Halfway There

WELCOME TO WEEK 2!

It’s hard to believe that we are officially halfway through Session 1 of the Gaming & Esports Program here in Seoul! 

Recently, we’ve been having a lot of rain in the city, but thankfully, Seoul has a great selection of activities that are indoors or underground for the students to enjoy. 

SUNDAY RECAP

On Sunday afternoon, the students met up with some of the Gen.G students (Korean high school students enrolled in the same academy that is teaching our Gaming & Esports culture classes). They bonded over orakshil (arcade) games and enjoyed some friendly competition at an archery cafe…complete with a prize for the students with the best scores! Afterwards, the students traveled to Myeongdong to enjoy a performance called “Nanta”. (If you’ve ever heard of or seen the show “Stomp” in the U.S., this is very similar but is set entirely in a kitchen.) The show was a mixture of music, beats, comedy…and lots of flying cabbage! The entire performance was interactive and engaging, and the students seemed to find it quite enjoyable to watch. Following the show, they explored the streets of Myeongdong, which daily hosts a plethora of unique food stalls, including Western-style foods like fresh fruit smoothies, croffles, and crepes, as well as Korean-style foods like chicken skewers, Korean corn dogs, and fish cakes. It was a good chance for the students to get to know the Gen.G students and to practice some of the Korean they’ve been learning in their classes.

MONDAY RECAP

On Monday morning, they had their Gaming & Esports culture class at Yonsei University’s campus where they worked to learn about and prepare for their roles in the upcoming Gen.G Esports Tournament at the Gen.G Esports Stadium. The students will be responsible for all of the behind-the-scenes work for the tournament to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Some of the roles include: audio, lighting, commentary, observers (to find the best plays in the game), replay (showing the “best of the best” plays at the end of a battle), and other various cast roles to oversee or assist production. 

After class, the students made their way over to Jamsil Station to explore all that the area has to offer. Lotte (a Korean company/brand) has many different buildings and features in the Jamsil area, including a department store / tower (which includes an aquarium and a SkyBridge near the top of the tower), an amusement park, and countless underground shops and stalls to explore.

TUESDAY RECAP

On Tuesday, the students were in the classroom for a good portion of the day (for their Gaming & Esports culture class and for their Korean class). After classes, we headed to Arirang Taekwondo Club where the students participated in a short training session. They worked on stretches, proper form for stances, punching, and kicking, as well as lots of practice counting to 10 in Korean. The students said they really enjoyed the entire experience and learning from the sabeomnim (taekwondo master).

We finished out our evening with a food tour of Gwangjang Market. We met up with a local professor who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. She told us about the history of the market, which is the oldest registered market in Seoul, and contains a wide variety of traditional Korean staples, like dried fish, different types of kimchi, and other street-style foods. We enjoyed dinner at one of the restaurants within the market, where the students had the opportunity to try some foods they’d previously expressed interest in trying. We had quite a few students take the leap to try sannakji (raw octopus), yukhwe (raw beef in sesame oil over sliced Korean pears), dalkbal (chicken feet in a spicy sauce), and some other specialties from the restaurant. There were mixed reactions to some of the foods, but it’s great that so many were willing to try something new!

Today, the students are at the Gen.G stadium preparing to run an Overwatch Tournament tomorrow. I’m sure this event will be a highlight of their week!