Little Seoulster

Exploring Korean-American Heritage & Interculturalism

Why are Surgical Face Masks Common in Asian Countries?

Why Surgical Face Masks Are Common in Asian CountriesGerms are everywhere

Being the mother of a toddler, I’m bombarded with germs all the time. Every week there’s some kid who has hand, foot, and mouth disease at school, or some sort-of stomach virus is going around at the gym’s childcare. And of course, it’s flu season so there’s that to contend with.

What’s a germophobic mom to do? Well, I have a stock of face masks at the ready all the time, not just flu season.

I 💗 face masks! And apparently so do Asian countries (which is where I got the idea from).

So why are surgical face masks common in Asian countries?

[Read more…]

A Story From a Korean-American Childhood – “Recondensed Condensed Soup”

A Story from a Korean-American Childhood - Recondensed Condensed SoupA Story from a Korean-American Childhood – “Recondensed Mushroom Soup”

I think we all know that it’s common for immigrant parents to have to leave their children unattended at home while they work all day and sometimes night. In fact, you don’t have to have had immigrant parents for this to happen. In this day and age, a dual income household is not only commonplace but a necessity.

My family was no different. My parents worked most of the day, most days of the week. They left my older sister, Eonni (older sister of a girl in Korean), in charge, as is the case for older siblings in these situations.

But that’s where the problem started

[Read more…]

How to Make Hotteok (Korean Sweet Pancakes) with a delicious twist

How to Make Hotteok (Korean Sweet Pancakes) with a Twist

How to Make Hotteok (Korean Sweet Pancakes)How to Make Hotteok  호떡 (Korean Sweet Pancakes)

It’s getting cold outside! And that means hot chocolate and other comfort foods! Mm…I love this time of year, don’t you?!

The sweet smell of hotteok is wafts all around in Seoul in the winter. But you don’t have to be in Korea to enjoy this delicious treat!

Below is my recipe for hotteok with apple. Traditionally, hotteok has brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts. But I thought it’d be great to put a twist on that and make sort-of an apple pie. (Plus, I didn’t have any nuts!) [Read more…]

Gift Guide for Korean Themed Books for Kids

Gift Guide for Korean-Themed Books for Kids (1)

Gift Guide for Korean-Themed Books for KidsGift Guide for Korean Themed Books for Kids

Having a toddler of my own, I’ve always been on the lookout for good kids literature for him. I’ve especially been on the hunt for Korean themed books in order to introduce him to his Korean heritage.

I remember, when I was a kid, my mother giving me beautifully illustrated Korean folktale books that were all in Korean. It motivated me to learn to read the Korean words so that I could understand what was going on in the story. This was a lot more fun than sitting down and being forced to memorize letters and words. Knowing Korean became a tool to get where I wanted to go, which was to understand the book. As opposed to learning Korean just for the sake of learning it. That may be fine for adults, but not enough of a motivator for children.

These are the very best of Korean themed books I’ve found. No, they’re not all in Korean. But they do celebrate Korean culture in some way. And they are sure to please any reader…including adults! 😉 [Read more…]