The second major trip I’ve taken so far was in March to the Boseong Tea Fields and nearby Yulpo Beach. I was with my roommate, a couple people from the church she attends, and two new students. The tea fields are particularly famous for being a filming spot for a few K-dramas, and there are…
Author: daceyn
A Day in the Life: Two
I’ve been studying abroad for just under eight months now and it has been both relatively normal, and a wild ride. I think what has surprised me the most was how comfortable I’ve been being here. Something about going to classes like normal has been a comforting sense of normalcy. Traveling around South Korea is…
How to Get Around South Korea
There are several methods of traveling throughout the country, however depending on the city you study in or visit, some may be better than others. Please be aware that some options may only be available to foreigners via a website and not an app, so plan wisely. Cross-country: In the city:
5.18 Uprising
The 5.18 Uprising of Gwangju, South Korea marked the beginning of a ten-day battle between the citizens of the city and the military forces. Led by university students of Chonnam National University, the people fought a bloody battle to combat the martial law that they believed should end with the fall of the previous Yushin…
A Day in the Life: One
My host university, Chonnam National University, is in the city of Gwangju, located in the south of the peninsula. These photos were taken atop the Jeonil Building 245 during a class field trip, a building with extreme importance to the city (see “5.18 Uprising” post). If you like museums and/or history, then this is a…
A Day in the Life: Prologue
The days can vary wildly depending on what I’m planning on doing that day—whether I’m just going to classes or going on a day trip with some friends, every day is a little different. I might just stay in my dorm except for classes and eating at the cafeteria, or I might go shopping at…
Chuseok
A mid-autumn harvest festival, Chuseok is a national holiday celebrated during the eighth month of the lunar calendar (September or October). Meant to be a time of family, friends, and food, many Korean students go home during the multi-day holiday period and celebrate by spending time together as many places like banks, governmental departments, and…
Host Country & Cultural Immersion
What are your favorite things about your host location thus far? It’s hard to say what my favorite things are, but it can be summed up with this: South Korea has been brilliant!! The natural scenery is beautiful, particularly the bamboo forest that I visited. Coming from Washington, I love views of nature and walking…
Things to Do Before Departure
Choosing a study abroad program is only the first step of actually getting to where you want to go and while your program will have advisors that can guide you through things, there may be times where you need to figure out how to do things yourself. It can get confusing sometimes, so having a…
My Goals for Studying Abroad
What do you hope to gain and how much research have you done on your host country and culture that will better prepare you for this experience? When I initially thought about studying abroad in terms of what I wanted to gain from it, my mind was solely on academics. I thought about how I…