Hello to week 2 in Korea! I have been having a blast so keep reading to learn all about it :)
Friday, June 30th, I went to Jeonju with some of my friends to wear Hanbok, traditional Korean clothes. We left right after class and went to the bus station to buy our tickets. Managed to buy them just fine and then texted a picture of the ticket to our Korean friends and they noticed that the ticket was to the wrong place π. We had chosen Cheongju instead of Jeonju so that was a funny little mistake we had to correct quickly, but we did arrive successfully. Jeonju is famous for the Hanboks and the old traditional town you can walk around in. The Hanboks were sooo pretty and I picked this lovely purple one because it is my favorite color. We did a lot of exploring for good photo spots and went to the famous temple there to get traditional photos as well. One of the Korean friend's mom came and she took so many pictures of us, I was so grateful π
After many many photos (which you can see on my Instagram @grace.straughn.travels), we headed to dinner for Bibimbap, rice mixed with assorted toppings, which is a famous food in Jeonju. We then headed to the downtown area for cheese coin bread (a definite recommendation) and Bingsu, milk shaved ice. Lastly, we returned back to Gwangju after a wonderful eveningπ
The next day I had a chill day with my roommate. She studies intensely throughout the week so on the weekends she likes to relax. I joined her on Saturday and only left to meet my language partner so go to a historical exhibit about Gwangju called 5.18. On May 18th, 1980, the Gwangju citizens stood up against the Korean military to fight for democracy and the movement started from the Chonnam National University campus, where I currently attend. It was great to learn more about the history here and after I went to a nice cafe with a view of Gwangju. I then returned back to my dorm not to move again that eveningπ Just kidding, I went to a nearby restaurant for some Galkuksu with my roommate.
Sunday, I went downtown with another group of friends to visit K-pop street, a street dedicated to all the stars who came from Gwangju. The biggest celebrity is J-hope from BTS so I was able to see a lot of nice art dedicated to him.
We then had a nice lunch and then went to the Asia Culture Center (ACC) which had a very beautiful exhibit taking place. Later that evening, I had dinner with my roommate which was, of course, very delicious.
Monday, after class, I went to study at a nice cafe after lunch and got some good studying in. I then went back to the restaurant I went to for my birthday for a different person's birthday dinner. It was again, fabulous, and we had dessert after and went to karaoke. There seems to be a repetition of going to karaoke on Mondays π
Wednesday's class was a bit better and after I went to a salmon specialty restaurant that had the prettiest dishes. The food was just as yummy as well (and not expensive). I then had Bingsu for after-lunch dessert (I love Bingsu, America needs Bingsu) and went shopping around a little before dinner since I didn't have much homework.
Thursday was so much fun! After class, I went to a baking class with my language partner! The class was in all Korean so it was a bit hard to understand but following along and seeing what the teacher was doing, with some translations from my language partner, I was able to follow along just fine. I enjoyed the class so much and the dessert I made was so delicious! It was called Gaesong Juak, a traditional Korean dessert that is like a chewy donut coated in a cinnamony glaze. Then, for dinner, I had some of the best cream pasta I've eaten in my life. A cream truffle pasta.
On Friday, I had my first cultural class which was Taekwondo! I have done Muay Thai in the past so it was really fun to do some more martial arts. The teacher even asked who had done martial arts experience in the past so I had to raise my hand and he teased me a couple times throughout class about it π Since I was so excited, I put maybe too much energy into it so my legs got a bit sore haha. But nonetheless, I went downtown again with my friends for a fun-filled night. We went for a quick stop at the ACC again, had good pizza for dinner, went to an amazing bakery, went to a super cheap but cool bookstore, then finally to an observatory to see Gwangju at night. It was very beautiful but a little tiring since we had to walk up a large hill.
But the tiredness didn't stop there! On Saturday I went to Yeosu with my roommate to meet up with her friend. Yeosu is an ocean city so I was able to see a lot of beautiful views. We arrive at Yeosu and first go to eat lunch and meet up with my roommate's friend. Our original lunch spot was really packed so we decided to head to another restaurant. So we pulled out our handy dandy maps and started to head on our way. Little did we know! The maps decided to take us on a hike! We had to climb uphill for what seemed like forever, retrace our steps cause we missed our path, and then head down steep rocky steps to descend to our destination π° It was okay though because the lunch was totally worth it. It was local crab with lots of side dishes and it was sooo good. After lunch, we all headed to a cafe with an ocean view and talked for a good many hours. It was then time to go to the cable cars that went over the ocean and gave a spectacular view of Yeosu. Next, we headed to dinner and explored the area around the dinner place. The restaurant is quite famous but we were still able to find a seat because we went early. And let. me. tell. you. That was some good food. A Yeosu specialty, which was meat seafood, and veggies all thrown in a pot a cooked. Absolutely amazing. Then to finish it off, we threw in rice and made fried rice. Stunning. 10 out of 10. Highly recommend if you ever happen to go to Yeosu, South Korea. Lastly, we stopped to get corn-flavored ice cream in a bubble waffle cone. This too was super delicious! Japan and Korea have amazing soft serve, America needs to step up their game. My roommate then hopped on the bus back and got a good night's rest.
Sunday turned into another chill day since my legs were so tired from Taekwondo and hiking :) I did my laundry, had lunch using Korean delivery service (it was here is 15 minutes), and then wrote this blog. I am planning on studying some later and then eating dinner.
That concludes this week's blog post. I feel like I have already been here for a month because of all the amazing things I've done so far but it's only been two weeks! Stay tuned for next week π
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