Touring the DMZ

Having just started settling in that same week, my study abroad journey started off strong with learning more about the history of the demilitarized zone and the idea of reunification. We were able to see the U.S. Memorial as well as other memorials dedicated to the soldiers who fought in the Korean War and the families that were separated. Not shown in my very first mini vlog, our tour guide Sunny showed us a short video on the Korean War and took us down one of the tunnels that North Korea used to travel to South Korea. The last stop on our DMZ tour was viewing North Korea. It was interesting to see how different this part of North Korea was compared to the metropolitan city of Seoul.

For lunch, I ordered bibimbap! My mom used to make it for my lunches in high school, so I was excited to eat it again for the first time in a long time. Truthfully, I was a little nervous to eat it with yukhoe, which is beef tartare, but I figured there was nothing to be afraid of. I was right, and yukhoe bibimbap was so yummy that I still haven’t stopped thinking about the next time I can eat it again.

The day ended with a short hike up several flights of stairs to the suspension bridge. Once I reached the top, I felt like I was building thunder thighs because I haven’t walked that much in so long back in the U.S. The view on the bridge was worth it though!! Because of the hot summer weather, many of us in the program raided the nearby convenience store for some ice cream. Korean ice cream is so good and there’s so many different flavors that aren’t available in the US. 

For anyone who is thinking of studying abroad, I highly recommend learning about the history of the country you are staying in. I’ve always wanted to learn more about Korean history, and the experience was more meaningful having it taught from a perspective outside of the U.S. Anyways, I plan to keep making more vlogs of my adventures abroad, so stay tuned for more videos!!