63 Building

One day there was an offer to the Chinese exchange students to go see the view of Seoul from the 63 building located in front of 여의도공원 (Youido Park).  The 63 building is a mall, offices and aquarium, wedding hall and more.  It is a different colored building that is very hard to miss and it is very tall.  Thanks to Harry who is an exchange student from China, I was able to go to the top of 63 with a free pass and catch the amazing views.  The photos are nowhere as amazing as the first hand view.

My ticket to the 63 building.  We picked them up at a mall on the bottom floor

A video of the ride up.  In total, the ride up to the top took about 2 or 3 minutes (and Korean elevators move very fast).

Harry and I in the photo room.  It was a pretty cool room.  Didn't expect this up here

One of the many bridges that connects Seoul at the Han River

Funny faces

Apartments

More bridges

Color changing walkway.  The walk way allows viewers to pass through the corridors to have a 360 view of the entire city

The view at night.  

Second Semester Part II (05/12~06/21)

In part 2 of summarizing the second semester I will discuss my experience with CKEP 3, school festivals and the end of the semester.

CKEP 3 was to 남이섬 (Nami Island) In the Chuncheon Province of Korea (about 63km away from Seoul).  the normal price is 10,000원 per "visa" (ticket) to get to the island by ferry or 30,000원 by zip line.  However, through going with the OIA it was free to enter by ferry.  There was a limitation of about 75 students who could apply to go but this time they did not worry about filling up spaces too much because there was also temple stay that same weekend and we could only choose one or the other.  Personally I did not like this CKEP.  It was an educational (kind of) experience but the island is smaller than you would think and too hyped up in my personal opinion.  There were some cool and interesting things but there were two gift shops, two places to eat, one cafe, one hotel and the rest were landmarks.  I went through the whole island and saw everything about 4 or 5 times in the amount of time we were on the island.  I will post pictures below.  One fact about the island (why i referred to the tickets as visas) is that for tourist reasons, the island recognizes itself as an independent country.

Upon entry here is a map of Nami Island that will show you where everything is at on the island.  It's pretty small.

Here is the ferry we used to get on and off the island

The tomb to a very prestigious general.  His final resting place was placed on this island after it was secured as an independent country (I believe).

At the northern most point of the island there is this bridge that you can walk across just to walk across it.  It isn't really a sort cut to anything.

Aaron wanted to stop and take a selfie on the bridge.  Everyone else was doing it haha

Walking down a path you will see this cute little elephant.

Here is the eatery on the island.  Their bibimbap is really good.  There is a peacock that lives on this island sitting on that tree.  The island has 2 peacocks.

I am standing on a stage and across it and down on the lawn is this group of huts.  You can go inside but they have about as much room for one toddler, if even that.  

When we came there was a parade celebrating children's literacy.  The island is very big on the importance of regularly reading as and with a child.

Here is a little gazebo

A path of trees.  I probably liked this the most.  It was very different.  

Starting in May there are the university festivals.  The university festivals are put on at every university so that the students can get some relaxation and fun in before or even during finals (depending on when the university has theirs scheduled).  CAU had theirs scheduled for the second week (a month before finals).  There is a lot of food, A LOT of drinking and concerts.  I personally did not like the lineup for CAU and therefore I didn't go to the one for CAU but I went the festival for other universities with better lineups and much better food.  I attended the festivals for Sungkyunkwan (성균관) and Incheon Universities (인천 대학교).  Their foods were different (and cheaper) and there was a higher assortment of everything.  

My friends and I at the festival for 성균관대.  We won a free polaroid too

The concert lineup for the festival at 인천대.  Red Velvet was the main attraction for the festival.  My friend and I stood near the front row.  

Like I said, the festivals are put on before or during finals so we can have fun but sometimes, depending on the class, finals can be pretty fun.  We get to do group projects, presentations, mini plays, interviews, etc.  All sorts of things we would never do here in the schools I have been to.

In my British-American culture class.  We did class presentations and got to do role playing with masks.  The teacher is not the best and not the most accurate when it comes to historical facts but the final was fun.  

Finally, in the end we had to pack up and go home.  My friends and I however took some photos before we parted ways (I went to China for a little bit and came back for a couple weeks before returning home.  I will write a separate entry about that though).

Moe, Becky, Harry, me, Angus and half of Denise.  hanging out at midnight in the lounge during the week move-out was beginning.  Our midnight hang outs were fun and I will miss them ㅠㅠ

Did some photo shoots (shout out to my friend and awesome photographer, Howard who is in the middle holding the camera).  This one is on top of 310

At the dragon pond

On top of 310 with all of Northern Seoul behind us

중앙대학교 Chung Ang University (main gate/정문)

310 1f

From left to right: me, Becky, Moe, Toby, JP, Angus.  Moe and Becky came to see us all off as we left on June 21st to all go to China.  The last time I saw my friends for a long time but not forever.  The semester was amazing and really really fun.  I am grateful I spent another semester in Seoul and strengthened relationships and made new ones.  

