[Food]

[Food] Ppeongtwigi (Puffed grain, 뻥튀기)

Ppeongtwigi (Puffed grain, 뻥튀기) is a very typical Korean snack made of grains (usually rice and corn). The origin of ppeongtwigi goes back to the early 20th century in North America. Dr. Alexander Anderson invented a machine that puffs cereal, and it was imported to Japan. Then this cereal puffing machine came to the Korean peninsula when Japan colonized Korea. This is how Ppeongtwigi became a typical snack in Korea.

The machine puffs any ingredient (grain, rice cake and even dried fish) at an extremely high pressure and heats it into a bigger and wider size. Ppeongtwigi is used in weight loss diets because it can expand a small amount of any grain into a bigger amount, but it actually has high carbohydrate content so it will 'puff' your body bigger if eaten too much.

Ppeongtwigi machine which looks like a canon

It was a very popular snack for children from 1960~1970 found in any street or town in Korea but its glory quickly faded due to the invention of better and tastier snacks. Today you can usually find a ppeongtwigi machine at a traditional Korean market.

Nevertheless, many people still like to eat ppeongtwigi as a snack so you can easily find a ppeongtwigi seller or shop near a major supermarket and mart.

It tastes a little sweet, crispy, crunchy and light :) It melts in your mouth very quickly if you take a bite. People also make ppeongtwigi into many shapes such as huge macaroni, cylinder, walking stick, drill, etc. Today they are often coated with sugar or any other sweet flavor (chocolate, caramel etc), like popcorn. 

Ppeongtwigi specialty store in Gangneung, Korea

Caramel-coated corn ppeongtwigi

Cheese, chocolate, caramel-coated corn ppeongtwigi from the left

Moreover, ppeongtwigi topped with ice cream has been very popular among young people for a few years so it is highly recommended one eats ppeongtwigi with vanilla ice cream :) You can taste the cool sweetness among crispy ppeongtwigi.

Vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate coated ppeongtwigi

Bon Appétit!

[HWPL] Chairman Man-Hee Lee of HWPL Expresses Deep Concern over Human Rights Crisis in Myanmar

 [HWPL]

[HWPL] HWPL expresses deep concern over Human Rights Crisis in Myanmar

Chairman Man-Hee Lee of the global peace group HWPL (Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light) issued a statement on the current human rights crisis in Myanmar that was caused by the Myanmar military coup.

Chairman Lee wrote that there must be no casualties resulting from violence and that it's very wrong to use violence on peaceful rallies and oppose the will of the people of Myanmar.

Chairman Lee also urged Burmese authorities to seek a peaceful resolution through dialogue as world history will remember their deeds. Chairman Man Hee Lee also appealed to the international community to jointly work with HWPL to stop the ongoing crisis in Myanmar.

What follows is a full statement by Chairman Man Hee Lee of HWPL.

HWPL Statement on Human Rights Crisis in Myanmar

 We, Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), express deep concern over the situation in Myanmar, which has caused casualties and posed grave threats to human rights.

The recent efforts of the Myanmar military to suppress nonviolent protests have led to dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries. The number is still continuing to increase.

Human life must not be disregarded in any circumstances. No conflict of interest can justify violence against civilians, and no interest of any group can prevail over human life.

Using violence to suppress peaceful protests and silence voices for change is contrary to the will of the people of Myanmar. Authorities should respect people's human rights and freedom of expression. We call on all relevant parties in Myanmar to express regret at the ongoing situation and engage in dialogue to seek a peaceful resolution. We are confident that the international community will support this effort, which will contribute to security and peace not only in Southeast Asia but also in other parts of the world.

We, HWPL, along with our members all over the globe are deeply concerned about the harm caused to civilians by the escalating violence in Myanmar. International attention is focused on Myanmar, and history will remember these moments. The situation should be resolved in a just and peaceful way also for the sake of the growing generation, who will learn from this crisis to build their future. We call on all parties to refrain from repression or force and instead settle the crisis through dialogue and consensus based on mutual respect and understanding. And we call on the United Nations to take active measures so that the human rights and safety of the people of Myanmar may be protected.

