southkoreainterim

Calvin College Business and Culture Interim to South Korea

  • About

Day 18: Final full day

Posted by ejh46 on January 27, 2014
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment

Today was sadly our last full day in South Korea, but still very memorable nonetheless. While we originally were going to have a lot of free time on our own today, we ended up spending most of the day on an organized city bus tour that we would have otherwise done on our first day in Korea if our flight had not been delayed. One of the most famous tourist attractions in all of Seoul, the palace was once home to the Kings of the Joseon Dynasty, which ruled Korea hundreds of years ago. We then did some final souvenir shopping and ate lunch in the Insadong district of Seoul, which is famous for its very long shopping street. Our final destination for the day was Namsan Tower, which sits on a mountain in the middle of Seoul and offers an incredible 360 degree view of the city and the mountains that surround it. We then went back to the guesthouse, ate dinner at a nearby restaurant, and started preparing our luggage for our flight home tomorrow.

 

As for further updates, I will try to get in one last post showing the events of tomorrow morning was we check out of our guesthouse and drive back over to Incheon International Airport for our flight back to the States. However, since free wi-fi is limited in Korea if you do not have a coverage plan, there is a chance that I will not be able to get anything further out and this would be my last post. If that is the case, thanks so much for following us in our incredible adventure in Korea! We have all made so many great memories on this trip, and we look forward to returning to the U.S. to share it all personally. As of right now, our flight is scheduled to arrive in Detroit around noon tomorrow with some of us exiting the airport there to go home and some going on another separate flight directly to Grand Rapids. We will see you all tomorrow!

IMG_1016

In the bus on our way to Gyeongbokgung palace

IMG_1018

A traditional changing of the guard ceremony

IMG_1019

IMG_1021

IMG_1023

A few pictures from the inside of the palace

IMG_1025

A room where the King would sit

IMG_1028

Insadong shopping street

IMG_1031

IMG_1032

A final group lunch

IMG_1036

Looking down onto the city

 

IMG_1037

Namsan tower

IMG_1038

IMG_1043

IMG_1042

 

A few views of Seoul from the observation deck of Namsan tower

 

IMG_1047

Group photo with our friend in the middle

IMG_1049

Our final group dinner. I apologize for the blurriness

IMG_1052

 

Lance putting some toppings on his frozen yogurt at a “froyo” parlor we visited for dessert

Advertisements

Day 17

Posted by ejh46 on January 26, 2014
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment

was our third Sunday here, which meant a visit to the Yoido Gospel Church, which has over 800,000 members that worship at several locations and times in Seoul and many other satellite churches throughout the rest of the world. The service combined both contemporary and traditional parts of a church, such as a full orchestra, choir, organ, and a band. This was probably our most memorable church experience here in Korea, seeing thousands of people coming together and worshiping all at once. After the service was over, we then took a long subway ride to nearby Incheon, which is a coastal city that sits to the west of Seoul and faces the island where Incheon International Airport is located. There, we took a short city bus tour that included visits to the Incheon port, a small city museum, an observation tower, and a cross over a 13 mile long bridge that connects the northern and southern part of the city, which sit across the bay from one another.

IMG_0993

IMG_0994

IMG_0995

A few pictures from the 9 am service we attended at Yoido Gospel Church

IMG_0996

A lunch of mandoo (fried dumplings)

IMG_0998

IMG_0997

A few photos from our drive through Incheon port

IMG_1001

A 13-mile bridge that connects both sides of the city

IMG_1002

Looking out of an observation deck that allows a view of the Incheon bay

IMG_1003

Jantzen looking through the binoculars

IMG_1004

IMG_1005

Photos of the bridge and Incheon skyline seen in the distance through the binoculars

IMG_1008

IMG_1009

Photos from around the 23rd storey of another observation building

IMG_1012

We wrote a message on the electronic signboard that circles the building

Day 16

Posted by ejh46 on January 25, 2014
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment

Today, our first full day back in Seoul, we started off in the morning by heading over to a business that teaches people how to make imchi, a staple food eaten with most Korean meals explained in the last post. It was quite fun, and we found out that making the kimchi is quite a long process that involves carefully combining ingredients such as red pepper paste, sesame seeds, honey, salt, spices and then coating the leaves of a head of cabbage with the mixture. After that is done, the cabbage is then usually wrapped up and will sit in the refrigerator for a few days to ferment. Upon finishing the kimchi, the staff then gave us ice packs and cooler bags so we could take our creations back home. Most of us are planning on taking our kimchi home and storing it in the fridge at the guesthouse and the ice packs in the freezer so they will stay cold up until and while we leave on our flight back to the States, so get ready for a taste! Later in the afternoon, we then visited Aiin’s World, which is an outdoor museum that features miniature models of famous places all around the world from the Great Wall of China to the Versailles Palace in France. In the evening, we were lucky to be joined by Calvin graduates Grant Bouwer and Ky Hyung Park in exploring Seoul on foot and then eating a dinner of Korean BBQ at a restaurant we had visited earlier when we were in Seoul the first time.

