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seaninkorea · 6 years

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wrapping up the semester

today we had our final exam, and thus, the summer semester has come to a close! it feels insane that it’s already over; as usual, at the end it feels like yesterday i just started class.

i’m not sure whether i prefer korean class at yale or the class i took here at snu. snu’s professors are certainly very good: they’re all very well-versed in the material and run class incredibly smoothly. there’s rarely a moment of downtime (outside of break time). that is, as soon as one activity ends, the teacher cleanly and quickly transitions to the next.

although this could sound exhausting, i think in general class is never too tiring; since most of the activities are at least somewhat interesting, it’s not often boring. primarily, i found level 2 (2 급) to focus a lot on basic conversational speaking skills, both in the activities we performed and in the content that we learned--most grammar was centered around either deeper conversation topics like change, development, personalities, and such, or situational content like how to look for a house at a 부동산 (realtor), how to find a lost item at the metro, etc.

in that way, i really liked snu class because it was extremely practical. i wouldn’t have been able to get a haircut without the vocab and grammar i had learned in class, for example. moreover, since you’re relatively constantly speaking with classmates, in general i felt like there’s a great learning environment and everyone is encouraging.

the curriculum includes 2 presentations over the course of the semester, one before and after midterm. in level 2, they are about your hobbies and your lifestyle in korea. these presentations end up being around 5-10 minutes, and must be memorized (and you are encouraged to make an accompanying powerpoint). memorizing the speech isn’t necessarily too demanding, but since you also must answer questions from classmates and your professor after the presentation, this really helps you think on your feet. i actually ended up enjoying this part of class a lot more than i thought i would. in addition, every couple of weeks you have to write a one-page essay--really, these are very short essays that i usually wrote in 10 minutes or less. personally, i wish they required we write more, as i never felt it was especially effective practice.

the exams were extremely easy. they consist of two parts: on the first day, you take a ~3 hour written exam, which has reading, writing, and listening parts. all of these parts are nearly identical to what you practice in class on “review” days. i found that with doing the practice test and going over the extra vocab that’s not on it, you don’t have to study too much to ace the written tests.

the spoken exam is also relatively straightforward, although you don’t practice it as explicitly in class. it consists of a pronunciation test, an interview question where you have to respond in 5+ sentences, storytelling, a roleplay with the teacher interviewing you, and q&a using a grammar they tell you. especially if you get to do the snu buddy program, you will be plenty proficient in spoken korean to do very well on these without too much practice. in fact, in my opinion, studying by memorizing answers to the potential questions is counterproductive--being able to produce them more off the top of your head is more genuine mastery of speaking.

all in all, i’d recommend snu’s program! i think i’ll make another post covering the non-academic side of things (social life, clubs, etc.), but i was very pleased with the academic experience overall. the one thing i would say is for a motivated student coming out of yale l2, you should try to take level 3 at snu. you will have to put in a non-significant amount of extra work to catch up, for sure, but level 2 is very much “coastable” for those who did well in l2 at yale.

anyway, here are some posts from the past week, from when i wasn’t studying (ha, ha):

at the kaws: holiday art exhibition with sarah

my last meeting with my buddy! D: he took me to his apartment and then to an area near the dmz

lotte world tower, the tallest building in seoul!

#seoul #seoul national university

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seaninkorea · 6 years

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changes, pt. ii: a photoset

the ealge mascot of 연새대학교 (yonsei university); in some sense, they’re quite literally putting “freedom” on a pedestal, aren’t they?

the elevator up to a cafe near yonsei features the best ceiling mirror i’ve ever seen

... and the landscape nearby 이화대학교 (ewha women’s university) is perfect for contemplation

한자 (chinese characters): 시간이 있으면, 책을 읽어요 [in my spare time, i like to read].

the steps of ewha

iron man/terminator-inspired (?) artwork in front of the mbc office in 고양시 (goyang city)

kayleigh and i post-haircut

sangyoon and i pre-best meal i’ve had in korea

my class, feat. my favorite teacher whom i’m hugging, 장선생님

ltr 이정, 성화, 아니사 (li jeong, seonghwa, anissa) eating indonesian food!

please comment below: how does this art piece make you feel?

#seoul

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seaninkorea · 6 years

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youtu.be/eXvBjCO19QY

this post’s prompt is:

where are you now on the u-curve? have you been able to transition into the humor or at home stage? are there certain aspects of your experience that have been particularly challenging? what strategies have been helpful in moving you past low points?

for the first time since being in korea, last week i thought to myself, “i would like to live in seoul.”

actually, that’s a lie; i thought to myself, “서울에 사는 것 종하해.”

a few moments later, i processed what exactly i had thought. indeed, i thought of the u-curve. i was at home.

to be frank, it was surprising. even though i spent about two weeks in seoul before, for that period and the first part of this summer, i had never come close to thinking “this is home.” in everything i did, i always had a thought, in the back of my mind, that “this is different than what i’m used to,” or “this is odd,” or “this is uncomfortable.”

in that moment, though, nothing about 서울 felt uncomfortable. it felt right; it felt natural; it felt like home.

korea will never be truly home, in the truest sense of the word, of course. for that matter, though, yale will never be home, colorado will never be home; only tulsa, oklahoma will be my home, denotatively. only tulsa, oklahoma will be the place where, when all else fails, i can say i have roots in.

but 서울, like pueblo and like yale, can be and is a different home for me.

in 서울, i have matured,

in 서울, i have learned,

in 서울, i have grown,

in 서울, i have suffered,

in 서울, i have triumphed,

in 서울, i have been at my worst, but

in 서울, i have been at my best;

in 서울,

제가 많이 배웠는데 힘든 것도 많습니다;

i have learned so much and yet it’s been difficulut;

제가 달라졌는데 아직도 같은 사람입니다.

i have changed but i am still the same person.

in the words of haruki murakami (무라카미 하루키),

i, too, remember that feeling. you are caught between all that was and all that must be. you feel lost.

for me, 서울 was something that had to have been; something that was necessary.

to future light fellows, i can say that the experience of living and studying abroad--be it at 서울대 or elsewhere, be it in 서울 or elsewhere--will change you in ways you can’t imagine. that’s not to say you will come back to yale or the united states a totally different person.

in most all ways, you will be the same. this is not something to be remorseful about.

in the subtlest of ways, in the most important of ways, you will have changed. you will have learned, you will have grown, you will have gained uncountably more than you can ever imagine. indeed, it’s possible that no one else will ever notice the minuscule ways in which you’ve changed.

but when you can think, as i’ve thought, that 서울 is home; not that “seoul” is home, but that 서울 is home--

when you can think that, you will know.

as college students, there is so much ahead of us. and yet we don’t truly know that to be true; we’ve heard it, and we expect it, but we really can’t know that to be a truth. we merely expect it.

you’ve experienced all that was; you are a product of your past, as am i; in the truest form, all humans are.

and yet, the most human thing of all is that as mathematically deterministic as our pasts are, the future is always uncertain.