We ask the global family of peace to issue statements urging authorities and civilians in Myanmar to pursue dialogue and seek a peaceful solution in order to restore peace to the country.

In one voice, HWPL and all our members around the world express hope that the ongoing crisis in Myanmar will be resolved peacefully through dialogue, not violence, and we call on the international community to join us.

Man Hee Lee, a peace advocate of HWPL,

and HWPL members around the world

Following HWPL's statement on the human rights crisis in Myanmar, reports from numerous  global media outlets were made via broadcasting centers, news agencies and online news platforms.

As a member of HWPL Supporters One, I truly hope the human rights crisis in Myanmar is resolved in a peaceful way.

Peace!

 [Food]

[Food] Bajirak (Manila clam, 바지락)

Bajirak (Manila clam, 바지락) is a typical clam that you can buy and eat in Korea with its best season being spring when it usually fattens. Bajirak was usually caught off the sea in the western coast of the Korean peninsula but it doesn't change habitat, and grows and breeds faster than other clams.

Therefore bajirak is the best clam for mass farming and is usually planted and harvested in the western and southern coasts of Korea. Today it's one of the most popular ingredients in Korea because of its taste and cheap price.

Bajirak is very easy to cook and has many recipes. It can be steamed, boiled in wine or beer, put in pasta (a.k.a. Vongole) , stir-fried and kalguksu (Korean-style noodle). Bajirak gives a very refreshing and sea-like flavor (which is not fishy) so it gives a beautiful scent when it's stir-fried with garlic and spring onion to make clam stock.

Just remember to keep them in salty water for 2-3 hours away from sunlight and under cover so that bajirak can feel that they are still at sea at night and will discharge any sand or mud still contained within them :)

After 3 hours, bajirak is good to be cooked in any dish :) It will give you a very fresh and chewy texture with a deep sea-like taste.

Bon Appétit!

[HWPL] Mindanao Civil Peace Agreement - True Story of HWPL's Chairman Man Hee Lee

 [HWPL]

[HWPL] Mindanao Peace Agreement - True Story of HWPL's Chairman Man Hee Lee

2nd annual commemoration of the Declaration of World Peace on May 25th 2015.

[Cheonji Daily = Reporter Tae-Bok Song] "If peace comes to Mindanao, world peace will come too."

These were the words spoken by people around the world watching the land of death, where more than 120,000 people died in a bloody 40-year conflict. Everyone considered peace in Mindanao an impossibility.

Peace agreements between the government and rebels had been signed several times, but they failed and people aimed their guns at each other again. As such, over 40 years passed, the “gun” was regarded as a means of peace to the residents.

However, a surprising thing happened to local residents, who had been aiming their guns at one another since 2014:  a life of conflict changed into one of peace. At the root of this miracle is the Korean peace activist Man-hee Lee, who is the chairman of HWPL (Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light).

Chairman Man-hee Lee has been on world peace tours since 2012 after receiving the command to "Cease Wars and Achieve World Peace!" Catholic Archbishop Antonio Ledesma Cagayan de Oro, whom he met in the Philippines in September 2013, asked Chairman Lee to end the conflict in Mindanao. At that time, Mindanao was a battleground with ongoing bloody disputes and going to Mindanao would be life-threatening.

In January of the following year, at the age of 84, Chairman Lee visited the bloody battlefield, where bullets poured down, with the sole mission of securing 'peace'. Chairman Lee said, “As a fellow peace compatriot, I couldn't refuse his plea to go there for peace. I believed that God would be with me and so I headed to Mindanao.”

After visiting Mindanao, the process involved a series of miracles that were hard to believe in with human logic. Chairman Lee, who recognized that the root of the Mindanao conflict was a Catholic-Islamic dispute, held a peace walk with 1,000 people - including students from Mindanao State University and members of international youth organisations - for the first time in General Santos city, Philippines on January 24, 2014.

