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Jeju Island is a popular destination for sun, sea and sand. This is one of the reasons that Jeju has the title as the busiest flight route in the world. Every year millions of Koreans and international tourists flock to the volcanic island for an island getaway. Not much is written about the island in the winter however. Although milder than the icy north of the country, Jeju isn’t exactly a tropical paradise in the depths of January. We decided to spend our winter vacation here for 5 days to see what the island could offer us in its low season. We were pleasantly surprised by the abundance of activities, both indoor and outside that the island had to offer. If you want to learn about the best snowy sights, different activities and good food, keep reading!  Where to stay Although in the summer, it is likely you may want to stay at a hotel or resort close to the beach, in the winter, we felt it better to base ourselves in one of the two main cities on the island. Jeju City is the biggest city on the island and is where the airport is based. It is situated in the North and although seemed to have a lot to do, wasn’t close to what we wanted to do and see during our trip. We instead opted to stay in Seogwipo, a coastal city in the south of the island. The city had amazing views over the harbour, outlying small islands and the ocean. There were also a lot of good eateries and bars. There were also a few small museums within the city and more a short drive away. We stayed at Eins Hotel and Gudeok Guesthouse.  Eins Hotel is a three star property on the main strip of Seogwipo. The room was comfortable but the main attraction of the stay was the stunning view from the breakfast room. The view looked over Seogwipo Harbour and the ocean and was the perfect place to watch the sun slowly rise. The breakfast was the same each day but had enough selection to keep us happy. Overall, it was a good budget hotel stay and the breakfast view was worth it.  Gudeok Guesthouse is great for a hostel budget stay. The owners were friendly as was their adorable dog! The rooms were simple but comfortable and the highlight here was the rooftop area for socialising. We met some great people on the rooftop in the evenings and it was fantastic to have this space to hang out in after the 9pm curfew. The hotel and hostel were very similar in price for a double room in both but of course the guesthouse was more suited for a social atmosphere. South JejuThe South of Jeju is home to waterfalls, museums and orange farms. Seogwipo As said above, we really liked Seogwipo for the good bars and restaurants in the area as well as the few museums and art galleries. It was also a great place for the avid hiker or walker. We spent a day visiting Jeongang Waterfall, Cheonjiyeon Waterfall and Saeseom Island which made for a great day of sights but quite a lot of walking! We started at Jeongbang Waterfall which is worth the small entrance fee. It was snowing when we visited which made it quite atmospheric. The waterfall was also running well due to the snowfall in the higher areas of the island. After visiting here we continued along the path slightly which hugged the coast to a coffee shop (허니문하우스) This has to be some of the most expensive coffee and cake of our trip but the view was pretty looking out over the ocean so it is still worth a visit! Cheonjiyeon Waterfall is within Seogwipo Chilsimni Poetry Park and is an impressive sight. We failed to find the entrance to the foot of the falls despite looking but found a good lookout where we could get a great view of the falls. The park surrounding was also a great find with picturesque lakes and interesting sculptures. Following the park down to the coast, you will arrive at Seogwipo Maritime Park. This connects to Saeyeongyo, an attractive bridge that gives access to a small island. Across the bridge are not only good views of Seogwipo and the neighbouring small islands but also has access to a circular walk. Outside of the city, for more walking we visited Gogeusan. Although originally we hoped to hike up Hallsan, with snowy weather over the dormant volcano during the entirety of our stay, we decided to do a much smaller walk where the snowfall wasn’t quite as heavy. This was a short climb but gave good views of Seogwipo and the ocean. Aside from walking, the South of the island is also home to Jeju Folk Village which we thought was a great winter activity. The village was a good depiction of life in Jeju during the Joseon Dynasty and showed various aspects of the society. It was quite interactive and we enjoyed exploring the different homes and deciding which one we would each want if we were born during this part of history. One aspect I found really interesting was that the signs were often written in standard Korean as well as Jeju Satoori. This made it a lot easier to see the differences in the two dialects and made me understand how someone from Seoul would struggle to fully understand this thick satoori! For example thank you in standard Korean is 고맙습니다 (gomapseumnida) whilst in Jeju dialect it is 고맙수다 (gomapsuda). Although everything is outside, it was not uncomfortable to walk around whilst it may be unbearably hot in the summer. An added bonus of going in the winter is that the Jeju Oranges (hallabong) are in season so the Folk Village was covered in hallabong trees. Next to the Folk Village is the stunning Pyoseon Beach. The water was so clear that it was tempting to take a dip. So we did! We only lasted one minute in the water but