대 한 민 곡

Sadly, my trip to Korea has come to an end. There are not enough good things that I can even begin to say about my trip, and the country in general. I have never been to a more beautiful place, met more truly generous people, and tasted such delicious food. In honor of my trip, I will count down my five favorite things about Korea.


5. Historical Sites

 

Every time we went to a historical site I was amazed at how beautiful they were. I also felt a indescribable feeling for the first time. Seeing things that have been built over 1,000 years ago was really incredible. It put American history in perspective for me, my country only has real history that dates back about 400 years. So to go someplace where the history is nearly three times that....wow. I know you can read about history like that in books, but to see it in person is something that I will always cherish.


4. Food

 

I wasn't quite sure what to expect of the food before my trip. Although it was fairly spicy to me, every single thing was really good. My favorite was the black noodles. It was just the perfect mix of sweet and savory, despite their gruesome appearance. The street food was incredibly cheap (I already long for a $1 roll of kimbap) and allowed me to try many different tastes of Korea (squid anyone?). It was also a nice change of pace from the fatty, carb loaded, greasy food that is generally consumed in America.


3. Shopping

As someone who loves shopping, Seoul was the perfect place to go. The fashion there was really my style; cute, simple, and classic. Most things were pretty cheap compared to shopping in America. I spent most of my money on clothes (my first time buying the same dress in multiple colors) and cosmetics. My favorite cosmetics brand is Etude House, and it happens to be endorsed by Lee Min Ho. The great thing about cosmetic shopping in Korea is the free stuff you get. Whenever you buy something there, you get tons of samples of cosmetics, and even tote bags, makeup bags, and fans. A trip to Korea is worth it merely for the shopping alone!

2. Idols

I cannot even begin to express to you how rewarding an experience it was to go to Korea and see advertisements, hear the music on the street, and see the idols on TV that I have diligently been following for about a year now. It's so different seeing, hearing, and watching these things on my computer and then seeing them in real life. And how joyful it was to be able to turn to the person next to me and freely talk about what happened on We Got Married last week, or 2PM's new image! I spent entirely too much money on idol related things while I was there (hello special edition GD&TOP, Making of the Big Show, Listen to CN Blue, special edition of Hands Up, G Dragon post it notes, T.O.P pencil bag, and "I Love You Jung Yong Hwa" socks, among other things). I was just disappointed I didn't see any of them at the airport hehe.

1. My Friends

Without a doubt the very best part about Korea was getting to see all my friends again after two years. Spending time with them would have been magical anywhere in the world, but meeting them in Korea was really the icing on the cake.


I'm ready to go back to Korea right now, anyone else want to join me?