Hi everyone! 

It’s been a long time since I last wrote. Recently I graduated from Yonsei University’s Korean night program, my contract at Medidata ended, and I got a new job as a Global Manager (/Translator) for a well-known North Korean defector’s YouTube channel! It’s called Joo Sung Ha TV, and my boss is a full-time journalist, too. We recently moved into a new office that used to be a travel agency before Covid hit, so there are still Asiana Airlines posters up. 

Here’s a clip of my boss, Mr. Joo, on a variety show segment that aired a couple weeks ago. He appears first at 5:15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjxj6dwLi40&feature=youtu.be

I’ve only been working for about a month, but it’s been fun so far. I enjoy translating, and I get to sit in while the videos are filmed, too. According to a friend, the newspaper my boss works for is conservative-leaning, but I also learned that the conservative party in Korea is more proactive about helping North Korean defectors and promoting reunification in general. Other North Koreans are bitter about the fact that Obama did nothing in eight years to promote diplomacy with North Korea, and just waited around for the regime to fall. My boss claims his videos are nonpartisan though, and he seems to like game theory. 

I have three coworkers besides my boss right now, and they’re looking to hire more people. Of them, two are my age, which is nice. It’s a fairly casual office, and the five of us eat out every day on the company card. 

Also, a bonus: In Korea, resumes have to include a photo, and there are special photo centers you have to go to get them taken. Multiple people told me that it was imperative that I ask for a photoshopped version. Here’s the final result: 

It’s the rainy season right now, which has lasted an unusually long time. There is a distinct smell in Seoul during the summer months because of the above-ground waste disposal system. It’s objectively sorta unpleasant but makes me nostalgic for the first time I came here almost two years ago. The cicadas are very loud. 

Lately I’ve been enjoying two Korean food trends! The first is Malatang, which is Sichuan but has been adapted for Korean tastes. It’s spicy, oily, and delicious, and whatever is in it makes water taste weird for half an hour after. I always order too much, and wind up crying while the wait staff laughs at me. 

I’ve also been drinking dalgona, which is a sweet, honeycomb toffee latte with wafers on top. It’s incredibly popular these days, so you can find it at most coffee shops. 

I’ve definitely talked about it before, but you can really find any kind of food in Seoul. Day to day I don’t actually wind up eating that much Korean food unless I go to a restaurant, because at home I cook exclusively pasta, and it’s easy to get Mexican, Chinese, and Indian out, too. The same goes for alcohol. Smaller, Western style beer breweries are becoming more popular, and there are wine and whiskey bars everywhere. I have a friend who works in marketing for ABInBev which owns a couple of local beer brands, and apparently they’re struggling to market to Koreans. Soju is still as popular as ever, but the $1 bottles you can find at the convenience store aren’t even distilled from rice, it’s just straight ethanol, and commonly mixed with beer to create Somaek, which I could be happy never drinking again in my life. 

I have another friend that has fallen in love with Makgeolli, another rice-based drink similar to sake, and she made us go to a tasting last week. She was a nurse in Canada before coming to Korea, but plans on opening Canada’s first Makgeolli bar when she returns. 

Recently I’ve been getting back into Geocaching, too! There are more than you might expect in South Korea, including one right outside my apartment. 

Miscellaneous Pictures!

That’s it for this time!

I’m back after a long hiatus! The virus situation in Korea has stabilized considerably in the past month, so I’ll be able to work from the office again starting on the 27th. My friends and I have placed bets on the first day that there will be no new cases in Korea; I have my money on Buddha’s birthday, which is April 30th. Despite the circumstances, I’ve had to say goodbye to a few friends who were forced to go home because of the pandemic, which was a bummer. 

Seoul’s parliamentary elections just passed, so the streets have been full of campaign trucks with dancing volunteers. Every day for the past couple of weeks I’ve been woken up by the sound of zealots screaming into bullhorns near the train station. 

Korea’s Democratic Party swept the elections. With the exception of a couple of ritzy neighborhoods (like Gangnam), most of Seoul votes blue. 

Cherry Blossoms

I have never been in Seoul during the spring, so I didn’t know to expect cherry blossoms! They are absolutely beautiful, and have completely transformed the landscape of the city. They only last about two weeks though, and are on their way out now. 

