Grocery Shopping in Seoul

One of things I enjoy doing when visiting a foreign country is wandering around a local grocery store. For one thing, you can find better deals on local favorites. Secondly, it offers a unique glimpse at the local culture. I'm always dragging visiting friends and family to the nearest Lotte or Emart in Seoul. Not everyone's always as gleeful about the free samples, the buy 1 get 1 free deals, or exotic fare like larvae in a can or steamed egg-tofu, but I'm pretty sure no one's regretted going. In fact, they always leave with bagful of goodies.

I was at Emart today oohing and ahhing over the "cocktail cucumbers", mini cucumbers that fit in the palm of my hand, when I realized that I need to share all the cool groceries I encounter in Korea. Thus, I've created a Pinterest board to help me share all the nifty little grocery finds that I think tourists and/or folks new to Korea may find helpful for your next visit to a mega-mart in Seoul.

Forget kimchi chocolate or rice cakes from Insadong. If you're wondering what to sort of souvenirs to take back home to share with family friends, check out my "Korean Groceries" board on Pinterest.

What is Chejil?

I don't know if you're tired of hearing about my chejil, but I swear, it's kind of taken over my life.

So, y'all are probably wondering, what is this chejil (체질)? Here's what I've learned through my Cousin N, our hanuisa, and some cursory searches through Google. For a long while, according to findings in Oriental Medicine, humans were classified as one of four body "constitutions" or chejil. One's chejil is determined from birth and is distinguished by the relative size and strength of one's organs. In turn, one's chejil influences one's appearance, temperment, physiology, and pathology. A specially trained hauisa, is able to determine your chejil based on your pulse. source

In 1965, after extensive research and practice, a Korean Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Dr. Do Won Kwon, developed this concept of chejil further and found that humans may be classified as one of eight body types. source

Go ahead and search "8 Constitution Medicine" if you'd like the complete listing of the eight body types. I am only familiar with three.

Pretty much everyone at The Hagwon has gone to see the hanuisa - my cousins (the bosses), our office manager (kwajang-nim), and the other instructors. Funny enough, we all fall under one of three chejil: toyang (Pancreotonia), mogyang (Hepatonia) , or gu-um (Colonotonia).

Here's what I know about the three:

1. Toyang [토양]
The most common body type, according to the doctor, is toyang. Folks with the toyang chejil are advised to avoid fowl, spicy food (including mustard, green onions, and onions!), sesame oil, and nuts. Theoretically, this diet doesn't seem so bad, unless you live in Korea. The toyang chejil is apparently very common amongst Koreans. Good luck trying to get Koreans to cut out kimchi. Toyangs are known to be sweethearts, but they can also be impulsive and quick-tempered.

2. Mogyang [목양]
One's chejil is hereditary. Thus, based on the fact that all three of my co-workers/cousins are mogyangs, I've surmised that my mother is most likely a mogyang. Given that I'm surrounded by mogyangs, I learned a lot about this particular chejil. For example, typically, mogyangs are shaped like a snowman. (In English, we call such figures, pear-shaped, but I suppose that pears are round in Korea so such a term would refer to a different body shape.) Due to their weak lungs, mogyangs are told to avoid seafood and leafy vegetables. I would have thought that leafy greens are good for the lungs, but what do I know? It's also important for mogyangs to sweat. If they don't sweat, something is wrong with their body.

In terms of temperament, mogangs are known to be kind-hearted risk-takers who don't like to talk. In fact, excessive talking is bad for a mogyang's health.

Cyndi, Cousin N, and Cousin N's eldest daugter, J, have all been sticking quite faithfully to their mogyang diets for the past three weeks. They all seem to be enjoying their prescribed diets, though they're still waiting to see the results on their figures.

The doctor did note that if a person wants to lose weight, s/he must eat the same portion size for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I would have interpreted that to mean a super-sized breakfast, super-sized lunch, and super-sized dinner, but it sounds like he was saying to limit one's portion size.

