korea adventures
Weekly updates about the things I'm up to. Mainly so my grandma doesn't worry too much about me.
It is time for midterms here in Korea! I have a midterm for three out of the five classes I'm taking this semester. The class that I don't have a midterm for has a group research proposal due. This week, I only had one midterm for my Korean History class, and the other three midterms are happening within the next two weeks. I don't know if it's a good or bad thing that all of my midterms are spaced out over the next three weeks.
On Monday, I went to the Uniqlo at Sadang Station, which is only 2 train stations away from me. This was my first time actually getting off at Sadang Station, and there were so many shops and restaurants at the station. One of the jackets I really wanted went on sale and was only on sale for the next few days. Apparently you needed the Uniqlo app to get the discount, so I went through the trouble of changing my Apple ID location (so I could download the Korean app) and creating an account. This was quite a struggle because everything was in Korean, but luckily, the worker was super helpful. Yes, it was worth going through the hassle of downloading the app to save 10,000 won because this jacket will keep me warm throughout the winter. On Tuesday, I had my Digital Marketing class. That days class was probably the most difficult class I went to since taking AP physics. We had to use excel and the professor introduced python that day. The worst part about following along with excel is that his screen is all in Korean, making it even harder to follow along! To relax my brain after that class, I went for a walk outside, and the weather was quite nice. I also ordered an avocado and egg toast with grapefruit juice from Egg Drop down the road. I had my Korean History midterm on Thursday. It was a lot easier than I expected since it was open note and open everything. The test had terms straight from the notes, and our only instructions were to explain that term in a few words/sentences. For dinner, I went down near SNU station to this place called Moda Moda. I had a cream curry with a cheese filled cutlet. The cutlet was crispy and filled with a lot of cheese! I also found a little boba place tucked away on the main road. Although I don't have class on Fridays, it was surprisingly my busiest day this week, mainly filled with things back at home. I went to an advising meeting, interview, and had a professional event for IBO. After hours of sitting at my computer, I went to Costco and had a salad and pizza from the food court. In walking distance, there was a bingsu place, and this was the largest bingsu I had yet. The quality of the shaved ice itself wasn't the best, but the toppings on this bingsu were the best I've had so far. It had watermelon, melon, kiwi, mango, and blueberries! It probably had more fruits than I've had the entire 2.5 months I've been here. I think this is Bingsu #10. On Saturday, I went with my SNU buddy to Seongsu. We ate at a cafe called Onion, and it was quite popular. I had a vanilla powder dessert called pandoro and a mushroom bread. After a nice lunch on the rooftop, we walked to Seoul Forest, and it was beautiful! The leaves are slowly starting to change color, and we even saw deer and bunnies. We kind of just roamed around the park and somehow ended up at the Han River, where the sky and scenery was beautiful. There were also a lot of (what seemed to be) professional bikers biking along the river. For dinner, we headed back to SNU station and had pho at a Vietnamese restaurant. On Sunday, I went to the World Cup Stadium area in hopes to find the pink muhly grass at Haneul Park. I had fried rice and an iced sweet potato latte at a restaurant in the World Cup Park. After eating lunch, we walked around the park a bit and then headed to Haneul Park, which is one of the parks within the World Cup Park. I learned that Haneul translates to sky in Korean, so this specific park is located at the top of the hill. We climbed the stairs to get to the top, but there is an electric bus, which had a really long line. To be honest, the pink grass was quite underwhelming, but being up in the sky meant a nice view of Seoul. After the park, we headed to Seongsu to find the BTS pop-up store. I'm not a crazy BTS fan, but when I found out there was the McDonald's collab merch, I had to go. It was definitely overpriced, but worth it for me, since I love McDonald's! After spending quite some time in the store, we went a few blocks away to a newly opened bakery called Aurora, where I had a mozzarella cheese croissant. I headed back to my goshiwon after a long day. I actually traveled around the entire green line 2!
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This Monday was another holiday to celebrate Hangul Day. As mentioned in my previous blog post, although Monday is a holiday, we will be having make up classes later in the semester. This is definitely not something I'm used to. A holiday should be a holiday, right?
