Cherry Blossoms in South Korea

Spring in South Korea has got to be one of the most beautiful seasons, and my absolute favourite time of the year. Although, I must say that Autumn is also beautiful in it's own way with gorgeous red and yellow hued leaves falling gently to the ground (click here to see photographs of Autumn in Korea). It's Autumn right now, but it's Spring for everyone in back home in South Africa and so I wanted to share these pretty flowers with you today. 

These photographs are a selection of blossoms that I have taken over the last 2 Springs that we have had here in Korea. The gloomy & wet photographs are from an afternoon wondering around Gaeamsa Temple, just outside of Buan (Jeollobukdo, Korea) in the rain. It was pouring but I was really happy with the effect the rain gave to my photos. The last set of photographs are from the first day after that rain where the beautiful sunshine meant I was able to do a styled shoot with my friend Alysha. 

Enjoy!

x

Photographs all taken with my Nikon d700 and 50mm 1.4 & 85mm 1.8 prime lenses. Edited gently with Lightroom.

Life After the Dress {Episode 22} Stephanie Hedger

Hello and welcome to the next episode of my #LifeAfterTheDress series here on my blog. In this series I interview married women of all ages and from all walks of life and ask them real questions about their lives now, after all the glitter and sparkle of their wedding day is over.  You can read more about the other ladies I have interviewed so far by clicking here.

Today I have blogger and traveler extraordinaire, Stephanie Hedger. Stephanie makes up half of the drool worthy, Hedgers Abroad blog along with her husband, Ryan. Having connected with her over social media, I am so looking forward to meeting her in person later this month to collaborate on a new styled photo shoot I have in the pipeline.

So grab yourself a cuppa and get ready to be inspired.

x

Q1: Please introduce yourself (age, of both yourself and your husband, where do you live, what do you do & how long have you been married for?)

Hi! My name is Stephanie and my husband’s is Ryan. We are both 28 years old and are we are from small towns in Oklahoma. Two and a half years ago we moved to South Korea to teach English and blog about our travels at Hedgers Abroad! In July we celebrated our 4 year (?!) wedding anniversary!

Q2: Which Disney character do you feel sums you up to a ‘T’?

Good, well rounded Disney female characters are hard to come by. Most of them are just girls who go through some sort of hardship which is eventually solved by falling in love.

I think the character that I could identify most with would be Merida from “Brave.” When I was young, I was very headstrong and quite the tomboy. I had a hard time seeing eye-to-eye with my parents and always wanted to do things my way. I guess I am still sort of like that now haha!

Q3: How did you and your hubby meet?

We met in college while hosting a conference for Oklahoma State University. It was awful timing as he was planning to pack up and move to Chicago for photography school in just a few short months. We just had the summer to be together and by the end of it we decided that we were simply just meant to be. He stayed just to be with me and reenrolled at our university. We have been inseparable ever since.

Q4: Was your wedding everything you hoped it would be? Would you go back and change anything? Do you have any advice for brides-to-be?

Planning our wedding was stressful. A lot of people had a lot of opinions about how we should be doing it. We actually considered eloping halfway through the planning, but stuck it out. In the end, our day turned out to be really special and our friends and family came from all over the country just to be there. We were glad that we stuck it out and had the celebration with everyone there. If we could go back and change anything, we would just have kept everything low key and simple; get married in the fall out in our family’s backyard.

There is so much pressure to have the PERFECT wedding that couples can easily lose sight of what is most important. So figure out what’s the most important for you to have on your special day and consider nixing the rest. Don’t get so caught up in the planning that you forget to enjoy yourself!

Q5: Has ‘life after the dress’ been as you imagined it would be?

Yes! We dated for three years before getting married, two of which we spent living together. We were basically already a married couple at that point without the actual paperwork. By the time we were married, we already knew everything about each other and the only thing that changed was my last name.

This trend is becoming more popular with couples and I think it really helps to test relationships. When there is a fight, you can’t just walk away and wait to see who will call to apologize first. You have to face problems head-on. You become a team and, in time, you are able to see the other person’s values and priorities.

We loved living together and even adopted a few animals in the process. We knew pretty much right away that we wanted to be together for the rest of our lives and after that, it was only a matter of time before Ryan popped the question!

Q6: What do you think makes marriage work?

My advice is to never stop dating each other. Just because you are married doesn’t mean you can just stop trying! Do new and exciting things together, be spontaneous, learn something new, go on road trips, or find a new hobby to do together. Don’t become complacent.

Q7: What have you learnt about yourself since being married?

I have learned that I have the tendency to pile WAY TO MUCH onto my plate. Eventually, I stress out and in the midst of my panic and frustration, there’s Ryan to pull me out of my spiral. He goes through life with such a carefree attitude and it is something I really admire. I get so caught up in life that sometimes I completely forget to take it easy, but I am working on it.

Q8: If you could describe your marriage in 3 words, what would they be?

Fun, daring, happy

Q9: Do you have any pearls of wisdom you would like to share with my readers about being married? Perhaps something some wise person once told you, or something you’ve learnt the hard way?

 Be silly. Make each other laugh. Life isn’t as serious as everyone makes it out to be.

You can follow our journey!
Blog: Hedgers Abroad (www.hedgersabroad.wordpress.com)

Instagram: @hedgersabroad (https://instagram.com/hedgersabroad/)

Facebook: Hedgers Abroad (https://www.facebook.com/hedgersabroad)

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I hope you have been enjoying this series as much as I have enjoyed putting it together.

If you would like to be featured here on the blog, you can drop me an email using the contact form above or leave me a comment below. I look forward to hearing from you!

Etude House Play 101 Eyeliner Pencil in #3 & #18 {Review}

I recently picked up these eyeliners on sale at Etude House for only W3 000, 50% off their regular price of W6 000. I must say that I really wasn't expecting much from them considering they were on sale for so few pennies. I picked up the first one #18 by mistake. The saleslady gave me the wrong pencil by accident and I didn't realise until after I had used it. I was rather annoyed, until Farmboy commented on my makeup, saying how pretty it looked, and then I decided it was actually rather a nice new addition to the dark shades I already own.

#18 is a soft pastel shade of lilac and is very light. It goes on almost white (which is great for highlighting and opening up your eyes). I have noticed a lot of Koreans use a light shade of eyeliner/glitter dust on their waterline which opens up their eyes and makes them look brighter and larger.

#3 is my favourite of the two and is a smoky, glittery dark purple, grey shade. It's dark enough to finish off a smoky eye, but with the bits of glitter in it make it still very feminine, as opposed to vampy. I use this shade with both light makeup on my eyes as well as for a darker, smokier look.

