Banpo Bridge at night. I like how blurry it is. The bridge lights up on the hour I believe...
North of the bridge, you can see a sunset over Itaewon (with the higest point being the mosque). Beautiful.
Showing posts with label Korea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Korea. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Banpo Bridge
Banpo Bridge at night. I like how blurry it is. The bridge lights up on the hour I believe...
North of the bridge, you can see a sunset over Itaewon (with the higest point being the mosque). Beautiful.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
East Sea Weekend
Back in June we decided that the last weekend of July would be spent on the East Coast. It started out as four of us, but as the weekend progressed, our group grew.
Our first night we spent at a love motel in Samcheok. A bit dirty but also dirty cheap. We spent Friday night on the beach slurping up ramen with shellfish and taking pictures at dusk.
Breakfast in the morning was a bit of a hassle to find, but once we found a restaurant, we enjoyed a Korean breakfast of 청국장 (fermented soy bean soup) and kimchi-jjigae.
After meeting up with the rest of our companions at the bus stop, we headed to our Saturday destination: Jangho (장호). I had traveled to Jangho port last year when I camped on Samcheok's beach and really wanted to see it again. CNN Go listed Jangho as Korea's most beautiful village and I can see why. However, for some reason they like to describe it as Korea's Naples. This is Naples:
And this is Jangho.
So they are completely different. Plus, Naples is full of trash. Korea, stop calling X the Y of Korea. Jeju is not the Hawaii of Korea. Jeju is just Jeju. Comparing apples to oranges just ends up disappointing people. We were definitely not disappointed in Jangho, though, and spent the day basking in the sun, swimming, and drinking beer.
The evening was spent back in Samcheok with grilled shellfish and spicy octopus (쭈꾸미). A bit expensive, but mad delicious.
Sunday's activities were chosen last minute, but were probably my favorite of the weekend. We took a taxi to 무릉계곡 (Mureung Valley) for some hiking and mountain bibimbap. HS and I zoomed of and ended up by ourselves looking at waterfalls, climbing 'Heaven's Door' and looking out over the entire valley. What a day!
This was my last weekend trip in Korea! Well, at least for this year. I'll probably be back again.
Our first night we spent at a love motel in Samcheok. A bit dirty but also dirty cheap. We spent Friday night on the beach slurping up ramen with shellfish and taking pictures at dusk.
Breakfast in the morning was a bit of a hassle to find, but once we found a restaurant, we enjoyed a Korean breakfast of 청국장 (fermented soy bean soup) and kimchi-jjigae.
After meeting up with the rest of our companions at the bus stop, we headed to our Saturday destination: Jangho (장호). I had traveled to Jangho port last year when I camped on Samcheok's beach and really wanted to see it again. CNN Go listed Jangho as Korea's most beautiful village and I can see why. However, for some reason they like to describe it as Korea's Naples. This is Naples:
And this is Jangho.
So they are completely different. Plus, Naples is full of trash. Korea, stop calling X the Y of Korea. Jeju is not the Hawaii of Korea. Jeju is just Jeju. Comparing apples to oranges just ends up disappointing people. We were definitely not disappointed in Jangho, though, and spent the day basking in the sun, swimming, and drinking beer.
The evening was spent back in Samcheok with grilled shellfish and spicy octopus (쭈꾸미). A bit expensive, but mad delicious.
Sunday's activities were chosen last minute, but were probably my favorite of the weekend. We took a taxi to 무릉계곡 (Mureung Valley) for some hiking and mountain bibimbap. HS and I zoomed of and ended up by ourselves looking at waterfalls, climbing 'Heaven's Door' and looking out over the entire valley. What a day!
 |
| Poor deer lost its head... |
This was my last weekend trip in Korea! Well, at least for this year. I'll probably be back again.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Inwangsan (인왕산) The Mountain of the Generous King
Four of us climbed Inwangsan on Saturday. This is another portion of the Seoul fortress wall, but not nearly as well marked and with much less guards protecting the Blue House. We started out near Dongnimmun Station and made our way east to Buam dong. The hike only took about an hour and a half. Although we were only about 330 meters up, we had some great views of the city. This blog post is mainly just to share this nice panorama.
