Discovering Seoul's Soul: Week One

My first week living in Seoul is a wrap! It has already been an amazing experience. Keep reading for a (somewhat) brief overview of what I've been up to.

A few quick notes that I have neglected to mention or didn’t think fit well in the rest of my blog:

• The dorms are situated on the top of a rather large hill that we have to traverse every time we want to reach the main street of the district. Let me tell you, this hill is steep. It’s so steep that at some points my body is practically parallel to the ground because I’m leaning forward so much.

• Classes only start on September 1st, so, unfortunately, this frequent and lengthy schedule of exploring won’t continue for the entirety of my stay.

• TEAN is a U.S.-based study abroad company that I organized my trip here through, so all other students affiliated with TEAN are also from the U.S. However, I have had the opportunity to meet other students also studying abroad here from all over the world, which has been a fun experience.

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August 24th

In my last blog, I was getting my PCR test done- which came in on Wednesday as negative! After grabbing a quick breakfast of coffee and a cream cheese muffin at the Coffee Bean, my friends and I headed to Jongno-gu to meet the TEAN program for lunch. This lunch was, bar none, the best thing I have had in Korea so far. Not only was it my first time having Korean BBQ, but I was also literally eating it in Korea. At the restaurant we went to, the staff came around and helped us start cooking the pork on the grill in front of us. We also had sides of rice cakes, kimchi, pickled radish, white rice, and chili paste. I have no clue what they marinated this pork in, but I couldn't get enough of it.

After eating, my friends and I decided to wander around the Jongno-gu area. The subway station we walked in had an underground shopping center attached to it (which is actually pretty common around Seoul) that we browsed. We walked past a Buddhist temple and a couple of monks which was very surreal to see. Another mall nearby had a self-serve photo booth store that we took lots of pictures in. Leaving the mall, we found ourselves in a row of tea houses with the most delicious smells drifting out of them. Then we found my new favorite dessert- mango bingsoo. Bingsoo is a refreshing Korean shaved ice dessert. This one was topped with fresh mangoes, mango juice, and ice cream. I fell in love with it.

August 25th

Thursday was Korea University’s orientation for international exchange students! This was my first time seeing the main part of campus and wow, it is gorgeous. Orientation started with an overview of basic information for our time at KU, and we got to meet our KUBA buddy groups. KUBA is a program KU has for international students that pairs them with KU students from Korea (who also know English) to help acclimate them. After the first session, we got a little tour of the main campus, ate lunch in the cafeteria, and registered for our ID cards.

Each KUBA group hosts a little after-party the night of orientation at a local restaurant. My group went to a tteokbokki place, which serves a dish with rice cakes, fish cakes, and gochujang (Korean chili paste) among other ingredients. My table ordered one that also came with fried chicken, cheese (apparently a big favorite in Korea), ham, and peppers. Again, the food was incredible. The KUBA buddies sitting with us were very welcoming and helpful in teaching us important things in Korean culture. One of the most fun things was learning drinking etiquette. I had been told that Korea had quite a big drinking culture, but this was my first time doing it here. Our KUBA buddies ordered us soju, which is the most common alcohol in Korea. In my opinion, the unflavored soju tastes like watered-down vodka (and is much weaker). However, the other soju we ordered was yuzu citrus flavored and a clear table favorite. We also got makgeolli, which is a milky rice wine served in Korea. Our buddies taught us that you never pour your own drink, someone else has to do that for you. Also, when receiving the drink, it should be taken with both hands (this is a general rule in Korea, to usually give or accept things with both hands). Finally, when everyone’s small cups have been filled, it’s time to toast and drink! We were taught to shout “JJAN” (pronounced kind of like ‘chong’ to mimic the sound of the glasses clinking against each other). This was done throughout dinner- which I promise isn’t as bad as it sounds, none of the alcohol was strong as it is in the states. The whole night was a blast and made me super excited for the rest of the semester.

August 26th

Friday was definitely a more laid-back, restful day for me. I let myself sleep in and eventually made my way to Cafe Anne on the main street, a cute 24/7 cafe that my friends and I had on our list to try. I ate (and I know you’re tired of me saying this) the most delicious breakfast- honey bread topped with a little whipped cream and cinnamon, similar to French toast, and coffee. The rest of the day was pretty much just relaxing and organizing things in my room. For dinner, I went to another restaurant on the main street and had a chicken egg noodle dish (that I, unfortunately, can’t remember the name of) and potato dumplings. This was my first time having dumplings since coming to Korea, and they did not disappoint.

