I had a radio interview with TBS fm for the program MTown found online at:http://tbsefm.seoul.kr
Sue Park is the host and, it so happens, she also interviewed me for KBS World. I like her interview style, so was happy to be asked for another interview with her. While Oliver slept in the car, I entered the TBS studios with Dahin and Ronan, and gave Sue a call to let her know I was there. A couple of celebrities walked right past us as we waited in the lobby for her to come get us (TBS has two radio stations--one English-language and one Korean, and a television station). The place is pretty heavily guarded; no one gets past security if they don't know you. MTown is a music program during which Sue plays music requests. Once a week she hosts a guest in a segment called "Guest House" and I am this week's guest. Normally, it's live radio, but I can't make it to Thursday night's time slot since I have a dinner planned with some fellow ethnomusicologists. So, we recorded it, but did the program in 'real time' as if it were live radio. I got to play a couple of songs by some neo-traditional (for lack of a better word) artists that I thought might fit the demographic personality of the radio listeners. Above, the kids are so excited (really) to be exposed to the world of radio broadcasting. Anyway, they patiently waited for the 30 minute interview to end. Below, Sue, 'shy Ronan', and I pose for a photo.
After the interview, we met Jack and Oliver in Myeongdong, the busy shopping district near the TBS building, and decided on Chinese for dinner. Hoping for San Francisco-style Chinese, I was a bit disappointed. But, it was still good and the atmosphere of the restaurant was great--jazz playing in the background, servers smartly dressed in Chinese-style clothes, and a busy vibe. Like most eating establishments in Korea, it was very kid-friendly. The kids were adored for just being their goofy selves.
Right by the front window, people were continually making potstickers. They looked and smelled amazing.
Dahin was a little offended that she was handed a fork. She said, "Hey, I know how to use chopsticks," but then she reasoned that "kids in China probably use forks when they eat, too." Glad she inherited my frenetic sense of reason--one minute this, the next minute that....The prawns in mayonaise sauce were pretty good. I had really been hoping for my absolute favorite, walnut prawns (lightly fried shrimp served with candied walnuts and tossed in a mayonaise sauce), but this is what we got. Oh well. Guess we have to visit San Francisco sometime to eat the food I am craving. Like Chinese food in the U.S. is Americanized, in Korea it is Koreanized to satisfy Korean tastes. It's nothing like the food I grew to love in the Bay Area (which, as well, differs from the kind and quality of Chinese food you get in other parts of the U.S.). At the same time, it was unusual to see this prawn dish on the menu (which is why I had high hopes) since most Chinese places here serve primarily jjambbong (spicy seafood soup), jjajjangmyeon (noodles in a black bean/pork sauce), and tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork)--the sweet and sour, as well, is very different from what is served in the U.S. I've grown to appreciate it for what it is, but it still does not FEEL like I am eating Chinese food (as I've come to know it).
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