4/19 Jeyuk Bokkeum

One day my Norwegian classmates Tormod and Robin asked me if I wanted to come out to dinner with them one day along with one of our Korean classmates whose name I can't remember. We all met up in the red-light district near Okaido, and went to this VERY "Korean-themed" joint with tons of neon lights. We ordered different kinds of food, but then our Korean classmate said "This is no good" and invited us to his apartment for real food. We stopped by the convenience store where a lot of alcohol was bought, and proceded up the steps to his apartment. Inside I became jealous due to the space, but even then it was very modest with just a bed barely off the floor and a small table with some cushions. It was at least 4x the size of my dorm room.

We sat down and began chatting as he started cooking up something. After a little bit he placed a big skillet on the table, and we were impressed. We took some onto our plates and tried it. It was so good! It's pan-fried pork belly with green onions and very spicy. He actually sent me the recipe later, but what I made didn't turn out as well. Maybe I'll find it again.

It's called "jeyuk bokkeum."

We said goodbye and as we left, Tormod, Robin, and I were talking about their time of mandatory service in the Norwegian military and the difference with the US military. They were surprised to hear about the benefits and jokingly said maybe they should join.