6 Comments
User's avatar
Janey Lee's avatar

Really enjoyed this! 👏🏼 Do you have any idea where I could watch Seoul Spring with English subtitles!?

Expand full comment
Janey Lee's avatar

Nevermind - found it on Netflix! Thanks for the recommendation!

Expand full comment
Ari Lee's avatar

I hope you enjoy the movie!

Expand full comment
Cristoffa's avatar

Hello Ari, as always like your titles and your recipes.

Boiled or braised meats were probably a bit more common here when I was young. Not so familiar with pork neck to cook but have enjoyed in restaurant. But am quite familiar with lamb neck an much so with hoggart and mutton neck; 1 -2 yrs old, and >2rs old sheep, repectively. Slow cooked it is tender and tasty, as is goat neck. The green onion salad is looking good to try also.

For a large part of my life, shhep meat cuts and offal were our main meat source as that is what we raised. Some beef cattle, but worth a lot more at sale, so rarely slaughtered to eat, but quite a bit of wild (feral) pig, often done as whole spitted roast over coals.

Your history lesson about democracy (or the lack of it, for so long and despotic rule of your first two presidents for 36 yrs) is a stark reminder of the perils of the de facto marriage of the military and security services, the legal and prosecutorial systems, tho old boy school networks and entrenched wealth, embedded in political parties. That period of the 1970's and early to mid 1980's and the first attempts in many countries to push against military dctatorships, juntas and hereditary rulers was widespread. From Greece, Turkey, Iran , Irak, the middle east and in ROK and other places, a lot of US sponsored states designed as a bulwark against the USSR, retained power in a similar way .

The Prague Spring initiated by Alexander Dubcek and its repression by the Soviets in 1968 and the more brutal suppression in 1956 of the Hungarian Uprising in 1946 for similar reasons,are sort of forgotten. Family friends ended here in Australia as a result of both.

So understand the concerns. And will hope to see the movie here ? called One Day here. and see the real life general who resisted paid a heavy price with the death of his son by torture and murder and of his father due to a hunger strike.

Good that a younger audience is watching and maybe learning.

And thanks for the Korean lesson. Not sure if there is a peculiarly Aus term or slang equivalent, but terms like, it's a cinch, no sweat, a breeze, a doodle;come to mind in english.

There is a site called australianculture.org that you may like to visit for OZ Slang. Near the top is accadacca, for band AC/DC. A great band from my youth if your are into heavy non glam metal.

Look forward to your next.

Expand full comment
Ari Lee's avatar

Hi, Cristoffa! Thanks for the meat and some European history lesson. I didn’t know that people moved to Australia because of the Prague Spring and what happened after. I guess it’s similar with Koreans who were forced to move to Russia or China during the Japanese ruling era. And I’d love to see the movie you recommended.

Always sorry for late response. I know it’s just an excuse, but after writing my newsletter, even though I get a lot of help from ChatGPT lately, I feel my English energy drains out and feel overwhelmed? to write or read English 🫠 This is why I’m often late. It takes time to refill the energy.

I just scheduled this week’s newsletter. Hope you enjoy it. Have a great weekend.

Expand full comment
Cristoffa's avatar

Hello again Ari. Some trouble with Substack reply, but think due to Mozilla and have swapped to another. Seems to be good now.

So yes, some Czechs and Slovakians as they are now separate, did come here.

More Hungarians though settled here after the Soviets crushed the Hungarian Uprising in 1956; about 15.000. More famously though, 46 Hungarian Olympians sought asylum here at the Melbourne Olympic games. Famously, they had beaten Russia in the waterpolo in semifinals maybe, in a match that came to be called Blood in the Water. A movie of this made here.The young Hungarians went on to win Gold. Many settled here but also many went to the US.

And, had meant to comment about Peanuts; sort of grew up reading the comic strips. Mostly a fan of Snoopy.Maybe to share a short essay about the era of newspaper comic strips.

I have fallen behind in my own replies, I see.

Will catch up, Cristoffa.

Expand full comment