August 27th

Saturday was a very fun and very exhausting day. After a late start, I went to ‘Meal Plan B’, which serves hotdogs and burritos but is always full of locals, so we were curious. I got the mild spicy hotdog meal, which is topped with cabbage, ketchup, and mustard. It was better than I could’ve expected. We have already made plans to go back and try the burrito since it seemed to be what everyone else there was ordering.

After eating, we made our way to the Namsan Seoul Tower, which marks the second highest point in Seoul. The views were breathtaking. From up there, you can see just how far Seoul spreads- it’s city as far as you can see until it disappears into the crevices of the mountains. The natural beauty throughout the city and surrounding it was also very apparent. All around the railings at the top of the mountain were padlocks with names on them, referred to as “locks of love”, like those in Paris. The TEAN program paid for our tickets up to the observatory so we could have a 360-degree perspective of Seoul. If possible, the view got even better from there. Once we were done in the tower, we decided to take the cable car on the way down the mountain, which offered one last look at the skyline before reaching the bottom.

We then walked around the surrounding area, Yangsan-gu, to find somewhere to eat. Eventually, we decided on this restaurant simply because the pictures on the menu outside looked so good. I ordered a rice omelette (called omurice) covered in a sweet soy sauce mixture that was immaculate. Then we took a long series of subways to make our way to the Han river that cuts through Seoul. On our way, I found some of my favorite stations (the tint of the windows matches the color of the subway line) and multiple playgrounds that we stopped to swing at. We finally reached the Banpo Bridge which was the second amazing view of the day, especially at sunset. This bridge lets out jets of water under colored lights every 30-minutes at night. At the other end of the bridge, we suddenly found ourselves immersed in one of Korea’s famous night markets. These night markets hold tons of vendors selling everything you can imagine, including a huge variety of food, household items, and clothing. Unfortunately, all the stalls had lines a mile long, and we were desperate for something to drink, so we wandered through the area until we found an open cafe and ordered smoothies. At the end of the day, we had walked a whopping 14,837 steps, which equals 30 flights of stairs or 6.6 miles. Needless to say, I think we all slept very well that night.

August 28th

Sunday morning TEAN held a subway challenge, which basically put our navigating skills and Korean knowledge to the test in a series of puzzles that led us to our final destination (a subway station). Once there, TEAN explained that we were in one of the older parts of Seoul which used to be the center of the city. Here there was a famous street market called Gwangjang Market where vendors cook a variety of food right in front of you, and many have little tables in front of their stalls. Just a few steps into the market, you had options from fresh fruit juice to king dumplings to scallion pancakes and so much more. Other parts of the market offered handmade goods, clothing, and bedding. There was also a section that held fish on ice, dried and hung up, or in tanks, which surprisingly didn’t smell as fishy as one would expect. I got a kiwi pineapple fruit juice and shared some king dumplings with friends, all of which were, of course, delicious. We have already made plans to return with very empty stomachs so we can try more of the food. The rest of the day we just walked around local shops and grabbed a quick dinner before heading home.

August 29th

Monday morning was officially one week in Korea, which was a very surreal feeling. My friends and I met up in Anam for lunch. Two of us shared the spicy webfoot octopus bibimbap that was tasty but also a struggle to finish. We then made our way to Gangnam-gu (yes like the song), one of the most expensive districts in Korea, to visit the Starfield COEX Mall. The mall is known not just for its high-end stores but also for the giant library that makes up the center. However, the stores are incredible. There were U.S.-based brands like Nike and Converse, but the clothing inside was way different (and in my opinion cooler) than what I’ve seen in the states. There was also a National Geographic clothing store that I had no idea existed that I will almost certainly be returning to. After spending approximately 5 hours in the mall and feeling the exhaustion from the past week catch up to us, we headed back to the dorms. For dinner, we went simple- McDonald's. Before I catch any flack for eating at a chain restaurant abroad, Mcdonald's is typically pretty good at incorporating local foods into their menus outside of the United States. We all decided to try the Seoul Beef Burger, which is a regular beef burger with egg cabbage salad, ketchup, and onions in between croquette buns. Although a bit messy and not what I expected, it was actually a very good burger. We then made the difficult trek back up the hill determined to let ourselves rest the next day.

The Wrap Up

If you managed to make it through that long overview of my week, you’re a trooper. I feel like I’ve been in Korea for a month but in the best way possible. I’ve already learned so much about the culture and becoming self-sufficient in a brand-new place. Although I miss my friends and family back home dearly, I am loving it here as well. From the clean and accessible public transportation to the excellent food to the cheap prices, Seoul has much to appreciate, and I can’t wait to continue discovering more.