These pencils are wind up, so no fussing with a pencil sharpener. They are also a gel-like consistency which makes them glide easily onto your eye lid. They are easily removed with makeup remover, but they stay put on your eyelid. I have used them with an eye primer and right on my lid with no base and they have lasted the entire day without smudging or going creasing. Pretty amazing little pencils.

I may return soon for some of their more playful colours (I spied a teal and an emerald green which could be fun to play around with).

Have you tried these eyeliners before? What did you think of them?

Buan, South Korea. A glimpse into our small town.

Farmboy & I have been living in Buan, South Korea for the past 2 & a half years and have really enjoyed the change in lifestyle from our first year in Korea where we lived in a huge city (Daejeon). This time around we are in 'rural' or 'countryside' Korea, but if you were to walk the streets of our town you would find it hard to declare rural. It looks like almost ever other city/town in Korea apart from the fact that we only have 1 main street lined with stores. 

However a 2 minute drive out of town and you'll find wide open spaces, tractors & four wheelers driven by old men with their old lady(ies) riding shotgun. Every street corner and square inch of open space is cultivated and tended to with loving care. 

Here are some photographs from an early evening drive around my town. The nights are getting cooler and the leaves are falling from the trees. I can't wait to photograph the red and yellow colours of Autumn, and of course the crisp, white snow of Winter still to come.

I was even able to get my pup #ShadowTheJindo to pose for a few shots too. Click here to read more about is story and how we found him on the side of the road last year September. 

Photographs taken with my Nikon D700 and 50mm 1.4 & 24 - 70mm lens.

Farmboy & Citygirl...Our 3 year Wedding Anniversary.

On Sunday 23rd September 2012, this city girl walked down the aisle of a converted barn to meet her farm boy. What a wonderful day it was, filled with family and friends, love and laughter and most importantly for us, God.

Today marks our 3 year wedding anniversary. We are currently in South Korea where we have been for the past 2.5 years, and where we will be until June next year when we plan to return home to South Africa. These past few years have been filled with lots of laughter, lots of love, lots of challenges and lots of adventure. 

Here's to many, many, many more with you Farmboy.

x

Photographs by Jacki Bruniquel

If you'd like to read more about our love story, how we planned our DIY wedding and where we went on honeymoon, click here.  

The Lead up to our Farm Wedding...Looking back three years on

Tomorrow is mine and Farmboys 3 year wedding anniversary. Farmboy asked me this morning if I can remember what we were doing this time 3 years ago, and as I thought about it I was overwhelmed with gratitude and every other mushy feeling for all the friends and family who were around us and spent countless hours helping us prepare our wedding venue. 

We got married on Farmboy's family dairy farm in Creighton, Kwazulu-Natal (South Africa). For those who haven't heard of Creighton, it's a teeny tiny town about 2 hours in land from Durban. We had our ceremony in the barn, and then our reception in the cow shed.

It was a huge undertaking to take the very much working cow shed and barn and turn them into our dream wedding venue. It would not have been possible without so many people, especially my mother & father in law who did so many things behind the scenes from the physical moving out of the cows and so much more. Here are my photographs of the shed & barn from the few months leading up to the wedding:

Here are some of my favourite photographs from the lead up to our wedding taken by my dear friend Sophie Smith of Sophie Smith Photography. Farmboy and his dad handmade all the tables, I sourced all the cutlery, plates & glasses from a lady in Joburg (A Vintage Affair) who kindly let me (gently) transport everything to Natal. The flowers were arranged by two of the kindest local Creighton ladies (Rene & Gail) and then friends and family came from all over the country to help lend a hand wherever they could. I think the lead up to the wedding was perhaps even better than the actual day as we were able to spend quality time with everyone whereas on the actual wedding day everything went by so fast.  

Tomorrow I'll post a few of my favourite photographs of our wedding day.

Thanks for stopping by.

x

Innisfree Color Glow Lipstick in #7 & #11 {Review}

I am rather mad about Innisfree, one of Koreas first authorities on eco-friendly skincare. Innisfree uses extracts of pure ingredients from Jeju Island and  their products are packaged from eco-friendly packaging materials. There is a lot to love about this brand, and my Instagram feed is testimony to my love for their products. 

The Color Glow range of lipstick promises vivid pigmentation with a moisturising formula. They have a buttery texture, and are very easy to apply in their twist up tubes. Due to their moisturising formula, they don't last quite as long as matte lipsticks. I get about 3 hours of wear, a little more with #

#11 (pictured below) is a red shade with a mostly orange tint. It also has little glitter pigment which makes for a pretty sparkle on your lips. I find that the glitter pigment does mean that the texture is a little rough on the lips but because of this I find it has more staying power than #7 which doesn't have the same glitter texture. It's not uncomfortable by any means, but it's not as smooth as the other shades in this range. I like having the option though and use this shade of red when I'm not feeling bold enough for my Innisfree Cream Mellow lipstick in #8.

The bottom of this lipstick shows a very red colour, but the actual shade is far more coral than red. As you can see below when worn on the lips, this is far more orange that the actual tube suggests.

#7 (pictured below) is a soft fuchsia shade that wears down to more of a purple shade after a few hours. The texture of this particular shade is soft and silky, with glides onto your lips, feeling more like a lipgloss than a lipstick. I find I need more than a few coats of, whereas #11 only requires two coats for a strong look. This shade is very moisturising on my lips and doesn't dry them at out at all. I love the colour and find that it goes with just about everything.

Although it looks like a bright shade, it actually is very pretty and not 'in-your-face' like the tube suggests. This is my favourite of the two shades and I wear it almost daily.

You can buy these from your local Innisfree store for W12 000 each. I picked these up during the latest big sale at my local Innisfree for W6 000 a pop.

5 ways Buffer will change the way you blog forever!

I've been using Buffer for about a year now, but it's only been in the last few months that I have come realise just how powerful it can be when fully utilised to grow your blog. For those who have never heard of Buffer, let me break down what exactly it is.

"Buffer is the best way to drive traffic, increase fan engagement and save time on social media" Buffer

Basically, Buffer is a platform for you to schedule twitter statuses & Facebook posts (LinkedIn & Google plus too and Pinterest for their paid upgrade) ahead of time. For those of you who wonder how it is that I am able to post things on all my social media platforms while living in a different time zone to the majority of my readers this is how I do it. Once I publish a post on my blog, I head straight to buffer to make sure it gets posted to my social media platforms at times that are optimised for my chosen time zone.

