1. Start your visa process as soon as you confirm your exchange to Korea. If I didn’t, I would have found out too late in the process that I was a Korean citizen. Because of my citizenship, I had to undergo a separate and longer process for a Korean passport at the Korean embassy as opposed to a student visa.
2. Download the following apps: a. Papago – Simply take a picture of Korean you want to translate (e.g., a page of the menu at a restaurant) and Papago will translate for you immediately. b. KakaoTalk – This is the standard messaging app of Korea. From group projects in school to making appointments at businesses, you will need KakaoTalk in order to communicate with others. c. Naver Maps – Between Naver and Kakao, the former has a better map application. Naver Maps seems to be more accurate, updated, and comprehensive with business information. Naver Maps will also tell you the fastest combination of transportation to get to a destination. If you’re in a rush to get somewhere, the app will also tell you which platform to get on at the subway so that you get off right by the exit. d. Kakao Taxi – This app is the Korean version of Uber. You simply put in your destination address, confirm your pickup location, and wait for the app to coordinate a taxi driver to pick you up. Although most foreign cards don’t work as a payment method with Kakao Taxi, you can choose the option to pay the driver in cash after the ride is completed. e. Wise – You may have to wire transfer money from your bank account to pay for rent or a business service. This app is an easy way to do so by using daily currency conversion rates. 3. Prepare a credit card (or two) with no international fees. Do your research on cards that have no international transaction fees. Almost all credit card companies should work in Korea; I brought my Discover card, which surprisingly worked at establishments nine out of ten times. In the rare case Discover wasn’t accepted by the card reader, I used my Visa debit card, which had a small international transaction fee. If I could turn back time, I would have applied for another Visa or American Express credit card with no fees. 4. Bring a couple hundred dollars in cash to exchange into won after you arrive. Although you should be able to use your card for payment in most restaurants and retailers, a few places, such as underground shopping malls, markets, and street food stalls, only accept cash. If you ever run out of USD to exchange, you can always draw cash from an ATM. For my Discover card, I had to go to an ATM in Myeongdong to get cash because the biggest bank ATMs (such as Shinhan and Woori) in my area did not accept Discover. 5. Think about what you value for your living accommodation. If you value convenience, book an accommodation as close as possible to your school or the subway station to minimize walking. If you value meeting new people, book an accommodation catered toward international/exchange students and contains shared spaces where you can meet new people. I booked my accommodation on goshipages.com, which provides listings for goshiwons, which are buildings catered toward students seeking to save money and have small single rooms that contain just enough space for a bed, desk, closet, and sometimes a bathroom. I booked my goshiwon late and there was only rooms without private bathrooms left, but I was okay with it because I valued the goshiwon’s emphasis on international students. I wanted to meet as many new people as possible and expand my perspectives! 6. When taking public transportation, keep in mind the following: a. Get a T-money card. Instead of constantly buying the single-use cards, you can use a reusable card at any GS25 or Seven Eleven. You can reload the cards at the convenience stores or at the subway station. b. All subways and buses have free Wi-fi! If you have a limited data plan on your SIM card, take advantage of it. c. Subway cars have seats designated for the pregnant and elderly. Even if the subway cars are full, Koreans still won’t sit in these seats. d. Try to minimize conversations. Korean people usually will just go on their phones or read a book while riding the subway. 