Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Tessell Puzzle Play Mats, where math can be fun!

A company in Korea has designed these beautiful mats called Tessell, tessellation play mat. What is tessellation?

Tessellation is a technique to set up an unlimited repeating geometrical figure, it is helpful to increase space perception, thought, and academic judgment.

They have created a unique product that allows children to be creative yet use their mathematical abilities. Kids can create a rocking horse you can actually ride and a flower table that is functional yet pretty.

This product has won numerous awards for their design and innovation.

Available now for $119.99!

Pororo Christmas Song

Here's a little clip to get you into the holiday mood! Enjoy!

Cute Korean Christmas Commercial

Bakery Commercial features Korean celebs Rain and Koo Hye Sun. (In case you didn't already know, Rain is a mega-star in Asia and is currently in the new movie Ninja Assassin. And Koo Hye Sun was the lead actress from the popular drama, Boys Over Flowers. )

If you want to try out this delicious bakery, here's a link to the USA website for Tous Les Jours.

Yum...it makes me want to go to a Korean/French Bakery!

Baby Shower Decoration Ideas

Look at the beautiful diaper cake, towel lollipops and muffin towels that were creatively made by Stella Lee, a friend of mine. If you are crafty enough, you can try making these on your own!

Check out our new Pororo items!

Pororo Stainless Steel Kid's Cup $9.99

Pororo Stainless Steel Spoon, Chopsticks, and Fork Set (with case) $9.99


Parklon ABC Play Mat 90.5" x 55.1" $79.99

Pororo Stainless Steel Dosirak with Bag $26.99

Korean Peel Off Crayons

A few months ago, my kids received this as a gift from a friend who recently traveled to Korea. My daughter absolutely loves them and I like them too as they last longer than regular crayons and are easy to peel. Our friend who grew up in Korea told me that these crayons were quite popular there, so we decided to do some research on getting them for Little Seouls. And sure enough, we saw that almost all of the Korean children's stationary stores sell these adorable peel off crayons. These are now available at Little Seouls for $6.99. Makes a great addition to a gift!

Free Korean Desk Calendar with $50 purchase!*

*While supplies last.

Give a gift to a North Korean child this Christmas!

My friend is part of this organization and I thought I'd pass this along!

Target: 10,000 pairs At $5 a pair, help us raise 10,000 pairs of winter boots by Christmas Eve to distribute to children in North Korea by February 2010. This program is being run through Sun Yang LLC. Sun Yang Blurb Shoe Donation Promo Video Yes, I would love to give a donation! I would like to read up on the progress of the shoe donation program! For larger donations requiring tax deductions or any other questions please contact sunyangco@gmail.com.

Cute Animal Winter Hats

Aren't these hats cute? We just added these to our store!

These adorable winter hats are quite popular in Korea. Here's a photo of the Korean girl band, 2NE1 wearing similar hats in a Baskin Robbins Advertising campaign.




Photo source www.baskinrobbins.co.kr

Russell is Korean!

I knew he looked Asian....possibly Korean. According to Chosun Ilbo, the Pixar's animation "Up" modeled Russell after one of their own Korean production artist, Peter Sohn.

Source: Chosun Ilbo Photo credit: Pixar Animation Studios

December Baby of the Month is...

Zoey! She's 16 months old. The expression on her face can't help but make you smile! She looks like a very happy little girl!

Congratulations mom and dad!

To enter our January Baby of the Month, please email your child's photo to contest@littleseouls.com. Please also list child's name, age, address and permission to use photo.

Ddakji

When I was little our family went to Korea (my first time) when I was about 8 years old. We stayed with our grandparents and it was there that I learned the game ddakji with the neighborhood kids.

Ddak-ji is a popular Korean childrens game played using specially made cardboard disks. The disks resemble Pogs but are perhaps thinner and slightly curved. Unlike the games played using Pogs, Ddak-ji uses no 'slammer' piece. Only the ddakji themselves are used.

In the basic version of the game the throwing player is chosen by 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' and the losing player places their disk on the table. The active player throws their disk down on it in an attempt to make the inactive player's disk flip over. The curvature of the disks makes finesse an important part of the technique. If a disk is flipped, the player who flipped it gets to keep it. Variants of this play style exist. (taken from boardgamegeek.com)

Back in those days we made our own ddakji with paper and would decorate it. The newer versions are made with popular characters like Pokemon and Maple Story and is hugely popular right now with kids in Korea.

We recently picked up some ddakji for Little Seouls and introduced them to our boys. They were very intrigued and actually ended up really liking the game.

