review: the banchan

    although my korean husband is very korean in most of his way, he doesn't usually have 반찬 투정 (banchan too-jung), which means he doesn't complain about what kind of food i prepare (or don't prepare in my case).
    growing up, i've seen my dad complain about the lack or the kind of banchan (side dishes) my mom would prepare and i've seen other korean people and children be very picky about what they eat. i'm sure this is normal in most family situations, but in a proper korean meal, usually you get a bowl of rice, a gross assortment or side dishes, and soup. maybe something that looks like this:

  

what is the gyopo wife?

    although i, myself, am a gyopo or kyopo or 교포, i had never heard of the term until i had reached seoul in june of 2010. from what i have come to understand, gyopos are ethnic koreans but hold the nationality of a different country.
    for myself, i was born in the small town of london (not that london), ontario, canada, but grew up with questions like "what are you?" or "are you chinese? japanese?" (probably because korea wasn't as well known when i was younger) as i was growing up.