안녕하세요 (hello)! Week 12 in Korea and I am starting to realize that I have 5 weeks left in my study abroad journey. The highlights of this week included KUBA dinner, Hongdae, a traditional Korean music concert, and the lantern festival. Before I talk about my week, let me divulge into some facts about Korean beauty culture.
The Korean people are obsessed with keeping up their cosmetic appearances. There is not a single block around or inside Korea University that does not have some variation of skin or makeup stores. The sinks in the bathrooms are often crowded at all school hours by girls brushing their teeth, often causing a blockade of the sinks. There are contest to see who can talk in a higher pitched voice because it is considered cute. Plastic surgery is a very big part of the culture here as well. Double eyelids are seen as the beauty standard and people often get their eyelids done as a gift for high-school graduation. In Gangam-gu I counted about 27 different plastic surgery clinics within a ten minute walk. There is one beauty standard for women to have similar hair, noses, big eyes, small chins, and general cosmetics as everyone else. It is actually quiet shocking to see people striving to all be the same. I personally have accepted it but not too many people realize how intense it actually is.
Anyways, back to talking about what I have accomplished this week. This week was very busy due to school and an exam. However, my first fun point was the KUBA dinner. KUBA buddy dinners are always fantastic because it gives international students the opportunity to try something that they may never have realized was on the menu. This Thursday we went slightly beyond the traditional Korean food and tried Chinese food. We had fried chicken and green peppers, while sitting cross-legged on the floor and enjoying each other’s company. Afterwards we got to go to a soju food place and then the always lively Hondae, near the Honjik Women’s University. Hongdae is a party scene were many ex-pats go and we ended up at a place called Zen Bar. The following day I went to a traditional Korean music concert that my KUBA buddy directed. The instruments used were different than the ones I was used to seeing. If I were to describe them they looked like floor harps, single-stringed violins, wooden flutes, and a trumpet-esque horn that sounded like a bagpipe. My KUBA buddy played the Ajaeng, which is what looked like a floor harp to me. The music sounded like traditional Chinese music and like what would be played on an old-time Korean march to war. The performers were dressed in traditional Korean attire up to the last song, when they changed into modern clothing to reflect the style of the piece they were playing. Overall, it was an interesting experience and afterwards we went out for Dak Galbi (spicy chicken).
Today was the Lantern festival in Korea. The Lantern Festival is an important ritual in Buddhism that pays respect to Buddha for Buddha’s birthday. After seeing the Buddha’s of Thailand and Hong Kong, it was interesting to see how the Korean depictions compared. So around 4pm my friends and I decided to go to Insadong and see what it was all about. I have never seen such a wide variety of lantern design or that many tourists at one time in Seoul. We went through a Buddhist temple and the entire ceiling was adorned with lanterns. After we explored the temple we saw the parade, which was my favorite part. The floats were really cool and colorful. Especially this one fire breathing dragon. The end of the festival for us was gathering near the Gyeoungbokgung Palace to listen to a Buddhist monk speak.
Overall, this week was very work oriented. However I did enjoy the concert and Lantern festival the best. This upcoming week I am preparing to go to Tokyo, Japan for 5 days so stick around for some more awesome adventures! 안녕(goodbye)!