Kate in Korea -- Light Fellowship

This morning I took the subway to Mom and Dad's hotel, where I met up with them so we could go to the nearby Cheonggyecheon Stream. I have always loved the stream; it is full of interesting animals (from big fish to birds to turtles) and has murals on the walls in some portions. It was great weather to walk alongside the stream because it was cloudy and not too hot! At one point, we took a ramp from the stream up to the Dongdaemun Design Plaza. I showed Mom and Dad some of the sights I saw last time I was there like the AI booths and the pre-exhibition of the artist that I met. After the DDP, we walked along the stream for a while longer before stopping again at the Seoul City Wall Museum. We learned about the construction of the city wall, how it has been worn and torn down over time, and some of the restoration efforts. We also saw an exhibition about how people walk the entire length of the wall, sometimes students hoping to get good grades. We went to Ssada Gimbap for lunch, wh...

This morning I met up with Sandi, Sonia, and Adeline at Anguk Station and from there we walked over to Bukchon Hanok Village. It was very hot and very crowded, but the buildings themselves were beautiful. I loved seeing the different tilework on the different buildings, and really enjoyed the mountain views that we could see from the village. After walking around for a while in the heat, we were very tired and very dehydrated. We walked for about 20 minutes to Ikseondong and we went to Namdo Bunsik for a light lunch. We had black bean tteokbokki and gimbap (and a lot of water), before going to Cafe Langsom, a beautiful cafe in a hanok, for dessert. We shared a strawberry matcha montblanc, and for a drink I got a plum lemonade. The montblanc and the drink were both absolutely phenomenal! After Ikseondong, we went to Insadong nearby. We went into a few of the accessory stores that are so popular in Korea (they are huge stores with very cheap hair accessories and jewelry), and it was amaz...

After class this morning, I went to Greek Day for lunch and then headed to the Seoul Museum of Art. The museum's current collection was centered around architecture, and their primary exhibition was focused on Norman Foster. The exhibition featured a ton of incredible and highly detailed models of some of his buildings, and explained the thought that went into their design. The exhibition emphasized Foster's focus on sustainability, the maximization of use of a space, and integrating a building into its surroundings. I really enjoyed the exhibition and it was amazing seeing all of the unique buildings he has designed. There were a few other mini-exhibitions going on at SeMA that I went to, but the one I spent the most time at featured paintings with themes of urban life and its connections to the natural world. The exhibition featured a wide range of art styles, and I liked a lot of the paintings. After SeMA, I took the subway to Hanyang University, where I studied two summers ...

This morning after class I had a bad headache and was feeling really tired so I relaxed in my room, did some homework, and ate snacks for a while before going to the subway station. On the way, I ran into Aaron, one of the other members of my cohort from NSLI-Y. We talked briefly, and realized that there are a few other NSLI-Y people in Seoul this summer and that we should have a mini reunion. After talking with Aaron, I went to my old neighborhood, Songbukdong. Because I had stayed to talk to Aaron and there were issues with the subway, I didn't make it there in time to see an exhibition I wanted to see, so I went straight to Kimseonsaeng Gimbap, a restaurant I loved last time I was in Seoul. I had their bulgogi gimbap and it was amazing! I went on a walk around the neighborhood next and walked the route I used to take every morning and evening going to and coming back from the subway station. It was interesting to see how the neighborhood has changed; I noticed some new cafes and...

After class this morning I went to Greek Day and then did my laundry. I had a bunch of homework, so I worked on it while I did my laundry and for a while afterwards too. I also edited my article for YRIS because I found out today it is going to be published, and the editors made some suggestions that I had to implement. I went to dinner at Yeono Chobap again for their salmon and eel sushi, and stopped by a convenience store on the way back to the dorm for another Bibibik red cean ice cream popsicle.

After class this morning, I took the subway to Anguk, where I stopped at Cafe Knotted for a second time. This time, I tried the earl gray donut and it was just as delicious as the one I had last time! I then walked up to PKM Gallery, where I saw an exhibition by Yun Hyong-kun. To make his works, he applied diluted paint directly onto linen. The effect was a set of pieces that had lots of depth with overlapping colors (mostly browns and blacks), and to me looked like a view of a cell under a microscope. My next stop was the Kukje Gallery, which was featuring two exhibitions. The first was called “Fish and Chips” (as in microchips), and included lots of nautical imagery alongside digital imagery. My favorite piece in the exhibition was a flowerpot (containing various poisonous and hallucinogenic plants) designed to look like a massive financial building.  The second exhibition was a series of photographs of iconic buildings throughout the world, showcasing the blending of old and new...

After class this morning I quickly ate at Greek Day before talking to Mom and Dad. I have a vocabulary quiz tomorrow and a workbook section due on Wednesday, so I spent the afternoon studying and doing my homework while drinking a strawberry-yogurt smoothie from Gong Cha. In the evening, I went to Myeongdong Kyoja, a very popular restaurant in Myeongdong, where I ate kal-guksu, a delicious soup with noodles and dumplings.  I walked around Myeongdong for a while after dinner to see all of the lights and the street food. I love the energy of Myeongdong at night when everything is lit up, although it was very crowded with tourists. For a dessert I got myself some red bean taiyaki (a flakey cake imprinted with the shape of a fish).

This morning, I slept in before talking to Mom, Dad, and Grandy for a while. I ate some ramen in my room next and did some homework and reading for the rest of the afternoon before getting xiaolongbao at Mr. Seowang Mandu. On the way back to my dorm, I bought Bibibik, a red bean ice cream popsicle, for the first time, and it was delicious! At my dorm, I showered, read some more, watched some TV, and went to bed.

This morning, I met up with Sandi, Sonia, and Adeline at Jamsil Station and together we walked to Lotte World, a massive theme park (mostly indoor, but partially outdoors) that is extremely famous in Korea. I have never been to a true amusement park before with actually scary rides, so I was a bit nervous but excited to step out of my comfort zone.  When we first walked in, I was really surprised by just how big it was. I had seen pictures, but the area is so much bigger in person. At the same time, it was incredible how all of the rides fit into the space given how many there are and how much room they all take up individually. I was also surprised by the lack of tourists. I would say 95% of the people there were actual Korean people and not foreigners, which is a testament to what I have heard that Lotte World is truly a shared cultural experience among Korean people that almost everyone in Seoul has been to. It turns out I stepped out of my comfort zone almost immediately upon a...