Heading out of exit 2 of Dongnimmun station (독립문) you take your first left and wind up along tons of apartment complexes. Eventually, you'll find the trail, but it is not very well marked so good luck. Near the foot of the Dongnimmun side, there was a very atmospheric temple. We were kind of in a hiking hurry, so I didn't get any pictures. Lame. But I did get a decent pic of the wall...
Heading out of exit 2 of Dongnimmun station (독립문) you take your first left and wind up along tons of apartment complexes. Eventually, you'll find the trail, but it is not very well marked so good luck. Near the foot of the Dongnimmun side, there was a very atmospheric temple. We were kind of in a hiking hurry, so I didn't get any pictures. Lame. But I did get a decent pic of the wall...
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Bukaksan: Northern route of the Seoul Fortress Wall
On the 6th of June (Memorial Day), C and I went to hike part of the Seoul Fortress Wall trail. There are four sections to this trail, and we took on the northern section that starts near Hansung station and ends up at Changuimun in Buamdong. This section goes through some peaks on Bukak mountain and it quite the nice walk. Starting from the east, you meander up against the wall until you reach a checkpoint where you have to show your passport or registration card. This is to stop would-be-assassins, as the Blue House is at the southern foot of Bukak mountain, so they need to be careful who they let in. This also means that there are only certain places where you are allowed to take pictures, so my pictures aren't the most amazing. All of the great views were in no-picture zones. Sad face.
 |
| You can see the wall! |
 |
| Changuimun |
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Jeongneung Tomb
On Wednesday, May 15th I was let out of school early for the long weekend (thank you Buddha!). As most of my friends needed to work, I ventured out alone to Jeongneung (정릉) which is a tomb close to my workplace. Along with other Joseon dynasty tombs, it is a UNECO world heritage site. Score.
After following a bunch of signs up and down hills, I finally found the entrance to Jeongneung. I paid a small entrance fee (1,000 won), grabbed a map, and walked around. As it was a Wednesday afternoon, there were few people in the park: mostly ajjumas and ajjeoshis. A quick walk brought me to the tomb. Well, within sight of the tomb.
As you can see, the tomb is at top of the hill. I saw no way to get up to the tomb, so I imagine it isn't possible to get a close look. The tomb houses Queen Consort Sindeok, who was the second wife of King Taejo (the founder of the Joseon dynasty). Her place in history is a bit interesting, so to learn more, check out the Korean Cultural Heritage website for details.
I imagine the surrounding vicinity rather than the tomb itself gives reason for the locals to visit. Smack dab in a very apartment-heavy neighborhood is a very green and walkable area. One walking course goes around Jeongneung's land, and takes about thirty minutes. If it was a little closer to my school, I would visit often to go for jogs. Peaceful, if a bit hilly, Jeongneung can be seen in about an hour.
Jeongneung was a bit difficult to find... here are the directions from Visit Korea:
I imagine the surrounding vicinity rather than the tomb itself gives reason for the locals to visit. Smack dab in a very apartment-heavy neighborhood is a very green and walkable area. One walking course goes around Jeongneung's land, and takes about thirty minutes. If it was a little closer to my school, I would visit often to go for jogs. Peaceful, if a bit hilly, Jeongneung can be seen in about an hour.
Jeongneung was a bit difficult to find... here are the directions from Visit Korea:
| Directions | |||
In front of exit 6 of Sungshin Women's University station
(Donam station / Seoul Subway Line 4), take city bus No. 1012, 1014, or
1212 and get off at Arirang Market. Walk 5-10 min.
|
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Jongmyo Shrine
Last week, we were let out of school early for Parent's Day. To celebrate, I went downtown to see Jongmyo Shrine before my Korean class. Earlier this year, I saw Dongmyo, but Jongmyo is much more impressive. Located in central Seoul (right next to Jongno 3 Ga), I feel kind of silly for never having visited the shrine. Especially since it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Jongmyo was commissioned by King Taejo (the founder of the Joseon dynasty) and is the shrine for all of the past kings and queens (plus some other honored guests). I almost didn't go last week because there weren't any English tours available, but I decided to suck it up and do a tour in Korean.
