My 5th Newsletter

5th Newsletter and Some of Korean foods

Author

Jong Hee Kim
March 06, 2024

Hello there

(My 5th newsletter to you 💐 )

This is your A.thentic Jong Hee 🌺

How was your day? Are you at home or at work?

🤔..?

..??

What is it? Don’t worry. I will tell you later in this newsletter. 😊

Finally, March has arrived here in Korea, signaling that spring is just around the corner.🌼 Meanwhile, some of you might have a different season. Is it almost autumn there?🍁🍂

Currently, in early March, Busan has temperatures ranging from 3 to 10 degrees Celsius, with Seoul being slightly colder than Busan.🧊

It's still quite cold, isn't it?

We call this period 꽃샘 추위, or 'the last cold snap.' It means the cold is jealous of blooming flowers. It’s about 7-10 days long. So, next week should be much warmer here, and I can see the flowers starting to bloom, especially the ‘cherry blossom trees’ around at the end of March. 🌸🌸

(As I mentioned in my previous Instagram post, I'd walk around the cherry blossom trees roads all night long. I won’t come back home once I go out to see the trees.)(Am I..? Or joking..?)🤔

In the video below, you can see what the cherry blossoms look like when Korea reaches the peak of spring.🌸🌸

Enjoy it if you haven’t watched it yet.

 

Okay, now, as I showed up there and also mentioned on my Story in IG, I will tell you what it is. 

Some of my Indian followers said it is their food, and one from Turkey said it’s their food. But it is Korean foods, called '꽈배기' (Ggwabaegi, meaning Twisted doughnut) and '팥도너츠' (Pat Donut, meaning 'Red bean-filled donut').(By the way, I want to taste your food too! It also must be so good)

Ggwabaegi

Ggwabaegi

Pat Donut

Most people enjoy Ggwabaegi with sugar coating, but I prefer mine without sugar, and it still tastes delicious to me.🙃

Ggwabaegi

Ggwabaegi(Inside)

Pat Donut(Inside)

As shown in the photo above, there's nothing inside the twisted doughnut, and the pat doughnut contains red beans.

And this is the shop where I bought them, and I made a video showing what it looks like. I also tore it open to show you the inside.

Watch this shorts video. If you can’t see it, let me know.

And do you remember the noodle post in my story? I said that I really like it. 

It’s called “Pat kalguksu”

Pat kalguksu

Pat kalguksu with Kimchi

But why does it look so dark? Because the color is from the main ingredient of grain. Can you guess what it is? 

It’s “Red Bean”!

Do you remember the red bean shaved ice, and red bean hot porridge in my previous newsletter? 

Now, you can guess why I like that noodle? Yes, I like the Red bean, a lot!

The red bean shaved ice and red bean hot porridge are sweet food but the noodle is not sweet at all. But I like the smell of the red bean in that noodle. 

You know that it is important for food to have not only a nice taste but also a good smell in order to be considered good. 🍯🍲🍚🥘🍔

We have so many foods, bakery, and desserts made of red bean. : Red bean bread, red bean desserts, red bean snacks, red bean noodle, red bean meal, red bean ice cream, red bean cookies….etc. 

I loved the red bean since I was a kid. But I also love to watch my health, (I don’t smoke, and I don’t drink, except for summer season), so I try not to eat sweet food so often.

So these foods, and other desserts give us the pleasure with guilty. But how could I refuse that when I really need it? 

When I get depressed, I have three ways to relieve it:

  • Going to a cafe and having a cup of coffee (I also go to a cafe when I'm in a good mood).

  • Reading a book or watching a drama in bed.

  • Eating sweet desserts.

But when I get depressed after writing or playing a deep emotional piano piece, I have nothing to do... Sometimes it takes me a week to get over it...

What do you do when you experience this emotional depression? You can reply here. I read all of your reply mails, even though I can't respond to all of them.📝✍️

Okay, now let me talk about the backstory of my songs, “Complicated” and “Secret Wish”. Actually, I'm actually writing a deeper story inspired by the motifs of these songs.

My song : “Complicated” 

My Song : “Secret Wish”

When I first wrote these songs, I couldn't even imagine that I would create a story based on them. But I also enjoy the writing works anyway. 

(After I finish writing this, I'm not sure how it will be shared, but I'm confident that if this story is paired with my music I will create, it will make both my music and my story much more enjoyable.)

But, one tiny concern is the matter of time. I mostly spend my time producing new music.🎹🎼 I wish I had more time so that I could write more and faster.✍️💻

But if you have patience, I can promise to finish them one by one with your support.💖

Okay, that’s it for now, and have a nice March.🌸🌼

Thank you for reading. 🧡

I will see you next time!

Thank you🌹 

Best

Jong (A.thentic Jong Hee) ☕️