7. Be adventurous! Don’t simply stick to the area near your home school. Seoul is an exciting and incredibly large city; each province within Seoul has its own identity and charm. You can try unique regional foods and go to various attractions. Even better, go beyond the borders of Seoul and take the train to another city. Here are some suggestions: a. In Seoul i. Seongsu-dong: This is the new “hip” area for young adults, known for trendy and aesthetic cafes and restaurants. ii. Hongdae: For a long time, this area named after Hongik University has been popular amongst college students. Hongdae is one of the best areas for clothing shopping. There’s also great dining and attractions (e.g., cat cafes) here. iii. Myeongdong: Despite being known to cater toward tourists, Myeongdong has a famous street for food stalls and shopping. This is a must-visit during the Christmas season, when the streets are beautifully lit and decorated! iv. Apgujeong: This is also a trending area known for cafes and restaurants! As an area near Gangnam, Apgujeong establishments are a bit higher scale. v. Itaewon: This area is home to much of the foreigner population of Korea. Itaewon has delicious food, particularly foreign food made by people from the region. You can try authentic Indian, Mexican, Japanese, Chinese, Moroccan, and Nigerian food at Itaewon! vi. Euljiro: Once again, this is another trending area known as “Hipjiro” amongst young adults. This is perhaps the area most known for their food on this list. Because the restaurants here are so famous, waiting lists for dinner, especially on the weekends, can be hours long. If you want to avoid the line, go for lunch on a weekday or eat an early dinner. My most memorable meals were here; I regret not coming here more. b. Outside Seoul i. Jeju Island: Visiting Jeju was like visiting Hawaii. The beaches and blue waters are reminiscent of Hawaii. The people are incredibly kind and the food (especially the fresh seafood) is amazing as well! ii. Busan: Located near the sea, Busan is a beautiful Southern city with flavorful food. Eat milmyeon and daeji-gukbap (pork rice soup), ride the cable car over the sea, and visit the colorful Gamseon Culture Village! iii. Jeonju: Jeonju has a traditional charm. Rent a hanbok and walk around the Hanok Village. I could spend a whole day in the village just by shopping, sightseeing, and eating regional food, like the renowned Jeonju bibimbap. iv. Yeosu: Yeosu is the southernmost city of Korea. There’s an ample amount of beautiful nature and attractions to see and delicious food to try. 8. Learn basic Korean phrases. Although Korea is generally an English-friendly country (e.g., the subway system is translated in English), knowing Korean is respectful and helpful. It’s true that many Korean people learn English in high school, but don’t assume everyone will understand English. At the most basic level, at least know yes/no, greetings, “thank you,” and numbers/counters. Korean people are generally very happy to hear foreigners attempting to speak in Korean and will respond very favorably (and compliment you)! Perhaps one of the most useful phrases is “Eolmaeyo? (How much is it?)” because you can point to anything (e.g., a menu item, a product in a store, a food item at the market) and simply ask “How much is it?” Many Koreans will recognize that you are not proficient in Korean and respond by entering the price on a calculator and showing you or writing down the price for you. 9. When you reach the end of your exchange and it’s time to think about how you will get to the airport with two heavy suitcases, simply turn to Trazy. This website sells reasonably priced packages for taxis that are big enough to carry your suitcases. You simply select the size of the car you need, input a pickup address, and schedule the date and time of your pickup. You must schedule the ride at least a few days in advance. Do NOT use Kakao Taxi to go the airport. The taxi drivers will not be happy to see your luggage, nor will your things fit in their car. 10. Pack light! I heard this piece of advice so many times, but I didn’t listen because I kept thinking “But what if I need it?” and packed too many clothes. My two suitcases were nearly full going to Korea. This became my biggest regret because I had way too many clothes by the end of my exchange. I also couldn’t fit my souvenirs and gifts for family and friends. I ended up going to the post office and sending not one, but two boxes back home. Ideally, bring only basic/essential clothing (as opposed to trendy clothing) and leave one of your suitcases nearly empty so that you have enough room to fit all your purchases when you return home. a.If you MUST send a box home, you have the choice of either shipping through the Korean post office (which has locations scattered everywhere throughout Seoul) or packing a box at the airport (as another piece of luggage) when it’s time to return home. I went to the post office located inside Korea University, my school, with a bag full of my stuff and simply packed my box at the post office, which provides boxes and shipping materials for free. However, it was quite pricey. Shipping with my airline would have been less convenient but much cheaper. It’s ultimately up to you on what you want to do.