어떤 게 항상 바꿀 수 있습니다.

what “home” means is constantly changing in ways we can’t imagine. the spectrum of what “home” means is more nuanced than we can consciously imagine; those ways transcend language.

in the end, for that, i’m thankful.

#changes #seoul

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seaninkorea · 6 years

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a toddler-level-proficiency korean speaker’s brief take on korean politics

in general, as someone only about 10 or so months into studying korean, my ability to discuss politics, social issues, and the like in the language is, as one might expect, very limited. in fact, i'd say one of the most frustrating parts of my time in korea has been that limit on my expressive ability: i can order food, talk about daily life, and even desires and values to some extent. but topics which people actually discuss--economics, politics, etc.--are off limits. i’ve often found myself speaking to my buddy about subjects which are vaguely proximal to what could be interesting discussions about social and political differences between the usa and korea, but due to my limited vocabulary and grammar repertoires, it's simply not possible.

in that way, i can certainly say that for me, the frustration of not being able to talk about such topics and the desire to be able to do so has more or else become my biggest motivator to continue studying korean. why? before i came to korea, frankly I had a very vague idea of the country's customs and lifestyle, much less politics and more nuanced views of different sections of society. since coming here, there are so many experiences that I've had merely through hearing or seeing something that immediately make me want to learn more and speak to people about it: why are there so many elderly people employed in relatively labor-intensive jobs? how has the seniority-based hierarchy impacted korea more deeply? do young people still respect what seem to me absurd rules, like not leaving work until your boss does?

the most in depth conversation I've had about politics specifically happened in my first week here, funnily enough, while I was riding a bus from hallasan back home. the bus was full except for one seat next to an older man, where I sat. despite probably being put off by my very sweaty self, he quickly asked (in english) where I was from, to which I responded (in korean) that I was american. upon my answer in his native language, he became very excited and launched quickly into a conversation of which i understood, frankly, maybe half. (i’d like to think since learning and practicing so much since I could understand more, but who knows.)

he was very curious as to why I would study korean, especially since he knew that so many koreans, including himself, study english. I essentially was just able to say, "i'm interested in korean culture, politics, and history." he noted that many foreigners these days seems to be interested in korea due to 한류 (hallyu, the "korean wave"), especially kpop groups like bts (of which he is a big fan!).

at that time, korea was in the midst of tons of political campaigns as election day was approaching. every corner of big intersections was filled with campaigners equipped with huge signs, megaphones, and flyers to spare. as we drove past one group, the man told me he disapproved of that candidate's politics, saying he was too weak (on what exactly, I couldn't say; probably just generally too much like us yale special snowflakes).

the bus ride continued and the man asked me if I was familiar with 박정희 (park chung-hee, former president of south korea). i was midway through a book on korean history (graciously provided as a gift from the light foundation), and so i was somewhat familiar with the man: his policies were very much authoritarian. he was supported by america in the same way that all “anti-communist” regimes were during the cold war, and yet like so many of those regimes, the korean state under park was arguably a worse place than the communists they opposed in the north.

however, the man i spoke to on the bus had little concern for park’s harsh policies against dissidents, demonstrators, etc.; older koreans such as him seem to be very much nostalgic for the park-style government: in his mind, park didn’t give a damn about his opponents, and was always focused on pushing his own agenda (even when that meant ignoring all of his advisors’ advice, on matters he was certainly less-educated than them on). for what it’s worth, the korean economy did certainly accelerate under park. then again, similar mass-industrialization tends to occur in that manner (that is, more easily) under a single party state which can exert control over any industry it wishes.

“park chung hee built these roads we’re driving on,” the man told me. “[the candidate whose campaign we were driving past] would never be able to do that.”

not long after that, the man asked me what people thought of trump in the united states. i knew that there’s no way i could describe the nuances of how abhorrent of a person he is (and the disgusting things he inspires and legitimizes in american society), so i settled for saying he’s perceived as “strange.” the man chuckled and said, “i guess that’s true. but he doesn’t care what others think, like park. i like that.”

in that sense, i think korean politics aren’t too far removed from american ones. in the older generations, there’s the same sort of obsession with “mavericks” (word to john mccain) who defy the traditional realm of academic advice or sensibility. in some sense, i think this reflects korean social customs; here there are rather strict notions of respect, manners, and customs, especially with regard to the elderly--but once you’re old, of course, you don’t really pay those respects to younger people. young people don’t spit in the street, swear loudly, or really do anything disruptive in public; on the other hand, older people (well, older men especially) love doing such things (😬). i guess they’d respect a person who’s similarly...well...disrespectful.

there’s no doubt korea’s political and social history is incredibly complex. i think learning about such a unique country from native citizens would be one of the most interesting things i could do with the language skills i’m developing; in the future, as i noted above, i think this is a primary motivator for my continuing study.

on an unrelated note, i’m sorry for the week gap in posts! i promise i’ll make it back up this week; i have a lot to talk about anyway. as an apology, here’s some adorable photos from last week:

that’s right, i went to a raccoon cafe. i won’t be back though; although they’re cute, they didn’t seem too happy or well-taken-care-of. don’t support such institutions!

#politics #seoul

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seaninkorea · 6 years

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post-exam post, or: engaging with foreign media

i haven’t really talked about broader cultural topics on this blog yet, which is something i’m hoping to change! to that end, i decided to write a bit about k-pop this week.

yesterday my language buddy and i went to 광장시장 (gwangjang market) and dongdaemun where we ate lots of street food and had some really interesting conversations. i’m really shocked by the things we’re able to talk about. in part, i think it’s because sangyoon, having learned a lot languages before, knows the limitations of expression that one faces when learning a language, and so is able to infer what i mean even through my broken sentences. but all the same, i’m really happy that after studying korean for not quite a year, i’m able to do a lot more than simply order food or introduce myself: i can talk about my goals and dreams, emotions, and other such abstract concepts. and it’s not just that i have the capacity to know the vocabulary, grammar, etc., but also that i can construct vaguely coherent sentences and speak them out loud. to me, the latter part--speaking (and listening)--is a much more difficult skill.

eating 떡볶이 (spicy rice cake) in the market. i thought it tasted incredible, but sangyoon said it was some of the worst he had had 😛 the way i see it, it just means that there is even better stuff out there, which makes my taste buds excited

the center of the market is packed and decorated with flags from around the world!

