The Year of the Pig

It's almost another New Year in Korea - this one celebrates the year of the pig.
The year of the pig is an auspicious occasion since (according to my favorite website Wikipedia) it is associated with fertility and virility. To bear children in the year of the pig is considered very fortunate, for they will be happy and honest.

To help kick off the celebrations at school we had a full day of cooking traditional Korean cookies, playing traditional Korean games and practicing the ever-important bow (which the children will perform for their grandparents in hopes of receiving some good ol' hard cash).
The students wore their beautiful Hanboks for the day - each decorated elaborately with elegant designs and ribbons.

As a gift from my boss, I received a giant box of apples - hmmm....I remember the days when we used to receive a bottle of wine - but I can only assume since cold-season has arrived in full force this year, they opted for a healthier option. Still wonderful.
Although I am not sure what I am going to do to eat 25 apples - as I have mentioned before, I don't have an oven. Any ideas for stove-top apple recipes are welcome.

I will be celebrating the New Year beginning over some drinks tonight with friends and then tomorrow I will be catching the bus down south to Busan to spend the weekend with my friend Helen, who will be moving to Poland in a few months.
It's wonderful to live in a country where I get to celebrate New Years twice!!

So Happy New Year to everyone !!!
-especially to Jon's coworkers, who I am told are following my blog religiously - Hilary that means you!!

새해 복 많이 받으세요 ( Sae Hae Bok Man Yi Bat Eu Sae Yo)

Enjoy the pics below

Colleen