New Eyeglasses from NamdaemunSomething that I have been really looking forward to are getting new eyeglasses. South Korea is one of the best places to shop for new specs! Here’s why:
I ended up paying 100,000 KRW (~ $90) for glasses and got them the same day; back home, I would have paid ~$300 and waited for two weeks! I am happy to finally ditch my Juicy Couture frames from 8th grade, finally! A to Z's of South Korean Alien Registration CardEveryone who stays in Korea for more than 90 days MUST apply for an Alien Registration Card. If you have a D-2, MULTIPLE-ENTRY visa and want to travel within the 90 days of arriving in Korea, you should wait to apply until after you return. Once you apply for the card, you cannot leave the country for approximately three weeks (while they process your application). I decided to apply for the card at the Southern Immigration Office instead of doing it at Yonsei since the lines here are too long and all students must to the Office anyway to scan their fingerprints. Here are the application components:
The components with an “*” can be created/filled out at the Immigration Office. If you do not have access to a printer or photo booth, just show up 45 minutes in advance with Passport, Certificate of Residence, Certificate of Enrollment, and 30,000 KRW (33,000 KRW if you want your card mailed to you). For the application, you can fill it out online and print that, or fill it out there. If you do it online, use “03722 서울특별시 서대문구 연세로 50 연세대학교” for your address if you dorm at SK Global (must be in hangul). In-person, the attendant in the office will help you fill out your form. First things first, click HERE to schedule an appointment. Do this ASAP as all temporary residents in Korea need to do the same, so spots fill up FAST! Here’s how to get to the Seoul Southern Immigration Office from SK Global Dorms: Take Bus 601 from Ewha Woman’s U. Back Gate (across from Coffee Bean) to Yeongdeungpo Water Purification Center → from there, take Bus 571 to Mokdong 8 Danji → get off there and walk up the street to the park → take a left onto the crosswalk → keep walking straight → the Immigration Office will be on the corner of the next intersection on your left. Once you arrive to the Immigration Office:
The process itself should take 20-40 minutes depending on if you have all your components upon arrival. ARC usually takes three weeks to process. In the meantime, DO NOT leave the country. If you have any questions, email [email protected] for help. Best of luck, friends! Best of Bites #4Hotteok Stand in Namdaemun Market - Since I spoke of Namdaemun Market this week, here’s a bite that CANNOT be missed when you visit - the hotteok stand in front of Gate 2. Hotteok is a glutinous, fried pancake traditionally filled with sugar and nuts. The unique one to try is japchae hotteok (1,000 KRW), japchae is glass noodle stir fry. You won’t miss the loooooong line. . . average wait is 20 minutes. Absolutely worth it!!! MamMam Table in Sinchon -
Being away from home for so long, I constantly crave gourmet Vietnamese food. Luckily, there are a ton of Viet restaurants in Seoul; although not all are made equal. At MamMam table, they only serve four dishes. . . and they do so excellently. I recommend the Bun Chanh Chua (spicy noodle soup with seafood and mushroom) - plenty of noodles, seafood, and mushrooms all in a spicy and tangy broth for 8,000won. Total comfort food close to Yonsei!
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At the end of the third week and for half of the fourth week of school, we were treated to a long six-day break for Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving). Although the actual day itself is on Monday, Sept. 24th, our classes were cancelled from Friday, Sept. 21 to Wednesday, Sept. 26. My friends and I decided to make the most of our break by taking a trip to Jeju Island, going to a theme park, and eating ~ fancy ~ beef. Jeju-do: We departed Seoul on Thursday night (Sept. 20) after classes. From the dorms, I decided to take the 601 bus straight to Gimpo Airport since the stop is right outside the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. You can also take the Line 2 metro from Sinchon Station → transfer at Hongik University Station to the Gimpo Airport Express. Either way, the trip should take about 40 min to one hour from Sinchon. Tips:
Once we arrived in Jeju, we immediately boarded a bus to go to the southern city of Seogwipo. The bus ride was only ~ 3,000 KRW and lasted an hour and a half. We decided to spend two days in Seogwipo and two days in Jeju City. Unfortunately, there was heavy rain pour in Seogwipo for a day and a half, so we did not get to do all the nature-related activities that we planned. Here are suggested places that we did visit: Seogwipo-si:
We also went to several cafes and they were wonderful. The prices were 4,000 - 6,000 KRW and better quality for the price than the places I went to in Seoul, so I highly recommend finding some cafes you like on MangoPlate and TripAdvisor. Next, we took the same bus back to Jeju City. We ended up doing a lot more in Jeju City because the weather cleared up. Here are my suggestions: Jeju-si:
My favorite part of the trip to Jeju were the wonderful accommodations we stayed at. Keri and I ended up scoring a boutique hostel/hotel in Seogwipo that had free coffee, a study lounge, and a pool table; as well as, a ritzy high-end hotel in Jeju City overlooking a Korean palace! Both were booked through Booking.com and costed us ~ 50,000 per room. Each room had two beds so the guys had their own room and us girls had our own, too. Accommodations: Seogwipo: Hotel Gaon J Stay - free coffee, pool table, foosball table, close to Food Street Jeju City: Hotel Robero - fancy hotel, sauna/spa downstairs, overlooking a Korean palace EverlandWe decided to go to Everland on Tuesday, Sept. 25, and we mistakenly thought that the park would not be crowded since Chuseok is traditionally celebrated with families gathering together in their hometowns - we were very wrong. The park was packed with people and we ended up not being able to ride the largest wooden roller coaster they had! Despite that, Everland is still one of my favorite theme parks ever! There is really something for everyone - rides, parades, food festivals, flower gardens, Halloween zombie fair (seasonal). It combined the thrills of Six Flags with the whimsicality of Disneyland. We got tickets for 28,500 KRW on Klook.com and had to take two buses to get there. The buses were crowded and we had to stand for majority of the two-hour ride. The parks allow food and drinks to be brought it, so if you want to save money, bring a reusable bottle and some snacks. The park was so big and so crowded that it was not worth it for us to stand in two-hour lines, but my friends and I did most of the rides and activities. My favorite thing to see was the electric parade of beautiful floats lit up by thousands of lights and dozens of dancing characters. My least favorite attraction was the zoo as the animals (especially the polar bear and tigers) were kept in less than desirable conditions. Nonetheless, I will try to come back to experience the rides that I missed out on the first time. Everland is thrill-seeking, family-friendly, and budget-friendly! Hanwoo Beef A.K.A. THE BEST BEEF EVER. PERIOD.To celebrate fellow Freeman Scholar (and Pearl City High School alumnus!) Pono’s 21st birthday, some friends and I went to Gangnam to eat at 마장동박현규 which is a restaurant that serves Hanwoo beef 1++ (Korea’s version of Kobe beef). Not to exaggerate, but this meal changed my life and look on food. Sure there is good food, sure there is great food, but I have never had food that made fireworks explode behind my eyeballs and orchestras play Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in my ears! For the not-so-friendly price of 45,000 KRW per person, I experienced a transcendent culinary experience through the form of buttery, marbleized meat. We had around five to six courses and each one was better than the next. I highly, highly recommend trying this place out at least once! The staff is so friendly and the food is truly out of this world. . . it’s worth me eating GS25 gimbaps for the next two weeks to save money. I am not even going to add a "Best of Bites" section in this week's post because it'll pale in comparison.
Address: 27 Gangnam-daero 128-gil, Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul |
South KoreaSinchon, the bustling U-district in the center of Seoul, will be my current home for the next few months. This blog is a collection of adventures in and around Seoul from the eyes of an exchange student from Hawai`i. Archives
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