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I love Seoul, but I wanted to explore other areas that Korea had to offer. Consequently, I found myself waking up at the early hours of 5am to catch the bus to Jeonju, the capital of the North Jeolla Province. Why a day trip to Jeonju? I had heard from many international friends that Jeonju was a great place to visit, but only for a day. They stayed at Jeonju for a few nights but had ran out of things to do by the second day. We heard that we could spend an entire day at the Jeonju Hanok Village, which is the primary attraction of Jeonju. My friends and I met at the bus station and took a 3-hour bus ride from Seoul to Jeonju. We got to Jeonju around 9am and immediately took a taxi to the Hanok Village to eat our first meal: Jeonju bibimbap. Perhaps the most famous bibimbap in Korea, Jeonju bibimbap is made of 30 ingredients which work together in perfect harmony (read more about Jeonju bibimbap here!) This was definitely the best bibimbap I've ever had in my life. After our delicious first meal, we walked around the beautiful Jeonju Hanok Village for a few hours. The village was bustling with children and couples wearing beautiful matching hanboks that they had rented from nearby shops. For dessert, we visited two places. First, we went to a cafe selling chapssaltteok, or Korean rice cakes made of glutinous rice, which are much chewier in texture than regular rice cakes. We all ordered rice cakes with a strawberry and red bean filling. The strawberries were incredibly fresh and sweet and balanced well with the thin, chewy rice cake wrapper. Next, we visited a cafe selling bingsu, or Korean shaved ice. We opted for an orange and grapefruit bingsu, which was perfectly refreshing after all the walking we did around the village. After our two-part dessert run, we tried out the various attractions in the village. We came across a section in the village dedicated to the zodiac, the tiger; the tiger statues were adorable (and huggable) and the perfect photo op. Our favorite village attraction was the traditional Korean game event, which gave us the opportunity to try outdoor games like jegichagi, in which you have to keep a paper jegi aloft in the air with your feet, and ddakji, the game made famous by Squid Game! We were definitely the worst players amongst everyone at the event, but we focused on having fun instead of getting embarrassed. After walking around the village, my friends wanted to visit some famous shooting locations for the popular Korean drama, Twenty-five Twenty-one. In particular, they wanted to see the Hanbyukgul Tunnel and the Crossing Guesthouse. They were a bit disappointed to see that the shooting locations looked quite different from the drama, especially the guesthouse, which no longer had its vibrant red color and green vines on the stone walls. However, we all agreed the experience of seeing such iconic landmarks in real life was ultimately pretty cool in the end! To end our Jeonju excursion, we went to the famous Nambu market, which had a popular sundae gukbap (blood sausage soup with rice) shop. The broth was deep and flavorful and became the perfect way to relieve the tiredness we felt from walking the entire day. After our dinner, we finally went back to the bus station to head back home to Seoul. Needless to say, all of us knocked out on the 3-hour bus ride.
