Korea Day 3: Orientation & Hongdae

Today was orientation day. There are approximately 24 students participating in the program, most are from the U.S. but some are from other countries. We all met in the Global Center for orientation, a building on the far side of campus. It took me about 15 to 20 minutes to walk to it, mostly because there was a lot of uphill walking. My poor calves!

Orientation consisted of a brief overview of the program and program guide, followed by a written test and a verbal test. The written test was in hangul which I can’t yet read so I left it blank. After finishing the test we all sat in the room until called upon to go upstairs for our one on one verbal test. My verbal test was just as quick as my written one. After everyone had been tested we were told what class we would be in and then escorted to the Bookstore in the Student Union building to buy our textbooks. 

Day 3

• Kookmin
  • Orientation in the Global Building
    • Took placement tests, and met the other summer program participants
    • I was placed in the beginner class. Room 504.
  • Bookstore -purchased textbook
  • Baguk Hall food court for lunch. 
  • Rested in the room for a bit before meeting up with everyone to explore Hongdae together.
• Hongdae
  • Dessert Cafe
  • Harry Potter Cafe
  • Line Character Store
  • Daiso
• Kookmin
  • Cleaned the room
  • Had dinner from the convenience store

Around Kookmin

Breakfast consisted of some cream-filled pastries, coffee, and a peach beverage with chunks of peach that I was not expecting. 

Click on photos to view captions.

Orientation consisted of a brief program overview and written and verbal placement tests. It was exciting to meet my classmates. Everyone I talked to seemed really nice and fun. I was placed in the beginner Korean class with 11 other students. At the end of orientation, we were escorted to the bookstore and copy shop at the Student Union building to procure our textbooks. The campus is lovely and looks relatively new or at least very modern.

After orientation, I joined some of the other students for lunch at Bugak Hall. Bugak Hall has a food court with three dining options, a cafe like place that sells sweet and savory pastries, a bimbibop and tteokbokki place, and a Subway. I ordered dumplings and kimbap for lunch. The kimbap looks like sushi but doesn’t have as much flavor. The dumplings were delicious.

Hongdae

Bethany and I joined a group of our newly made friends for a trip to Hongdae which is probably the coolest part of Seoul full of shops, entertainment, and fun themed cafes.

Sulbing Korean Dessert Cafe specializes in a special Korean shaved ice dessert called Bingsu. Bethany and I shared a strawberry flavored dish sprinkled with macaroons and drizzled with condensed milk, among other things. It was by far the best dessert I had while in Korea and the restaurant itself was super classy and fun.

Harry Potter Cafe

I was surprised to discord a four-story Harry Potter-themed cafe in Seoul. Themed cafes are really popular in South Korea where the majority of social life takes place in public due to space limitations at home (unlike in the U.S.). Admittance to this cafe was the purchase of a single beverage. What a deal to be able to explore four flours and take photos in the various photo-op spots while enjoying the atmosphere of the Wizarding World. 

More Exploring

Hongdae has a ton of cute stores, hip restaurants, street vendors and performers. I loved walking around soaking up the atmosphere and admiring the architecture, colors, and energy of the area. We didn’t explore very much of it since we only had a few hours so we’ll definitely be coming back.

View more photos from this day in our gallery.