Excursions around South Korea

 Hi Sharks!

My name is Isabella Garcia, and I had the wonderful opportunity to study abroad in South Korea this past summer! In this blog post, I will share some excursions that I've been on and highly recommend if you ever travel to South Korea. I studied abroad at Konkuk University, which is located in the heart of Seoul, where transportation (bus/subway) is only a 10-15 minute walk from campus! 

I will first share my favorite excursions organized by Konkuk University, which were scheduled for every Wednesday during the program. We went on a total of 3 excursions to the DMZ, Gangwon Province, and Everland Theme Park. All these trips were so much fun, I will include Gangwon in this post since it was my favorite out of the 3 and then get into more things I did off campus!

Gangwon Province

Konkuk University organized a day trip to Gangwon Province, which is about a 1.5-2 hour drive from Seoul (we took a charter bus there). We first went to Gangchon Rail Park, located in the city of Chuncheon, where we rode rail bikes around a designated area. The scenery was beautiful, and it was so much fun!

Cafe Hopping

Studying is so much more fun at cafes, and one of my favorite things to do. Studying abroad in South Korea, I would highly recommend going to a cafe; there are so many options inside and outside of campus and across multiple districts. Some cafes are open much later than the ones in the US, which was a culture shock for me.

 

Museums 

Since I took the K-Art class, I had the opportunity to go to multiple museums for class, such as the National Museum of Korea and the Modern & Contemporary Art Museum. I learned a lot about Korean art and history!

 

Shopping

There are multiple places to shop around Seoul! I've been shopping at Insadong, Seongsu, Gangnam, and even the Kondae district right outside campus! I've bought so many things, such as clothes, accessories, skincare, and makeup! I even got color-matched for some of the makeup products, and my skin was analyzed so I could find the right products for me!

 

That's it for this post. I hope you all enjoyed a sneak peek into some of my daily life studying at Konkuk University. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at igarcia8@my.hpu.edu. 

My Experince in South Korea at Konkuk University

My overall experience in South Korea was amazing. I made friends from all over the world and got to try so many new experiences I could never do anywhere else. When I arrived in South Korea, I had pre-booked my hotel, which was located at the airport. There are two types of hotels at the airport. The first one is the transit hotel, which is before customs. This hotel is for people with a layover. The second is a capsule hotel located outside of customs, which is the one I booked and was perfect for one night. There are multiple room options, and they are very convenient. It can be small, but for only one night, it's worth it. The cost is very reasonable; I booked a single shower for $55 USD. These sell out a month in advance, so book with plenty of time before heading there. 

To get to Konkuk, I took the airport limousine bus for $12 USD. This was very convenient as the bus stores your luggage under the bus, and when you get off the bus, the driver retrieves it for you. It was a two-hour ride to Konkuk. Once I got there, I met with the interns who provided my dorm key and rented bedding ($23 USD). After that, I settled in and went shopping for dorm necessities at Daiso, which is an amazing store that sells household items for extremely cheap. Made many Daiso runs while I was in Korea. Konkuk is located near many tasty restaurants, so finding food was never too difficult. The first night, we went out to eat with our interns for chicken and went to karaoke after. This was a very fun first experience in Korea. The next day was orientation and buddy missions, the missions were to take pictures across campus and even places in Seoul to win prizes like Lotte World tickets. 

Our first field trip was to Waterbomb, which is a Korean music festival. This was one of my favorite excursions because we got to see so many popular artists and even received some free gifts. We had field trips every Wednesday, which were nice breaks from classes. Some of my favorite excursions were the baseball game and Everland Amusement Park. The baseball game was so energetic, and the entire crowd cheered for every player. The food was very good and fun to eat. Everland had so many thrilling and fun rides that we went during a weekday, so the lines were very short. We also got to see the cutest and clumsiest pandas there. I also enjoyed the sauna, even though it was very hot and humid in Korea; the sauna experience was very fun and relaxing. It was a true bonding experience. Other field trips we did were the DMZ, Lotte World, Gwangwon province, a cooking class, and a Han River Cruise. Everything was really enjoyable, we did have to pay for certain excursions like the baseball game and Sauna, but Konkuk got us really good deals. 

