My last few weeks in Korea :( My exam week was a week later than all my friends so it was sad because they finished school so early and I had my last exam on December 22 so I actually did not have much time before I left. Exam period in Korea was so much work because for a lot of my classes, my main grade was dependent on my exam, so during my last 2 weeks, I spent most of my time in 24 hour cafes until 3AM working on assignments or studying. Luckily, the college areas near me were also filled with stressed out students so I didn't feel alone and they take studying extremely seriously there, so many cafes are open for 24 hours to let students have a productive workspace. After my exams were over, I spent my last few days just getting the last few things on my bucket list done such as visiting filming locations of my favorite K-Dramas, eating at my favorite restaurants one last time, going outdoor ice skating and saying goodbye to my friends. We all celebrated Christmas together and it really did not hit me that I would be leaving the next day. Although it was sad, I also felt ready to leave because by the last week I was there, Korea imposed new vaccine rules and it was almost impossible to get into anywhere with our American vaccine cards and it was 5 degrees in the morning and I could barely handle the cold anymore. Packing was also a nightmare as I was pushing the limits of my luggages. On my last day, I spent it eating at my favorite vegan restaurant one last time with my friends before I headed off to the airport. Overall, I am so glad to have made the most of my experience and have so many great memories and friendships to look back on.
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Making friends while abroad was one of my biggest worries because I have grown up in Hawaii all my life and have always had people I knew around even in college. I wasn't sure how easy or hard it would be for me to have to actively seek out people to be friends with, especially with the barrier of online school. Usually, the schools will have programs for the study abroad students and have events where it was possible to meet others, but because of the Korean COVID restrictions, this was not an option.
I tried to be proactive and make friends before I even got to Korea by posting in the facebook student exchange groups but this unfortunately did not work out for me, but it is an easy way to put yourself out there and it has been successful for some! Even though this method did not work out well for me, it did help me find certain group chats to join to talk to people studying abroad specifically at my school which was not just useful for making friends but getting updates and news too. Once you enter a group chat, it ranges from 200-800 students who are all in the same position as you and are also eager to make friends. In those group chats, they make smaller chats for specific hobbies/sub groups like people who like hiking, want to practice language exchange, BTS fans, dancing, and they pretty much have one for everything so try to ask around and get yourself invited to one you are interested in. With that, it is much more manageable to talk to specific people to make friends with. For me however, I actually utilized the BFF function in the Bumble app to meet people and I found this to be the most successful method for me. It was strange at first but there were so many exchange students and Korean locals on the app just wanting to hang out so there are plenty of options. I met 80% of my friends on this app and they truly made my study abroad experience 1000% better. So I will always advocate using this method. The app allows you to know more about people before you decide if you want to talk to them so that way you can already have a sense for compatibility. It has questions they can write their answer to that shows their personality, it links their spotify top artists and instagram and shows where they are originally from. I thought this was so useful and everyone on the app was genuine which made it more welcoming. Look below for some of my best bumble bffs <3 By some coincidence, most of my friends in Korea birthdays were all in November and December, as well as mine. For a span of 3 weeks, we celebrated 7 birthdays which were extremely hectic but memorable. There were non-stop birthday dinners and activities. I was sad not celebrating my 21st birthday at home with my friends and family but it ended up working out because I got to host a joint birthday party with 3 of my friends in Korea as our birthdays were so close. Pasta is really popular in Korea, so for birthday dinners, we would dress up and go to nice pasta restaurants. To celebrate my birthday, I signed up for a dance class with my friends and it was out of my comfort zone but so fun. It was also a good workout but left me sore for a few days. We also attended a lipstick making class, where we each got to customize 2 lipstick colors and make it ourselves. Lastly, I ended up paragliding with a new friend I made at the joint birthday party and it was super scary as the guy only spoke Korean and he spun me around while making me hold the camera. I was so grateful to be surrounded by so much good energy and amazing people during my birthday while away in another country and am extremely thankful to have so many new experiences and memories.
By November, I felt like I had a routine there and was just enjoying life normally. I had a solid group of friends and went to restaurants when I was hungry. It made me realize how bittersweet it would be to only have 2 more months here. During the next 2 weeks I spent my time exploring new places and going on new adventures. As I have already lived here for 3 months, I have done a lot of shopping, especially in Hongdae and underground markets, so I thought I saw all the styles of Korea already. However, I decided to explore the Apgujeong area which is near the rich areas, and the boutiques here were filled with so many unique items. The clothes were so beautiful and unlike the usual items you see in other shops. Apgujeong and the surrounding streets had a lot to offer such as cute cafes and more cuisines. I would recommend you to take a good day to explore all there is and splurge on a few of these clothing stores as these styles are hard to come by. Another thing I had been wanting to do since I arrived was go to an animal cafe and I finally made the time to go. Korea is filled with many animal cafes such as dog, cat, owl, and they even have sheep cafes. However, I decided to go to a meerkat cafe because they also had racoons and wallabies which I thought were unique. To spice things up, I also decided to dye my hair and get bangs in Korea because the salons there were so nice and cheaper than Hawaii. If you are interested in getting your hair done, I recommend the dean days salon in Hongdae, as they speak English there.
