I am very close to the end of my SK journey! Unfortunately, I still do not know Korean :( Oh well, one day.. It hasn't really hit me that I probably won't be back for quite a while..
We've been trying to cram in a lot of going out this past week, and we've made a lot of plans for the weekend; I hope we get to do everything on our list. I will be sad to leave definitely, and I am sure I will miss it, but I am excited to be back home!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
More of the same
Did typical weekend stuff here: Bars in Sinchon, clubs elsewhere. We went to club Circle in Apgujeong; it was pretty nice, Apgujeong is in the same area as Gangnam and is known for being more ritzy than other parts of town..
Yesterday we went to Idae, another part of Sinchon that is closer to Ewha University. It was very cool, small alleys of little shops and vendors. It is actually the first time in Seoul that I've seen tattoo parlors; they are very uncommon in this typically conservative city. I wish I had pictures, but my camera broke!
I definitely have the worst luck with cameras, if you don't know.. I lost one on a trip to London in high school, then I broke both mine and someone else's on Marathon Monday this past spring. I just got this nice nice camera as a birthday present, and someone knocked it off the table Saturday night at noraebang :( The lens is pretty messed up; I got a warranty because I really just knew that something would happen, so I can get it fixed or replaced for free at Best Buy, but until I get back to the States, I'm not sure of what I'm going to do :( I might be able to borrow my Samchunharabuji's camera.
Every Sunday, I have lunch with my Samchunharabuji (great uncle). He barely speaks English, but he is really sweet to me; he always takes me to some nice place, and I was starting to get a cold last week and he could tell, so he bought me medicine.
I'm half way through my time here! eek!
Yesterday we went to Idae, another part of Sinchon that is closer to Ewha University. It was very cool, small alleys of little shops and vendors. It is actually the first time in Seoul that I've seen tattoo parlors; they are very uncommon in this typically conservative city. I wish I had pictures, but my camera broke!
I definitely have the worst luck with cameras, if you don't know.. I lost one on a trip to London in high school, then I broke both mine and someone else's on Marathon Monday this past spring. I just got this nice nice camera as a birthday present, and someone knocked it off the table Saturday night at noraebang :( The lens is pretty messed up; I got a warranty because I really just knew that something would happen, so I can get it fixed or replaced for free at Best Buy, but until I get back to the States, I'm not sure of what I'm going to do :( I might be able to borrow my Samchunharabuji's camera.
Every Sunday, I have lunch with my Samchunharabuji (great uncle). He barely speaks English, but he is really sweet to me; he always takes me to some nice place, and I was starting to get a cold last week and he could tell, so he bought me medicine.
I'm half way through my time here! eek!
Mud Festival
Last Friday I went to the Boryeong Mud Festival! It was pretty fantastic; we could paint ourselves with mud, take mudbaths, wrestle, go down slides, etc etc.. It was also on a beach, which was really nice. The mud from Daecheon Beach is said to be really good for your skin, and the purified mud that they use at the festival is the same expensive kind that they sell as masks, and make into other beauty products. Yummy!
I didn't want to take my camera, but I stole a couple pictures from Dylan..
painted with mud :)
Mud People!
I didn't want to take my camera, but I stole a couple pictures from Dylan..
painted with mud :)
Mud People!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
B-Boy show
Friday evening we went to a B-Boy show, "Ballerina loves B-Boy," featuring Extreme Crew, who won the 2007 Battle of The Year. Korean crews have won 4 out of the last 6 BOTYs! It was super sick; I've never been able to see breaking in person.. Breakdancing has def been reemerging in to popular culture around the world; documentaries such as "Planet B-Boy" and "Always Be Boyz," and tv shows like mtv's "dance crew" have recently popularized the artform.
We took pictures with them after the show; they were adorable!!
Gangnam
Friday night, we went to Gangnam, which is known for its rich beautiful people, ha. I didn't notice it too much, but we did see a couple nice cars and some plastic girls.. We first went to a bar, and paid 10 bucks for french fries.. I'm not sure how we justified this, hah. We didn't get to Club Mass until 2am, but the cover was still 30USD. ouch. We decided to make the most of it, though, and stay as long as possible. The clubs are open until dawn, generally.. The music was house, and there were several guys dancing tectonique, which was pretty funny to watch. It's a tecno-electronic dance that has become popular in Europe, especially France, and I guess it's spread to Asia, hah.
yeah, mightve been on stage
A little before 5, we were ready to leave, but we realized were very broke. We def didn't have enough for a cab back, especially since there were too many of us to take just one. So we waited for the subways and buses to open..
steph, sara, me, jesse ooppa, joanne
The bus ride was half an hour or something, and pretty uncomfortable in clubwear.. We finally got back, tho we missed our stop by one so we had to walk a ways before we finally got to sleeep! It was fun, and a funny memory, but I'm not so sure how quick I'd be to do it again..
yeah, mightve been on stageA little before 5, we were ready to leave, but we realized were very broke. We def didn't have enough for a cab back, especially since there were too many of us to take just one. So we waited for the subways and buses to open..
steph, sara, me, jesse ooppa, joanneThe bus ride was half an hour or something, and pretty uncomfortable in clubwear.. We finally got back, tho we missed our stop by one so we had to walk a ways before we finally got to sleeep! It was fun, and a funny memory, but I'm not so sure how quick I'd be to do it again..
