Summer holiday started with seeing off some of my new friends. Going to the airport and watching them to go through the security check made me realize soon I would be also walking through those gates and leaving the country, For this time I would not return within a week. I would actually not go back to Korea any time soon. This idea made me kind of uneasy but at the same time I got excited of the idea seeing all my friends and family again. Also, I got accepted in a new master's degree program at my home university which meant I would finally actually specialize in Asian Studies. (In addition, I received an invitation for a launch party of a new Facebook community related to Korean food; It is part of the promotion of Korean food in Finland and the party was organized by the embassy of South Korea.)
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| Bukcheon hanok village, Seoul |
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| Starfield Library in COEX mall, Seoul |
Anyhow, I've been really happy with my decision to spend the summer holiday in Korea. I didn't have to hurry with packing all my stuff alongside the preparations for the finals, and I got some time to relax before returning back to my regular daily life in Finland.
The only thing I did not appreciate in the Korean summer was the heat. I'm used to Finnish summers when it's only about 20 degrees in Celsius and at max it is 25+ for few days. However, in Korea the normal day temperature seemed to be around 30 degrees this summer. Add the humidity and imagine this little Finnish girl in that environment. I felt like a snowman in the Spring; I actually thought I might melt into a puddle because of the heat. Even my new Australian friend was suffering so it was not just me being used to cooler temperatures.
Despite the heat we actually tried to go out so that I wouldn't spend my last weeks in Korea hibernating in my room with air-con on. Our trips included walking in around the Bukcheon hanok village, visiting Seoul forest, shopping in Hongdae, eating lots of delicious food I would miss after returning.
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| Seoul Forest |
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| Osulloc Tea House in Hongdae, Seoul |
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| Arriate cafe in Hongdae |
Also, with my closest Korean friend we did one final trip together, just the two of us, to Gyeongju. I had visited Gyeongju before but at that time I didn't have time to go around and see the famous historical sights so I was more than happy to go there again. Gyeongju is located to near Busan on the coastal area in Southeastern part of the peninsula. It is famous for many historical sights that are designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
We headed to Gyeongju on Saturday morning and arrived in there in the afternoon. It was originally supposed to rain but by the time we arrived in Gyeongju bus terminal there was no sight of rain so we decided to start our trip by renting bicycles and do some sightseeing while biking around in the city. In the city center area there are many sights so it is very easy and fast to go around by bike :) After dinner we headed to our hotel which was located a bit further from the center close to the Bulguksa temple.
Energized by the nice warm bath and good night sleep the next day we walked up to the Bulguksa temple. The place very big and packed with tourists. It was kind of weird to go around, obviously looking nothing like a Korean, yet talking and commenting in Korean with my friend. I guessed I reached the point where I was not a complete tourist in Korea, even though naturally I could never become a Korean either.
After visiting Bulguksa, we took a bus to the Seokguram grotto which is located higher up on the same mountain as the temple. Seokguram is highly valued national treasure, and sadly photos were banned. But it was definitely worth visiting and seeing it with your own eyes.
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| Cheomcheongdae observatory |
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| From Bulguksa temple |
The last two weeks were weird for me. My friends arrived in Korea on 20th of July and we first stayed in Seoul for few days. As I picked them up from the airport I finally realized I would be soon returning to Finland. Of course I was happy to see my dear friends after a year, but at the same time I was feeling uneasy. I had gotten used to living in Seoul and suddenly I was traveling with my friends from Finland with all my stuff packed and ready to go to the airport.
After spending few days in Seoul we headed to Busan which I had never visited before myself. And it was lovely! Our hotel was located right next to Songdo beach and the breeze from the sea felt so refreshing. Also, the air was much cleaner than in Seoul. The next day after arriving in Busan we headed to the Gamcheon culture village that is famous for it's interesting design on the streets and colorful houses. We basically spend most of the day in there but it was lovely to walk down the streets and enjoy the view.
The next day we headed to Haedong Yonggungsa temple which is located right next to the sea. The view was breathtaking; The waves hitting the rocks and the sun shining brightly up in the sky. After the suffocating humid hot weather in Seoul it was nice to cool down at the temple embraced by the cool breeze.
The few days in Busan went by very fast and soon we were back in Seoul where we stayed for few more days before returning back to Finland. During those few days we did a little bit more sightseeing and bought the souvenirs to bring back to Finland.
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| From Changdeokgung palace in Seoul |
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| We visited Trick Eye Museum in Hongdae with my friends |
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| Trick Eye Museum |
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| Gamcheon culture village |
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| Gamcheon culture village |
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| Gamcheon culture village |
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| Songdo beach in Busan |
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| Haedong Yonggungsa Temple |
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| From the Haedong Yonggunsa temple area |
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| Mecenatpolis Mall in Hapjeong, Seoul |
I'm still having complex feelings about returning to Finland which I will discuss in another post later in September/October. In that post I will discuss about experiences I had generally: what surprised me/what I wasn't expecting, what for should I have prepared myself better and so on.
Till that post!
xxx
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