19 SEPTEMBER 2017 10:17 AM
N Seoul Tower (or Namsan Tower) is one of the trinity landmarks of Seoul. From the observatory deck, you'll get a panorama view of the entire city of Seoul. However, it is quite a trek getting to the place. You have two options to get to the tower:
When you find yourself at the base of the tower, you'll find five floors of never-ending shopping, dining, and activities to do while you wait for your turn to enter to the observatory deck (entry is 10,000 won) . It is a tradition for you to bring friends and a romantic partner to join a personal locket that represents an unbreakable bond. Most lockets are inscribed or engraved, others have pictures or stickers on them. RECOMMENDATION: As romantic as it sounds walking up; the congregation of blood thirsty mosquitos alongside the uneven terrain, well, it's worth it taking the cable car up. Also, give yourself some time to browse around the many gift shops in the tower and amazing food vendors there. Hours: 10:00 am to 11:00 pm | Friday - Saturday 10:00 am to Midnight
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18 SEPTEMBER 2017 11:50 PM
I’ve learned that creating just the slightest bit of familiarity in places allow for further personal connections to develop. So how do you make living in a foreign country feel like home?
Week 2 Traveling is something I am extremely confident in ever since I found an app that tells you exactly when and where you should go from your starting destination, to your ending destination. The app is called KakaoMetro,which is a blessing in disguise, especially for those who do not understand Korean. Another useful app is City mapper which is similar to google maps. For some odd reason google maps does not work in South Korea (trust me, I’ve been lost ever single time I’ve used google maps here). I decided to pamper myself since it was a stressful week. The average cost of getting a manicure is 50,000 won, however, in my case the owner was nice enough to give me a gel manicure for only 30,000 won! Contrary, I asked my Korean friends a hair salon that they’d recommend.They recommended Busker hair salon that's located in anam (by the university). For a top hair stylist, the price I paid for a haircut and a solid color dye came out to 112,000 won. Week 2 findings:
Week 3 The comfort of my fellow apartment-mates is paramount to my liberation. I noticed that we're all facing the same issues, regardless of familiarity towards one another and cultural barriers, we’ve become a family under one amity. We've created familiarity in the unfamiliar of which we now call home. Seoul. It’s week two of school and I am confident in navigating myself throughout campus. It took me three weeks to realize that the campus is actually divided in three different locations. Contrary to notion, KUBA holds weekly events and this past week was N Seoul Tower. Lots of shopping was done in Myeongdong, as I had to replenish on a bit of skin purging necessities. The weather here, is really disrupting my skin and because so, I decided to go to a spa. I went to Shangpree, a chic spa that is cherished by many beauty enthusiasts and Korean celebrities alike. When I found that Shangpree has been featured by Vogue, Forbes, and The New York Times, I knew this was the place. I received an S-Power Treatment that included a 40 minute facial of cleansing, hydrating, and an invigorating 50 minute body massage which included shoulders, chest, back, legs, arms, and feet (crazy isn’t it?). To ensure the best service, I believe I met six different esthetician who specialized in a particular area of care. For 130,000 won, it was worth the hour thirty minutes. Week three officially marks a month since my arrival in Seoul and here are some new findings:
Hope this was insightful! Cheers, Cindy 7 SEPTEMBER 2017 1:17PM
Korea University is acknowledged as one of South Korea’s oldest, largest and top-ranked universities in the country. Being a major comprehensive university, I enrolled myself into their Business School that holds a reputation for quality and excellence in teaching. For instance, executive team members amongst the top 500 companies in the country were asked to provide their education background, the findings? Korea University Business School had the largest percentile of alumni's amongst other private universities in South Korea. Contrary, the campus is home to more than 35,000 international students, and this years enrollment for the Fall 2017 semester welcomed 850~ students from 82 different countries. Though, what stood out to me the most was KU's campus. On one end you’ll witness the not so pretty aspects of the campus that appears to be as a long-term construction site. Whilst the other end you’ll see timeless stone architecture, withering historical buildings, and sculptures proudly donated by proud alumni. The greatest finding was realizing that my accommodation is a three minute walk from the front gate of my school. Now I have one less thing to worry about. KUBA (Korea University Buddy Assistants): Orientation day featured a lengthy welcoming speech, lunch in the universities cafeteria, and a tour around campus. KUBA is a buddy matching program that connects exchange students with a KU domestic student to help and guide them during their stay in South Korea. Everyone is divided into ten groups of 80 students and you will have activities and outings with this group until the end of the semester. This semester I am in Group 1, also known as WANNA-ONE. Truthfully, I had no idea what WANNA-ONE was, but I've learned that it is a popular Korean boy band with 11 "star" members. KUBS (Korea University Business School): Fairly similar to a KUBA buddy, KUBS is dedicated entirely to incoming business exchange student. It was incredibly expedient being paired with a student who has an all-inclusive insight to the business school. Contrary, KUBS has a separate itinerary throughout the semester that features activates and networking opportunities for business exchange students. KUBA GROUP 1 | WANNA - ONE First Week of SchoolHonestly, it was stressful. Korea University has a participation restriction for exchange students. Every course has a 15% cap seating for exchange students. In this case, getting into a class, especially a business course is incredibly difficult. This past week was add/drop week, and thankfully, I got into every one of my waitlisted courses! The Global Student Services Center was so attentive throughout the past week, especially the first morning where a line of 300+ students started to form at 5:00AM all in hopes to get into the classes they wanted. The center opened at 9:30AM, and I finally made it to the list around 11:38AM. On another note, I get to move into the largest room that Crimson (My accommodation) offers which is a type D room. I currently live in a type C room. I made a promise with the manager that I will tutor her daughter english for an hour every week and she offered the same price that I currently pay for the room upgrade. As of now I pay 560,000 won for a room that is 880,000 won! ILLUSTRATIONS BY LEE YONG HWANG
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AuthorCindy is an epicurist, a food photographer, and a self-proclaimed creative writer. When Cindy isn't studying at Korea University Business School (2017), she can be found in cafes, asking random seoulites for directions, or singing at noraebangs (korean karaoke). Archives
December 2017
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