Just as the title says, Thursdays are for taekwondo. This day everyone in Plus3 Korea spent time together venturing out about in the city. It started with a taekwondo class in the early afternoon. I had no idea what to expect. The only type of martial arts I was familiar with is from the Disney television series, “Kickin It”. The class consisted of Master Kang introducing us to the foundations of taekwondo which include patience, balance, and respect to name a few. He taught us some basic kicks, punches, and balance techniques. We also broke a wooden board with our foot which made me feel cooler than I really was. Martial arts in different cultures range from karate- Japan, Korean, Kung Fu- China, Tai Chi- China, and many more. Therefore, it was an awesome opportunity to immerse ourselves into a sport that has strong cultural ties to South Korea.

After taekwondo, we got lunch on our own and then visited Seoul City Hall. For lunch, my friends and I went to Bass Burger. I love burgers and this restaurant did not disappoint. It was similar to Shake Shack but in my opinion, an elevated/nicer shake shack. My group had time to kill before our tour, so we laid out on the grass in front of city hall. There were over 20 couches set up outside that people were lounging on whilst taking advantage of the beautiful weather.

Inside the city hall building, we explored the different floors during the tour. There were several old photographs and videos portrayed on the walls, which presented information about Seoul and the history of Korea. We were even able to take pictures in the mayor’s office at his desk.

We finished the day early around 3:30pm so Dr. Yun had set up a challenge for us. A scavenger hunt. Every group was assigned a prominent picture of a well-known location, that had to be found, taken a picture with said group, and then sent back to Dr. Yun. The winning group would receive a prize. My group had to find a bridge. We were unable to find it as easily as other groups found their landmarks. We went to the wrong bridge originally, causing us to have to get onto the subway for a second time. After running around in the hot sun for what seemed like hours, we were able to find the correct bridge and snap a group picture to send back to Yun. Our group did not place first due to our poor navigation skills. Nonetheless, it was a fun challenge that forced us to better learn the subway.

Afterwards, my group headed back to the hotel where we explored Myeongdong some more. I ended up getting my helix pierced. It was much cheaper than what it would been in the States, due to the exchange rate. I now will be able to say that I got it done in Korea which I will be bragging about to others for probably the rest of time. The rest of my group continued to shop for souvenirs then we headed back to the hotel get some much needed sleep.