One Month Checkpoint into Exchange
“How’s Korea going?” is usually the question I get asked from friends and acquaintances about my past month in Korea. The question is as loaded as the emotions that I’ve felt and experiences that I’ve undertaken, so I’ll dive into my answer by breaking it down into parts.
How’s the weather?
The weather is cold but in a different way than Canada. Around this time in Canada, I would usually still be wearing my winter jacket, and the only times I would be outside would be to travel between classes. But in Korea, I’ve resorted to layering because 1) winter would end soon when I arrived, so my clothes needed to be adaptable to spring, and 2) there’s no snow around this time in Korea, so it’s mostly a sunny yet chilly vibe that layering works best for. Korean winter gradually seeps into your clothes, whereas Canadian winter just hits all at once. This means that, sometimes, you’ll step outside and think that it’s warm, but once the winds in the open areas hit, you feel the cold. Your legs are usually the most probable victim, so I often go around wearing 2 layers of pants (leggings + wide-legged jeans) in addition to 2-3 top layers.
How’s the food?
The food’s pretty good. I can easily go to any random area and search up 맛집 (matjib, meaning “tasty house” in Korean) to find the best restaurants to eat at. The Korean alternatives to Google Maps are powerful and will show you not only pictures and photos of a restaurant, but also blog reviews and if the restaurant was featured on TV. There’s even an indicator to show if the restaurant was featured in the most recent Michelin Guide. Compared to Canada, Japanese and Korean foods here are really cheap (e.g. ~$8 for ramen and ~$5 for jajangmyeon). I will say that I often end up eating multiple rounds of food (e.g. cafe → dinner → dessert) because of the accessibility of good food.
How are the cafes?
The cafes are hella aesthetic. Compared to Canada, the aesthetics feel more minimalistic and less forced. Some cafes are even multi-floored and have elevators. My mind has literally been blown by the scale and interior design of the cafes here, so I’m definitely not looking forward to returning to Canadian cafes at the end of exchange. A caveat though is that cafes are pricey (at least $6-7 for one item), so extreme cafe hopping may not be feasible nor ideal. Also, to my disappointment, Korean cafes serve similar drinks (iced americanos, ades, and teas), so the actual food experience from one cafe to another doesn’t vary greatly.
How’s the shopping?
The shopping is plentiful and tempting. Every corner you turn, from subway stations to street plazas, provides the opportunity to shop. Good deals arrive often (think $5 puffer jackets and $15 trench coats), and the clothes are mad cute (e.g. sweater vests, long skirts, blazers). I went a little crazy with clothes shopping when I travelled to Busan, so I have definitely started to worry about how I’m going to bring it all back.
How’s your budgeting?
It’s a bit out of control. Right before coming to Korea, I decided not to budget because I strongly believe that money can be made back but time cannot be. However, I set out to track my expenses, but since coming to Korea, that has been difficult because some payments are made in cash (e.g. street food purchases) but others using credit cards (e.g. cafes and restaurants). I’m making small yet frequent purchases, and it sometimes takes a toll on me because I feel like I’m overspending. Whether I actually am or am not, I wouldn’t know (oops). Currently, I’m trying to get back onto tracking my expenses so that I can prioritize spending money on what gives me the greatest long term value (e.g. experiences) as opposed to things with temporary gratification (e.g. clothes and cafes).
How are fellow exchange students? Are you making friends?
It feels like I'm back in first year, which both scares and excites me. It's easy to find people who are the same type of crazy as me, having shared interests in Korean culture and exploring, but it's sometimes hard to tell whether people are just hanging out with you because they're lonely (or afraid of being alone) or if they really like you for you. The exchange bubble is large yet small, so friend circles definitely overlap a lot. For me, the most effective way to make friends has been to organize trips to other cities. I’m thankful to have met a couple of fun friends so far. I’m also a bit preemptively sad that I won’t be seeing most of these people again after these 4 months. It’s as if we are all intersecting at a blip in our lives, and our life paths from here may intersect again, but we never know when.
How’s Yonsei? How are classes?
Before classes started, I was very anxious about managing the work-play balance. I have many conflicting interests — I want to take courses that I’m genuinely interested in and which challenge me, but I also want to travel the country and try unique experiences. I’m used to the “work hard play hard” mentality in Canada, but here, my priorities lie more on the play side than the work side. How does one transition from a try-hard mindset to a only-need-to-pass mindset? Sometimes, I feel like it might be harder to not try rather than to try. These worries have only amplified since classes started. Some of my classes require a lot of reading (similar to some courses at Western), but at least the syllabuses seem interesting. I’m taking courses on East Asian philosophy (to build onto my personal philosophy), Korean history (to learn about the different Korean dynasties), strategic management (to learn about how to grow a company if I were to start one), intensive Korean (to improve my grammar and vocabulary), and scuba diving (because I like aquatic sports).
How’s your mental health?
