After successfully completing our 15 hour flight, we were welcomed to Korea by Kay and Brad, our in-country trip leaders. They briefly provided a tour of the streets surrounding our hotel. Being located in the center of Seoul, there was an abundance of shops and restaurants with bright lights and large screens to draw in patrons. It was as though it was a mini Times Square. Following the tour, my group went to a local family-style restaurant. Using a grill at the center of the table, we cooked our own pork belly with vegetables. Sharing larger portions of meals appears to be common in Korean culture. Following dinner, everyone was exhausted and went to bed early after long hours of travel.
The next morning, I was surprised when I saw the hotel breakfast buffet. While I anticipated the food being different from that of American culture, I was unaware that there would be so many options I’d consider dinnertime foods like glass noodles, fish cake and chicken. Having such an unexpected experience before even starting to truly explore Korea was a great reminder to remain open-minded and adaptable throughout the trip, especially towards new culture.
Following breakfast, we headed into the subway station just outside our hotel. In New York City, to ride the subway someone would typically load a refillable MetroCard with money that you swipe to enter and pay a one-time fee to travel as far and long as they’d like. Similarly, in Korea there is a tappable card used to enter the subway via turnstile. However, to exit the subway one must tap their card again and they are then charged based on time and distance of travel or else they must pay the maximum fee. Our guide also mentioned that, within a certain time and distance, some public buses are also available to use under the same subway fee. I thought this was a great exemplification of how smart systems are integrated into Korea. By further automating the payment system for public transportation, passengers are solely responsible for paying their share of travel rather than a flat rate and don’t always have to pay for additional transportation. Hence, introducing similar, more heavily-automated public transportation systems into America could greatly benefit frequent riders.
Later, our train swiftly arrived near Gyeongbokgung Palace where we watched the traditional changing of the royal guards ceremony, a reenactment of the guards switching shifts to defend the capital city during the Joseon Dynasty. Given the dynasty existed millennia ago, the ability to replicate the ceremony exactly in modern day reinforced the importance of tradition in Korean culture. Following the ceremony, we toured the rest of the palace where we frequently observed traditional wooden infrastructure and a variety of statues.
Later that afternoon, we explored Blue House, the Korean equivalent of the white house and afterwards we visited a Buddhist temple called Jogyesa. Outside the temple was decorated with a series of colored lanterns, each with a different meeting. To conclude the night, we explored the shops around Namdaemun Market and ate a traditional Korean dinner provided by our tour guides. Overall, our first day in Korea was a great introduction to the culture.