Overall, Jeonju is one of my favorite areas of Korea. With so much tradition being alive in Jeonju, the area had a unique charm that I couldn't see in much of Seoul. I definitely recommend coming to Jeonju for one or two days! Two months have passed since I have been in Korea, and I would like to say that I got to do a decent amount of exploring! The following is where I've been around so far: Hongdae As I have mentioned previously on this blog, Hongdae is a renowned spot for university students who are looking to shop, eat, or just do something fun. Hongdae is my go-to spot for shopping for trendy clothes or just hanging out with friends because there's so much to do. You can go to a cat cafe (and a meerkat cafe), watch buskers and street performers, get your hair and nails done, or grab delicious food and drinks with friends. Insadong Insadong is a fun place known for traditional goods. The main shopping street is lined with shops that sell traditional Korean clothing, snacks, cutlery, and trinkets. It's always difficult to leave Insadong without buying some interesting souvenirs for friends back home! Euljiro Often nicknamed "Hip-jiro," Euljiro is a trending district in Korea amongst young people. Famous Korean Youtubers frequent the area to review Euljiro's trending food spots. Consequently, restaurants are always busy and have long waiting lists. In fact, a friend and I saw that a famous restaurant had a waiting list of 90 guests--on a Thursday night! As critical as I am of fads and trends, I have to admit that Euljiro is probably one of my favorite spots in Korea. I love the atmosphere and young energy of the area, and the food I had there was amongst one of the best I've had yet. I-Park Mall I feel that everyone should experience a Korean department store, and I-Park Mall is a great place to have that experience. There's a lot of fun shopping to do if you're a fan of Studio Ghibli, Marvel, Legos, anime, K-pop, and more. My friends and I also did some winter clothing shopping here at Daiso and Topten. After shopping, there's plenty of good eats scattered around the mall. Gwangjang Market Perhaps the most famous of Korean markets is Gwangjang Market, which is renowned for delicious street food. If you haven't had Korean street food (like tteokbokki, mandoo, sundae, mayak-kimbap, etc.) I think they're worth a try, but I truly believe that the most important dish you should get here is the yukhoe, or beef tartare. The yukhoe I had at Gwangjang was one of the best foods I've had in Korea so far. Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) Seoul Fashion Week returned at Dongdaemun Design Plaza for the F/W season. I went with a few friends to watch the shows of Korean designers and take some pictures. Even outside of SFW, DDP is still a place I recommend visiting because it has such cool architecture, which would make for some cool photos. My first Korean weddingI have been fortunate to be in Korea at the time of my cousin's wedding. I've only been able to see Korean weddings on television or on social media, but my perception of Korean weddings was that they were high-scale, beautiful, and costly events. They are usually done in special wedding facilities and they are also known for being quite short in duration. As I had expected, the wedding was beautiful. It was also the most straight-to-the-point wedding I have ever been to. The ceremony did not exceed an hour; after the guests ate dinner at the buffet provided by the wedding hall, everyone went home. This was a huge contrast to American weddings, which typically run much longer and include more extra elements such as speeches and performances. Once again, I was able to experience another cultural difference. Midterms = MidThe last couple of weeks of October mark midterm season in Korean universities. I had midterms for all but one of my classes; the class that didn't have a midterm assigned a group project instead. During this time, I noticed a few things. Libraries and cafes are crowded--you must go early to get a seat. I also found it difficult to hang out with friends during this time because they were preoccupied with studying for exams. I feel that there's a huge connotation between Korean students and studying obsessively, but there's a reason for it. In Korean institutions, doing well on exams is important because final course grades weigh exams quite heavily. This has its pros and cons, but I do find such a system a bit stressful. Good luck to everyone! Chuseok, the Korean version of Thanksgiving, was September 9-11 for the 2022 year. I've frequently heard about Chuseok, but this year would mark my first time experiencing Chuseok in Korea. Interestingly enough, I was able to celebrate my first Chuseok with both my mother and father, who were still in Korea at the time. From Korea University, I took a 1.5-hour subway trip to Dongducheon and found myself at the familiar house of my aunt once again. I arrived at a quite hectic time--understandably so, because my aunt had to prepare food for fifteen people, including all three of my mother's siblings and their families. I was surprised to hear that this would be the first Chuseok in a long time where the entirety of my mother's side would be gathering together