New Neighbors

Click to enlarge!

There's not ONE but TWO new businesses which have joined the little shopping area where I work. I work in a two story building -- some people call it mini-malls or whatever, but it's the kind of structure that is frequently visible in Koreatown. Most are two stories, and there's a congregation of little stores, usually one being a cafe, and another being a videostore, and a restaurant or two. The building I work, has two cafes, four restaurants, one cell phone store (me!), one video store, one manhwa-bang (a place to read and rent comic/manga books), and two clothing stores, and a few others as well.

Some stores just don't stay. And it's always the same spots that the tenants leave. While some have stayed for as long as I've known the business (my store has been where it's currently at for 15 years) and some stay less than a year. Regardless of how long a tenant actually stays, they all pass around dduk -- sort of a Korean rice cake. Delicious. We get a plate of it passed around at least once a year because at least one business has closed and another has opened. Today, we got two plates of dduk because two new businesses opened and became our neighbors. Above is an actual photo of the plate of dduk we received (minus a few round ones that I ate prior to taking a photo of it).

Another oddity of the day was that a customer gave an odd gift. A lot of people are very thankful for the service we provide, and often give us money (the best!) and other gifts. Some bring lovely bits of pastry, some bring a box of juice/beverages, and little things like that. Well, today, one customer decided to bring us -- can you guess? -- soju. Three bottles of soju.

I was kind of puzzled as to why this man would bring soju for me -- it really isn't a sign of gratitude! But then I was revealed the deeper meaning behind the green bottles. It was soju from Korea. Now, most of you are thinking, "isn't soju already Korean?" Well, yes, it is. But apparently, soju sold in the US are manufactured in the US, and taste very different from the soju that is made in Korea, even if it is the same brand. Then I recalled how some of my friends would go home to Korea and bring back little packs of soju (called pack-soju -- they come in little cubic cartons like some of the juices here), because they insisted that the soju tasted different.

It was weird leaving work with a bottle of soju in my hand. It made me appear as though I were an alcoholic and I just couldn't wait to hit the bottle! Well, I brought it home now, and while I'm just enjoying some beer for today, I will taste the soju and give a thorough review on the comparison between soju from Korea and soju from the US.

Of course, now you realize, that the amount of hits I get from the search word "soju" will now double. =)

Actually written:08:00-ish PM November 12, 2004 (Internet connection down again!)