speaking of which, we just had our midterm exam at snu. i didn’t find it difficult--i studied for maybe a couple of hours in total for each part (reading, writing, speaking, listening) and did well. the speaking part in particular went a lot better than i was expecting, and my interviewer commented that yale students are great speakers of korean (which is, in my view, not a mistake--we spoke a good deal in class time, and more importantly, our weekly TA sessions at yale made speaking korean a regular activity that i found super helpful). for any future fellows nervous about exams (esp. speaking), fear not! you’re better than you think 😊

another thing that helps with listening comprehension (and speaking!) is listening (and singing along with) korean music! modern korean music (aka k-pop) is super popular even outside of korea (i imagine most of my readership has probably heard of bts, or 반탄소년단, who are the most popular group in the us). a lot of korean language learners first became interested in korean culture and language due to k-pop. personally, i was first introduced to korean culture in a significant way in high school when i was really into starcraft 2 and other e-sports (another post about that later!), but even so, i was introduced to k-pop about a year before i started taking korean class. you don’t need to understand the words to feel the emotion music can carry, right?

you could probably characterize k-pop (vis-à-vis american pop) as flashier, more extravagant, and, in popular opinion, less “authentic” (much like a lot of korean industries, k-pop is very translucently dominated by a few big record companies; there’s a popular view abroad that k-pop music is produced almost scientifically, with the sole goal of making profit, without regard to putting meaningful content in the lyrics etc. this is a pretty uninformed and naïve view! for more, please read my friend and fellow light fellow [ahem] kushal’s brilliant post on the matter here). for instance, check out blackpink’s music video for their newest single, which is on top of the korean charts currently:

youtube

most current mainstream k-pop is similar to this style: pseudo trap-edm beats with about 50/50 rapping and singing, although there are a lot of groups which only sing/only rap which are very popular. k-pop also represents a lot of other subgenres; one of my favorite groups, urban zakapa, is often described as r&b (i’d personally classify them more as singer/songwriter, besides the fact that they’re a trio).

anyhow, k-pop bangers aside, the point is that although western music is also popular in korea (esp. at clubs), most restaurants, malls, stores, etc. which you go to--essentially any place except a club--plays primarily korean music. moreover, tv is super popular in korea: variety shows, dramas (soap operas), game shows, you name it. although western movies are popular (especially marvel movies!), there are lots of high-budget (and really good!) korean movies as well.

although i haven’t visited too many other countries, i definitely feel the level of media immersion experiences in korea is the highest among where i’ve been. if you turn on a radio, you’ll hear korean music. if you turn on the tv, there will be 200 channels of korean shows. if you go to a movie theater, you’ll probably find at most the top blockbuster movies from the us. i’m going to make a broad and uniformed statement that such media immersion is one of the biggest contributors to what’s called “culture shock.”

personally, i’ve found that i listened to a lot more k-pop when i was in the us. since coming to korea, i’ve been listening to mostly american music, or at least songs sung in english. i’ve also been favoring music with lyrics a lot more than instrumental music. the same goes for tv shows--i’ve watched about 7 full korean drama series in the past year, but since coming to korea, i’ve watched about 4 episodes, despite being surrounded by it all the time.

i don’t think this is coincidental with me just having changed music or television tastes (or being away from my k-pop and k-drama-loving roommate). media like music, television, and movies are a huge part of one’s culture. when i’m in the us, comfortable and at ease with my day-to-day life, it is hardly putting myself out of that comfort zone to listen to k-pop or watch a drama with subtitles on. on the other hand, when i’m practicing my listening skills all day (whether it be deliberately in class or by necessity when ordering at a restaurant, etc.), listening to randy travis suddenly becomes an infinitely more enjoyable experience.

i’ve found myself primarily listening to music, reading books, playing games, and watching videos/shows which i’m very familiar with. at the end of the day, it’s one of the best things one can do to feel at home in a place where you’ll never truly quite fit in.

with that being said, it’s also a huge help to have a large community of american friends i knew before coming here! this past wednesday was the fourth of july, and after hearing that the us military base would be shooting fireworks in celebration, a few of us headed to itaewon in hopes of catching a glimpse. we miraculously managed to see a few fireworks before they ended, and decided the only fitting way to end the night was, in true american fashion, at a mcdonald’s.

pardon the awful picture! 🎇

ltr me, lauren, david, lilly

i’d like to add a closing thought here, which is that although i’ve spent a lot of this post discussing (again) ways to help one feel less homesick essentially by removing oneself from a foreign culture (or refraining from engaging with it), it’s important to strike a balance of letting yourself feel more comfortable and forcing yourself to engage with a foreign culture, as scary as it can be. in other words, yes it’s definitely ok to eat mcdonald’s on the fourth of july and listen to sum 41 on the way to school! but i would recommend that you also try to go to a 노래방 (karaoke room) and try to sing some korean music, to try to discuss deeper subjects with your language buddy or any other koreans, and to try and learn--from the people themselves, not an american book or newspaper or translation--about culture, politics, and the like. i’ve found the latter such experiences the most memorable, unique and meaningful.

#k-pop #seoul

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seaninkorea · 6 years

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comfort without complacence

this week, i’ll be exploring the following prompt:

have any assumptions you had about the people or country become apparent to you or surprised you? have any of these assumptions proven to be wrong? what images, stereotypes or preconceived notions have been hard for you to relinquish?

i’m happy to say that i’ve been successful in my goal of getting out more! since last week, i’ve gone to quite a few cool places and met some cool people. at the same time, i’ve been going to the gym nearly every day, keeping up with my studies, and eating healthily and on-budget! in other words, i feel like i’m reaching the point of having adjusted to life here pretty well: there’s a comfortable level of consistency in my life in the way of regular activities and routines, but there’s also plenty of new things to explore and i’ve been refusing to let myself get complacent and lazy.

i think what strikes me as one of the unexpectedly hardest things about life in korea is the emphasis the society puts on doing things together. this is something that i had vague familiarity with from watching korean dramas and what-not, but i didn’t really grasp how significant a part of the culture it was until being here for a longer period of time.

personally, i do a lot of things alone, at least in the usa, like exercising, studying, and eating. that’s not to say i don’t like doing things with people, but often times it’s just hard to coordinate people’s schedules and what-not, or, in the case of studying, for instance, i just find it’s more effective for me when i study alone.

in korea, many activities that i would often do alone in the usa are almost exclusively done with others. for instance, most meals are eaten in a group. the majority of korean restaurants cater to groups of four or more, with dishes only being sold in larger servings and the cost being split among all the group. even more than eating, drinking is a completely social activity--i don’t think i’ve seen even one korean alone at a bar (although i have seen a few foreigners solo). the extent to which this tendency towards group activities permeates through society is hard to pin down. of course, it also varies from person to person. there are a few people who go to the gym i go to (snu posco center) alone, but many go in pairs. our korean teacher talked one day about how seeing someone eating (or even worse, drinking) alone makes koreans concerned that person is quite strange: “why would they eat alone? do they not have friends?”

