I realized it has been too long since i've really updated my blog and I am sincerely sorry for this. There are many reasons and I really should have taken some time off to at least write a small snippet of my week. I'll try to update my blog a little more frequently this semester.
First and foremost let me update with the highlights about what happened since Chuseok of last year until recently in Korea.
I went to Gyeongju which was the capital of the Silla Kingdom back when Korea was still in the Three Kingdoms period. To be honest, I went there for the purpose of watching a kpop concert. However, my friend and I found this amazing package for less than 200,000 KRW and we decided to go with it. What was included was VIP tickets to the Kpop Hallyu Dream concert, accommodation, transportation, a cultural tour of Gyeongju, a traditional Korean concert and a couple meals. It was really an amazing package for the weekend. It was a really fun experience. Got to experience the old Korean traditional music and culture and also experienced the new Korean music and culture in one weekend. We got to go to a persimmon wine cellar and tasted some of that. It was absolutely delicious!
Another event that passed by was the Yonsei vs. Korea University Games. Yonsei University calls it the YonKo games whereas Korea University calls it the KoYon games. It is the biggest university rivalry in Seoul. Basically it was a couple of days dedicated to these sports events. What was included was baseball, basketball, ice hockey, rugby and soccer. It was a relatively intense two days to be honest. The students were more into the cheering rather than the games. I have to say the cheering was very intense. South Koreans really take the attitude of 110% in everything they do. It's really no joke in terms of cheering. People are already drinking at 10 in the morning! However, most people are screaming and/or singing out loud, dancing along with the cheerleaders and it is very much a bonding within each university. Oddly even between the universities despite the rivalry. The cheerleaders are not as what you seem. The main cheerleader lost his voice by the end of the first day but continued to scream loud the next day as well. It was absolutely insane!
By the end of the two days all I wanted was to stay at home and rest up my voice. Plus it was still summer weather so stay inside in front of the fan. It was a constant 12-hour workout. Even after the games there were after parties at clubs and bars. However, my friends and I were too tired to do anything so we went back home.
From here on, my friends and I were mostly in Seoul, exploring downtown. We went to one of the palaces. Chudokgung? The palace with the secret garden inside. Since it was fall, the secret garden was really really pretty. The leaves were just changing colors. It was very beautiful and we got to experience where the King would watch over the royal examinations, where the King would recite his poetry and basically where the King mostly hung around. Speaking of the King, my friend and I decided to hang around the statue of King Sejong.
The most famous king in Korea. In both North and South. The reason was he innovated so many things in Korea. What he is known for the most is that he created the Korean alphabet and there is actually a drama about that process called "tree with deep roots" or something like that. Anyways, we went to his statue in downtown Seoul. In front of Gyeongbokgung. beside city hall and the American Embassy. We found out then that there was a Sejong museum under the statue. It was amazing to see his contributions to the Korean society, through music, through alphabet, through science and many others.
Another location in Seoul my friends and I visited was Insadong. Insadong is one of the few places where you will see Starbucks written in Korean lettering and everything else. I think Insadong used to be the place where all the scholars got their books? However I could be wrong. Yet, Insadong is the place where you can find souvenirs, really cute handcraft things and artsy stuff. There are various cafes and places to drink tea and of course culturally it really feels like the Korean traditional culture right there.
In between there my friend and I went to various free music events. These events are free but very difficult to get into. As it is easier if you are part of a fanclub already. Initially we didn't know this process but through the amazing social network service (SNS) of Twitter, I managed to find my ins and outs of how to get in. Basically you have to join a fanclub, sign up and get there early. There will always be seats specially assigned for fans of the group you are going to see. Granted nowadays there are a lot of kpop shows you can go to, just the fact that you are a foreigner can get you in without fanclub. However, those are basically for kpop groups that are fairly new and not that popular but usually those ones are the ones you want to get into because you can get quite close to the artists. It is really quite enjoyable.
While going to kpop shows, I had school. The way classes are done here in Korea are way different then back home. Back home it seems the importance of assignments are higher than attendance but here it is attendance. It took a while to get used to the way Korean professors would teach but part of me thinks that it's jst the way korean professors teach a class filled with exchange students. I have yet to experience a class with korean students and exchange students mixed together.
