Gift Sets Gone Wild! How to Make Floor Cushions from Recycled Gift Bags

Gift sets galore!

This weekend, families all over Korea are preparing for the upcoming Chuseok (추석) holiday, or Korean Thanksgiving Day. Chuseok is celebrated according to the lunar calendar, falling on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month and this year Chuseok will take place on September 30th. Families will travel to their hometowns to give thanks to their parents and the spirits of their ancestors and celebrate the fall harvest with a bounty of food and fun.

Gift-giving is a big part of the celebration, and so the popularity of gift sets rises at this time of year. Food sets, ranging from cooking oil to tinned goods such as Spam are popular since they remind the recipient to eat well during this holiday of plenty. Other practical gifts such as toothpaste or shampoo sets are also popular. Regardless of the contents, each gift set comes attractively packed in a cardboard box encased in a matching gift bag. If you're lucky enough to receive a gift set (or ten!) you may be wondering what to do with all of that extra packaging and where to seat the guests who've come to your home bearing these lovely gifts.

Seomyeon's In Tractor: Kitsch in the Kitchen

I found one of my favourite restaurants in Busan by chance. Some friends and I were walking around the trendy area of Seomyeon looking for a bite to eat and not having any luck finding what we wanted. Luckily we bumped into a Korean acquaintance who knew exactly what we were looking for. He led us to In Tractor Pasta & Grill, and that's when my love affair with the restaurant began.

Seomyeon Style: Saturday Night in Busan

A woman hammers a nail into a wooden block, trying to win a prize

If you live in South Korea, and if you and your love are wandering about Busan at loss for something to do this Saturday night, I recommend that you grab your better half and head to city centre for a date night in Seomyeon. The commercial hub of Busan, Seomyeon is home to the hip and energetic people that make this seaside city so great. With trendy shops and clubs lining the streets and stylish youth crowding the sidewalks, Seomyeon makes for a fun evening out, with plenty to see and do.