지금 안녕 서울 Sarah Thursday, June 28, 2012

My term as an exchange student has been accomplished and my time in Korea is already up for now. It's been such a wonderful time aborad and I'm so glad I was able to document my travels, cultural experiences, and my life studying abroad through this blog.

Its time to reflect on the good, the bad, and the Seoul-TASTIC.

The Good

Living overseas in a foreign country was a first of many experiences I got to learn and grow from. There are many things you learn living alone, especially when there are challenging obstacles like language barrier and cultural norms. I'm happy to say that I was able to adapt very well to living in Korea and have been enlightened through various circumstances since my one month reflection. Life in Korea is so much more convenient and efficient as its such a buzzling and busy city, and I can truly say that Korea has become my second home.

Secondly, the friendships I made were priceless and made my exchange that much more memorable. I miss them all so much, and if it wasn't for that community I was always with (especially with Emmaus), I wouldn't be as attached to this country and city like I am now. They made my experience so much more and I miss living with them, eating with them, going to to classes with them, fellowshipping with them and having their presence around me every day. Its so nice meeting people from around the world and I know its not the end, but just the beginning of  lifelong friendships. I can't wait to travel in the future and be reunited with these amazing people.

The Bad

There were a few hardships too, and for one thing, I really wish I had consumed more fruits. I love eating fruits and it sucked having to pay for overpriced fruits or have to leave it out of my usual diet. Though, this was out of my control as fruits are fairly expensive in Korea since they tend to be eaten more as desserts rather than part of a meal, and exporting fruits into Korea is more expensive (I'm assuming as it didn't make sense for apples and oranges to be so expensive).

On a more serious note, I wish I balanced my time better abroad better, as I was on a student exchange. I know studying abroad, you feel you can get away with your grades and let assignments slide, especially since my school transfers credits and not the official grades, but that was no reason for me to leave things last minute. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually tried pulling an all nighter to finish a paper-that was a first! I know it works brilliantly for some people, but for me, not at all... and if the paper wasn't for my taekwondo class (where organization, grammer, and structure wasn't a big deal), I think I would've failed miserably. AND, if I ever choose to pursue grad school or a Masters, they're going to look at all my transcripts, so if it wasn't for God's grace, I don't know how I would've managed.

Living in a city like Seoul, I also wished I budgeted better. Everything was a new and fresh experience and I feel so blessed being able to receive the scholarships I did to finance most of my trip. However, I do wish I planned my personal spending better. I knew I would shop, eat, and explore a lot, and for the most part, I did stick pretty well to my budget, but near the end, I just starting blowing my money on souvenirs, gifts, and myself as I didn't know when I would be in Seoul the next time. I guess its justifiable being in a new country and all, but yea just a tip for you future exchange students out there!

The Seoul-TASTIC

I'm so glad to have chosen Yonsei University as my first ever student exchange. Not only did I have the best term of my life being involved with the student clubs, connecting with local, foreign, and international students, but just being in this "Ivy League" school itself was such a blessing. I got to be part of so many student activities and went out of my way to attend events I would never been able to participate in or be a part of at my home university. I think a lot had to do with my mentality as an exchange student, and with that, your constantly wanting to try new things, having fun, and get out there. Living on campus also allowed me to enjoy everything much more, as 'home' was just a few minutes walk away. I did a lot of things that was outside of my comfort zone or "usual" circumstances and I grew so much as a person as a result of doing so.

I am really thankful for this experience and I highly encourage You to be an exchange student if you ever have the chance to. It can be anywhere in the world and I'm positive you will love it. You just never know who your going to meet, what you will experience, and how your life will be change.

I guess that brings this blog to a close (at least for now). My adventures will be continuing, but I have yet to decide if I will continue writing them on this blog, as it won't be "Pho-to Seoul" not more.

You will have to wait and see.

Go on an exchange!!! 

PhotoSeoul Exchange Accomplished =D

DMZ Sarah Monday, June 18, 2012

A few weeks ago I went on a DMZ (Demilitarized Military Zone) with a company affiliated with the US embassy, USO.There are actually many companies that bring you to tour the DMZ, so you really have to browse different company websites and find one that suits you. Some tours may be cheaper, but doesn't include lunch, some are half day, others are full day, etc. After experiencing this tour, I can say its worth going on a DMZ tour as you get a new understanding of Korea's history and receive insight regarding North Korea as well. Here is the link to the company I went with.

Before I went on this tour, I had little to no knowledge about where or what the itinerary places were.  Camp Bonifitas, the Third Infilitration Tunnel, Dora Observatory and the JSA (Joint Security Area) sounded foreign to me as I didn't have an indepth knowledge of Korea's history. Having said that though, you don't need to know anything to go on a DMZ tour, and it may even be better if you go knowing little as you will be enriched so much afterwards.

DMZ is basically the area that is "demilitarized" so that tourists and foreigners can get a taste of what happened during the Korea War, the areas affected, and a taste of North Korea. This tour gives you a new perspective to Korea, rather than just the city life and popular activities around town. I got to see North Korean "rock" soldiers (soldiers who stand on guard in their position until their shift is over without moving...ever). They gave off a "cold" vibe and had strict guidelines too, so I couldn't help but wonder what the conditions are like on the other side.