IMG_0942

Sittin’ on the subway

IMG_0946

IMG_0947

IMG_0948

IMG_0949

IMG_0951

IMG_0950

IMG_0953

Photos from our kimchi making experience

IMG_0952

The end result

IMG_0954

Looking proud with my bag of kimchi

IMG_0958

A lunch of Japanese food

IMG_0957

 

Entrance to Aiin’s World

IMG_0961

The Big Ben clock tower

IMG_0960

Luke, Jantzen, and Lance looking at the models

IMG_0963

The Eiffel Tower

IMG_0964

Versailles palace

IMG_0967

The Parthenon

IMG_0968

Red Square, Moscow

IMG_0971

The sphinx and pyramids of Giza

IMG_0973

Capitol Building

IMG_0974

The White House

IMG_0979

IMG_0980

A traditional changing of the guard ceremony at a palace entrance in Seoul

IMG_0983

A statue of King Sejong the Great, who is credited for inventing Hangeul, the simple letter-based writing system of the Korean language. Prior to that, only about 10% of Koreans could read and write using a system based on Chinese characters. Thus, Sejong is recognized by UNESCO for his role in combating illiteracy

IMG_0986

Gyeongbokgung Palace

IMG_0984

The U.S. embassy, our first sight of American soil in a few weeks

IMG_0991

We were joined in Seoul by Calvin grads Grant Bouwer and Kyu Hyung Park (4th and 5th from the left) who are in Korea teaching English and serving in the South Korean army, respectively.

IMG_0992

Group dinner with Grant and  Kyu hyung at the same restaurant as the one we had lunch at after our DMZ visit

Day 15

Posted by ejh46 on January 24, 2014
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment

We have all arrived safely back in Seoul where we will spend the final three full days of our adventure in South Korea! The day started out early in checking out of our hotel and walking a short distance over to the station where we boarded a KTX train, which travels at a speed of 300 km/h and covers the long route from Busan to Seoul in just a little under three hours. After arriving in Seoul at about 1:30 pm, we checked our luggage into the May Guesthouse, where we had originally stayed for the first few days after arriving in the country. We then took the subway over to the Seoul Football Stadium, which hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the first one taking place in all of Asia. When the stadium is not being used, it is converted into a museum where visitors can go in and see the playing field, locker rooms, press conference areas, and an exhibit that shows the entire history of soccer in Korea. When our visit was over, we then took the subway across town to eat dinner at a restaurant owed by Sophie’s parents that specializes in Korean style fried chicken. The food was outstanding, and Sophie’s dad graciously paid for our meal there. We then went back to the guesthouse to catch some sleep before we get up early tomorrow for our kimchi-making experience (kimchi=spiced, pickled cabbage that is a staple in Korean cuisine. Sort of like sauerkraut with a Korean twist).

IMG_0916

Boarding the KTX high speed train

IMG_0918

Looking ready for the three hour train ride back to Seoul

IMG_0920

At the front entrance of the Seoul 2002 World Cup stadium

IMG_0923

IMG_0925

A few pictures of the inside of the stadium. Unfortunately, it had been raining so the field was all covered up

IMG_0928

Locker rooms used by the teams

IMG_0927

Jantzen holding a press conference

IMG_0930

Checking out the indoor practice field

IMG_0932

Getting ready to watch a movie about the Korean National Football Team

IMG_0934

A model of the stadium

IMG_0937

Eating dinner at a restaurant owed by Sophie’s parents

IMG_0938

Korean style chicken salad

Day 14

Posted by ejh46 on January 23, 2014
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment

Today started out with a visit to the UN Memorial Cemetery where hundreds of fallen soldiers from various countries that participated in the Korean war currently rest, including some of the almost 36,000 American servicemen who lost their lives throughout the devastating war. It was a rather touching experience for many of us seeing what a sacrifice all of the countries made in the war and how appreciative South Korea was of them for helping defend it’s freedom and democracy. As the manager of this blog, I must also share a rather touching moment I had at the cemetery. While I was wandering on my own around some of the graves, an elderly Korean man walked up to me and asked where I was from. Upon telling him that I was part of a college group from the U.S., he shook my hand and thanked me for the sacrifices America had made for his nation. On our way out of the cemetery, South Korean military policemen stood at attention and saluted our group as we walked through the main gate. After leaving, we then visited the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation conference building, which sits right on the beach and offers a beautiful view of downtown Busan and the ocean. We then walked along the beach to  a dock area where we boarded a boat that gave us a 1 hour ride through the Busan harbor and around some islets just off the coast. Since it was such a clear day, the sun had really warmed everything up by then which made the experience all the better. It was so clear, in fact, that a Japanese island located 50 km from Busan could be seen faintly in the distance. After we returned, we took a bus over to the Shinsegae shopping center, which was ranked as the largest shopping center in the world in 2009. There we ate lunch at the food court and spent a couple hours exploring the entire mall. To give you an idea of how big it was, think of your average sized shopping mall in the U.S. and then multiply it by ten; the number of floors in the market. We then were able to eat a group dinner with a local Calvin graduate before heading back to our hotel to prepare for our ride back to Seoul tomorrow.

