No Looking Back Now

I can't believe I'm back in Korea. I can't believe I'm back in Korea. I can't believe I'm back in Korea.

You read that right. No typos, no mistakes, no uncertainty?

I honestly can't believe I'm back in Korea. The past two days this mantra has been on repeat as I walked down memory lane, caught up with old and new friendships, and questioned my purpose of being here. During my first day, I felt very distant from my memories, I didn't feel that closeness I felt when I was missing those memories. Many things have changed, places come and go, people move, and I definitely know I'm not here to relive those memories because every experience is different.

To be honest, I felt like a downer yesterday as I wandered the University I exchanged at and nearby area. I kept meditating on the fact that nothing was the same and that made me feel my existence here was meaningless. I'm sure being jet lagged, tired, and alone for the most part had to do with it, but that feeling didn't sit well with me. Though, I kept reminding myself to not be quick to jump to conclusions and to take everything in at a slower pace. If God had brought me back, He surely will make it clear the reason for it-and change is not always a bad thing right?

It means I've grown up, I'm different than I was two years ago, and my reason now for coming is not the reason I came two years ago, but my reason now wouldn't have existed if my reason then never became a reality.

Sinchon
However, I'm super thankful for today. I was able to catch up with some of my closest exchange buddies from two years ago, eat well, shop well, and even get our hairs done on a whim. We couldn't believe that all 3 of us were seriously in Seoul. Together. Spending time as if time never separated us. It's crazy how we've all met and how we've all been brought back now.

Funny story of today, so I had only plan on a trim-only a bang trim in fact, but I convinced myself to get all of my hair cut as it was so affordable, and also to do a conditioning treatment as my friend was getting a perm so I needed time to kill anyways. The lady asked if I wanted my hair styled (or so I thought as this is a common 'free' service in Korea), but I didn't have that plan in mind so she brought me a album of photos to choose from what look I wanted. I had no clue so I just chose something very simple and natural, just with a little bit of wave at the bottom of my ends (told you this was spontaneous). Then she told me the price and I wasn't paying attention so it sounded right at first, but when she was starting to get the product ready to condition, I was wondering why it sounded higher then it should. After putting what seemed like endless products in my hair, she started rolling it, and I thought to myself, this doesn't seem right.. styling is always done at the end, when your hair is dry. When my friend finally looked at me, she asked if I had changed my mind to do a perm and it was then that I realize the lady had put me in a perm as I looked back at my friend with the same hair rolls in her head. Oh KALUMBA. I didn't want a perm at all, but at least it turned out alright, and for this price I could probably get like four more perms compared to Canada's price.

I love Cherry Blossoms so much!
Also, if you know what Kakao Talk is (basically an app that's a loophole to texting and calling for free as long as you have wifi anywhere in the world), it's super popular in Korea, pretty much all Koreans use it to message people vs. texting. So popular that they opened a pop up store in the basement Sinchon's UPLEX mall and the hype couldn't have justified Koreans love for this app more. There are life/giant size models of the sticker characters outside (similar to emoticons), in, and around the pop up store so Koreans-young and old, girls and boys, ladies and gentleman, seniors or not are constantly taking selfies and group photos of these Kakao characters. Not only that, but overpriced merchandise are constantly needing to be replenish so the store is stocked up daily. Didn't know an app could have so much attention drawn to it, only in Korea haha.

Tomorrow is church day, here comes more reunions, smiles, and maybe even some tears. *sigh why am I so emotional these days?

P.S. Sorry for the lack of travel photos lately as 1. I've been attached to Instagram and 2. I haven't done much that is too new to showcase

Keep Phollowing!

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Landed

After almost 24 hours of travelling including flight changes, delays, commute and early mornings, I'm finally in Korea and its currently 4am here. I don't know if I'm exactly jetlag as I woke up feeling the need to go to the washroom haha.

