In South Korea For The First Time!

My First Time In Seoul + The Things I Learned ♡ 

Week 1-2 in Korea 🇰🇷

Life in Korea feels like a long dream. There are many places you can visit by train and it's tempting to buy the things you can find here for a cheap price compared to Hawaii. The first 2.5 weeks felt unreal. I went to many popular places like Hongdae, Myeong-dong, Insa-dong, and Gangnam to sightsee and shop. My friend and I went to Mood Collect in Gangnam to get our color analysis, a very popular must-do when you go to Korea! We also bought a lot of skincare from Olive Young, one of the most common stores you will see in Seoul. 
Mood Collect is located in Gangnam / Instagram: mood_collect

Nightlife in Korea is lively; most stores in the city don't open until 12 in the afternoon, and it's relatively easy to find cheap foods nearby like at a convenience store or street food vendors. However, the smoking culture is very big, the streets get very dirty with cigarette butts laying everywhere on the floors and locals don't care about spitting, they often spit on the streets, not caring where or whoever sees them. 













Night in Myeong-dong!


One thing I found difficult to adjust to was separating my trash. At my goshiwon (studio apartment) I need to have 3 different bins to put my plastics, paper, and tissues. But my landlord is super nice! The place I am staying at is named Sungwon Livero, it is a 10-minute walk to the business building so very convenient. 

One thing to note, if you ever go to a cafe and want to dine in, you must have your drink in a mug or glass, using a plastic cup is not acceptable for most places unless it's takeout.  

Although I love cold weather, I do miss having some warmth in the sunlight. It is difficult to tell time, sunlight comes and goes and it's hard to tell what time of the day it is. If you are ever traveling during February, you should definitely bring more warm clothes. I was not prepared with only one puffer and a few long sleeves and it is difficult buying clothes as most of them are free size. 

Overall my first few weeks in Korea were very adventurous and I was able to see many popular places! Hopefully, I will be able to see more and learn about their culture when school starts and meet more people. 


The photo is kinda blurry but most of everyone from Manoa who came to study here did a meet-up! It was nice seeing familiar faces and sharing stories about how we adapted to our new life.




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