however, to some extent that view has been changing. there are a lot of restaurants which are catered toward 혼밥 (essentially “eating alone”), and i’ve seen one advertisement for a 혼술 (“drinking alone”) place. for me, these places are great for a few reasons. for one, they still feature the insanely quick service as all other korean restaurants, so it’s easy to get a quick meal (you can even get it for takeout). for another, many allow (or require) customers to order from a touchscreen kiosk. although the menu is still in korean, it takes the pressure off of having to quickly decide and give your order to a waiter or waitress and allows you to thoroughly browse all the options. also, since pictures are included with all the food, it’s a great way to learn vocabulary. lastly, although this is a generalization, i’ve found these restaurants to generally be more cost-effective for one person dining. if you want to splurge a little bit, you should definitely get meals with friends (preferably all-you-can eat meals!), but if you’re looking for the most bang for your buck for $8 or less, eating at a 혼밥 place is definitely better than splitting a meal at a group place, in my experience.

not 혼밥, but i could’ve been! daisha and i have been checking out all the fast food places in korea (including american chains and korean ones). this one, lotteria, has wonderful friend chicken!

speaking of going it alone, i took a nice trip to a nearby park (낙성대공원, nakseongdae park) last sunday. it was wonderful, and now it’s become a personal goal to visit as many seoul parks as possible! the park featured a large empty paved area where kids rode bikes and roller skates as well as a larger traditional-style village (which was unfortunately closed at the time).

the park contained a lot of traditional 한옥 (hanok) style buildings, like this one, which happened to be a library and restroom. if you look closesly on the right side by the windchimes, you’ll see soju bottles with buddhist charms attached hanging from the trees.

a statute of a warrior of yore dominates the view from the center of the park

the park’s entrance

on the next day, a popular kpop band shinee’s new album was set to release in the evening. personally, i don’t really know anything about shinee, but a few of the other light fellows are huge fans, and convinced me to accompany them to starfield coex mall, where shinee’s record label has a giant store, museum, and more. unfortunately, the album didn’t end up being physically released till the next day, but the mall was amazing!

kaori, lilly, and daisha by smtown

enjoying a meal at the mall’s food court~

the highlight of the mall is the library, which i forgot to take a picture of (somehow). it’s two stories of books wrapped around the center of the mall, with tons of comfy seats and cafes nearby. i’m sure i’ll be back, and promise i’ll get a good picture then!

on wednesday, sarah and i went to 덕수궁 (deoksugung palace) and one of three branches of seoul’s mmca (museum of modern and contemporary art). the mmca also has a branch by gyeongbokgung and one in seoul grand park, the latter of which is the biggest (and based on my visit there on spring break, best!). the mmca here was quite small and had mainly older art collections, as the current exhibit is showcasing the museum’s history. the good news was since, by sheer coincidence, we went on the last wednesday of the month, entrance to deoksugung and the museum were both free! usually it would have been 5000 won in total (although i believe students get in to the museum for free, but i’m not sure if that applies to international students like us).

the steps in front of the mmca are a popular photo spot for young people and ahjummas alike

the coolest piece on show (as of when we went) was the last room, which is a digital recreation of the different “stages” of the museum (the floor plan, architecture, then with exhibits, etc.). complete with an ambient soundtrack, the room is quite a cool experience. i took this cool aesthetic photo by complete accident.

the area between deoksugung and the museum gave me major boston/new york vibes. while sitting here, a group of elementary school girls asked me to take a photo with them. they spoke in perfect english too! kids these days

pondering something deep by the palace. the architecture and colors are essentially the same at all of these joseon-era palaces, but i personally preferred deoksugung to gyeongbokgung simply because there were far fewer people there!

after the museum, we took a trip to city hall, where they have a giant “i seoul u” sign. i’m not sure exactly what that’s supposed to mean, but it’s cute! these signs are scattered throughout the city, i believe, at major attractions; for instance, i think there’s one by the han river.

on thursday, i went to another museum with my snu language buddy. as i’m becoming more acquainted with speaking korean regularly and he’s trying to tailor his speech to my level, i feel like we’re becoming actual, well, buddies! we went to the national museum of korea, which was incredibly large and interesting. we were there for around three hours and hardly got through half of the exhibits or so before being kicked out at closing time.

the main hall of the museum

the museum is easily reached on subway line 4 at the 이촌 (ichon) stop. if you follow the signs, there’s an underground passage straight from the subway to the museum’s entrance.

posing by one of the national treasures of korea, a two-story tall pagoda

after getting kicked out, rain started pouring down. luckily, i brought an umbrella. 상윤 (sangyoon) and i ran to the subway station both crouched under the one umbrella laughing hysterically. moral of the story: always bring an umbrella!!

finally, yesterday i spent the evening with another friend of mine, 윤우 (yunu). she showed me some cool places in 홍대, including an all-you-can-eat pho restaurant (emoi) and a foreigner-friendly bar (“cocky pub”) where they were playing the france vs. argentina world cup match. it was filled with french people! korea is strange because day-to-day i see very few foreigners outside of the classroom. they seem to all be concentrated in little bubbles here and there.

i’m hungry again just looking at this photo

a tequila sunrise for me (shout-out to don henley) and a screwdriver for yunu. not pictured: the kozel darks we had before this--a great beer with cinnamon sugar topping 😭

hanging out with korean friends is definitely the 100% best way to improve your spoken fluency. whether it be a language partner or someone you meet through other means (ahem), they’ll not only be forgiving of your mistakes and willing to help you, but also simply the act of forcing yourself to speak and listen in korean outside of the pre-made sentences in class--to actually naturally use the grammar and vocabulary you’re learning in class in real-life situations--does wonders for speaking and listening ability and, more importantly (in my book, at least), for your confidence!

to that end, to future light fellows/people studying abroad, if you do have/make/meet korean friends, i would encourage you to at least try to have a good deal of your conversations in korean (or whatever language you’re learning)! both sangyoon and yunu speak far better english than i do korean, and so we can certainly have “better” conversations in english. however, when i speak to them in korean, it really feels like a completely different side of them comes out--speaking to someone in their native tongue definitely allows their full personality to come out, even when they have to speak in simpler terms to you!

to close out this week, i asked yunu to write a message:

오늘 똑똑하고 멋있고 정직한 친구랑 홍대를 갔어요. 즐거웠다 :)

“today i went to hongdae with a smart, cool, honest friend. it was really fun!”

