What am I doing, and why? And most importantly, what's for dinner?

So, what am I doing? Going with my husband (Joe) and mom-in-law for two weeks to South Korea. Now the why; it is not as simple.
I was born in Savannah, GA and have lived a fairly sheltered Southern life up until about 2 years ago. Joe and I decided to learn his mother's native language, Korean, and to experience everything about the culture and people.
The Korean language is tricky to navigate, but Joe and I are enjoying it. We are excited to try and use our rudimentary language skills in Korea. But let's be honest, a culture is mostly discovered through its food. And maybe no culture more so than Korean.
Koreans love their food. Love! And until 2 years ago, I had never really tried it. Before now, I hate to admit it, but I liked, you know, American food. Pretty exclusively. I was raised on cheesy casseroles and meat and potatoes. (I come from the land of Paula Dean!) I was a picky eater who would choose a dish I knew over trying something different any day.
But then I became surrounded by wonderfully friendly Korean women who would spread huge meals before me, dishes I could not recognize. And then they sat down and watched me and my awkward chopstick skills. What to do? What could I do? I ate.
I won't say it was love at first bite, or second or third, but I kept trying the dishes. And now, (chopstick skills greatly improved!) I can rattle off a list of my favorite Korean dishes and am looking forward to eating my way around Korea. I have fallen in love with Korean culture! And I want to share the trip here.
So, 'oh-so-oh-say-yo!' ('Welcome' in Korean) to my blog.

So many dishes, so little time