Here are some miscellaneous pictures of Seoul’s spring scenery!

Changdukgung Palace

Last weekend, I visited my favorite palace in Seoul twice! The first time, I toured the secret garden, which includes a pavilion and an elevated Joseon dynasty era library. 

The second time, I joined my friends who were dressed up in traditional Korean clothing, called Hanbok. 

Though there is another palace, Gyeongbokgung, nearby, I like the detail work of Changdukgung better. You can also see signs of encroaching Western influence in the king’s hall; things like European lamp shades, stained glass, and upholstery. 

The neighborhood adjacent to the palaces is a great place to hang out after touring. The architecture is distinct; the traditional village is set against one of Seoul’s financial centers. 

Tutoring 

Recently I also began tutoring math and English! My boss put up a posting on a forum for mothers in a rich neighborhood advertising me as a “certified English tutor” who charges $50/hr, and a few moms reached out to me. The whole situation is eerily similar to the plot of the movie Parasite, and I do have some moral qualms with teaching English abroad, but I’d be a hitman for $50 an hour, so I’m a tutor now. 

One of my students is preparing to apply to colleges in the U.S. and wants help with English essay writing. I firmly believe that you have to read a lot to write well, but I’ve been struggling to think of reading homework at an intermediate reading level that would help her. I assigned a short essay by James Baldwin for homework the first week (thanks Natalie!), but if anyone has a favorite essay or poem they’d like to share, please let me know! 

I’m not sure whether or not I mentioned it earlier, but I’m also volunteering with a North Korean refugee who is learning English to find a job in the U.S. It’s been good for me to practice resume writing and interview questions too, and the student is a really fun guy. Though I’m sure it goes without saying, I didn’t know what to expect when I started teaching, but the word “refugee” somehow prevented me from imagining the goofball they assigned me to. His profile on What’s App is a picture of him drinking beer while riding a camel, and he’s the most motivated of all my students. 

Karaoke 

These days I’ve been going to karaoke a lot with my friends. There are coin-operated karaoke rooms on every block in Seoul, and generally songs cost about 50 cents, so it’s a great way to decompress for not a ton of money. 

One of my favorite things about Seoul are the entertainment options. As much as I like New York, generally going out was purely consumptive; you eat or drink or maybe shop for too much money. In Seoul, it’s easy to have an incredible night out for less than $20; between karaoke, arcades, bath houses, and the like, nightlife here is very vibrant. 

Biking on the Han River

One of the most popular spring activities in Seoul is to ride bikes by the Han river. After renting fixies for a couple of hours, it’s traditional to eat chicken and beer (a combination that has its own word in Korean) in a tent. You can order food easily to food delivery zones near the river. 

Namsan Tower

Here are some pictures of Namsan Tower, one of the central landmarks in Seoul! I took these pictures in early March, right when China shut down because of the coronavirus. The air was distinctly clearer than usual. 

That’s pretty much it for this time! I’ve been staying pretty busy recently, and I realized a couple of days ago that I’m already halfway through my six month contract with Medidata. I’ll have to start thinking about getting another job (or begging for sponsorship soon), which has been stressing me out. I do think that it’s ultimately probably a little bit better to be job-hunting here instead of the U.S. right now, but I have a lot to learn about the job market. 

Talk to you all soon!

Hi everyone! I wanted to make a quick post about the Coronavirus and what’s happening in Seoul. Even though I’ve been working from home and my class is now online, I’m overall optimistic about the situation and the preventative measures the city government has been taking to keep us all safe. 

From what I understand, South Korea has tested more people than any other country except for China, so the number of people who are sick seems high. One of my friends was tested just for coughing at work (she wound up being fine), and I’ve had my temperature taken before entering buildings, too. Testing is free for people who are symptomatic, and there are drive-thru testing stations set up around the city. When someone is found to be infected, everyone in the area gets an emergency alert telling them what neighborhoods to avoid while they’re sanitized. Virtually everyone wears a mask while they’re outside or on public transport, and hand sanitizer is available in every restaurant, school, office building, and subway stop. 