Chairman Man Hee Lee of HWPL and representatives of the Catholic and Islamic faiths on January 24th in 2014, right after signing the civil peace agreement.

After the peace walk, Chairman Lee emphasized the need for peace to the leaders of government and civil society organizations, youth organizations, and university professors gathered at General Santos Hotel.

Chairman Lee strongly criticized acts that promote conflict under the guise of religion, and stressed that "the will of the Creator is for peace, not war." He then asked the attendees whether they desired peace or war and to raise their hands if they wanted peace. When all the participants raised their hands, Chairman Man Hee Lee summoned Catholic and Islamic representatives who attended the event, saying, "Then sign the peace agreement."

The immediate peace agreement was attended by former Archbishop Fernando Capella and the Governor of Mindanao Magindanao. Both sides signed an agreement to cease conflict and achieve peace.

This was the prelude to the end of this bloody conflict in Mindanao, which neither the president of the Philippines, nor the law, nor the Pope could resolve. The site of the peace agreement was reported through the Philippine national broadcaster PTV and private broadcasters. After hearing the news of the peace agreement, former Philippine president Ramos met Chairman Lee and said, "He did something I couldn't do".

Upon hearing news of the Mindanao Civil Peace Agreement, the government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) agreed on the final draft of the Preliminary Peace Agreement on January 25, the very next day. The agreement was evaluated as the greatest progress made in the negotiation process between the two sides over the last 18 years, as it recognized Muslim autonomy in the Bangsamoro region in southern Mindanao and gradually disarmed the MILF.

In May of that year, the so-called Bangsamoro Basic Law entered legislative proceedings in the Philippines Parliament, and in August 2018, President Duterte signed the bill, bringing the civil war in Mindanao to a complete end. The Mindanao Civil Peace Agreement, which was implemented through the mediation of Chairman Man Hee Lee, was made reality.

In January 2014, Philippine PTV reporter Elizabeth Kachin, who delivered the news of the Mindanao Civil Peace Agreement, which was negotiated through the mediation of Chairman Man-Hee Lee, highlighted Chairman Lee's ‘sincerity for peace’ as the driver behind these dramatic achievements of peace.

Reporter Kachin said, “Chairman Man-Hee Lee was different from other politicians. Chairman Lee said, 'I came a long way to Mindanao, where bullets poured down, for peace only.' The residents of Mindanao, tired of the dispute, quickly recognized the difference between a politician and Chairman Lee. Lee's sincerity for “peace” moved them, a peace agreement could be done because of Chairman Man-Hee Lee and HWPL.”

The Philippine media reported, “There have been numerous peace treaties that agreed to end the war, but there have always been other disputes. Many peace activists worked to solve this but it was the HWPL who headquartered in Korea that produced real fruit.”

The difference is that the government-led political peace agreement came to nothing due to the residents' opposition, while the civil peace agreement led by Chairman Man-Hee Lee successfully concluded with the support of residents and with minimal resistance. After the agreement, locals began to experience the miracle of walking together speaking of peace.

Al Haz Murad Ibrahim, Chairman of the MILF, who attended the 1st anniversary of the World Peace Summit by HWPL in September 2015, said, “I heard the news of the peace agreement between Islamic-Catholic leaders that Chairman Man-Hee Lee made through Governor of Mindanao Magindanao. We had been negotiating with the government for 18 years, but we were unable to reach a conclusion. In January 2014, the civil peace agreement between Islamic-Catholic leaders in Mindanao Magindanao by Chairman Man-Hee Lee in January 2014 actually helped the MILF and the Philippines government to achieve an official agreement. Many people don't believe this, but it's true."

S

Soldiers and citizens of the MILF welcome Chairman Man Hee Lee who visited the MILF's region on January 24th in 2016.

