The first three days, we stayed at the Hi Seoul Youth Hostel. It was really spacious and the bed was so comfortable. One night, I met a recent university graduate from Australia who was taking a bit of a gap before starting a job in law that he already had lined up. He had already traveled Japan and now was in Korea to be followed by Taiwan, Europe, and then Egypt. I also met a 18 and 19 year old German couple while I was traveling who had spent the last 4 or 5 months on a working holiday/gap year in Australia and had picked vegetables and lived in working hostels while traveling in Australia and New Zealand. Meeting new people was definitely one of the highlights to our Korean trip.
We moved youth hostels after a few days to experience a different part of Seoul (it's a huge city), and in our second hostel, there were tons of tourists from Taiwan. In the kitchen, it was cool to be able to make friends by speaking Chinese (especially after feeling mute and ignorant with my inability to speak any Korean). Korean pop culture is really big in Taiwan--a lot of people copy their clothing style and are huge fans of Kpop (korean pop music, ex. Wonder Girls, Girl Generation, Super Junior-I hear these names a lot and occasionally their songs in Taiwan) and the Korean TV dramas.
Luckily for us, two of our 文藻 Korean classmates from Taiwan were able to help us get an authentic Korean experience. Last semester, we met Ester and Jenna (who also joined the bellydance team) and met us while were in Seoul to help us navigate 韓國。When it was the three of us that spoke no Korean, we got food, and it tasted pretty good, but after Esther and Jenna came, the Korean food was SO GOOD. Lots of kimchi and meat. Ester treated us to her mom's restaurant as well as helping us order bibimbap, jeon, bulgulgi, kimchi soup, Korean barbecue, and different street foods-all of which were delicious. Our Korean friends who had studied in Taiwan also showed us where to shop and help us communicate with shop owners. There were a lot of small, private business men and women selling clothes in Dongdaemun, one of the largest shopping districts in Seoul. It was a big contrast to department stores where the individual workers are pretty far removed from the CEOs at the top and gave an interesting flavor to the entire shopping area. Outside one building, young people were dancing on a performance stage, and people everywhere were bundled in warm clothing trying to beat the freezing cold.
A kind person (who spoke English and Korean) helped us order this for lunch!
Jubbie buys a Korean pancake
Delicious meal at Esther's family restaurant
Seafood pancake (jeon), tofu, and a Korean style salad
One of Esther's favorite meals
Korean chopsticks are flatter and made of metal
Korea is famous for their banana milk.
Korea has oreos (and I saw Smoothie King and Krispy Kreme too!)
We did a lot of shopping, sleeping, eating, and exploring the city while we were there. The subway was huge and could get you to anywhere you wanted in Seoul. The biggest shocks compared to Taiwan were the cold and cost of food. It would be a lot more expensive to live in Korea compared to 高雄, so I was glad to be there on vacation and not permanently (especially with the cold).
Korean statue
I think they meant Narnia
So beautiful, so cold
Just beautiful
Starbucks
Despite our language barrier, everyone we met was really kind. When we were carrying luggage in the subways, strangers helped with our extra bags. One day, when I was looking for Korean-style chopsticks, I met a student my age who helped me get lunch, and we ended up hanging out for the rest of the day.
New friend! He taught me about Korean eating culture (and helped me experience it!) along with the mandatory two-years military requirement for all Korean men. He said the army's when most Korean men start smoking. (There was a lot of smoking in Seoul.)
Me with jeon (seafood pancake)
The last three days, we stayed with Esther and her family in one of the more suburban-like areas of Seoul. We went to a Korean folk village, and were lucky enough to run into a Korean drama crew filming. The saw me and said "hello!"
With the Korean drama crew
A tightrope walker at the folk village
a women in traditional clothing
cow
Korea was super fun, but I'm so glad to be back in Taiwan. The weather is wonderful, and food is cheap.
Second semester here I come!
