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Day 27 in South Korea

◦ Flight Back to Seattle

September 9th, 2017

Today, I left South Korea at 7 in the morning. I was a bittersweet moment because I wanted to stay in South Korea still however, I knew I had to go home and fulfill all my responsibilities before school started. Thus, I pull an all nighter and headed to the airport to board my flight. When we went to the departures gate to check-in our bags, it was very difficult. We could not find our check in counter for the longest time because there are so many airlines internationally. Our airline actually had 3 sections where it could have been however, we went to all three and most of them were closed since it was early in the morning. We were very confused and worried that we might miss our flight. We finally found an information desk and was told that the check in counter was in a section that we looked through already, but on the other side! Omg, we were mad but happy that we finally found it. After this, we finally boarded our flight and spent the next 13 hours flying back home. Back home to cloudy Seattle.

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Day 26 in South Korea

◦ Ewha Women’s University Shopping District

◦ Final Buffet at Lotte Hotel

September 8th, 2017

Today, was our final full day in South Korea. We decided to stop by the Enwa Women’s University shopping district as we heard there was cheap close there. We were right. Oh gosh, with the few money I had left, it was so dangerous. I only had 20 won left in cash that I didn’t want to spend, but the cheap shops and clothes were so enticing. We stopped by this one store that had really cute jackets and I’m a sucker for Korean jackets so I had to get one. I used the rest of my cash to get one haha. But soon after we stopped and went back home so my wallet thanked me.

We went to Lotte Hotel to have our final study abroad dinner. It was this super fancy buffet dinner that was on the first floor of the hotel. Oh my goodness, there was so much food and of all kinds too. It grabbed a few plates from each section and had my fill. I also grabbed a plate of dessert as well. It was so good. Not to mention that a few of the servers and cooks were good looking too haha. This was a good final night as I was able to see most of everyone again and we were able to end on a good end.

This entire trip has been such a pleasure, from the interesting lectures to the hours spent exploring, and the shopping I did. Nothing can beat this experience so far and I would like to say that this was a great choice for my first time out of the country. I’ve made many memories that I’ll never forget with so many amazing people. It feels like we’ll be parting ways forever, but we are all back in Seattle so we’ll be able to meet again soon.  

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Day 25 in South Korea

◦ Han River Light Show at Banpo Park

September 7th, 2017

Today, after shopping, we went to view the Han River Light Show at Banpo Park during the night. The sun set as we were on our way to the park. As we were on the bridge to the park, there were jets of water coming from along one side of the bridge. At first, we were confused at what it was supposed to be. But then we heard music and the lights within the water jets changed colors. We realized then that this was what the light show was supposed to be. We reached the park after taking pictures and found a spot to sit at. There were many couples around so I guess it was a popular dating place. Our group just sat around and talked for a while and reminisced before we left Seoul. It was cute and I truly love the girls I came on this trip with. We’ll have lasting memories.

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Day 24 in South Korea

◦ DMZ

◦ War Memorial of Korea Museum  

September 6th, 2017

Today, we went to visit the DMZ, the board between North and South Korea. We stopped by the War Memorial of Korea in Itaewon and saw the monuments as well as the military arsenal used during the war. It was quite amazing to witness the huge and small yet deadly armory used back then. I was briefly able to see inside the museum as we only had like 30 minutes to explore anything. I could catch a glimpse of a turtle ship, aircraft artillery, and a US war memorial room. I went back outside to view the war monuments of those escaping as well as the bigger one of the brothers uniting on the battlefield. To hear the background story of it was quite sad and it reinstalled how very upsetting North Korea is treating its citizens.

After, we took the bus to an area before the DMZ and ate lunch. After, we were able to explore the area and on the observatory, were able to see the Bridge of Freedom (or the Bridge of No Return) which was when POW crossed into their country without being able to go back. There were also a few monuments dedicated to the war victims as well as a railroad car. I also saw a temple bell on the hill as well.

Finally, we took the bus into the de-militarized zone, which is very ironic because it is completely militarized. There are bombs everywhere that go off with the slightest touch. We went to go see the border and everything was strict and standard. We lined up in two file lines and gazed at the other side into North Korea. We could not point or anything and could only take pictures straight ahead. There were soldiers who faced towards North Korea, some hid half behind the building so as to get cover quicker in case of an attack. We could only see one soldier on the NK side, but the tour guide insured us that there were many more hidden in the buildings to the side. We went inside to the building where the boarder crossed. Half of one side was South Korea’s, the other North Korea’s. It was terrifying as well as surreal that we were able to ‘cross’ to the other side. We could have been shot at any time, yet it would have started a controversy and war. I’m glad to have been able to experience the DMZ, however, I don’t think I’ll be back ever.