If you are just diving into the world of social media marketing for your blog, you may have noticed that some of your posts are getting more attention on different days or at particular times of the day. According to research, weekdays at lunchtime are said to be the best time to post content on Facebook ('best time' meaning your posts are more likely to get the most likes, shares & comments).  This is quite a simple thing to understand if you think about your own personal use of Facebook. When do you spend the most amount of time on Facebook? Most people are asleep/busy in the early morning and so it makes sense that the lowest engagement on Facebook posts is before 6am right? Buffer has all sorts of fancy tools to do all the hard work for you, suggesting optimal posting times for your social media platforms based on your timezone and your past reader engagement.

Here are 5 ways that Buffer has changed the way I blog. Buffer itself is free and I think if you're serious about your blog, this tool can really help you take it to the next level. 

Analytics

Once your post has been published on your chosen platform, Buffer will give you a breakdown of how well it did. It will show you how many likes/shares/comments/retweets you got. This helps you to see what sort of content your readers are engaging with, and especially what you are posting when. Buffer also adds a little star to posts that have done the best (calling them 'Top Posts') so you can easily scroll through and see what has worked best for your content. This helps you to determine when your followers are online and when they are engaging.

In the image below you can see how the following Facebook post performed (you can see how many comments/likes/clicks on the link I posted/shares and also how many people the post reached). From this post I can see that it only reached 380 people. I know that I have 1800+ fans on Facebook and yet only 380 of them saw this post. Interesting. Some of the analytical elements are for paid for members of Buffer (such as the 'Most Popular' tab but I have yet to need any of their added features and am very happy with the free version so far!).

For me, I have readers in many different timezones; I am South African (so many of my readers are there), I live in Korea (a lot of my makeup reviews are seen by people in Asia as these products are more widely available here) and finally a lot of my readership is based in the US and Europe too. This means in order to make sure that everyone sees my content, I need something that allows me to schedule my posts for these different timezones (refer to point 3 below!). I use the free analytics section of my own blogging platform (Squarespace) and I use Google Analytics to get a better breakdown of the countries where my readers are based. Once I know where they are based, I can then schedule my posts for optimal times in those timezones.

Scheduling

I mentioned this at the start of this post but scheduling is what Buffer is built to do. Buffer has a new tool for optimizing your posting times. You can either choose your own times and how often you want posts to go out for your different platforms or you can let buffer do the hard work for you with their Optimal Timing Tool. When you add content in the 'Content' tab, those posts will then be added to a list that will publish those posts at the times you have chosen above or let Buffer choose for you: 

When I click the above 'Want Buffer to optimize your schedule? Try our Optimal Timing Tool' I get directed to the following page where I can choose which platform I want my optimal times to show:

Once you choose your platform, and the number of times a day you want to post, Buffer uses it's fancy algorithms and spits out a graph like this: 

From the graph above I can see that if I want to post to Facebook twice a day, the optimal times are between 2pm & 8pm for my chosen time zone (Asia/Seoul). You can then have Buffer automatically replace your exisitng schedule or you can do it yourself in the schedule tab in your dashboard.

Buffer is super easy to add content to. Simply choose which profile you want to add content to, click on the 'Content' tab and begin writing and uploading images. Right now you can see I have zero posts scheduled:

What's also handy is you can write one piece of content and set it to be posted to all of your social media platforms linked to Buffer. I usually schedule short posts for twitter, and more image based content for Facebook. Although I have noticed that the images I have shared to Twitter get more re-tweets than my written posts (thanks to the analytics tab!).

Buffer Blog

One of my favourite features of Buffer is, funnily enough, their own blog. They have such great articles and guides to all elements of social media and constantly post tips for making the most out of Buffer. Their blog is definitely worth checking out if you want to learn more about the science behind social media. It's a no-frills place to learn more about Social Media.

TIME SAVING

Because I can post my content ahead of time, it saves me from having to be at my computer and manually post each bit of content, as well make sure I have an image for each one. My brand is very image based and so being able to sit down once a week and schedule social media posts to go out throughout the week saves me so much time. It also means I can turn my phone off when I am out and not worry about posting content. Buffer does all the work for me.

SHORTEN LINKS

This is a big benefit to Buffer. I was using Bitly to shorten my web links, especially for twitter. I actually still use Bitly on the odd occasion when I want to manually post something to Social Media but having a platform that shortens links and schedules posts for me just saves me more time, and that's the point really isn't it. Shortening your links helps you keep to the strict 140 characters for Twitter, and it also helps Buffer to provide you with analytics for the number of people who clicked on your link. And to be honest which of the following looks better on the eye and more 'click worthy':

https://sticky9.com/?pid=117&referral_code=FRIEND2JNT&utm_content=buffer17f3b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

or

http://buff.ly/1JumpJ9

I have more thing to say about Buffer. While scheduling your posts is a massive time saving tool, do remember that social media is about being social. It's about engaging with people. Don't just set up a bunch of posts and then hope your blog will grow magically. As with any blogging tool, it is designed to be used in partnership with you. You are the person behind the blog and you are not a machine. Here is a really great guide to Social Media automation by the Buffer Blog. It's definitely worth a read. 

Do you use Buffer? Have you found that it's saved you time and helped grow your own blog or website? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.

Happy blogging!

*I have not been asked by Buffer to write this post or been paid to do so. I simply want to share with you how this great site has helped me become a better blogger.*

Innisfree Eco Science Eye Cream {Review}

The Eco Science range is an anti ageing line of products from one of Korea's natural skincare brands, Innisfree. It's no secret that I love Innisfree and spend an unhealthy amount of time in there (my Instagram feed is proof to my obsession with this brand!). 

I first read about this eye cream from Sheryl (one of my favourite Asian skincare gurus) and she raved about it. I had been using the Olay Total Effects Eye Transforming Cream (I even brought a tub over back in 2013 when we came to Korea the second time) but I must say this Innisfree one is even better. This is my second tube and I just can't get enough of it.

What it says on the box "This skincare product is naturally derived with wrinkle treatment that promotes skin vitality with marine plants from the clean and pure ocean of Jeju Island. It contains marine plants that are rich in Vitamin A and minerals to rejuvenate the ageing skin and to foster the self protective power of the skin.

The cream comes in a pump tube and dispenses exactly the right amount of cream for both eyes. I hate eye cream in tubs as I never know how much to use and either end up wasting it or not using enough and having dry under eye areas. This handy tube does all the guess work for you. 

I have most definitely noticed a reduction in the nasty little fine lines that started appearing around my eyes last year (I am going to say they are my smile and laughter lines because I am always smiling!).  My eye area looks plump and smooth after applying the cream and I love the texture of the cream. It's smooth and easily sinks into the skin.

