Hayjangook

My favourite Korean food so far is Hayjangook. I've heard somewhere that the direct English translation is "Sunrise Soup," and with good reason. Ever gone looking for a miracle hangover cure? This is it. It's amazing. Eaten the morning after, or even the last thing the night before, it cures whatever ails you. It's so ridiculously spicy, you sweat any toxins out of your system. I think the spice comes from the chillis, but all the other ingredients are what make it so delicious- the cabbage, scallions, onions, and the pig vertebrae. That's really my favourite bit of the soup experience- picking the meat off the bone and uncovering lumps of hog spine. They're really fatty, but it's nice fat, and good amounts of it too. I'm pretty sure there's blood in it too, but don't quote me on that. Serve it up with a bowl of rice and a bit of Kimchi on the side, and you're laughing.



I had two helpings of Hayjangook this week. One was Sunday morning, to right myself before going to play with the orphans- more on that in a moment. The place is usually packed at seven in the morning, but it was almost as full at one in the afternoon. The other was Monday afternoon, part of our tradition of Hayjangook Mondays. Myself and my co-worker Melvin go after work every week to discuss, and recover from, the events of the previous weekend. I really love this tradition, in particular cause I get to eat this delicious soup!
Saturday night we were out 'til all hours, welcoming Maire to Daegu. I know her from the TEFL course we did last summer- funny now that a third of that class are in the same city in Korea. I needed my hangover soup the next morning, because we had an appointment to go and volunteer in a local orphanage at two o'clock. We started off playing with girls aged between four and ten, and then moved downstairs to play soccer with the boys. The kids themselves were adorable, so much fun. I couldn't understand a word they said, but I can be silly in any language! I think they really enjoyed it, and while I can't really understand the myriad of complicated reasons they are there, I know that it's important for kids to play with, and to get attention from adults. I don't mean to imply that they are neglected- far from it, they have loads of toys, and seem to be treated really well. But even though we were only there for three hours, I really feel they enjoyed our prescence. I'd love to be able to post up photos of the little cuties, but the workers there have been quite specific that photos shouldn't find their way to the internet, so I'll have to respect their wishes.