Thank You, Korea

It’s been a week since I returned to the states. It’s always difficult reflecting on such a significant experience in the aftermath, it basically feels like a fever dream. I have to keep reminding myself, a week ago you were literally in Korea. Now before I get too sappy or introspective, don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten I still need to recap the last week I had in Korea. This one was chaotic, filled with lasts, finals, packing, celebrations, and goodbyes.

December 17th

Saturday was a chill day, but that night, my friends and I headed to the area around Sungshin Women’s University for my early birthday dinner. It was freezing, but eventually, we made it to Ojambong, a cute Italian restaurant. We ordered on the little kiosk on the table, and don’t ask me how, but we managed to order eight pasta dishes- with only six of us to eat them. By the time they brought out the last one, even the workers had joined in on our laughter. We tried our best to finish them, but it was to no avail. For dessert, my friends ‘surprised’ me with an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins with like six different flavors (it had previously been a suspicious box they had been carrying around). After finishing our delicious dinner, we found the closest photo booth to take some pictures in, as we were seriously lacking. We finished the night off with some drinks in a nearby bar. It was a great way to celebrate my birthday, and I was thankful to have such great people to spend it with, even if it was a night early.

December 18th

My birthday! This was definitely a weird one for me, as back home it wasn’t my birthday but in Korea it was. I am also lucky enough to have it fall right in the middle of finals, so we were all consumed with resuming our studying. I spent most of it in the Coffee Bean, drinking a warm caramel macchiato and studying my Korean. For dinner, I met up with a friend at Benares. As always, we ordered the chicken butter curry and the butter naan. It was amazing.

December 19th

Monday was another day full of studying, but it was also the beginning of packing. The first phase of this was easier than expected, as I just needed to put away all the clothes I had brought for warmer weather that I definitely didn’t need anymore. For dinner, we met up for what I didn’t know would be my last Korean BBQ. It was amazing as usual. We even ordered a new type of marinated meat that we all loved, but we have no idea what it was.

December 21st

Wednesday, as if Korea knew we were done with finals and was waving goodbye to us, it snowed! I’m still not over how pretty it is. My friend and I traveled around Seoul doing some last-minute Christmas shopping. I also bought a duffel just in case I couldn’t fit all my luggage into the two suitcases I brought without it being overweight. For our goodbye dinner to our friends that would be staying for a year, we all met up at our favorite shabu shabu place in Anam (the one where they make you fried rice at the end). It was as delicious as ever, I only wish we had discovered the restaurant sooner. We, of course, ended the night with a run to the self-serve ice cream store down the street. It was a weird goodbye, mainly because it didn’t really feel real. Like we all half expected us to be meeting up around the station for dinner and ice cream again the next night, and the night after that.

December 22nd

Our last full day was really just full of packing and making sure all of our details were squared away. Packing into a large suitcase and carry-on bag is hard when you’ve spent four months collecting new clothes and souvenirs and various trinkets that you can’t part with. But somehow, someway, I manipulated the laws of physics just enough to fit everything in and it was probably underweight (it would turn out to be exactly 23 kilograms). For our last dinner, my friend and I returned to one of our favorite places, Goreun Haetsal (colloquially referred to as the green grass place). I got my regular dumpling ramen but added cheese gimbap this time, as I wasn’t sure when I could order it again. It was definitely a lot of food, but it was also delicious like we expected. We then returned to our dorms, passed our room checks, and sat in bed mulling over the realization this was our last night in the dorms and in Korea.

December 23rd

This is the day I lived twice. Over 24 hours of traveling. It was rough. After getting restless sleep and waking up way earlier than necessary, we all met in the dorm lobby for check-out at 10 AM. Our taxi was waiting outside, so we had to have a rushed goodbye with those who were staying a bit longer. Again, this was weird and sad. We were used to seeing each other every single day, so it was strange and not just a little depressing for this era to suddenly be over.

After an hour's taxi ride to the airport, we were there for the next seven hours. Unfortunately, the Incheon airport doesn’t allow you to check in your luggage and clear security until a couple of hours before your flight, so we had a lot of time to kill and a lot of luggage to look after. So of course we returned to Dunkin Donuts for the mochi donuts. After, we found an empty pair of benches to lie down on to pass the time. Soon enough, the check-in counters were opened and we were able to process through security.

This next portion was perhaps the most stressful part of our trip. We were told to turn in our ARCs to an immigration officer at the airport but were given no extra information. If you’re not aware, the security and immigration sections of the airport are very fast-paced and stressful, and before we knew it, we had passed through both without realizing it. Once on the other side, we scrambled around the airport trying to find another way to turn in our cards. A woman at the information desk told us we would have to exit and go through the whole process again, but we desperately wanted to avoid this. Eventually, we joined a couple that was trying to get the attention of immigration on the other side of the gates. While they were helped quickly, we proceeded to be ignored for 20 minutes. Finally, an angel in the form of an older man came by us and in literally two seconds collected our cards from us. After this, our growing dislike of Incheon airport continued, as they have like no food once you’re past security. It’s also super spread out and, in our humble opinion, a poorly laid out design. However, soon enough, we had boarded the plane and were preparing for our 12.5 hour flight. If I ignore the inconsiderate man sitting in the middle that managed to almost always be leaning over into my seat, it wasn’t half-bad. We took off at 7 PM on the 23rd in Korea and landed at 5 PM on the 23rd in America. So, like I said, I lived the 23rd twice. Customs were practically non-existent and sooner than expected I was saying my last goodbyes and walking through the exit door. I was surprised to see I was already being greeted by my family, to say the least. We exchanged our hugs and hellos, grabbed my luggage, and started driving. After four months away, I was home.