The vast majority of cases are in Daegu, a Southern city where an infected woman denied treatment and continued attending church. According to the amazingly thorough Wikipedia about the outbreak in Korea, 63% of all cases are associated with the church. Seoul only accounts for about 1% of all cases. 

With all that said, I’m still trying to be careful. The outbreak in Daegu happened within a matter of days, and I don’t think we’re totally out of the woods. 

Here are the websites I check for information!

1. Cases by country: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
2. Wikipedia Page (with a chart showing cases by city): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_coronavirus_outbreak_in_South_Korea

At this point I’m honestly more worried about the U.S. I’d love to hear all of your thoughts! 

The past few weeks I’ve been instructed to work at home because of the coronavirus, so naturally I’ve had a little bit more time to explore. The weather has been pretty dusty recently, so between that and working in my room during the day, things have seemed sort of dreamlike. 

Namsan and Hiking

I hadn’t realized but Namsan Tower, one of Seoul’s most recognizable landmarks and tourist sights, is lit to reflect the air quality. On clear days, it’s blue (very rare) or green; on bad days it’s red, and if it’s so dusty that people should stay inside, they don’t light the tower at all, which is very dystopian and freaky. 

A couple of weekends ago, I hiked Namsan Mountain with an expat group I’ve fallen into. The geography of Seoul is really unique- the whole peninsula is mountainous and Seoul’s neighborhoods are divided up by hills, rivers, streams, and mountains. From Namsan you can see all of Seoul and look directly down at a neighborhood called Itaewon on the foothills of the mountain. Itaewon is where most expats in Seoul live, and it’s the best neighborhood for international restaurants, especially Halal and Mexican. 

Two weeks ago, I also hiked a couple of city wall circuits, which were easy and scenic. When Seoul was much smaller than it is today, it was contained by four gates (North, East, West, and South) which were connected by these city walls. After the hike, our group went to a small English pub run by a man named Lewis and his wife. I had the best sticky toffee pudding of my life, and got to pat his dog, who was very sweet. 🙂 

Incheon and Songdo

Last weekend, a friend and I planned a trip to Incheon, Korea’s third most populous city, located east of Seoul on the coast. We had anticipated good weather and even joked about swimming, but our ferry tickets were cancelled due to a snowstorm and our hostel reservations over concerns about the coronavirus. Ultimately we wound up staying in a love motel which was $55 a night and actually quite clean and spacious, and just walked around Incheon’s Chinatown for a day (where there have been no reported cases of the coronavirus so far). 

Incheon’s ports opened in 1883, and people from Japan and China flooded in. Incheon still has a large Chinese and Japanese population, which are separated into distinct neighborhoods. On one street, the delineation is reflected in the the style of the statues leading up to Confucius (a powerful influence in both cultures). Chinatown is North of the stairs (left in the picture) and the Japanese community is South/right. 

On our trip, we visited Wolmi Island, a pier with an amusement park and seafood, but it was so cold that we only stayed for about an hour. I’m glad I got to smell the ocean and see the water, though. 

On Sunday, we traveled to Songdo, Korea’s first planned city. It is completely covered by 5G, and every building is built to LEED standards. There are also strange callouts to other world famous sights, like Central Park, and Venice’s canals. In “Central Park” there is a rabbit island, and deer enclosure. 

Meerkat Cafe

Animal cafes are seemingly going to be a part of every post I make. A couple of weeks ago I visited a meerkat cafe! They were like the raccoons: surprisingly curious, and little thieves. We had to empty our pockets before we went into the enclosure. I also met an incredibly angry wallaby and a raccoon. 

Hwesik

Before I started working from home, I had my first dinner/drinking outing with my coworkers, called a Hweshik. Traditionally these are supposed to be pretty brutal- your boss treats you to food and booze, but employees (especially those who are younger) are expected to eat and drink everything given to them. I had originally planned on just not drinking and politely leaving after two hours, it being a Wednesday night, but my boss got me my own personal pint of Jura whiskey, which he had his brother bring back from his trip to Scotland, so I sorta had to. Here’s a pic! The food was really good, and we were done by 9. 