I will be on to my third bottle soon, and even though it is on the pricier end of the scale (W28 000 for 30ml) it's absolutely worth it for me. I usually stock up my skincare products when Innisfree has their monthly 20% - 50% sales. 

WIN a Spring Inspired Package from Korea

The weather over the past few days has been absolutely delightful (it's the final days of summer and I know this means we are in for a very cold winter here in Korea). It really has felt like Spring, and to celebrate I'm giving away this very pretty package of stationery and beauty products from some of my favourite stores here.

Happy Friday everyone! The weather here in Korea has been feeling very much like Spring and to celebrate I am giving...

Posted by CityGirl Searching on Thursday, 10 September 2015

I've got face masks, nail polish, pencils, writing paper, and lots of other pretty goodies. All you have to do is head over to my Facebook page and comment & share the photo. This giveaway is open worldwide and the winner will be drawn on Tuesday 15th September.

Good luck!

Dog boarding for Big Dogs in Korea - 4MenDogs, Daejeon

Having a dog here in South Korea is both wonderful and challenging and delightful and frustrating all at the same time. If you have adopted/rescued/own one of the small breeds then you're life here will be infinitely easier than those of us who have larger dogs. Just to be clear, it seems that anything bigger than 10kg's is deemed big/large here. I have had lots of people back home in South Africa say to me that, "Oh, Shadow is actually quite small" and I have to remind them of the fact that the majority of dogs kept as pets (especially kept indoors) are of the maltese/Pomeranian size. When we rescued Shadow he was a measly 2kg's and we had no idea how big he was going to get. He has grown into a rather handsome and healthy 19kg (medium in Western standards) dog.

My husband and I came here to Korea with the goal of traveling to as many places as we can, and having a dog was definitely not part of the plan. We also go away a lot, although we have swopped hotels for a tent so we can now accommodate our pooch.

But, as much as our lives have had to change with him in them, we still go away on holiday and have had to find a place for him to stay. I know a lot of people feel that leaving your dog somewhere if you go away is stressful for the dog, I have to say that every-time we have picked him up from the boarding establishment he barely seems to have noticed we have been gone. We may be very lucky to have a very independent, self sufficient dog, but I think it also has a lot to do with all the training we did with him when he was younger. He sleeps in his own room (if you don't have another room here in your apartment you could section off part of your apartment or use a crate). This really helps with separation anxiety as your pup gets used to the fact that you aren't around 24/7. If you get them used to their crate they should be able to travel anywhere, and at least have their crate as a place of safety for them to retreat into if they feel scared or stressed. 

4MenDogs in Daejeon

I have done extensive research into boarding/dog hotels for my pup and the reality is I just can't justify spending a small fortune on him every-time we go away. I found that most pet sitters/hotels will charge anything from $30 - $50 a day. If I was just going away for the weekend this wouldn't be so bad, but for extended periods of time (like our vacations which are 2 - 3 weeks) this amount is just too much. I know pet sitters work hard for their money, but as it costs us close to $4000 to take a 20kg dog back to South Africa we are on a strict budget.

I was thrilled to find out about 4MenDogs in Daejeon who cater for all sizes and breed of dogs in their rather large establishment on the outskirts of the city. Shadow has stayed there twice now (once over a weekend and then for our winter break of 2 weeks). Both times he hardly acknowledged our arrival wanting to carry on playing with his friends and came back just as happy and healthy as when we dropped him off.

It has been a little difficult communicating with the people who run 4MenDogs as they don't speak much English but you can make a booking via email with a very nice English speaking lady (details posted below). We decided to visit the place before Shadow stayed the first time and two of the staff members were super helpful and had their phones out to translate any questions we had and they explained to us the schedules for the dogs. 

What I like most about 4MenDogs is that they have a number of large, outdoor enclosures in which the dogs are rotated around throughout the day. The dogs are crated overnight (so you need to supply your dog's crate...another reason to crate train them before hand so they get used to being in there and will feel safe and comfortable while in them...click here for a post on where to buy a crate online here in Korea) and then they are crated again at lunch time. 

4MenDogs are able to hold a lot of dogs as they have a big warehouse type set up where the crates are kept, as well as outdoor pens (pictured above nder the shadoe cloth) where I saw different dogs kept during my visits to drop off and pick up Shadow. They also offer training and grooming.

Another great thing about them is when we arrived the first time they put Shadow in an enclosure fenced off from the other dogs to see how he behaved and how the other dogs behaved towards him. It was noted that one male was quite aggressive to Shadow and they moved that particular dog and then put Shadow in with the other dogs. So they really are careful about placing dogs with even temperaments. This should put your mind at ease if you have a very shy dog or one who has not had much socialising with other dogs. They also separate the male and female dogs and will ask you whether your dog is fixed or not. This may be a pre-requisite for boarding. 

I did have a Korean friend phone for me to make our first booking and they had asked a lot of questions about my dog before hand. Things like whether he had stayed apart from us before, and what his eating habits are like when he is away from us as JIndos are known as being very picky eaters (Shadow did go on a 3 day hunger strike apparently when we were gone but then went back to eating normally after that). 

4MenDogs use their website (click here) to upload photographs and videos of your dog so you can see how they are doing (see pictures above). This was great and something I really appreciated being a very soppy dog mommy I missed my pup rather a lot, and seeing him having such a great time with other dogs helped put my mind at ease. 

As they don't offer a drop off/pick up service you will need to think about getting your dog there and picking them up. We have a car here in Korea and I'm not sure how anyone manages without one if they have a big dog!

I've posted the nitty gritty info & prices below. Please do have a Korean friend call them if you have any specific questions relating to 4MenDogs. This post is my personal opinion of the place, and I have been very happy with them. Please note that we, as bigger dog owners can't really be too fussy about places like 4MenDogs as there just aren't that many places that accept big dogs for longer periods of time without charging the earth. Please note, there was a recent complaint from someone that their dog contracted Canine Influenza at 4MenDogs but as a responsible dog owner you should be vaccinating/titre testing your dog annually if your dog spends time with other dogs. I hope you find this post helpful, and at the end of the day it helps you with finding a place to board your pup.

More Information from the Animal Rescue Korea Site (this information is current):

Address: 421-5 Yongsan-dong, Yuseon-gu, Daejeon.
It’s about 15 minute walk from North Daejeon IC (북대전 IC).
There is a bus of 704, 301, 918 & 5 you can take and should get off bus station 북대전IC네거리.
Pick up service available from the bus stop to the center.

Contact
For a pick up, kyungkuen@naver.com (010-2236-4004)
For further inquiry, sylvia@kepco-enc.com (not a trainer, for English communication)
You can visit your dog anytime from 09:00 am to 19:00 pm (please call ahead to give them warning)
For urgent enquiries, you can contact in advance and visit your dog anytime since at least one of 4 trainers stays at night everyday.