I had two classes, K-Psychology and K-Aesthetics. They were each three hours long, Monday through Friday, except on Wednesday for field trips. K-Psychology was very insightful about the Korean people and culture. We had a different professor every week and I liked each of their the teaching methods. One professor brought in our Korean buddies, and we got to ask them questions about what it is like to live in South Korea. For K-Aesthetics, we learned about skincare companies from their marketing strategies to the history of K-beauty and skincare. We also went on a field trip for K-Aesthetics. We went to famous skincare/makeup brands and a teahouse. We also went to a Botox clinic/plastic surgery office. Overall, I loved my classes and professors.

After classes and during our free time, I would go out with friends and explore Seoul. We went to pop-ups, palaces, and did lots of shopping. I loved Gyeongbokgung Palace. We were supposed to go with our buddies, but it got cancelled due to the heat, so my little group got up early and went while it was still cool. We rented a traditional hanbok and explored the palace. I’m a big BTS fan, so I made sure to hit all the popular spots for the group, like Hybe. We also did a day trip to Busan, which was a great day. We went to the beach, took a skytrain, and visited Gamcheon Village. I recommend visiting Busan! I also recommend visiting Myeong-dong for shopping and street food. The street food is so delicious, just make sure to have cash to try the food. My favorite meal was Korean barbecue, and then going to karaoke after. I tried to take in every moment and not take my time in Korea for granted. It’ll be a time in my life I will always cherish.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me! My email is nguillen1@my.hpu.edu. Thank you for reading my blog post.

Preparation Details for Studying Abroad in South Korea 2025

Hi Sharks, my name is Nevaeh and I studied abroad in Seoul, South Korea this past summer! My International Summer program was one month long at Konkuk University. Here are my experiences and tips for preparing and packing for a month in Korea.

Since I only went to Korea for a month I did not need to apply for a Visa since it was only a month-long program. However, if plan on staying longer than 90 days then a visa will be required. Other extremely important documents to bring are your passport and an additional government-issued identification such as a driver’s license. I did have to take my passport with me on certain excursions because it was required so I used my passport pouch to keep it on me at all times and safe during field trips. You can use your passport at certain stores to get purchases tax-free but some places already include tax-free with a purchase over a certain amount. So if you don't feel comfortable with taking your passport everywhere you don't have to. I also did print copies of my international health insurance and prescription medication just in case but these can be accessed electronically as well. I had these for when I went through customs but I had no issues and the customs agent did not ask for any other documents besides my passport. Honestly, I only used my passport and ID for my entire trip. 

As soon as I went through customs the first thing I did was exchange my cash for Korean won (exchange rates are better in Korea so I would wait to exchange til you’re there) and picked up my pre-paid Wowpass which is a debit card and T-money in one! A T-money card is your transportation card that you can use to ride buses and subway which you will need to get around Seoul. Making the Wowpass convenient and easy to use I had already purchased it using the Wowpass app. To pick it up you have to go to a convenience store in the airport (CU) right downstairs from baggage claim. You have a barcode on the app that the cashier will scan and then they will give you the card. After I received the card I had to load it using a Wowpass machine at the end of my terminal. You can only load the card with Korean won, after loading it you can transfer money to your T-money card using the app. There are multiple Wowpass machines all around Seoul if you need to load more won or you can use a Mastercard or Discover card to load through the app for a fee of 7000 won(USD 5.10). You can also take out physical won from the Wowpass machine if you need more cash. For credit cards, I had a Capital One Quiksilver Mastercard which does not charge international fees in case of emergencies but I relied mainly on my physical won and Wowpass. If you ever need to take more cash out Konkuk does have a global ATM just in case but it will most likely charge you a fee. Korea does accept Visa, Mastercard, and Discover but depending on your bank or card there might be international fees. 