Final Reflection (It’s a long one).

It is so weird how after just a few days you can feel so far removed from an experience that isn’t far at all. At the moment, I have friends in Japan, Korea, and Iowa (exotic I know) but just a week ago, we were all laughing over a bowl of shabu shabu in the same country. Just like that, time changes, and life changes. When I look back and remember everything I did in Korea, it feels as though I am watching someone else’s life and memories in my mind.

There are things I already miss- my friends, the cheap food, the subways, the exploring. But there are also things I am grateful to return to- my family, my own room, and familiarity. It’s weird to be asked how it all was, because how do you sum up four whole months of your life into a few sentences? It’s part of me, but I’m not sure I know exactly how to express it through words, but I will try regardless.

My time in Korea was eye-opening, challenging, and absolutely delightful. I made friends from across the U.S. and the world and learned more things than I would have ever expected. It was wildly different than my expectations, but you can never be truly prepared for an experience like this. I had to drastically change what I was accustomed to, in terms of food, language, personal space, and social interaction. I tried something new almost every day. So while I welcome the comfort and peace of home, I’m also restless and miss the excitement of everyday life in Korea. I was challenged to look at things from an entirely different cultural perspective. I had to learn to balance the need to rest and the need to explore, without feeling guilty for doing either. I had to learn to appreciate every day I had there, especially as they began to run out. I had to discover how to live my life so far away (in distance and time) from my family and friends, and to fully embrace the new ones I had made. Like, how it's hard to see pictures of all your friends with each other and family celebrating Thanksgiving, but how you can’t let it stop you from enjoying the life you’re living. If you can’t tell, most of all, I had to learn to accept two opposing emotions and allow myself to feel both. I can long for home while loving my time in Korea, I can take advantage of my time in Korea while also taking time to rest, and I can cherish my new friends while missing my old ones.

My head is full of knowledge that no longer applies to my current life. I know a minimal amount of Korean, I know and adjusted to many of their social customs, I know which subway stops to transfer at and where to get the best jjimdak. There are people I became friends with that I will very likely never see again. There’s food that I tasted that I may never eat again. But this is what travel and embracing your time abroad is. It’s enjoying every second, every part, regardless of its longevity or usefulness in the future. You may only experience it once, so you better cherish it. It’s letting another country and culture become part of you because there is so much to learn from it. I won’t pretend that I am an expert on all things Korea or that I have this profound sense of deepness from my time abroad. But I do know that I am more appreciative of what other cultures have to offer, I can better understand things from different perspectives, I’m more confident in my ability to navigate things on my own, and I just have more life experience than before.

So, to sum it up, here is some advice. Some is specific to Korea, but some can apply to anyone studying or traveling abroad:

• Do not fool yourself into thinking you’ll escape jet lag. It’s real, so give yourself time to rest and adjust.

• Bring your favorite snacks from home- especially something salty. You will not find it in Korea (or if you do, it is different).

• If you can, learn the Korean alphabet. This isn’t a must, but you can learn it in like a day, and it can be helpful for reading if nothing else.

• Important words to know and their pronunciation (more or less): annyonghaseyo (hello), annyonghi gyeseyo (goodbye), gamsahamnida (thank you), jogiyo (excuse me, for getting server’s attention), igo (this, useful when you’re ordering by pointing at a menu)

  • When leaving a restaurant, you should say at least thank you, but I usually would also say goodbye

• Download KakaoTalk, KakaoMap, Naver Map, and Papago. These are essential apps in Korea.

• Make sure to bring some currency with you (this probably applies everywhere), so you don’t have to pay ATM fees there. This will be important in getting and filling up T-Money cards in Korea for using the subways and buses.

• Bring comfy shoes for walking. You’ll be doing a lot of it.

• Um walking around people is weird? They tend to pass on the left or just generally where you don’t expect, so just be ready for that.

• Definitely do your research on places you want to visit, but don’t be afraid to get a little lost too. Some of the best places we found were when we aimlessly wandered around.

• Take and give items with two hands, bow your head when saying thank you, hello, goodbye, etc., be respectful of those older than you, don’t be loud in the subway, stick to the right side of escalators unless you’re walking up them, return your trays to the counter when you finish eating, and prepare yourself for some stares.

• Keep an open mind, don’t expect people to know English (even though many of them do), be patient, take the time to learn about the other culture, and make memories.

And that’s it, my last blog post. Thank you all for reading along with me. Thank you to the friends and family that were a constant source of support, love, and encouragement. Thank you to the Top Scholar program and community for allowing me this opportunity. Thank you to the friends I made in Korea for the unforgettable memories and bonds to last no matter where we are. And most of all, thank you, Korea.