This is the continuation of my Seoul Experience Winter 2018
DAY 8 and 9 (27-28 Dec)
I stayed another day in while Lee Kall and Cheow Yin went to school for the first day of orientation.
There, I discovered Korea’s instant food. I made some porridge for myself and spent the rest of the day resting. The instant food is so convenient.
DAY 10 (29 Dec)
On this day, I decided that I had had enough of resting and wanted to head out to explore. I was done wasting my time in bed.
The school has planned two programmes for us throughout our 2 weeks stay.
The first was a BIBAP Non-verbal Comedy show which was hilarious. We were all thoroughly entertained by the performance that was put up. I can’t take videos nor pictures in there so here is a trailer.
We strolled around the area and tried some toast at one of the coffee shops which looked amazing.
On our way back, we also saw what seems like a protest going on while on the bus.
Unfortunately, we could not read Korean. That was definitely not a sight that we will see in Singapore.
DAY 11 (30 Dec)
Ever-Land was really fun. Although it took a few hours to get there. We spent so much time sleeping on the trains and buses, making sure we were getting off at the right stops.
It was a mess but so much fun.
Christmas decorations were still put up as they welcome the guests into the theme park.
It was too cold to play the rides.
Some were not open. E.g. the famous wooden roller coaster. What a pity.
We walked around the park and took photos. There was a parade going on for the little ones. After seeing a candy shop, I had to buy some gummies too.
There was a mini zoo whereby a bus takes you around to see the wildlife. But the narrative is in Korean though so you’ll have to settle for the tour without an explanation.
It was incredible seeing the Lion up close in person. What a majestic creature! They also taught the bears to do tricks such as walking on two legs. Which I was feeling a bit sad since I have no idea how they are trained. Although, I have to say that the tricks they did are pretty amazing.
I do hope to visit another time when the weather is much better.
DAY 12 (31 Dec)
New Year’s Eve! Today was pretty cool.
In the evening, we headed to the Hanyang International Winter School 2018 Year End Party and ended the year getting to know new friends.
There were performances, games, music. But it all ended at 11pm.
Since it ended earlier than expected, a bunch of us decided to head towards COEX for the actual countdown and see the fireworks.
We were just on time and ushered in the new year one hour ahead of Singapore.
DAY 13 (1 Jan)
HAPPY NEW YEAR’S DAY
It had been fun and great New Year’s Day thus far. We decided to make an impromptu visit to Chinatown for Jjajangmyeon (Blackbean Noodle). It was a long trip but well worth it. Always nice to see Chinatown from another country’s perspective.
There was landmark nearby, the Fairytale Village in Songwol-Dong, in Incheon. The place was so vibrant and you get to see all the murals of your famous fairytale characters.
Everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) in the village has been transformed. Even the lamp post transformed into trees and blended right in.
We continued walking around the area and went to a cafe to rest and avoid the cold.
We got some bubbletea because Singaporeans love their bubbletea.
Unfortunately, they were not like the ones found in Singapore.
Apparently, bubble tea is not a huge thing in Korea. Their bubble tea style is very different.
DAY 14 (2 Jan)
We went to school in the morning. Waking up early as usual to catch the train to Hanyang.
Today in class, Prof Eric let us watch a movie about MacDonald’s and then proceeded to treat us all Mac for lunch. What a nice prof!
After class, we went to Common Ground, the famous blue containers with our new friends.
To be frank, I was a bit disappointed because I expected there to be so much more.
There were little shops inside the containers which are pretty cute. I got a room spray from Dressingroom there. It smells SO good.
Dinner was at Sindang-dong Tteokbokki. There are a bunch of Tteokbokki stores here for you to choose from.
The food here was so good.
They added all of the ingredients into a big pot and let it cook. Once it was boiling, we took everything out and started eating.
Tip: If there are any leftovers, you can request for a bowl of rice and stir fry the ingredients into fried rice. So you would not waste anything!
DAY 15 (3 Jan)
School was as per usual.
How the Cafeteria is like. Hanyang’s cafeteria is very different compared to the ones in Singapore. Over there, each canteen has a fixed number of stores that are open. Each store has one dish.
There are about 3 to 4 stores. Everyone would queue up outside the cafeteria to pay for the meal ticket, before heading to the store to redeem their food.
Today, I got Curry Chicken with some waffle fries and kimchi as side dishes.
That night, we were all craving for western food. So we decided to walk over to Dongdaemun, which was about 30 minutes walk to try out Shake Shack.
I ordered a hotdog with cheese fries and a milkshake. I would say that it is overhyped. Although, the milkshake was really good. Cheese fries were quite addictive.
I will give it 3.5/5.
It was worth it though since we had been craving for this since Everland and it was warm inside the restaurant.
While we were walking back, we went past the History and Culture Park which had a lot of gorgeous lightings.
It was supposedly another photo-stop but it was too dark for good quality photos.
We went shopping along the way back, going into the store we wanted to go on our way here.
We also went to this “mask” shop that sells masks on huge discounts. I even got some Market O brownies. I could not buy too much though since I had limited spending power (having gone to the hospital).
DAY 16 (4 Jan)
School was as per usual in the morning.
At the Cafeteria, I had Chicken cutelet rice with some sides
Today, we decided to go to MyeongDong after school. Finally a visit here on Day 16. I was supposed to come here earlier but I was sick in bed.
We decided on James Cheese Back Ribs for dinner.
The place was pretty hard to find though since it was situated on the level 2 or 3 and you need to climb stairs in between the shops to access it. So do find the map of the place. Otherwise, finding it blindly will be a headache.
The food at James Cheese doesn’t just look good, they taste good too. Absolutely mouth-watering.
Then again, anything with cheese is good!
Towards the end, you can add some kimchi fried rice and share it. It is just nice for us 3.
Look them even made the egg into the shape of a heart!
Second Week in Korea was much better as I slowly explored more of Korea. I welcome all the delicacies and tried so many new foods which were so yummy!
Ushering the new year overseas was the first for me and I’m glad to be surrounded by new and “old” friends!
Do come back to catch the final part of my Korea adventure! Comment down below what is a must-try food when you go to Korea!
