The Portrait of Sejong

The biggest note in Korean currency is for 10,000 won. Some people call it Baechuip (cabbage leaf) because it has a green color. Baechuip is the main ingredient of Kimchi.

The portrait of Sejong, the great ruler of the Joseon era and the inventor of Hunminjeongeum (Korean Alphabet) is depicted on the front side.

He was a king respected by people from all generations in Korea because he invented our own language which we proudly use. Also, who wouldn’t like to have the biggest bill which he is on?
No realistic portraits of Sejong remain so his portrait has been drawn on the note by inference from old books that describe him. It could be anyone's portrait. The note mentions that he lived from 1397 to 1450.

Is he happy on the green leaf? It has been said that he wouldn’t eat if there is no meat in the meal. He wasn’t a vegetarian. In fact, I have never looked at his portrait carefully so far. While writing this article, I looked carefully this time. He appears to have a slight smile. I think that he enjoys green on the 10,000 won note.

Atrix

I have used a few kinds of hand cream.
I think that Atrix is the best hand cream. The price and the quality are both good.

Remember to wash your hands: you will avoid colds.

cleaning day

It is cleaning day for my laptop.

I bought this computer brush last December in Seoul. It is very useful for cleaning the keyboard and the computer monitor: just brush a little and my laptop is shining.

How easy to clean the computer!

singing clay dolls

We can encounter singing clay dolls everywhere at Toam Ceramic Park.
Toam Seo Taweon, whose pen name is Toam, made all of them. We call a clay doll ‘Tou’.
He describes his Tous like this.

“I don’t want to hear, so I have no ears.
I don’t want to think so I have an empty head.
I will just sing a song. “

He was diagnosed with cancer in 1997. He rejected treatment and surgery, but fights against cancer in his own way, making these Tous. He expressesd his mind through the singing Tous with no-mind Tous without ears, empty Tous.

I found a green smiling Tou among them. It has stood on the same spot for a long time, and has become part of nature. Its face is covered by green moss. It still sings with a green smile.

Walking

Walking is becoming a popular exercise among Koreans. If you go to a playground at a public school after dinner, you’ll see people walking along the jogging track.
I often walk on the walking trail at the side of Gwanganri Beach with my mother. Previously, it was paved with concrete. Last summer, the district office resurfaced the walking track with urethane which provides a level, shock-absorbing surface conducive to walking and running. People love to walk on this track. No pets, cycling or rollerblading is allowed on the track.

What do you wear when you go for a walk?
I saw ladies who were wearing black sweat pants, black long sleeve shirts, and white cotton gloves with a black umbrella in their hand, walking on the beach when I visited Fukuoka, Japan, last summer. I do not know what kind of effect they get from dressing like that when they walk. I can see here walking ladies who are covered from their head to toe. They are wearing a cap which also covers their eyes, big masks, thin long towels or scarves for their necks, long sleeve shirts, long pants and sneakers. It is women's war against ultraviolet radiation. Sometimes, it looks ugly and funny.
I like to wear simple, light and comfortable clothes, but I never forget to put on suncream.

How long should you walk at once for exercise?
I read in a magazine that 45 minutes' fast walking on unpaved ground every day is conducive to a healthy life.
Fast walking is the point.
If I walk along the walking trail once, it takes about 20 minutes. Some people walk the trail 2 or 3 times. I am easily tired of the same route so I am trying to discover a new one for my walking exercise.

I think that walking with dumbbells accelerates the exercise effect. Walking is Fun!!

Dark Green Bomb

What does it look like? Doesn’t it look like a bomb?
It is a seedless watermelon which doesn’t have stripes on the skin.
I bought it because the clerk said that it is sweeter than regular watermelon. There were yellow watermelons, too. I was curious about the taste of this unusual fruit. The taste wasn’t much sweater than I expected. I will buy a regular watermelon which has white stripes on the skin and seeds in it next time.

I have seen a long shaped watermelon in the USA, but Most of watermelons are round like a soccer ball in Korea.

Do you know how to choose a watermelon?

Follow these tips to pick the best watermelon available.

1. Look the watermelon over, choose a firm, symmetrical watermelon that is free of bruises, cuts and dents and the color of stripes on the skin is clear and bold.
2. Lift it up – the watermelon should be heavy for its size. Watermelon is 92% water, which accounts for most of its weight.
3. Turn it over – on the underside of the watermelon there should be a creamy yellow spot from where it sat on the ground and ripened in the sun.

A watermelon juice is the best cool drink in the hot summer. Have a cool summer !!

Cardigan

I like to wear a cardigan. It is light and comfortable. I can go to formal or informal places wearing it.

I have this 7-year-old light green color cardigan.
Its fabric is thin and it has two small pockets for decoration on the bottom which I hardly ever put things in them. It fits a little tightly on me and shows my body line. It has a light green suede trim on the top of the pocket and on the buttonhole row.
I wear a green turtleneck shirt under it in winter and a sleeveless top in summer. It matches well with any color such as green, black or dark blue.
I thought it was a little too colorful at first but as it is getting older with me, we get along together well.

I wear my ID card necklace inside the cardigan at work otherwise the ID card dances around with my movement. That's another reason I like to wear the cardigan.

3.5 inch diskette

It won’t be long until we find 3.5 inch diskettes in an antique shop. I hardly use them these days. My laptop doesn’t even have an A drive for a 3.5 inch disc.
The 5.25 inch diskette was replaced by the 3.5 inch, and then the 3.5 was replaced by the small memory stick.
Things change and improve their quality fast in the IT world. I found this green 3.5 inch diskette which had been set aside on my desk.

Green

Green is my favorite color.