Melody Nelson in Seoul

Birkin is very popular in Korea. I mean the Hermes bag, not the young lady who, following Grace Kelly, lost her last name to the French luxury brand. Note that the Kelly's design recently fell into the public domain, thus the series of 'homage'-knockoffs from all rival manufacturers.

Jane Birkin is very popular in France. As a singer, as an actress, as a mother*, as a very positive character who, even 40 years after crossing the Channel, speaks French with the cutest / most extreme accent, and as Serge Gainsbourg's muse during some of his most ambitious and creative years ('Histoire de Melody Nelson', 'L'Homme a Tete de Chou'...). Who cares if 'her' bag falls into public domain (I guess that would be around the 2030s)?

Serge Gainsbourg is the Picasso of French music: a despicable, abusive womanizer who stole ideas from masters of all horizons and periods, but also a creative genius who set the pace for decades and claimed the XXth century in his field**. Jazz, reggae, rap... Gainsbourg scored massive hits in every single musical genre. But over the past 20 years, he's been chatting with Maupassant or Sartre in Cimetiere de Montparnasse. And last time I saw him, about 3 weeks ago, his place looked as messy as his trademark three day stubble. Only Jim Morrison's tomb could rival for the devotion of fans, but that one's in Pere Lachaise (along with Oscar Wilde's, the constant target of... lipstick kisses).

These days, Jane Birking is singing Serge Gainsbourg across the Asia-Pacific region, and she will perform only one night in Seoul. The opportunity to (re)discover some of Serge's greatest songs, and Jane's unique way of almost wispering them.

Jane Birkin Sings Serge Gainsbourg (concert)
2012/03/22 - 8PM
AX-KOREA (ax-korea.co.kr): 319-33 Gwangjang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul / Tel: +82.2.457.5114
Tickets : Interpark code 12002423

주최: ㈜씨쓰리엔터테인먼트 주관: ㈜아이디어랩 문의: 02-6339-1232



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*(among others) Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon
** even if, again, I prefer Bacon and Bourgeois to Don Pablo

Chataigne - A Table Bis (Seoul)

20 years ago, driving across Samcheong-dong by night meant following a dark road dotted with only a few lights - a quiet neighborhood with just a couple of shops and restaurants (rather close to the Gyeongbokgung), and maybe a mom and pop store before the last stretch to the tunnel. I won't say Samcheongdong-gil has turned into Las Veghanok's Strip but the change is radical: neons, shops and fancy eateries...

... And now this. Haechi, Seoul City's mascot, painted on US-style fire hydrants. I know Japanese tourists love the area but is this Gahoe-dong or Kawaii-dong?

That's it for my hypocrite Rant of the Day.

Because as you may know, even if I often criticize the extinction of friendly neighborhood Korean restaurants, I happen to enjoy some ov'em "fancy eateries".

Take Palpan-dong, for instance. That's a neighborhood just off main street, before the Prime Minister's residence when you come from downtown. Palpan-gil recently followed the boboization of Samcheong-dong, and is now lined with small fashion boutiques and cafes, preferably with a Frenchoid name. It all started with a tiny restaurant called 'A Table'. The owners opened 'A Table Bis' just around the corner, a bistrot which makes us Frogs feel just like home, in some nice little provincial restaurant (pommes de terre Sarladaise would be even better with the confit de canard, but that's probably because I've got too strong ties with Perigord Noir...).

This small alley has been hosting a second French restaurant for quite a while: facing the two-storey 'A Table Bis', 'Chataigne' proposes a more upscale menu (table d'hote) in a cute re-hanokized house seating no more than 12 people*. A well serviced place, but no pretensions, and a very kind Chef, who masters fine emulsions and sauces (delicious yam and snails). Merging dishes #3 and 4 (before today's main dishes: rainbow trout or ribeye) could make an even stronger statement, but that's not the positioning. What you enjoy is a soothing moment at a reasonable price.