My flight from YEG-SFO (2 hours) then SFO-YEG (10 hours + 1 delay) went exceptionally well. Though its spring break, the leg to Korea was pretty quiet and I even had the seat next to me empty so that was nice. I also felt like I got a lot done: watched 2.5 movies, crash course of korean notes, updated my resume, drafted a blog, journaled, prayed, went to the washroom inbetween dozing on and off and wondered if I would ever get to watch Frozen and I did!

It's been a while (or maybe even a first) since I've been on a long haul  plane wth no personal movie screen and only one big one in the front of my seating section, but I actually didn't mind that since I dislike it when my eyes are buzzed out from staring at a screen less than a ruler away. Overall, United Airlines wasn't that bad at all and I didn't mind their plane food minus this dry bun of a snack sandwich I got- absolutely nothing could've saved its case.

Also I hope my Korean comes back quick! I'm living with an exchange friend right now and her parents only know Korean, which is really making me work hard to recall the knowledge inside of me. I also forgot how curious Koreans are in foreigners...this adjussi (older man) kept insisting to help and get me to the right stop on my shuttle bus at the airport. Guess he figured a Chinese Canadian girl would run into problems...though I haven't at all- its been all blessings so far! 

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지금 안녕 서울

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

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DMZ

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!





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Getaway Jeju

 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.

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AKARAKA

Last week, Wednesday through Friday was the annual AKARAKA festival (아카라카 축제) on campus. Since the start of this term, it has been an event I have been looking forward to, especially after the cheering orientation (you can read more about it here). I can say that every Yonsei student highly anticipates for this event, even students from other campuses do (many students from Korea University came to Akaraka). In Korea, their Spring term is their first term of the year, so Akaraka has been a traditional cheering event, and it usually happens to land following the end of midterm week, which calls for a massive celebration.

It was a huge event alright. I actually didn't know this event was three-day long because for the longest time I thought Akaraka only referred to the cheering event at the amphitheater on the last day where celebrity guests are invited to perform. That is one major reason why so many students compete and claim their Akaraka tickets, because for the price of 10000won ($10), you pretty much receive a line up of singers (unknown until the event starts), and a party full of proud fellow students dancing, singing, and cheering for their favorite artists and of course, one another.

Lets start on Wednesday. 

So one of my friends in my Korean class had told me she was part of the IYC food festival. I decided to help out the day of as I wasn't able to commit to the meetings they had. We were assigned Saudi Arabia and we made Saudi Arabian style fried rice and chicken. It was similar to curry and rice, but with more seasoning and flavors. Our group leader, a Korean, had actually contacted the Saudi Arabian embassy and they provided us with more than we asked for, giving us packages of dates, pamphlets, books,  traditional costumes,a large flag for decoration, contacting a Saudi Arabian international student studying on campus to lend us a hand, and even contacting a restaurant which provided 20 boxes of the dish we made-for free! However, our version of the dish was tastier than the ones provided by the restaurant since we made our own sauce from scratch and our rice wasn't bland tasting like theirs was.

It was a great experience to be part this cooking event and share the taste, sight, and smell of culture with exchange and local students on campus. Koreans don't usually get the opportunity to try food from other countries as there aren't much options available and foreign food tends to be more expensive, and secondly they tend to just stick with what they know best, Korean food.


 Moving on to Thursday.

 

This day was called out to be a day of missing classes, standing in line, and waiting. Most, if not all local students had already had their chance in obtaining their Akaraka tickets. Unfortunately for us exchange students, we had to wait in line to buy ours today at a certain time. We were told there was only 220 available tickets and keeping in mind that there were over 400 exchange students this term, this seemed to be quite a problem. We were forewarned in advance via email that not everyone was going to get a ticket, and that last year, those students who waited two hours earlier, didn't get a ticket either. So even though the time set for us to buy tickets was at 7pm, my friends and I were already lurking around the area at 1pm. Actually, other exchange students were too, just that no line was formed yet. We ended up being part of the first few students at the front of the line, and thank Global Lounge that after three hours of waiting in line, they decided to pass out numbers so we could do leave and come back at 7pm to pay for our actual tickets.Waiting wasn't actually that bad though. Time passed pretty quickly as we took turns exploring the booths, activities, and food stalls all lined up on the main street from main gate of Yonsei.