Anyhow, you really need to go on a DMZ tour to understand the full concept of everything, especially the Third Infiltration Tunnel as no photos were allowed to keep it a "Secret," but its interesting  and worth checking out,  but here are some photos to give you a glimpse of what you can see. 

map outlining DMZ area

entrance to Third Infiltration Tunnel

Rock soldiers standing on guard

had to be a certain distance away from him

piece of history at Infiltration Tunnel

If this station opens, you can travel from Korea to China to Russia to Europe!

Heartaches Sarah Monday, June 18, 2012

Less than one week from now, I will be on a flight back to Canada.

It's so bitter sweet and to be honest, I would give up anything right now to stay in  Korea just a little longer.

One week left to make more memories, build friendships, enjoy my dorm community, embrace Yonsei, and most of all cherish the presence of all those who have cross my path here.

I was really sad to leave my hometown to come here, but now I'm torn leaving this new home of mine.

This week is going to be so tough.


I'm coming home.

Getaway Jeju Sarah Tuesday, June 12, 2012

 Traditional Side dish dinner

Coming to Korea, I knew I had to make time for a trip to Jeju, the infamous honeymoon destination island south of Seoul. My friends and I had bought our flight tickets back in April for only 100 Cad from Jeju Air (make sure to browse different flight companies and dates to get the best deals, earlier you buy, the cheaper the ticket will be), and I can’t believe that trip came and went already. Last weekend we left on a Thursday afternoon and came back Monday morning; 4 nights and 3 full days.

Manjanggul Cave

For our first full day, we decided to rent a taxi which is common for tourists to do since public transportation isn’t that efficient on the island. We were recommended a driver who has an outgoing personality and knew sufficient English. He charged us 110000Won ($110) from 9-6pm, but since we had five people he added 20000W on top of that initial fee to accommodate the five of us (also, you always buy your driver’s lunch). We could’ve got a combo taxi and have more room (which accommodates six people and is ~$150), but our friend highly recommended this adjussi so we went with it. I definitely recommend renting a taxi and splitting the cost between friends rather than bussing from place to place; most sightseeing locations and natural attractions are secluded and it takes about an hour to go to most places if you stay near the airport/downtown area Jeju-si where we stayed. Renting a taxi also saves time and is more flexible as it caters to your own personal itinerary.

Coast/Beach towards East Jeju

Popular Abalone Congee

Our adjussi driver not only acted as our chauffeur, but also as a tour guide and photographer as well. He was very fun to be with and on top of all the joy we had with him, he was a Christian and even prayed for our lunch in Korean when we asked him to.



We spent our first day exploring attractions towards the East side of the island and downtown Jeju. Here is an itinerary of where we went that day. Most of these places charged only a 1000won entrance free, or else it was free

-Manjanggul Cave, the world's largest natural lava tube
-Beach near East coast
-Sunrise peak/Seongsanllchulbong Peak, an extinct volcano you can hike up, popular women divers are here too (65-85 yr old adjummas who still go diving for seafood, crazy!)
-Yongduam Rock, a natural dragon head shape rock (doesn't really look like one, more like a "bunny")
-Folk Village, traditional houses back in the day
-All In house, where the famous "All In" Korean drama was filmed, really pretty here^^

All In House

Sunrise Peak

our taxi driver giving us a tour of a folk village

 Our hostel, Shinee Guesthouse was also very accommodating as the owner would recommend local restaurants that offer popular dishes for us. The day
we arrived, he brought us to a traditional Korean side dish meal with other hostel guests, and that day we went for heuk dweji (black pig), a popular bbq meal among Jeju civilians.

Cheonjiyeon Waterfalls

On our second full day, we took an hour bus ride from Jeju bus terminal (pretty much across the Street from Shinee Guesthouse), to Seogwipo, the second largest city in Jeju, south of the island. One way was only 3000won (~$3) and we were able to meet up with two of our fellow exchange mates staying on that side of the island.

From the bus terminal in Seowipo, we walked to Cheonjiyeon Waterfalls, which was a very tranquil and soothing place to spend at. Here, we found the popular Jeju ice cream sandwich, basically a spongecake sandwiching orange ice cream. Its definitely worth seeking out for and was very refreshing too.

Other places we hit up:

Jeongbang Waterfalls

Jusangjeolli Rocks

-Jeongbang Waterfalls, where the water leads into the ocean, this place was more adrenaline-rushing than Cheongjiyeon
-Junsangjeolli Rocks, rock formations formed from molten lava, pretty neat place
-Jungmun Beach, a touristy resort place with a nice beach and view, I don't recommend this place though, its not that interesting, and there was barely any food options so we just snacked on oranges and pineapples on a stick

Our main transportation today was taxi as well, taking it when we needed to. The cost was fairly cheap when you split it between 4-5 people (about $1-2 each time). The other option was by public bus, but you would have to figure out which bus to take and wait a while. We ate 오겹살 ohgyebsal (literally "five layer fat" pork aka pork loin) bbq for dinner and called it a day.

