Lotteria

Wah long day today. It was raining for the entire day, so no one really wanted to go out after school. So in the end Ziyi and I went over to Hansot to settle our dinner at 4 odd. But it was still very early after dinner, so we went to walk around the neighbourhood instead. Surprisingly, we somehow reached Dongdaemun (Orchard Road of Singapore) after 1.5 hours! Pretty amazing right! The malls there are scary! Every mall has at least 7 levels of shopping, all divided into different categories, like female clothes on levels 1 and 2, male clothes on level 3, shoes on level 4, bags on level 5 etc. And the sales people there are fierce! When we got up to the male floor, there were already salesmen asking us to go to their shops and telling us to slow down and look at their goods. Some were even physical (like touched us on our arms and such)! We were so surprised we kinda went up for a while and quickly exited the mall.

Anyway, we went past a cool fast food joint - Lotteria. This is the MacDonald's of South Korea, and there are quite a number of them in town, probably more than MacDonald's here. And their layout are so similar that if I didn't notice the sign, I would think this is Mac.

This gadget was given to us at the counter. We were told (of course through lousy English and lotsa hand gestures) that the gadget would ring and light up when our food is ready for collection. Super cool!

Isn't this just like Mac? Especially the floor tiles, chairs and tables! Notice the Lotteria sign on the glass panels. Yellow and Red colours too!

Here's their set. Shrimp burger, bulgogi burger, 2 piece chicken, fries and drinks. No chilli sauce though :( The chicken pieces here are really small, unlike those in Singapore.

On the way back, we stopped at the waffle shop near school and got ourselves ice cream waffles. Yeah, it's kinda silly to be eating ice-cream when the weather is freezing, but it's cheap! A waffle with maple syrup and 3 scoops of ice cream costs only $1! Interestingly, the same waffle with maple syrup and fresh cream costs $1 too. There's totally no hesitation choosing between the 2.

Here's another view of Korea University. This time round, we are at the science campus. Wah the school is damn huge that we got lost wondering around. Luckily for us, we met this really nice security guard that brought us to the place we wanted to find, and even treated us to drinks at the vending machine! All five of us! I don't think I can ever find such nice security guards in Singapore.

School is finally starting officially tomorrow. That's the end of my 9 days tour in Seoul, and the end of sleeping in late every day. First class is at 9am!!! Luckily my classroom is just 15 minutes walk from my hostel, unlike in NUS, where I have to travel for 1.5 hours to my lesson. Wonder how the day is going to be like tmr?

Myeong-dong, Han River

Went out with Singapore friends today. Ooh, another freezing day today; luckily I was well-equipped with my coat, scarf and gloves. Bought our lunch at Hansot today. Woah, I love Hansot! It's a very family-friendly restaurant that sells lunch boxes at very low prices. I got my Tonkatsu chicken (fried chicken cutlet) rice set, along with kimchi and pickles for only 2,200 won (which translates to less than $2.50)! It's really the cheapest eating place that I've found so far, and the auntie there is very friendly too! Anyway, we dabaoed and ate at the plaza in school. It's like a picnic, but only better, cause it's cold, and has no ants, mosquitoes nor flies. Picnics here are damn nice!




The vending machines in Korea are also much better than the ones found in Singapore. Look at the variety of foodstuff that you can get here! In school, I can actually buy really good quality tea, coffee and hot chocolate with 10 cents, and it's really super tasty good!

This is one of the must-trys in Korea: Banana Milk. It's really one of the rare few kinds of milk that I actually dare to drink, and it's really tasty! The banana taste is really strong; unlike any found in Singapore. And it's real cheap too; around 70 to 80 cents.

Here's Myeong-dong. It's like the Orchard Road of Singapore, only that the shops have their own individual buildings, and there's a lot of action everywhere.

Olivia's eating something called hottock. It's like the green tapioca kueh found in Singapore, only that there is a cinnamon sugar syrup inside, which oozes out while eating. One costs about 50 cents, and it's great to eat something sweet and piping hot on a freezing day. There are stalls selling hottocks and odeng (a kind of yong tau foo) everywhere. I think I eat one almost everyday.

