Korean Chronicles

My overdue post is finally underway as I sit down to write about my travels to South Korea a little over two months ago. I'm optimistic that my absence hasn't deterred any readers from returning to my humble haven of words. 

If you follow me on Instagram, you're probably aware that I was away for two weeks at the end of May exploring some of South Korea's bigger cities. If you're not following me on Instagram, I welcome you to connect with me and hope to see you there!

This trip was unlike other trips I have gone on primarily due to my mother's company. I haven't traveled with her since I was in university and realized that our traveling preferences were vastly different. Due to the differences, I don't think I can say it was the most fulfilling international trip I made. However, this didn't take away from the precious time I had with my mother, and it made me realize how fleeting time can be.

And so it begins...

May's trip to Korea was unlike other trips I took in the past eleven to twelve years. The most obvious difference was that I was not with my children or husband and the second being that I wasn't traveling there for work. 

The 15+ hours of flying are always the toughest part of traveling to and from Korea but knowing the reward at the end of the long flight always keeps things in perspective. 

Many things have changed since I lived in Korea:

1. Most ladies were now wearing flats instead of 2+ inch high heels.
2. More ladies were wearing relaxed clothing. 
3. Overall, the people looked "healthier" with less emphasis on being stick-skinny.

It was nice to see some of these changes, but also surprising to me because Korea has always traditionally emphasized a lot on appearance. I can't say much has changed for men in Korea because I never really paid much attention to the things that worried them.

Celebrity Sighting 

After the very long and arduous flight, my mother and I took our time at the airport; after all, we touched down at about 4:30 AM, and Korea was largely still asleep. After taking our time going to the bathroom, picking up a very convenient pocket wifi, and exchanging currency, I walked past who I thought was my favorite childhood celebrity. A double-take confirmed that it was indeed my adolescent crush, Kwon Sang Woo. 

  

In all my years, he would be the third celebrity I had the privilege of being close to, being only a few paces away from me. Reportedly, he was picking up his family at the airport, who have been residing in North Jersey for his children's education. 

What a great start to a two-week vacation in Korea! 

Itinerary

Our plans in Korea included visiting three cities over seven days, with our final week spent in Seoul relaxing and shopping. There were a few other cities we had hoped we could visit but with the time constraint, we were unable to do what we wanted to do in the end. 

My excitement heavily rested on discovering the history behind many of the cities we planned to visit. Growing up and even during my time living in Korea, Korean history never piqued my interest. It was only after becoming a Korean educator I found the desire to know the history behind my heritage. 

We explored the city of Suwon, visited my aunt and her family down in Busan, and spent more than enough days in Gyeongju exploring the different Silla Dynasty tombs and their contributions to Korea. Our first week was an enriching and educational part of the trip and I was happy that we were able to explore the cities for their historical treasures. 

Here is the breakdown of our schedule out in Korea:

May 20-22: Suwon
May 22-24: Busan
May 24-27: Gyeongju
May 28-June 1: Seoul

It's really too bad that we couldn't spend more than two weeks abroad. With my mom's schedule and the number of consecutive weeks my husband is allowed to take off, we couldn't extend the trip any longer. 

The picture above is of my mom and me when we made it to Suwon. We dropped off our luggage and had no choice but to venture out because check-in time was not until mid-afternoon. The time is approximate, but I think this picture was taken around 6:30 AM when we were trying to figure out where we could grab breakfast.

The only place we managed to find was a small family-owned restaurant that specialized in soups, probably for those who crave hangover soup after a night of drinking. My mom couldn't help but notice that we were the only ladies having a meal, and older gentlemen were eyeing us wondering why we were in such a place that early in the morning. 

There is nothing like a piping hot bowl of soup and some salty banchan on the side. 

I wish I could write about all the little things I experienced but I find it hard to be able to show or even write about my experience in Korea. Over the next few weeks, I hope that I can continue to keep writing and show you where and what I did in some of the different cities. 

With life being so busy and juggling so many roles, I find it hard to find the time to sit down and blog. Furthermore, I am not the strongest writer and it typically takes me much longer than the average person to compose a piece of writing. Writing has never been my strong suit and yet, here I am trying to be a blogger. *nervous giggle*

Anyway, I look forward to finding the time to blog about all the things I did in Suwon in my next post. In the meantime, stay healthy and happy!

XO, 

혜원 쌤

Laura