i Guesthouse was good. Basic, but cheap, and perfectly located In Hongdae. Their website is easy to understand too, which is a bonus. I wrote a post about housing in Seoul a while ago. Check that out.

All the other subjects I will deal with one at a time, but hopefully all at the end of this month, before you all get here!

Tomorrow I will get the whole script for the short-film I will be in soon. We start filming next month, so a lot is happening then, haha. Of course I can’t tell you the story or anything, but I can say that I have one of the main parts which is quite exciting (and a little scary). But again, about your expectations and such – don’t get too excited, it’s a pretty small production and I have no idea how it will turn out. But still, I’m super excited – what a great experience!

Oh it’s 4pm and I still haven’t got dressed, because I’m not really planning to leave the house all day. But now my cooker ran out of gas, and I’m hungry… so, I guess I need to get dressed and go to the store. Fail.

 Love and Kisses! <3

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