Pororo and kimchi

Happy New Year everyone~ or as Koreans say: 새해 복 많이 받으세요~ Saehae bok manhi badeuseyo, which literally means: a lot of luck/fortune in the new year.

I just realized that my last post was from the hospital, so I hope I didn't make anyone worried. I am still alive and I'm still in Korea. My health is still not at its best, but I am working on improving that. In fact, this is my New Year's resolution for 2016. Starting February I will try out a new diet. I don't mean the kind of diet to lose weight, but to eat healthier by eliminating unhealthy stuff and replacing them with healthier food. And that is why I need a  month to do some research and make a plan.

But I am not going to bore you with all this. Instead, I wanted to share with you something really cute about kimchi that I saw on TV a couple of days ago. I am sure you all know kimchi or have at least heard about it before. (But just in case you haven't: kimchi is a Korean fermented side dish made of vegetables - most commonly cabbage - and seasoning.) I think a post on how to make kimchi would be awesome, but I'll wait with that 'till next year when I go make it together with my boyfriend's mom and aunt. This time it's about Pororo and the health benefits of kimchi.

Korean TV, same as in most countries, has tons of programs, but mostly nothing to watch. Therefore, sometimes I end up watching some kids' programs, such as Secret Juju, Pororo, Larva or Black rubber shoes, which are probably my favorite Korean animations. Out of this Pororo is probably the most famous and the most popular among children. There are tons of Pororo merchandise to choose from and even our last Christmas cake was a Pororo cake.

Our Pororo Christmas cake

Pororo is this cute penguin wearing glasses that has many good friends. One of his friends, called Loopy, also happens to be a good cook and in this special program of Pororo, she tells us, how kimchi is really good for digestion. And kimchi really is good for digestion, because it is a great source of probiotics. I guess this is why Koreans try to teach their children from a very young age to eat kimchi. Kimchi comes as a side dish to pretty much every meal, but it can be a bit too spicy for children. However, it can also be added as an ingredient to other dishes, for example kimchi or chamchi jjigae (kimchi or tuna stew), bokkeumbap (fried rice), buchimgae (Korean style pancake) and many more and this way it doesn't taste too spicy. Kimchi buchimgae (kimchi pancake) is the one that also appears in the Pororo animation.

Let's just get right to it. I'll attach a link to both the English and the Korean version of it. Some of you might be learning Korean, so this could be a good practice for you. My mom and my sister were so excited about Korea when they visited in summer, that they both started learning the language as soon as they got back home. And to help them with their study I will include a transcript of the Korean version at the bottom of this post. Just ignore it, if you're not interested. ^^

English version

Korean version

Isn't this cute? So next time you can't make eunga (poo ^^) in the toilet, try eating some kimchi. ^^ Korea has so much delicious food, that something like this can easily happen. I remember this one time I went to Mr.Pizza with some friends and I ate way too much. I ended up tossing and turning all night, because I was so full. Just like Crong :D

My sister loved kimchi. And even though I've written about this before, she obviously forgot that Koreans usually share food. Especially side dishes. That means that the kimchi in the middle of the table is for everyone. Instead, my sister pulled the plate with kimchi to herself, thinking it came along with her bibimbap and ate the whole thing herself. Well to her defense, the lady working there really brought it to the table at the same time as her bibimbap. Anyway, it was kind of funny. ^^

Here's my sister with all the kimchi right in front of her, before she pulled it even closer :)

I think that's it for now. I wish you all a very healthy New Year. Try some delicious kimchi or at least eat some other types of veggies or some delicious fruit that is good for you~ ^^

**********

Transcript of the Korean version as promised:

뽀로로와 크롱이 에디의 집에 놀러 왔어요. Pororo and Crong came to hang out at Eddy's house.
짠! Ta-da.
이게 뭐야? What's this?
잘 봐~ Watch closely.
와! 피자잖아! It's a pizza!
우와~ 맛있어! wow, it's delicious!
뭐? 피자로봇을 빌려달라고? What? You want to borrow the pizza robot?
좋아! 대신 망가뜨리면 안돼. Okay. But don't break it.
어느덧 저녁이 됐어요. Just like that, it's now evening.
크롱. 하루 종일 피자만 먹으면 어떡해~ Crong, you've been eating pizza all day!
으휴.. Oh dear.
저런...응가가 나오지 않았어요. Oh my. There's nothing in the toilet.
어어...이게 무슨 소리지? Oh... what's that sound?
크롱, 잠 좀 자자! 제발! Crong, let me get some sleep! Please!
아침이 밝았어요. Morning has dawned.
얘들아 안녕? 응? Hi guys! Uh?
그런데 크롱이 아직도 응가를 누지 못했나 봐요. But it looks like Crong still hasn't been able to go to the bathroom.
무슨일 있었어? What's wrong?
어제 한 숨도 못 잤어. 크롱이 밤새 응가도 못 누고 끙끙대는 바람에.. I couldn't sleep a wink last night. Because Crong couldn't go to the bathroom all night.
정말? 괜찮아 크롱? Really? Are you okay, Crong?
아하~ 기름진 음식만 잔뜩 먹어서 변비에 걸렸구나? Ah, he's constipated because he ate too much greasy food.
어떡하지? What should we do?
김치를 먹으면 좋은데.. It would be good to eat some kimchi.
피자 말곤 딴 건 쳐다도 안 본다니까.. He won't eat anything except for pizza...
아! 내게 좋은 방법이 있지! Oh. I have a good idea.
요리조리 요리공주~ 루피~ 맛있는 요리, 영양 많은 조리! 요리조리 요리공주 루피~ Yummy yummy cooking princess Loopy.
오늘은 무슨 요리일까요? What is today's dish?
짜잔~ 이걸 먹어봐 크롱..... Ta'da~ try this, Crong!
어디.. Let's see.
오홋! 김치 맛이 나는 것 같은데~ Oh~ it kind of tastes like kimchi.
그건 바로, 김치부침개야. That's a kimchi pancake.
아! 크롱이 응가가 마렵나봐요~! Oh, it looks like Crong needs to go to the bathroom.
드디어 응가가 나왔군요! Finally something has come out.
잘됐어! You did it!
당장 로봇을 돌려주자고? You want to return the robot right away?
크롱과 친구들은 피자로봇을 가지고 에디의 집에 갔습니다. Crong and friends are took the pizza robot back to Eddy's house.
그러게 적당히 먹었어야지. You should have eaten in moderation.
당분간은 김치부침개를 먹게 하려고..  For now we're going to give him kimchi pancakes.
그래? 아! 그럼 이렇게 하는 건 어때? Really? Oh. Then what if we do this?
피자 로봇이 김치부침개 로봇으로 바뀌었네요. The pizza robot has been transformed into a kimchi pancake robot.
맛있겠다! It looks delicious!
먹어볼까? Let's try it.
크롱! 너 거기 서! Crong! Stop right there.
크롱이 김치부침개를 정말 좋아하는군요! It seem lpoks like Crong really likes kimchi pancakes.