South Korea in 2018; Through my Eyes

     2018 for me was a very significant year. I was in my final year in highschool and my sister who I was and still am very close to, got accepted as an exchange student (교환 학생: Gyo-Hwan Hak-Saeng) to Kyungpook National University in Daegu. I was very anxious about being so far from her for almost a whole year and soon after her departure in February of 2018, I was very dejected. Fast forward to a few months later, in the month of May, my father informed us to pack our bags for travel. It was only by mid-May did I find out that we would be traveling to South Korea! I was beyond ecstatic! 

  2018 in South Korea was quite a hectic time as well. Earlier in the year, the country had its first talk with North Korea in a decade, at the Joint Security Area* (JSA) regarding sending its athletes to South Korea, as it hosted the Winter Olympics for that year, in Pyeongchang. Later that year, the South Korean local and by-election also took place. These are just some of the many important events that happened in 2018 in South Korea.

 

The Joint Security Area, viewed from South Korea

My parents and I departed from India at approximately 1:20 AM (IST*¹). Our journey included a break at Hong Kong for about an hour or two, before taking another flight to Incheon International Airport, Seoul. We reached Incheon at around 7:00 PM IST (10:30 PM KST*²). Upon arrival, it was pouring heavily, but nevertheless I was delighted to be in a new country, especially in the one that I adore a lot.

A very tired yet excited, my 15 year-old self with my mother upon arrival

     Despite arriving in Seoul, Korea, our journey still had to go on…just a little more, until we arrived at Daegu, through the speedy KTX trains*³. It was very late by the time we arrived at Daegu and as soon as we checked into our service apartment, we slept our fatigue away. The neighborhood we resided in in Daegu is known as Suseong-gu.

 

Outside our residence

DAY 1

We learned about our surroundings and important means of transportation through buses and taxis. All means of public transport follow a schedule and the drivers are very welcoming and helping. To avail the public transport at ease, you can purchase a travel card, which you can recharge with ease by yourself and use it for the subway or bus travel.

The first that we visited was Kyungpook National University. The campus was extremely vast yet very aesthetic. It provided the perfect recreational atmosphere if and when the students feel the need to refresh themselves.

Outside the main administration building, KNU

  We also got permission to take a look in the dormitories provided by the university, the one where my sister resided. The university provides 8 different dormitories which can accommodate about 4,598 students, both national and international, undergraduate and postgraduate. This specific dormitory building is called “Cheomseong-Gwan”, which has double occupancy rooms and houses female and male undergraduates, postgraduates and international students. It is the biggest on-campus dormitory, which can accommodate about 1,362 students.

DAY 2

It is a piece of cake to get familiar with one’s surroundings and travel in Korea. That day, we decided to hangout downtown, which is located along Daehak-ro (-ro means road) and in Sangyeok-dong, Buk-gu. The streets were bustling with life, with street-buskers almost here and there and everywhere! 

A glimpse of downtown, Daegu

A delicacy that you should try when visiting Korea:

 BINGSU*⁴!! It does NOT disappoint and definitely EXCEEDS your expectations!

Although, of course, it is recommended to eat when it is summer or spring:)

After this yummy snack, we headed to DEBEC, which is short for ‘Daegu BaekHwaJeom’ / 대구백화점 (BaekHwaJeom meaning department store). These stores are very convenient and have everything that is necessary with affordable costs.

DAY 3 & 4

Day 3 included more shopping from downtown because one day is never enough for shopping😉.

On day 4, we took an actual train to Busan! Not a KTX train, but a type of train called MuGungHwa trains. They get their name from the national flower of South Korea and are the slowest type of intercity trains, but we still reached Busan in a quick hour and 30 minutes!

 

 A stop at a town, Sangdong, by train

   After the journey, we checked in a guesthouse and went about on a small tour of Busan city through the subway. Around the underground subway station, there are a lot of underground flea markets where you can buy a lot of things ranging from clothes and accessories to unofficial k-pop and k-drama merchandise!

Through the subway, we ended up at Gunam-ro, a street from where the Haeundae beach was just a stone’s throw away. The sunset from the beach was utterly mesmerizing that all of us forgot to take any pictures.😭 

At the time we visited Busan, the ‘2018 Haeundae Sand Festival’ was happening and there were a lot of flowers and beautiful sand sculptures around!

