Wedding Day - The Play

June 9, 2011

The Introduction to Korean Theatre class worked hard on a play all semester and we were able to enjoy their production. It was super hilarious and a great way to wind down the semester! Good job to each and every one of the students involved in the play. You guys did great!

Friendship Fieldtrip

For the past few semesters the program allows us to gather a small group and go on a short trip together. The school allots a certain amount of money per person per group. This year's minimum requirement we had to have 3 Korean students + 3 International students and we could have a maximum of 10 in one group.

The only catch is that the trip has to be well thought out and not only a trip to the amusement park. We did not have to restrict ourselves to something purely cultural but we had to really plan it out and put thought into it. Then afterwards the Korean students will write a report up in Korean about their experience and the International students will do the same in English on their experience.

My suite mates and I planned to go on a trip together. In the end after a few line up changes we finally had our 9 people.

Saturday June 4, 2011

Our group consisted of my suite mates Hye Joo, Maiko & So Eun. Our other additions included Becca, Jeong Ho, Han Young, Ji Hee & Jun.

First we met up in Seoul and went straight to eat lunch at this really cool hand made wooden oven pizza place in Samcheongdong (삼청동). Samcheongdong is an area filled with traditional Korean houses and buildings that has been converted into a really neat ritzy district filled with art galleries, independent clothes/jewelry shops, cafes and restaurants.

The pizza place only has pizzas on the menu and a salad that is really delicious. It seems that vinegar based salad dressing is not too popular among a lot of Koreans that I know (maybe cause of the taste, it's not like what they are used to) but this place had a really nice vinegarette! Plus there were almonds and dried cranberries in the salad! It was also very cute because they provided you with paper and you can write a little message and post it up on their walls! This is a very popular concept in Korea either with little notes or pictures.

After we ate lunch we went to find our hanok (한옥) which is a Korean traditional styled home. At first we went to the wrong one and somehow managed to get into it. We realized there were people living there already so we checked with the company and realized ours was a bit further down. LOL, whoops.

Once we settled in we did a photo scavenger hunt around the area. Then we set off to a market to buy ingredients for our dinner that night. On the way we saw the CUTEST puppy and we walked along Cheonggyecheon for a bit.

This market was really neat. There are stores selling groceries, meat, souvenirs, junk food etc. and then in the middle aisles are tiny stands where you can buy food made right away. Almost like street food but in a more organized manner. BUT the area is still small and very limited. We ended up buying WAY more meat than needed. 5kgs to be exact...2.5kgs of samgyupsal (삼겹살) and 2.5 kgs of moksal (목살). It was very delicious though...

When we finally made it back to the hanok we had a Korean style barbeque!!! We had a great time just chatting, eating and hanging out =)

June 5, 2011

The next morning before going back to school we went back to Samcheongdong to hang out at one of the cafes. We settled on this one where they had cat themed figurines, drawings and such everywhere. Even their coasters were faces of a cat!

Some people ordered drinks, some patbingsoo - 팥빙수 (shaved us if you are Taiwanese) and I ordered an ice cream waffle (YUMMMMY). Everything was super delicious and the pricing was typical of any independent (or even some chained) coffee shops in Seoul.

Then it was time to head back to school! We went to Seoul Station (서울역) to take the Nooriro (누리로) back to SCH. BUT before we left Seoul we went to Smoothie King to kill time and I saw the cutest Korean kid sitting next to Maiko and I!

Isn't she the cutest thing??? I know in Canada I would not take pictures of random people's children but here it seems to be accepted...

SuWon HwaSeong Fortress (수원 화성)

Sunday May 29, 2011

On this beautiful and sunny Sunday afternoon Tim, Maggi, Sarah, Kristen and I decided to visit the HwaSeong (화성) Fortress in Suwon (수원). This is the only fortress-ed city that still exists in Korea. There's a small fee to visit the fortress for upkeep and maintenance. Where we entered there was no ticket booth, but as you continue to walk around the fortress the main gates have people that check and asked if you have a ticket. The fee is minimal I think it was 2000 won, but don't quote me on that.

The fortress is quite a walk from the Suwon train station. Either entrance is about a 20-30 minute walk away. If it's really sunny you should wear some sunblock because there are not too many shady areas around the fortress wall either. There are also many Korean traditional activities you can do at the fortress, like archery for example.

This place is definitely worth a trip! It's really beautiful and relaxing. Also a great place to take a date haha.

After going to HwaSeong fortress we went searching for a Subway (Eat Fresh!), but we were unable to locate it. Sarah suggested we have Outback Steakhouse and it was a wonderful idea for me because I really was craving beef. It's really expensive here in Korea so I don't eat it very often at all.

Outback is not outstanding but the steak I had that day tasted really good. AND with the ShinHan love card I got a 20% discount without even knowing it!!!

On our way our Kristen saw her Korea Husband T.O.P from Big Bang and we had to snap a few pictures, haha.

Spring Festival 24 - 25 - 26 Two Thousand & Eleven

** Mini delay in posts due to my trip to Thailand, I am back in Korea now =)**

May 24-26, 2011

Every Spring semester most universities around Korea hold a school spring festival. From what I have heard they mostly last 3 days and the school will shell out big bucks to invite famous Korean singers/groups to come and perform during the festival.

There are also performances from clubs from the school and talent contests that involve singing or dancing. During the day different majors set up booths around the school selling snacks or other things to try and raise money for their major. At night some of the majors will run a small bar like tent where they sell some food and alcohol.

This year the festival was called "Like A G6" and they sold t-shirts for 500-1000 won, which is 50cents - $1.

Yu & Akiko started decorating people's t-shirts and this one is for Olliver.

During this time the campus looks super busy and many people are walking around. The bigger universities will most likely get a lot of people who are not even from their school attending their festivals, especially if their guest stars are someone super famous that many people want to see.

The people above wearing red are selling pineapples (cut up on sticks) to raise money for their major.

The first night we had DJ DOC come and perform. They were great! I had a heard a lot of songs from them and didn't even realize it was them. Their stuff is really upbeat and they performed for a good hour, maybe even more.

I didn't actually get a chance to walk around on the first day through the stands so I did that on the second day. I purchased a few snack items Banana and Chocolate plus a pineapple because one of my suite mates was selling them for her major. They were delicious and were only $1. Can't go wrong with that.

The 2nd night Kristen and I also tried eating at one of the restaurants that are set up on the side of the road by an ajumma. During festival times other street vendors also line our streets with tents to sell street food and such to the students that are running around, most likely hungry.

On the 3rd night there was a singing competition on the main stage. It was kind of funny to observe because when someone was popular or talented students would rush towards the stage, but if they didn't find them appealing they would leave so the crowd size was always fluctuating.

Supreme Team performed at our school at the last night and they were the most popular group. When they arrived every started rushing towards the stage...I decided not to join the crowd this time around.

I tried to get a picture of a bunch of Korean students dressed up in animal pajamas swaying to the music but I was too far for that unfortunately and only for that blurry mess. Here is my friend Patty modelling one for us! Aren't they cute?!?!

Lastly even thought this was one day after the festival a b boy group just randomly started performing in front of the Unitopia building!!! They were really good I highly enjoyed their performance (or what I caught of it).