– my summer in seoul

Welcome to my blog!

I figured as I set this up for my future study abroad experiences, I’d share a bit about my last trip to South Korea. I participated in the Ewha Womans University EISC program, where I took a class on Korean art as well as a language course, for 4 weeks.

I’m so grateful that I was able to get the opportunity to get to know Seoul for a bit before my fall study abroad program, where I’ll be studying at Yonsei University. I know a bit of what to expect staying in South Korea as a foreigner, and it helped me feel more prepared to stay in the country for a semester later.

While I definitely experienced some culture shock, I had a blast over the summer! I visited various historical sites around Seoul as part of one of my classes, and spent way too much money in classic shopping neighborhoods like Hongdae, Apgujeong, Seongsu, and Myeongdong. I even took a day trip outside Seoul to Nami Island, right outside Gapyeong, where me and some friends ziplined onto the island in the middle of the river (and I conquered my fear of heights).

One of my favorite places to visit in Seoul has to be the National Museum of Korea. So much Korean history is held there, and it is honestly super educational if you don’t know much about Korean history. Before I left for the summer, I visited the newly-renovated Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., and found out that the oldest extant book printed with metal movable-type in the world was printed in Korea in the 14th century. When I visited the NMK for my art history class, I found a small portion of an exhibition on the first floor that was dedicated to the history of printing in Korea – but unfortunately, the Goryeo dynasty-era Jikji text is held in France rather than Korea. Still, it was interesting to see how Korea played a role in East Asian printing technologies, as often what I hear discussed are Chinese printing methods or Japanese woodblock prints.

Over the summer, I learned a bit about how to approach living abroad. Especially in a country like South Korea, a place which is either romanticized for its pop culture or antagonized for its treatment of foreigners and strict beauty standards, I made an effort not to lean too much into one assumption or the other. At first, I was in a bit of a honeymoon phase, but I really began to notice the isolation that naturally comes from being (and looking like) a foreigner. My biggest worry when I’m abroad this fall is feeling that isolation more, since I’ll be there for much longer.

But I think I began to approach that feeling by not catastrophizing about it, or making assumptions (‘everyone around me on this train hates me just for being here!’), and rather caring less about what strangers might think. I’m definitely someone who is very self-conscious, and studying abroad has forced me to confront that feeling and stop viewing myself in the 3rd person as much since it only caused added stress.

I also made some amazing friends, which made me feel a lot less isolated in the face of my mini-existential crisis! My best memories are of study cafes, after-class noraebangs, injeolmi bingsu sharing, and K-pop album purchasing, and I am so grateful for everyone I met while I was at Ewha.

I also got to see a K-pop concert while I was at Ewha – my first K-pop concert in Korea! ARTMS, one of the post-disbandment LOONA groups, was kicking off their world tour at Ewha’s Samsung Hall, so I got some relatively-last minute tickets and had an absolute blast! Korean concerts are very organized, and I was able to get merch and drop it off at my dorm before the show started. The venue was pretty small, so of course everyone sat down the whole show but people even shouted to have conversations with the members since it was so intimate. I ended up being 2 feet away from Choerry, and it was a really great setlist – I never learn the fanchants and ended up singing along to every song, but I don’t think I took away too much from the overall effect of the fanchants…

Anyways, that’s a recap of my summer in Seoul… nervous but looking forward to being back for the fall!