Before classes started last Monday, that Saturday if I remember correctly, three friends and I visited in the War Memorial of Korea. This memorial/museum is MASSIVE. The outside has several statues and the inside consists of several themed rooms based on the time period of Korea's history. The memorial does not just cover the Korean War but rather all of Korea's war history, which is an extensive history to say the least. South Korea became a country through the outcome of war, so you cannot study the Korean peninsula without becoming familiar with its war history. It was very intriguing noticing how South Korea displays its nationalism and ties to other countries at the memorial from flags to displays, statues, and descriptions on walls and other mounts. I could spent at least an hour writing about the museum but since I have so many other things to cover, I'm going to move on for now.
A statue of soldiers at the memorial.
Flags: the perfect example showing Korea's allies during the Korean War.
Outside of the memorial/museum were models of army tanks, planes, helicopters, and missiles. They were HUGE.
This semester I'm enrolled in three courses: Korean Language, Current Affairs and the Reunification of the Korean Peninsula, and Politics and Society of North Korea.
I took the placement exam last Monday and I placed into level 2 of Korean which is exactly what I wanted. Even though some of the grammar points and vocabulary are review, I am learning new material and I'd rather master the material I already know than be over my head. Plus, unlike my other two courses, Korean actually affects my GPA so being in a somewhat easier level will be manageable.
I take Korean through Yonsei's Korean Language Institute (KLI). The class meets Monday through Friday for two hours everyday and we have two teachers: one for M, W, F, and the other for T and Th. Both teachers are very, very nice and they make me comfortable speaking Korean which is huge when one is learning a language; if you don't have confidence then you're not going to want to try and speak, let alone in a class of 12 other students. My class is also small, which language classes should be, so everyday I have the opportunity to speak several times. KLI is much different than my Korean class at MSU though. Not only are the textbooks different but the grading is very, very different. Our entire grade for the semester is based on two exams: our midterm and final. Each exam is also broken up into three parts: oral (speaking), writing, and listening. At MSU, our class didn't have exams and instead the grades were broken up into several tests, quizzes, homework, speeches, plays, and cultural activities. I have been assigned homework in my KLI class but it's not absolutely mandatory. It's also not mandatory to do any studying/reviewing throughout the semester until exam time, but as someone who already hates exams and doesn't want to cram the week before the exam, I am taking the time to memorize groups of the vocabulary every week or two. Even though midterms are a month and a half away I'm already nervous about all the pressure that will be placed on me to get a decent grade.
My other two courses only meet once a week for three hours each. My reunification class meets on Monday and my North Korea class meets on Friday. I honestly can't say much about each class yet because it was syllabus week, and unlike James Madison College, you actually only go over the syllabus and then you're released for the day. So instead of staying in class for three hours, I was only there for half an hour. I like both of my professors for the courses; they seem very knowledgable and I can understand their English which is key. I also appreciate how both courses are led as seminars. Instead of the professor lecturing for three hours, we are involved in discussion. The homework load is also very doable compared to Madison. We have a couple of very short papers, readings, exams, and presentations. I probably won't be spending more than 3 hours a week per class on homework so that'll allow more free time to enjoy Seoul. Additionally, since I've already done the readings for next week, I can say that I already really, really enjoy the reading for both courses, especially the one for North Korea. MSU unfortunately doesn't offer a lot of Korea-focused courses, let alone North Korea-focused courses, so I'm very fortunate to be able to participate in such a course. Heck, even if I wasn't enrolled in these courses I'd probably read the books and articles just for fun. Once I become more involved in the classes I'll be able to better reflect on the material I'm learning.
So because it was Chuseok I didn't have class on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On Saturday I went to Everland, essentially Korea's version of Disneyland, on Sunday I went to Caribbean Bay, a waterpark, and then on Tuesday I went to Lotte World, the world's largest indoor amusement park. I opted to go the parks during the holiday because there was a huge foreigner discount on the tickets, 50% for Everland and Lotte World and 70% for Caribbean Bay. Because I'm lazy and she did a terrific job describing our experiences, I'm going to link to Marisa's blog to explain all our little adventures: http://studiesin-seoul.blogspot.kr/. As I mentioned in a previous post, Marisa is another MSU student who was in my same Korean class for two years. She was my amusement park buddy for those three days so she experienced exactly what I did. What I do have to comment on is how AWESOME one of the roller coasters was at Everland. T-Express is a wooden roller coaster, and unlike the majority of roller coasters, this one was actually super thrilling and SUPER smooth. I had to keep reminding myself that I was on a wooden roller coaster because it really did not feel like it. There were also two major drops in addition to a bunch of smaller ones, but the two main ones were completely vertical (90 degrees), which I don't think I've experienced on a wooden roller coaster. All in all, T-Express is probably one of the top coasters I've ever been on. As a testament to how much we liked it we spent the time to ride it twice. Totally worth it!
A view from the inside of Lotte World.
Look at how close I was to a giraffe during one the rides at Everland!
On Monday, the actual day of Chuseok, I decided to stay in and relax with my host family. We made food together and I ate a lot of songpyeon, a traditional Korean food typically eaten only during Chuseok. They are rice cakes with filling on the inside. The ones I couldn't stop myself from eating had sesame seeds on the inside. Another popular filling is red bean. Later that day Marisa and I also headed to Itaewon, the foreigner district of Seoul. We opted to go there because nearly all the shops and restaurants in Seoul were closed for the holiday except foreign ones. Itaewon is also where the U.S. military base is located. It was very strange stepping off the subway and seeing more foreigners than usual, usually I'm literally the only foreigner I see. Because there are a lot of foreigners, Itaewon has a lot of foreign restaurants, legitimate ones too. There's Taco Bell, Irish pubs, On the Border, KFC, Turkish restaurants, you name it. Marisa and I also located a grocery store that carries American food that I really took for granted in the U.S. This place had anything from Reese's Puffs to Nutrigrain Bars to CHEDDAR CHEESE. Like, real cheddar cheese. Unfortunately since all the items are imported the prices are pretty hefty. Just one box of Reese's Puffs was 13,000 won ($13). But, after exploring some more, I FINALLY found boxes of Oreo-O's that I've been searching in several grocery stores. Oreo-O's were discontinued in the U.S. several years ago and South Korea is the only country that still produces them. Needless to say, I was very happy to purchase a couple of boxes and relive my childhood. We then ended the night at a Western bar that makes its own beer. It was so nice being able to drink craft stout and dark ale.
The oh-so-wonderful Oreo-O's.
Similar to my last post, I'm going to end by remarking on some/an aspect of Korean culture. Beds. Korean beds are not the soft, comforting beds you are probably used to. Since Koreans traditionally slept on the floor, and many still do, mattresses are not that much more comfortable than sleeping on the floor. I thought my bed was the only one that was like a rock, but every bed I've been on here is the same. I'm slowly adjusting but I'm super tempted to buy a hotel room in a Western hotel sometime during the year and just spend the whole day relaxing in a soft bed. I fortunately sleep on my back so I don't wake up with bruises on my hips like a couple of my friends have.
Well I want to have some material to talk about for the rest of the year so I'll save the rest for next week! Also, remember that the rest of my photos can be found on my Facebook. I can't believe it's already my third week here. Time sure does fly!
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