As I post this, another day in South Korea comes to a close. Today was another eventful one. It started with us all innocently walking down to the lobby as usual, but once we all arrived, we noticed Dr. Yun wasn’t there. Lo and behold, we look at the trip group chat and see Dr. Yun sent a message simply saying to come find him, shortly followed with the following picture.
Suffice to say, we were all confused, but with the promise of free lunch to whichever two groups found him first had us chomping at the bit to find him (because, naturally, there are no greater prizes than ‘free’ and ‘food’ to college students). With our mission set, we all rushed off in our four groups to the subways and buses to find what we quickly identified as the Jogyesa Temple, and after a surprisingly mistake-free journey on the subways, we arrived! Last. But, we were ecstatic to find out that wasn’t the last stop as Dr. Yun sent a message announcing his final location. The issue was the picture was a picture of some stairs in a blue sky, which, in our experience, could be literally anywhere in Seoul. Fortunately, a second image came and our group was quickly able to identify the location as the National Museum of Korea, and after a rather packed bus ride arrived second to last. Yayyy. Fortunately, our group still had free meals we’d won before our departure for similar challenges, so we were able to eat with the other two groups who’d won (and the last group who also had a free meal from before departure).
As we finished our meals, we all explored the museum for a couple hours. I personally went to the exhibit focused on the Joseon Dynasty’s white porcelain. The exhibit was honestly extremely impressive, showing the artistry of dynastic Korea as well as the many different techniques artists used. Some of the pots even were sent as tributes, exemplifying the tribute systems of old serfdoms seen in both Asia and Europe.
Finally, we ended the day with what I’ve been going on about since my first post: K-pop dance class. Our instructor was absolutely amazing and made the whole experience so enjoyable. I didn’t feel intimidated to dance whatsoever, and I don’t know of anybody who felt uncomfortable trying and giving it their best shot. He made such an inviting atmosphere and did a wonderful job of teaching us! After this is a video with the first half of the routine Jackie took for me during the class.
This was an amazing experience. The choreography was beginner-friendly but engaging, the atmosphere was so positive, and as somebody who just enjoys dance, K-pop choreography is just so fun between the sharpness of movements and emphasis on the ensemble instead of a single performer. I would jump at the chance to do something similar again in a heartbeat, and I have our instructor to thank for that wonderful first impression!