its been a while so id thougth id repost about one of the more interesting living situations i had.
>be me, gookanon
>have to move out of apt
>plan to move in new place with a friend who bails after he gets a good job offer
>have a few weeks before needing to leave
>stumble on a room listing in front of korean grocery store
>last ditch resort
>go check it out, seems fine,lady tells me the adults in the basement (3 of them, one couple and one solo man) are moving out in a month or so and she'll be targeting younger boarders like me
>move in, things are fine for a month
>one day wake up because stomping around in living room
>loud yelling from shriveled up man, probably in his 60s but has dark tanned raisin-esque skin
>speaking in harsh country dialect so i cant understand
>just say hi and introduce myself cant figure out who he is
>text lady im renting from who it is
>he's the homeowner
>divides half his time at this house and half at another house a few states away
tbc
Its been a while so id thougth id repost about one of the more interesting living situations i had
>i ask why the fuck she didnt tell me this to begin with
>just says she didnt know he'd be coming back and apologizes
>whatever he is out most of the day and leaves every few days/weeks for long periods of time anways
>eventually meet other boarders at the house despite spending most of my time in my room
>couple downstairs are like 70 yo and it makes me really depressed to think a man and woman married and that age cant afford their own place and live like this
>solo man, ill call him serf from now on, is around 50, my dad's age, and seems friendly enough
>figure he works with homeowner who does shit with powerlines and electricity
>has a lot of bulbs and power shit at home but i dont mind
>one day hear yelling from living room
>disturbing sound of grown mans voice full of tears and pathetic quailing begging another person
>starts talking about how he has nowhere else to go and how he'll be better
>begging for a chance
>this goes on for 10 minutes
>the homeowner is screaming at serf to get the fuck out at first but ends up just yellng curse words from time to time as the begging continues
>i dont want to listen but cant stop desu its most interesting thing hapening in my life at the time
tbc
>another long period of time passes and have home to myself until winter time
>once in a while homeowner bangs on my door and tells me to come out to eat/drink something
>usually just simple korean food and a ton of soju
>im usually bombed by myself in my room so i usually just keep quiet until he gives up but once in a while i go out for free food and just nod while he talks
>its winter time and we get a load of snow
>be sure to stock up on beer beforehand so im set for the next day or two
>knock knock
>fuck its him again
>tells me to come out, he has pic rel for me and him
>i love it and havent had homemade food in ages so i thank him and eat/drink together
>serf is tending the pot
>we sit down and he serves us big bowls with tons of chicken
>is about to go down but homeowner tells him to come eat
>man lights up and starts saying shit like 'haha well a man's gotta eat to be a man, what a snowday what a snowday'
>he gets mostly soup with a tiny bit of chicken
>homeowner talks about how he needs to fill up after clearing the snow
>later i look outside and see everythings been cleared
>the driveway, the path, everything
>guess it was around 6 hours of work for a single man
tbc
>figure out form conversation while eating that serf also walked to a nearby korean mart for the chicken and ingredients
>8-9 inches of snow and about 20 minute in good weather
>jesus christ
>forget what happens to spark this but the two start arguing
>homeowner starts calling serf a bastard, a dogturd, all these horrible fucking words in kroean
>mfw this comes out of nowhere and i have no idea what to do
>pretty drunk a this point so i just sit there and stare at my bowl and listen
>serf makes to go back down but homeowner tells him to get his ass up and to do the dishes
>i say to both of them not to worry and that ill do it for such a good meal hoping this will smooth things over somewhat
>homeowner tells me thats its okay and that i never need to do dishes in this house anymore that that dogturd will take care of it all
>most uncomfortable ive ever been
>just go to my room after placing my bowl in the sink and say thanks for the meal
there was a lot going on and its wierd how i didnt think it was that fucked up a situation until after i moved out
long series of greentexts but i always thought it was interesting.but fucked up for sure. one more coming to copy and paste form a past thread
>homeowner comes in one day while im in kitchen and starts yelling about what a bitch she is
>just wide eye stare at him not sure how to respond
>eventually translate his words and deduce he means the lady im renting from
>tells me not to pay her anything until further notice
