G Global Aviation Ansan 2011 Airshow

G Global Aviation 2011 Airshow in Ansan 5 - 10 May 2011.

If you are in the area the show will still be on Monday and Tuesday so if you can get down there and have a look.

I think the best way to get there is by going to Jungang station line 4 and simply take a taxi (around 5,000 won). If you say "airshow" to the driver I am sure they will know what you mean :)

Entry was 4,000 won for an adult.

Web link for those interested :)

http://english.skyexpo.or.kr/

So the day started of cloudy and it looked like it might rain but the clouds melted away around lunchtime just in time for the aerobatic displays.

There were a lot of different stands for toys and food and some interesting things.

The highlight for me was the Apache and Cobra helicopters. A little disappointed that there were no jets like the T-50 trainer or the F 15K but I guess you cant have it all :)

Amongst the planes there were my friends from the Seoul Motor Show again with a dozen or so cars:

The Korean military was there as well as the Americans with their Humvee's and the Apache:

The aerobatic displays started around 1pm and here is some footage of those and there was also a parachute drop of which you can see some pictures at the end of this post:

The best display of the afternoon was this guy who really turned it on for the crowd:

Every time you go to an airshow you think of all the times you have seen things on the tv of disasters and people being hit by falling aircraft and mid air crashes and the like... it's always in the back of your mind but you never really expect to see one..... until....

I have no idea how this happened. I had left that area about 10 minutes before and I was just around the corner having a cold drink when I saw people running so of course I followed them. It seems that only the pilot was hurt which to me was amazing because the crash occurred just on the very edge of the recreation and eating area. This is the little orange Aeromaster you saw flying in one of the clips above. No one was too overly excited about it in the end and after they put out the engine fire and took the pilot away in an ambulance they simply covered up the wreckage. Shortly after this I decided to go home and take the long subway trip back.

*Updated* Here is a link to a news article about the crash sent to me by Willminkorea <--- Thank you:

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/05/117_86641.html

Have a look at my photo slideshow here for some more pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61323032@N02/sets/72157626546490761/show

Well until next week... have a happy and fun time!

Sungha Jung & Han Chae Dang Traditional Korean Restaurant

(2/2) Ok, so 2 of 2 for this weeks update.

Thursday was a trip to a traditional Korean restaurant not too far from where I live... well not too far by car anyway.

The dishes were very Korean with cooked whole fish and various side dishes typical of the traditional meal. There were no large dishes and a lot of the dishes were cold. I have eaten traditional Korean food before and personally I do prefer the modern Korean restaurants as the dishes are slightly more appetising... well for me as a foreigner anyway.

Here are some pictures so you get the idea:

Saturday was the Sungha Jung concert. If you have never heard of this guy bare with me and I will fill you in a little later. The concert was phenomenal in terms of the guitar skill displayed. Sungha Jung is still quite young and It seems he is also getting used to a bit of fame as he awkwardly leaves and returnes to the stage for his 2 encores but that just adds to his character and the audience was more than pleased.

For one of his final numbers he played a rendition of waltzing Matilda and prior to that Mission Impossible. So in all it was a fun concert for all.

Here is a link to his page and youtube account:

http://www.sunghajung.com/home

http://www.youtube.com/user/jwcfree?blend=1&ob=5

From the actual concert:

On a random side note I discovered these the other day purely by chance and thought it would be a bit of a laugh to share them with you:

Watch how proficient this death star gunner or "imperial gunner" is on that calculator :)

Here is a link to more info on them and another picturing all of these variants:

http://swmerchandise.wikia.com/wiki/Uzay

http://theswca.com/images-speci/yglesias/uzay.html

Have a good week and see you next time! :)

Buying Gold and Silver in South Korea *Update* Komsco

(1/2) Ok, so this week I will be posting twice, once specifically for my silver purchase from Komsco and another for my general goings on for the week.

So after some playing around with internet transfers on Monday (It seems that there are several security features or hoops you have to jump through to transfer monies here like a specific file that needs to be downloaded to your PC to verify that you are you and so on...but this is another story perhaps for later) I managed with some help to purchase some silver coins from Komsco (the link I have posted in a previous blog entry http://www.koreamint.com/index.jsp). I was lucky that thay were having an, what I assume to be, end of run sale so I managed to get the coins for less than originally listed. The other thing I noticed that soon after I placed the order these coins were withdrawn from their site and only the full 8 coin display set can still be purchased at 600,000 won (as at 1 May 2011).

