Today our itinerary included multiple small things in the morning, and free time all afternoon and night. With that being said, our day started by going to a traditional Korean Hanok village. The architecture in the village was stunning, and I was shocked to find out that people currently live in those homes. The neighborhood was very beautiful and there were workers there making sure that everyone keeps quiet because it is a residential neighborhood. After the Hanok village, we continued to a nearby Buddhist temple, the Jogyesa Temple. Jinny told us that Jogyesa Temple is 1 of 2 temples located in Seoul, and is the main one. Although a monk was conducting a service, I was still able to see the 3 massive golden Buddhas. Additionally, Jinny taught me how to pray and “make a wish” in the temple. Since my mother is Buddhist, I was very interested in learning the correct way to pray. I then went to the gift shop and bought a buddha for myself and also another for a gift.

Our day continued into Insadong, a touristy shopping area. Insadong was full of cool stores including some beautiful art, but Dr. Yun warned us that the area is very expensive and he was not wrong. Items that we found in Myeongdong and other locations were marked up here in Insadong. Finally, we finished our structured time with lunch, where I enjoyed these delicious, simple spicy soup noodles.

Once our free time began, Braden, Nate, Brian, and I wanted to go to Hannam-dong to do some shopping. We had heard Hannam-dong was the best place to shop in Seoul. When we arrived there, we spent time looking through the stores for clothes. There were many expensive streetwear pieces, but the place was completely unaffordable. All the brands and clothing items were awesome to look at but out of our price ranges. We wrapped up Hannam-dong by getting these decent specialty hot dogs.