Last night I woke up from a ridiculous and very unattractive Plague-ish coughing fit, A La Game of Thrones, to find I had an email from my coordinator that said "placement results." So, after a very long process, months of collecting documents and weeks of stressing, I opened the email and found out my EPIK teaching placement is in Seoul! I am ecstatic, although, I'm not sure it will feel real until I have my NOA and contract along with my visa, in hand! Big props to my awesome coordinator for keeping me up to date, organized and fierce! I'm smizing right now. Can you tell? So in honor of my pending departure (pretend I wrote honor with a "U" if you're British) I thought I would take some time to point out some of the awesome highlights of Seoul!
1. Seoul truly is the city that never sleeps...well unless it happens to be folks on the subway. Cafés, PC bangs, restaurants, spas, shopping centers and fast food chains are open any hour of any night. Which means I can totally feed my late night Kimchi cravings.
2)Beautiful Men! Even though it may take them longer to get ready than me....I'm cool with that and I can totally get over the fact that they all wear BB cream :)
3)Desserts- Seoul is famous for it's plethora of amazing and ridiculously delectable desserts! For example, green tea tiramisu
4) K-Pop- It's addictive! Korean pop music is like crack! Not to mention, the girl groups are completely dominating the global market at the moment. Seoul is the center of it all, producing polished, pop princesses with perfect hair (check out that alliteration!)
5) Bio recognition- Many homes in Seoul are equipped with technology that's security is dependent on a persons eye or fingerprint. Some apartments can even be completely operated using a cellphone. Imagine all of the lights in your apartment shutting off the second your stalker ex tried to call you? It could happen!
6)Palaces of the Morning Calm- Just stunning! Where would I ever see this in Wisconsin?
7) Coex- Asia's largest underground mall and it even has a Kimchi museum!!
8) Seoul Metro- Anyone who has ever braved the subway of NYC or the dregs of Boston or even the London tube, knows that you meet some crazy characters there. Seoul is no exception and with a city so packed you are bound to get up close and personal!
9) Being a Badass- Seoul offers the opportunity to devour a semi-live octopus and nothing makes me feel more powerful than a tongue battle with octopus tentacles!
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| Okay so it won't look quite like this scene out of "Old Boy" where he devours a whole live oct |
10) Lotte world- The Guinness World Record largest theme park.It's magical
11) FC Seoul- Korea's professional soccer team and lets be honest, Lee Eul-yong is a total stud! Sadly, he's retired...but he paved the way for even more fantastic players!
12) Rugby-Seoul is home to the "Seoul Survivors" and the "Seoul Sisters," two awesomely talented teams!
13) Hiking on Mount Bukhan
14) World Comic Convention-Twice a month the SETIC convention center hosts Seoul's World Comic con Festival. Loads of Korean teenage dress up as the anime characters, which for me, screams nerdy "PHOTO-OP!" Love it!
15) Spas, Saunas and Massage Rooms-Korea is pamper heaven!Some saunas also include sleeping areas for overnight stay. These are known as 찜질방, or jimjilbang, and can be a cheap alternative to hotels when you're just passing through an area. Seoul literally has thousands!