For packing, I would take into consideration that July is extremely hot and humid in Korea so make sure to pack appropriate clothing and especially deodorant because it is very hard to find in Korea. Also, you can pack an adaptor and converter for your plug-in appliances but if you do forget many places sell them. Lastly, packing items you can't find in Korea. American medicine works better so it's best to just bring medicine like Ibuprofen, Tylenol, and allergy medicine that you’re familiar with. 

For phone data and calling there are plenty of options to choose from such as carrier international data plans, phone rentals, eSIM/SIM cards, and pocket wifi. I had to go with my carrier's international data plan because my phone was locked and couldn't support an E-sim. Some carriers lock your phone if it's not paid so you can only use their network and you can ask for a temporary unlock for travel my carrier T-mobile changed their policy and no longer does temporary unlocks but they gave me the option of the international data plan which was a similar price to E-sims. My plan was unlimited text and calls for no extra charges but for data I only had 5G til I ran out then it would go to 3G. The good thing about Korea is it offers wifi everywhere so I was easily able to manage my 5G throughout the entire month. If your phone is not locked or has a physical sim than all of the other options can be purchased at the airport. If you search around, some websites offer discounts and pick-up at the airport for convenience. I would definitely do your research before purchasing because there can be stipulations to your plan like charging for incoming and outgoing calls so just be mindful. They might offer a Korean phone number which can be helpful with certain apps but it is totally up to you and your length of stay. If you want to call home back in the US, I suggest third-party apps such as Kakao Talk, Whatsapp, or even Instagram for contact because those are free.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me! My email is nguillen1@my.hpu.edu. Thank you for reading my blog post and the next one will be coming soon!

Leisure Activites in Seoul

 안녕하세요, 

This blog post will be about leisure activities you can do in Seoul, South Korea. During your exchange semester you will hopefully have some free time to explore the city and all it has to offer. Because, if there's something the Koreans know how to do it is how to enjoy their free time out and about in the city.

There are so many things to do so I will list some of my favourite activities I have done! First off cafe hopping is very popular and you will find an astonishing abundance of cafes, many of them with different themes like, animal cafes, ceramics cafes, 2D cafes and painting cafes etc. I have a favourite cafe close to the campus called fully, where I'd do most of my studying!

Eating out at restaurants with your friends is a very big part of Korean culture and you will find that it's pretty cheap and very much a group activity as some places don't even serve one portion (you have to order for minimum 2 people). Hence, going out with my friends to try different restaurants is one of my favourite things about living in Korea. My favourite foods are dakgalbi (닭갈비) which is spicy stir-fried chicken, samgyeopsal (삼겹살) which is Korean pork bbq and mul-naengmyeon (물냉면) which is cold noodles. 

The picture above is from the Lotte World which is an amusement park located in central Seoul where it is super popular to rent a high school uniform and walk around in inside the park. There's a lot of rollercoaster, restaurants, boba cafes and other amusement park foods inside and in a very Korean fashion there are maaaaany photo spots, some where you even have to line up and wait to get a picture!

Lastly, one of my favourite places to visit is Seongsu, which is only one metro spot away from Konkuk, and only around a 15-20 minute walk. Seongsu is often referred to as the Brooklyn of Seoul as it is very trendy and you will find that everyone walking around there are very fashionable. There are many trendy pop-up stores and flagship stores, like fwee, standoil and DIOR located in Seongsu and they change frequently so every time you go you will find new ones! 

There are many more things to do in Seoul like karaoke, go to baseball games, visit museums, visit palaces, dressing in Hanbok, going to traditional food markets, visit Korean spas, go shopping in Hongdae or Hyundai mall, go up in Lotte and Namsan towers and much more. Hence, it would take forever to write about everything but rest assured that if you decide to go to Seoul for your exchange semester you will never be bored or out of things to do. These 4 months have been some of the best times in my life and I highly recommend studying abroad in South Korea!

안녕히 가세요,

Ellen

Tips For Your Flight To Korea

 Hey guys!