IMG_0866

Sitting on the upper deck a city bus. We know what you’re thinking. Don’t ask why.

IMG_0868

The entrance of the UN memorial cemetery

IMG_0869

Graves of South Korean and UN soldiers

IMG_0878

Flags of the UN countries that supported South Korea During the Korean War

IMG_0873

The grave of a fallen U.S. serviceman

IMG_0872

The stars and stripes above the American section of the cemetery

IMG_0879

A wall with the names of foreign troops killed in the war

IMG_0883

The APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) conference room

IMG_0884

IMG_0885

Views of the Sea of Japan from the APEC headquarters building, which sits right above the beach

IMG_0886

IMG_0888

Views of the ocean from an observation area near the beach

IMG_0890

Group photo with the Busan skyline in the background

IMG_0896

Walking along Haeundae beach

IMG_0899

IMG_0900

Enjoying the scenery on the upper deck

IMG_0902

Going into the Busan harbor

IMG_0908

IMG_0909

Cruising around some small islets a few miles off the shore

IMG_0913

Luke playing a golf demo game in a golf equipment store in Shinsegae Market. The owner of the store got a real kick out of his golfing skills, and even asked if he played professionally

IMG_0915

Group dinner with a Calvin graduate currently working as an English teacher in nearby Ulsan

Day 13

Posted by ejh46 on January 22, 2014
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment

Today we once again spend the first part of the day on another city bus tour, although this time we had a different route and stopped at different locations throughout the city. While some of the locations we visited included a city museum and Buddhist temple, what really stood out the most for many of us was a ride on a cable car that took us from the valley where the city is located to over 3,000 feet up into the mountains that surround the area. Once we were at the top, we could all get a beautiful full view of the city and even see the ocean in the distance. After our bus tour was over, we all went back into town and ate a lunch of street food at the shopping street we had been at the day before. In the afternoon, we did some more exploring on foot in a separate district of Busan and visited the famous Jagalchi fish market, which is the biggest in Korea. It was definitely an interesting experience seeing all the exotic seafood being sold out in the open, but you had to be careful in dodging people running around carrying live octopus or fish. We then headed back towards our hotel and ate dinner at another Chinese restaurant before settling in for the night.

IMG_0838

 

IMG_0833

 

IMG_0835

Tomb models from early Korean dynasties

IMG_0836

An armored warrior

IMG_0848

Visiting a park up in the mountains which featured a Buddhist temple

IMG_0850

Group photo at the entrance of the Buddhist temple

IMG_0854

Our tour guide explaining the history of the temple

IMG_0841

Taking a cable car up into the mountains which surround the city

IMG_0843

 

IMG_0845

Views of Busan from the cable car

IMG_0864

Exploring the Jagalchi fish market

IMG_0857

 

IMG_0865

View of the harbor where fishing boats come in

Day 12

Posted by ejh46 on January 21, 2014
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment

We spent our first full day in Busan by first taking a city bus tour of downtown Busan, where our hotel is located, to get to know our surroundings a little better and to get a quick look at some of the attractions around the city, which included the Busan Tower, probably the highlight of our morning. The tower, which sits on a mountain, offers a full view of the entire city and its surroundings such as the ocean and some of the countryside. After our visit we ate lunch and were again given free time in the shopping district, where we broke off into groups with some of us doing some shopping and others hanging out at coffee shops and snack vendors to relax and chat.

IMG_0807

IMG_0811

Going across the bridge that connects the two sides of the city

IMG_0809

The Sea of Japan

IMG_0813

IMG_0815

Busan tower, which offers a 360 degree view of the Busan

IMG_0817

IMG_0821

IMG_0819

IMG_0818

A view of Busan from various directions

IMG_0822

Busan, being a port city, always has many ships transiting it’s harbor, as seen in this photo

IMG_0824

Group photo in the Busan Tower

IMG_0825

On our way back into town, we noticed many people taking pictures of this group of people up on this pagoda. Apparently, a famous Korean actor was doing a photo shoot there

IMG_0827

IMG_0828

Lunch at a local restaurant in the shopping district of Busan

Posts navigation

← Older Entries
    Advertisements
  • Recent Posts

    • Day 18: Final full day
    • Day 17
    • Day 16
    • Day 15
    • Day 14
    • Day 13
    • Day 12
    • Day 11
    • Day 10
    • Day 9
  • Meta

    • Register
    • Log in
    • Entries RSS
    • Comments RSS
    • WordPress.com
Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.
southkoreainterim
Blog at WordPress.com.
Cancel