View from top of Sarabong Mt.

Third and last full day, we went to church that morning, had a quick side dish lunch near the bus terminal and was ready to hike up Hallasan Mountain and check out the surrounding national park. However, we went to take the bus shortly after 2pm and we didn't know this before hand, but because it takes 8hrs to hike up this place, after 2pm, they don't allow anyone to hike it for safety reasons. We didn't plan to hike up all the way anyways, but they assume everyone goes to hike it, so you can't even go just to take a shorter trail or just for picture taking sake. Fortunately, the nice workers there recommended a short and more tame walk at Sarabong, which is right behind Jeju's national museum.

1/14 dishes @ our seafood dinner

So we ended our last day hiking, enjoying the view, taking jumping photos, and being crazy, all the while soaking in our last day of Jeju. The national museum of Jeju was free, so we decided to check it out as well. There wasn't anything interesting in particular, but we received a quick taste of Jeju's history.

The night ended with seriously a fourteen course seafood/sushi/Japanese dinner (near airport) Mr. Shinee (guesthouse owner's nickname) brought us to. It was only 20000won, so cheap and so worth it. Food coma resulted indeed.

Much memories were made this weekend and I definitely recommend Jeju as a destination to hit up when your planning a trip to Korea.

Non Stop Sarah Sunday, June 03, 2012

These past few days have been non stop. Not only am I juggling school work, I've been quite involved with Emmaus (Christian campus ministry) and as a result, I have been putting a lot of time into year end projects related to this ministry. On top of these things, I've been filling every empty space I have meeting up with friends, exploring new places, and planning ahead.

The last May weekend was a long weekend as it was buddha's birthday.  It was a very busy weekend, but one that was joyously (well) spent with my friends.

Friday May 25

Korea University (Yonsei's competition you could say), had their equivalent of Akaraka (you can read about it here), so my friend Jia (Jee-ah) and I went to check out the campus and compare their celebration to ours. Turns out, it was incomparable. Korea University's architecture is really pretty with a heavy European vibe going on, but the area was unfortunately boring. Campus itself may have been quieter than usual maybe because their celebration lasted all week whereas Yonsei's was only 3 days. All the food tents were taken down and it was oddly quiet for a school day (our theory was that everyone must've skipped or were too wiped out from the party scene the night before to go to school). Jia has a friend that attends this Uni so he gave us a tour and was nice enough to be our photographer that day.

After our Korea Uni exploration, Jia and I headed towards Sungshin Women's University not far off to browse their selection of cafes and boutiques. 

That night a bunch of us Emmaus students hung out after Friday Fire prayer meeting at New Philly. Some of us went for an amazing Korean bbq dinner and then headed to play pool afterwards. It was my first time playing pool in Korea at a pool club you could say and it was actually really fun despite my lack of skills.

Saturday May 26

I had joined the Company Tour club organized by Yonsei Global earlier this term. However, all the company tours planned were unsuccessful except for this one-CJ (Cheil Jedang). CJ is a lifestyle, food and entertainment company under Samsung, one of the three biggest businesses in Korea. It was a great day of touring their main office building in Dongdaemoon and getting to know more about their company. They were also recruiting exchange students for possible internships for the near future as they are a company that has expanded into other countries. I was really interested in their online shopping department, so I'm keeping in mind this option when I look into my practicuum component for next year. It was so enjoyable to be there, from getting freebies, a shoe box size full of CJ manufactured snacks, having a bulgogi cooking demo, to checking out what their company had to offer.

That night, as it was the birthday of two Emmaus students, a bunch of us met up at Cheongyechon, a man made stream near Gwangwhamun for a night of sightseeing and chilling. It was my first time coming here and it was so beautiful, especially because various lanterns were displayed for buddha's birthday. Usually there is a light show that goes on here at night (every 15minutes from 8-10pm I believe), but since the lantern display was held, it was showing that night.

Sunday May 27

 Day of Sabbath, church, and membership class at New Philly.

Monday May 28

This day was just fabulous despite starting it off by waiting close to an hour and a half to eat all you can eat sushi in Hongdae. The place was called Sushi in Sushi and it is quite a popular restaurant among the locals, hence the willingless of people to wait. They had a great selection of sushi, japanese cooked dishes, maki rolls, salad bar, fruits, and desserts. My sushi cravings were definitely satisfied.

Afterwards we checked out the long awaited Trick Eye Museum on our list of to dos.  It was 13000 won to get in, but so worth it and so much fun! Its basically a museum filled with artistic and creative paintings that look realistic when you take a photo with it/as a part of it. It was like optical illusions come alive and it was so interesting how the artists could portray that to the eye.

Shopped Hongdae for a while after our trick eye adventure, but most of us weren't satisfied as we left empty handed, so we headed to our beloved Edae to find some good deals and indeed we did! Got a semi-formal dress for 10000won, how could I not?!

Weekend Success