Korean Pipe Tobacco

[triprolo]

Found this empty tin at an antique store. They wanted $10 for it. No thanks. But neat tin.

 

[cyndi]

Huh, that's cool. "Office of Monopoly." :D

 

[markw4mms]

That's a new one on me!

 

[juni]

I guess it goes "Bang!" in your pipe. I would try it. :lol:

 

[mukihr]

cool looking tin !!!!

 

[unclearthur]

Real neat. Not ten bucks neat , but neat.

 

[baronsamedi]

하 루 방 Ha Ru Bang means something like "Grandfather" in Korean and the image on the tin is of the Dol-Harubang (Stone Grandfather) statues in CheJu island. The Dol Harubang are supposed to be good luck. Probably has to do with the culture of Ancestor worship. Hella Cool!
I learned to read and write Hangul when I was in Korea and the rest I just use the good ol' internet.

 

[baronsamedi]

I love "Office of Monopoly". It's kind of like saying "We're it, so Bite me."

 

[triprolo]

Thanks baronsamedi

 

[eaglerico]

Cool. For something so unique I don't think $10 was such a bad price. Full of baccy would make it better but...

 

[baronsamedi]

The Koreans have a unique ability to make quality knockoffs of other peoples' stuff. I bought a knock-off Harley Davidson wallet over there that outlasted my real one! They have a beer called OB that was once produced by a subsidiary of Anheuser Busch and tasted a lot like Bud. They also have a cigarette brand called 88 that tastes suspisciously like Marlboro. I wonder what the baccy in that tin was like.

 

[pawpaw]

my guess is 1Q

 

[wannafly34]

Nah...probably kimchee flavored. Figure if they put kimchee flavoring in chocolate, why not in the tobacco? Now THAT'S what I call an aromatic!

 

[unclearthur]

My uncle who served in Korea always says that dogs die for miles around when a kimchee pit is opened. I kind of like the stuff myself.

 

[baronsamedi]

I still eat kimchi frequently. There's a Korean Restaurant where my wife and I are usually the only 2 round-eyes in the place.

 

[wannafly34]

I do love me some kimchee. Used to be a program manager for our Hankuk Aviation University/Korean Air Lines contract, so got to share lots of Korean food with budding pilots...

 

[craiginthecorn]

Last fall, I was visiting Jeff Gracik at his workshop in San Diego. He told me a story about his neighbor who had passed away and whose widow gifted Jeff his pipes and tobacco. Among the tins were some of this very same Harubang “aromatic” pipe tobacco in 100g tins. When I ran into him at the Chicago show, I asked if he’d tried it yet. He hadn’t, but offered to send me a tin, which arrived today.
The liner indicates that it’s a “pipe tobacco of special aroma, made of fine leaf tobaccos such as virginia, burley, dark fire-cured, one sucker, perique and oriental tobaccos.” While completely dried out, the tobacco was in otherwise good condition. The tin had some corrosion on the outside, but it was pristine inside and the tobacco was further protected by a nice paper liner. I’m rehydrating it now. It needs 9.7g of water to get back to its advertised 100g original weight. It does have an aroma similar to some old Borkum Riff that I got in a lot a couple years ago. It’s not too promising, honestly, but it’ll be great fun to try it out. In my Kim Jong Wook pipe, of course.
We’ll see...