Cycle 5 – Item 28

2 (Sun) February 2014

Sure, Why Not, The Beef This Time

2.5

on Korean Air – Flight KE 649

-Incheon en route to Manila-

solo

1st Home Visit (Day 4)

In transit, back to Manila.  Spent the Lunar New Year holiday with the family, the first time home since leaving for Manila earlier this month.

• • Day 1 (5.025 Tangsu Yuk)
  • Day 2 (5.026 Modeum)
  • Day 3 (5.027 Ddeok Guk)
  • Day 4 (5.028 Sure, Why Not, The Beef This Time)

All too quickly, the visit came to an end.  87 hours after getting off the plane, I was back on it.  But I got the most out of the short time, not a minute wasted, spending every last moment with my family.

LUNCH

As per pre-flight SOP, I had mul naeng myeon for lunch, at Pyongyang Myeonok.

DINNER 1

At the airport, I got to the gate 10 minutes after the scheduled boarding time, which I usually do.  I don’t understood why people go there so early and then stand in line; the seats are prearranged, and the plane won’t takeoff without the entire manifest accounted for, so what’s the rush?  I thought that I’d gone to wrong gate, because it was mostly empty, except a few airline staff.  Turned out that the other passengers, all 22 of them, had already boarded.  Each of us got a personal row, a whole section of rows.

DINNER 2

Another unanticipated benefit, ten minutes after I’d finished my meal, a flight attendant came by pushing a cart filled with untouched meal trays and offered as many as I wanted.  Not that I really wanted more food – not from Korean Air, which consistently serves crap, at least in coach – but the offer was a rare opportunity to compare between the two given meal options.  Whatever I choose, I usually regret the decision and wonder what the other would’ve been like.  In this case, the second was indeed way better.

ENTERTAINMENT

During the flight, on my computer, I watched Millennium: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  Thinking that I’d downloaded the American remake – ashamedly, I do watch pirated content on occasion, but only when I can’t pay for it legitimately – I discovered that it was the original Swedish version.  Inspired by Number One Swedish Fan GK, who’s made such an enormous and sustained effort to embrace Korean culture, I gave it a shot.

Not only did I enjoy the movie, being totally my kind of movie, I found a lot of personal connections to my daily life, except the bad thing that the bad guy does.

(See also MUL NAENG MYEON)

(See also KSCX)

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)