of rice and men

I'm still rubbing the jet-lag out of my eyes, but otherwise doing very well in Jeju. I think I've mastered "hello", "goodbye" and "thank you" in Korean, which is more challenging than one might imagine (my memory, not the language, is certainly to blame).
I arrived late Thursday evening; Nate took me to a bar ('LIVE BAR') which was constructed entirely of reused material. Really: a Star-Wars kind of sliding door made of old sheet metal, a group urinal backed by a cascading waterfall, and walls covered with kitsch. To seal the deal, there was a massive stage with a grand piano and full complement of instruments. Thursday was an open stage - an middle-aged man with a steady vibrato sang, while a table of his friends guffawed and cheered him on. It was quite possibly the funkiest bar I've ever been in; on Queen Steet, pints would start at $10, I'm sure.
And, oh, the food. We've started our days with spicy, soybean paste soup (shared out of one communal bowl); for lunches: fried rice with vegetables. Dinner last night was a dinner of champions. Six side-dishes arrived at our restaurant table before any of the food we had actually ordered - kimchee, spicy cucumber, sesame leaf, mini-fish, seaweed and spicy onions. All delicious, and all eaten with the nicest set of chopsticks I've ever held. Apparently you really can't leave a Korean restaurant without being full.
Today, we're off to the southern point of the island ("Seogwipo"). Tomorrow is a highly-celebrated national holiday ("Chuseok"; Korean Thanksgiving), and so we'll get to eat two breakfasts and meet legions of merry folks.