Curry Story (커리 스토리)

Review by Mo Kinsinger, ETA ’15-’16 City: Mokpo Restaurant Name: Curry Story (커리 스토리) Foods Served: Indian Restaurant Address: 18 Bipa-ro 43 beon-gil, Mokpo View Map Price: 10,000 won + Directions:  Start at the most east, central entrance gate to Rose Street. Walk one block down Rose Street (south-west), and turn left. Walk one block. on the left corner of the intersection, one the second story above a Ministop, is the restaurant. [slideshow_deploy id=’4143′] Mokpo is a splendid place to live. And I have very, very few complaints. In fact, the only one I can really think of is the difficulty in finding good foreign food restaurants; we all know they are out there, lurking, hiding in the outskirts of 남악 or in the winding back alleys of 시내,  and when we find  one we cling to it like a cherished bottle of Dr. Pepper or the last piece of real, Chicago-style deep dish pizza.  That is why me and my Mokpo buds have returned to Curry Story, probably at least five times in the last couple months. The location is great–just off of the popular Rose Street with its cute coffee shops and boutiques. Curry Story’s atmosphere is colorful, cushioned and comfortable. The place is rarely crowded, and played cheesy Indian music videos which are always entertaining fillers to lulls in conversation. But the best part is the curry–spinach, chicken, plain… it is all delicious. The curry is not very spicy, but definitely authentic–Indian, not Japanese-style. You can eat the curry with rice, but I recommend the garlic nan, which comes warm, buttery, crispy, and as big as two dinner plates.  The chicken is also very good. And the mango smoothies are worth trying as well. There is free coffee and candies as you leave. The waitstaff is kind and helpful. I mean, they keep tolerating our big groups of foreigners when we show up on a regular basis.  All in all, this is one of our favorite “spots” in Mokpo.

Sharky’s Bar and Grill

Review by Breanna Durham, ETA ’15-’16 City: Busan Restaurant Name: Sharky’s Bar and Grill Foods Served: Western Restaurant Address: Busan, Haeundae-gu, Jung-dong, 1123-1 2-19 View Map Directions:  Take the subway to Haeundae Station. The restaurant is a left on the beach’s boardwalk. It’s near the end of the beach and is one the second floor of the Gecko building. There should be a shark sign to guide you. It also has a large sign with its name. Cost:  around 15,000 won There were modern black top tables and black and red leather seats. The walls were exposed brick style. There was football playing on a flat screen. Canadian sports apparel hung from the bricks. Board games laid in the back for customers. This included cards against humanity, texas poker, connect four, chess, and a few other things. To order, you had to go upstairs and wait. But I made the mistake of waiting by the kitchen. A perky server was nice enough to take my order anyway and direct me upstairs. I ordered their steakburger. The server brought condiment bottles in a Lite Beer 6-pack paper carrier. The radio continually played pop and rock. But, it wasn’t annoyingly loud. The floor needed sweeping and some tables needed a small wipe off, but it was tidy otherwise. The staff could fluently speak English. They have the regular bar food that you’ll miss, with many different burgers being the most noticeable items. There was also Mexican dishes like quesadillas and pepper poppers. They have a grilled salmon guacamole burger [15.99] and a crispy chicken bacon burger [14.99] for those that don’t want to eat beef. The burger was good. It had real beef. The seasoning is a bit light, but is fine as long as you have toppings and condiments. I got tater tots as a side. They had actual olives on the salad, which came with the burger. It had light balsimic dressing. It took less than 30 minutes to get my food. It was a small taste of home.  

Infusion Staff Interview: Monica Heilman

Infusion has been blessed with some pretty amazing staff members this year, all of whom are really worth getting to know. To celebrate these talented and dedicated ETA’s, here starts a series of web exclusive interviews, giving you a snapshot into our passions and daily lives in Korea. Last weekend I sat down with Monica Heilman, a second year ETA in Busan, and staff editor for Infusion this year. We met at a coffee shop in the D-Cube mall at the Sindorim stop in Seoul. The shop was so packed with Saturday afternoon shoppers that we could barely find a couple stool spots in the far back corner, near windows overlooking the taxi-stacked street and open square outside. It was the kind of crowded where it takes you over a minute to figure out where you can leave your puffy winter coat so it’s not in the way. We ordered coffee and tea and began to chat.   Morgan: So first, tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from in the US? What did you study in college? Monica: I’m from Colorado Springs, Colorado, and I went to university at the University of Denver. I was actually born in Germany, because my dad was in the military and stationed there. How long did you live there? Only one year, so I don’t remember anything. My students last year–they wrote me goodbye letters, and they wrote a little in German but I was like, “I don’t understand any of it–sorry!” Haha it was nice of them to try… Yeah. I came to Korea straight after college. The reason I wanted to come to Korea is that my mom’s extended family is here. Actually this is the first time meeting all my family. It’s pretty surreal. I was here when I was younger, like two or three, but not since then. How has meeting your family formed a part of your experience here? I know that’s a huge question… Yeah it’s been really huge. (Actually I should write an Infusion piece about it…). Last year in Gimhae, my aunt came to my homestay, and I cried right away. She was really calm so I felt really embarrassed, but later I noticed she was dabbing at her eyes a little bit… I went to my grandparents’ after that and stayed with them for chuseok. That day, family members kept trickling in. It was just surreal, and hard to believe. I have a cousin who is my same age, and in Korea that is a big deal. People think, “oh you’re the same age! You can be really good friends!” So on chuseok I walked in and we both had a reaction like “oh, oh! It must be you!” I had heard a lot about her from my mom, but didn’t know her. So do you get to see her often? She lives in another city, Suncheon. I have three aunts in Korea. One is in Busan, one is in Suncheon, and one is in Seoul. And I have an uncle who is actually doing missionary work in India, so I still haven’t met him. But last year during winter break I spent a week with this cousin’s family, and hung out with them a lot. It was really hard to speak in honorifics. That’s one thing about being here–my Korean has improved a lot! One of the first things my grandpa said when he met me was, “oh, you really can’t speak Korean…” I could understand that – my understanding was pretty good – but speaking was hard. However just this last chuseok my grandma told me that my Korean is really good, so I really did improve! Recently I moved in with my aunt in Busan, and it’s been great. So tell me about your school. You are at a different school from last year…What have been some your best lessons, or most memorable students? Changing schools has been good, but a challenge. Last year I was getting a handle on what these students think and what motivates them, and now it’s all different. This year I am at an all-girls high school which is a little lower-level, but the classes are leveled which is really amazing. At first I found myself doing a lot of basic comparisons, like “oh this school has good technology,” or “students are more shy…” this and that. Last year I know my second semester I changed a lot and felt like I got so much better, and so I am hoping I feel the same this year. I really loved doing YDAC last year. We had five students to a team, and sometimes I wasn’t sure if we were going to make it, but we had so much fun going out, and meeting other students, and talking with other teachers. I really emphasized when I was recruiting students–”don’t feel like your English level has to be really high.” So we had a balance of some advanced students and some not. But at the end of the year, these were the students who wrote me letters and the note in German. So I loved your art submission last year, The Faces of Fulbright. What has it been like for you to do art in Korea? How has that changed or added to your experience here? I was really excited to find out more about Korean art. Last year I kept telling myself I should do more art, but I got really busy. But this year I have loved being in Busan because I can go out, and stumble into some random gallery without trying. I didn’t ever find an art class, which I might still try and do. But to be honest, I don’t feel like I have made real or substantial art here. Just still life sketching, doodling, or small things here and there.   Last year, when the Ferguson non-indictment came out I was upset about it, so I did a couple