One of my last adventures out of Seoul was a day trip to Nami Island and Gapyeong. If you are planning to go here, I recommend booking a package deal to include Le Petit France, Morning Garden of Calm and the railbikes because the distance between these places are extremely far and difficult to plan as there are no updated bus times. So to save time and the stress of planning, it would be best to go with a group. Nami island was so beautiful but we ended up going too late as the leaves and trees were mostly dead by the time I visited. To get to Nami island, you can either take the ferry or zipline down! It seems scary ziplining but when I did it, the zipline actually is very slow and safe so if you aren't scared of heights you should go! My first time out of Seoul with some of my friends I made here! Busan is another popular city in Korea and is known for its beaches which is a popular tourist destination for summer. Busan was such a refreshing getaway and had a calmer vibe than Seoul. The weather was fluctuating from extremely humid to being very cold every day which made it hard to dress appropriately. In Busan, we visited the very beautiful, fun, and colorful Gamcheon Village. Exploring this place with my friends was so fun because as you walk down, there are many shops, cafes, and photo opportunities everywhere. You can easily walk and explore for 5 hours and not notice the time, which is what happened to me. We took lots of amazing photos and found this super cool cafe which had 5 different rooms and floors of the most random yet entertaining decorations. We also went to the very popular Magnate cafe, owned by BTS Jimin’s dad. The cafe was so beautiful and large, which was good as we all attended our online classes here.
I tried my first hotteok (traditional sweet korean street snack) in Busan and instantly fell in love. The street food in Busan was by far the best as the streets were lined and busy with vendors and customers. Something that Seoul currently does not have since the pandemic. So if you are in Busan, definitely check out all the street vendors, especially near Haeundae Beach. Speaking of the beaches, we visited the Haeundae and Gwangalli Beach which reminded me of Waikiki, since they were near busy streets with tall buildings. Lastly, we visited the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, which was absolutely beautiful and offered amazing views. Getting there was a little far but I definitely think it was worth it. My friends and I did not do that much in Busan as Busan has a lot to offer but we still had a great time. After coming back from Busan, it was Halloween weekend. I wasn’t sure how big Koreans celebrate Halloween but after experiencing it, I would tell you to really dress up if you plan to be in Korea for halloween. On the 30th, I went to Itaewon and it was extremely busy and the people really put effort into their costumes and it was so fun. I probably saw around 50 people dressed as squid game characters within 1 hour. On Halloween, I went to Everland theme park with my same group of friends in Busan. Everland is another one of Korea's famous theme parks and if you are debating between Lotte World and Everland, I would definitely choose Everland. Everland has a lot more to offer and they even have an animal kingdom that I didn't even get to explore because of how big the theme park is. It is a bit further from Seoul than Lotte World but if you are interested in roller coasters and have the time, it is worth the trip. Since it was Halloween, I did my best to dress up and tried to be Shrek. It was very busy which was to be expected since I went on a holiday but Everland has an app where you can reserve your space in line, which I thought was a cool feature. It is all in Korean though, so unfortunately, I did not use the app and instead just waited in line playing heads up. A tip to consider is to leave 30 minutes to 1 hour before closing because Everland provides buses out of the theme park and if you leave during closing with everyone else. You have to wait a very long time to get on the bus and this is super tiring especially because Everland is so far from Seoul, which means you probably have 2-3 more transfers after leaving Everland. Hello readers, as you can probably tell by the title of this posting, I have not been well. This week was the start of midterms so I think that speaks for itself. I have stayed home the most this week due to me being very studious and preparing to pass my midterms. It has not been fun. So that was an interesting change in pace. I will say that the midterms here are not what I expected. Half of my classes half midterms that I am used to such as a test but the other half of my classes prefer us to do a midterm reflection paper. To make matters worse, after coming come from the warm island of Jeju, the weather in Seoul dropped to 40 degrees. It was a brutal awakening for a girl who lived in Hawaii all her life (I am her). My body could barely survive and it’s only the middle of October so I am now trying to look for a good winter coat. Sorry, this is short but I really am swamped for my midterms. I also accidentally planned a trip to Busan this weekend without realizing I have my midterm the day I come back.
