{"id":5847,"date":"2019-07-20T23:07:06","date_gmt":"2019-07-20T23:07:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/carolandkarl.com\/blog\/?p=5847"},"modified":"2025-06-15T11:01:01","modified_gmt":"2025-06-15T11:01:01","slug":"traveling-to-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carolandkarl.com\/blog\/traveling-to-korea\/","title":{"rendered":"Korea Day 1: Traveling to Korea"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The 28 Hour Travel Day<\/h2>\n

Today I am traveling to Korea, another country I never really expected to visit. Sometime last year I reached out to see if JSU had any study abroad opportunities. They didn’t have anything in Japan, but they told me about a partnership they have with Kookmin University in South Korea that’s also super affordable. For not much more than the cost of airfare, I could spend three weeks living in a dormitory in South Korea to participate in a language and culture program at Kookmin University. So here I am on a plane flying across the Pacific Ocean with my friend and fellow grad student Bethany, whom I’m really glad decided to join me. Hooray for travel buddies!<\/p>\n

Sadly, I haven’t had time to do much preparation for this trip. I’ve read 1.5 travel guides, a number of articles, and have been working on learning to read the alphabet. I put together a custom Google map with places we’re staying or visiting as part of our language and culture program to help me orient myself with the geography, but I haven’t investigated any other places to visit except for the beach city of Busan Bethany suggested we visit. I’m kind of looking forward to just winging it as we go. That being said we actually have a fairly busy schedule.<\/p>\n

So what will I be doing in Korea?<\/b><\/p>\n

I’ll be attending Kookmin University’s short term Korean Language Program. I’ll be studying Korean and learning about the culture from 9-12 Monday-Thursday, attending cultural activities two afternoons a week, and going on all day field trips on Fridays. That leaves Bethany and I two weekends to do our own thing. We’re taking a train to Busan one weekend but haven’t made plans for the other yet. I’m hoping transportation will be convenient enough to hop on the subway and explore the various districts of Seoul in the afternoons and evenings. Aside from that, the only things on my wishlist at the moment are to try all the foods, explore the districts to take in the sights, and visit a karaoke room. I’m also hoping to make some new friends. -fingers crossed-<\/p>\n

Day 1 in a Nutshell<\/h2>\n