to celebrate the holiday; this was made possible due to the rare presence of my parents in Korea. Our family members did a quick service before we began to eat. There was an impressive amount of food, including Chuseok classics such as galbi-jjim (steamed beef short ribs), japchae (glass noodles), LA galbi, bulgogi, wanja-jeon (meat and tofu patties), and various banchan. My father's side used to all be in Hawaii but are now spread out across the world; therefore, I haven't been able to eat with so many extended family members in a long time. I was incredibly thankful to catch up with everyone over a delicious meal full of homemade delicacies. I went to Jeju IslandWhen the owner of my goshiwon announced that he was organizing a trip to Jeju Island, I immediately signed up for the opportunity. Going to Jeju Island was one of my top goals for my exchange in South Korea. A whopping total of twenty members of my goshiwon also signed up for the three-day, two-night trip! I really loved Jeju. There's so much to see and do and the people there are very kind and welcoming. I almost felt like I was back home; the weather was hot, the beaches were (nearly) as beautiful as Hawaii's, the air felt cleaner and fresher, and, bonus, my resort was called Blue Hawaii. It was almost comforting to see the familiar sight of surfers at the beach. The goshiwon owner, who we call Uncle, is basically a Jeju expert. He visited Jeju countless times and has various connections throughout the island, so he took us only to the best, "non-touristy" places. We were super thankful to Uncle for making our experience special. Of course, this trip couldn't be truly interesting without a challenge, right? In the midst of my streak of having an incredible time at Jeju, I experienced a great misfortune. I broke my phone. I dropped my phone in such a manner that my screen completely shattered and I could only see the top bar of my screen when I unlocked it. Although there were third-party repair shops in Jeju, I couldn't get my phone fixed during the trip because apparently, U.S iPhone parts were different from Korean iPhone parts; I had to get my phone fixed at the Apple store. With my phone getting broken smack in the middle of my trip, I missed out on taking pictures of a significant part of my trip at Jeju. I'm still quite saddened by this, but I was able to have the interesting experience of not using a phone for nearly two days--needless to say, it was a learning experience, and I held up surprisingly well.
My parents actually went to Jeju two weeks before me, so my mother gave me a long list of recommendations of places to visit and food to eat. With my mother's recommendations, my experience, and Uncle's recommendations, I compiled a master list of recommendations and tips for the best trip in Jeju!
On August 25, the Korea University Buddy Assistants (KUBA) held its orientation for exchange students. KUBA pairs exchange students with regular students from the school and organizes events for students to meet peers and learn about the school and Korean culture. The day was filled with logistical presentations, a campus tour, and mingling with fellow exchange students. A week later, the business school had its own orientation, organized by the KUBS buddies. I like KUBA, but I really appreciate having a buddy group within the business school because I'm able to meet people who may be in my class or have similar professional interests. For some reason, KU starts the semester on Thursday (9/1), in the middle of the week. Also, just like how Shidler doesn't have classes on Monday, KUBS doesn't hold classes on Friday; students going out on Thursday night to start a 3-day weekend is a common occurrence. Now that I have gone through a week and a half of classes, I have a few overall impressions:
The Shocking Weather & Typhoon HinnamnoorWeather has consistently been an issue since my arrival in Korea. The first issue: Korea is hotter than Hawaii. Yeah, crazy. In Hawaii, I'm usually able to wear a thin cardigan over my outfits without much issue due to the cool breeze of the ocean. Here, I can barely wear two layers of clothing because it's dreadfully hot. The trees stay perfectly still because there's absolutely no wind whatsoever. The sun just shines mercilessly on everything. Exacerbating the issue is the crazy humidity of this country, so your body is basically just constantly steaming inside your clothes. The funny thing is, I feel like it's just me. I seriously don't think Korean people don't sweat. I'm the only one drenched, huffing and panting; meanwhile, everyone else is peacefully carrying on with their day (while wearing jackets)! KOREA TIP: Please buy or bring a handheld fan for the sake of your sanity. After steaming in the sun every time I stepped foot outside for two weeks, the weather did a 180-switch out of nowhere. Rain just kept pouring for a week straight. I usually don't like rain too much, but I welcomed the change with open arms because the rain made the air cooler for once. I noticed that many of my friends were using the cheap convenience store umbrellas, which kept breaking after a couple of uses. I suggest to invest in or bring a high-quality umbrella, because you'll be using it quite