it was still exhilarating! The South of Jeju also has numerous museums to explore. These include but are not limited to Alive Museum, Teddy Bear Museum, Podo Museum, World Vehicle and Piano Museum (cos these two go perfectly together) and OSULLOC Tea Museum. We only visited the latter and found there was a lack of museum but an abundance of tea. The island has so many museums for a cold or rainy day you’d be spoilt for choice! Where to eat in the South Loving Hut - Seogwipo Branch This came highly recommended but we didn’t get a chance to eat here as it is open Wednesday - Sunday. Hard to park and smaller menu than other branches but great vegan Korean food. Aenaui Sup Brunch Cafe Nestled in Seogwipo city centre, this hidden gem is the perfect lunch stop. The soup is delicious and the cafe also has board games. The perfect place to spend a few hours. Harbor 39 A hotel but we enjoyed our meal here and it was veggie friendly which was the main draw. We had nachos, pasta and pizza. West Coast Jeju Island We spent a day on this side of the island and centred our day around the Hallim Park area. The first thing we noticed here was how stunning the ocean was. It was a light blue and looked so inviting if it wasn’t for the fierce wind battering the coast that day. Thankfully Hallim Park offered some relief from the elements. Hallim Park is a botanical garden which has a huge amount of variety. The walk amongst the grounds starts with tropical plants and slowly lets you make your way around the world in plants. My favourite areas were the Bonsai trees and Cactuses. The park is also home to a few lava made caves. We were hoping to visit some caves whilst on the island but many are closer to Jeju City. However, these three caves in the park were impressive to visit and a refreshing break from outside! Although I am sure like any garden Hallim Park would be more beautiful in the spring, it was still a nice area to visit. From the garden we walked along the beach and into the small towns on either side of the park. For lunch, we went to Parato Dos which appealed because of the views of the icy blue sea. We had Pulled Pork Sandwiches here. It was easy to take the pork off for the veggies and the meat eaters didn’t complain of more meat on their plates! For coffee there are loads to choose from along the beachfront. We went to Groove which was three stories and made amazing croffles. Although we didn’t go there, Camellia Hill was recommended to me as a great place to visit in the winter as the camellia flowers are in bloom. There are many photo opportunities here as well! I would love to come back here in the summer and enjoy the beach properly. Our stay on the west coast was short but I will be sure to return in the summer months. East Coast Jeju Island Arguably the highlight of the East Coast of Jeju, we had to take a trip to Seongsan Ilchulbong to take in the view. This is a large cliff face surrounded by water. It is popular for sunrise hikes and although we came with the intention of catching the sunrise, the uncertain weather and cold led to us deciding to visit in the day instead. Hiking to the top costs a small fee but the path is well maintained and the view is worth it. This area is also home to the Haenyeo, female free divers who have traditionally fished in this area for hundreds of years. There are only a few left now but they continue to do twice daily shows to show their expertise. We arrived at the beach at the correct time but it seemed they weren’t diving that day. We had no idea why as there was nowhere online that said they take particular days off but we still enjoyed seeing the beach and their equipment. The beach was also amazing in that it had a huge amount of unclaimed shells littering the shoreline. All of these shells were perfectly preserved and untouched. We marvelled and took a few pictures. We had Willara fish and chips here for dinner which was delicious. We chose to eat out but by the time our food was ready the wind had picked up. We ended up eating behind a bench to break the wind. We were very windswept but it was delicious. On the East Coast we also drove up to Woljeongni Haesuyokjang Beach. This beach was again stunning with clear water and bright white sand. We came here with the intention of trying Woljeong Taco Massim. However, we came too late and they were sold out. Be sure to come here early to try out the variety of authentic tacos. On the East Coast there is also a Museum dedicated to the Haenyo Divers and their livelihood. Udo Island is also on the East Coast of Jeju and is a great day trip. If the weather is nice, take the ferry and hire bikes to cycle around the island. Our time in Jeju was short but enjoyable for winter. Although it snowed a few times, we still continued to explore outdoors as it was so much warmer than Seoul and Daegu. I wish we could have hiked Hallasan which seemed stunning in winter with a crisp layer of snow over the highest mountain in Korea. There is also enough on the island to keep you occupied if the weather was not so good as well with an abundance of art galleries and museums. We did have our fair number of hurdles along the way - mainly with attractions and restaurants being shut but we managed to make it a memorable trip nonetheless.
I hope this is useful in planning your own Jeju Winter trip and I can’t wait to explore the island again in different seasons.
