So as of this month, Cute in Korea is officially 1 year old! The last year went by so quickly, and I think a lot of it was thanks to this site because it kept me busy!!

Milk is also 1 year old as well~ look how tiny he used to be, just like the blog *_* ehehe ♥

I first came up with the idea of doing some sort of cute Korea blog long before I moved here~ but at the time I could not get my thoughts properly collected and I found it hard to know what exactly to write about here when I was still learning how to get around myself!   I longed so much for a blog like mine online, and finally after living here frustrated for a year and going through lots of effort to explore on my own and dig around Naver for fun stuff, I decided that if I was going through all this time to find cute places online or on foot that I might as well share it with everyone else

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I wanted to share complete info or better yet NEW info, not the same things I always found on English sites  and  present them in a tone geared towards people who are enthusiastic about “Kawaii” cute things such as myself.

Over the last year this site slowly has taken over as my main focus here~ although it is “work” and a little tedious,  I LOVE sharing everything I post. I found myself really digging into lots of new things to share with everyone else, and naturally as the result I learned so much as well!

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Nara has also been an immeasurable amount of help in researching things buried in the Korean internet and helping me communicate with shops so I learn a bit more about the things I show you, cuteinkorea.com would not be nearly as awesome without his support and help!!

Thank you for reading along and enjoying my adventures here in Korea. I am only doing what I like, so the fact it is enjoyable to others from all over the world just makes me feel really wonderful.  I always say I have lots to post, but seriously… I have about 3,000+ photos for things I STILL need to share here~  I simply can’t work fast enough even though it does not seem like much work, this has almost become a full-time job for me lately lol! I could do this all day though, I wish it was a real job!

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Blogging about Korea is one of those labor of love things for me, so until I stop having fun, or at least until I feel I have covered everything that really should be covered to do here in Korea, I would love to keep working on this blog as long as it takes and continue sharing with all of you~ my lovely readers! Even when I move back to the USA I will still have lots to keep blogging about that is backlogged + I come here at least once if not twice a year to visit ^^

Every single one of you I have had the pleasure to meet in person at events or on the street has been so sweet,  it is a similar feeling I have when I a meet fans of my artwork… I just feel happy that the people that gain some enjoyment from what I do are awesome people, you know?! Thank you, and if you ever see Nara and I around Seoul please do come say “Hi” even if I am a bit awkward!

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Those of you I talk to in the comments and on twitter, facebook, etc are also always so sweet too!  Thank you for all the comments you leave,  I know I always ask for people to leave them and I feel kinda lame asking when I do, but they really do motivate me to keep posting and editing~ I guess its kinda shallow, but I really just love reading them and it means more to me VS a traffic counter.  When someone leaves a comment that they visited Korea and my information helped them out it makes me feel like my efforts meant something a bit more than just eye candy..you know?

So yes, thank you everyone for your comments, enthusiasm, & support! I hope you will continue to enjoy our posts as long as we are able to share with you!

Take a bite!

xoxox

앨리 & 나라

Cute in Korea ~ First Birthday Fanart Contest WINNERS!

Now, on to the fanart contest!  First off, WOW.. OK ALL MY READERS ARE AMAZINGLY TALENTED!  I kinda threw the contest out there worried I would get one or two submissions on smudged line paper since you know… its a blog so who knows how many people that enjoy drawing actually read here!  We received over 40 entries after the contest was announced, Nara and I had so much fun checking them out as they arrived!  To everyone that submitted, thank you for taking the time and effort to draw us something so beautiful <3every single piece was so much fun to see!  We had a hard time picking the winners… really, not just saying that!  I have like a handful I want to just give prizes to if only my wallet would allow me, but that would not be much of a contest if everyone won I guess lol

Goodies from the prize packs we will be sending out!!

In the end we still could not pick one, so instead of one prize I decided to ditty it up into 3! I picked my favorite, Nara picked his, and I had you guys pick a favorite by liking the posts on the Cute in Korea facebook fanpage!

Bitty Hanbok princess bunnies! Cute prize? ^^

Elle’s Pick

Nara’s Pick

AngelaRenee / USA  /   http://angelarenee.deviantart.com

Nara’s favorite was Angela’s piece as soon as he saw it! He loved the style and sparkle-shimmer-tactic rendering on the faces + the little milk ribbon! So pretty!  Lots of small details too, check out all that cuteness at the bottom and the skirt pattern <3 love!

Cute in Korea Reader’s Pick

Wiola Wiaderska / Poland  /  https://www.facebook.com/wwcrew

And finally, everyone’s winner by vote is Wiola’s adorable youtube animation!! I derped out totally forgot to add her submission with the other entries since it was a video, but even though she was added several days after the contest started she still won by a whole ton of votes!! I can see why and agree with you guys *_* it is adorable, thank you for the sweet piece!!

 I wish I could give a prize out to everyone, for real! Nara had to stop be from buying “runner up” gifts because I just could not stop the urge to send out more! Click on any image to open up lightbox and scroll through the other amazing submissions!  I want to print it all on my wall! Enjoy and to everyone that submitted something, thank you again~ all of your work is stunning and each had its own unique style and charm to it!

2nd place runner up ^ I love her style!!