HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Lunar New Year, or Seollal, is considered the most important holiday in Korea. This year, the start of the Lunar New Year fell on February 14, and teachers got a three day weekend. I couldn't find any festivals or events to attend, but I did notice that our area was VERY empty. Many establishments (including our favorite local Korean food restaurant) were closed for the three day weekend. I guess Seollal is more of a time to spend with your family.

It is also a time when gift sets are a popular gift. I have heard of people getting sets of toiletries, and my coworker received a set of packaged seaweed. This is the gift I received from my school principal:

Now, I don't mean to be ungrateful, but this is probably the most repulsive, nausea-inducing gift I have ever gotten. This set consists of 6 cans of Korean brand processed canned meat (SPAM), and 3 cans of another mystery meat. Anyone that knows me would NEVER buy me such a thing. Not only was I pescetarian for almost 10 years, but even when I have eaten meat, I always really disliked the taste of any meat from a pig (bacon, ham, pork, sausages, etc). So, I have decided to put these canned meats into the donation box outside my apartment. I'm sure someone will make some budae jjigae with them.