Jongmyo

Jongmyo is a traditional Confucian shrine for the old royalty of the last Korean dynasty. When you tour, you have to avoid certain paths that the spirits walk on. 

Some Extras:

A Korean meme I saw recently about Gregg shorthand: 

A Dunkin Donuts brand medical mask:

Some views from a ski trip:

Banners celebrating director Boon Joon-ho’s Oscar wins:

That’s all for this time!

Hi everyone! I haven’t written in a while- this post will be the first since I got back to Seoul and started work. 

Work!

Three days after I got back I started my job as a Corporate Social Responsibility Analyst at Medidata’s Seoul office. My main job is creating a free educational workshop for the new hirees of some of our smaller customers in order to improve our sales relationships with them (at least that’s my understanding). The software they’ll teach at this workshop, Rave EDC, is used for virtual clinical trials, and I’m kinda hoping they’ll let me sit in and learn how to use it too. 

I have about 20 coworkers and one direct superior, and everyone has been incredibly kind to me so far! The office culture is less severe than in other Korean offices (or so I’m told), so people wear slippers, leave early if they want to, and can play fantasy football during work hours. Because I’m the youngest, my coworkers insist on treating me to lunch and coffee fairly often, which is really sweet.

The only thing I’ve been struggling to adapt to is the constant talk about body weight. The U.S. definitely has its own neuroses about physical appearance, but I’m not used to people being so brazen about it. Every conversation I’ve had with my coworkers to date has started with some mention of their diet. One middle-aged coworker told me that he’s eating only one meal a day in order to lose 3kg (7lbs). Another coworker, an unmarried man, is teased a lot for being the only bachelor in the office, and I’ve heard people tell him that he should try to lose weight so he can get a girlfriend. The worst was when a woman showed me a picture of her at her last job and insisted that I tell her she looks like a different person now. I feel a little icky condoning any of it, so I’ve just been treading lightly and diverting the conversation for now. At some point, I might gently suggest they chill out. 

I also take a Korean class at night at Yonsei University, where I studied abroad last year. It’s a bit of a slog after work, but the class is well-taught and pretty fun. It got cancelled this week because people got worried about the coronavirus. 

International Drama

As I’ve talked a little bit about in the past, Korea isn’t on super friendly terms with any of its three neighbors in East Asia. Recently, the outbreak of the coronavirus has given people an excuse to toe the line of abject racism against Chinese people, whether they’re from Wuhan or not. Some of the resentment definitely stems from the air pollution in Seoul, which is said to come from China (though I have my doubts). There are very few clear, sunny days here, and I realized yesterday was the first day I’ve seen blue in weeks. Before I came, I always assumed the medical face masks that people wear here were a fashion statement, but apparently they have grades that filter different kinds of particulate. 

Since the imperial rule that ended after WWII, Koreans have also been hostile towards the Japanese. I struggle with this topic a lot- on one hand I think the source of the anger is rational. Japan hasn’t apologized formally for the Korean women that were forced into sex slavery (called Comfort Women) during WWII. There is also a dispute over the ownership of the Dokdo Islands, located right in between Japan and Korea, which Japan annexed in 1904. With that said, Koreans are quick to say violent or racist things about Japanese people, and expect me to agree. One guy at my Toastmasters club said that climate change wouldn’t be a problem if it drowned Japan. I’ve been asked a couple of times if I’m also boycotting Japanese products, and I have a hard time explaining why I don’t have a dog in the fight. 

Chinese New Year/Seollal

Last weekend was Chinese New Year (called Seollal in Korea), so I had a five day weekend. One day I went to a festival being held at a traditional village on the foothills of Namsan Mountain in central Seoul. I toured a little bit, and got a calligraphy poster made for free with an excerpt from a poem by Yoon Dong-Ju. I also watched a folk dance performance, similar to the Chinese dragon dance. 

One of my coworkers invited me to his house to join his family for Seollal. Together we made dumpling soup (a traditional meal), and I talked to his son about NYU, his dream school. His family sent me home with two bags of food, an act of kindness that cured the slight cynicism I’ve been feeling due to cultural differences lately. 

Sheep Cafe

Self explanatory! Their names were Tom and Jerry, and they were very woolly. 

