My Time in Korea
Last Updated: 6/3/02, 11:40 p.m. EST
In the summer of the year 2000, I spent nearly two months in Seoul, Korea, on a study abroad program at Yonsei University. While I was there I stayed in touch with most of my friends and family by e-mail. It quickly became clear that many of their questions were the same. Plus, I felt that I had been given some misinformation while preparing for my trip and wanted to prevent others from having the same problem. So I began to post my journal entries on my website. I continued to write about my observations and experiences, but my words took on a new sense of purpose. Eventually I stopped writing in my journal altogether and wrote specifically for the site. Thus my Korea page was born.
There are many topics that I have not covered here, mainly because I read about them beforehand in a book and was therefore not surprised when I noticed them in real life. If you are planning to travel to Korea, you should do the same thing. The book that I used is called CULTURE SHOCK!: KOREA by Sonja Vegdahl and Ben Seunghua Hur (Graphic Arts Center Pub Co., October 1992). I strongly recommend it.
Check out this site - an interactive globe with shadows indicating where it is day and where it is night! You can click on specific locations to read about local holidays, find out what time it is there, etc.
Click Here to read my award-winning essay about why I came to Korea
Click Here to read about the sites I visited in my travels around Korea during the first week of my stay
Thinking about my final destination from a couple miles above the Pacific Ocean somewhere between Chicago and Tokyo, it seemed so unreal. I had read and been told what to expect, but I just couldn't conjure up a picture in my head. As the plane got close to landing in Seoul, I began to feel a little nervous. That slight nervousness turned to fear after I disembarked, to panic when I realized that no one was speaking English, and finally to despair later that night as I reflected on the fact that I was going to be staying here for more than seven weeks. But now, beautiful, mountainous Korea, with all its crowding and trash and pungent smells, has captured my heart. The following are some excerpts from my journal:
Saturday, June 24th, Chicago
on the plane: observations and feelings
Tuesday, June 27th, en route to Kyongju, Korea
feelings and observations on Korea & its climate
Thursday, June 29th, Sorak Park
jet lag, hotels, eating, singing, exchange rates
Friday, June 30th, en route to Seoul
personal experiences (climbing a mountain, swimming), the Unification Observatory, cell phones
Sunday, July 2nd, Seoul
roads, my roommate, nature
Sunday, July 9th, Seoul
my classes, driving, wildberries, campus lighting, shopping, paper money, public transportation, teaching English
Tuesday, July 11th
demonstrations, Ewha Woman's University, shopping, universities, climate, BUGS, mountains, crowding, driving, personal experiences (air conditioning, construction, etc.), bathrooms, the dorm, clubs, video-bongs, the cafeteria, what not to bring
Thursday, July 13th
cars, motorcycles, the land of knock-offs, shopping, shoes, what to wear, what not to bring, Westernization, cigarettes, milk
Tuesday, July 18th
vegetarianism, Korean foods, what I miss, drinking, drugs, smoking, obedient women, personal experiences (getting drunk, air conditioning, construction), traditional hotels
Thursday, July 20th
fast food restaurants, cleanliness, odors, Westernization, customer service, being a white woman in Korea
Saturday, July 22nd, Kyonggi-do
Christian retreat, religiously affiliated universities, the transition from being a tourist to living in Korea, Jessica's Pizzeria, what I miss, personal reflection
Monday, July 24th, Seoul
personal reflection, Presbyterianism, Onnuri Christian Ministry, fast food restaurants, losing weight, bakeries, supermarkets, Itaewon, what I miss, Korean foods, utensils, the Korean fascination with the French, shopping, speaking Korean, my hair
Wednesday, July 26th
sexual tendencies, reading Korean, the Korean Mafia, Shinchon, cell phones, "dancing girls", minimum wage, the importance of females' appearance, shopping, foreigners, observations, personal experiences (a night out, dinner with a Korean family), Louis Armstrong jazz bar, a drink called "Jessica", Kangnam, Danco, booking, drinking, my typical day, my classes, Insadong, Korean poetry, campus computer labs, PC-bongs
Thursday, July 27th
air conditioning, the essay contest, pump dance, computer games, nightfall, Namdaemun, Myong-dong, Itaewon, Apkujong, Tongdaemun, how to get around curfew
Monday, July 31st
driving, observations (on children, women, Korea in general, etc.), motorcycles, food delivery, the importance of weddings, what I've learned to do, grapes, walking, being a foreigner, Westernization, dragonflies, birds, poongmool, extracurricular activities, the essay contest
Thursday, August 3rd
personal experiences (a night out, shopping), antique market, travel book, Changhanpyong, working women
Saturday, August 5th
personal experiences (a night in, another night out, a day with a Korean family, flexibility in a Korean restaurant, Buddhist evangelism, getting sick), Juliana, Danco, pop music, booking, what to do if you don't like spicy food, Double Double, Three Dollars, fights, my roommate, my necklace, the school cafeteria, BUGS!!
Monday, August 7th
Juliana, Danco, booking, personal growth, how to get around the gender segregation in the dorm, ANGELA'S ASHES, storm, Max, nearing the end, aches & pains, rudeness, more demonstrations, personal experiences (another day with the Korean family), observations (on women, children), the lucky S, what I would drive if I lived here, ethnic cuisine distinctions, my favorite street vendor, stars
Sunday, August 13th
time to leave, damage deposit, Burger King, fast food, stereotypes, Max, fighting, attention, the stray, transferring to U of M, Korean War Memorial, food, mail, bouquets, names, lefthandedness, working women, other observations, final reflections
Some more advice for future travelers to Korea:
- Pack light.
- Put all liquids inside two ziplock bags in your suitcase.
- Know how to get to your final destination in Korea before you leave, even if you're being met at the airport.
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(C) 1997 Jessica B. Burstrem
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