Bukchon Hanok Village

For one of the last days of the trip, we woke up early and drove to the Bukchon Hanok Village. This village replicates ancient Korean architecture with the use of modern materials. In the roughly one hour that we were there, I walked around with two close friends, Felipe and Alex K. We observed the intricate architecture and were in awe of the beauty of the designs. Altogether, it felt very traditional, as if we were strolling through an ancient Seoul.

Jogyessa Temple

After spending some time in the Bukchon Hanok Village, we visited the Jogyessa Temple to watch the celebration of Buddhas birthday. The relatively small temple was packed, with various VIPs in the audience, including the President of Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol. As we entered the premise of the temple, we were given artificial flower pendants to partake in the ceremony. I thoroughly enjoyed looking at the lanterns. More significantly, I was told each commemorates an individual, which I found somewhat similar to the way people are remembered through steppingstones. Due to the high number of people present, we did not stay long, however, it was very meaningful to witness an important ceremony of the Buddhist religion, one different to my own.

Starfield Coex Mall

After the ceremony, we spent some time in the Starfield Coex Mall to purchase some last-minute souvenirs and explore the underground-style mall. The title image of this blog depicts the Starfield Byeol-madang Library, iconic for its massive size and collection of books. We spent a total of 2.5 hours in the mall, which was enough for Alex K. and I to explore the various stores and offerings.

Closing Dinner

The last evening of the trip brought forth a very tasty, typical Korean dinner in the Insa-dong district. The meal included typical Korean bites, such as, kimchi, Korean pancake, tofu soup, anchovies, glass noodles, and seasoned pork. The picture below depicts Chris, Matt, Kay, me, and Alex T after the conclusion of our dinner. Altogether, I grew as an individual and gained valuable knowledge relevant to my field of study thanks to the Plus3 program. Similarly, I bonded with people I wouldn’t have any other way and genuinely made some friends for life! It is truly a unique experience to be immersed in a culture and helps put into perspective how much there is in the world to learn an explore. While this is the end of the Plus3 chapter of my life, I am ecstatic for future opportunities to expands my Computer Engineering knowledge while interacting with a culture foreign to me.

“Happy endings are just stories that haven’t finished yet”.

-Angelina Jolie