In May 2015, the state of Mindanao Magindanao built the “HWPL Peace Monument” to commemorate Chairman Lee’s achievements for peace. At the site, a large number of key figures and local representatives who attended the peace talks representing the government and rebels for peace, pledged to make efforts to maintain and develop peace in Mindanao. In addition, January 24th was designated as "HWPL Day" as it is the day when the Mindanao Civil Peace Agreement concluded, and an event was held to commemorate the “day of liberation from war by peace". On that day, Catholic and Islamic leaders promised, "we will never have religious disputes in front of God and all the people of the world again" and "we will be messengers of peace with HWPL."

In January 2016, on the 2nd anniversary of the Mindanao Civil Peace Agreement, the “HWPL Peace Monument” was also erected in Mindanao Sultan Kudarat, where the MILF is stationed, to publicly  formalize the achievement of peace in Mindanao by HWPL. Chairman Man Hee Lee, who visited the MILF region to attend the unveiling ceremony of the Peace Monument, was enthusiastically welcomed by the MILF's residents. The long lines of welcoming crowds showed how much Mindanao residents looked forward to “peace”.

On the morning of Sunday, October 7th in 2018, SBS’ (one of the major broadcasting companies in Korea) documentary team reported from Mindanao, which had become a place of peace following the signing of the peace agreement through Chairman Man-Hee Lee in 2014, through its documentary ‘Peace is far off, but a path that must be taken’ Locals who thought, 'we thought guns would bring peace', were enjoying a peaceful daily life without guns. They had recovered from the severe pain of suddenly losing their loved ones.

In January 2014, 84-year-old Korean peace activist Chairman Man-Hee Lee visited Mindanao risking his life only for “peace,” and God gifted them with "peace". This may have been because God, who has the power to achieve peace, was with Chairman Lee.

On January 24th 2016, the 'Unveiling ceremony of HWPL Peace Monument' was held at the MILF's post in Sultan Kudarat of Mindanao in the Philippines to celebrate 'the 2nd anniversary of the Mindanao Civil Peace Agreement'.

Peace!

 [Food]

[Food] Ddeokmanduguk (떡만두국, Rice cake and dumpling soup)

Most Korean restaurants and Korean-style noodle shops advertise this menu for the winter season as people prefer hot soup to warm their frozen body.

Ddeokmanduguk (떡만두국, Rice cake and dumpling soup) is a typical winter dish in Korea, which is easy and quick to cook (if dumplings are pre-prepared).

Most Koreans love Korean-style Wangmandu ('King-size dumpling') - which is as large as an adult male's fist - stuffed with many vegetables, tofu and meat. Koreans enjoy these dumplings with hot soup or ramen soup for better taste.

Koreans like to put dumpling in beef-stock, anchovy-stock or ramen soup which gives a great flavor to the dumpling. Dumplings give a very nice flavor when boiled in these soups because dumplings absorb the soup within. People love the flavor of dumpling fillings melting into one's mouth with hot soup.

Dumplings are stodgy and warm, and Koreans love carbohydrates for meal (usually steamed rice or noodles), so it is very obvious that ddeokmanduguk is a popular winter menu in Korea :)

I've got some frozen kimchi-mandu (kimchi dumpling) in my freezer which I will put in my ramen for today's lunch :)

Bon Appétit!

 [HWPL]

[HWPL] Short News - Religions United for Peace, International Online Prayer Assembly

On February 25th, HWPL (Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light; Chairman Man Hee Lee) and religious leaders from Germany, Romania and Luxembourg co-hosted an online prayer meeting for religious peace in the world.

It was held to celebrate UN World Interfaith Harmony Week, which was introduced by the United Nations in 2010, and also to promote mutual understanding between religions. The main purpose of this online meeting is to establish eternal religious peace.

50 people including 19 religious leaders from different countries and faiths including Buddhism, Protestantism, Islam, Hinduism, Orthodoxy and the Abrahamic faith. Each leader offered prayers for religious harmony and peace for the world and participants.

Peace!