  

Tips and Advice on Working, Traveling, Dating and Ordering the CAU Jackets

I wanted to make this post for things that nobody really tells you how to do, how some stuff is, or what some people just expect you to know already.  In this post I'm going to cover the realities of traveling around Korea, traveling to China from Korea (with an American or French passport), earning some extra income (if you are rejected for the global scholar scholarship), how to order the school jackets, getting up to the back gate(중앙대 후문) from the subway (흑석역), and shopping online/making sure the debit card the school gives you is registered for online purchases.  DISCLAIMER: This is from my own experience and does differ from person to person.

1) Travel/여행
Traveling around South Korea is easy but there are different ways to travel around the country.  My personal favorite is through the express bus.  Yes,using the KTX is faster, but it is also more than twice as expensive as the buses.  A KTX ticket can be 48,000 to 60,000 each way depending on the type of train you take(most prices being 52,000 and 58,000).  An express bus ticket can be 11,000 to 26,000 one way depending on what region you are going to.  Taking the bus is also a great way to see the country road trip style without having to drive.

First, you would download this app, make an account in settings (you can ask a Korea friend to help you but I made mine on my own. it was really straightforward) and then choose your departure and arrival cities and reserve tickets for those seats.  It's a lot more convenient than going to the Express Bus terminal (고속터미널) and hoping there are tickets remaining.  

After you get your tickets, there will be a little image showing you how to scan them in the bus when you are boarding and the menu showing you all your tickets will look like this bottom picture (I had tickets for all my friends on my phone for our bus trip to Busan).  

At the bus terminal there will be all these signs with numbers and cities.  On your ticket on your app, towards the bottom of the center there will be a number.  that is the departure area and look for that number outside where all the buses are.  I can't explain everything to get you to where the buses are but if you pay attention to the details and read your ticket and everything, you should be able to find the correct terminal for the correct bus line.  It is really simple.  

Next, traveling to China from Korea is easy.  If you are in Seoul, go to the Seoul square building in front of the bus depot at Seoul Station (서울역) and apply for a visa for China.  Mine was $160 and is valid for 10 years (same price for a single entry visa for Americans.  The price differs for France).  The process took a long time and in order to get the visa you need a hotel reservation in your name in China already for the whole time you will be there.  Having different reservations in different parts of China makes it a lot more difficult to get a visa but not impossible.  You also need to show who is paying for your trip and if it isn't you, the person paying needs to fill out the application too.  You also need to give a detailed itinerary of what you will be doing in China.  Along with having a hotel reservation, You need to have a plane ticket in your name (not 100% necessary but it does help the process).  If you go to the Chinese embassy to apply, you WILL be turned away and rejected.  They do not like having people go to them to apply for visas to enter China.  Flying to China only takes 2 hours and the average price of a ticket is under $200.  

2) "Working"

If you need a little extra money and didn't receive the global A scholarship (for native English speakers) then you're not out of luck.  If you have a Korean friend ask them to put up an ad for you on the CAU board.  They should know what you're talking about.  It's an online bulletin board.  Have them put on there that you want to tutor students in English and you give away for them to contact you the fastest, how much you charge and your description.  Don't set a price too high and most of the Koreans I tutored strongly preferred Americans and Canadians more because of the dialect of English and their positions requiring them to have meetings online or in person with business people in LA, Washington and other states.  An average price one should want to charge is 15,000/hr and don't expect your student to always show up.  They cancel last minute sometimes and you have to understand it and sometimes suck it up.  They will come back the next time and pay.  Since Koreans don't like handling cash with these types of transactions, they will prefer bank transfer so be prepared with your bank acct info you get in your bank book when you get your card from the school/OIA.  

3) Dating/Relationships

A lot of my friends here immediately tried looking for boyfriends/girlfriends (each for different reasons) but one shared reason for the most part: to learn Korean hands on.  I am just going to say that typically, a lot of Koreans aren't completely comfortable being in a serious relationship with foreigners for obvious reasons you will see when you arrive in Seoul and start spending more time with Koreans.  That's not to say they won't do it.  Most of my friends are in serious relationships with Koreans right now.  However, Koreans will be more prone to want a 썸남/썸녀 type of relationship.  If that.  Some will just want a hookup now and then to be able to say they slept with a foreigner.  A 썸남 (something guy)/썸녀 (something girl) is a type of relationship that is undefined, ambiguous and not exclusive.  It's basically casual dating.  There is kissing, holding hands, eating out and for some people, even sleeping together.  Unless you define the relationship, automatically assume this is all your relationship is.  Koreans are big on DTR.  One more thing, the reasoning works both ways.  Let's say you want to date a Korean to learn Korea.  A Korean would want to date a foreigner to learn English (I know a few who want to learn Chinese and Spanish) and they will be reluctant to speak to you in Korean and will want to speak your language.  Yes, they will teach you some Korean but they aren't going to make you a fluent speaker in a year.  One last thing on the topic, the less Korean you can speak, read or understand, the harder it will be to get into a relationship with a Korean.  It sounds harsh but it's the truth and you have to understand that it's the way it is.  Talking to a foreigner is out of their comfort zone as it is, so dating a foreigner that can barely speak their language is going to be a no-go about 65% of the time, but being friends will be A LOT easier as there's less pressure and less expectation to commitment.  If you make a tinder or go online and want to meet someone and their profile says "번개" it means "hookups only" but "번개" (beongae) literally means lightning.  Think about what they're trying to imply...