Delivery was free as the total purchase was over (if I remember correctly 30,000 won) and I received them 2 days after purchase in a box 2 to a bubble wrap bag.

So to get into specifics:

The coins are stamped Ag999 on the back with the Komsco logo...

They come with a pamphlet describing what the coins means in English and Korean with a certificate of authenticity on the inside cover...

The coins can be removed from the cardboard cover and are set in a fabric and wood display mount from which the coin itself can be removed.

There are 8 coins in the set, each with a different animal or mythological being etched onto it:

Now if you read Korean you may have noticed on the certificate that the material is translated to Sterling Silver. What is the difference you ask... well here is a link but I will also explain it simply:

http://www.ehow.com/facts_4899976_difference-between-silver-sterling-silver.html

Basically pure silver is 99.9%

Sterling Silver is 92.5% pure silver with another metal (e.g. nickel, zinc or copper) added for strength.

So the question is are these coins 1 oz (Troy Ounce) of silver... lets see :)

*updated correction*

Each coin weighs 31.1g so multiplying that by 92.5% gives you 28.76g of pure silver roughly.

1 oz is equal to 28.34g

However 1 Troy ounce is equal to 31.1g

So in effect you are getting what looks like by my calculation 28.76g of 99.9% silver.

Why the coin is stamped Ag999? I will need to confirm this with Komsco.... hmmm. I will keep you informed.

So I hope this helps out some of you interested in getting fine metal from the Korean mint and remember they do sell gold coins, jewellery and bars there too.

I will no doubt be looking at other coin places around Seoul in the near future and will keep you up to date with any unique places and finds!

Buying Silver and Gold in South Korea

Gold and Silver are exploding and all indications are that it is going to keep going on into the future. So I hear you say "Where can I get some gold or silver in South Korea?"

What a fantastic question!

Here is what I found while searching google for the answer to this question...

How do I invest in gold in South Korea?

2 COMMENTS

in KOREA

ej105 asked:

I really am frustrated when it comes to investing in South Korea. I want to buy some gold coins or gold bullions but here in Korea, there are no gold coin shops. Banks don’t sell gold. The Korean mint does not make gold coins. Of course this is just the top of the iceberg compared to the problems I am having with investing my money while I am working in South Korea. Did you know that Korean brokers do not give you a prospectus on each stock before you buy it? Also, some dealers just give you a handful of stocks and you don’t know the companies. Yeah, that’s South Korea for you.

Anyway, does anyone know how I can buy or invest in gold in South Korea? Or how about Asia, I am willing to travel anywhere in Asia for great deals in gold, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, anywhere in Asia.
(search for pharmacy technician colleges)

Sorry for being long winded but Korea’s investments strategies are a$$-backwards

Well I agree somewhat. It is not an easy thing to do finding where to buy bullion or coins. And if you are not into buying keys, turtles and pigs you will be hard pressed to find gold in coin or bar form. However after a bit of footwork and internet research I may have a few answers for you.

Jongno 3 (sam) ga - station. This is where "everyone" goes for "wholesale" jewellery. Personally I would rather look elsewhere for fine jewellery as I saw nothing of interesting or unique quality but I digress...

I did find 2 places selling 1000g or 1kg silver bars and another store selling 3.75 - 1oz bars of gold.

This is the store selling silver bars - I was given a price of 2,530,000 W as of 24-04-2011. $US1,518.16 is the spot price today which is roughly 1,639,000 won so that price is a little bit more than I expected over the spot price but considering I was not buying I did not attempt any negotiation.

The gold store gave me a price on 3.75g of gold 245,000 w spot is $US 48.45 = 196,243 w so again more expensive than it should be over spot but I was not intersted in the least.

Outside Namdaemun market next to Namdamunro (?) underground shopping centre. Now this is where Korea becomes interesting because this store has many gold coins in the window from all over the world and yet when I enquired (the store attendant didn't speak much English but a long story short the store manager (who was not there) is not selling the coins......... ?....... what is the purpose of displaying something you are not selling?