Price for boarding:
*Per day / More than 10 days / Per month / Normal Discounted for ARK
Small 15,000  10,000  300,000 450,000 400,000
Medium/large 20,000 10,000 300,000 500,000 450,000
*No pick up service available for boarding.

Prerequisites and things to bring
* Dogs should be up to date with vaccinations.
* For a male dog, he should be neutered.
* A small bag of hard food your dog eats and things such as toys, blanket which help your dog feeling a bit at home.

Trainers
There are 4 trainers who all majored in animal training area. Mr.KWON, Gyung-geun has more than 3 years of experience in a training facility in near Seoul. Other 3 have junior level of training experience. Most of all, all of them love dogs and are passionate about training dogs.

Training Style
The trainers use positive reinforcement training techniques using clickers, treats and ball. Choke collars are used upon the request of the owner, or when the trainers deem it necessary for safety.

Payment
Payment is preferred by cash or bank transfer. You’re asked to pay it on the day your dog starts training or boarding. Please inquire the account info if needed.

Other services (Playground open from 12:00pm to 19:00pm)
You can bring your dog and use the playground everyday except for every Thursday.
It is 5,000won per person and it doesn’t matter how many dogs you bring together. The dog should be fully vaccinated and not aggressive or sick.

Klairs Creamy Concealer Natural Fit Concealer Review

Welcome to Klairs' latest addition to their makeup range. This creamy concealer was designed to be used in conjunction with their Supply BB Cream (click here for a full review) but it works wonderfully by itself or under your own choice of makeup or bb cream.

I have been a big fan of Klairs for a while now, because their products are simple (they don't test on animals!), natural and they just work. I am an especially a big fan of their Black Sugar scrub (click here). If you'd like to know more about their products and read reviews of what I have tried and tested so far then click here. I get all my Klairs products from WishTrend who are an awesome online store that deliver world wide so no matter where you are in the world you can get your hands on amazing Korean beauty products.

Klairs Creamy Concealer Natural Fit

The Klairs Creamy Concealer Natural fit is a medium coverage product that works particularly well on my normal to oily skin. It blends seamlessly into my skin with or without my favourite Velvet Skin primer from the FaceShop. It covers up redness and does an okay job of dealing with my pigmentation. I am not into heavy makeup and prefer a natural look, and that is why I love this concealer so much. When I am needing a little more coverage I use this with the Klairs Supple BB cream and top it off with a dusting of translucent powder to set my look. 

My biggest skin concern when it comes to makeup is my pigmentation. I get the odd pimple here and there (and this concealer does a great job of covering them up even with just one payer of product). I know that there aren't that many products that offer full coverage for skin issues like pigmentation so I did not expect this concealer to provide full coverage. I find the products that do offer full coverage sit very heavily on my skin and I don't want to look like a barbie doll. This is why this concealer is just right for me in that it offers medium coverage without looking cakey. 

Depending on how I'm feeling I use this concealer alone, under my Innisfree Mineral pressed powder, and under/on-top my Klairs BB Cream. It has quite a thick consistency, which I really like as you feel like the product is actually going to provide coverage rather than those more liquid concealers which get absorbed into your makeup brush too easily. I use my favourite Sigma F80 flat topped kabuki brush to blend it into my skin. 

I have swatched the concealer below and you can see it's coverage in relevance to the freckle on the right. This concealer has medium coverage that is definitely buildable. The swatch below is from 1 layer of concealer. I have a medium skin shade (Mac NW 25) and I find this shade to work very well for my skin tone. If you have very light or fair skin, this shade would be a little dark for you. I would say it wouldn't be suitable for anyone with a lighter skin tone than NC 25.

This concealer only comes in one shade, which may be frustrating for some, but I have found that is similar to the Klairs BB cream which also only comes in one shade but suits a multitude of skin tones. But do bear in mind that my skin tone is an olive shade and I wear Mac NW25.

The Ingredients list:

Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Butylene Glycol, Titanium Dioxide, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Glycerin, Polysorbate 80, Silica, Sodium Hyaluronate, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Yellow Oxide Of Iron, Dimethicone, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Bentonite, Sodium Chloride, Black Oxide Of Iron, Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Red Oxide Of Iron, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Chlorphenesin, Talc, Xanthan Gum, Centella Asiatica Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Piper Methysticum Leaf/Root/Stem Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Fragrance, Tocopheryl Acetate, Linum Usitatissimum (Linseed) Seed Extract, Hibiscus Esculentus Fruit Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Arctium Lappa Root Extract, Hibiscus Mutabilis Flower Extract, Corchorus Olitorius Leaf Extract

You can purchase this Concealer online from WishTrend for $14.99.

If you enter this code 052313605 at check out, you can also save yourself $5!

Disclosure: I received the above products for review purposes but the opinions expressed here are 100% my own. This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission should you make a purchase using one of the links. 

Life After The Dress {Episode 21} Kristin Louw

It's been a little while since my last #LifeAfterTheDress post and I have been wanting to share Kristin's story with you for ages, so I am very happy to finally have it ready here on the blog. 

In this series I interview married women of all ages and from all walks of life and ask them real questions about their lives now, after all the glitter and sparkle of their wedding day is over.  You can read more about the other ladies I have interviewed so far by clicking here.

So grab yourself a cup of tea and get ready to be inspired by Kristin's story.

x

Q1: Please introduce yourself (age, of both yourself and your husband, where do you live, what do you do & how long have you been married for?)

My name is Kristin Louw (28), married to my husband Etienne Louw (29) for one year and seven months. We live in an apartment complex in Greenstone, Johanneburg (South Africa). My husband is a software developer and I work as Digital Marketing Services Manager for NAB Caxton. We had dated for 6.5 years when we got married. He proposed on New Year's Eve, an awesome surprise, and were engaged for just over a year before tying the knot!

Q2: Which Disney character do you feel sums you up to a ‘T’?

Probably Ariel due to her fondness for collecting things and upcyling things for a new purpose! Plus I love the seaside.

Q3: How did you and your hubby meet?

We met at university where we were each donating blood with a friend! I brought him juice & biscuits afterwards because I thought he was cute :)

Q4: Was your wedding everything you hoped it would be? Would you go back and change anything? Do you have any advice for brides-to-be?

It was the most perfect, blissful day surrounded by family & friends. The day before POURED (and I mean POURED) with rain so we were a little nervous, but after all you can't predict the weather when you set the date a year ago! But on the day itself we were blessed with blue skies and just a little drizzle that started as we did our first dance so it was kind of magical.

