My Favorite Moments While Abroad

Before coming to South Korea, I was kinda familiar with some parts of Korean culture, like the food, bits of history, and the entertainment scene. I knew how to read Hangul but I couldn’t understand many Korean words or phrases. Now I leave knowing how to make basic conversations and a deeper understanding of Korean culture.

I spent most of my time abroad making new friends and one of my favorite ways was taking pictures in photo booths. In my free time, I like to dump journal, and the print out photos were a great way to decorate every month. Without the opportunity to study abroad, I wouldn’t have been able to meet so many amazing people!!

Of course, the other half of the study abroad experience is not only exploring but being a student in another university. Though I didn’t end up joining any clubs, it was fun checking out different events on campus. It’s not shown in the video, but I also picked up new study strategies and habits to bring back to my home university.

In a previous post, I talked about my favorite trips in South Korea. In this video, you can see some familiar mentions of Lotte World, Nami Island, Wolmido Island, and Busan. These trips were unforgettable, and I made closer friendships with the people who came with me. Planning for these trips also inspired me to take the same adventurous attitude and bring it back home or to other future travels.

One of my favorite hobbies is going to concerts. During my time abroad, I was able to attend two music festivals, Rapbeat and The Cry Ground. This was the closest I ever was to the stage and I thought the price was worth it for the amount of artists I knew and were able to see perform in-person. Getting tickets for these concerts were easier than getting seats for K-Pop performances. However, I was lucky enough to see Golden Child for free right outside of Yonsei University’s campus!

Another one of my hobbies is playing video games, so I spent a lot of time in PC bangs. Sometimes I would even do work in one for ambient noise late at night!! I thought the T1 Base Camp was one of the cooler PC bangs, especially because the team won Worlds this year and had super yummy food. 

Towards the end of my study abroad experience, I spent some time in a few animal cafes. There are so many in South Korea that I’d recommend taking a day to hop around the different cafes. All of the animals were very nice and loved eating the food guests would purchase for them. It was a great way to relax before finals and move out.

Although these clips were not in order, I hope that whoever reads and watches this video and is thinking about studying abroad feels excited about applying and taking the opportunity. Not only do you learn more about another country and culture, but you also have the chance to learn more about yourself and grow. I’m so incredibly grateful to have gone abroad and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested!!