This poor girl got saboed by her friends on her birthday. Her friends made her carry a Free Hugs sign and stand in the middle of the square. And there were actually people who went to her to hug her. The poor girl actually looked embarrassed doing that; quite a funny scene.

Along the streets are street stalls selling hats, accessories, tee-shirts and other fashion items all for low prices.

Below is a picture of American Apparel. Apparently it's very famous in USA and overseas, but it's not found in Singapore. Heard from a friend that they are famous for their colourful wear, like in the bottom picture, where the briefs are available in so many colours. And there are female dresses upstairs that can be worn in 20 over styles purely (not mix and match)!

This shop sells bags that cost $10. Every bag in the stall sells for $10, which is rather unbelievable, cause the quality is really good!

Even the Giordano here looks better than the ones found in Singapore. Way more posh.

This is Han River. We are at Han River park, but as seen in the picture, there's nothing at Han River park. All we see in the 6 or 7km radius is this lone 7-11 stall. And it was so cold at night that we had to seek shelter in this store.

Here's another of their vending machines. This one dispenses ramyeon for around $2, and there are sheltered seats for people to have their meals here.

We walked for probably 1.5 hours, and there's absolutely nothing to see here. Look at the sad faces of Olivia and Le Hia. We were all famished by the time we reached the nearest restaurant.

Glorious view of the Han River.

MSN and heat packs

Oh my! I am actually MSNing in Chinese for probably the very first time in my life. Hahah that's the experience of going on international exchange. And I discovered I am damn pro in typing in Chinese!

Just opened a reusable heat pack that Youli passed to Ziyi when we were in Beijing. Woah, it's freaking amazing! The liquid inside turns hot immediately when I break the iron sheet; it's even hotter than my shower! I should have brought this pack out when I was outside yesterday. Irritating Ziyi told me that the weather was rather warm (comparatively) yesterday so I ditched my thermals and wore a light blazer. I got so cold my teeth started chattering and I had to hide behind my friends while walking. He is damn scheming!

No matter what weather it is today, I am wearing thermals. And a thick coat.

Outdoor show at Dongdaemun

Here's something I caught when walking along Dongdaemun, which is like the Orchard Road of Singapore. There was some outdoor show outside a shopping mall and I stopped to watch. This particular scene was a game segment where the host pasted post-its on a guy's body, and a blindfolded girl had to swipe her hands over the guy everywhere so as to remove all the post-its. It was interesting watching the show, and everyone was laughing when the girl touched the sensitive parts.

Nice bakery outside school

Noticed a nice bakery outside of school while exploring the neighbourhood today. Look at all the nice breads and pastries that are found here. I liked the pastries so much I really wanted to buy them all. It's so Paris-ty here, except that I haven't been to Paris before. And there are metal tables outside the shop for people to sit and enjoy the outdoor view. Singapore should have such bakeries!

Byeo-Ri

Here's a picture of Stephenie and her KU buddy, Byeo-Ri. Since my own buddy doesn't speak English well, Byeo-Ri has been helping me much with adapting to life in Korea. She is the nicest Korean buddy in the group, and a funny friend as well. The day before meeting us exchange students, she actually had her long hair cut into bangs so that she would look cuter. And because her grasp of English is not that good too, she was always using her translator on the phone to find the right English word she wanted.

According to her, Korean students take university life very seriously, because they believe that the university that they attend will determine their future in life. That is why everyone studies very hard in order to get into the 3 best Korean universities, known as SKY universities (Seoul National University, Korea University, Yonsei University). It can get very stressful, as the high school students need to take up to 8 subject papers in just one day for their university entrance examinations. For Byeo-Ri, she took the high school examinations twice so as to get into KU. For her school, not getting into the SKY universities meant that the students become failure in life.

In Korea, students will go to the school that they applied to to check the results of their entrance examinations. For Byeo-Ri, she went to the KU gate to see if her name was pasted on the acceptance sheet at the front gate of the university. She said the minute she saw her name, she broke down immediately. And her parents were so estatic that they held a celebration party when she got back, and all her neighbours in the neighbourhood came to her house to congradulate her.

This is how important a top university matters to a South Korean. Interesting huh! Wonder why Singaporeans don't find it as proud to get accepted into NUS.