Today we started the day with a taekwondo lesson! I knew a little bit going in because I did karate when I was younger, but I was curious about how it would be different. I can definitely say that martial arts are no joke. When the instructor was giving us demonstrations, his movements were very swift and clean. It was interesting to see the foot movements in taekwondo. When you are sparring, you are supposed to slide your foot against the mat or stay on your toes. In karate or kickboxing, you jump back with your whole foot, but in taekwondo, you are supposed to stay on your toes and shift back. It was a little hard to grasp at first, but it was fun to learn.

After the lesson, we made a quick pit stop at the underground museum in Center City. There was a display explaining the Korean language and the history behind each letter and pronunciation. It was nice to see the history behind the language and how it has evolved over the years.

Finally, we ended with a tour of Seoul City Hall, and the building was extremely beautiful. It was large with lots of natural light, yet still very modern, and had lots of plants. Originally, the mayor’s office was in a different building, which is where it is currently, so the previous building is now the Seoul Metropolitan Library. The library was very rustic but still had a nice charm to it. We could see the old mayor’s office as well as the council room.