Anyways talk to you again in my next post where I will be warmer and happier in Busan! Unfortunately, many countries are still locked down and require 2-3 week quarantines to get in which limits our option to explore other countries while abroad but luckily for us Korea has much to offer. We took advantage of a 1 day holiday and decided to go to the islands of Jeju and Udo. Transportation in Jeju: If you plan to visit Jeju and Udo, PLEASE READ THIS! I had never heard of Jeju and went on a few days’ notice after learning about it so my research was limited and that was a big mistake. If you happen to read this in preparation for your study abroad I suggest you apply for an international license/international permit before you go just in case. Jeju’s public transportation system is not the best and going to all the different attractions on the island will take you forever without a car. It is doable but very hard and time-consuming. We took the bus for the majority of our trip and a lot of those trips took 2 hours and required multiple transfers and even with the bus, some of the buses were just not in operation and had no time data and in those five days our kakao taxi totaled up to 112,000KRW. As for Udo Island which is an even smaller island, just a 15 minute ferry away from Jeju, the main mode of transportation for tourists is either a small car (required international license) or biking. I did not know how to bike and my only option was to take the bus which ruined the experience for me as it is very popular to bike around the entire island in just 2 hours. Jeju surprisingly reminded me of home so much that it was a warm feeling. As mentioned above, it takes a long time to travel around the island so be prepared and make an itinerary as it will help you research bus routes and daily routes better. We also suggest you stay in 2-3 hotels in different parts of the island to help cut down travel costs and time. Look at the photos below to see some of the beautiful places I visited! Being a pescatarian in Korea was something I was definitely worried about as I prepared to go. I even considered eating KBBQ because I wanted to partake in the culture and had to mentally prepare for this just in case I couldn’t find foods I liked. Along with having a diet restriction, I am also just a very picky eater. So if you are a picky eater or just want to find some delicious vegetarian foods in Korea, this will still be useful for you!
My quarantine experience with the vegetarian option was not the best, as they mostly fed me the same side salad every day and plain bread. They also mistakenly gave me meat a couple of times. So if you are preparing to quarantine in Korea as a vegetarian/pescatarian, I would suggest bringing even some cup noodles as it may be a better option. One thing I noticed about restaurants in Korea is that the menus are often small and limited so you should not expect most places to have a vegetarian option. Restaurants have small menus as they specialize in making those certain items so you really have to seek out what you want. Luckily, Korea has so many restaurants and options everywhere, so there is certainly always food you’ll want to try around. As I had to really look for foods I could and wanted to eat, I found some amazing vegan/vegan-friendly restaurants that I still think about and crave now that I am back home. Here are a few places I recommend you check out if you are in Korea: Plant ($$) Monks Deli ($) Monks Butcher ($$$) Chickpeace ($) Think Vegan ($) Newzealand story ($$) La Ferme ($$) Royal Food and Bar ($) Vege the bear As I am a pescatarian and eat seafood still, I had more options to eat (mainly shrimp). Shrimp burgers are extremely popular and delicious in Korea. Sushi was also an option for me as well as hot pot which I got quite often due to how cold I always was. Even though it was difficult for me to find foods as my street was filled with KBBQ restaurants, it is a great opportunity to explore new areas to find new foods and opens a door for you to make vegetarian friends! Join groupchats on Kakao and facebook to find recommendations! I also suggest using these apps: Mangoplate (yelp for Korea) Happycow (yelp specifically for vegetarians/vegans) Foodinco (up and coming food app in Korea)
I officially started school on September 1st and let’s first start off with my registration process. It was definitely the most stressful thing I have experienced so far and would like to share my experience for future students to learn from. In Korea, you can only see and register for your classes a couple of days before school starts. At UHM, we are able to pre-select our classes and click submit to register during your registration period. At Ewha, it is all first come first serve for the entire school at 9:00 AM. You are not able to pre-select the classes you want so when the registration opens you have to type each class code one by one. I definitely recommend you have an excel sheet with all the information necessary for it to be a smooth experience and to go to a fast internet cafe. I did not get one single class I needed on my first try and this was very nerve-racking as classes start 2 days after I chose my classes. I ended up having to just add any random class I could find and had to just wait it out during the add/drop period which only started after 3 days into classes. Luckily, I was able to get all the classes I wanted in the end. My second week here also consisted of me going to some tourist attractions such as the Seoul tower and Myeongdong. For the Seoul tower, I got my tickets on a website instead of the actual tower because it had an online discount and with anything you need a ticket for, I suggest searching up a discount online as they are easy to find! I was very excited to go to Myeongdong to recreate my photos there when I visited in 2016 but to my surprise, it was actually very empty which is a huge contrast to what I experienced before. Myeongdong is known for its shopping and street food and because of the decrease in tourists and the COVID restrictions in place, the area was barely surviving. From this experience, I did finally familiarize myself with how to get around which is a plus as that is a necessary skill. |
Hi :)Thanks for being interested and visiting my blog. I post more videos about my travel and experience on my instagram @michizzles. Feel free to look through my photos there and message for any questions for recommendations. Archives
December 2021
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