Korea Day 1:

The first day in Seoul has been incredible. We landed at 4 a.m., and ever since, we have just been on the move. I think I hit about 20,000 steps.

Today we visited Gyeongbokgung Palace first. The palace was extraordinary. Our tour guide, Esther, explained all of the detailing of the palace and the culture, and what everything meant. I found all of the cultural representations of the animal guards very fascinating.

From the palace, we then walked along Cheonggyecheon, which was really cool because I got to sit by the water in the exact same place the girl from the movie Made in Korea did. And if you’re an XO, Kitty fan, I saw the Kitty and Minho stepping stones by the water.

The day, however, was not over yet. We then took the subway to the Gyeongun-dong markets for lunch, and I had the best mandu from a little shop down an alley off the main street. I also got to experience a 7-Eleven for the first time, and it did not disappoint.

From the market, we then traveled to a small residential area, Bukchon Hanok Village. There, we saw all of the modern and traditional hanoks. However, since people still live there, there are “quiet police” in the area to make sure tourists aren’t loud. On the way up to the top of the hill in the village, there were so many vendors, and I walked into a really pretty and aesthetic perfume shop. The perfumes were so unique.

After our little pit stop at the village, we went to Gwangjang Market. There, we got to explore all of the vendors, some of which have been featured in Netflix shows. Dr. Yun also got us to try raw octopus. While I probably won’t ever have it again, it was definitely an experience.

Honestly, our day was very long, from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m., yet soaking it all in made me not even realize how tired I was. I got back to the hotel and fell asleep almost instantly.