 My name is Saadiya Patrick and I will be a junior at HPU. I recently finished my first of two semesters abroad at Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea. I wanted to share my experience with flying to a foreign country and what it was like to actually enter South Korea.

So I imagine that a lot of you who will be flying there will either be going directly from Hawaii or from your home state. I happened to be a student who flew from her home state (Georgia). This most likely means that you will have a very long flight and will have multiple layovers. I thought it might be helpful to leave some nice tips for those who might find themselves in a similar situation I was in. I hope any of these tips help!

#1 KEEP THE WEATHER IN MIND:

Depending on what part of the year you'll be flying to Korea, it might be a good idea to keep the weather conditions of your destination in mind. I flew to Korea around the end of February; which meant that we were deep into winter. When I left my house it was around the 30s but by the time I would land in Korea, it would be closer to 19 degrees and there was a chance of snow. This meant that even though I would spend a lot of time on the plane, I still dressed pretty warm and packed layers in my carry. Having these easily accessible is a really good idea when the weather conditions of your home location might be different from where you're going. 

#2 TRY NOT TO OVERPACK

I know it might be tempting to bring your whole closet but keep in mind that you'll have to carry all of these suitcases with you once you land in Seoul. It was a little harder for me not to pack everything as I am staying for a whole year but, I think I did a pretty good job of trying to only bring the essentials. Trust me, when you have been traveling for 12+ hours and you're tired and hungry, you're not going to want to be dragging around more than 2 heavy suitcases around a big city. 

#3 BRING SOME SNACKS

I'm not saying to bring the entire convenience store, but I do think it would be a good idea to bring a few comfort snacks. I personally had to fly for almost 16 hours and it made my total travel time almost 2 days. The meals provided on the flights aren't bad but they might not keep you satisfied for your entire trip. It's also good to have a few snacks on hand just in case your flight gets in late. I didn't get to my accommodation until after midnight. This meant that my options for dinner were very limited. Luckily Lotteria (I like to call it the Korean McDonald's) was an option, but otherwise, I would have had to go to bed hungry. 

#4  GET YOUR DOCUMENTS READY

Make sure to check up on any requirements that Korea might have in order to enter their country. I know some people who arrived during covid and had to test and quarantine. By the time I entered, the required PCR tests were no longer mandatory. Just make sure you know what documents you'll need to ensure you have a smooth entrance to the country. Another thing! When you land and before you go through customs, there will be a couple workers announcing something in Korean and pointing to banners with QR codes and yellow or pink papers. This is a survey-style form that you'll have to fill out before you can go through customs. It'll ask you for things like where you're staying, why you're there, and what kind of visa you have. I highly recommend filling out the form via the QR code plastered on all the banners. Once you fill out the form, you'll get a QR code that the customs people will ask you to scan. You can also show them the completed form if you fill it out on paper, but just know that there might not be any English copies. *also note that despite the long and stressful process of getting your visa, not a single person at the airport ever asks to see it. Even when I took a flight back to America, nobody even asked if I had a visa. It's more important to have the actual passport and (eventually) your ARC than to have the visa)

#5 KNOW HOW YOU'RE GETTING HOME

Once you've landed, it can seem very stimulating and even overwhelming. You're in a new country with everyone speaking a language you might not know. And now you have to try and figure out a way to your accommodation. I want to help make this part a little bit easier. You will basically have 3 main ways you can choose to go home. 

