Seoul Trip – June 14-17 – The World of Tomorrow
The Flight (June 13-15)
I finished my preparations, and left for SFO with my mom to leave the country late on Wednesday, June 13th. We arrived, I made it to my terminal, and got on my flight at midnight on June 14th. I sat next to a really nice man and his daughter during the 13-hour flight to Incheon Airport near Seoul. Between multiple naps, talking with my seatmate, drinking my first three glasses of wine (outside church), playing my Switch, and eagerly anticipating landing, I landed in Incheon having entirely skipped Thursday. Thanks to the 13-hour flight and 16 hour time-zone change forward, it’s like Thursday never happened for me.
Whoa. Where’d Thursday Go? I skipped a day, so this is quite literally the world of tomorrow…
Initial Exploration (June 15)
At the god-forsaken hour of 5 AM, I exited the plane and looked around the airport to figure out how to get to my hostel. Since I was in Korea, this task was much harder than in America. Eventually, I figured out the bus I needed to get near my hostel, rode it, and on that ride was totally glued to the scenery out the window. My first thoughts of Korea were how beautiful it is.
I listen carefully for my bus stop, Sungkyunkwon University, and depart from the bus. I made my way to the hostel, but it was locked until 9 AM. So, I walked to the nearby Starbucks, luggage and all, and attempted to order a drink. I nervously stood there, my first interaction with a non-English speaking Korean, and tried to figure out how to get an Iced Matcha Latte with light ice. Eventually the barista simply handed me the menu, which has some English in addition to Korean. Thus, I pointed at the green tea latte, said iced, and said less ice. The barista seemed confused at first, but he figured out by my traveler’s pantomime to display less ice visually and made my drink.
Oh my god, I did it!
I smile, hand him my credit card, and pay. Apparently, Starbucks is seen as a luxury brand and status symbol in Korea, so the latte was around $6.50 when it would cost me $4.25 in the states. I didn’t mind, since whether it was the jetlag or simply great quality, that was the best matcha latte I’d ever had. I stayed at Starbucks until the hostel opened, made my way over, and dropped off my luggage.
My check-in time was later in the afternoon, but they offered to watch my luggage so I could look around for a while before then. So, I walked in the area around the hostel and got a feeling for my surroundings. I tried a delicious pastry shop and had a vanilla-cream-filled roll. Next, I walked over to Sungkyunkwon University, and on the way stopped to play Ocarina in a garden.
I reached the campus, and I looked around the international building to try and find other English speakers. I parked myself in a Foreign Language Only class room, meaning people should be speaking languages other than Korean. Turns out they had a test in music history to study for, so I left feeling a bit embarrassed. I dawdled around the campus a bit longer, then made my way to the hostel for my real check in.
On the way over, I stopped at a convenience store to get some house-warming gifts for my hostel mates. I grabbed two huge bottles of Soju (Korean Rice Wine), chips, and juice for everybody to share, made my way over, set up my room, and started talking to my housemates. There were people from all over, from a bunch of Germans, some Colombians, several Scandinavians, a few other Americans, an Israeli guy (sleeping in the bed under mine in the bunk), a Russian, a Mexican, a Malaysian, and more. In fact, one of the receptionists is from the South Bay in California as well, just a couple towns over, which was a cool coincidence.
I went out and explored some more, then came back to the harsh realization that I’ve been more or less awake sine Wednesday and have only had a few naps since then. I vowed not to sleep until later, however, so it was a tough afternoon back at the hostel. I grabbed ice cream with a Swede and a Russian and relaxed at the hostel for a while. I talked to various people and got to know them better.
That night, I myself drank my first Soju in the Korea. I had one beer-sized bottle at 21% alcohol content, and as an inexperienced drinker, I took it slow and carefully. It tasted a lot better than airplane wine and went down surprisingly smoothly despite the high alcohol content. I ended up slightly drunk, and after talking and eating snacks with hostel mates, went to McDonald’s with Alejandro, the aforementioned Mexican. I ordered a Bulgogi Burger (the best McDonald’s dish I’ve ever had) as well as nuggets and fries to share.