Try it! It's only $.99 for a pack of 7 pogs. I warn you...your kids will get hooked!

Korean celebrities promote adoption

The "Letter from the Angels No. 5 & Prime Campaign" started in 2003 to encourage adoption within the motherland. My daughter was actually one of the little babies featured in their 2006 campaign.

Explanation behind Korea's Low BirthRate

Here's a great article written by Joong Ang Daily that explains how the middle class plays a big role in the Korea's low birthrate.

Photo taken from JoongAng Daily.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had Thanksgiving early and this was our Thanksgiving table. We had most of the traditional fixings except we also had kimchi! And yes, we eat with paper plates and wooden chopsticks...is that a Korean thing?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Koreans and Elders

Recently, we celebrated our grandmother's 90th Birthday party. Koreans customarily throw a big birthday party for the 60th birthday party called "hwangab." However, as people tend to live longer, less and less Koreans celebrate "hwangab," and will celebrate the 70th or 80th birthday party. Similar to a first birthday "dol" party, these parties celebrate life and are a big occasion among Koreans.

Here are some cultural tips that we can think of when socializing with the elderly.

Respecting your elders is a big deal among Koreans. When meeting a Korean person, you are expected to bow and greet the older person with respect. If you are sitting down, you are also expected to stand up when greeting them and this also applies when the older person leaves. When dining with an older person, it is respectable to offer the first serving to them and wait until they have taken the first bite before you begin eating. If the older person offers you a drink, you are supposed to politely accept with both hands (left hand on your right arm).

If you know any more, please share!

Winner of the National Adoption Month Giveaway!

Here is the winning photo of Baby Olive on the day she met her mommy! Photo was taken on July 18th 2008.

When we asked her mommy what led their family to adoption, she replied:

"From the moment my husband and I married over 10 years ago, we knew adoption was the way we wanted to build our family. We weren't ready for a long time, but once we decided, we plunged in. As for Korea, we ended up there in a roundabout way. We had originally intended to adopt a child from Viet Nam, but the program closed and we took that as a pretty clear sign that the child who was meant to be with us resided elsewhere. We began preparing an updated homestudy, and in the process, I found our Olive on a waiting child listing. The instant I saw and read about her, I knew she would be our daughter. And I didn't care where she was from! We found out she was from South Korea and were thrilled to research the country to know more about the culture and people. Now, we can't imagine NOT going to Korea - we fell in love with Seoul, the people, the beautiful sights, sounds, and smells, the culture... we hope to go back someday and absorb even more of it."

Olive is now 2 years old and is described as the most perfect child to their family. Here is what else her mommy had to say:

"She is so easy going and laid back. She hardly ever cries or gets angry - very even tempered. She is gentle and kind, and displays a great deal of empathy for others. She adores playing with other kids and is a wonderful "big sister" to our cats. Olive loves animals, being outdoors, and is very active. I couldn't ask for a better daughter!"

We thank Olive's family for sharing their precious photo and adoption story! And thank you to everyone who shared their photos with us. We really enjoyed seeing the photo entries!

Makes a Great Teacher Gift

If you are looking for something unique, besides candy and chocolate, try giving your child's teacher this towel cake! Every year my son gives this to his teacher and they are always so delighted to receive this unique gift. If you're wondering why a towel, towel gifts are very customary in countries like Japan and Korea.

Comes in the packaging as shown.

Koreans are obsessed with height!

Take a look at this clip on ABC News about how Koreans will go to any lengths to become taller. Even wearing magic shoes! Apparently these are the must haves for the men.

School children are going to clinics to help them grow. Very interesting.

(photo from ABC News)

Popularity of Hello Kitty in Asia

This photo says it all. Apparently, Hello Kitty was one of her bridesmaids.

Story and photo credit to Yonghap News Agency.

Hello Kitty Nursery Bedding

How cute these are! Sorry, we don't sell these at our site. Maybe in the future?

National Adoption Month Giveaway!

As Little Seouls was founded after I adopted my daughter from Korea, we would like to honor this special month by doing a special giveaway to adoptive families!

Winner will win a pack of 25 Custom Christmas Cards. Just send in a photo of your referral photo or "gotcha" day (arrival day) photo to info@littleseouls.com. Winner will be announced on Friday, November 20.

Happy National Adoption Month!

New Little Seouls Kid's Dosirak!