1. Express Train + Subway
• depending on where you are going, you can most likely take the express train and the subway. I would probably rate this method a 7 out of 10. Depending on the time of day, the subway can be very busy, and not all the subways have escalators/elevators to carry your luggage. Also in order to use this method, you'll need to purchase and load your T-money card; which can be a little confusing
• BUYING A T-MONEY CARD
• buying and loading a T-money card can be a little confusing at first. In order to purchase a T-money card you can do 2 things:
• buy one at the convenience store
• get one for free if you buy a sim card at the airport. 
• buying a T-money card at the convenience store isn't too hard. Simply go into your closest 7/11, GS-25, or CU and go to the register. Say the words "t-money" and make a box gesture and they'll know what you mean. If you really want to test your skills you can also say "kyo tong kadu" which is a transportation card in Korean. *Note that most of the time you can only load your T-money card with cash. The only way to load it using a card is in the convenience store. You are going to want to also have your cash ready so the cashier can put the money on your card. Some stores might let you pick the card that you want and you might even be able to go to specific stores to purchase cards with cute designs on it. But that can be done at a later time. I personally recommend only putting a max of 20,000 won on your T-money card at one time. I have heard and experienced too many situations of people misplacing or losing their cards and all the money they put into them. It's easier to reload your card later on than to worry about it. 
• The other option is to get a free T-money card when you buy a sim card at the airport. My mom went this route since she staying in Korea with me for about 10 days. when you exit your gate, there will be quite a few booths advertising sim cards. Make sure you look for the one that mentions a free T-money card. When you buy the sim card, the worker will load the T-money card for you.

Either of these methods works for getting the T-money card and it is just a matter of which method makes more sense for your situation.  

• If you take the express train, it'll go as far as Seoul Station. From there you'll have to transfer to whichever line will take you to your place. If you are going to Konkuk University, transfer to Line 2 or the Green Line. Taking the Express Train isn't required but it is much faster than taking the subway the entire way. However. keep in mind that you'll have to purchase a separate ticket for the Express train and it cost around 10 dollars. *note: the subway closes around midnight and reopens at 5:30a. If you get the Naver Maps app, you'll be able to check the timetable for your train*

    2. Uber or Taxi

• This is probably the most preferred method and the quickest. Taking a taxi doesn't require buying a T-money card and it's not too hard. If you already have the Uber app downloaded on your phone when you land, you'll notice the name has changed to UT. Other than the name and language change, the app is completely the same. You'll be able to enter any address and get a taxi to that location. I do have to be honest about some of the downsides:
• price: depending on what time you try to grab a taxi, you might have to pay up to $70 for a ride. Also, know that it is common for taxi drivers to take advantage of foreigners by taking longer routes or driving slowly in order to raise your price. Even though you are using the Uber app, it is still a taxi service. This means that they'll use the meter and sometimes they'll try to overcharge you for a ride. 
• safety: now this label is a little misleading. Riding in a taxi isn't unsafe. HOWEVER, taxi drivers are known for driving crazy. They drive really fast, slam on breaks, and make plenty of sharp turns. You'll make it to your destination safely but you're heart rate will be elevated. 
• language barrier: while a lot of the taxi drivers at UT Taxi might know a few English words, there are still a lot of older drivers who don't know any English AT ALL which can make it difficult to communicate with them. Unfortunately, Papago (a popular translator app in Korea) won't be helpful as they can't type and drive. Hopefully, they won't ask too many questions but if you ever want to let the driver know that they can "drop you off right here" you can say "yogiyo kwen-chanayo" and they'll understand what you mean. 
• Taking a taxi is not a bad option, but it isn't going to be for everyone. I would say if you have a lot of bags or if it is after midnight, this will be your best (and maybe only) option. 

    3. The Bus

• This should probably be your last resort. Taking the bus can be difficult, especially with luggage. It is possible but I don't think it'll be enjoyable at all. You'll need to get a T-money card for the bus as well and when you get on and before you exit, you will scan your card. You can use the Naver Maps app to find the bus schedule as well and it'll show the timetable for each bus coming. *note: the bus (like the subway) closes at a certain point. Generally, they close around midnight but, it depends on which bus for the closing time. Also after the regular bus closes, the night bus will open. The night bus will be marked with an N (ex. N15 N62). Naver Maps will have the information for this. 

I hope that these tips are helpful and provide a little bit of a guide for traveling to Korea. It can be a scary thing to come to a completely different country. I just hope that any of this information can help someone else not have to struggle as much as I did when I first got there. As prepared as I thought I was, there is just some information that you can't really find on the internet so easily. 