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The first thing to know about Seoul is that it is absolutely massive. A week let alone a weekend is not enough to explore everything the city has to offer so while we live in South Korea, we decided to make each trip to Seoul have a focus. After a spontaneous decision by myself and a friend, we made our first trip to Seoul all BTS themed. I’ve been a fan of the huge boy group since March 2020. As the city that has shaped the groups success, there is so much you can do here, from restaurants they ate in as trainees to photoshoot locations. What we achieved during this weekend was a small snippet of what you can do if you want to spend a weekend focused on everything Bangtan. We travelled during the weekend of the 5th November and chose this date for two reasons. The first, the Permission to Dance Pop-up store was open and second, it was one of the last weekends before HYBE Insight closed for refurbishments and a new exhibition. We centered our short trip around these two attractions and everything else was a bonus! I would recommend this itinerary to anyone who has a short schedule but wants to see the highlights. Day 1.We got up early and after a quick breakfast headed straight for the subway. We stayed in Itaewon due to its good central position to our main points of interest and the Seoul Station. The popular tourist area was really quiet due to the ongoing travel restrictions for COVID-19 which meant there were no concerns about booked restaurants or packed streets. During our walk to the subway that morning we also came across the famous Noksapyeong Bridge (녹사평육교) and Dambam restaurant from the popular K-Drama Itaewon Class. V also featured in an OST for the drama. Our first stop was in Gangnam to the original Bighit Building where it all started! This was the main Bighit office until the company moved in 2017. Take subway line 3 to Sinsa station. From here, it is a short walk to the building which is called Cheonggu Building. The address is 13-20 Dosan-daero, 16-gul, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06040. Although the building is off the main road and down a side street, if you’ve seen pictures before online you’ll recognize it as you start your approach. The building is covered with notes and messages from fans around the world. I think they power-wash the messages off every so often as there wasn’t a huge amount. We also couldn’t see the building sign that said BigHit on it anymore - I imagine this has now finally been removed. We enjoyed reading people's sweet and sometimes bizarre messages and took a few photos. From here we headed to the bus stop on the main street to take a detour from our BTS trip to visit the COEX mall. 100% not needed as there are no real BTS related sites here but since we were in the area, we wanted to see the COEX library and the Gangnam Style statue. This turned out to be hilarious as there is a plaque describing the impact of Gangnam Style on the global music market but also the option to watch the music video. I didn’t realise it would play the whole video + the song on loud speaker but it certainly drew some attention! The library was gorgeous and is worth a visit if you’re in the area. For those who are fans of SM artists, there is also a short path called ‘k-pop walk’ which features the handprints of SHINee members and other idols. From CEOX Mall we took subway line 2 to Gangnam station. This popular shopping street is also home to the new Line Friends flagship store. Previously located in Itaewon, the store is now in Gangnam and features two floors with majority BT21 stock. I finally got my hands on a Koya pillow and also grabbed other items that were definitely a want and not a need such as an RJ plushie for my computer monitor at work and a Cookie sleeping mask.  Our HYBE Insight reservation was set for 3.35pm but after a leisurely breakfast, we did feel a bit pressed for time. We headed straight to Ichon station on line 4 to walk the short distance to HYBE. In 2020, Bighit Entertainment changed its name to HYBE and moved from their small offices in Gangnam to a brand new building in Yongsan. It towers over the other smaller buildings in the area and looks so impressive. With 40 minutes to spare, we found a small local restaurant that served tteokbokki all whilst surrounded by BTS and Marvel merchandise. The owner even had three screens to watch, one playing the news, one playing a marvel movie and the last playing various BTS music videos. We ate quickly here but it was homemade and delicious. Finally we headed to HYBE to visit HYBE Insight. This is the museum and exhibition HYBE operates underneath the main buildings for fans to discover the music, production and other elements of the artistry. Larger bags cannot be taken into the museum but there is a free bag drop with lockers. Lucky for us as we had so much from our previous trip to Line Friends! The museum is split into two parts, an area where no photos and videos are allowed and the second area where photos and videos are encouraged. The first area explores the production behind HYBEs artists and includes performance videos, interactive displays and interviews with the artists themselves. There was a lot of content we had never seen before so we really enjoyed this! The next area is the trophy room where a short video proceeds showing the actual trophies. It was an amazing way to display the achievements of BTS and other groups and was well worth its own section. The next area is now part 2 of the experience where videos and photos are allowed. This starts with the BTS X James Jean Seven Phases exhibition. There is a video and written explanation for the inspiration behind the work as well as the sketches