Because I had Monday off, I went to Ikea. It is technically not located in Seoul, so we took one of the red buses for about 40 minutes. Red buses travel further distances to cities other than Seoul, blue buses travel within Seoul, and green buses travel short distances within a district. This was my first time at an Ikea, and it was quite an experience. I ate lunch there, and it was insanely busy. It was definitely much more crowded than UH's Campus Center. I had plant balls, teriyaki tofu, and a slice of raspberry chocolate cake, and everything was delicious. Next to the Ikea, there was a Lotte Mall. We spent some time in there finding winter clothes, since the temperatures at the end of the week are expected to drop to the 30s! On Wednesday, I went to campus to get my fingerprints scanned for my ARC, and the line was really long. Apparently, my fingerprints had gotten scanned somehow, which I was really confused about, so hopefully all of my documents get processed correctly. I also made an appointment to get my flu shot on campus. It was 33,000 won for the shot, and everyone at the health center was able to speak English, making the process really easy. Since I was on campus, I enjoyed lunch at the Student Center for under $2. My meal came with salad, kimchee, rice, soup, and tomato egg. In Korea, buying a cup of ice and drinks in bags is fairly popular at convenience stores. I bought a bag of peach iced tea and a cup of ice, but most of the bagged drinks have coffee in them. Since I don't have class on Fridays, I went to the Hangeul Museum and National Museum of Korea. This Friday was SNU's birthday, so a few friends didn't have class as well. The graphics in the Hangeul Museum were cool, but a lot of the descriptions were in Korean, so I couldn't understand much. The National Museum of Korea is gigantic! There was so much cool artwork to see, and even after spending 2 hours there, we didn't even see a fraction of the museum. The best part of these two museums is that they are located right next to each other and admission is free. Finding lunch near the museum was quite a struggle though, since it was around 2PM. We came across a Korean snack shop selling fried foods and tteokbokki. I had fried mandu and seaweed filled with glass noodles, and I think those have been my favorite Korean foods so far. On Saturday, it was my friends birthday. We went to the Hyundai Department Store in Sinchon for dinner. It was also the first cold day in Seoul, and it was around 40 degrees. I had to use my down jacket and wear my ultra warm heattech from Uniqlo for my walk to the station. Usually the basement of department stores are more affordable, but since it was his birthday, we decided to eat on the 10th floor instead, where the restaurants are a bit nicer. We ate Korean food, and it came with so many side dishes for a reasonable price. We also had dessert in the department store as well. I had a fruit bingsu (bingsu count: 9? I've lost track), and I was genuinely confused as to why it was called "fruit" bingsu and not "strawberry" bingsu at first. To my surprise, hidden under the flaky ice, it was filled with fruits like kiwi, banana, and pineapple. It's always nice to have fruit, since it is kind of a luxury when in Korea. On Sunday, I went with SNU Buddy to visit the Jong-gu district. We ate lunch at a previous Michelin restaurant, and I had bibimbap. Before lunch that day, I had the assumption that all Michelin restaurants were high end, but I learned that there are a handful of affordable ones as well. After eating lunch, we headed to the Seoul Museum of Art located near City Hall. This museum had a handful of digital aspects, along with printed paintings and photographs. This week had another holiday on Monday, so I only had classes on Tuesday-Thursday. I just found out that even though my Monday class got cancelled, they will be doing make up classes in later weeks. I guess it isn't too great having a holiday...
