We landed in Korea yesterday. After an entire day of traveling, we were welcomed by a quick tour then allowed to group off and explore the stores near the hotel. My group and I found a Korean barbeque and ate a lot of sweet corn and chicken.
Today, we started by trying the hotel food. A lot of the breakfast items were very different than what I’m used to in America. A lot of savory foods such as chicken and glass noodles for breakfast. The items that I was familiar with, such as sausage and yogurt, looked and tasted much different. I like the yogurt here though, very light and sweet.
We walked to Gyeongbuk Palace, where we were fortunate to watch a guard changing ceremony. Many people there were dressed in beautiful hanboks. Afterwards, we toured the palace and the Blue House. Our guide, Kay, told us that this is where the president lives and is kind of Korea’s version of the White House. It’s very pretty and features a traditional Korea roof style. On many roofs in the palace, there was protective haechi to chase away bad spirits. Except for in the king’s chambers. Kay explained that since the king was seen as a protective force himself, people believed that the king and haechi shouldn’t occupy the same space.
Afterwards, we broke off into groups and I was able to taste steamed dumplings. The breakfast hall serves this, but they ran out by the time I came down. I loved them and would absolutely eat again. I also tried kimchi again, which is definitely an acquired taste. On the way to meet up with everyone else, we stopped by a 7/11 where I tried some chocolate milk. It was so deliciously chocolate-y.
As a group, we all walked to Jogyessa where we saw hundres of lanterns hung up by people wishing to honor and pray for lost family members. The colors mean different things but I don’t remember the correlations. We then were allowed to explore Namdaemun Market. It was very large and had souvenirs and all kinds of different foods. I picked up a keychain for my best friend there. I also tried some chocolate bread and explored different stores. I noticed a lot more eye glasses stores here than in America.
After a short break, we reconvened for a welcome dinner at Myeongdong Jung. It was a massive traditional Korean dinner with more food than we could even imagine. It was all very new and I got to try a large variety. Afterwards, we tried on traditional hanboks and Kay shared with us the importance of tying your hair up when you wear one.
-Therese