Well this is what happened until the end of the first semester. From then on I decided to go travelling considering I had a 2 month break from school. So that will be in the next part~
First and foremost let me update with the highlights about what happened since Chuseok of last year until recently in Korea.
I went to Gyeongju which was the capital of the Silla Kingdom back when Korea was still in the Three Kingdoms period. To be honest, I went there for the purpose of watching a kpop concert. However, my friend and I found this amazing package for less than 200,000 KRW and we decided to go with it. What was included was VIP tickets to the Kpop Hallyu Dream concert, accommodation, transportation, a cultural tour of Gyeongju, a traditional Korean concert and a couple meals. It was really an amazing package for the weekend. It was a really fun experience. Got to experience the old Korean traditional music and culture and also experienced the new Korean music and culture in one weekend. We got to go to a persimmon wine cellar and tasted some of that. It was absolutely delicious!
Another event that passed by was the Yonsei vs. Korea University Games. Yonsei University calls it the YonKo games whereas Korea University calls it the KoYon games. It is the biggest university rivalry in Seoul. Basically it was a couple of days dedicated to these sports events. What was included was baseball, basketball, ice hockey, rugby and soccer. It was a relatively intense two days to be honest. The students were more into the cheering rather than the games. I have to say the cheering was very intense. South Koreans really take the attitude of 110% in everything they do. It's really no joke in terms of cheering. People are already drinking at 10 in the morning! However, most people are screaming and/or singing out loud, dancing along with the cheerleaders and it is very much a bonding within each university. Oddly even between the universities despite the rivalry. The cheerleaders are not as what you seem. The main cheerleader lost his voice by the end of the first day but continued to scream loud the next day as well. It was absolutely insane!
 |
| Yonko Games |
By the end of the two days all I wanted was to stay at home and rest up my voice. Plus it was still summer weather so stay inside in front of the fan. It was a constant 12-hour workout. Even after the games there were after parties at clubs and bars. However, my friends and I were too tired to do anything so we went back home.
From here on, my friends and I were mostly in Seoul, exploring downtown. We went to one of the palaces. Chudokgung? The palace with the secret garden inside. Since it was fall, the secret garden was really really pretty. The leaves were just changing colors. It was very beautiful and we got to experience where the King would watch over the royal examinations, where the King would recite his poetry and basically where the King mostly hung around. Speaking of the King, my friend and I decided to hang around the statue of King Sejong.
 |
| Chungdokgung |
 |
| Secret Garden |
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| Insadong |
Another location in Seoul my friends and I visited was Insadong. Insadong is one of the few places where you will see Starbucks written in Korean lettering and everything else. I think Insadong used to be the place where all the scholars got their books? However I could be wrong. Yet, Insadong is the place where you can find souvenirs, really cute handcraft things and artsy stuff. There are various cafes and places to drink tea and of course culturally it really feels like the Korean traditional culture right there.
In between there my friend and I went to various free music events. These events are free but very difficult to get into. As it is easier if you are part of a fanclub already. Initially we didn't know this process but through the amazing social network service (SNS) of Twitter, I managed to find my ins and outs of how to get in. Basically you have to join a fanclub, sign up and get there early. There will always be seats specially assigned for fans of the group you are going to see. Granted nowadays there are a lot of kpop shows you can go to, just the fact that you are a foreigner can get you in without fanclub. However, those are basically for kpop groups that are fairly new and not that popular but usually those ones are the ones you want to get into because you can get quite close to the artists. It is really quite enjoyable.
While going to kpop shows, I had school. The way classes are done here in Korea are way different then back home. Back home it seems the importance of assignments are higher than attendance but here it is attendance. It took a while to get used to the way Korean professors would teach but part of me thinks that it's jst the way korean professors teach a class filled with exchange students. I have yet to experience a class with korean students and exchange students mixed together.
Well this is what happened until the end of the first semester. From then on I decided to go travelling considering I had a 2 month break from school. So that will be in the next part~
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