see you next soon~

#bars #museums #seoul #travel

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seaninkorea · 6 years

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it takes two...to tour

this week’s prompt:

have you visited any tourist sites since you arrived? what was your impression of the site and why do you think it is important or meaningful? have you spoken to anyone from your host country about what the site means to them?

over the past week, i’ve been trying to get out and about more: i think visiting interesting places--touristy or not--should be a bigger priority of mine, since i won’t be able to see these places again until who knows when!

to that end, i started this week by going to 동대문 (dongdaemun), a really cool district perhaps most notable for either its many shops (into which i dared not tread, lest i spend the rest of my light award check in one shopping trip) or the 동대문디자인플라자 (dongdaemun design plaza), a massive building (?) designed by zaha hadid: it’s really quite an incredible sight!

striking the stereotypical tourist pose by ddp. i read that not a single piece of the outside plating is the exact same as any other--it reminded me of how they say there are no right angles in morse/ezra stiles colleges at yale! i still the latter fact is untrue, though, so who knows about the ddp.

in this shot, you can see the overarching dome on the plaza’s top surface, as well as one of the many people-shaped sculptures which surround the main area.

my friend sarah and i got lunch at a nearby 짜장면 (jjajangmyeon, noodles with pork in black bean sauce) place; it was delicious, and we couldn’t finish the meal there was so much food! plus it was only about $5 apiece; food prices in korea continue to astound me.

안녕, sarah! jjajangmyeon on the left, seafood soup of some sort to the right.

the interesting thing about this restaurant (and dongdaemun more broadly, really) is that it’s very catered toward chinese tourists--many signs were in korean and chinese (sometimes they had english as well, but chinese was certainly more common). jjajangmyeon is a dish with chinese origins, which i suppose explains why this restaurant is in this district. at the end of the day, it’s a subtle but potent reminder that the world hardly revolves around america.

i couldn’t resist posting this picture; my favorite part of dongdaemun might’ve been the kakao friends store, where i managed to get this adorable picture with my favorite tail-less lion, ryan.

continuing the touristy theme, i spent the whole afternoon and evening of the next day with my buddy exploring 광화문 (gwanghwamun). this area is notable for having a lot of museums and historic-style attractions, such as 경복궁 (gyeongbokgung palace), the statues of 세종 and 이순신 (king sejong the great and admiral lee sun-shin; the former is credited with inventing 한글, the latter with defeating the japanese navy even when greatly outnumbered), and more. we visited a museum in gyeongbokgung, which was filled with cool displays and artifacts from the 조선 (joseon) dynasty; unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take photos ☹️

next, my buddy took me to what he said is the biggest book store in seoul, 교보 (kyobo)--i’d certainly believe that claim! they had mountains of books, and even very large english, french, and spanish book collections. they also had a huge collection of cds and vinyl records, stationery shops, electronics stores, and more. i was really so enthralled that i forgot to take photos; however, i did snag a photo of a cool engraving outside:

“people make books; books make people”

did i mention my buddy had his father (who had the day off from work) drive us from snu to gwanghwamun? they’re both incredibly nice! his dad works at gimpo airport and loves classical music. he was thrilled to hear i did too, and we shared an emotional moment listening to moonlight sonata--music is special, i thought, in that sharing a musical or aesthetic experience with someone transcends the need for a shared verbal language.

after the bookstore, we went to 남산 (namsan) tower, also known as n seoul tower. my buddy was exhausted since he had just finished finals that afternoon (he apparently slept 30 minutes the night before. not good! i’ll probably have to make another post soon about the intensity of korean education), so we took a cable car up instead of walking. it was incredible!

selfies in korea are called “셀카" (short for “self-camera,” i guess)

i also a had one of my favorite experiences waiting for the elevator. a european couple was in front of us in line as my buddy and i were speaking in korean about the different restaurants and what constituted a “good” hamburger (one claimed to have the best hamburger in seoul). one of the couple suddenly turned around and asked me, “excuse me, where are you from?” i told him, “america,” and he seemed a bit startled: “oh, really! i was just curious because i heard you two speaking korean. you’re quite good!”

of course, there’s no way this guy would know if i was speaking good korean since it seemed he didn’t speak it. but it did make me feel like i must be doing something right if i can impress other tourists 😤

the koreans copied the parisians! but in typical korean fashion (although i haven’t been to the bridge in paris), things are more efficient and capitalist: you can buy a lock (the more you spend, the bigger and fancier the lock design) and pens at a booth about 10 feet away. i mourned what i perceived as a lack of authenticity. then i mourned my inability to talk about and share those thoughts with my buddy in korean. rip

this picture is really special to me not just because it’s gorgeous, but because my buddy and i actually shared a really cool conversation--in korean--right after i took it. he’s going to germany to study abroad in the fall and we talked about what it means to throw yourself into a new environment, as i’m doing now and he will be doing soon. he said that places like namsan, where you can look out across the expanse of something great, are vital for keeping oneself inspired to explore and continue seeking out new things. i couldn’t help but agree.

#namsan #seoul #tourist

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seaninkorea · 6 years

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sunday night live: weekend update

note: i’ve enabled comments on the blog! ⌨️ to access them for older posts, please click on the post’s date (see below) and scroll to the bottom of the post! comments for the newest post will also display on the index page of the blog.

the weekend is coming to a close, and as of today, i’ve spent 22 days (over three weeks !!) in korea! it’s crazy how fast time has gone, but i’m excited that there’s still plenty of time left in the summer to keep exploring and trying new things.

i’m making this post because this weekend has been pretty eventful, in a lot of small ways! first of all, on friday i was introduced to the snu student who will serve as my “buddy,” a role somewhere between a language partner, tour guide, and friend. my buddy is finishing up his third year at snu, where he studies industrial engineering. he speaks korean, english, chinese, spanish, and is learning french. he’s also a great piano player! i was extremely impressed by him; the phenomenal transformation of south korea from a country devastated by war to one of the world’s leading economies makes perfect sense if the country is indeed filled with people as talented and hard-working as he.

my buddy is going to take me to some tourist sites and museums on wednesday, which i’m really excited about! he’s also very strict about us only speaking in korean (aside from offering translations of new vocabulary), so it should be a great learning experience in a number of ways.

additionally, i successfully joined the snu gym! it’s a bit pricey at around 70,000 won per month for the basic access program fro students (even though it was advertised as “inexpensive” online, but alas; to be fair, it has better facilities and is cheaper than nearby commercial gyms). even though most koreans seem very slim and healthy-looking, the gym doesn’t seem to ever be too busy. i imagine in part it’s due to koreans’ diets, the fact they walk a lot, and probably other factors, but it doesn’t seem like fitness and exercise are as big here as in the us; i see very few people out jogging, for instance.