>she is renting from him and i am subletting from her
>i have a contract so i still feel like i need to pay her or she can tack on late fees or something
>always meet her at a cafe so i can give her rent and she buys me coffee
>just assumed she was being nice but 3 months in i wondered why she stopped coming to the house
>she also promised housecleaners who never came and the old people in basement never left
>always come up with excuses and tells me next month next month
>w/e rent is cheap and i need a home so i just gloss over it
>eventually find out she hasnt paid homeowner around half a year in rent and i start giving my money directly to him
>he cuts rent by 100 so im happy
>she starts texting me asking for rent money and i first ignore them astounded how brazen she is
>she texts me she will take me to court or some bullshit and i finally text her to just fuck off and grow up and that i feel bad for her daughters to have such a shitty parent before blocking her
saw her husband a few times randomly in the area and i always just shake my head at him sine he was in on it too
final part of the saga. what a world we live in
oops here's the dish i was talking about. dak-doritang. spicy chicken with potatoes and carrots
bump, ama if you want to know any more
Did you ever get drafted into the south korean army? What's it like?
nah i moved to the states when i was very young and got my greencard shortly after. been naturalized for years now so no worry of being drafted thankfully
I just want to establish a base understanding of this whole situation, since it was a long greentext. Tell me if any of this is incorrect:
>Guy's gf/ex-wife rents from him, and fails to pay.
>Guy deals with shitty Serf and non-paying woman all the time and appreciates you for not being overly confrontational and paying on time.
This is about right, correct? On another note, post cool Korean stuff or pics of the home.
sorry should have put it better. they were not related in any way, the woman had her own family and was renting from this older man. but yea he was really nice to me and i found out that he hated the serf and wanted to kick him out because he was stealing money from him lol. i dont have pics of the home but here's a pic from my favorite spot when i was teaching there for a year ages ago
Is it true that a lot of Koreans have plastic surgery?
many do. most of the plastic surgeries are just double eyelid surgeries which i dont count as being too bad but thats probably because i grew up with the culture. there are plenty of ugly koreans, ugly koreans who did plastic surgery and look fake, but i know a lot of attractive koreans as well
>sorry should have put it better.
No worries, I appreciate you sharing your story. If you have anything else you would like to share, please do.
>Meal and soju with Korean man
That looks like fun. I'm sure some aspects of living there were stressful, but being a white NEET with no social circle to speak of, it sounds interesting to be absorbed into elements of another country and experiencing how they like to socialize. I've heard Koreans really enjoy their meals, particularly barbecue. I don't have a lot of experience with their cuisine, but I've had Korean BBQ and made my own kimchi. I've never felt very connected to any social entities, so I've sometimes wondered which groups might be more in line with my temperament and interests.
>my favorite spot when i was teaching there for a year ages ago
So were you teaching in Korea, or is this in the US or some other country?
>made my own kimchi
thats fucking awesome, how was it? did you folow a recipe online? im actually korean myself so even though im pretty americanized i still dont consider it another country anymore after leaning the language and culture a bit. i was teaching in korea, in a tiny little town for a year. it was pretty great but i was young and more sociable and down to drink. about the housing situation im thinking... after a few months the landlord started getting mail from i think the HOA or something similar that told him he couldnt conduct business on his property. he had work trucks and shit parked in his driveway and i think he was supposed to either clear off or pay a fine of like 1000dollars a day. he never did though so i assume he just paid the fine and said fuck you. didnt seem like he had much money but i guess you never know
>thats fucking awesome, how was it? did you folow a recipe online?
You know, it turned out pretty decent. I did look up a few recipes, but had to use whatever ingredients I could find locally (so no gochujang, but I used things like red pepper powder and cayenne). I suppose I adapted my own recipe. I still have some, and can take some pictures if you'd like. It was my first time ever making a fermented food. I wish I had a colorant like beet juice to give more color to the food, but it came out pleasantly spiced and with a nice flavor profile to add to my meals.
