Day In My Life As A Seoul CIEE Student

SK Global and Dongmyo Flea Market

I begin my Monday with my Understanding Digital Media class at 9 am. Yonsei offers so many different courses that it can be difficult to find a class you wouldn’t enjoy. This is probably my favorite class out of the five I take here at Yonsei. The class is in New Millenium Hall which is only a short walk away from the SK Global house making it easier to attend as an early morning class. Once I finish class at around 10:45 I head out to Dongmyo Flea Market, which is one of the most popular flea's here in Seoul. It runs every day of the week and you can always find something you are looking for in the various clothing stands or stores they have to offer. Before I begin shopping I stop by a small tteok (rice cake) stand where each package goes for only 1,000 won. An amazing deal! Now that I have my shopping snack, I head through the small alleys to the flea. It can get pretty crowded and overwhelming, but if you are ready to rummage through huge piles of clothes and various accessories then this is the place for you. I went on a slow day so not that much was available. I was able to find a small red purse in one of the piles that have been on my Pinterest board for months, so a huge win in my books. I look around for a couple more hours and explore different parts of the flea I haven’t seen yet. I start to get hungry, so I begin to head back toward Sinchon.

Mippeudong Yeonnam Main Branch

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The bus ride to the flea and back is a short 30 minutes. During my ride on the bus, I remembered that there was a restaurant in Yeonnam that I had been meaning to try. At around 3 pm I get to Mippeudong. This restaurant is popular on TikTok for its salmon noodles. I get seated right away and the staff is super friendly. I ended up ordering their signature dish, 미쁘동, which is a rice dish with a pile of various seafood ingredients such as tuna, salmon roe, salmon, red shrimp, and crab. Toward the end of my meal, I leave a third of the bowl and ask for broth to be added. I have instantly made a second meal! I clear my bowl and I am now ready to head back to SK Global. 

Aqua Field Goyang

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I take a quick rest in my room and get ready to meet up with my friends for a quick spa day. We were struggling to figure out where we wanted to get a facial and how much it would cost. We ended up forgetting about the facial and decided to check out Aquafield Goyang Spa. Located in Starfield Mall a little outside Seoul, this spa is famous for its luxurious facilities. A traditional Korean jjimjilbang with modern accommodations. We went pretty late in the day at around 5 pm. It takes an hour to get there by subway, but it is completely worth it. The Spa has your typical shower and pool areas and upstairs has various hot and cool rooms. The media art room was definitely my favorite. It was a circular room with a dome ceiling that displayed a calming underwater scene for participants. Since it closed at 10 pm and arrived late, we didn’t get to try all the facilities they offered. But, we will definitely be back to try their rooftop pool, relax room with rows of massage chairs, and water park. With more time, you can also check out the rest of the Starfield Mall which has stores like Zara and Olive Young.

As we head back to Sinchon, I look back on the day I had and think about how much I can get done in one day. There is so much Seoul has to offer and still so much I haven’t done yet. I am very excited to see what else I can do through CIEE and how I can make this semester count!