i’ve certainly found myself putting more and more korean to use in everyday situations; on friday, i successfully explained to a cashier at the grocery store that i had been overcharged (it was my fault, but i digress) at the self-checkout and she refunded me. i’ve been able to order food at restaurants by name instead of pointing, complain about traffic with a taxi driver, and gave a presentation about my hobbies in class! overall, i certainly feel myself becoming more confident in speaking, which is a positive reinforcement for what we’ve been learning in class.

on friday night, i got a bunch of other light fellows together and we went to 신촌 (sinchon) for all-you-can eat korean barbecue (for only 11000 won / $10 per person!). it was delicious, and a great time was had by all of us 😄

if it wasn’t for my guilty conscience vis-à-vis the people outside waiting outside for a table, i would’ve eaten my weight in meat. ltr daisha, kayleigh, me, keaton, lauren, david, formosa

earlier today, i went shopping with daisha at a mall we stumbled upon in 신림 (shillim). as i said before, korean fashion is very unique; i managed to keep myself from buying anything, but here’s one highlight from that trip:

i feel like someone ripped some notes from an intellectual history class and stuck them on a shirt. high fashion!

finally, here’s one of my favorite pictures so far:

양화대교 (yanghwa bridge) at night; it’s only right to listen to the zion. t song while looking at the photo

#food #seoul

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seaninkorea · 6 years

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getting on with things

starting with this week, i’ll be trying to weave in responses to prompts sent to us by the light fellowship staff (s/o ming-lee and julia ❤️) with the topics i found most pertinent to blog about! for future reference, the prompt i found most interesting this week is:

compare your goals and strategies for this experience with those you had for previous experiences abroad or away from home. what are you determined to do better this time?

it’s officially the end of the second week of classes, and things are going pretty well! in my last post, i talked a lot about ways which i was helping myself get accustomed to life in seoul. i think something i never explicitly addressed but is nonetheless very much present in that post is the importance of getting in a routine. having a sort of prepared set of things you do every day is great for keeping yourself focused and organized! for instance, i eat lunch with the other light fellows (and occasionally other friends from class) every day right after class ends and then walk back to my housing with keaton (who lives in the same place); usually i got to a cafe afterward to study, since it’s both comfortable and relatively inexpensive.

on the flipside, it’s also important to not settle into a routine too much. that is, it’d be very easy for me to go to the same cafe and same restaurants, talk to the same friends, etc. every single day. but doing so would eventually a) make me bored out of my mind due to lack of variety and b) completely disregard the point of going abroad. i can study in a cafe, speak to friends in english, and eat american food in the usa! although all those experiences are certainly somewhat different in korea, i’ve found the most fun i’ve had thusfar is doing things which are significantly different in korea than they are in the usa (nightlife!) or totally exclusive to korea (i.e. doing “touristy” things).

i think that falling into a routine has always been a way for me to help myself feel competent and comfortable; when i first came to yale from colorado, it was one of the first things i tried to get myself to do (wake up at the same time, eat breakfast at the same time, go to the gym at the same time, etc.). that’s not to say i’ve had a boring three years at yale--i’ve certainly had an amazing time--but since i’m in korea for only a few months, not years, i’m trying to emphasize breaking any routine as much as possible and stretching myself into the realm of discomfort.

a big part of that is eating! keaton and i have found a few great places around our housing at which, unlike most korean restaurants, it is socially acceptable (and financially possible) to eat alone. however, i’ve been trying to not let the ease of just grabbing a meal to-go and eating it while watching netflix draw me in! i try to get meals at new restaurants a lot, mostly so far that’s been with other light fellows, but i’ve made a few friends in class who i’d love to eat with soon.

apologies for the blurry photo; ltr kushal, daisha, keaton and myself at a 치맥 (chimaek, “chicken and beer”) restaurant, bhc

a limeade from a mexican restaurant i went to with daisha and keaton called 타코 구스토 (“taco gusto”). the owner (an american) chatted with us for a while--he used to be a tech worker in the financial sector (a.k.a. probably my post-graduation future) but then came to korea with his wife, did the korean program at 연세대학교 (yonsei university) and decided to stay! the burritos were delicious too; 5/5 experience

one of the meals in the 학생식당 (student dining hall): curry 돈까스 (tonkatsu, japanese pork cutlet) with some 반찬 (side dishes) 😋

a former director of the light fellowship, kelly mclaughlin, treated the snu light fellows to dinner at a traditional korean restaurant. the food was both incredibly plentiful and delicious. pictured here are the biggest shrimp i’ve ever seen in my life

i also went shopping in 명동 (myeongdong) recently, which was a great experience! korean fashion is really unique and fun; i picked up a few gifts and clothes for myself. i also stopped by a grocery store, where i managed to successfully ask store clerks where almonds, cereal, and milk were located. in the words of borat, great success!

the lotte department store: i only shopped in the grocery store in the basement; there are something like 14 floors in the main building, and there are two other buildings with around 7 floors i believe. i’ll definitely be back 👀

i really wanted these “snickers” themed slippers, but they were something like ~$30. a tear rolled down my cheek as i put them back

#food #seoul #shopping

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seaninkorea · 6 years

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academics, self-care, and cafes, oh my!

i’ll be the first to admit that my blog has already run off the original planned course of being a sort of guidebook. however, i don’t think this is a bad thing! after all, there are far superior guidebooks available elsewhere on the internet, and i think i’m much better at writing blogs which allow me to explore my perspective on the things i experience. plus it’s more fun that way!

classes started this week; i’ve already experienced a fair few scholastic ups-and-downs (is that the right qualifier? lmk!). seoul nat’l university (henceforth snu) teaches six different levels of korean class at their language education institute. according the website, to take course level n, you should have 200 * (n - 1) hours of experience in korean. almost all yale light fellows (who’d done l1 and l2 at yale) placed into level 2; a few (incl. me) placed into level 3.

after the first day of level 3, i felt a little bit overwhelmed. there was certainly a significant gap between what we had learned in a year at yale and the expectation of 400 hours of experience starting level 3. i could understand new grammar alright and generally do practice exercises, but i struggled to understand the teacher’s directions or classmates’ introductions. if i dedicated a significant portion of time outside of class to catching myself up, i figured i could do fine in level 3, but this made me remember the predeparture meeting the light fellowship held. a study abroad experience like this one, we were told, is not just about (or even mostly about) taking language classes--one can learn korean grammar and vocabulary anywhere in the world. fundamentally, the whole benefit of going abroad is to immerse oneself in the foreign culture. certainly, learning the language is part of that; however, to the extent that doing vocabulary drills is taking time away from exploring seoul, the language classes are devaluing the experience as a whole. after thinking about that for a bit, i decided to switch down to level 2, a process that ran seamlessly (lots and lots of people are switching up and down in the first few days).