I made fermented garlic cloves after that, and they've had maybe 1.5 months or more to ferment thus far. Nice flavor profile, with a light amount of sourness and a touch of bitterness that goes well as a small side piece when having something like a piece of toast. I still have plenty of both of these items, and they've only improved with age. I've been wondering what to make next. I'd like to make foods with notable health benefits, which is why I tried making the fermented garlic. I think Korean and Japanese cooking would offer a lot of pleasant foods to introduce into my diet.
>i was teaching in korea, in a tiny little town for a year.
Korea always seems like a society of hardworking people. I wonder if the smaller towns are any more relaxed. Furthermore, I wonder if the people of that society would feel inclined to hanging out with reserved Americans or not. I know Japanese tend to be more isolatory and inclined to smaller social groups due to historical isolationism, but I don't know about the social dispositions of Koreans.
jesus fuck, what a story user
good luck i guess, idk
food looks tasty
i would love to see a picture! please share user. how did you ferment the garlic cloves? ive done them in some basedsauce mixture before and that was pretty good.
>I wonder if the people of that society would feel inclined to hanging out with reserved Americans or not
back then americans and foreigners were still pretty new to korea so you would have likely had more attention then but even now its not a very common sight, especially outside of seoul. i know there are a lot of comments online about how korea is super materialistic and cold and while that is true, there is also a sense of loyalty and camaraderie for friends. i think korea takes pride in their culture and wants to share it with foreigners. my program was for younger people but i remember even the shyest and most reserved of my new american friends had a fun time meeting locals
yeah it was pretty interesting. i spent most of that year and a half or so drunk so i didnt think much of it but looking back damn
here's a story about my time teaching in korea
>was in a small town
>elementary school had 20 kids total from K-6
>feel homesick eventually
>one day get off bus from school and a random grandma asks if im new
>tell her im from america and she exclaims how far from home i am
>tells me to follow her
>takes me to her house
>cooks me a simple but delicious korean countryside meal
>tastes perfect, just like how my mom and grandma would cook
>keeps apologizing for not having any meat dishes and i tell her it tastes incredible
>tells me her husband passed away a while back and all the rest of her family is in seoul
>finish up and thank her for the meal
>she tells me to wait a sec and hands me a bag
>its green scallion kimchi
>tells me to enjoy it and to come back whenever i want a home cooked meal
>hold my tears on the way home
god bless that old woman. unforunately i didnt pay attention to the road and never remembered where she lived. also all the grandmas looked the same so i never knew who to say hi to lol.
>how did you ferment the garlic cloves?
I peeled the garlic gloves individually, making sure not to cut or crush them as to preserve the alliin so I can get the full benefits of the allicin it creates when crushed or chopped. Then, I placed them in a boiled jar (to remove any possible bacteria) and filled it with apple cider vinegar. I added some chopped green onion and a few herbs and spices for kicks, gave it a bit of gentle shaking, and sealed it off. Not sure if I added extra salt or not, but the ACV acted just like a regular distilled water + salt brine anyway, so it wouldn't matter either way (extra benefits from the ACV too). I had someone open the lid daily for the first week to avoid any initial pressurization issues that might cause juice to leak out the top. I'll include pics of both of these foods in a moment, going to take fresh pictures for you since my new phone has a better camera.
sounds great, cant wait to see the pics user
Here is a picture of the kimchi. Had to resize the image to fit the data limit.
hey the coloring looks great! have you tried making kimchi fried rice or kimchi jjigae with it?
Kimchi went along for several months now. These are my fermented garlic cloves, which are closing in on around two months. You may notice that they are now slightly green, and that the liquid is as well. This is a common reaction with fermenting garlic. If I recall, it's a reaction from the amino acids.
>hey the coloring looks great!