My Korean level is decent (I'm starting the advanced level at the Korea Foundation next week!), but historical words are hard. I probably understood some 80% of the words, but all of the important ones were lost. Since some of these words were difficult for Koreans as well, the tour guide did explain them quite well. For example, she started the tour by explaining the word Jongmyo (종묘) as there is confusion over the difference between a tomb and a shrine. 종 means ancestral and 묘 is normally a place to do ancestral rites. Nobody is buried at Jongmyo.
The first building we looked at (behind the tour guide in the picture above) was Hyangdaecheong. This building acted as storage and a waiting room for those coming to the shrine.
We walked along a road that had an elevated strip in the middle. This elevated strip was for the king, while the strips on the left and the right were for other high-ranking officials (rankings I didn't know). Women weren't allowed to perform the ancestral rites (제사), but a queen could have her tablet (신실) enshrined after her death. Equality after death.
Next, we saw Jaegung. Here, the king and crown prince would prepare before doing the rites. There was a building for the king, a building for the crown prince, and a bathing facility. The picture below is the king's room (Eojaesil).
Under King Sejong, a second shrine, Yeongnyeongjeon, was built to accommodate more tablets. As you can see in the picture below, there are four shrines with a raised roof. These shrines house King Taejo's ancestors.
If you want to visit Jongmyo, the English tours are at 10, 12, 2, and 4pm (but closed on Tuesdays). On Saturdays, you can visit the shrine without a guided tour. With the English booklet, that might be the best way to enjoy the shrine. The entrance fee is 1,000 won.
My Korean level is decent (I'm starting the advanced level at the Korea Foundation next week!), but historical words are hard. I probably understood some 80% of the words, but all of the important ones were lost. Since some of these words were difficult for Koreans as well, the tour guide did explain them quite well. For example, she started the tour by explaining the word Jongmyo (종묘) as there is confusion over the difference between a tomb and a shrine. 종 means ancestral and 묘 is normally a place to do ancestral rites. Nobody is buried at Jongmyo.
The first building we looked at (behind the tour guide in the picture above) was Hyangdaecheong. This building acted as storage and a waiting room for those coming to the shrine.
We walked along a road that had an elevated strip in the middle. This elevated strip was for the king, while the strips on the left and the right were for other high-ranking officials (rankings I didn't know). Women weren't allowed to perform the ancestral rites (제사), but a queen could have her tablet (신실) enshrined after her death. Equality after death.
After walking through Jaegung, we stopped in front of Jeonsacheong, where the food was prepared. I had 제사밥 a while back in Andong, and it was delicious, in a very plain way. 냠냠.
The next building was the most impressive: Jeongjeon. Jeongjeon is te main hall of Jongmyo. While it started off as a small shrine, when a king or queen died, a new hall was added. This continued until there were 19 chambers (and had to be stopped or it would rival the size of China's royal shrine... I think).
Under King Sejong, a second shrine, Yeongnyeongjeon, was built to accommodate more tablets. As you can see in the picture below, there are four shrines with a raised roof. These shrines house King Taejo's ancestors.
If you want to visit Jongmyo, the English tours are at 10, 12, 2, and 4pm (but closed on Tuesdays). On Saturdays, you can visit the shrine without a guided tour. With the English booklet, that might be the best way to enjoy the shrine. The entrance fee is 1,000 won.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Seoul Bucket List
I've accepted the admission offer for UC San Diego, so unless I get a full-funded scholarship to a school in Korea (and decide a program in Seoul would be better), I'll be leaving Korea on August 24th. I LOVE Seoul. I'm going to miss it a tons. So I've decided to be quite pro-active during my last days. I'll be trying to do something interesting/new/unexpected everyday until the 24th (oh, and re-visiting favorites). Although I want this to be a lot of randomly cool things, there are some things I have on my bucket list. When I've seen these things, I'll write a post on this blog or over at my Korean diary. This list is by no means exhaustive and there is a good chance I'll add to it as I go along.
Achasan: Very simple mountain that can be done on any given afternoon.
Andong Jjimdalk: This used to be one of my favorite dishes my first year in Korea. I haven't eaten it since 2012! (Ate it with Cali and Catie on May 14th near Korea University).
Banpo Bridge fountain: I've never seen the rainbow fountain! And I wanted to visit this before I even came to Seoul!?! I imagine I'll be disappointed.
