Our second day in Korea started unexpectedly. The itinerary very vaguely suggested that we would be “sightseeing.” Looking back, this was a bit strange for an itinerary that is otherwise quite specific. When we arrived in the lobby at 10:30, we were informed that Dr. Yun had already traveled to an unknown location and that we would have to find him. We were split into four groups and had until 12:30, and the first two groups to find Dr. Yun would win.
Hints came in the form of a series of pictures. Using a reverse image search, we quickly found that the location was Jogyesa Temple. We first thought we had to take the subway, but quickly realized that we should take the bus. We accidentally tricked another group into taking the subway in the process, slowing them down significantly, and teamed up with Group B, figuring that if we worked together we could both reach Dr. Yun before either of the other two groups. We arrived at Jogyesa Temple at 11:00. It all seemed too easy. Dr. Yun then told us that he had moved and began sending pictures of the next location.
This one was not quite so straightforward. Finding the location via a reverse image search was equally simple, but we took the subway and mild chaos ensued when trying to transfer lines. The group lead us the wrong way against the advice of me and a few others, but we eventually reached the National Museum of Korea around noon. With our teamwork, we were able to beat the other two groups and win the game.
The scavenger hunt was my personal highlight of the day, but there were a lot of other fun activities as well. We ate lunch at the National Museum and then had about an hour to visit. This was only enough time to skim a few exhibits, and you could easily spend an entire day there if you wanted to see everything. We then went to a K-pop dance class. I was expecting to dislike it, but it honestly ended up being quite fun. After this, we had some free time. Chris, Ben, and I strolled the market streets of Myeongdong and ate some delicious street food, including barbecue chicken skewers and hotteok. This concluded my second day in Seoul.