frequently--rain just falls out of nowhere sometimes. Speaking of rain, Korea almost got devastated by a typhoon. Prior to my arrival in Korea, some parts of Seoul had experienced extremely heavy showers to the point where serious flooding occurred. Unfortunately, at least nine people had passed during the flooding. Ever since, I had become quite wary about Korean weather; consequently, I was a bit unsurprised to hear that a typhoon, called Typhoon Hinnamnor, was en route to hit the south edge of Korea. Every time I checked the news for updates, experts had predicted that the typhoon would bring severe damage as a Category 5 super typhoon. Thankfully, the typhoon went a bit off the projected route, and southern regions like Busan and Jeju had only experienced heavy rain. Anam: No Shortage of Things to DoAnam is SO underrated. Let's just say it. Most individuals interested in studying abroad in Korea are looking to study at one school: Yonsei University. I was also such an individual. Yonsei was my first choice, and I felt a ping of disappointment when I got Korea University as my exchange school. Yonsei is near a very famous area called Hongdae (short for Hongik University), which is renowned for being a popular hub for college students in Korea to go shopping and engage in the lively nightlife. At Shidler, not many people talk about Korea University. In fact, they talk about Ewha Women's University or even Seoul National University more. And one of the few things I've heard about KU before is that the school is on the "outskirts" of Seoul. This. Is. False!!! The phrase "outskirts of Seoul" doesn't even make sense because KU is still very much in Seoul. It's only a few subway stops away from famous areas like Itaewon, Myeongdong, and Dongdaemun. Hongdae isn't that far either. You can get there by subway in about an hour, which really isn't that long. Anam (the province where KU is located) itself is a great area. I was pleasantly surprised with the vast amount of shopping and eating I could do here. Sometimes, I actually prefer spending time at Anam because of the unique, homely vibes the city brings. I've compiled a working list of things to do in Anam, in case you, the reader, ever get to study here at KU! The moral of the story is, if you have an open mindset, you will quickly discover that everything is much better than it seems! I'm grateful that I was accepted to KU, and I'm still excited to explore more of Anam and the things it has to offer for KU students.
On Wednesday, August 17, at 7:00pm, I finally landed in South Korea with my mother, who is visiting for a month. The nine-hour flight was gruesomely long; throughout the plane ride, I managed to take a thirty-minute nap, read a whopping two pages of the book I brought (because I was too embarrassed to turn on the reading light, which no one else was using), and win Poker three times (a 100% winning rate!) on the plane's entertainment system. The airport staff first checked our Q-code, which is Korea's COVID-19 protocol system. Although many restrictions (such as the vaccine requirement) have been lifted, COVID-19 is becoming increasingly rampant in Korea again. All individuals arriving in Korea are required to upload a negative COVID-19 test result from 1-2 days before departure and a COVID-19 test result no more than 24 hours after arrival. We were able to get through the airport much quicker than those who did not create a Q-code. After getting our passports checked and picking up our luggage, we met a few members of my mother's side of the family outside the airport. The car ride from Incheon to Dongducheon, their hometown, was nearly two hours long. Catching up with my family in Korea after so long felt like a dream. Because my Korean improved drastically since the last time I visited, I was actually able to converse a bit with them this time. We ordered jokbal (pig's feet) for delivery and then called it a night. For our first item of business for our first official day in Korea, we had to eat! My uncle recommended a budaejjigae restaurant, which immediately resonated with me and my mother. Budaejjigae literally translates into army base stew, which is a spicy stew with ham, sausage, spam, bacon, noodles, and assorted vegetables. My first mouthful of the stew had me ascending to heaven. The broth had a clean, refreshing, and deep taste that is incomparable to any budaejjigae I've had in Hawaii. KOREA FACT: Many restaurants in Korea specialize in only one dish. Therefore, it's common to see restaurants named after the dish it specializes in (e.g., Dongducheon Budaejjigae). Out of curiosity, I looked at the menu and dropped my mouth in shock. Each order of budaejjigae, which serves 2-3 people, was only 9,000 won, which is roughly $7 USD. This means that for our party of five, our two orders of budaejjigae only came out to about $14. In Hawaii, this meal would have easily cost over $30. The theme of me getting surprised at the low cost of living in Korea will be common throughout this blog. The resident number fiascoThe most pressing matter of the day after lunch was getting my COVID-19 test in order to upload a result to my Q-code. My mother already got hers done at the airport's foreigner service for 80,000 won; apparently, I