My advice to brides to be would be to a.) BREATHE and b.) Enjoy every second - from the time you get engaged to the moment you through that bouquet and jet off on honeymoon. It really does go by extremely fast, especially the big day itself. Take the time to catch your breath, take in your surroundings and soak up the moment. When else will you ever have all the people that you love in one room again? But at the end of it all, even if your wedding was not the "flawless day" you imagined, just remember it's one day in a long lifetime of days and every day of marriage can be better than the last.

Another piece of advice that I would perhaps give to my pre-married self would be to take a local honeymoon! Firstly, nowhere is more beautiful than our own country, but you can save yourself the jet lag, 25 hour travel time and extra money. While we went on honeymoon to Thailand and we both really did enjoy it, both my husband & I agreed afterwards that overseas travel is all about adventure & exploring, whereas honeymoon is a time to really just relax, sleep and enjoy your first weeks as husband & wife while recovering from the race to the wedding.

Q5: Has ‘life after the dress’ been as you imagined it would be?

It's been weird & wonderful - what I expected & not (in a good way). My husband & I did not live together before we were married so there was a lot to get used to. While we did bicker a little at first, we soon found our groove and it has been lovely overall. We love not having to balance our schedules and make arrangements to see each other - you just wake up and decide what you want to do together that day! It's like having a sleep over every day with your best friend.

Q6: What do you think makes marriage work?

We give each other space to our own person, but always remember that we are two parts of the same whole at the end of the day. I think faith, trust, love and appreciation are key ingredients that make marriage work. Plus a good healthy dose of patience! Ultimately however, I think a marriage with God as the foundation is the most important thing to making it work.

Q7: What have you learnt about yourself since being married?

I quite like baking, which my husband does not complain about! ;)

Q8: If you could describe your marriage in 3 words, what would they be?

Adventure, honesty, laughter

Q9: Do you have any pearls of wisdom you would like to share with my readers about being married? Perhaps something some wise person once told you, or something you’ve learnt the hard way?

I was once told that marriage is not 50/50. It's 100/100, and if you both give it your all every day, you will never run out as you will always balance & refuel each other.

Also, marriage is a triangle with you and your partner on the bottom corners & God at the top. The closer you grow to God, the closer you will ultimately grow to each other :)

I hope you have been enjoying this series as much as I have enjoyed putting it together.

If you would like to be featured here on the blog, you can drop me an email using the contact form above or leave me a comment below. I look forward to hearing from you!

Banting Friendly Dinner Ideas: Salmon, Spinach & Mushrooms

After our recent trip to Borneo (where the slabs of Cadbury's chocolate gave me a shove right off the Banting bandwagon) I am back on track again thanks to meals like this one that Farmboy put together. It's quick and simple to prepare and doesn't require anything too fancy (you could substitute the salmon steaks for any fish and sub the blue cheese for whatever you have in your fridge) but the flavors would then change.

These flavours blended together perfectly and made for a very yummy meal.

Directions

1. Place a pot of water on the boil and steam your spinach.

2. Fry the fish in a blob of butter and roughly chopped garlic until cooked through.

While your fish is frying in the pan, heat up your oven & place button mushrooms onto a tray with chunks of cheese on top of each mushroom. Place into the oven for 10 - 15 minutes, or until the cheese has melted 

Serve your salmon with a slice of lemon &  topped with the spinach (and don't forget to drizzle the garlic butter sauce from the frying pan over your spinach).

Innisfree Eco Science Cream {Review}

The Eco Science range is an anti ageing line of products from one of Korea's natural skincare brands, Innisfree. It's no secret that I love Innisfree and spend an unhealthy amount of time in there (my Instagram feed is proof to my obsession with this brand!). This is my second purchase of the Eco Science Cream, which I just love. 

This cream is enriched with natural anti-ageing active ingredients from marine plants and botanical extracts from Jeju Island and is said to 'regenerate skin and provide nutrients for a self-protective skin'. As I am going into my late twenties, I have started to notice a few extra lines (I am going to call these laugh lines and say they are from squinting with my camera and not because I am getting old!). I had heard only good things about the Eco Science range of products which are aimed at ageing skin.

In Korea, most skincare lines will carry a cream & a lotion (which is sometimes referred to as an emulsifier). Lotions/Emulsifiers are very light moisturisers which would best suit skin in summer, or very oily skin due to the lighter texture. These are usually water based. Creams on the other hand are have a much thicker texture and are used in winter, or for those with dry to very dry skin. During Winter this was my go to moisturiser which saved my skin from the harsh winds and snow, as well as the indoor heating which can wreck havoc on your skin. I now use this every other evening as my night cream, or when I feel like my skin is thirtsy.

The light grey coloured cream has a thick texture and comes in a round, white tub. The tub is filled with cream (80ml of product) so no sneaky packaging has been used to give the appearance of more product. I always get so cross when I open up a cream and see half the bottle is purely packaging, this is so wasteful (financially and environmentally!). Luckily for us, Innisfree is all about being ECO friendly and is great with their packaging (their boxes are even all printed with soy ink!).

The texture of the cream when applied to your skin is sticky, and depending on how dry your skin is, it might take a little while for the product to sink in. I have found that in summer it takes a long time for it to sink into my skin. This can be a bit annoying as I sometimes feel like I am leaving residue on my pillow. This is why I would recommend it for winter or for anyone with very dry skin.

Whenever I wake up after using this the night before my skin is incredibly smooth and plump and feels firmer to the touch. I have also been using this with the Eco Science Eye Cream (this is my favorite eye cream...review to come soon) and most recently with the Eco Science Skin toner (review to come soon).

I recently purchased the Whitening Pore Cream (review to come soon) and use it interchangeable at night with this one.

If you're wondering where a cream fits into your beauty regime, it's broken down on the side of the box:

Cleanser- Skin (toner) - Lotion  - serum - wrinkle spot essence/recover spot essence - eye cream - cream 

The Korean skincare regime is extensive, with most women using a serum, essence, lotion AND cream every day. I simply don't have the time and use a cleanser, toner, cream and eye cream with a suncream during the day. I will be doing a breakdown of my current summer skincare regime soon.

I am on my second tub of this cream (it comes in a 80ml tub) and will definitely be repurchasing more when winter comes. It is on the pricier side at W28 000, but I try and stock up when Innisfree has their monthly 20% - 50% sales. Also, 80ml of product lasts me over 3 months so it's definitely worth the price for the amount of uses you get out of each tub.

Who is CityGirlSearching?

