Annyeonghaseyo (Hello)! My first week in South Korea has drawn to a close and I love Seoul. Seoul is efficient, clean, English-friendly, and modern. As I stepped off of the tiring 14 and a half hour plane ride from DC, I was greeted by my three friends from GWU, Mike, John, and Alissa, who flew in from New York. We walked through immigration and were instantly greeted by KUBA buddies. Since we attend Korea University, KUBA is a student run organization that stands for Korea University Buddy Assistant. They took us to a waiting area where we got our first whiff of Korean air. The bus ride to campus took about an hour, and after not sleeping for a day, my roommate Alissa and I fell asleep as soon as we got to Anam Global House, our dorm.
The next morning we woke up at 3:40 in the morning and could do nothing but wait for a socially acceptable time to actually be awake. We had no Wi-Fi here for about 5 days. That day we met up with Ernest, another GWU friend, and Mike and John at their faraway dorm called Crimson House and went to this amazing place called Gwangjang market. There we wandered through small stands of various Korean cuisine and had giant fish cakes for only 2$. We continued our wandering through a Korean Museum and mall. The malls here have no hallways. You literally walk from one store to the other in a matter of a step. The metro is clean, always on time, and made in a way as to ensure the safety of its users in every way possible. On the metro, I noticed my first cultural difference. There is no notion in Korean of “excuse me” so people essentially just push past you if you block their way. I guess the only real danger on the metro train is the occasional small Korean grandma elbowing you in the stomach as she decides to walk by.
On day two we had an international student orientation with our KUBA buddies. I was placed in group 5 with another GWU friend, Sabrina. My KUBA buddy’s name is Sinhye. What I found to be difficult in Korea was remembering the names of all of the Korean people I was meeting. They had no issue remembering my name but I had an issue with theirs. My buddy’s name was pronounced as “She-Ney.” She is rather tall for a Korean girl around 5’7 and is a philosophy major. Today, I actually found out that she was in my philosophy class and she sat next to me. I also met some Australians, Swedes, Chinese, Canadians, and other Americans. Later that night we truly explored Seoul and the area’s bar scene. Drinking is legal here from the age of 19 and my GWU friends and I tasted some of the alcohol we wouldn’t be able to try in the states.
Day three consisted of orientation round two and setting up our student card. Essentially all of us sat in a room for an hour and signed our name 17 times to random things. Nobody really knew what we were signing since we don’t know Korean, but I have faith in the KUBA buddies. Something that shocked me was how prominent the drinking culture here is. On the orientation pamphlet it said “Introduction to Soju” after “Fried Chicken and Beer.” Soju is the hard liquor of Korea. It is 17% alcohol and cheaper than some bottled water. The area KU is located is called Anam and the street that runs through Anam is packed with bars, restaurants, gaming rooms, karaoke bars, and shopping. Literally everything one needs can be found there. So for orientation that night we went out with our KUBA buddies around Anam and learned a multitude of drinking games. Korean drinking games use numbers and rhythm so it is very easy to mess up. I ended up coming back to the room after 5 hours around 11pm but the KUBA buddies just kept going. Day four was a rest day after a night out. My friends and I went to explore Seoul Forrest. Seoul Forrest is so interesting in that it sounds so large and prominent but it had high rise building popping out of it.
Day five was the last day of orientation and we went out to the King’s Palace. It was a cold day but the scenery was terrific. We also saw the president’s house. Park Geun-hye is the first woman president of South Korea and has been in power since 2013. When I asked one KUBA buddy what he thought of her he said that he disagrees with her welfare policy. My bus group got to see a Korean cooking show and the we went to a market place where we sat on the floor and ate many little plates of food. The food in Korea is very meat and vegetable based. Kimchi, fermented cabbage, is served with literally everything. The meat here is delicious. Bolgogi lives up to its grandeur. The red sauce is on almost all foods. The food is spicy but not everything is spicy. We tried this snow dessert that was good, but too healthy for us American brownie lovers. To be honest Korean food is tough to get used to for me. That was another aspect of the culture shock of how much different the food here actually was. Sometimes, I crave salad and chicken. I definitely miss cheese and having a fridge in my room to be able to keep milk in it.
On day six, I was invited to an international student’s 21st birthday gathering. We went and ate at a restaurant and then went to a karaoke bar. My friend John and I lost our voices to Wrecking Ball. On day seven, I went to walk around Seoul with Mike John, and Alissa and we got delicious Korean BBQ. Later that night we went to the party district called Hongdae and there we went to an American club. The next day my GW friend Jesse and I went to Homeplus. In simpler terms, Homeplus is like Korean Walmart, except they have everything from groceries and electronics to Prairie dogs for sale. Later that day we went to a large section of Seoul, Myeong-Dong, in which Koreans do their clothes shopping. There were many skin care stores as well as clothing stores. The street food was so great. My dad told me to try Korean strawberries and they were fantastic, you can really tell that the US uses preservative chemicals. I also probably had my favorite food in Korea there, which was squid on a stick. It was cooked on a grill and given in a mayonaisy and soy-ish style sauce. It was excellent. Then we went to a cat café. That was an experience that I loved. Being a cat lover and having left two cats at home, it was a great feeling to have kitties all around you while we drank tea.
Today was my first day of classes. I have met so many international students that I even recognized some faces in class. The English of the professors’ is excellent. However, in Philosophy today one professor spoke entirely in Korean and only at the end did Jesse and I learn that it was so that the Koreans in that class could become more comfortable. Overall, I am looking forward to becoming a local here, even if it is not permanent. Annyeoungkyeseyo (Goodbye)!