 

At the Sand Festival

DAY 5

The day began with breakfast at a Korean multinational bakery chain, Paris Baguette, which is also recommended by me if you are fond of fresh bread! We then headed to the bus tours called ‘Busan city loop tours’ where 4 different buses, differentiated by color, red, blue, green and orange, go to different destinations, in a loop. The people who enroll for the tours get a wristband and can hop off any bus at any stop, enjoy the spot and hop in the bus and change between the buses when they will. This was an extremely fun experience, where we could roam and enjoy the city and its beauty at our own pace. With the assistance of these tour buses, we visited many sites such as going around Haeundae Beach, the United Nations Peace Park, Oryukdo and many more places, their names I unfortunately can not recall.😔 

 

 A view of the sea from Oryukdo

       

A stone monument at Oryukdo

A view of the Gwangan Bridge or the Diamond bridge from the Haeundae beach, which connects Haeundae to Suyeong.

At Oryukdo, you can go on the ‘Oryukdo Skywalk’, which also has glass/see-through floors to view the sea underneath them and enjoy the breeze. The skywalk opened in 2013 with the theme “walking over the sky” as it is also a dividing point between the East Sea and the South Sea.

The United Nations Peace Park is a large memorial with a very peaceful setting, dedicated to all the soldiers, Korean and international, who lost their lives in the Korean war that happened in the mid-twentieth century. The park includes huge gardens, sculptures and speakers through which calming music plays and immensely enhances the peaceful surrounding. I wish I knew HACD and meditation then, I would’ve loved to try it then.😥

 

View of the United Nations Peace Park

After this, we visited the Shinsegae Department Store for lunch (if you ask me, it was like a really big and fancy mall), which is one of the biggest department stores in Korea, alongside Lotte Department Store and Hyundai Department Store. We visited Pizza Hut and the Line Friends Store, where I met someone with the same name as my own (Guess who).

                     

  

With Line Friends’ Brown & Sally

DAY 6, 7 & 8

Now we finally returned back to Daegu, which started to feel a lot like home! This also indicated that our journey is nearing an end too, so we began packing up to return back to India. 

The next day, we headed to Daiso, a store founded and head-quartered in Japan, but is just as known in Korea too. It is mainly known for having house appliances and kitchenware. Also, yes, kitchenware and stationery items did and still does pique my interest a lot.

On our last day, I split up with my family to visit the Daegu Shinsegae.

CONCLUSION

As a person who stepped out of their country for the first time, this experience was utterly pleasant and blissful to me. I am so grateful to my family for giving me an opportunity as such and also making a dream of mine come true. 

Visiting South Korea and being able to live there, even if it was for a short period of time, made me fall more in love with the place and grow a desire to know more about it. Another fact that I love about Korea is that each city has a slogan, which encourages its citizens to contribute accordingly to the city and also brings out a special aura which is unique to the different cities. Some examples are: 

● Daegu: Proud Daegu

● Busan: Dynamic Busan

● Seoul: I.SEOUL.U

● Incheon: all ways Incheon

and so on, for the many cities in South Korea. 

 

Busan was indeed as dynamic like a dynamite✨

Thanks to this trip, I could also live my dream of eating ramen, burgers and pizzas for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the seven to eight days we were in Korea.

Thanks to this trip, I now yearn to visit Korea once again and the next time I do, I wish to make more memories, meet more people and the mentors and teachers I met through HACD and carry all these precious memories till the end of the line.

“To you, and you to me, open up a new future”

 -Seventeen’s _WORLD

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*It is the only region in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) where North and South Koreans can stand face-to-face. It is located to the south of village Panmunjom (판문점)

*¹Indian Standard Time

*²Korean Standard Time

*³ KTX are Korean bullet trains

*⁴ is a milk-based Korean shaved ice dessert with sweet toppings that may include fruits, condensed milk and syrups. 

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References and Sources:

1. 2018 in South Korea https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_in_South_Korea

2. Kyungpook National University; in-campus housing https://en.knu.ac.kr/campus/service03.htm

3. Busan City Loop Tours https://www.citytourbusan.com:40647/en2/02course/01.php

4. Oryukdo Skywalk Information https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/svc/whereToGo/locIntrdn/locIntrdnList.do?vcontsId=73894&menuSn=351

5. United Nations Peace Park Information https://www.safarway.com/en/property/un-peace-park

6. City slogan https://joshphilipross.com/korean-city-slogans/