Week 4: Things to do in Korea

Hey Guys! This week I would like to share some things that I would love to do while visiting Korea. Honestly, my list could go on and on which is why it was pretty difficult for me to compile a small list for this blog. However, I managed to get a top 5 list which is in no particular order, enjoy!

1. Eat Korean Street Food
No matter what I do I can't seem to control what and how much I eat, I just love food! If you were to ask any of my close friends they would all tell you that I am almost always hungry and have a black hole for a stomach haha. Seriously though, sometimes I scare myself with how much I can fit into my small body. From hot snacks like tteokbokki, seafood pancake, fried chicken and mandu to sweets such as ice cream or chapssaltteok (mochi with red bean), these food stands have it all! There are countless of these stands and they can be found all over, they're very convenient for those looking for a quick bite in between transportation (buses, subways, etc.).

2. Visit Lotte World
Lotte World is the world's largest indoor theme park and amongst Korea's most favorite. It is described as a city within a city since one can do just about anything here. Aside from the theme park, which is the huge draw, Lotte World also has a department store, a hotel, a duty free shop, a museum and a large discount store. When it comes to choosing what to actually do, the options seem endless. I think the first thing I would probably do is head to Lotte Mart and stock up on Korean snack cause you know, food is everything :D

3. Hiking at Naejangsan National Park

Naejangsan is one of the famous mountains that can be found in the Jeolla-do province of Korea. Noted for offering one of the best displays of the autumn foliage in Korea, this mountain has several waterfalls and temples to see and visit. Personally, autumn is my favorite season and I love to look at all the warm colors of the leaves so this definitely sounds like a must! Although it seems to be noted for it's view of the autumn leaves, this park is open all year around and is said to be beautiful with changes of scenery and types of wild flowers blooming according to the seasons.

4. Visit SM Town Studio at the Coex Artium
This one is for all of my fellow Kpop lovers! If you weren't already aware of this then did you know that you could visit this studio which allows you to do a bunch of different activities based on how much you want to spend? You could choose to take vocal or dancing lessons for the day, participate in a recording session, styling, photoshoots and much more. To add the cherry on top, you can even buy Kpop merchandise here!

5. Shop in Myeongdong
Found in the heart of Seoul, Myeongdong, is Korea's number 1 tourist destination which brings in about 1 million shoppers per day. From clothes and make up to food and even accessories, Myeongdong has a wide variety of products to offer. I also noticed that every single Korean cosmetic brand (there are about 1,000 cosmetic stores) has a branch in Myeongdong, isn't that crazy?! What makes this place even better is that many employees within Myeongdong know foreign languages and flyers are available in other languages aside from Korean. So, if your Korean skills aren't that great or, if you have little to no skills, then no worries- the international atmosphere in Myeongdong is perfect for you!

Alright, that's all for this week! I had fun playing tourist wannabe this week, hope you're all having a good semester~

Week 3: Kpop

Aloha guys and welcome back for any of you who have visited my blog before! As I mentioned earlier in Week 1, I was considering doing a blog on Kpop every other week since I have so many favorite songs that I'd like to share with all of you. That being said let's begin!

This week I have picked a song titled, "Tell Me What Is Love", sung by Yoo Youngjin and D.O (from EXO). As soon as I heard this song, when it was released about 8 months ago, it became an instant favorite. The song triggered my emotions and my heart just went out to both guys. I will admit that D.O is one of my top favorite singers but, that aside, I think that even if he wasn't he would have become one after listening to this song. I felt that the vocals from both men were so powerful and that they did an outstanding job of incorporating all the appropriate emotions within the song. Throughout the song my heart was aching and I felt pretty sad but, for good reason. While listening to the song I got the jist that the song was about a rough break-up of some sort. After looking up the lyrics I see that I was on the right track. The song is about a man who questions what exactly love is after an ex left him for reasons unknown; he is left clueless and has a hard time accepting the break-up. Unlike many of the pop songs I listen to, this song doesn't have as much background music or a bunch of other sounds/ instruments/ auto-tune. The main focus of this song was the strong vocals of both men which would spark the feelings/ emotions of the listeners. Although this song isn't a light or one with a happy ending, I was very impressed with not just the vocals but also how the message of the song was given. Ever since this song came out it has been at the top of my list, I actually think I could listen to it on replay for hours haha. Hope you guys enjoy!

