March in Seoul

 

I was walking around on campus and was able to capture the sunset hitting the LG-Posco building beautifully! Mandy and I were also free to attend a KU club fair where booths were out in the yard and students can do activities for different groups like drawing, playing guitar, and foreign exchange clubs to help foreigners adapt to Korea and learn the language! 


Korea University Business Building 
Club fair at KU



This was my first meal at the science campus cafeteria. Lunch here is super affordable and plated so nicely that it felt like I was dining at a restaurant. 

5,000 KRW School Lunch! 
📍Science Campus

                                                 
Pop-up stores and events is a very popular trend here in Korea. Whenever a brand has a new promotion, you will likely hear of a pop-up event. For most pop-ups, you do activities and earn free gifts like keychains or snacks, and it's good exposure and way for consumers to interact with their brand. They also do pop-ups for celebrities to celebrate their birthdays or new music releases.  I went to a birthday pop-up for Beomgyu, who is a member of the popular K-pop boy group Tomorrow by Together. 


Visiting my first-ever K-pop pop-up


Viewing Namsan Tower at a rooftop cafe 
📍Noop Cafe


Near the middle to end of March, some friends and I from Hawaii decided to visit Lotte Mall, where the tallest building in Korea is located. They also have a cherry blossom festival happening but there weren't many blossoms bloomed yet as you can see. That day, the pollution in the air was through the roof, I never knew air quality could go that bad in Korea. On the weather app, the air quality was at a high of 415, which is super unhealthy. I didn't feel a difference physically but when looking back at the photos and editing the scenery, you can tell how dull and foggy it was. 



Korea's tallest building 
📍Lotte Mall

 
An outing with Hawaii people to see cherry blossoms




 


Namsan Tower was one of the attractions I was excited to visit. Due to sickness, I was not able to go during a school field trip but I was able to see it nearby at a rooftop cafe! One day when the weather is warmer, I definitely wanna go up to the top.

Sleeping on campus 

If you were to sleep inside the Hamilton library back home in Hawaii, there is no doubt you would get asked to leave by security. Here in Korea, schools have couches and many cushioned seats that allow students to take naps. No doubt, you will encounter a student sleeping on a sofa or bench. I think this is very useful as it can be very stressful for students to be at school for long hours or have to leave school early to commute because of traffic. I think if Hawaii supported giving an area on campus for students to relax, it could help improve student's health. 


Hongdae is one of my most visited places in Korea because there's so much to do here. At this ring cafe, I was able to make my own custom ring and engrave the date I am here in Korea, this was a bit pricey but it does hold meaning as I do enjoy wearing jewelry and the ring will be a memory kept with me. 

Making custom rings 
60,000 KRW 
📍Ring Cafe, Hongdae 


 
Finally, one of the major events that happened in March was meeting some of my KUBA buddies for the first time! Because there are so many of us, we get separated into smaller groups and led by a local student. We gathered together to grab dinner and took this cute photo. Studying abroad really makes you push yourself out of your shell. Meeting so many new people and being in a different environment outside of Hawaii was refreshing. 



My first photo & meet-up with KUBA buddies 







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