Hi everyone,
As you are probably well aware, I am currently living in Korea teaching some mischievous children and having a great time. I’ve gotten into the swing of things here and have my routine, which I always appreciate. We even have a coffee place in our building which we call before we go downstairs to save those precious few minutes in the morning. And trust me, at the rate I get ready (slow) they are very precious indeed.
However, as much as I yearn for comfort and the familiarity of soft, plushy couches, once I get it I always feel a need to go out discovering. And considering I live in just outside Seoul, there really is a lot to see. And I haven’t nearly seen enough of it.
So, I thought I would make public my Seoul Wishlist. This is my to-do list for the next 10 months while I am (definitely) in Korea. Don’t get me wrong, I love Guri and am obviously a Guri girl at heart, but there are some things that can only be done in an international city. Actually, that isn’t necessarily true in Korea, where convenience is king. I would actually go so far as to say that it’s completely untrue. Oops. So, let me extend this to Seoul, Guri and beyond. Just Korea in general. Should I change the title of this post? Probably. But I like the sound of it so it’s staying!
Look, here’s a picture!
Without further ado, here are the things I want to do in Seoul Korea over the next almost-year:
- Learn Korean: This is a big one. I am still that confused waygook trotting around and not understanding most things. Thank goodness I can read Hangul, but it’s the speaking I really want.
- Go hiking: Being a less-than-stellar sportsperson, as well as owning the world’s whitest skin, hiking isn’t really my ideal sport… if I were to have an ideal sport, that is. However, the mountainous plains of Korea are ripe for the hiking, and I would like to try at least once to conquer their wondrous peaks.
- Find shoes that fit: This probably isn’t going to happen but, you know, dream big.
- Keep my plants alive: okay I know this is getting trivial, but for some odd reason (lack of water?) I can’t seem to keep my plants alive here. Now I know I may be negligent, but I am not alone in this pain. I’ve just recently bought some extra fauna for our house (much to the chagrin of Gav, complete with cries of’CO2 pollution) so the hustle continues.
- Go to Everland: we’re back on track! Last year my friends went to Everland when I happened to be in Tokyo (sigh), so this year I am hoping to make my first appearance at Lotte’s Disneyland ripoff. It’s where this headband is from and it sounds marvellous.
- Discover Gangnam: We often go to Apgujeong, which is supposedly the ‘Paris of Seoul’… and we also incorrectly refer to it as Gangnam. In all honesty, I haven’t really checked out Gangnam proper and while I know that it will most likely be stereotypical commercial tripe, I still want to see it for myself. One time while my brother was visiting, we tried to find the famed Rodeo Street (a take on Rodeo Drive) but I don’t think we really did. We found a sort of backstreet with shops, including a Burt’s Bees store that I was quite excited about, but it has so far eluded me.
- Get involved in the community: And by this I mean both expat and Korean community. How, you ask? Well, I love this country and would gladly help promote it any way I can. Obviously my blog is my main channel, but I also want to write for Groove magazine and other expat publications. Also, once I learn Korean (see the first point) I would gladly do anything to further Korean-foreigner relations. However, this requires a deeper understanding of the culture and obviously the language, sooooo yeah I got my work cut out for me.
And that’s about it for now. I will keep y’all posted if anything else springs to mind, as I’m sure this list will grow throughout the year. But hopefully it also shrinks at the same time! Does this defy the laws of physics? Probably!
In the meantime, Gav and I are really enjoying watching out first K-Drama, ‘Lie to Me’! We started watching it with friends the other night and I really like it, so hopefully we will keep watching it and pick up Korean as we go. For anyone who’s interested, my friend Thomas told us about an awesome site to watch K-Dramas, called dramafans.org. It seems to have everything on here, so if you want some ridiculous OTT amazingness straight from Korea, this is your place!
If anyone has any other suggestions for Seoul/Korea things to do, I would love to hear your suggestions in the comments! I will hopefully be packing (even more) awesome things in this year, so all ideas are welcome 🙂
Until next time,
Steph x
Have you tried achasan in Guri for hiking? It was my first mountain and it’s relatively easy once you get up, quite flat across. I miss that place!
Ooh no I haven’t! Some of the teachers at my school actually went hiking in Guri the other day, so maybe that’s where they went… I will have to check it out ^^ Guri really does have everything! Perhaps you should come back 😉
I do miss that place, had some good times there and it’s so close to Seoul I used to go there every weekend! But at the moment (until next year), quiet life suits me here in Daejeon 😉 Although I’ll be paying a visit there to visit my friend after she gives birth. Do you know Oae Dae Language Institute? There was the best galbi and shabu shabu place there!
Yep I love it here. I love it so much! Guri just gives me everything I need <3 I feel like I have vaguely heard of that institute but I may be trippin', lol :S you know, I haven't actually had shabu shabu yet… Crazy I know! Perhaps I will have to suss this place out and try it, thanks for the tip 🙂