Bugaksan fortress wall: The mountain behind the Blue House has a pretty cool wall. But I need my passport! (Thursday, June 6th)
Bukhansan: While I've climbed this peak before, I've never reached the top. Lazy me. Part of this mountain is literally at the back door of my school.
Cheonho Dong Jjukkumi Street: On one of these upcoming hot summer days, I want to cool down with spicy baby octupus
Chimaek: I hardly ever have chicken and beer. This should change! (We had some Chimaek in Gunsan on May 17th, 2013)
Chu-eo tang in Pyeonchang dong: One of the oldest restaurants in Korea is on one of my jogging routes. And I love this eel soup!
Coex: I've never really explored Coex. I've only been to a couple of exhibition halls in the building.
Dobongsan: I'm going to be doing this mountain on the 26th of May with my Korean class. As long as I wake up on time. Update: I didn't wake up on time. Must do later...
Everland: I kind of feel like I should go to Everland but also won't be completely upset if I don't make it.
Garak Wholesale Food Market: I love food and markets! Woot!
Gwanaksan: Nice big mountain in southern Seoul. 5/5/2013
Han River Cruise: Though it isn't the nicest river, I still want to take a cruise on a sunny day.
Hamilton Hotel Pool: I wanna soak in the sun with the fabulous
Hwagyesa: This temple was so near Suyu but I never went. Because I'm stupid. (August 13th, 2013)
Hwangudan Altar: This altar is in a garden in the Westin Chosun hotel. Looks really cool.
Imo chip: I must visit my auntie and her great restaurant in Itaewon again. And again. And again.
Inwangsan: The large mountain in western Seoul.
Jeongneung: The tombs near my school are just a hop and skip away. I visited them on 5/15/2013.
Jongmyo Shrine: I visited Jongmyo on 5/8/2013. Great time. Highly recommended.
Jogyesa: I walk around Jongno all the time in Seoul, but I've never been to Jogyesa. And my family has! 헐.
Kimchi Field Museum: Enough said.
Korea Furniture Museum: Looks pretty fantastic. The building housing the furniture is beautiful too.
Korean War Memorial Museum: Just minutes from my house and I've heard that it is a great museum.
Magpie Brewery: Located in my neighborhood. I've heard they have really great beer. (Visited in June for an awesome event for the season finale of Game of Throne).
Majang Korean BBQ Street: Meat street!
Namhansanseong: A fortress at the top of Namhan mountain from the Joseon period.
National Museum of Korea: I've been here for twenty minutes. I should go for a bit longer... (Visited August 17th)
Noryangjin Fish Market: Sure, I've been here before. But I want more fish!
Ojang-dong Naengmyeon: Apparently they have the best Naengmyeon. AND I LOVE NAENGMYEON! *Update* I went there on 5/7/2013, and yes. It is amazing. I will be back!
Random buses: C and I jumped on random buses before to enjoy the destination. We need more of that in our lives.
Samsung Museum of Art: Ten thousand won has always looked like such an expensive entrance fee for a museum, but that is just me being stupid.
Sarangchae at Cheongwadae: I like political history, and this museum focuses on the presidents of Korea and Seoul history. Nice.
Seokchondong Tombs: Never even heard of these before, but..
Seoul Museum of Chicken Art: I forgot this existed. I wanna see it!
Seoul Museum of History: I love Seoul and this museum is free.
Sillim's Sundae Town: Yum yum yum.
Sindang Ddeokbokki: Although I once hated ddeokbokki, I now crave it. Especially Sindang's ddeokbokki.
Suyu Dalkgalbi: Best. Dalkgalbi. Ever. (Ate some more for Magaly's going away dinner on June 16th. Definitely still the best).
Suyu Toast: Best. Toast. Ever. Yum. This is still the best.
Time Square in Yeongdeungpo: A bit of shopping!
TUM: SK Telekom's Ubiquitous Museum. A museum about future technologies.
Unhyeungung Palace: Not really a palace, but a rich person's house from the Joseon dynasty. Saw it on 5/16/2013
Achasan: Very simple mountain that can be done on any given afternoon.
Andong Jjimdalk: This used to be one of my favorite dishes my first year in Korea. I haven't eaten it since 2012! (Ate it with Cali and Catie on May 14th near Korea University).