level 2, grammar and vocabulary-wise, is primarily review right now. however, the level of listening and speaking engagement is certainly more intense than at yale (and of course it’s four hours every day!), so i still feel like i’m getting a lot out of the classes even if i’m not learning tons of new grammar and vocabulary daily.

smile! or, as they say in korea, 김치 (kimchi)! ft. fun photos from the cs50 fair

on the non-scholastic side of things, i’ve been doing pretty well! i’ve already found a couple of really great cafes right by my housing, which is both a blessing and a curse--sometimes, it really feels good to distance oneself from one’s room/bed/etc.

i think the above observation results from a broader theme of culture shock that i’ve been experiencing. it hasn’t been very intense culture shock, which is good! this is in part because i already came to seoul for a week and a half over spring break, so i had an idea about how to get around, how to order food, etc. however, it’s no joke that when you’re more or less fending for yourself in a wildly foreign environment, you get exhausted, anxious, and upset far more easily than you do in a comfortable environment! for me, this results in me spending way too much time just sitting in my room. others’ mileage may vary!

i’ve found a few ways to help cope with feeling nervous or anxious like this so far. for one, it really helps to just lay out a few smaller tasks to get done. something as simple as making a shopping list to spruce up my room, cleaning my room, or making weekend plans can help me feel more in control of myself! plus, doing little things can help you build up into doing bigger things; personally, i don’t have a part-time job or internship or anything here (i don’t trust my korean anywhere near enough to try anything like that), so i’ve been working on compsci side projects in some of my spare time. keeping busy with projects helps me feel occupied, motivated, and busy, which helps offset anxiety by giving my brain something to work on.

a freshly organized room

more on cafes: korean cafe culture is huge. i think cafes must be one of the most profitable business ventures in korea because they’re everywhere, and they’re big!! like physically. most cafes on main streets are at least three stories!

my favorites so far are kong house, coffee tree, and the starbucks in seogwipo. however, i’m making it a mission to try my best to not repeat going to the same cafe as much as possible so as to explore as many as possible!

korean cafes have great atmosphere, super-fast wifi, generally above-par snacks and coffee, and are a great opportunity to practice ordering at relatively low stakes (if you order a green tea instead of a black tea or accidentally get your latte iced, it’s no big deal; if you accidentally order a three-person serving of pork to go instead of a one-person to eat in, then your mistake-explaining-in-korean skills will really be put to the test! not that i’ve done any of these...😬)

the main downside is that most drinks are fairly pricey. it definitely helps to check on kakaomap, mangoplate, etc. before committing to going to a cafe, as some places charge upwards of 6000 won for an americano! absurd... tsk tsk.

working on machine learning in kong house cafe

#cafes #class #culture #seoul

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seaninkorea · 6 years

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배캐 블로그 vay-cay blog

over the latter half of the past week, some friends and i took a trip to the beautiful island of 제주 (jeju). a flight from seoul (김포 공항 [gimpo airport]) ran me about $40 one-way (i flew jinair, but most airlines are around the same price--i chose jinair simply because i’m familiar with their esports teams); if you’re flying from 부산 (busan), i think prices are around $20. the flight was about an hour long.

day 0

me in the airport bathroom, supple white skin fresh for burning

touching down on jeju

for most of my time on the island, i was located on the southern half, which is formally designated as one big city named 서귀포시 (seoguipo-si). the northern half, meanwhile, is called 제주시 (jeju-si); i only stayed in the latter on my last night, at a small place close to the airport. in seoguipo, i stayed in a nice airbnb ran by a korean man named charles. even though charles and i could only speak broken english and korean respectively, we quickly became friends due to our shared interests of nature and the outdoors, relaxed lifestyles, being kind, and drinking.

my room in charles’ house

charles made me dinner! 라면 (ramyeon aka ramen), 김치 (kimchi), and some sort of radish, I think? after dinner we drank 막걸리 (makgeolli, korean rice wine) and watched edge of tomorrow. charles is a big tom cruise fan!

charles helped me flesh out an itinerary for the next three days, which i’ll now relate back to you in pictures!

day 1

seoguipo city refers to the full bottom half of the island, which is weird because there are a bunch of little towns all over. however, there are two main downtown areas which are the defining parts of seogwipo urban life: ”new town” is on the west, and i guess “old town” on the right, although i never heard the latter term used. i stayed in new town, which includes tourist destinations such as starbucks, mcdonald’s, and a giant soccer stadium--a relic of the 2002 world cup. regrettably, i only managed to visit the first of these three big names in tourism (as an aside, korean starbucks do not allow you to pay with the app).

this starbucks was huge. and super clean! the mcdonald’s was about the same size, can’t speak for its cleanliness.

anyway, on the first day, i spent most of my time in “old town,” first visiting the famous 천지연 폭포 (cheonjiyeon waterfall), one of the three most notable waterfalls on jeju. located smack-dab in the middle of downtown, if you make it to seoguipo, there’s no reason not to go, as it’s about a 10 minute walk from most hotels! plus, it’s gorgeous.

a line of 돌 하르방 (dol hareubang, “stone grandfather”), a traditional statue found all over jeju. historically they were believed to grant protection and fortune.

the waterfall! not pictured: like 100 other tourists all scrambling to get pictures like this one 😎

each of jeju’s three famous waterfalls has a lot of cool stories associated with it. the one i liked most about cheonjiyeon was that a holy dragon used to live in the basin of the falls which protected local people from evildoers. cool!

after the falls, i went to seoguipo’s traditional market, which was pretty busy (for a thursday afternoon, certainly; i can’t imagine how busy it is at peak times!). i tried jeju’s famous tangerine (한라봉 [hallabong]), in juice form--it was super fresh and delicious! i also tried 문어빵 (muneobbang, lit. octopus bread, but only because of the shape--it’s just a sweetish bread with cheese inside).

afternoon at the market

afterwards, i went around the city looking at souvenir shops, art installations, and admiring the incredible views of the harbor and distant islands with my friends until dinner. we got barbecued chicken, which i think has been my favorite meal thus far!

ltr: daisha, farah, and roba. i’m getting hungry just looking at this picture

i finished the day by attempting an evening hike down to 외돌개 (oaedolgae rock), another famous tourist site, but when i arrived it was too dark to see anything on camera. however, i did get this cool picture of 한라산 (hallasan, aka mount halla) on the way (more on hallasan later!):

day 2

i spent day 2 primarily hiking a traditional trail called an 올래 (olle). i believe that these are allegedly supposed to reflect the routes that ancient peoples used to walk, but that could be completely misinformed. in any event, it was a great trail! my friends farah, stella, emily and i hiked olle 14-1 and part of olle 14. i believe the former is recommended as the best trail on the island, and although i haven’t done the others, 14-1 is certainly a great hike.