Thank you. I was concerned that it didn't turn out right, since I always thought kimchi was of a redder or pinkish tint. I'm unsure if I should make kimchi again, but if I do, I'd really like to have all the proper ingredients. I think I had everything from minced garlic to fish sauce, just no gochujang.
>have you tried making kimchi fried rice or kimchi jjigae with it?
I haven't used it in any dedicated rice dishes, but I think it could go well in jiigae. I wonder if it would still be pleasant when it's not as spicy as some other kimchi I've had. The flavor profile is fairly acidic and potent though, so it probably wouldn't be too bad. I'd probably add a lot of minced garlic and black pepper so it would become quite powerful and thrilling.
That sounds nice. I don't think I've ever had such care from a stranger in my life. I hope you carry that memory with you warmly for a long time.
do you go on /ck/ at all? and i think gochujang is not used in most kimchis, its mostly the red pepper powder you mentioned so you might just need to add more. and adding more to jjigaes is also all thats needed to give it a kick and color! i would advise against black pepper though, ive tried it before as im a huge fan but it just didnt fit the flavors right imo. thank you user for your kind words but i hope you can feel the same kind of stranger kindness one day. this conversation with you has been a highlight of my month desu. i post here often but its not often i get to enjoy reading posts from someone who has shit to share and shares it with a warm heart
>do you go on /ck/ at all?
I've gone on /ck/ a few times. I've posted maybe once or twice, but I don't think there was much interest in my plates. Maybe a "wtf" or two. So, in the end, I just archive pictures of my food and custom creations, and keep them to myself. I guess they're more interested in 'za posting and food gore.
>Gochujang, black pepper
I'm surprised to hear that gochujang isn't used often, since many recipes I saw mentioned it. Might just be a case of "lost in translation". I'm wondering if I can make a jiigae without tofu, since I don't eat it very often, and it is more costly than similar alternatives (such as egg whites). I'd be especially interested in more fermented foods. Maybe I'll put the jiigae to a rainy day.
>this conversation with you has been a highlight of my month desu.
Likewise, thank you for sharing part of yourself with me. I appreciate when a poster calmly presents a detailed, interesting personal life experience and is willing to compound on their posts. I'm pleased to have been able to bring something of value to the day of someone like that. Also,
>Tfw a Korean says my attempt at a Korean recipe looks solid.
I enjoyed your story user. Do you really think serf was stealing from the homeowner?
im not a kimchi expert but i helped my mother with it ages ago and we never used gochujang, i guess it all comes down to family recipes but yeah as long as you up the dosage on the red pepper flakes you should be fine. you cna make jjigae without tofu bt i would advise you to add some pork belly or pork butt as well as some onions to fill it out a bit then! thank you again for your posts user. i hope i run into you again in the future
yeah i heard from the older man downstairs that he was caught stealing. i think he was caught trying to cash a check at a bank for a few thou lol. or they had cameras installed into the landlords room and caught him doing it. he had such a heavy accent all i rememeber understanding was camera and bank and check
That sucks. I just wanted to pop in and say I enjoyed the thread and everyone being civil. That's not something you see every day.
thanks for the bump user. it was a really wierd living situation but it served my needs. im also very glad everyone itt is so kind and i had a great time talking with everyone. if only every thread on r9k was like this
Wish my homeowner was this based.
Atleast hes reliable and fixes everything that breaks fast.
yea honestly he was great to me and great as a homeowner. when i moved out my room was a fucking wreck because i had a cat and never vacuumed since i had a dirnking problem. i told him id come back after i moved everyhitng out and clean it all up but he told me it was okay. i remember i walked in to give him the last of my rent, which he only told me to give 100 for 2weeks and he and he serf were scrubbing my room down like madmen lol. i offered to help but he told me to move on and to hold on to my money. fuck he was based
best of luck to all you anons who talked to me itt. thank you again and good night
somehow this was a pretty comfy slice of life
despite it being kind of unwholesome
I can just read you being a robot and it's comforting
yeah it was a pretty bizarre step in my life and something ill rememeber forever.. life can be very beautiful and strange
okay one last final bump to my odd story