Mulloskeys Adventures Abroad

Cartoon characters abound in Korea. Be it at the hospital, subway station or simply riding the elevator, one can always find an eye-pleasing character advising or warning of what to do or not to do. Some are outright ridiculous like these from the hospital.

Also a fave are the totally absurd or confusing cartoon characters… take this set of burgeoning lovers… will it work out? Only time and habitat will tell..

It is yet another of the million charming aspects of life in Korean culture. So it makes sense that happy little characters adorn the signage of restaurants, bars and establishments of all sorts. Recently, Erin and I were exploring a nearby neighborhood neglected by our travels the last time around. With risk, comes great reward; the reward of newly discovered restaurants and shops to visit in the near future. Erin came up with the idea of documenting a set of characters for our blog. This area (no more than 4 square blocks) had an assortment of seafood restaurants, many specializing in octopus – a Korean delicacy. We made documenting as many different kinds as we could the focus of the next hour. My favourite is the “graduate/academic” octopus. Clearly the scholar’s choice.

As previously described in past blog postings, Korean food is advertised uncooked. At home, we are used to seeing ads for the Keg steak house with a cooked steak in the photograph. In Korea, it’s all about the raw ingredients, most likely because the cooking is done yourself. I like it that way. Here is the posted menu for one of these restaurants:

Now when it comes to the “cartoon character” form of advertising I confess myself somewhat immune. These characters and their attempts to solicit my business have no effect beyond that of evoking a light chuckle and enhanced love of this country. There are, however, exceptions to every rule. There is one happy character that never fails to draw me into a new establishment. Long may it be that way.