The Domain

The domain name hanguksonyeo.com is really just 2 words – hanguk (한국) and sonyeo (소녀). Hanguk means Korea while Sonyeo means Girl. So there you have it – hanguk sonyeo (한국 소녀). However, I have to say that I don’t think that I am the typical Korean girl, since, to begin with, I was neither born nor raised in Korea (and by Korea, I mean South Korea). I had been moving to various parts of the world, depending on where my dad’s job takes him to. I do, however, make it a point to return to South Korea, mostly Seoul, every now and then to visit friends and some distant relatives. When I do go back, I usually make it an effort to blend in, but my accent often results in people asking me if I were from the north (as in North Korea). Duh…

What I Like

Music – I like music, maybe because I am really bad at it and secretly strive to be good at it. While I can’t really speak Mandarin, I have heaps of friends who do speak Mandarin and love Karaoke, and so I had, somewhat, managed to memorise lyrics of Chinese songs so that I could croon with them (^.^) That said, I had been part of an awesome a cappella group for about 5 years and had been singing in choirs every now and then. Most recently I sang in Soprano with a particular medical orchestra, which included pieces like Ode an die Freude (“Ode To Joy” aka “Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee”), Bohemian Rhapsody and various pieces from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musicals including Phantom of the Opera, Evita and Cats. While these pieces are impressive, I sang really softly so that no one would realise I sang out of tune 😉

Travelling – Who doesn’t like to? I mean, I am sure there are some who really detest travelling, but I do love to move around and experience different cultures and food. I either try to save up really hard to go somewhere, or I work really hard at getting travel grants for conferences. Places that I have been to so far include Australia (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane), parts of Asia (Indonesia [Bintan, Batam], East and West Malaysia [Sarawak, Johor, Kuala Lumpur/Selangor], Brunei [Bandar Sri Begawan], Singapore, Thailand [Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai], India [Hydrabad], China [Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen], Taiwan [Taipei, Taichung, Tainan], Hong Kong, South Korea [duh!]), parts of the United States of America (San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles) and Canada (Vancouver). I hope to visit other parts of Canada and Europe one day though 🙂

Food – Food! I am not a food connoisseur but I do give honest feedback about what’s good and what’s not. Do follow me on Instagram to see what’s my latest craze with food! I often do enjoy street food along – not only because they are usually cheaper but they are often authentic and are what the people in the city eat. I am however, not particularly adventurous and so you’ll probably not find wormy stuff in my Instagram. I’ll leave that to the real food connoisseurs!

Photography – To be honest, I suck at it. I mean, I think I can take decent photographs, but don’t expect anything award-winning from me any time soon. I particularly like take photographs of scenery, landscapes and buildings, food and… selfies! I mean, who can resist a good selfie? Or wefie? Of course, the keyword here is “good”. If it is not good, it goes through Meitu; and if it is still not good, it goes to the bin 😉

Make-up – I didn’t really put on make-up till I was 21 – and that was because I realised that everyone around me all have make-up on, and the already-average-looking me just look horrible amongst the roses. I think the city that made me most conscious of my looks is Korea because everyone look so good there! In fact, I have had to put on make-up just to look average while I am in Korea. That said, I have now gained just a little more insight to make-up and make-up tips, with Jen from From Head To Toe to thank 🙂 That was quite a mouthful! 😛

What This Blog Is About

Well, I used to blog. Furiously. And then I stopped because I needed to write my exams for entry into University. And then I spent heaps of time trying to pass my exams. I am now at a point of my life where I think I can spend some time writing about my journey and life experiences without this affecting my studies. So, I hope you will join me in my humble journey.

Contacting Me

The best way to contact me is via the “Contact” form. I check my email frequently enough to reply within a day or two; unless I am travelling – then it will take a little more time for me to settle down and get Internet access. If it is something urgent, the form is also the best way to contact me. If you are contacting me to return me my lost wallet, watch, phone, laptop, bag, then… hmmm, I think there is an “Urgent” button somewhere on the form 🙂

Acknowledgements

Not everything on this blog belongs to me since it is practically impossible for me to own heaps of videos and song lyrics and recipes (if and when I cook). Hence, I would like to acknowledge the websites from which I have gotten these material (and hopefully these websites would acknowledge the respective copyright holders):

Videos – YouTube, YouKu
Lyrics – A to Z PinYin Lyrics Database