Hello everyone.  Robyn, Grigsby and I continue to be busy exploring all Korea has to offer.  Grigsby, in particular, gets so much attention when he’s out in Seoul that he wants to go out for walks all the time.  As for me, I attended the 2014 Seoul Kimchi Making & Sharing Festival on Friday.  After a nice luncheon with Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, I was fortunate enough to learn from kimchi master Kim Soon-ja.  She was seated next to me in traditional clothing and told me the history of kimchi and the proper way to make it.  I was incredibly impressed not only by Master Kim Soon-ja’s culinary skills, but also her business acumen.  I learned a great deal from Master Kim.    
Since I love spicy food, it was all I could do not to eat the kimchi while we were preparing it!  In general, there were many enthusiastic people having a fun time there. I made some new friends, including actor Kim Ho-jin and actress Kim Ji-young.

Friday evening, I changed out of my kimchi making clothes and into a tux for the Marine Ball.  The United States Marine Corps Birthday is celebrated every November, with a traditional ball and cake-cutting ceremony.  I have great respect for the Marine Corps, having served closely with them when I was an officer in the U.S. Navy.  As Ambassador, I know that diplomats worldwide would be unable to perform their duties without the Marines who protect them.  Marine security guards are currently posted at embassies and consulates in 137 countries – many in the roughest neighborhoods in the world.  Here in Korea, there has been amazing collaboration between the U.S. Marines and their ROK Marine brothers.  This has grown and developed over the years and further deepened the connection between our two countries.  Naturally, the other nice part of the evening was enjoying an elegant night with my wife, Robyn.

I knew when coming here that one of the best parts of the job was going to be the food, as I had eaten Korean food many times before coming to Seoul – most recently in Annandale, Virginia (right outside of Washington D.C.) as part of Korean language studies.  I have made a commitment to try as many different Korean foods as I can.  This means that I also need to keep working out so that I don’t end up gaining too much extra weight.   (The good news is that I joined a local gym here and had an excellent workout on Sunday afternoon – lifting weights!)  It is so interesting to me in Seoul, the fusion that goes on with Korean food.  Korean food is influencing other foods regionally and globally.  At the same time, although the traditional foods remain in place, new creative dishes are being created with outside influences here also, making for delicious results.

Finally, yesterday Robyn and I had a chance to visit the Seoul Lantern Festival.  It was amazing to see Changdeok Palace’s Injeongjeon Hall, Korean traditional musical instruments, and Admiral Yi’s turtle ship rendered in Korean traditional paper and lit up on the Cheonggyecheon.  If you stop by the festival, please check out our Embassy’s Statue of Liberty lantern!

I was delighted that many of you made comments on my previous blog, and I look forward to responding soon.  I’m studying Korean as much as my schedule allows and reading your posts is good practice for me.  Thank you for your suggestions.  Robyn, Grigsby and I look forward to more interaction and insights from you.