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K-Pop

The pop industry in Korea is much different from that of the US. In the US, it’s just whoever makes it on the scene and if their popularity soars, you become a pop star. You don’t even need to know how to sing that well. Also, it is usually just solo acts, with a few exceptions of groups, but a lot of them disband or people go solo. In Korea, it is mainly girl or boy groups that are mainstream. These pop stars are picked and trained by a company for years as ‘trainees’ before they can actually debut into the world. They are trained to sing, rap, dance, and look good. Many boy groups even wear makeup and are quite feminine when compared to other western countries. They are literally groomed for stardom and a few are actually successful. Many companies try to do this as there are over 40 of them in Seoul, however, only a few of these groups actually make it. This concept in the end is quite similar to the US in terms of become well know and famous.

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Day 23 in South Korea

◦ Korean Economics Lecture

◦ SM Town

◦ Exploring Hondae

September 5th, 2017

Today, we went to visit SM Town! While I wasn’t really into their artists, I was interested in K-Pop. It was quite interesting to visit their shops inside and experience the galleries above. The stores had a bunch of merchandise of all of SM’s groups ranging from albums to hats to shirts to hand fans to posters and a lot more. All of them were themed on one group and even more specific to one member. If you really loved a group, you could buy plenty of items there. Although I would say they were on the more expensive side. We went to the higher floors and along the way we saw many posters of the artist groups pasted on the walls. It was quite amazing to look at. There was a café on the next floor that had way overpriced coffee and treats that had themed to the k-pop groups. Needless to say, I didn’t buy anything. The very top floor was an open area where you could pose with standup posters of the idols or watch performances on a big screen or even take photo booth pictures with stickers of the idols. I took a few photos with the standup ones and inside the photo booth. It was very fun and quite a laugh to experience this!

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Hanbok Stores

It was pretty amazing to find that there were stores where you can rent hanboks. It really brings commercial trade to Korea’s culture haha. I wonder who was the first one to think up of the idea of renting out hanboks to tourist as a money ploy. But I mean, it’s making a lot of money and I don’t blame them for taking advantage of a market that has a readily supply of customers. I mean, I was one of them lol.

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Day 22 in South Korea

◦ Exploring Bukchon Hanok Village in Hanboks

◦ Nanta Theater

September 4th, 2017

Today, we rented hanboks to try on and went exploring around the Bukchon Hanok folks village. We went into Oneday Hanbok to rent the hanboks to wear. I’m pretty sure we spent at least an hour and a half choosing our hanboks and accessories because there was so much to choose from. There were different sizes and colors and patterns. All of them were so pretty, but I was set on a red or maroon color. I finally found one and went to try on accessories. We got a handbag, fan, headband, and ponytail scarf. Finally, we were ready. We had four hours to explore before we had to go back. We went out and around the Bukchon Hanok village and there were plenty of tourist already but a few residents as well. It was nice to see the traditional styled houses that the older residents live in. It really made me feel as if I were a part of society back then as we walked in the hanboks. Perhaps if I was alone, I would be able to truly feel the connection between this culture when I’d walk through its streets. However, because there were so many people around, I couldn’t as much as I’d like. It was still a nice experience though! I wanted to go to the palace as well, but we didn’t have enough time as we stopped to eat and shopped. We dropped back off the hanboks, then went to the Nanta Theater in Myeongdong.

I truly did not know what to expect. I thought that maybe it was a traditional theatre with dance and music. I didn’t know that it’d be a cooking themed musical full of comedy and fun. It was truly an experience! There were so many concepts and tricks in the performance from creating music using rhythm and beats, to making jokes, to acting, to dancing, to weapon fighting, to catching plates, to magic tricks, and more. I can’t believe they were so talented. The show was a pleasurable experience and at the end we were even able to take a picture with the actors!

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Conglomerates

The closest thing in the USA that is comparable to the conglomerates of South Korea like Lotte, Samsung, and Hyundai would be Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Apple which are all tech companies. However, the spread of USA companies only deal with the tech sector. In South Korea, the conglomerates invents in anything that makes money. Lotte has spread so far, from fast food (Lotteria) to amusement parks to markets to department stores to baseball teams and more. Literally every house I passed by (and even the temple) had a Samsung air conditioner, which was interesting as I thought Samsung only worked on technology. The conglomerates in South Korea very much are invested in society and much of the population are dependent on them. I feel that because South Korea is such a small country and much of the population are centered in few cities, that these conglomerates can become so big because of these factors as it’s easier to invest in something when most of the people live there. This would be much harder in America because all the cities and locations where people live are spread apart very much and only the costal cities have big populations. Even then, the bigger corporations don’t have that much investment into all the businesses around them and only focus on the technology side of society.