On a side note: Station, the one's who put this track out, have produced quite a few good songs if you guys would like to go and check them out. They are under SM Entertainment and the songs are sung by various SM Entertainment artists.

Week 2: Favorite Food

Aloha Guys! This week I would like to share some of my favorite Korean dishes with you. I hope you guys enjoy and if you haven't already tried them yet then, maybe I will have given you a good suggestion.

Tteokbokki (spicy rice cake)

The rice cakes are basically mochi like pieces just cut up into cyllindrical bitesized pieces. Recipes vary but you usually have the rice cake, fishcake, green onion, some sort of Korean stock, gochujang (red pepper paste) and sugar. In my personal opinion adding a hard boiled egg is a must but it is completely optional. I have also seen some places add other vegetables like carrots and white onions and or meat. So far, my favorite place to get tteokbokki from is a restaurant called Ireh, located in the McCully shopping center. Every time that I go to this restaurant there are always Koreans there so, I think it's safe to say this restaurant is pretty good.. I mean if natives go there, it must be pretty darn good, right?

Seafood Pancake

A variety of seafood mixed with green onions in a batter filled with flavor? Can I get one? I first discovered seafood pancakes, or as Koreans call them, haemul pajeon in Sacramento, CA (my hometown). There's a restaurant called Tofu House which was relatively close to my house that I used to go to at least once or twice every month before I moved out here. On a quick side note, I love the lady that works there, she is the sweetest person ever and she always used to hook up my family and I with extra side dishes or full meal dishes just cause. Continuing on though, she recommended that my family and I order the seafood pancake one time and now we're all hooked, it was by far one of the most delicious appetizers I had ever had. I may be over exaggerating a bit but it was an instant favorite. I have yet to find a place out here that serves a really good pancake like the one I had at Tofu House but, Thank Q Pocha came pretty close if anyone would like to try!

These are of course just 2 of many Korean dishes that I like but, there are just too many to include in one post and I've made myself hungry. I may or may not post some more of my favorite dishes towards the end of the semester so, be on the lookout! Hopefully if you guys have not tried these dishes yet you will after reading this blog and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Thanks for reading and see you guys next week! <3

P.S If any natives are reading my blog and would like to recommend some places in Korea where I can try these please leave a comment. I am open to suggestions and will hopefully get to study abroad in Korea within the next year or two!

Week 1: Kpop 

Since Kpop is how I was introduced to all things Korean I thought it only appropriate to start off my blog with it. Due to the amount of songs that I know and love I will most likely do more than one post on some of my favorites (maybe every other week..?).

Let's get started! The song I chose for this week is called, Thought Of You, by John Park. This song came out a couple of months ago and is John's first song, which he wrote and composed himself, after a 2 year break. The video which I have included has subtitles if you would like to read along- although, YouTube subtitles aren't always accurate. To give a quick summary of this song, John is singing about his crush who's always on his mind. No matter what he does or what time of the day it is he is always thinking of her. The message is so heart-warming and sweet, despite how creepy the video seems to get when he stares at the girl with binoculars from inside his apartment. John Park's voice and the jazz-like vibe throughout the song were very soothing to me and made me feel happy and light. Aside from kpop I love to listen to all kinds of music but, when I want to relax and unwind jazz is my favorite, which is probably why I really liked this song. On another note, one of my biggest weaknesses has always been guys with strong vocals so, I really had the best of both- John Park's voice and the jazz tones/ rhythm.

That's all for this week, hope you guys enjoy the song too! Come back next week for my favorite Korean dishes!