Saturday, July 12, 2008
image
Thursday night, I went shopping in Dongdaemun. There are tons of street-vendor type shopping in these massive malls, and at night a lot of people go to buy wholesale to sell in their own stores. At 3am the malls are busy, and the sellers are willing to bargain prices with you. Most of the clothes are things I cannot see myself wearing in the States, which keeps me from buying too much, but I did get skinny jeans, two skirts, a dress, and leggings for 54USD..
The shoes here are cheap but also made cheaply and are pretty uncomfortable. The girls here manage to wear heels all the time, though! Most girls I see, at any point in the day, anywhere, seem to be wearing heels, and I don't know how they manage. After one night clubbing in pumps I am walking around the city barefoot.
The obsession with image in general is insane here. The girls are tiiny.. although I guess this is natural because of an overall difference in diet and lifestyle. I barely see any gyms though; I don't think they have the same obsession with the American ideas of beauty in muscles and tans.. Along with being tiny, most girls seem to like to stay pale. Also, rather than being "sexy," most would prefer to be "cute and pretty." The most popular pop stars (who are THE idols in Seoul culture) are very young. A popular girl group, the Wonder Girls, is made up of mostly high school girls; the youngest, and most popular, is in middle school! ick.
Plastic Surgery has become very popular in Seoul. S'sangkapul, or double eyelid surgery, is extremely common. I've heard that some girls here have even gotten surgery to lengthen their legs.. ouch. The most "beautiful" girls here have a small face and nose, and many get plastic surgery to get this way. An "ulzzhang" is someone with a very pretty face; apparently there are online contests to turn someone who isn't one into someone who is.. This is one I've seen online alot.. The circle lenses are creepy, right?! She wasn't looking so great before, but those are alien eyes..
The shoes here are cheap but also made cheaply and are pretty uncomfortable. The girls here manage to wear heels all the time, though! Most girls I see, at any point in the day, anywhere, seem to be wearing heels, and I don't know how they manage. After one night clubbing in pumps I am walking around the city barefoot.
The obsession with image in general is insane here. The girls are tiiny.. although I guess this is natural because of an overall difference in diet and lifestyle. I barely see any gyms though; I don't think they have the same obsession with the American ideas of beauty in muscles and tans.. Along with being tiny, most girls seem to like to stay pale. Also, rather than being "sexy," most would prefer to be "cute and pretty." The most popular pop stars (who are THE idols in Seoul culture) are very young. A popular girl group, the Wonder Girls, is made up of mostly high school girls; the youngest, and most popular, is in middle school! ick.
Plastic Surgery has become very popular in Seoul. S'sangkapul, or double eyelid surgery, is extremely common. I've heard that some girls here have even gotten surgery to lengthen their legs.. ouch. The most "beautiful" girls here have a small face and nose, and many get plastic surgery to get this way. An "ulzzhang" is someone with a very pretty face; apparently there are online contests to turn someone who isn't one into someone who is.. This is one I've seen online alot.. The circle lenses are creepy, right?! She wasn't looking so great before, but those are alien eyes..
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Second Weekend
This weekend I did more of the same: food & drinks and Noraebang (Karaoke) in Sinchon, clubbing in Hongdae.. I def haven't done as much as I want to while I'm here, so I'm making a list today of everything I haave to do in the next five weeks..
I haven't even been shopping much! I want to try to bargain on my own, but I'm clearly American so I'm afraid I'll be ripped off unless I bring along friends more proficient in Korean.. It is amazing though, the clothes are so cheap and although a lot is not what I would wear, most of it is pretty nice. The markets are like one big Forever 21.. actually that's probably exactly what it is? Except cheaper :)
At HO bar V in Hongdae
I haven't even been shopping much! I want to try to bargain on my own, but I'm clearly American so I'm afraid I'll be ripped off unless I bring along friends more proficient in Korean.. It is amazing though, the clothes are so cheap and although a lot is not what I would wear, most of it is pretty nice. The markets are like one big Forever 21.. actually that's probably exactly what it is? Except cheaper :)
At HO bar V in Hongdae
Friday, July 4, 2008
Cinema, Philosophy
This week in class..
In East Asian Cinemas, we watched the Korean film Sopyonje, which is centered around a traveling family and Pansori, traditional folk singing. It was a touching movie, but has been criticized as self-orientalizing and so romanticized that it is no longer believable.
In Philosophy in East Asian Literature, we are reading Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, which I read some of at BU for Eastern Religions, but not as much in depth. In a way, a lot of what we talk about reminds me of Existentialism, but the way of thinking is very different. There is an emphasis on analogical thinking, and language is seen as insufficient for explaining concepts such as the t'ai-chi (the ultimate). Anything that can be defined is phenomenal, and is just a manifestation of the neumenal (metaphysical) world. The neumenal realm is considered what is real, and what is truth, and these things are therefore beyond perception. etc etc?
<-- Tao
In East Asian Cinemas, we watched the Korean film Sopyonje, which is centered around a traveling family and Pansori, traditional folk singing. It was a touching movie, but has been criticized as self-orientalizing and so romanticized that it is no longer believable.
In Philosophy in East Asian Literature, we are reading Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, which I read some of at BU for Eastern Religions, but not as much in depth. In a way, a lot of what we talk about reminds me of Existentialism, but the way of thinking is very different. There is an emphasis on analogical thinking, and language is seen as insufficient for explaining concepts such as the t'ai-chi (the ultimate). Anything that can be defined is phenomenal, and is just a manifestation of the neumenal (metaphysical) world. The neumenal realm is considered what is real, and what is truth, and these things are therefore beyond perception. etc etc?
<-- Tao
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