Avoid Shopping before the Lunar New Year....

The market was crowded more than usual because everyone was prepping for their big New Year meal next Monday... I can usually avoid getting bumped but there was no avoiding it today! If there is a clog of people they just literally push their way through... As I was picking out what to buy I kept getting bumped in the back! Aigoo.

Next to the stall where I buy 반찬 (Side dishes) there is a "doughnut" stall. I naively thought there was a line... PSH. An 아주마 walked up behind me and yelled out her order and got her order before me. GAH. You have to be aggressive when coming here. I didn't know what was what, so I needed some time to figure things out, but I was slightly peeved that she budged in front of me... (Ended up buying 1 veggie doughnut and a red bean doughtnut-the doughnut is more like a fried stuffed bun.. MMMMmmmmm)

If its like this for the New Year then Chuseok (추석) must be 10x worse...!!!! The Lunar New Year seems to be a bigger occasion than January 1st. All the stores have more gift set displays... and everyone is selling baby/kid hanboks. [Note: According to Korean tradition you have the actual day that you are born but you actually turn a year older on New Years day (via the lunar calendar). And a baby's first birthday (hence the baby hanboks) as well as a person's 60th birthday are the big milestones.]

You can also buy...


^ Pig's Feet... You can buy them pre-cooked. They are really popular to eat.


^Random HUGE pumpkins