We recently went to a baby convention and came across this product called Yubo, a bento style lunchbox for kids that's all BPA Free, 100% Recyclable, Antimicrobial, and Dishwasher safe! We also found out we could create our very own lunchbox with our Little Seouls characters! Well, now they're here! Available for $29.95. Comes with 3 containers and ice pack.

We're excited to announce our new line of Korean Christmas Photo Cards!

For the past month, I've been working with a new designer to come up with our new line of Christmas cards. We're still working on more but here are the first 2 in the collection!

Popular Korean Baby Body Motions/Songs

Recently I was on another board and they were talking about the things Koreans teach their babies...such as "DoriDori", "JamJam", and "Jjakjjakung". How many of you here have taught these motions/songs to your kids?

Here's a youtube of it if you don't know it already.




Here's the actual Dori Dori Song:


Also, my son recently sang the Korean version of Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in his school program...which was hilarious since his school is not even Korean! The pronunciation was a little off but cute nonetheless.

Here's a youtube of Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in Korean.

Win a $100 Gift Card at Little Seouls!

Got a lot of friends? Then you may have a chance at winning a $100 gift card at Little Seouls! On our Facebook Fan Page, we are having a contest that whoever brings in the most number of new fans to our site will win the prize. To go to our Facebook page, click here.

Contest ends November 30th, 2009. Applies to new fans only.

Korean Theme Book Gifts Under $7.99!

The Green Frogs, A Korean Folktale $6.99



Bee Bim Bop $6.99


Count Your Way Through Korea $5.95



Milet Mini Picture Dictionary $7.99


Starting your holiday shopping early? Here are some book gift ideas!

Book Highlight: New Clothes for New Year's Day

"New Clothes for New Year's Day" by Hyun Ju Bae is the perfect book to read to your child to get them excited for the upcoming New Year's Sae Bae event. What is "Sae Bae?" Sae bae is when the younger generation bow down in honor to their elders during New Year's Day. Traditionally, the whole family dresses up in their Korean hanboks and makes visitations to their older relatives, like their grandparents, aunts and uncles. After the children sae bae, the relatives (parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles), will give the children money and say some words of wisdom to them.

Author Hyun Ju Bae details how a little girl gets dressed and ready for the New Year's. He explains things such as, how to wear a hanbok, and also gives descriptions of the various hanbok items. This book comes with beautiful illustrations.

Deal of the Week!

Asian Doll for only $6.99! On clearance! Hurry! Supplies limited. Perfect to stuff in your child's stocking or to give as a holiday gift! We also have other dolls on sale. Check them out here.

The November Baby of the Month is...

Kyle C. who is 3 1/2 years old! Congrats! This is an adorable picture!

Look what he won!

Happy Halloween!

Although Korea doesn't celebrate Halloween, I was able to find some really fun pictures of Korean kids in historical Korean costumes. Enjoy and be safe!

Little Seouls Facebook Fan Club

If you haven't already joined, our Little Seouls Facebook Fan Club is a great way to get updates on new products as well as interact with other parents. We also have special giveaways and coupons that are not listed on the blog or our website. If you haven't joined yet, join by clicking on the right side of this page.

By joining, you can also take advantage of the 10% discount coupon that is set to expire on November 1st, 2009. Only 2 days left!

Squash Pancake Recipes

Here's Maangchi with yet another great recipe to try this season. It is called "hobakjeon," which are Korean squash pancakes. I love how she gets into Halloween with her cute costume and music!

Pumpkin Porridge Recipe

"Hobakjuk", known as pumpkin or squash porridge, is easy to make. It is a great side dish to make during the cold fall season.

Ingredients:
1 lb (500 g) peeled, chopped pumpkin
5 cups of water
1/3 cup rice flour
1-2 tablespoons soft brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds or pine nuts

Directions:
Place the pumpkin in a pot in 4 cups of water. When it comes to boil, reduce heat and simmer for approximately 25 minutes (until the pumpkin is very soft and easily breaks apart).

Mix the rice flour with the remaining cup of water, then add the mixture into the pot of softened pumpkin. Bring to a boil over medium heat, while stirring often.

Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes, then add the sugar and salt.

Serve in individual bowls, and decorate it with the toasted pumpkin seeds.

Serves 6-8 , Prep time 10 minutes, Cooking time 30 minutes

Great recipes like this can be found in the cookbook, "Authentic Recipes from Korea."

Great Games for the Upcoming Holidays!

With the holidays and New Year's coming, we have stocked up on our inventory of traditional Korean games. We have also recently added Baduk and Janggi to our list of products! And of course don't forget the Hwatu cards and Yute game! A great way to bring culture to your holiday gatherings!