It’s alright – I’m enjoying my time here, but I put a lot of pressure on myself to make the most out of this incredible opportunity. I’ve been packing the itineraries of many of my days here, and although I wouldn’t have it any other way, I’ve sometimes forgotten to schedule in time to breathe or do work. Thus, when I don’t get shit done, I feel guilty about it and am not able to fully live in the moment. I’ve been getting more sleep than I would in Canada, but I sometimes fail to account for exhaustion (i.e. 6 hours of sleep on a chill schedule vs. 6 hours of sleep on a go-go-go schedule aren’t the same). I also feel a lot of anxiety about the end of exchange. After all, if I was able to be sad about my 5-day trip to Korea in 2019 for 2.5 years, how sad will I be after exchange? I’m trying to do everything I want without regrets while also trying to maintain my sanity and find enough down time. It’s hard to not feel like a chill day is a waste of time while on exchange.
How’s your personal growth?
My personal growth can be felt not through giant epiphanies and magical transformations but rather through increases in self-reflection and courage. Whether it’s through smaller means, such as going down a harder slope during skiing, or through a larger means, like winter surfing, I’ve furthered my belief that I can do anything and everything I set my mind to. Subsequently, I’ve begun to question my professional interests – maybe I want to become a travelling bartender or a news reporter instead of a product manager? I’ve increasingly realized that I define success not by what I do in the workplace but rather by what I do outside of it. I struggle to decide between being a master of one subject or a jack of all trades – do I invest all my time into dance classes, or do I try my hand at a bunch of new things? Regardless, I’ve gotten really comfortable with eating and drinking alone. I actually prefer it sometimes because it allows me to engage with locals in conversations that I otherwise wouldn’t have the space nor attention for. My favourite question to ask is “why did you start this business?” or “why did you start this hobby?” to business owners. You’d be amazed at how far basic Korean can take you as long as you aren’t afraid to initiate conversations.
As of March 3, I hit the one month point in Korea. The transition to life in Korea has been easier than expected, probably because I already knew some Korean and had some knowledge of the culture. It still feels surreal that I’m here; it feels like I’m existing in some odd middle state between Canada and Korea, where I’m neither fully in Canada nor fully in Korea. Since then, my Korean conversation skills have improved, and I’ve been able to live out experiences that I’ve been dreaming about forever. Looking forward, I strive to continue to balance planned itineraries with spontaneity. Who knows what the remaining 4 months in Korea and 2 months elsewhere (undecided yet) will hold for me? All I know is that I will continue to drive forward with my values while keeping an open mindset and a desire to grow :)
Below are some summary lists for fun!
Things I’ve Been Up to During this First Month:
Rug making
Painting
Skiing
Skating
(sorta) gun shooting
Winter surfing
Ziplining
Pole dancing
Waacking
Tap dancing
Hip hop
Cafe hopping
Adding random halmeonis and halabojis on KakaoTalk
Items I’ve Checked Off My Bucket List:
Busan
Yeosu
Incheon
Seongsu-dong
Yeonnam-dong
Hannam-dong
Just Jerk Dance Academy
Winners Dance School
Yonsei varsity jacket
Korean hackathon
Sujebi
Hallabong
Gukbap
Regional soju
Regional beer
Kloud beer
Kamong (kai’s sister’s cafe)
Speakeasy
Costco
Shake Shack
Starbucks
Club
Seafood Market
Hangang
Disco pang pang
Rest stop (i.e. trying rest stop food)
Hwatu/Go stop
Pocha
Rooftop drinking
Sauna
Hanbok wearing
Bar hopping
Photobooths
PC bang
Surfing
Skating
Skiing
Ziplining
Boxing
Yacht
Things I Appreciate about Korea:
They provide aprons in a lot of restaurants, so you can keep most of your white clothes clean
Bows → creates a culture of respect and politeness
Red tents everywhere w/ halmeonis uwu
Convenience stores truly are convenient
I’m going to crave triangle kimbaps so bad after exchange
Densely packed, so good food is always nearby
No tax so even numbers
Areas for Culture Shock:
Freezing subway stns (sometimes colder in subway stns than outside)
Almost being hit by motorcycles or cars all the time
Girls smoking outside
Culture of trust (Koreans will leave their stuff unattended all the time just because “it’s Korea”)
Washrooms will be outside of restaurants but the toilet paper itself is sometimes in the restaurant (if you don’t know this, you’ll be going to the washroom w/o toilet paper; don’t be like me on my first day out of quarantine)
Lack of public trash cans
Subtle Differences in Korea/Observations about Korean Culture:
Couple culture
Take a shot for every couple you see. Guaranteed blackout within a few streets. PDA is prominent everywhere.
Lack of temperature control in water (it’ll be hot one second, cold the next, and then super hot after)
If you’re Asian, everyone speaks Korean to you first by default
Some men here are forward (but also creepy)
Instagram culture (even guys know how to take good pics here)
Koreans are both conservative and open about sex
Hard to split bills sometimes (restaurants make one person handle the bill)
How I’ve Been Changing Since Coming Here:
Buying clothes w/o trying them on first
Being numb to how much money I spend
Speaking korean shamelessly w/o being worried about being called a koreaboo
Top Finds:
Stain removing soap at daiso for those kimchi stains (#miraculous)
Snug izakaya in hongdae
$15 pink trench
$5 blue puffer
Cute pins for the tote bag!
Blueberry sparkling soju