Thanks for reading and see you in my next post!

-Saadiya Patrick

Arrival to Seoul, South Korea

            After a year of debating and months of preparation, on a sunny Thursday morning, June 21, 2019 my dream of flying to Korea had finally arrived. I was excited yet nervous. Traveling outside the country was no new adventure for me, but studying abroad and being away by myself was definitely a first for me. Thankfully I made Korean friends prior to my trip, they were actually Korean exchange students who attended HPU last fall. As I grew up on Oahu and they were new to the island, I was glad to be their tour guide and show them the ins and out of the island. Throughout the semester we built a strong bond that stretches out across the ocean. It was actually thanks to them that push me to study abroad in the summer.

            My biggest fear when getting to Seoul was transportation and accommodation. Because I arrived one day earlier than my initial program start date, I had no idea where I would stay or even travel outside of the airport, plus I knew the bare minimum of the Korean language, so my fear of getting lost was high up there. Thankfully I was able to reach out to my friends in Korea and they were excited for me to visit their country. Their kind generosity led, to meeting me at the airport, showing me a little bit around Seoul, treating me to my first meal in Korea and even staying the night with them at their home. They even bought me a cake and sang a song for me. Not only did they meet me on my first day, but also taught me how to take the subway and how to travel around town. Sadly we could not meet up with each other as much as we would have liked to as they did not live in Seoul, and they too were busy with their schooling, they still provided me with helpful information to make my trip in Korea fun and memorable.

            So, if you are unsure of studying abroad I really recommend that you make friends with the international students, we have at HPU, whether they are exchange students who are only their for a semester, or full-time student. HPU has a wide variety of students from around the world and getting to them and creating a strong bond who knows may eventually lead to them also inviting you to their home country. Also, it is also nice to know that there are people we already know in the country you wish to travel too.

Classes at Soonchunhyang University

Classes at Soonchunhyang University

        Happy Holidays Everyone! The fall semester has ended and exams finished in Mid December. Attending this school under the Asian Studies program, you have a minimum of 12 credits and a maximum of 19 credits to be a full-time student. I took 6 classes that summed up to a whopping 19 credits!

Academics:

        Here is a rundown of how the classes work. So you are not required to take any certain type of class, but be a full-time student. Below are the classes I took and how it went:

        Cultural Internship Discussion class. This is where you would discuss the journey of adapting to a new environment. This is the class that is 6 credits but would be transferred as a General Education in Global Crossroads and Diversity.

         A Korean Culture Class - Calligraphy (1 credit). A time where I would come in for 2 hours and just distress as you practice your calligraphy on phrases the teacher wants you to write.

 

        The two business classes that are the only two offered that semester. Global Entrepreneurship was a class where you learn about powerful business leaders and you would make group presentation and group work. The other class, International Trade and Finance are more of a lecture class with the only midterm, final exam, and a small presentation. Also, these two classes took us on field trips to Samsung Innovation Museum and Hyundai Motors Factory, two of Korea's biggest businesses or conglomerates. (The picture below is a group picture on a souvenir mouse pad from Samsung company tour)



        Korean Speaking and Writing (2 different classes). Even though they are on two different days, you will have the same teacher and will cover both subjects simultaneously. Before entering, you take an entrance exam at orientation. You would either be automatically placed in Level 1 or your place to a higher level. Usually, you need to have taken professionally taught class previously before SCH to get placed into a higher level. If you are self-taught, you would need to make a request. If you have taken Korean class before, do not be afraid and take the test to place higher.

        Ultimately, you will not have a hard time learning as most of the classes are taught in English. The community of people are great so it is manageable to do the class work. Keep in mind that most classes, only 30% of the students can receive an A in the class. I worked hard, made sure to participate in class and ask suitemates for help. My transcripts are out and I’m proud of my grades.

       Next time I will talk about student life and how to manage your money in South Korea! Enjoy the Holidays :)