could get the test done for free at a local clinic because I came in as a Korean national. When we arrived at the clinic, the workers took a look at my Korean passport and asked for my resident number, which was missing from the passport. Usually, Korean passports have a resident number (refer to the image below). The clinic refused to give me the COVID-19 test until I provided the number. My mother and I were confused because (1) we didn't know that I needed a resident number to get a COVID-19 test and (2) we didn't know what my resident number was in the first place. We recalled writing it down on one of the forms at the Korean embassy, but all that information was with the embassy and not provided to us. At this point, the Korean embassy in Honolulu was already closed. This is when the panic started to kick in--especially for my mother, who kept bringing up that if we didn't get the test by the 24-hour mark of our arrival in Korea, we would get fined ten million won (~$7,500 USD). There was only a handful of hours left before the 24-hour mark. The clinic workers noticed our panic and suggested we go to a nearby family record center, where the staff could easily look up our family records in the system and provide us with my resident number. We drove to the center in a hurry and explained our situation. To our horror, the worker told us that when she looked up our family record, the box for my resident number was blank. The worker was just as confused as we were and explained that it was the first time she saw such a case and there was nothing she could do. I called my father, who was in Hawaii, to ask him to look for my resident number in my files but he said there was absolutely nothing at home. Grim images of my bank account with $7,500 less started to appear in my head. However, I tried my best to remain calm and look for a solution. I went to the Korean embassy website for Hawaii and found a 24-hour hotline for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Consular Call Center. My mother called the hotline and explained the situation again. After a 20-minute back-and-forth, the operator ultimately said, "I am very sorry, we have never come across this situation before. There is nothing else we can do to help you." I felt my sanity on the verge of crumbling at this point, but I had to keep trying. I found another number for emergencies on the embassy website and thought, if this doesn't work out, I truly don't know what to do next. To my relief, we finally received a viable explanation and solution through this emergency number. The individual on the phone explained that I didn't have a resident number because I was in the process of renouncing my Korean citizenship, which will be finalized in a year. To account for this, the embassy had given us an official signed document that explained my situation. All we had to do was show the document to the clinic, and I would be able to take the COVID-19 test without a resident number. Thankfully, I had brought this document with me on the trip. We rushed to the clinic with the document and everything worked out--I was able to get my COVID-19 test. This was certainly an experience that I don't want to go through again. For one, I felt incredibly stressed that I could have paid such a hefty fine. I was also just angry at the circumstances because there was no way I could have known that I was required to provide my nonexistent resident number to get a COVID-19 test that was required of me by law on my first day in Korea. However, it's been such a long time since I was in such a high-stakes situation, and I realized once again that the best course of action during such stressful experiences is to resist the urge to go into panic-mode, take a deep breath, and logically think of the next viable solution, even if the previous methods have failed to work. If you think that things will always work out, your thoughts truly become reality. Eating with Gusto, every. single. time.After going to Korea a few times in my life, I've realized that the highlight of my trips has become centered around one thing: food. Of course, this time is no different. The deliciousness of the food here is elevated even more when I look at the forgiving prices. I've been fortunate to have my relatives suggest matjip (맛집) for me and my mother to try around Dongducheon and other nearby cities like Pocheon and Uijeongbu. Every single recommendation has been successful. I'd like to think that the food in these places outside of Seoul are even better than the restaurants inside Seoul. While eating here in Korea, I've noticed a couple of interesting things. Here's a few of my findings:
Perhaps my most favorite thing that I've noticed about eating in Korea is the many ways for describing food, especially textures. I've been trying to learn ways to describe food in Korean, and I didn't realize there was so much terms. Back in my anthropology class that I took in my freshman year, I remember learning that language largely reflects what is important in a culture; I realized the truth of this because for Korean people, food is clearly an important aspect of Korean culture. Here are some of my favorite phrases:
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