Banpo Bridge fountain: I've never seen the rainbow fountain! And I wanted to visit this before I even came to Seoul!?! I imagine I'll be disappointed.
Bugaksan fortress wall: The mountain behind the Blue House has a pretty cool wall. But I need my passport! (Thursday, June 6th)
Bukhansan: While I've climbed this peak before, I've never reached the top. Lazy me. Part of this mountain is literally at the back door of my school.
Cheonho Dong Jjukkumi Street: On one of these upcoming hot summer days, I want to cool down with spicy baby octupus
Chimaek: I hardly ever have chicken and beer. This should change! (We had some Chimaek in Gunsan on May 17th, 2013)
Chu-eo tang in Pyeonchang dong: One of the oldest restaurants in Korea is on one of my jogging routes. And I love this eel soup!
Coex: I've never really explored Coex. I've only been to a couple of exhibition halls in the building.
Dobongsan: I'm going to be doing this mountain on the 26th of May with my Korean class. As long as I wake up on time. Update: I didn't wake up on time. Must do later...
Everland: I kind of feel like I should go to Everland but also won't be completely upset if I don't make it.
Garak Wholesale Food Market: I love food and markets! Woot!
Gwanaksan: Nice big mountain in southern Seoul. 5/5/2013
Han River Cruise: Though it isn't the nicest river, I still want to take a cruise on a sunny day.
Hamilton Hotel Pool: I wanna soak in the sun with the fabulous
Hwagyesa: This temple was so near Suyu but I never went. Because I'm stupid. (August 13th, 2013)
Hwangudan Altar: This altar is in a garden in the Westin Chosun hotel. Looks really cool.
Imo chip: I must visit my auntie and her great restaurant in Itaewon again. And again. And again.
Inwangsan: The large mountain in western Seoul.
Jeongneung: The tombs near my school are just a hop and skip away. I visited them on 5/15/2013.
Jongmyo Shrine: I visited Jongmyo on 5/8/2013. Great time. Highly recommended.
Jogyesa: I walk around Jongno all the time in Seoul, but I've never been to Jogyesa. And my family has! 헐.
Kimchi Field Museum: Enough said.
Korea Furniture Museum: Looks pretty fantastic. The building housing the furniture is beautiful too.
Korean War Memorial Museum: Just minutes from my house and I've heard that it is a great museum.
Magpie Brewery: Located in my neighborhood. I've heard they have really great beer. (Visited in June for an awesome event for the season finale of Game of Throne).
Majang Korean BBQ Street: Meat street!
Namhansanseong: A fortress at the top of Namhan mountain from the Joseon period.
National Museum of Korea: I've been here for twenty minutes. I should go for a bit longer... (Visited August 17th)
Noryangjin Fish Market: Sure, I've been here before. But I want more fish!
Ojang-dong Naengmyeon: Apparently they have the best Naengmyeon. AND I LOVE NAENGMYEON! *Update* I went there on 5/7/2013, and yes. It is amazing. I will be back!
Random buses: C and I jumped on random buses before to enjoy the destination. We need more of that in our lives.
Samsung Museum of Art: Ten thousand won has always looked like such an expensive entrance fee for a museum, but that is just me being stupid.
Sarangchae at Cheongwadae: I like political history, and this museum focuses on the presidents of Korea and Seoul history. Nice.
Seokchondong Tombs: Never even heard of these before, but..
Seoul Museum of Chicken Art: I forgot this existed. I wanna see it!
Seoul Museum of History: I love Seoul and this museum is free.
Sillim's Sundae Town: Yum yum yum.
Sindang Ddeokbokki: Although I once hated ddeokbokki, I now crave it. Especially Sindang's ddeokbokki.
Suyu Dalkgalbi: Best. Dalkgalbi. Ever. (Ate some more for Magaly's going away dinner on June 16th. Definitely still the best).
Suyu Toast: Best. Toast. Ever. Yum. This is still the best.
Time Square in Yeongdeungpo: A bit of shopping!
TUM: SK Telekom's Ubiquitous Museum. A museum about future technologies.