14-1 starts right behind the ossuloc tea museum (which is a fun tourist attraction in its own right). you have to walk through some plant fields to reach the trailhead, which is denoted by a cute little horse thing which has a stamp you can use to prove that you hiked the whole trail.

myself, roba, farah, and daisha at the tea museum fields. i don’t think these are tea plants, but it was a cute picture-taking location

at the start of olle 14-1

the best part of 14-1 is this small mountain whose name i don’t know, on top of which are a ton of horses! they’re tame (there’s a ranch where they live just at the base of the mountain), so you can get really close. unfortunately, i don’t know how to say “can i borrow a saddle and ride off into the sunset?” in korean. 😔

the end of olle 14-1 and beginning of 14 is in a small town which consisted of one-third convenience stores, one-third traditional-style korean houses, and one-third very modern looking new houses.

olle 14 leads up to the coastline, where you walk on a basalt beach! super cool looking, but a bit uncomfortable for the feet. also, peep the industrial vibes on the right. there are several spots where you can see sewage-esque water going straight to the ocean. damn. (ft. stella’s back)

olle 14 ends at 협재해변 (hyeobjae beach), where we watched the sunset. to paraphrase darius from atlanta, the vibes were intense.

day 3

my last full day in jeju started with a sad goodbye to charles but consisted mainly in the same group from the olle hiking really pushing ourselves by hiking the tallest mountain in south korea: hallasan. since i live in colorado, i’ve hiked a few tall mountains before, and so even though i’m not in great shape right now, i was moderately confident it wouldn’t be too bad of a hike.

in reality, it was quite challenging--there are five trails (or “courses,” as locals call them) you can hike on hallasan, only two of which go all the way to the peak. of those two, 성판악 (seongpanak) is the easier, less steep trail and 관음사 (gwaneumsa) is the more difficult and steep. the usual choice is to do seongpanak up and gwaneumsa down (allegedly because the majestic views on gwaneumsa are better savored while descending), but in my book, it’s better to get the worst over with asap, so we did the opposite.

the other important thing to note is transportation: if you’re going by public transportation, you can only access gwaneumsa trailhead on the weekend (we went on a saturday). however, keep in mind that the bus to gwaneumsa which you transfer to only runs once every hour, and it’s not always loyal to the posted time; we ended up taking a cab for about 5 minutes and $3 instead of the bus. seognpanak is always accessible by bus, no transfer required.

for me, the hike was about four hours up and two-and-a-half hours down. the trail was also crowded much more going down than up. i’d say the majority of hikers are middle-aged koreans, which is both very impressive and occasionally rather entertaining; the traditional celebration of a successful summit is to drink (yes, alcohol) on the top of the mountain. i saw one 60+-year-old gleefully downing two cans of beer quicker than any frat bro. drinking culture is quite something in korea--i’ll probably make a separate post sometime.

approaching the second “shelter” on the gwaneumsa trail; you have to leave the shelter by 1pm at the latest, because they shut down the way to the summit for safety reasons at that time. we started at 10:10 and reached the shelter at about 12.

on the way from the shelter to the peak, there’s a super cool bridge which presents a great 셀카 (selfy) opportunity: ltr me, farah, emily

the view from the peak inside the crater of hallasan. did i mention it’s an active volcano?

just after reaching the bottom. i sweat more on this day than ever before in my life.

for 1000 won and a picture of you at the summit, you can get a nifty pseudo-official certificate; name spelling not guaranteed

in retrospect, jeju is a very interesting place. i’ve never been to any ~exotic island destinations~ before, but after visiting here, i imagine others are similar: it was a lot more connected than i would’ve imagined (via transit, wifi, etc. [they have free high speed wifi almost literally all over the island, and i don’t recall ever losing cell service]). as such, if your vacation goal is solely to “escape,” jeju is probably not the best place to go--as someone accustomed to colorado wilderness, where you’re usually fairly isolated and have no cell service, this was a bit too communal and civilized for my tastes. that being said, the tourist spots themselves are breathtakingly beautiful; jeju is definitely worth visiting.

now i’m back in seoul, unpacking and getting ready for classes to start tomorrow. after they get underway, i’ll probably make a post about the ins and outs of the language program at seoul national university to the extent that i know them thus far. thanks for reading!

#hiking #jeju #travel

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seaninkorea · 6 years

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survival guide for the first (half) day

안녕하세요 (hello) from seoul! i survived the flight, finding my housing, settling down, and the first night, and now i’m here to tell whatever digital audience i have about it 😊

also, i decided that i might try to structure this blog partially as a sort of informal guidebook (and partially as more substantive cultural/social commentary writing). i've been able to find a lot of helpful blog posts from light fellows past (and in general, turns out there are a lot of blogs written by foreigners in korea), and it's certainly been a huge help for me. to so here goes: how to survive your first night in seoul!

my flight route had me routed through vancouver airport for a two-hour layover, which ended up being really nice. i'd never been to canada before, and it's so gorgeous! the mountains and nature remind me of colorado, but it's on the coast too, plus with cooler cities (and they speak french! classy). vancouver airport especially is dope--they have a giant fish tank and a river!

but enough about non-korean stuff. the flight to seoul was a smooth 10-hour ordeal. that being said, i was still dead after travelling all day, and so my one primary goal upon touching down was to get myself on a bed.

인천공항 (incheon international airport) is really nice (although it lacks a river). when you get in, you'll be routed by signs to the passport check/immigration gate area, where you fill out two straightforward forms for immigration and customs. afterwards, you pick up your bag and then breeze through customs.

i decided to take the airport limousine to my housing. alternatively, i could've taken a taxi (which would have been pricey) or the subway (which might have meant i'd have to stand up). the limousine was comfortable, a bit quicker than subway, and only 9000 원; i'd definitely recommend it (they also store your luggage in the bottom of the bus which is much better than holding it yourself on the subway)!

the manager and propreitors of my housing picked me up from the subway stop, which was a warm welcome to seoul. i'm staying in a 고시원 (go-shi-won, idk what this translates to), which is essentially a very compact apartment (my feet hang off the bed by an inch or so--the room is about three inches longer than the bed).

after signing a housing contract and paying, i watched three episodes of atlanta, facetimed my mom, and then slept for 12 hours. mission accomplished! i'll finish this post with some more pictures from the first day. stay tuned for more posts! until then 👋

my first meal, kimchi, rice, and beef jerky

first selfy in korea!

the view from the fire escape (?) of my 고시원

my room (almost) post-unpacking! ft. foot for scale

#seoul #travel

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