Pengsoo

Pengsoo is a large penguin mascot who has become a hero among working millennials in Korea. It (yes, Pengsoo is genderless) was originally intended for a much younger target demographic, but got popular for its cocky personality, and flagrant disregard for authority and traditional hierarchical rules. Pengsoo is known for referring to its CEO by name instead of formal title, which is a big taboo. 

Behold, Pengsoo, the most popular “celebrity” in Korea: 

Hi everyone! The past two weeks have been fairly uneventful. I decided to skip a blog post last week because the only fun thing I did was get settled into my new apartment. I also Skyped my New York manager a couple of days ago, and she’s delaying my start date until January, so I’ve been a little unoccupied and sorta nervous. She says that the finance department needs to get my offer letter back to her, but that the holidays and recent acquisition have made it difficult. I’ll feel a lot better when I’ve signed that and know for sure that I’ll start work soon. 

Here are some pictures of my apartment now that it’s (somewhat) furnished. For the full experience, imagine that it’s 95 degrees because you’ve convinced yourself that you have no idea how hot 35 degrees Celsius is.  

When I was originally shown the room, its previous owner was taking a shower so I only got a peek. In the two weeks between the viewing and my move-in, I managed to convince myself that there was a kitchenette, when in reality I have two burners and a mini-fridge. There is floor-heating though, and an elaborate bidet, so it evens out. The room also has a window and is more or less clean, which makes it a massive upgrade from the Airbnb I was staying in last month. 

I did have to say goodbye to Choco, the stray cat that lived behind my Airbnb. I almost considered taking her, though it probably would’ve killed me and my landlord doesn’t allow pets. The night before I left, I had a conversation with the policeman who lived above me, and he agreed to feed her every day if I gave him food, so I left him almost two months worth of Fancy Feast. 

덕수궁 Palace

Before I moved out of Seoul Station, I made sure to see some of the tourist spots in central Seoul while I had the chance. My first priority was Deoksugung Palace, where the last royal family lived before Korea was annexed by Japan about a century ago. 

Cafe Culture 

One of my favorite things about Korea is the cafe culture! I’m writing this blog post from a study cafe called “The Focus Place”, which is designed to be the perfect environment for productivity. There are white noise machines, the walls are all white or gray, and the floor is made of a soft material so that you can’t hear footsteps. It’s a little severe, but only costs about a dollar an hour and it really works. 

Last week, I went to a comic cafe, where there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of manga and comic books, and wooden nooks where you can read them. I’m not that into Korean comics, but it’s my favorite place to sleep in public (a personal hobby of mine). They provide pillows and blankets for free, too. 

Of course, my absolute all-time favorite is the raccoon cafe, which I think I have subjected you all to stories about at one point or another. Here’s a picture: 

There are two others nearby, a sheep cafe and a meerkat cafe, which I want to go to this week. On Wednesdays I go to an art cafe, where art supplies are free and patrons are encouraged to work on their projects together. 

That’s pretty much it for this week! I’ll be back in Boston from the 19th to the 2nd, and then back to Korea to start work (god willing) and take a Korean class. I also have new contact information: 

Phone Number: +82 010-9867-3339

Address: Dangsan Station Harrington Tower, Building 101, Room 602, Lot 9-3, Dangsan-dong 5(o)-ga, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, 07213, REP. OF KOREA

See you all (in person) next week!

P.S. A bonus for your troubles:

The Apartment Hunt and Cool Spots

The last two weeks have been simultaneously stressful and undemanding- I’ve been getting up late every day, but also dealing with opening a bank account, finding an apartment, getting a phone card, and facing a lot of bureaucratic nonsense at the immigration office. A week ago I toured an apartment I liked a lot and signed for it, so a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders! I’m currently living in an Airbnb near Seoul Station, shown on the map below with a purple star. The red star is Medidata’s office, and the blue star is the location of my new apartment.

Korean Sool Festival

A week and a half ago, I was invited by Grace, one of my friends from NYU, to a traditional Korean food and drink festival. We ate fish cakes (the ones my mom thinks look like bandaids), sampled various drinks, and learned how to brew makgeolli, the rice wine I mentioned in my last post. The main ingredients are rice, warm water, and powderized yeast made from a sort of dried-out “starter stone”. Makgeolli takes very little time to ferment, so I had my first glass last night. It was alright, but there’s no strainer in my Airbnb so I had to chew through the chunks. I didn’t go blind though, so I consider it a success!