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Day 21 in South Korea

◦ Lotte World

September 3rd, 2017

Today, we went to Lotte world! Initially, I didn’t know what to expect as I thought we were going to a mall. I heard that it was a theme park but I didn’t really believe that it was, since it was inside a mall. I couldn’t believe that we had to pay $50 dollars admission as well. However, when we paid and went inside, I was amazed. There is a huge room that is domed at the top with plenty of rides all around. Apparently there was an outside too. The entire park had a zombie theme, which was unusual was it was only the beginning of September. A few of us split off and my group decided to stay and go on all the rides inside first. It was really fun as there were actual roller coaster rides. At one point, I forgot there was an outside extension of the theme park. After we finished most of the rides inside, we went outside and wow it was so amazing. You go down a bridge and at the end you see the entire view of the ‘magic island’ and well as the beautiful castle. There were so many roller coaster rides outside as well. We literally spent the entire day there from noon to 9 at night. My favorite ride of the day was Atlantis, the fastest roller coaster ride there. It was so fun, but the wait line to get on took 1 1/2 hours. It was worth it though and it was the best ride to end the night on. After Lotte World, we went home and had convenient store food as most of the restaurants in the mall were closed haha. 

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Seeing the Gamcheon Cultural Village and the art that the villagers put together themselves really made me realize how even a little village can create something big. Communication is really key for something to work and to see these displays as well as a full on tour and map of the hidden beauties of this village tells of how much they love this place. Seeing as how it is a little district in the middle of busy Busan puts into perspective how you can make your own place and express your own creativity freely in such a big area.  

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Day 20 in South Korea

◦ Travel Back to Seoul

◦ Exploring Insadong

September 2nd, 2017

Today, we traveled back to Seoul by train. Train from Busan. Fortunately, we didn’t encounter zombies. It was a peaceful 2 hour ride. We arrived in Seoul at around 12:30pm. The rest of the day was a free day until dinner. A few of us decided to explore Insadong, which was literally 5 minutes away. I bought a few more bags to pack all the things I bought in Korea from the 10,000 won store. It was a very good deal. We also went to explore Insadong street more and came to the small mall area where the floors spiral together. At the very top, we found a Dong Cafe. Dong means poop. We found a poop cafe. It was quite entertaining to see. The food was delicious though, despite the weird theme of the cafe. It was interesting but fun nonetheless! Always new things to try in Seoul haha. This would never work in America. At least, I think it wouldn’t. Who know, it worked here haha. I can’t see it being popular though. 

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Lotte Giants

*warning: loud screams in video*

Wow. These are how baseball games should be like. As you can see in the video, there is an MC as well as cheerleaders. I’ve never heard of cheerleaders for baseball. But oh my gosh the vibe was so different from what I was used to. Normally at baseball games, I’d just talk with friends while eating stadium food and occasionally watching the game. We’d end up leaving at the 5th inning or so because it was so boring. Here though, wow, I wanted to stay for the whole game. The MC was different from American ones. I’m used to those who just narrate the game on what was happening. However, here the MC was basically the hype man who livened up the crowd and would cheer for every player with songs and shouts. The audience all know the cheers and movements as well so to be within this crowd was surreal. We all ended up doing the cheers and dances as well because it was so inviting and invigorating to be within that atmosphere. In the video, the baseball player scored and the crowd went into a roar! Afterwards, celebratory tunes played in response to the good play and everyone danced. It was just so fun to be a part of. I wish more baseball games were like this, I’d go to them more frequently haha. They were just like mini concerts.

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Day 19 in South Korea

◦ Gamcheon Cultural Village

◦ Gwangalli Beach

◦ Shinsegae Mall

◦ Busan Baseball Game - Lotte Giants

September 1st, 2017

Today, we went to visit the Gamcheon Cultural Village. It was very pretty to see the little houses all of different colors perched on the side of a hill. We explored the village and saw many art exhibits that the village put up themselves, from little interactive rooms to flying fish scattered along the walls of the paths. There were many small cafes and shops placed throughout the village as well. I think they also had a map that you could follow that’d lead you to all the major sights, however we didn’t grab one as we realized too late that there was one. We ended exploring a few of the paths and took the bus back down the windy hill path. This village was so cute. There are residents who live here still and I felt as if I was intruding on them, but I was glad I experienced this. I’ve never heard of a cultural village before and am not sure if we have something like this in America, but even if we do, it wouldn’t be like this.

