Soul Food

What kind of dish do you know about Korean cuisine? Perhaps, most Japanese will associate it with “Yakiniku,” Korean-style of grilled beef. However, Koreans also eat a lot of vegetables at the same time. This is because they can take vegetables from various kinds of Kimchi. Kimchi is a soul food for Korean.



First of all, Kimchi is pickled or fermented vegetables and the name means pickles in Korean. This national dish is served at every Korean meal. Kimchi can be made from different kinds of vegetables like Chinese cabbage, cucumbers, radishes etc. Some varieties are aged for hours, other are for years. In addition, Kimuch is said to have many health benefits including antibiotics properties, neutralizing stomach acid, and prevention of high blood pressure.

In terms of the annual consumption, it is said to be about 30 kg per person. Why they can eat such the amount of Kimchi? I suppose it is possible to arrange as a basic seasoning. For instance, Kimchi-based soup or hot pot, even stir-fled rice or pork with Kimchi.


On the other hand, according to Korea Times, about 65% of young people don’t know how to make Kimchi. Furthermore, Chinese Kimchi is recently increasing in the market. Despite these current circumstances, Kimchi is necessary item for Korean and essential for Korean cuisine.

Before drinking...

Alcohol is good for your health or not.

There is a saying “Good wine makes good blood” which means “酒は百薬の長” in Japanese. As far as I’m concerned, this is a good excuse for alcohol drinkers including me. However, as we know, it has good and bad effects.

According to some research studies, a moderate alcohol intake is associated with less risk of a stroke because of declining in platelets. Alcohol is also said to raise HDL-cholesterol. In addition, drinking makes our body warm and reduces our stress.

On the other hand, heavy consumption of alcohol is bad for our body, especially for digestive systems. Furthermore, it causes high blood pressure and alcohol-induced thrombocytopenia. Finally, some people are addicted and make them feel depressed or become aggressive.

Drinking alcohol affects our health not only physically but also psychologically. Therefore, we should understand these both effects and drink moderately.

My Life as a Dog

When you feel everything doesn’t go well, what do you do?

Some people forget bad stuff after sleeping or drinking, but others suffer their bad luck and never get away from it. Which type of person are you and what do you do to change your mind? In such a case, I recommend you see the Swedish film called “Mitt liv som hund”, known as My Life as a Dog in English title.

A 12-year-old boy struggles with his life and feels that everything around him doesn’t go well. For instance, he has been bullied by his brother and has to live separately with his mom because of her illness. However, he always tries to think his life is definitely better than the life of Space dog named “Laika’, sent into space by satellite. The dog’s life is so miserable and just used for the examination. To compare with others is not the good way to solve the problem, but at least, we can realize that our life is not the worst.

Maybe, you will find something or learn from the boy’s philosophy.