I recently wrote this blog post and asked readers what it is they want to see more of here on the blog. One of the comments was from Nihaad (who blogs over here) and she said she'd like to know a little more about me and the journey I took to get where I am right now. I don't usually share very personal posts on my blog, as I often think that no one really wants to hear the day to day ramblings of yet another blogger, but her comment made me think. Since it was still churning over in my mind a week later I have decided to start doing a few more personal posts, thrown in amongst the beauty reviews and travel guides.

I'd love to hear from you as to whether this is something you want to read more of, and as always look forward to your comments below. 

The girl behind the brand

I am a 27 year old South African living and teaching English in South Korea with my husband and rescue pup, Shadow the Jindo. In 2009, just before graduating from Rhodes University with a BA in English Literature & Industrial Psychology, I met this farmboy.  He was everything I was not, and considering I had a long term boyfriend at the time, I was simply not interested. Fast forward a few months, while making T-shirts together for a non-profit charity group we were both a part of, and I felt myself falling head over heels for this barefoot free spirit. You can read the full story here.

After dating for 5 months we left South Africa in search of a little adventure in South Korea.

Packed and ready for our first trip to Korea.

We were both unemployed, and wanted to see more of the world and so when TeachKorea did a presentation at our University we both dove straight in, competed our application forms and started the long process of moving to Korea. In February 2010 we boarded a plane and began our first year of teaching in Daejeon, one of the biggest cities in South Korea. We did lots of traveling (Cambodia, Jeju Island and The Phillipines) and spent a very interesting year learning a lot about ourselves and of course each other as we navigated the sometimes difficult waters of life in a foreign country. Towards the end of our one year contract, Farmboy was feeling under an immense amount of pressure to have concrete answers for friends and family with their constant bombardment of "What next?" "When are you going to get a real job?" and "What are you going to do when you get back to South Africa?". We knew everyone meant well with their questions but it didn't help our worries about the future.

The first 6 months back in South Africa were really hard. Farmboy had by then been out of University (having graduated with his BSC Honors in Biology & Environmental Science) for 3 years, meaning he was 3 years behind his classmates in the job sphere. We were living with my mom in Joburg (alternating between visits to his family farm in KZN). I was loving being back home, being brought tea in bed by my mom and being able to catch up with her after being gone for such a long time. But it wasn't real. We were living in a bubble, a very happy bubble for me and a very frustrating bubble for Farmboy. We had some money saved from Korea, but not much as we had really wanted to travel and experience as much as possible while in Korea and so there were financial pressures too. To give you an idea, in 2010 a first time English teacher in Korea with no experience (with a TEFL certificate) was paid R18 000 a month and was given a rent free apartment. We both had no loans to pay off and the cost of living was relatively inexpensive. But, holidays cost money, eating out costs money (when you miss home and the comfort of home cooked food and you realise you have no problem spending R200 a person for a curry that tastes a little bit like home). As we lived on the outskirts of a big city it took us an hour to get into the main areas where the shops and restaurants were and so we were also spending a lot of money on taxis. And then let's not forget the amazing fashion, stationery and makeup products Korea is so well known for. After a year, Farmboy had R40 000 saved and I had R75 000. I had more saved than him because he always paid whenever we went out for dinner (such a gentleman).  This may sound like a lot of money, and it was when it was all clumped together. But when rent costs R4 000, food costs R4 000 and petrol costs another R2 000 that money isn't going to go very far. We also needed to buy Farmboy a car. We chalked up our time in Korea to fun and adventure, and not as a saving year abroad.

Then there was the pressure we were feeling regarding marriage. We had both gone full circle with our feelings towards marriage (at first I had no desire to get married and he wanted us to take our relationship seriously and commit to one another, this changed when we got back and I wanted to start thinking about marriage and he was wanting to wait until we were both settled with steady jobs). During this time I had been for numerous interviews with companies wanting to take complete advantage of me and my skills in blogging and social media. After a few freelance social media positions and a short, horrible 6 week stint as a wedding & conference coordinator, I decided to do my Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching in Pietermaritzburg. Farmboy had at this time finally secured a great job in Pietermaritzburg and had moved there to work on the oil pipe line between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. He moved in with his grandparents in August 2011, and I followed in November that year, moving into a tiny one bedroom flat. 

Life went on, I was studying and Farmboys job allowed him a lot of flexibility. It was mostly field work and when he had done what he needed to do he could go home so it meant we were able to spend a lot of time together which was great.

We got engaged in May 2012 and were married on his family dairy farm in September that year. You can see more photographs from our wedding here. After the wedding and an incredible honeymoon in Greece (click here) we returned to 'normal' life in Pietermaritzburg. We were happy about the life we had begun together, but I was feeling antsy.

So many of my friends at the time were wanting to start a family and I just wanted to hop on a plane and experience strange things again. Korea began to creep up into our conversations more and more. But by this time Farmboy had gotten a great job in Hillcrest at a really awesome Environmental agency and had been traveling all over Africa (he was doing Environmental Impact Assessments on mining sites) and as awesome as it was for him, we were apart for weeks at a time. I had also found a great temporary teaching post that I was hoping would become permanent. But a few weeks after starting my job, I was told the school could no longer offer me a permanent post and it hit me exactly where it was that I wanted to go next. Farmboy and I then made the difficult decision to pack up our lives again, and start the process to return to Korea.

As we already had a years experience in Korea it wasn't long before a couple post was offered to us. We thought we would have had more time but by April 2013 we had to make a definite decision and decided to accept the contracts for Korea. Our jobs started in June and so Farmboy gave his notice, we spent our last month visiting family and friends in KZN and Joburg and finally boarded a plane bound for Korea (again) on the 23rd June. 

Korea round 2!

We have loved our second time here in Korea because it has been so different from before. We are now in a tiny town out in the countryside, we are earning a bit more and our family got a little bigger last year when we rescued Shadow from the side of the road. 

Our goal this second time around has been to spend 3 years trying to reach our saving goal. We have just started our third year and with that money we hope to either buy a house somewhere, or to put it away for our children's education. There are lots of options for us for when we return home next year, but right now instead of worrying about them, we are trying to enjoy our last year of complete freedom.

Living in Korea isn't always as easy and glamorous as it looks in my photographs. It's hard being on this side of the world when family members are sick and when grandparents pass away. It's hard being here when it seems like our classmates are making such huge successes of themselves out in the corporate or 'real world'. It's also hard being away from everything you have ever known as normal (food, ways of doing things, ways of solving problems) and it's hard being in a country where very few people can understand what you are saying. 

