After two flights that lasted forever, we finally arrived in Seoul. The traveling took all day, and I barely got any sleep. I thought I would be sluggish all day, but it was quite the opposite. The adrenaline of being in a new country and wanting to see everything hit me immediately. One thing was certain, though: if I did not eat a good meal, then I would not make it through the day. Dr. Yun brought us to a little restaurant right outside our hotel. I was so excited about this meal, it was all I was thinking about during the flight. We all got seated and we wanted to start digging into our bonchon, which was kimchi and radish kimchi. The only problem we had was that we could not find the silverware. Then another group found out that there were drawers in the table that had everyone’s silverware and napkins. It was super convenient, and the kimchi was delicious. Then we ordered our main meal, which was a spicy soup with different types of meat, even including blood sausage. It was the perfect meal for us before the long day ahead of us. It was hearty and delicious.

Then we went to Gyeongbokgung Palace and the Blue House. This was not the most anticipated itinerary item for me, but I was pleasantly surprised. The palace was beautiful. The details that went into everything were incredible, from the guard’s outfits to the statues. My favorite thing about the palace was the nature around it. The mountains and trees added so much to the already beautiful buildings. The Blue House was the same, with gardens and trees surrounding it. We walked around the palace and Blue House for a couple of hours, and every new thing we saw made me want to explore more. After seeing just about everything, it was time to eat.

We went to the Tongin market to get a quick bite. This was my most anticipated thing on the trip. I have always wanted to go to Korean markets and order as much food as I could. The market was a narrow alley with vendors on both sides. The vendors were selling everything from clothing to octopus and fish. After walking through the market one time, something immediately caught my eye. One vendor was frying up fresh fried chicken and mixing it with three different sauces. The lady was nice enough to make us a new, fresh batch of chicken. It was hot and crunchy with loads of flavor. That was my favorite bite of the day. After that, I tried another item called sotteok. This was a skewer of rice cake and sausage doused in a spicy gochugang sauce. It was flavorful and had great texture. It was now time to call it a day. We took the subway back to our hotel, where I took a shower and napped for a couple of hours. That was the perfect end to a great first day in Seoul.