So this weekend, we finally made our way to Seoul. Two hours and 10,200 won (less than $10) later, we arrived with nothing but our backpacks and adventurous spirits. Fortunately, Rachel, our Korean friend from Glee Club, came with us and helped us find the subway station, put money on the metro card, and get on the right line to our hostel. I highly doubt we could've done it without her. She's a gem. Our hostel was located in Hongdae, the entertainment neighborhood in the Mapo-gu district of northwest Seoul. Mapo-gu is home to quite a few universities, including Ewha Women's University (where my grandma attended), so the area was super lively and filled with young people.
Our accommodation was a little apartment owned by the sweet Mr. Moon. He greeted us with open arms and a warm smile. The place was well-furnished, in a convenient location, and able to accommodate all of 7 us in one room. We couldn't have asked for anything better. We spent a couple hours walking around, window-shopping and people watching. And that night, we got our dancing fix at a local hip-hop club and had our fill of late-night street food. Although we discovered that Koreans don't really dance (just perform choreographed hand motions to every song), we had a fantastic time fist-pumping to the music and drawing unnecessary attention to ourselves.
The next morning, we woke-up and had burgers for brunch. Now, we may be enjoying our time in Korea but sometimes, comfort food is all you need. Then, we hopped on the subway to visit Dongdaemun Design Plaza & Park. It's a large urban development project, which was intended to be completed in 2010 to coincide with Seoul's designation as the Design Capital of the World. Although it's still under construction, it was still an impressive sight and I hope I'll have the opportunity to see the finished product in the future.
After that, we walked several blocks to Cheonggyecheon, a lovely recreational space in downtown Seoul, where both locals and tourists like to unwind. It was amazing to witness this calm, flowing stream amidst Seoul's massive, urban skyscrapers. This was definitely my favorite part of the trip. While dipping my feet in the cool water and soaking in my surroundings, I completely lost track of where I was. After 3 stressful weeks at Jungwon, my trip to Seoul turned out to be an incredibly renewing experience.
In conclusion, Seoul is awesome. There's so much more I want to see, especially the Five Grand Palaces. Luckily, the entire Fulbright crew will be heading to Seoul in 3 weeks, as a final hurrah before we go our separate ways. I am already counting down the days! Last but not least, here's a photo of us in the hostel. Mr. Moon keeps a Wall of Fame to remember his favorite guests. Obviously, we made the cut.
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