Since Monday was a holiday, I spent the day in Insadong with SNU Buddy. There's one main street to explore in Insadong, and it is filled with traditional shops selling handmade goods. After exploring Insadong, we went to Kwang Jang Market, which is a traditional Korean market, to have dinner. I haven't watched the Netflix show called Street Food yet, but this market is featured in it. We ate at a restaurant that had the Netflix poster on it, but I according to my buddy, the restaurant we ate at wasn't the main one featured on the show. Since it was a rainy day, I had a Korean pancake, which really reminded me of a hashbrown, but with vegetables in it. The days that I had class were pretty uneventful. I went walking around my goshiwon for food. The french people in my building said that there's a bakery nearby that makes really good bread and pastries. I had to take their word for it, and I bought a cheese filled bread and a black bun filled with red bean. I'm not sure what made the bun black, but it tasted funky. I also think I discovered my go-to dinner place called Salady. The service is quick, and they offer a wide variety of semi-healthy options. On Friday, I went out to dinner at this pasta place near SNU station. As always, I have trouble deciding where to eat when around the area, so we walked around the area for quite some time before deciding on a place. I had a kimchee pasta, and it was super good - there were chunks of garlic and the kimchee flavor wasn't too strong. For dessert, I was told by one of my friends back home to try the Oreo Ice Box Cake from Twosome Place. There is a Twosome Place almost everywhere you go, and today was the day I decided to try the cake. It was pretty good, but nothing beats a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake. On Saturday, I met up with one of my friends to go to the 2D Greem Cafe in Hongdae. We planned to meet up at 11, and then we realized the cafe didn't open until 12. We spent an hour walking around Hongdae Shopping Street and Hongik University, and we definitely got our steps in. The 2D cafe was pretty cool, as all the furniture is in black and white. For our real lunch, we walked back to Hongik Univ. Station to eat at a newly opened Shake Shack. I was surprised at how crowded it was - we almost had to wait to be seated at a fast food restaurant. A really cool thing about the Shake Shack was that there was an automated hand washing machine that dispensed soap, water, and paper towels - the water ran for the proper amount of time that one should be washing their hands for. We walked around Ewha Womans University and Sinchon to do some shopping. The weather at the end of the week is supposed to drop down to the 40s, so we went to Uniqlo to find some warm clothes. I found HeatTech mock necks on sale for 7,900 won. They will definitely come in handy as the weather starts to cool down. I also found a super cheap smoothie place in the BoxQuare... I wish Jamba Juice was only 3,500 won for a smoothie! On Sunday, it was my grandmas birthday back at home! I made my sister buy her fudge sundaes from McDonald's! Here in Korea, I got to celebrate a K-pop idols birthday. The cafe and k-pop culture is huge in Korea; when it is a k-pop idols birthday, there are cafes that redecorate the interior and fill the walls with that idols pictures. I'm not super into k-pop, but I went to the cafe anyways just to see what the hype is about. There are multiple cafes that do birthday celebrations, and I went to two in Hongdae. This week was Jimin's birthday, so all of the cafes were Jimin themed. When you go to k-pop cafes, you usually buy a drink and it comes with stickers, postcards, and anything else a fan would want. After going to the cafes, we needed real food, so we ate at the Halal Guys in Hongdae. I nearly cried while eating my dinner because the red sauce was brutally spicy. For dessert, we went to Sulbing, and I think this is bingsu #8. I've lost track. This was week 5 of classes, but I think it was my first full week with my finalized schedule and classes in full swing. The prior week was Chuseok and the weeks before that were spent rearranging my schedule and going over the syllabus. I can't believe I've been in Korea for almost two months now. I've been getting the hang of classes and managing my time. I definitely have much more free time compared to back at home, so I've been able to go out and explore.
