For one of our last weekends living in Korea, we decided to finally go up to the Seoul Sky Observation Deck at the top of Lotte World Tower 롯데월드타워. This is a building we’ve seen every day for a year from our apartment window, and often visit to eat and shop there, but this was […]
What’s emulsion? ampoule? essence? A 10 step beauty routine? What is this?? If you’re like me, you might have been totally lost when seeing these products crowding the shelves for the first time. And having all the details written in Korean didn’t help me understand them any better. As a complete and utter novice, I’ve […]
The final class of my last semester teaching for Chungdahm Learning in Seoul, South Korea was one of the most bittersweet moments of my life thus far (as cheesy as that sounds). Saying goodbye (or annyeong 안녕) to the land of kimchi, soju, and gorgeous mountains was not an easy choice. The joys of overindulging […]
Every fall, the nearby city of Suwon holds the popular Suwon Cultural Festival centered within the late 18th century Hwaseong Fortress. It’s a 3-day extravaganza with cultural performances, activities, and other events. My boyfriend and I had already planned on taking the train out to see the famous fortress, so the festival was an unexpected […]
I was thinking about titling this post “Sweaty Summer in Seoul”, but I thought that would make me sound too much like a gross person…. well, too late. I’ve said it anyway. When I noticed the handheld electric fans starting to be sold in the underground shopping markets I should have known what I was […]
Since living in South Korea, we’ve visited two of the “Five Grand Palaces” built during the Joseon dynasty. As with a lot of the historical structures in Seoul, the palaces were ravaged, pillaged, and destroyed by the Japanese. All have been burnt down or partially burnt down, or burnt down multiple times and rebuilt over […]
After living in Southern California for 7 years, you almost forget that weather exists. Enter South Korea’s monsoon season. If I could describe the weather succinctly I would say hellish haha. It’s a muggy, steamy, hot, humid, mess. Also, my hair expands to hilarious and frizzy proportions (If you’ve ever watched the television show Friends, […]