A High School K-Drama Dream at Everland & Seoulmate Activity at Lotte World
Authored By:
Never experienced an amusement park in Korea? Lotte World and Everland are the two most popular parks attracting families… and young adults. Especially in Lotte World, you will see young adults, not teenagers, wearing high school uniforms around the parks.
Students study everyday from morning to night. Schools run until late afternoons. After, some students continue their studies at tutoring academies and most go back home to finish schoolwork. Education and college is heavily emphasized in youth, so adolescents have no time to have fun until they get into college.
Tourists get to live their high school or K-drama dream in the parks. There are stores that specialize in high school uniform rentals, ranging from 15,000 to 30,000 won.
In 2019, I went to Lotte World with the New York Times Student Journeys high school summer program (no longer exists). On that day, schools just got out of spring semester and students were eager to go out. The park was packed with young adults wearing high school uniforms left and right. It was a personal cultural shock when I found out about the concept.
This time, I got to try it in Everland. It was funny wearing it because the clothing was eye-catching and illusive that other tourists thought my friends and I were high school students. Moreover, I felt more youthful and energetic wearing the uniform. I definitely suggest everyone to experience wearing the uniforms while visiting the parks
The day before, the CIEE Seoulmates host invited my small group to try ice skating at Lotte World. It was another cultural exchange experience with a different student. The host tried her best to communicate and bond despite the language barrier. Nevertheless, I tried my best to be social with the host. I hope the connections become stronger as the semester continues and more exchange activities will happen.
If you want to see what I am currently up to, follow me on Instagram @hunter.leong
To see more about my life in college and my past summer experiences, check out my Youtube @Go_Hengjian
Related Posts
An Ode to my Favorite Neighborhood in Seoul: Seongsu-dong
By: Kaitlyn Kong When people think of Seoul, many may immediately envision the hustle and bustle of districts like Gangnam or Myeongdong. However, for me, there’s one neighborhood that stands... keep reading
Planning a trip to Busan in less than a week
By: Yohanan Brown As the semester was starting to come to an end my friends and I decided to take a trip to Busan. We were at dinner on a... keep reading
Things I wish I knew before coming to Seoul
By: Benson Zou I was super excited to interact with the vibrant/diverse Korean community before arriving. However there were a few things that I did not have on my bingo... keep reading