It's hard being a young adult in this day and age, with jobs being so hard to come by and so many people trying to start their own businesses. Not all of us will be successful entrepreneurs and not all of us are able to (or want to) be like the people who live those idyllic lives on Instagram.  I often put so much pressure on myself to have a super successful blog, to have a million followers on all my social media platforms, to be that person who becomes a great success over night. But this is just not real. I am okay with being a teacher when we go back, being a farmers wife or just having a regular job (okay this is still something I am making peace with but I know that in my heart of hearts it doesn't matter what job I do, and someone has to do the 'normal' jobs...if no one worked in banks, hospitals, schools, kitchens and restaurants the world just wouldn't work). 

Social media only shows us the best of the best, the highlights of peoples lives and those highlights are mostly (if not all) staged and styled. We have to asses our own priorities and be honest with ourselves about what makes us happy. We have to learn to be completely accepting of ourselves and who we are . I want to be someone whose day doesn't depend on how many likes and followers I have. I want to stop letting social media dictate my mood. I do believe it is possible to lead a balanced life with Facebook & Instagram as a part of it. I don't believe we have to get rid of it all to be truly happy, but I do believe there has to be a balance. I still have a way to go with getting that balance right, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Right now I am in a bit of a funny head space with this blog (wanting to take it full time but not really having any particular focus for it). I know people read my blog and think that I have got everything figured out but really, I'm just like most of you; a young woman trying to carve a space out in this world.

Writing this blog makes me happy.

Taking pretty photographs makes me happy.

And having people I don't know comment and email me to tell to say they found something helpful or felt inspired by something makes me feel like all the effort and time I put into this space is absolutely worth it.

That's why I blog. 

Where are you right now in your life? Do you have blog, what are some of the reasons you blog and some of the reasons you keep on blogging? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below. Sometimes we just need to hear that someone is going through something similar to realise that what we are feeling is completely normal. 

Farmboy and I have traveled to so many incredible places because Korea has given us the opportunity to save as well as travel. We have met so many like minded people and are grateful for what we have here. We may go through feelings of frustration and anxiety about the future (just live every other person!) but we have each other (and Shadow) and we have our faith in God that everything will work out. His plan may be different from ours, but whatever it is, it will better than anything we can imagine for ourselves. 

Henco & Marilize {Engagement}

Henco & Marilize are fellow South African English teachers here in South Korea. They have just recently returned to Korea from their whirl wind trip back home for their wedding.

I was so thrilled when they contacted me to ask if I would capture this special time in their lives, and I had a lot of fun with them throughout the afternoon.

Marilize and Henco love and adventure, and can often be found in their car road tripping around Korea. We decided to include that in their photographs, starting in Buan and then continuing through Byeonsan National park and ending off at a secluded beach near Gyeokpo on the South West coast.

Thank you for picking me Henco & Marilize. I know your lives together will always be filled with love, laughter and adventure. Wishing you a lifetime of happiness and road trips together.

For any photographers who may be interested, these photographs were all shot on my Nikon d700 with 24 -70mm 2.8 & 50mm 1.4 prime lens.

Enjoy!

x

If you're here in Korea and are looking for a photographer, please don't hesitate to get in touch. I do all sorts of shoots (pets, portraits, engagements, wedding, family, maternity and newborn). You can see more of my other work by hovering over the Photography Menu bar above. 

Microchipping your dog in Korea

A microchip is a small device (about the size of a grain of rice) which is implanted in your pets skin. There are no batteries, no tracking technology and no radiation involved. The chip is implanted under the skin between the shoulder blades and contains all your information (phone number, address etc). The needle used is a bit bigger than those used for vaccinations, and so some people prefer to have their pet microchipped while their pet is undergoing another anaesthetic operation (such as neutering) to avoid any unnecessary pain. However, most pets tolerate the procedure with little or no reaction (Shadow included).

Once your pet has a micro chip, your vet will then scan the chip and load your personal info onto a data system, thereby registering you as the owner. South Korea is clamping down on dog owners, imposing heavy fines of up to KRW 1million on unregistered dog. So many pets are abandoned in Korea (after they loose their puppy cuteness or when their irresponsible owners realise how expensive it can be to own a pet) registering the pet allows those owners to be traced. 

There are three methods of registering your dog in Korea;

• an embedded RFID chip (Radio Frequency Identification)
• an electronic tag
• or an ordinary dog tag

Microchipping your dog in Korea is a very simple process. The only thing you need to research is what kind of micro chip is used in your home country, or the country you plan on taking your pet to when you leave Korea.  Different countries have different chips/scanners, and so depending on where you will be taking your dog when you leave Korea, you need to keep this in mind. As Shadow will be returning with us to South Africa, we needed to make sure his micro chip was an ISO (International Standard Organisation) either ISO 11784 and ISO 11785. South Africa, Canada, Europe & South Korea are countries that I know have 15 digit ISO chip and so getting your pet chipped here will mean they will be able to be scanned in those countries. I have been told by my local vet that I will be able to change my information and address easily when I get back to South Africa as currently Shadow has been registered with my address & phone number here in Korea. In most countries, pet microchips adhere to ISO to promote compatibility between chips and scanners (this refers to the 15 digit ISO chip I mentioned before). In the US, however, there are three different types of chips other than the international standard. Click here for more info on the different chips and scanners.

South Africa (our home country) have a very strict import policy with animals and as such, pets have to be microchipped. For travel to the US, I have read that your dog doesn't have to be chipped (do check with your travel agent to be sure). Also, having your dog chipped and registered here (or any country) just gives you peace of mind, knowing that if they get lost for any reason, they have a much higher chance of being returned to you. A lot of dogs are able to get loose of their collars, and so there is a chance that an electronic tag on a collar could get lost.

All vets will be able to chip your dog. I live in a very small 'rural' town and my vet was able to do it for me quickly and effectively, and all with his very limited English and my even more limited Korean. As I live in a small town, the cost of veterinary services is much cheaper than the bigger cities here in Korea. Micro chipping and registering cost me W25 000 (about $25) but W40 000 ($40) seems to be the going rate in bigger cities. The actual procedure was very quick. It just involves a needle and the chip is implanted into the base of the neck, just below the skin. The needle was large though, that was a bit scary, but it was over in a few seconds and Shadow didn't even notice anything afterwards. Afterwards I was given a certificate as well as a few copies of his 15 digit chip number. It was so easy to do and I can't urge pet owners, especially those here in Korea, to get one done for your pet. I have also heard of people who have ordered their own chip from the US and then simply asked their vet to insert it for them. You are then able to configure the chip to your home address in the US. That option might appeal to you if you are leaving the country soon and know where you are going to be living when you get back home. As we will still be in Korea for at least another year I need to have my Korean address and phone number set up on my dogs chip.

Have you had any experience microchipping your pet? Please leave me a comment below, I'd love to hear from you!