Today was a lot fun and interesting than anticipated. We met up at 8:20am so I got in a quick breakfast at the hotel. We had to drive 45 minutes to get to Hanyang University. The drive was a change in scenery because it was farther out of downtown so it was more residential. There were far more local stores and less and less of the big coffee stores. 

There were some things I noticed that are significantly different than cities in America. The roads and sidewalks in downtown are much wider which makes it feel so open and comfortable, and also makes space for so much more green landscaping. There are trees, flowers, and bushes everywhere! So many of the buildings have gardens and trees growing on their roofs so there seems to be a very large emphasis on nature. My friend mentioned that it may have to do with the suicide rate being so high; the greenery is a little calming and peaceful to be around. It makes such a big difference because the city just feel less bustling and more comfortable.

I noticed that there’s minimal construction being done. All the buildings in downtown have been built and everything has already been renovated. It’s interesting because Seoul is fairly new compared to American cities and it’s already far advanced and complete. Sure it’s the timing of our visit, but compared to so many cities, Seoul’s flyovers have already been built, their subway system is fantastically advanced and clean, they have CCTv’s everywhere, their roads are wide and surprisingly smooth (no potholes!), and almost all of the high rise apartments are complete. This says a lot about the speed of the city’s development fast-paced development compared to many many cities. 

We arrived at Hanyang University and we sat through one presentation/lecture about the university, one about a program offered at Hanyang, and one about the culture and society of Korea. Hanyang University is actually ranked 3rd in Korea and is well known for its engineering program. It sits on top of a hill so walking through the campus was somewhat like the Pitt campus. But I got a lot of California vibes from the campus mostly because there was so much green landscaping, the hills and views of the surrounding area, the closed campus feel (no busy streets and everything is condensed and in walking distance), and the open feel of campus. We got to take a tour with students at the university and eat lunch with them so it was really cool to hear and learn their experiences in college. 

After Hanyang University, a group of us went to the Hongdae district. We took the subway, walked around Hongik University, went to a puppy cafe, walked around the shopping area in Hongdae, ate dinner that had some octopus, and then to a karaoke place! Hongdae was a nice fit for us because most of the area were all college students/young adults.