3. Geu-eum [금음]

This is my chejil. Wah. Wah. Wah.
I'm told that my chejil is not very common. Probably for good reason. I think a lot of people with my chejil must have died -- out of misery. As I've whined about before, geu-eum aren't allowed to eat meat, dairy, flour, root vegetables, coffee, sugar, soy beans, and a bunch of other things that I'm going to ignore. As the doctor explained to me, I'm like a cow. If a cow can't eat it, I can't eat it. I didn't realize that cows like seafood, but I'm sure glad that it's on my "good for me" list. Geum-eums are also supposed to avoid excessive use of the computer. In fact, continuing with this long rambling post might be quite detrimental to my health.

Cousin N. translated a few passages from the book she purchased at the hauiwon. According to this book, ge-eums are very intelligent (true dat), but also ambitious, potentially tyrannical, and well-suited for politics (Who determined this? I'm going to punch his lights out and burn down his village!) Geu-eums are thought to make great marathon runners. The first reason being, we have strong lungs. More importantly, however, when a geu-eum sees a person fall in the race, she will be energized and more motivated to charge on ahead. (For the record, that's so not true...I would never run a marathon.) Famous geu-eums include Picasso and Nero, ancient Roman tyrant. I didn't realize that both Picasso and Nero went to a hanuiwon.

I've been pretty darn faithful to my chejil diet for the past three weeks. Do I think it's worth the effort? I'll have to give you my response in another post. This post is already way too long. Plus, I have to go terrorize the downtrodden.

체질

Seong, Cyndi, and I went back to see the hanuisa (Doctor of Oriental Medicine), and after a final screening, the doctor identified our respective 체질 (chejil).

I'm going to have to dedicate another post on this whole chejil concept, but here's the gist of it: all humans maybe be classified as one of eight body types. According to this holistic approach to medicine, one's physical constitution, and hence, diet, are tightly linked to one's personality, well-being, and physical health.

The doctor handed each of us a brief summary about our respective body types. I'm just going to let you all take a gander at our chejil for yourselves. I will fill you in on how the diets are affecting each of us and how we are coping in a whole 'nother post. Trust me. I have A LOT to say.

CYNDI's Chejil: 목양체질 (aka Hepatonia)















Things that are harmful to Cyndi:
All seafood, leafy greens, cucumber, egg plant, mung bean, cabbage, cocoa, chocolate, buckwheat flour, persimmon, Chinese quince, papaya, peaches, pineapples, cherries, green grapes, grape sugar/dextrose/glucose, dextrose injections, swimming, blue wallpaper, cigarettes, Vitamin E, amalgam.

Things that are good for Cyndi:
All types of meat, rice, soy beans, flour, coffee, milk, all root vegetables, garlic, pumpkin, mushroom, sugar, fresh water eel, mud fish, cat fish, carbonated drink, pears, apples, watermelon, nuts (walnuts, chestnuts, pine nuts), antlers of young deers, ginseng, Vitamins A, B, C, D, E, gold caps/filling, gold injections, aspirin, hiking, breathing exercises, reddish hues.

Basically, Cyndi should split her time between gogi BBQ places and the sauna.

ANNALOG'S Chejil: 근음체질 (aka Colonotonia)














Things that are harmful to me:
All types of meat, whale meat, garlic, deer antlers, fresh water fish, coffee, artificial flavorings, flour, pumpkin, soy beans, milk, sugar, adlay (wild grains), pears, apples, melons, chestnuts, pine nuts, ginko nuts, all root vegetables, mushrooms, taro, Vitamins A, C, D, E, aspirin, carbonated drinks, gold injections, atropine injections, hot baths, hiking, excessive use of computers and other electronic devices, residing in the forest, and penicillin.

Things that are good for me:
Buckwheat, rice, glucose/dextrose, all seafood, all leafy vegetables, bean sprouts, mung beans, cucumbers, bracken (a type of edible fern), seaweed, salted fish, grapes, peaches, persimmons, cherries, pineapples, strawberries, green onion, mustard, ginger, pepper, cocoa, chocolate, swimming, breathing exercises where I inhale quickly and exhale slowly, yellow hues.


Basically, I should hope that I never need medical care from a hospital, and I should move to Japan (and avoid forests).