Unhyeungung Palace: Not really a palace, but a rich person's house from the Joseon dynasty. Saw it on 5/16/2013
Monday, April 22, 2013
Jecheon Weekend
After a tremendous barbecue and house party on Friday, the plan was to go to Jecheon for their Cherry Blossom festival. Jecheon is in Chungcheonbuk-do, which is the only 도 in Korea without access to the sea. The mountains give it its own beauty however. I think the last time I visited a specific area in Chungcheonbuk-do was back in 2010, when I saw the beautiful Songnisan Beopjusa (and apparently never blogged about it so here is a picture of younger [and skinnier?] Mark).
It was time to make another visit. Cameron organized the trip, but HS ended up helping with a lot. Particularly, he helped reserve our pension, which was kind of in the middle of nowhere. This would have been grand, if it hadn't been so far from the lake and festival. Nevertheless, we spent the afternoon wandering in the nearby mountains. That included meeting a very creepy older Korean guy who told us that it was too dark and we should turn back in a voice that was completely devoid of tone and emotion. Glad we made it back to Seoul.
After Margaret fell in a stream (ㅋㅋㅋ), the ungentlemen abandoned her to go wandering through the woods. There, we found an outdoor toilet that actually was pretty well made and had been freshly used, but where were the people? A lot of abandoned construction projects in this area...
Dinner was the good to try once 오리백숙, which is a soup made from the entire carcass of a duck. Unlike a lot of Korean food, it was very bland but I was assured this is because it is so healthy. While the soup may have been healthy, I'm sure the amounts of soju we drank were not... oops.
In the morning, we headed to the festival. I only got one picture, which is actually quite beautiful. The cherry blossoms were bustling and gusts of wind would cause them to fall to the earth like so many snowflakes. Really quite beautiful. If you look at the picture, however, you may notice the downside of a beautiful festival.
Yes, just like everything in Korea this festival (not even a well known one) was quite packed. What should have been a half an hour drive from Jecheon to the lake ended up being closer to two hours. We got to the festival and practically immediately had to turn around so we could catch our bus in Jecheon. But there weren't any buses coming by! So, of course, we had to hitchhike. Surprisingly, all nine of us were picked up (by three different cars). Although it was kind of a bummer at the festival, Saturday evening and Sunday morning as well as hitchhiking with strangers made the trip memorable.
Next time I go to Chungcheonbuk-do, though, I'm going to try to stay a bit longer. And hopefully see Guinsa temple!
It was time to make another visit. Cameron organized the trip, but HS ended up helping with a lot. Particularly, he helped reserve our pension, which was kind of in the middle of nowhere. This would have been grand, if it hadn't been so far from the lake and festival. Nevertheless, we spent the afternoon wandering in the nearby mountains. That included meeting a very creepy older Korean guy who told us that it was too dark and we should turn back in a voice that was completely devoid of tone and emotion. Glad we made it back to Seoul.
 |
| Trains! |
Dinner was the good to try once 오리백숙, which is a soup made from the entire carcass of a duck. Unlike a lot of Korean food, it was very bland but I was assured this is because it is so healthy. While the soup may have been healthy, I'm sure the amounts of soju we drank were not... oops.
In the morning, we headed to the festival. I only got one picture, which is actually quite beautiful. The cherry blossoms were bustling and gusts of wind would cause them to fall to the earth like so many snowflakes. Really quite beautiful. If you look at the picture, however, you may notice the downside of a beautiful festival.
Next time I go to Chungcheonbuk-do, though, I'm going to try to stay a bit longer. And hopefully see Guinsa temple!
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Spring Update
First period was cancelled today, so I thought I would take these extra few minutes to share a few pictures of life in Korea lately. I have taken 114 pictures on my camera since I talked about our trip to Muiido. Sure, some a lot of them are food. But I thought I'd share some with my few readers.
I don't talk about school very often (because my job is boring) but I really liked this activity. I got the idea from my friend Allan way back in 2009. I color coded cups with celebrities placed on them. Using ordinal numbers, students made an apartment building by stacking cups. It was a reading comprehension game and pretty fun. Since they were color-coded, I could check to see if students made the correct apartment building pretty easily.
I've been attending Korean classes again in the Jongno area. This means every Wednesday I am downtown so I pack my dinner and at next to the Cheonggyecheon for lunch. My class is in the Mirae Asset building, which has a pretty fantastic view.