4) CAU Jackets (Designing and Ordering)

NOTE; Only one design can be decided upon.  The ONLY change that can be made from jacket to jacket is the name that goes on the left arm by the wrist.  For a varsity jacket order, there must be a minimum of 6 jackets being ordered. 

The site i used was townus.co.kr and they were very helpful.  In order to make the jackets, get a Korean friend to help you with the whole design process.  I had one of my friends help me pick all the design options because i don't know a lot of technical terms in Korean, but other than that, i placed the order, deposited and transferred the money and made the account myself.  The whole process is lengthy but easy and straightforward.  Make sure you have at least 6 people to make a jacket.  The total price of the jackets can be between 48,000 and 50,000 per jacket depending on the options you get.  All the badges you want on your jacket must be pictures you upload and they must be excellent quality pictures (meaning perfectly straight, no blur or pixels or writing too small to miss).  After you place the order, the company will contact you through kakao and they do have employees that can type and understand English fluently so don't worry.  After placing the order and paying, getting the jackets will take 3-4 weeks to receive. Read the note above again and remember it.  The reason we have to make our own jackets is because the logo shop in R&D refuses to make or order jackets for exchange students and the departments don't really include us in their jacket orders (or even notify us until after the jackets are in and by then its too late).  One more piece of advice: do not get a jacket that says 'Exchange Student" in Korean.  The Korean students here will brutally tease you behind your back about it.  I saw it happen so many times.  

5) 흑석역부터 중앙대 후문 까지

From Heukseok Station to the back gate

If you get lazy from time to time and don't want to walk all the way up to the dorms and you just got out of the subway, there are a few ways you can get up to the back gate and walk from there.  The stop you want to get off at is 중앙대 후문 (Chung Ang Dae Humun).  From the side of exit 3(?) of the subway you can take the 5511 bus to the back gate.  By the pharmacy/Isaac toast there is a us stop with 3 buses.  I THINK those buses are 01, 10 and 21.  Those three buses also go up to the back gate. There are only 2-3 stops between where you start and where you get off.   If you do want to walk but want a short cut go from the front gate towards the dragon pond and walk on the left side of the dragon pond and past the OIA to 203.  Get in the elevator and go to the 4th floor and walk to the hallway on your right (not your left) and walk out of the building then go to the building on the left (building 303) and get in the elevator that goes to the 6th floor (aka NOT the middle elevator) and go to the 6th floor.  Go right and you'll be at the back entrance of 310.  walk around or through it nd you're at the dorms.  

6) Online Shopping 

If you want to shop online on sites like 11st.com or gmarket.com that are more foreigner friendly you need to register your debit card at the bank on campus.  tell them you want to use your card to make online purchases and they will register it.  The registration takes 3 days to finish so keep that in mind.  Also, IF you want to shop on other sites that more Korean and don't want the help of a Korean friend, you will need to apply for a 공인인증서.  basically, it is a card full of codes that you need in order to process an online order.  it is used for security purposes since about 95~99% of the Korean population has had their identity stolen (estimate not exaggerated).  I haven't applied for one so I don't know everything you need for that but I do know that it also takes time to process that order as well.  Personally, I recommend paying a Korean friend and having them order what you want for you and having it shipped to your dorm.  it is a lot easier and requires a lot less waiting.  