I ruined my Monday tradition of eating at McDonald's before my class starts at 3:30PM. I spent the morning catching up on school work and went to the market. The weather is finally cooling down, but the leaves are still mostly green for now, with a few trees turning yellow. My walks up the hill are much more pleasant and less sweaty. When I go to the market, I typically buy vegetables, tofu, bananas, cereal, snacks, and yogurt. I am lucky to have a mini fridge in my room, so it is always good to have food on hand. I also felt pressured to watch Squid Games on Netflix because I saw so many references to the show, so I have been spending my nights watching it. After classes on Tuesday, I went to the Gwanaksan Park (I think that is the name). It is on the main road and further down the road from SNUs main gate. It is such a beautiful park, and there is even a path down to a stream. It also seems like there are a handful of hiking trails from that park, as well as a mini adventure area within the park. I definitely want to explore more of the park later. For dinner, I went to a French restaurant and had ratatouille. I don't think I've had ratatouille before, as I always thought it was a rat from the Disney movie. I am slowly eating my way through the restaurants near SNU station. Emily and I don't have class until 3PM on Wednesdays, so we decided to go to the dining hall on SNUs campus (building 63). Each department at SNU has their own food establishment, but I believe the Student Center cafeteria is one of the main places to get food. The SNU app and website show the different locations for food and the meals that day (tip: view it on your computer so you can translate it!). There is a kiosk and cashier to order from before entering the cafeteria where you can choose from one of three meals. If you show your SNU ID, the meal is discounted (the food is already really cheap though and ranges from 2,000-4,500 won). I believe my meal was originally 2,200 won, but with my ID, it was only 1,000 won (85 cents). It included rice, some kind of vegetable, soup, kimchee, and fish. We went at the rush hour, so it was really hectic inside, yet the lines moved really fast. There are a handful of seats outdoors, which was much more peaceful than the clattering of dishes inside. Also in building 63, there is the bookstore and souvenir shop. On Thursday, I went to an IBO EB meeting, but this weeks meeting was quite different. They had their first in-person meeting, and since I am the only one not on island, I was the only one on Zoom. It was quite weird talking to a bunch of people in a classroom through my computer, but I am happy to see that things are returning back to normal. After classes on Thursday, I was planning on going to the Seoul Station Museum, but we had trouble getting tickets. Instead we grabbed a late lunch (basically dinner) near SNU station. I learned that a lot of places close between 3-5 for a break, so we wandered around until most restaurants opened. We ate at a Mexican restaurant, and I had a very cheesy quesadilla. For dessert, we went to a croffle (croissant + waffle) place nearby. This was my first time having a croffle, and it was so delicious. Friday is the beginning of my weekend, and I spent the afternoon hiking Gwanaksan. It seems like there are a lot of different trails that lead to the same destination, but I followed this guide. We rode the bus to the Construction Environment Research Institute on SNUs campus. It's pretty much straight uphill until you reached the top, but it is a safe hike (not windy and no narrow pathways). The best part of this hike is that most of the way up, it is covered by trees. A lot of older people hike in Korea, and they all wear outfits that look similar - leggings, waterproof jacket, and a mini visor. It was about 2 hours until we reached the top. Even though it was a little foggy that day, the views were amazing. At the top, there is the Gwanaksan Meteorological Radar Observation Station (we got there too late to enter) and the Yeonjudae Hermitage. The view from the top definitely made the hike up worth it, but my legs will need to rest for the next few days. On Saturday, I went to Incheon. When people think of Incheon, they often think of the airport, but it is such a beautiful city with so much more than the airport. It was definitely more laid back than the bustling city of Seoul, so it was nice to escape for a few hours. It was about an hour long train ride to Incheon. We went to Chinatown and had lunch there. I had soup dumplings and jajangmyeon. There were a handful of restaurants, which were all serving Korean/Chinese food. A lot of the vendors were also selling tanghulu (candied strawberries on a stick), so we had to try it! I thought it tasted good, despite the fact that the candied sugar got stuck in my teeth. We also went to the mural street and Jayu Park. Before heading back to Seoul, we picked up handmade sponges and moon cakes. On Sunday, I did a little more exploring around Seoul. We went to the Cheonggyecheon Stream, and there was an unusual amount of police in the area. I'm not sure why there were so many police, but there were also a lot of people watching a video on their phone sitting on the sidewalks. We grabbed lunch at Pig in the Garden, where my friend found a a little worm in his food. I was disturbed at first and was hesitant to eat my food, but as my dad would say, "builds immunity" - so I finished the rest of my meal. After lunch, we grabbed drinks from Tiger Sugar. I went to the location in Hawaii right before I left, and there are different offerings here in Korea. We also walked around Dongdaemun and Myeongdong. While in Myeongdong, we saw multiple street food vendors making the Dalgona Candy seen in Squid Game. I swear those vendors were not there when I came a few weeks ago. |
AuthorStudying abroad at Seoul National University! Archives
December 2021
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