St. Patrick's day was a bit of a blast (though also a tad to much to drink on my end). The festival started in Sindorim, where I met up with a bunch of friends to drink and chat while listening to Irish music. The weather was glorious. In the evening, we went to Itaewon to my favorite 이모집 (auntie's house) for dinner. Our group had picked up some random Korean girls in Sindorim, and we spent the evening playing Korean drinking games and practicing speaking A LOT!
The next day, I met up with Megha and Cameron for a photo shoot. Megha is doing some sort of project, but nothing has surfaced. We'll see if it ever does... We got some awesome pumpkin porridge, and for second dinner I met up with my boyfriend, HS, for rice with tons of 반찬 (side dishes). And I mean TONS! For six dollars, we got 28 dishes. Yum.
Speaking of HS, he is pretty awesome. Our relationship is pretty serious, though we aren't certain what the future brings. It looks like I'll be heading to San Diego for graduate school in September. For now, we are just enjoying the relationship as much as we can. That included going to the Tim Burton museum last Friday, despite it being incredibly busy.
Our trivia league ended in March. Our team got second place! First place would have included an interview in 10 Magazine, but second place was pretty awesome as well. Mag was a bit sad about second place, but at least we finished with integrity.
I've also been trying to exercise lately. My knees have been bugging me (I need new shoes!) so instead of running I've gone on long walks and taken awkward selcas (selfies). Like this one:
My two walking partners are probably C and HS. C and I explored the Seongshin University area the other day followed by a delicious meal of duck. I'm going to miss duck...
On the 13th, we celebrated Julie and Sanghun's birthdays. Dinner in Sinsa followed by clubbing in Itaewon. The following week, Stacy had returned to visit, so we went out in Sinchon and Hongdae. A lot of partying, but less drinking. I'm aiming for a flat stomach this summer!
Last Sunday, I had the chance to see the exhibition at Culture Station 84. This museum was constructed within the old Seoul station. The exhibit was free, and focused on random collections: barbies, toys, coca cola cans, etc. Luckily, I went on the 14th, because I think it closed this past Monday.
That took longer than my extra forty minutes this morning. 헐. This weekend I am planning to go to Jecheon. It will be nice to get out of Seoul (and away from North Korea's saber rattling?).
St. Patrick's day was a bit of a blast (though also a tad to much to drink on my end). The festival started in Sindorim, where I met up with a bunch of friends to drink and chat while listening to Irish music. The weather was glorious. In the evening, we went to Itaewon to my favorite 이모집 (auntie's house) for dinner. Our group had picked up some random Korean girls in Sindorim, and we spent the evening playing Korean drinking games and practicing speaking A LOT!
The next day, I met up with Megha and Cameron for a photo shoot. Megha is doing some sort of project, but nothing has surfaced. We'll see if it ever does... We got some awesome pumpkin porridge, and for second dinner I met up with my boyfriend, HS, for rice with tons of 반찬 (side dishes). And I mean TONS! For six dollars, we got 28 dishes. Yum.
Speaking of HS, he is pretty awesome. Our relationship is pretty serious, though we aren't certain what the future brings. It looks like I'll be heading to San Diego for graduate school in September. For now, we are just enjoying the relationship as much as we can. That included going to the Tim Burton museum last Friday, despite it being incredibly busy.
Our trivia league ended in March. Our team got second place! First place would have included an interview in 10 Magazine, but second place was pretty awesome as well. Mag was a bit sad about second place, but at least we finished with integrity.
I've also been trying to exercise lately. My knees have been bugging me (I need new shoes!) so instead of running I've gone on long walks and taken awkward selcas (selfies). Like this one:
On the 13th, we celebrated Julie and Sanghun's birthdays. Dinner in Sinsa followed by clubbing in Itaewon. The following week, Stacy had returned to visit, so we went out in Sinchon and Hongdae. A lot of partying, but less drinking. I'm aiming for a flat stomach this summer!
Last Sunday, I had the chance to see the exhibition at Culture Station 84. This museum was constructed within the old Seoul station. The exhibit was free, and focused on random collections: barbies, toys, coca cola cans, etc. Luckily, I went on the 14th, because I think it closed this past Monday.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)