South Korea in Retrospective

PREFACE

Choosing CIEE Seoul for my first study abroad experience was one of the greatest decisions I have ever made. Over the past six weeks, I was able to see so many different places, meet some truly fantastic people, and surround myself in an environment that would lead to personal growth. Coming in as a foreigner, I had my fair share of mistakes, but by taking the time to learn from them, it gave me the chance to become better. Overall, this trip has just been a life changing journey for me and I'd like to share some things in hopes that it may encourage you to study abroad in Seoul. 

An Emotional Journey

I won't sugarcoat my experience and say I came to the country worry-free. In fact, I was freaking out starting the day before I left the United States because I had been informed by my airline there was an overbooking error and I was being moved. It was nonnegotiable. Now that would be a big hassle within its own right, but here's the thing. Somehow, it got worse. The best analogy for my arrival into Korea is similar to a scene in the Pixar film Up when Carl and Russell have to go through a terrifying lightning storm to get to their destination of Paradise Falls.

For clarification, here's just a bit of insight to what had occured (in chronological order): 

I was going to miss the first day of orientation (a result of the airline moving me), my room had no power (a room key error that happened randomly), got locked out of my room (the room key error again), got kicked off the bus (entirely my fault because I didn't know about Tmoney cards), had difficulty requesting a Covid-19 test (couldn't speak or understand Korean), and got stranded in Seoul in the middle of the night with no money and a dying phone battery (I didn't exchange US dollars for Korean won at the airport and I forgot to charge my phone in my room).

By the time I made it back to my room, I was exhausted both physically and mentally and became less enthused about the prospect of spending a week, let alone a whole six weeks in this country. I was beginning to rethink my trip.

But then the next day rolled around. I woke up around 7am, which for me was pretty early, and checked my phone. Some people from the program were trying to meet up. Initially, I hesitated because (I'm going to be completely honest) I'm extremely introverted. But a part of me pushed against that. Somewhere in my head, my conscience was telling me to give the meet up a try, and THAT was the best advice I could have gotten. Not only did I meet who would become my close friends for the rest of the trip, but they also became the people that allowed me to explore the many different aspects of Korea. Theme cafes, restuarants, karaoke, pictures, arcades, clubs, esports tournaments, kpop concerts, hair salons, everything we could do, we did. After all this, I am able to turn around, look back at this journey in its entirety, and see the frustrations, anger, confusion, and lack of motivation at the beginning of the trip start to fade away as the days progressed. With the arrival of more activities came the chance to experience joy, laughter, and inspiration like never before. And looking back to all the stuff I ended up doing, I noticed my experiences were further elevated with new friends, since their inclusion would go on to make each day better than the last.

My Overall Thoughts

So to summarize the first day of my trip, it was awful. But did it ruin my trip? 

Absolutely not.

South Korea is amazing. In the span of a month, I have done so many things that made me instantly forget about any of my worries. From petting the friendly sheep Bibi (he's literally the nicest animal I have ever met), eating at a Michelin star restaurant (my wallet), singing or screaming pop and Kpop songs with friends until I couldn't continue (actually lost my voice in the process), getting lost in the land of love locks (love is an eternal contract), losing an anime DJ battle with a music maestro (still upset by that loss since it was so close), joining the crazy night club scene at one of the bars in Seoul (I bonded with complete strangers over our shared love of dancing to EDM), watched a League of Legends tournament match in person (the whole atmosphere was just epic), going to see the South Korean rapper Huta absolutely dominate (they had everything from confetti and light shows to smoke machines and flamethrowers), and last, and most importantly, dying my hair for the first time (I dyed my hair blonde).

Going Forward

The biggest gift this trip has given me is the ability to remember so many great memories. Everytime I look back at any one of the forty-two days I had in Korea, it makes me feel happier than ever before. I was able to learn to live in a completely brand new environment, meet people from all walks of life, and somehow manage to make the most of both even though I would consider myself to be introverted. It goes to show the power of the program as well as the talent of the staff, since it was because of the accomodations granted to us that gave me the strength to take my life in a positive direction one step further. And that step further, going forward, will only lead to another place, where similar challenges will await me. The only difference is that I have grown stronger in the process.