My makgeolli, pre-fermentation

The Pyongyang Pub

This week, I also stumbled upon the “Pyongyang Pub”, an establishment I read about in a couple of articles recently. The entire interior is based off North Korean aesthetics and propaganda, with slogans lining the walls and German beer labeled to look like Taedonggang, the most popular brand in Pyeongyang. Though it was a cool experience, I have really mixed feelings about using an authoritarian dictatorship as a theme for pub in a foreigner-heavy neighborhood. 

That’s it for this week!

The morning after I was on-boarded in Medidata’s Seoul office with my New York manager, I met up with Alma and Chris (long-time family friends) and boarded a plane for Jeju, an island south of the mainland known as the Korean Hawaii. Jeju is tropical, volcanic, and famous for its oranges and peanuts. The world’s busiest air route is actually between Seoul and Jeju, which you can see if you look at an air traffic map. 

Seogwipo and U-do

On our first day, I met up with my friend Dawon, whom I met when I studied abroad at Yonsei University last year. We visited U-do, another island off the coast of Jeju, visited a tourist-y cafe, and ate oranges and peanut ice cream. Later in the night we joined Alma and Chris for noodles and makgeolli, a traditional Korean alcohol that’s light and yeasty. 

Hallasan Hike

We woke up early to catch a ride from Alma and Chris’ B&B host, Beanie (sp?), to the base of Hallasan, the mountain in the center of Jeju Island. We hiked to the peak, at 2000m above sea level, in about five hours, stopping to eat oranges and snacks and drink juice on the way. We took one detour to check out a smaller crater and watch clouds rolling over the side of the mountain. The last third of the hike was grueling- for about an hour and half the trail was just stone steps to the peak. The crater at the top was massive and beautiful, and I wonder if we could’ve seen mainland Korea if  we had climbed the opposite side. The hike down was another four hours, and at the end I felt like I had broken both of my legs. Because the three of us were exhausted, we spent the evening on the floor of my airbnb, where Chris taught me how to play blackjack and poker and showed us some magic tricks. 🙂 

Jeju City

Today was very laid back- the three of us were exhausted from our hike, and only went out at night in Jeju City, on the northern side of the island. After some beer and fries, we went to the casino at our hotel. Only foreigners are allowed at the casinos in Korea, so virtually everyone else there was Chinese. After losing about $10 playing slots, I went to bed, and the next morning Chris and Alma flew to Taiwan, and I returned to Seoul!

PS. When I visited my grandmother Muddy in Indiana a couple of weeks ago, we had a really hard time finding Krispy Kreme donuts. Behold the first thing I saw at Incheon International Airport when I landed in Seoul: 

Dracula is also touring the country, which has to be a sign, right?

 

Hi everyone! Welcome to my blog, justaudrey.travel.blog (the only free domain I could get). I hope to update about once weekly to share what I’m doing in Seoul, South Korea. 

The Basics

I’m here on a working holiday (H-1) visa, which allows me to work in Korea for 18 months with some restrictions. For the first six months, I will be working for the same company I worked for as a summer intern, Medidata! They sell software for clinical trials, but I’m going to work in HR/sales. Because my visa is weird, I’m still technically an intern, though my New York manager, Lyndsay, told me that I can choose my title. I’m thinking Sustainability Analyst, though she suggests Corporate Sustainability Manager. I have until December to pick an implausible title for myself, and suggestions are welcome. 🙂 

For the month of November, I will be living in an Airbnb near Seoul Station, located in the center of the city. Within the next three weeks, I have to find another place through a realtor. Rent is fairly cheap in Korea, so I’m aiming to pay around $400/mo and live north of the river, where most of the universities are. My job at Medidata is in Gangnam, an expensive and very built-up area in the southeast of the city (made famous through a song I’m sure you all have heard). 

I will change the tagline of my blog every once in a while to different expressions that I like. Please feel free to comment, and thanks for keeping in touch!