Next, we stopped by Gwangalli Beach after lunch. It was such a gorgeous site. The beach was just like Haeundae Beach, but across the horizon was the bridge cutting across to the other side. It was so picturesque and quaint that I wanted to spend the whole day there. But unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to. I honestly wish we were able to spend just one more day in Busan, just so I could get in my beach time and watch a movie. Next time perhaps, whenever that is.

We also went to check out Shinsegae Centum City Shopping Department Store since it is the biggest mall in Korea and also supposedly the world. Everything was so expensive. It was a luxury store that’s for sure. It had 9 or 10 floors, each with different store types and options to shop. It was really big, but honestly it didn’t feel like it was one of the biggest in the world. Perhaps because it was taller and had more floors rather than longer with fewer floors like most American malls. I felt like I didn’t walk as much here, or maybe that’s because we skipped all the expensive malls. The highlight of the mall for me was the gourmet cafeteria at the bottom floor. There were decadents and snacks everywhere. They even had a Sharetea boba place there, which a few of the others bought drinks at. I could tell it was very fancy as there was a Gentle Monster (read last blog post) booth next to the pop up food stores. I could not believe there was a whole floor dedicated to this kind of gourmet food, but I’m glad it existed.

Finally, to close out the day, we all went to the Busan Lotte Giants baseball game. This was such an experience. It’s totally different from American baseball games because here in Busan at least, it’s so much more interactive and lively. At one point we even wore blown up orange bags on our heads. It was hilarious but still fun. You are never bored and are constantly entertained. I’ll get into more details in the next post. Just know that this was so much more fun than a Mariner’s game haha. 

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Gentle Monster

Gentle Monster might sound like the name of a cuddly mascot or character, but in reality, it’s a sunglass store. A really fancy on at that. We visited a Gentle Monster in Seoul and we found one here in Busan as well. When we went in, these were the centerpieces of each floor and all around it you could find sun glasses to your choosing. I think that this concept is so interesting because how can you get this fancy for a sunglasses store, even if it is designer brand. There are some very eccentric people out there I guess. I feel like I would never visit one in the US, if they even have it there. Maybe somewhere like New York or LA would have something like this, but no where else. Then again, this is in Busan and Seoul, the places known for fashion. I shouldn’t have been to surprised. However, someone of my caliber could never normally shop at a store like this haha (the average price was $250 per sunglass). It was cultural shock, in the fashion and shopping sense.

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Day 18 in South Korea

◦ Jagalchi Fish Market

◦ Busan Tower

◦ Sashimi Dinner

August 31th, 2017

Today, we went to the Jagalchi Fish Market, a famous fish market in Busan. It was amazing to see all the fisherman with their catches displayed for sale. I thought it would be something similar to Pike Place in Seattle, but it was totally different. All the catches were still alive and literally right there where you can touch them. There were octopus, fish, crab, shellfish, sea-worms, and more. While I think this kind of market is cool, I don’t think it’d last in the US because people are judgmental there and would be weirded out by the catches. Also, the sea life there probably isn’t as plentiful as in Busan. Perhaps it’d work in a Chinatown, but not in the open city like Pike Place is.

Next, we went up Busan Tower. It was like Seattle, expect the surrounding area was different. It was still beautiful and amazing as you could see the entirety of Busan’s coast and city. We spent a while up there taking pictures, and even at the bottom of the tower as they were many photo display options. It was smaller than I expected but still you wouldn’t have been able to get a view like that anywhere else in Busan. I noticed as I looked out the window that many of the rooftops were flat and green in color. The area they were in also had narrow streets and the buildings were only a few stories high. I feel like this was the older and poorer parts of Busan. It contrasted a lot with the skyscrapers that you could see in the picture in the background. But it also felt natural as the city slowly changed when you looked across it, guided by the coast. This gradual shift of neighborhoods could also be seen with Seattle as well.

Finally, when we returned, we had a sashimi dinner organized by the professors. It was a very delicious meal. I can say that I’ve never had this type of service before where you sit in a room above a shop and the workers are only concentrated on your party. It made for quite an interesting experience, as normally you wouldn’t have been able to do this unless you had connections with the boss. I will probably never, or at least not for a long while, have the chance to do this again. There probably is something like this in Seattle as well, but I don’t have any connections to do this haha. Regardless, the meal was delicious and the sashimi great. 

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One major difference I saw when staying at Cheju Halla University in Jeju-do was that there is not just one ‘janitor’ who comes and cleans everyday. There are a group of old women who actually live in the dorms as well and take care of the place. On this particular day, I saw a whole row of them weeding the front lawn of the university. You would never see this in the US as we would just use a lawn mower because we are fast people and don’t like waiting. I feel like here it is more traditional and perhaps a bit behind on the technology as well as resources to be more modernized.