Second Semester Part I (03/01~05/09)

I have been so busy with classes and getting ready to go back home that I hadn't really kept up on here for a good 3 months.  The second semester started off the same way the first one did - new students, orientations, run down of all the rules, etc.  However, the only orientation returning students had to go to was the dorm orientation (for those returning to the dorms) and the fire safety orientation (again, for the ones in the dorms ONLY).  The feeling/atmosphere was different though.  Personally it felt a little emptier because a lot of my friends were gone and back to their normal lives and there were a lot of new faces.  I noticed that opposed to last semester, the new students were more to themselves and didn't really mix with the returning students for about a month (which is understandable if you want to learn everything on your through personal experience).  Another major difference is that first semester students have to room with people from their same home country (except in the case when two countries have an odd number of students exchanging, then there is a small exception); but in second semester we are roomed with other exchange students that are also returning but from different countries (and chances of getting a french roommate was about 60% this semester haha).  My roommate is from Cambodia and WAAYY better than my situation last semester.  There are also more CKEPs this semester (I think the OIA said this semester there were supposed to be 4 or 5 and we have already done 3).  The first CKEP was a repeat of one from last semester where we went pear picking.  However, since it was spring we went strawberry picking and the strawberries were so sweet, juicy and all around delicious.  The most mouthwatering strawberries I have ever had.  It was like a mini ocean of strawberry juice flowing through my mouth when I bit into one at the farm.  It was that good!
Spring semester in Korea is the first semester of the school year and on the second day of school we had the welcoming ceremony where clubs gave away free food, snacks and folders with coupons and free lotions and stuff in them.

That is one of the two mascots at the school (the pink dragon) and it was walking around taking random pictures with anyone it could get.  Afterward the dragon told us where we can go to get free stuff, spin a wheel and try to win something.  That was March 2nd.  

A couple weeks later was CKEP 1 (the farm).  A bit of advice first: when the OIA emails you and says an application opens at a certain time you MUST be ready to click on that page at that time because the events fill up in a matter of minutes (the standing record currently is almost 4 minutes after opening).  

Here is what it will look like if you were accepted to go to the CKEP after filling out the application (if the application is full already, you will see another screen).  

March 25th-- Here is a row of fresh, mostly organic and super juicy strawberries ready to pick and eat.  We are given an empty carton and only fill it to what we can put in and let it close without smashing the other strawberries.  Since they don't get filled with preservatives, they rot within 3 days after being picked.  

Here is makgoli being made but this time, the lady was way more detailed about the process thins time and the tofu soup they served was so much better the second time around.  

Since this day was raining, the farmers had a different activity planned for us.  We made literal eggs in a basket.  We made little baskets from straw and put eggs in them.  The eggs were hard boiled and the baskets were made to keep them from breaking and for safe storage.  I kind of messed up my handle (miscalculated how much space I had) and well...there it is.

April 2nd-- the opening of the Lotte tower in Jamsil was a massive event.  It was a huge fireworks show and people from all over Korea went there to see it.  Lotte tower is 123 floors high and stands as the 5th tallest building in the world.  Its tip can be seen all the way across the city from the 1st floor of 310 on campus.  Oh, and fireworks in Korea are on a whole new level.  

I took this picture from lotte world (next to the tower) and this was halfway through the ceremony and yes, the mortars were coming out of the building on ever single floor. 

One of my friends took this picture from the Han river park at Youido.  This was the end of the opening ceremony for the tower.  There was also a huge free concert and a whole festival for the opening and everything.  It was the craziest and prettiest event I experienced in Korea.  By craziest, i mean there were easily 1,000,000 people there (an I am not exaggerating the number).  Leaving the festival literally took all night because the streets were filled with people for miles.  

April 8th and 9th-- The cherry blossom festival was a week later.  The cherry blossom festival in Korea is huge.  I learned that cherry blossoms, though famous in Japan, are originally from Korea and very well loved.  The ceremonies were fun.  There were concerts all over the city at every park and so many activities.  I went to one festival but left early because it was like the Lotte tower opening all over gain (minus all the pretty fireworks).  During the cherry blossom festival, Gyeongbok Palace is open for free to the public and they perform traditional ceremonies from when the palace was occupied by the royal family almost 30 years ago.  

I made cotton candy at one of the cherry blossom festivals in Jamsil.  It was 1,000 won so why not.

Pictures from April 8th's cherry blossom festival at Youido.

April 9th-- at the palace.  Tradition guard switching ceremony.  I didn't catch what this was for but I understood that during this ceremony the guards switched posts and went to different parts of the palace grounds and the emperor oversaw the event.  We were also allowed to wear hanbok for free for up to an hour and walk around the area.

Every CKEP (no matter how far or close to campus the event is) requires us to all take a bus together.  At least it is really close to the dorms.

April 13-- CKEP 2: Baseball match in Jamsil.  This is the CKEP that broke the application record and completely filled up in less than 4 minutes.  It was a fun game.  We got free meals provided by KFC and free wand things.  

One last thing before wrapping up part one: there are a lot of holidays in the spring which means a lot of days off.  Although we don't get a spring break (which would honestly be so much easier) we still get time off during the week.  May 3rd was Buddha day, May 5th was children's day, may 7th (Sunday) was Parent's day and May 9th was election day.  We got all those days off school (basically every other day for a week).  So what did I do? I went to Busan for less than $100 total for transportation and 3 days there.  In part two I'll go over traveling through Korea, post midterms, CKEP 3 and getting ready to go home.