We went back up, hung out some more, and I dozed on the couch for 20 minutes before finally getting to bed at 11 PM. All in all, it was an amazing day. I truly got the most out of it, since I was awake for so long, took full advantage of meeting my hostel mates, and trying the local customs. Korea has an insane drinking culture, and while I am underage in America, I am of-age here. I decided to partake here in the safety of my hostel, and boy, it’s fun – I seem to have decently high tolerance and know when to stop (speaking from a few days and more alcohol later).
In addition to the hostel, the food, and the liquor, I immediately fell in love with Seoul. It’s such a beautiful city with so much character, and time flew by while I was simply walking the streets to take in as many of the sights as I could near my hostel. I immediately wished I had more time to spend here after arriving.
Palaces, Wandering, and Clubbing (June 16)
I woke up at 5:30 AM, which is great considering my jet lag, rested in bed until 6:30, then went to a gym across from the nearby Starbucks. It was a $20 one-day entry fee, which while outrageous, I still spent so I could get some good exercise in. I went hard and worked my whole body, stretched well afterwards, grabbed some food on the way back, and got ready for the day in the hostel.
This time, instead of going all around the hostel, I picked one direction and walked. I ended up looking at two palaces about 7 minutes away while simultaneously participating in the Pokemon: GO community day to catch a bunch of Larvitars. While looking at these gorgeous palaces, I avidly checked my phone for the event. Don’t worry, I did appreciate the palaces immensely and spent several hours walking around and sitting in the awe of their majestic grandeur. I took many pictures, seen below.
Upon deciding I’d spent enough time with the royal buildings, I once again picked a direction and walked. I had some inexpensive and delicious milk tea, had a delicious Tonkatsu (Japanese fried pork cutlet) sandwich from a convenient store, and grabbed a (much weaker than last night) bottle of Soju for myself. I ended up walking around in a circular zig-zag pattern, rotating to head back toward the hostel but going out of my way to look at anything interesting along the way or to play some music on the streets with my Ocarina.
My whole adventure out began around 9:30 AM, and I returned to the hostel around 5:30 PM. At the hostel, I met a new roommate from Germany, and we went out for Korean Fried Chicken at a place with no foreigners inside. It was delicious, and despite accidentally ordering 2 plates of wings when we meant to split one, we had a great time and enjoyed the food. We brought the leftovers back to share, and then a bunch of people prepared to visit a club that night. I had never been before, so I decided to join in.
We took the subway, then a taxi, and we ended up in an area with nothing but bars, pubs, clubs, and 24 hour snacks. We all remained in one general area, but as an energetic lad, I checked out an outdoor dance floor instead of spending money to enter a club. However, it was pretty much just a way to club cheaply and outdoors. I danced for hours, participating in multiple dance battles, dancing with other groups of people, and generally having a great time. I did, however, twist my ankle, which was not ideal for the sheer amount of walking this trip requires.
We ended up returning around 4:30 AM, and that day ended up being a lot of firsts for me!
- First minor injury in a foreign country (it’ll heal quickly)
- First time experiencing night life… at all
- First international dance battle
- First time taking a Subway and Taxi in Korea
Despite the lateness and ending up being awake for 24 hours straight, this was a fantastic day!
The Lost Day (June 17)
I woke up 2.5 hours after sleeping and two things went through my head: OUCH, my foot, and Why aren’t I sleepy?
I struggled my way out of bed, had some food in the hostel and then rested while my ankle recovered. I wrote most of this post then, and once I was able to walk I showered and took a short stroll away from the hostel. I had more convenience store food and drank milk tea at Gong Cha, which also has locations near me so I could compare. Again, Korea was better.
I returned to the hostel and took a nap at 4:30 PM. I woke up the next morning at 5:30 AM. Looks like I recovered from my previous sleep deprivation!
My entire Korea trip is to go with the flow and see what happens, and so far, that’s been the best travel decision I’ve ever made. I’ve been open to doing a lot since I don’t have a strict schedule, so I’ve seen and done so much more than I thought I would in just 3 days. I did nearly no research on Korea, so exploring without an agenda and following people’s recommendations has made everything a wonderful surprise. One week here isn’t enough!
My Social Media
Twitch
I took all these pictures for once
Andy Cormier 