Prior to lining up again to pay for my real ticket, I grabbed grub at one of the food stalls, a giant $5 seafood pancake and took a look at everything going on. There was a LOT going on. Everywhere I looked, I would see someone singing, performing, playing drinking games, eating, getting freebies from sponsors, etc. There was rows and rows of tables set up (aka inverted boxes) and people sat around them drinking soju, eating snacks, and playing drinking games. It was quite a sight, everyone was so happy and crazy. It felt like the whole Sinchon had displaced itself into the heart of Yonsei haha. It didn't feel like it was a school setting at all. When it got later, Mentor's club had organized an outdoor party for exchange students right by Global Lounge. Their theme was 'MIB', Mentor's in Black and it was so amusing to see all these mentors in black with their black shades and water guns dancing around... oh Koreans.

 

John Park, apparently an American Idol contestant turned famous American Korean singer in Korea after being on a Korean show,  sang on a stage set up in the "forest" on the way back heading to dorms. The energy was crazy and the lighting from the concert took my breathe away as I gazed around me to see the trees lighted up in a beautiful array of colours against the night sky.


The day we've all been waiting for.

Heading towards the amphitheater at 2pm,  lines were already formed and making their way in. Earlier in the term, each department/faculty had already divided up the amphitheater into sections and had drawn out of a hat where they were to  be situated during the event. Mentor's club had designated seating at the top and center section of the theater, but it was a tad far up for our liking, so we joined our other friends who had squished in with the nursing faculty towards the right and middle side of the stage. We ran into some trouble as the nurses weren't too happy that we were sitting there... though there was an unwritten rule that if students from the faculty didn't take their seats by 3:30pm, anyone can sit there, and it was just a few minutes prior to 3:30.

Anyhow, fast forward and the show began with rappers that I do not know the name of opening the stage. Most of the artists seemed to be of the older generation, like our equivalent of Backstreet Boys. When Psy from YG came out thought, the crowd went crazy. I never heard of Psy before due to my lack of Kpop knowledge, but wow does he have energy for a 40+ year old. His singing and dancing got the crowd asking him to encore at least three times. The most well known band must have been SNSD, and  even though only 3/9 members performed, they tried much harder than when I first saw them at Fashion Collection (read here).

Besides the celebrities, Miss Korea was one of our MCs of the night, you know your an Ivy League school when haha. Yonsei also had their version of a singing contest, Yonsei Idol, where the top 3 finalists performed solo and as a group. The winner was revealed later on that night and he totally deserved it as his voice was so strong and beautiful. Also, something that took everyone by surprise was that an alumni from Yonsei made a video of how he met his girlfriend back in the day and when the video ended, the MCs brought him and his girlfriend out and he proposed to her in front of the  crowd of squealing girls and guys shouting "KISS". How sweet is that? That just brought proposal ideas to a whole new creative level.

At about 8 or 9pm (I think, lost track of time), fireworks lighted up the sky (whattt!) and this crazy green light show was projected onto the stage showcasing a moving eagle (Yonsei's mascot), the words "YONSEI" itself and other pretty cool stuff. I thought it was the opening of a crazy popular band such as Big Bang or something to end off the night (as rumored), but turns out, the Blue Knights (Yonsei's cheering team) came out in their costumes to kick off a series of consecutive cheering. I couldn't ask for a better way to end off Akaraka. I felt so much school spirit and it brought me so much joy to see all of us students jumping up and down, cheering and singing together, dancing like no tomorrow, and having such a happy time as one school body.

It felt so surreal and unbelievable to be there in that moment and I didn't want it to end. Though, the reality of it was that the event wrapped up at 10:30pm, after 8 hours worth of celebration. When will you ever have this experience in North America?