Chataigne / 샤테뉴 (restaurant)
130-3 Palpan-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, ROK
Tel: +82.2.736.5385

A Table Bis (restaurant)
100-2 Palpan-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, ROK
Tel: +82.2.736.1049

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* an army on Bien Etre's scale (see "Bien Etre (Seoul)")

Seoul Village on YouTube

If you think Seoul Village is a messy website, you haven't visited the YouTube page yet.

I might, some day, do something about it. Until then, I'll probably pile up more sounds and silences, exhibitions and demonstrations, walks and rides... unedited, random bits of Seoul:



And I might even, by the end of this millenium, do something about the thousands of pictures of Korea I took over the past 20 years.

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Twelve Minutes in Bballi-Bballiland

Between 8:34 and 8:46 on February 9, 2012, the Gori-1 reactor of KEPCO's Kori Nuclear Plant lost power, a first for the national nuclear industry (operational since 1978). More embarrassing: it took 12 minutes to realize that the back-up system didn't work either, the kind of details that could lead to a meltdown. And the reactor was under a safety inspection, which theoretically means under close scrutiny...

Twelve minutes, that's about the time it took for South Korean guns to retaliate following the shelling of Yeonpyeong-do by North Korea, in late 2010, because they were pointing in the wrong direction during ROK navy drills*.

I've already mentioned the unpreparedness of South Korea regarding blitz attacks from the North**, but the Kori incident confirms serious risk management issues in strategic fields. In the land of 'bballi bballi', some long term vision might also help.

Kori, or Gori, or more accurately Go-ri, Jangan-eup, Gijang-gun, lies within Busan Gwangyeoksi limits, a.k.a. Busan Metropolitan City, 3 million souls. You lucky you, here's the map***:


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* see "We need to talk about KIM". Note that the Obama administration dissuaded SK from carrying a larger counter-attack. Considering the precision of the shots, that was probably a sound call.
** see "Korean blitz : all bases loaded"
*** on the Eastern shores, as usual (see my post-fukushimesque "Shaken and stirred")

Ieodo: I smell a fish

Long time no Ieodo claims from China!

For the Dokdo-esque fight between Korea and China over this obscure underwater territory known as Suyan Rock in Beijing, see "Korea on the rocks part II". Since Ieodo is underwater, it cannot be seen on a map*, but I positioned it (supposedly 32.122953, 125.182447) on Seoul Village map:

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The revival of such claims doesn't come as a surprise: Chinese fishing boats have recently tested South Korean nerves, the ongoing crisis culminating last December, when a Chinese fisherman stabbed a Korean coast guard to death. China has also been flexing its navy muscles across the globe, patrolling the seas with brand new fleets.

Just like with Japan and Dokdo, nationalism and politics are only part of the show: it's also about territorial waters and fishing zones, and China's catching up with its neighbors in fish and meat consumption... So skirmishes and provocations are bound to multiply.

Note that on the other side of the peninsula, Korea claimed a symbolic victory last month, when French publisher Larousse decided to switch for a balanced label to designate the body of water separating Korea from Japan: "Sea of Japan" now only appears in parentheses after the actual name, "East Sea"**.

Brace up for Ieodoisms, folks: fancy documentaries about rare planctons roaming the area? daily weather reports? 'Ieodo is Korean' bumper stickers?... you name it!

Be quick: someone may rename it.

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* even if Koreans planted a Korean Ieodo Ocean Research Station to mark the territory, without waiting for a verdict from global warming.
** "French Encyclopedia Publisher Adopts 'East Sea' Denomination" (Chosun Ilbo, February 20, 2012)

Res2go (Seoul)

Hungry for tasty meat, tired of high end restaurants and ready for good junk, but not in your usual fast food joint? (hang on a sec, I'm drooling right now, just thinking about Burger King's garlic burger - there) How about fusion Japan-Korean-Californian at Res2go?