If you are into collecting or getting some 90% US silver coins (Liberty ect...) or .999 troy oz Korean coins e.g. APEC or G20 then you may... find some deals here:

By Shinsegae Mall just up from Namdaemun market is this underground shopping centre with perhaps a dozen coin dealers, some with australian gold coins or US coins. My pick is this guy:

There are also guys that deal in coins like this:

1 Troy ounce .999 Made in USA stamped on it with the queens head....... hmmmmm that's interesting : /

Here is that store might be worth a laugh or keep well away from?

There is also the Seoul Flea Market in Sinseol-dong with a couple of coin dealers with an occasional rarity e.g. a mercury dime.

However.... this week I am going to see if I can get some silver ounces from Komsco (the Korean Mint). The Korean mint site however is bordering on impossible to use as a foreigner and if you think clicking on "English" will help, as with many Korean websites you are sorely mistaken as it takes you somewhere that you dont want to be.

So to make things easier for you I have this link which will take you to the Korean Mint coin collection where you can buy silver or gold. You may have to play around a little and it would definitely help to have a Korean buddy help you!

http://www.koreamint.com/index.jsp

I will see how things go this week, see if I can buy and get something delivered and report back on how easy the process was next week so stay tuned.

If you are not into gold and silver, sorry I do apologise for boring you... have a sandrich :)

I almost forgot this one... taken from www.trademe.co.nz (New Zealand's equivalent of eBay)... for a 1978 "silver dollar:...

Hi, I think these are copper/nickle and do not contain any silver, cheers xxxx 3:43 pm, Sun 24 Apr

I have a $2 reserve/start price on this "Silver Dollar" I have NOT said it is made of silver but I do know that

it is known as a silver dollar and that is the colour of the coin which is what I have said in the auction. If

someone buys it for $2 what does it matter what it is made of? I may sound a bit terse but this is the 5th time

someone has told me that the coin is not silver. Frankly I think after this I will withdraw the auction and throw

the coin away. 5:47 pm, Sun 24 Apr

Got to love that "kiwi" spirit! :D

Younjungro Cherry blossoms

Yeoinaru Line 5 Exit 1.

Walking up the street for a kilometre or more following and swimming against a sea of humanity you will eventually come to a blocked off street area where you can wander under the street lined cherry blossom trees.

Saturday afternoon was quite busy so I would suggest a very early morning visit and escape. I would estimate that there were not a few thousand people but 10's of thousands perhaps even 100,000 people in that area looking at the blossoms. We had to escape by walking for 10 min and getting a taxi as the subway was backed up to an estimated 2 hour or so wait just to get on a train that would probably be packed anyway!

Good thing that Korean taxi's are cheap and comfortable and a good 15 - 20 min ride will cost about 20,000 w so well worth the comfort and avoidance of stress and saving of time!

So here are some photo's:

Until next week enjoy the blossoms!

Semiwon Garden & The Piano Toilet

This weekend was a surprise trip to Semiwon Garden: Yangsuri - Yangu Station - Jungang line. Entry price 3,000 won - Bonus free ice cream, drink, noodles or something else on exchange of your ticket stub.

Spring has just started with the flowering of the trees. However the full glory of Semiwon is not on display currently and another trip will be taken later in the summer to see all the flowers in full bloom.

However I did manage to go into the glasshouse and snap some flowers in there:

More pictures in the slide show :)

Next was off to see the Piano Toilet:

Not really sure what to make of it though :/

Anyway here is the photo slide show:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61323032@N02/sets/72157626467717470/show

Have fun until next week! :)

Seoul Motor Show 2011

Seoul Motor Show 2011 at the Kintex Exhibition Centre in Seoul.

This show is on until April 10 2011 so if you want to go in the coming weekend I recommend it!!!

This show is a photographers paradise! It sure gives you some practice shooting digital or traditional film and you can get an idea what it would really be like to shoot models and get a feel for those models who are naturally gifted in their ability to create a good shot and those who are perhaps not so gifted :) As for the cars... well I got some pictures of them too :)

So here is a map... Get on line 3 and head to the end of the line Daehwa Station Exit 2 just keep walking straight 500m and you wont miss it! The cost was 9,000 won per adult.

I have separated my photo slide shows into 2 categories:

1. Cars, Trucks, Motorbikes and Misc.

2. The Models :)

But first here is a little taste of what its like to be there:

So If you want to see more of this:

Click on this link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61323032@N02/sets/72157626291673995/show

If you want to see more of this:

Click on this link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61339301@N03/sets/72157626416369384/show

Until next time... enjoy the challenge and the beauty :)