Yonsei students know how to throw a party.
사랑하다 연세!

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Beautiful Getaway

If you've been following me lately, you know I have been preparing for a getaway.

This weekend I had the joy of going to Busan, SouthEast of Seoul in celebration midterms being finished. I had been in anticipation of this trip all of last week as I couldn't wait to get away from my room, my study area, my books, and even my school. Yes, you do get sick of spending so much time on campus.
KTX Platform at Seoul Station
 Day 1

 Foreigner Special Compartment
My friends and I got the KR Pass for foreigners (unlimited 3 day ride pass that can only be bought online) and headed out early Saturday morning. An important piece of information you should know is, despite the great deal your getting on these KR passes, there is a catch that we didn't know until we got on the train, and that is, you only get a seat if there is a seat, if not, you stand, or sit at the compartments in between the trains. As it was the weekend, we were forewarned that all the seats are usually taken, but if your lucky, you can sit for a while before the next stop where new passengers get on. We were a little surprise this information wasn't made known to us prior to buying our tickets, but we made the most of it, laughed at our situation and endured the approximately two and a half our ride.

Arriving in Busan felt so good, but it still took another 40minute by public transit to get from the KTX station to where we were staying at, the most popular beach in Busan, Haeundae Beach(해운대).

Haeundae Beach 해운대
Finally, after settling down, we decided it was time for lunch. One thing you notice about Busan is that even though it is the second largest city in Korea, the population is obviously smaller as everywhere you go, even on the trains, its not as crowded as it is in Seoul. As Haeundae is a popular tourist area, the lineups of seafood restaurant in the area were literally in competition for our buisiness. Adjummas would stand outside their door and wave towards us and call us '"아가시" ('agassi' meaning young lady) to get our attention and draw us in. We were all so indecisive and at one point we even walked out of one restaurant as quickly as we walked in due to the lack of interest in their menu (they were actually quite assertive in deciding our food of choice). We settled on a restaurant that had the most business of all (when in doubt, always go to the busiest one!), and had a steamy hot, delicious, fresh seafood stew between the five of us ($40). Octopus, clams, shrimp, crabs, and fish satisfied my omega 3 cravings as Korean food lacks seafood in their dishes. This restaurant was actually published in the journal, sovno wonder they had business without even competing for it. It was worth every won and I would highly recommend it to you if you're in the area.

Gwanganli Beach광안리
After some exploring in the area for some time, we headed to Busan's second most popular beach, Gwanganli (광안리), known for the Gwangan Bridge that lights up at night. It so happened that there was some sort of festival going on and we walked into a parade about to start. Many tents selling food was also set up on the beach, and thus, there was much more people than expected. Our getaway was mainly for us to just relax and be at peace from all the buzz in Seoul so we took the time out to take photos, play, and enjoy the view while resting on the beach


.
 Around dinner time, we ventured to Millak Fish Town Center (민락 희 타운 흴 어판매시장), which was located at the far left end of the beach if your facing the bridge from the beach). This was a place we had researched where you can buy your fresh seafood on the main floor, and they will prepare the fish for you to eat upstairs at an additional cost/person. I had thought it just be a two story building, so I was a little taken aback when I realized this place was a whole building. I have to admit it got intimidating too because once we entered, all these ajummas at their respective fish stations are calling out to us and once again, competing with each other for our business. We somehow ended up at a nice looking adjumma station and she just started grabbing fresh fish from her 'tanks', weighing them, and tell us the cost. She was more fierce than she looked when she took one of the fish fighting for its life in one hand, and took a knife in her other hand, and slit its throat. We ended up spending $50 (2 kg was $40 for this adjumma, varies from seller to seller) on four fishes and 3 baby octopuses (one was thrown in for free) since we wanted to try eating them while they were still moving.