As the name hints, you can pick up your dose at Res2go, but the place is also very comfortable, particularly at their Itaewon branch, a perfect spot for a power brunch, with its large windows facing West (Noksapyeongdae-ro and Yongsan Army Base). The decor? Hypey / happy design, just retro enough: half sixties for the colors, half nineties for the typo (you know, the cute web sites which made you feel like clicking on every icon?). Pure marketing, of course, but much more comfortable and less aggressive than - say - Golden Arches & Co.

Teriyaki, yakisoba, great LA Galbi, all kinds of meats (beef, pork, chicken, combos, salads), in Californian portions. Taste-and-price-wise, a smarter choice than your usual chain of family restaurant.

Res2go Itaewon / 레스투고 (fusion Japan-Korean-Californian)
Itaewon branch: 559 Itaewon-2-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, ROK
Tel: +82.2.749.9297
Apgujeong branch: 636-9 Shinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, ROK
Tel: +82.2.6080.7543

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Photo: Res2go

Bien Etre (Seoul)

A priori:
- my idea of "bien-etre" ('well being' for us froggies) is certainly not the Dosandae-ro / Yeongdongdae-ro intersection, a pack of tangled highways where Yeongdong Bridge and Olympicdae-ro also meet.
- and when I think "top restaurant", the first image summoned into mind is not one single, tiny room with only 2 basic tables of four, the restrooms in the next building, at the feet of tall appartment blocks next to the above mentioned noodle mess*.

But a posteriori: Bien-Etre fully deserves its name, and it's much more than just a top restaurant.

To start with, I don't mind sharing a tiny room with a Cordon Bleu chef when he's cooking. PARK Min-jae worked with Pierre Gagnaire and ran Le Carre in Apgujeong-dong. Here, the Master is not in some distant kitchen, ruling over an army of assistants: he's preparing every single amuse bouche for you, as if if were for a close relative, and you can experience the finest meal with the full show on the plate (and the palate), but sans the boring decorum that usually comes with it. The ultimate table d'hote for a happy few, a festival from the entrees to the souffle**. Every bite makes some Bien to your Etre.

In Paris, the 'neo-bistro' trend also puts food first under the motto small is beautiful, but this is probably the World's Plus Petit Grand Restaurant.

Needless to say, you have to book in advance for this not so hidden gem (Bien-Etre's reputation already crossed many borders).

Bien Etre / 비앙 에트르 (restaurant)
130 Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, ROK
Tel: +82.2.543.3288

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* I know it sounds a little bit too Dickensian for such an expensive neighborhood (Cheongdam-dong), but come on, there are nicer surroundings in Seoul. And I'm the biased, "Gangbuk" kind of Seoulite (make that "Gangcheon", for 'north of Seoul's original waterway, Cheonggyecheon').
** a la vanille, le souffle. Perfect taste, temperature, and texture. I loved it. But if you want me to melt down, cook me a good souffle au fromage.

2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit

One year after the tsunami that triggered the Fukushima Daichi incident, and 16 month after the G20 Summit*, Korea will host the World's top heads of state and nuclear security experts at the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit**.

The event reaches beyond Non Proliferation Treaty signees but of course, neither North Korea nor Iran will attend (they already 'missed' the first edition - 2010 Washington Nuclear Security Summit). And of course, both will nonetheless manage to appear center stage.

At the top of the agenda (beyond Kim The Third and Ahmadinejad, that is):
- cooperative measures to combat the threat of nuclear terrorism
- protection of nuclear materials and related facilities
- prevention of illicit trafficking of nuclear materials

Threats are not limited to ill prepared facilities or 'Rogue States': nuclear materials are more than ever a prime target for terrorist groups, and even friendly countries collaborating with the IAEA are at risk (typically, Washington trusts Islamabad up to a certain point only). The presence of the INTERPOL tells a lot about the will to cooperate at a more operational level.

I bet they won't even allow one poktanju*** to detonate within a 50-mile radius during the conference.


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*see "G20 Seoul Summit 2010"
**2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Symposium (March 23)
2012 Seoul Nuclear Industry Summit (March 23-24)
***Korea's most proliferating WMDs: the infamous A and H bombs made with soju and beer or whisky