Gmarket - Online Shopping

Ever heard of Ebay.com? Gmarket is his twin but lives in Korea..hehe. When I was in Malaysia, I did check out this portal and bought a hoodie and another shirt. The parcel + delivery costed roughly MYR140. What a let down, both ordered quality were sucks..seriously. I bet I'd rather buy it from a bundle shop at Uptown Danau Kota.

However, my love affair with Gmarket didn't stop at that point. I ordered a winter jacket which was only 15,900 won and sent to Jinbu address(where I stay now). Unfortunately this time, I forgot to check its shoulder size properly and fall prey to my own wrongdoing. The jacket's was 37cm while my shoulder slants towards the giant shrek size - 42cm..hehe. Yeah, I'm a big bone giant! ^^ So, I gave it to Haein. This is totally my own fault. No question asked. But........ the color of the jacket was not near to similar color at all. I ordered dark brown but I received lighter brown..sheeshh. That's why I have told myself before never to buy things online! Why Zarina..why didn't you listen to yourself??!!

The point is..online shopping could be cheap but still...don't follow my path. Buy clothes IF AND ONLY IF you could see the color, feel the material, try it on and like an 'ahjumma' ask for discount..hehe.

Never the least, if you want to have a taste how Gmarket is, head over to its English site and if you are articulate in Korean, click on here.

Gmarket strong points:

• you can order kpop items and korean quirky fashion items - they are so pretty!
• delivery is fast - domestic one or two days, international - around 1 week
• you could pay via PAYPAL/credit card
• my advice - only buy the NOW hot item for better deal
• quality of the material is good but all depends to the seller
• gmarket has hugeeeeeeeeeeee stock - ranging from clothes to makeup to food lalalala..you name it

WARNING No 1: The site is heavy on flash, you may need higher RAM PC and for me it's best to view with Internet Explorer.

WARNING No 2: The price could be very cheap and you will be tempted. Don't tell me I didn't warn you on this! ^_^

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Islam in Korea

Assalamualaikum or (السلام عليكم) in arabic means peace be upon you. This is a greeting by Muslim as how Korean greet anyong haseyo (안녕하세요).

When I returned to Malaysia back in December 2009, I was asked by the man sitting next to me in the plane - "Why do you come to Korea? There's no mosque (masjid) in Korea right?" and he continued asking me bunch of questions about Islam and Muslim community in Korea. Among the most ridiculous questions that I received from Koreans while in Korea was "Are you on missionary?"

My hijab (tudung/scarf on my head) give away too much doesn't it? People are scared to approach me because of it and skeptical to accept me as another normal human being just because how Islam has been exposed to the world by the news on local television. This happened much in rural area where I went to for Wwoofing.

I answered solemnly that I wasn't on missionary. Why should I? hehehe...I'm not like those christian missionary in Myeongdong, ok? ^^ I told them I fell in love with Korean language, culture, history, the food and the friendly people. Period.

I know that I will be bombarded with a lot of questions about Islam and stuff but who cares...I love being in Korea!! ^^ Many of my Muslim friends disregard the idea of visiting non-Muslim country like Korea because it is hard to find Halal food. Frankly, we gonna miss out a lot (if only because of Halal food) especially on how beautiful Korea can be and the historical palaces are too awesome not to visit them!!

Arirang has a clip on Jeonju Islamic community here.

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Hwagwaja - 화과자 by Paris Baguette

My memory card reader broke last week and not until yesterday that a very kind man from Yongin (Nandida's friend) bought it for me along with a pack of 화과자. I once told him that I love eating Korean rice cake but he couldn't get hold of one yesterday and gave me 화과자 instead.

This was my first time eating 화과자 and it reminded me so much of Japanese desserts - wagashi.





These are some excerpts taken from Arirang about 화과자 :

Hwagwaja is a delicious dessert made from rice in Korea. Hwagwajas have been one of Korea's favorite desserts since the 1960's and has become a popular Chuseok (Korea's Thanksgiving Holiday) gift. The luxurious desserts were served in palaces and enjoyed by royalty.

According to Lee Hee-gyeong, L Department Store] ''Hwagwaja are soft rice cakes made from glutinous rice. There are 6~7 different types of fillings. The four seasons are the theme of the decorations.''

Hwagwaja originated in Japan and were first introduced to Korea in 1910. The colorful decorations are based on the four seasons. The beautiful desserts have become popular gifts for the holidays once again. The delicate decorations are done by hand.

''There are chestnut and peach shapes. Hwagwaja are decorated differently according to the season and can be made into different shapes.'' Hwagwaja must be delivered the day they are made. They're delivered in half a day to southern provinces and in 3 hours in Seoul.

Freshness is the number one rule. Making fast deliveries is just as important as making the hwagwaja. ''It tastes like pumpkin and it's very chewy.''

For me, sweet desserts are like blessing here in Jinbu because we rarely consume sugar. I'm becoming sugarless but never will I be slimmer. ^^

Paris Baguette sells 20 pieces for 16,000 won.

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Learn Korean: Arirang TV

Arirang TV has a VOD (Video on Demand) section for Let's Learn Korean. I had this one subscribed about 2 years back but simply due to the hallyu wave. Last week, yet again because of hallyu, I logged in albeit forgetting my id and password. I am so surprised that you could easily start speaking Korean if you watch this 10-minutes lesson video, even for a beginner like me.

They have Season 3 and the latest season 5 on the site. Season 5 engaged a few foreigners on the show to play Korean language games. Currently besides my ol' conventional by the book study, I definitely will listen to Arirang Let's Speak Korean at least 3 VOD lessons per day.

The hosts Lisa Kelley and Kim Young are awesome!!

Head over to the site and subscribe. It's FREE ^^

Lets succumb to learning once again. As Jo Kwon said in MBC - We Got Married - " No Pain, No Again " Ooopss...hehe. Gain.

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