Each fish station had their own respective restaurant upstairs, hence the size of this building. We went to the ninth floor where her affiliated restaurant facing the beach was, and waited for our fresh meal. It cost an addition $5 for us to have our fish prepared and an extra $3 (all together) to eat the fish cook rather than just as sashimi. Also, fried cocoons tend to be a common 'snack' here in Busan, but we were quite surprised to see it served as one of our side dishes. None of us dared to try it and the waitress took it away from us upon noticing this.


The live octopus was a whole new experience to us, minus the Korean of the group. It looked really gross at first to see these chopped up tentacles still squirming around, but with a new found courage, we tried it and liked it! Octopus actually doesn't have much taste to it itself, and its flavor was found in the sesame-soy sauce/ spicy gochujang mixture we dipped it in. Next was our platter of fresh fish and I couldn't ask for a better way to eat our seafood than as one my favorite dishes ever, sashimi. The texture was so smooth and wrapping it in mint leaves and lettuce (Korean custom) and adding some gochujang was delicious. Our cooked fish was fried and salted with salt similar to kosher salt. It was a little salty for me, but the fish was well cooked and tasted fresh.

 After our hearty seafood meal #2, we were ready to head back to the beach to take some photos with the bridge that was suppose to be lighted up. However, stepping out from our seafood adventure, we noticed the bridge didn't light up yet, despite the sky being covered in darkness. Instead, fireworks were lighting up the night sky (most likely because of the festival we assumed), and we were so stoked to see them as we had wanted to light fireworks on the beach if it was permitted (fyi: its not permitted in most circumstances), so seeing the sight of them made us acknowledge that everything happened in our favor that day! The bridge lighted up afterwards and we took more photos in memory of our day.

Day 2


Rise and shine to an early start and wandered to the other side of Haeundae Beach. The sun wasn't out, but it felt warmer than the day before due to the humidity. It was a very calm and slow day for the most part as we wanted to take it easy and not have a rush or full on itinerary.

In the afternoon, we headed to SeaCloud hotel for Seaside's church service, the more recent church plant by New Philly, the church I've been attending. I can finally say I've been to all three campuses: Hillside, Itaewon, and Seaside!  I met so many wonderful people and it was such perfect timing as all three locations will be joining to have a church wide retreat this coming weekend.

$7.50
After a great message, we headed out to a Japanese restaurant with our new and old friends. This eatery was actually really close to our hostel, Pobi Guesthouse, which was convenient for us to grab out baggage and head back to Busan Station to catch our train afterwards. For the price of sushi and Japanese food in general, the pricing was decent and went from $5 for a small plate of sushi to $20-$25 for a platter, depending on the size and types of fish. There was this sashimi salad bowl some people ordered, and I wish I had ordered it if I had knew about it because it looked so yummy. It's basically a mixture of salad on top of a bed of rice and sashimi and you mix it all together with gochujang (Korean hot pepper sauce).

  Before we went to catch our train home, we wanted to get some souvenirs as Haeundae and Gwanganli didn't sell any (though, you would think they would since they are hot spots for tourists). We were recommended to go to Nampo-dong, a shopping area similar to Myeongdong in Seoul with international brands as well as Korean labels. Having to go there with all of our baggage was a hassle already (since we were head to the train afterwards, Nampo is two stops away from Busan Station), but running around trying to find souvenirs didn't make it any better. We seriously could not sight any souvenirs until I asked an adjussi selling street food. He directed us to take an escalator heading upwards to find a place that sold souvenirs, but this escalator led to 2-3 more escalators (some which didn't work), and another few flights of stairs, eventually leading us to Yongdusan Park (용두산 공원). We burned off our calories for that weekend alright, but it was funny how our unplanned plans worked out because originally, we didn't plan to come to this park where Busan Tower was unless we had some extra time, but in all spontaneity we found ourselves here and were able to snap some photos. After much seeking, we found the souvenir shopping center, but unfortunately, it was closed already.

All in all, it was a wonderful getaway and I would definitely recommend Busan as a destination to hit up when your traveling in Korea.


P.S. I love the new layout for Blogger, posting photos and editing them is so much faster now.





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