and small and large works of the artist. James Jean depicted each of the BTS members in their own piece, taking inspiration from their personality and public persona. I had seen these pieces online before but in real life they are so vibrant and have so much texture. I was really glad we got to see these before the exhibition closed at the end of November. The next area was a virtual reality zone where we were invited to play a game through the app to win a small prize. I didn’t fully understand the goal of the game but you held your phone up to different areas of the room and gained points for each area. In this room was also a rhythm game and a device which presented the base of the song DNA. If you touched it, you could feel the vibrations of the bass. The final area held clothing displays, a motion project and other memorabilia from artists. The highlights for me were getting to see the Dior Hobi Mic Drop fit in person and seeing the Butter albums that the BTS members decorated themselves for a video a few months ago. Before the exit there was a final film which highlighted various artists in HYBE and their personal journey with songwriting, music and artistry. The museum ended with a gift shop which of course me and Holly had to get too excited for. I ended up purchasing a HYBE t-shirt to wear at home, a photocard set and the Peach Butter album since I didn’t own it yet. I was so impressed with HYBE Insight and thought it was well worth the money to enter. The exhibitions were interesting and there was a lot of new content for fans to enjoy. I’m also grateful that we were able to explore HYBE Insight whilst it is still quiet. Our tour group was not at capacity and meant we could enjoy the exhibitions without queues and crowds. I hope this stays the same for international fans in the future. The tour took the whole two hours that were designated and we then headed straight back to Itaewon to drop our bags and relax. We went to Gry’s NY Pizza for dinner that night and enjoyed a terrace view out over the city. That evening we tried out a few cocktail spots and bars along the upper Itaewon streets and found that the area has so much to offer when it comes to cute dining and drinking places.  Day 2.The next day we headed out early after grabbing some breakfast at the Flying Pan in Itaewon. We headed over to Seongsu on line 2 to visit the Permission to Dance pop up store. This was in a really odd part of town, the streets felt much older and more residential. The pop-up itself is located underground by a car park and unless you knew it was there would be easy to overlook. It seemed you could reserve a ticket but even without this we were able to walk straight in. The pop-up itself didn’t seem to have any related PTD merch but was rather a clever way to get rid of surplus stock. There was merch from the collaboration with the Seoul tourism board, butter merch, McDonalds collab merch and Map of the Soul tour merch. I bought a BTS X Seoul t-shirt and a Map of the Soul Tour Photocard Book. Aside from what was on sale, the clothing from the PTD music video was on display to look at which was a fun addition. There was also old tour footage being projected onto the wall and a Butter themed photo corner. Overall, I enjoyed the experience but we were disappointed that there wasn't any merch from the recent PTD online concert or offline concerts that were held in LA. To make our way back to Itaewon we thought we’d do a spot of Namjooning and hired Seoul city bikes to cycle along the Han River. The bikes were fairly easy to hire, we did get the help of a friendly local to get them started, but once we had them they were easy to ride and cheap! City bikes costs 2,000won for a two hour hike so we happily rode back along the river. The bike lanes are clear and safe and I could instantly understand why RM and other members enjoy riding along the river so much. This was one of the highlights of our trip for me and I can’t wait to go back to ride along the Han further. Dropping off the city bikes at the bottom of Itaewon, we walked the rest of the journey back to our hotel. Our quick weekend in Seoul was almost over as we took the subway back to Seoul Station to catch the KTX to Daegu.  Armed with a whole other bag that I didn’t have on the way there, we were both super satisfied with the weekend and what we had been able to do in the short amount of time. If you have a weekend in Seoul, this was the perfect itinerary to make for a fulfilling and fun weekend. This winter we are planning to spend a week in the Seoul area. I can’t wait to share more about the capital city with you in the near future! Less than a month after arriving in Daegu, we were spoilt with the Chuseok Harvest festival quickly approaching. Chuseok is a festival held on the full moon of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. Korean families traditionally come together for this holiday, more so than Christmas and prepare food together, play games and enjoy each others company. You can think of it as a close comparison to an American Thanksgiving. This year since Chuseok was on a Tuesday, there was a five-day holiday for which we wanted to make the most of. After some thought and deciding not to travel far due to the pandemic, me and three other friends chose to travel to Gyeongju. This is a small town about an hour away from Daegu and is famous for its historical significance, old architecture and pretty scenery.  The KTX (Fast train) does go past Gyeongju but the station is a ways away from the town meaning the slow train (Mungwha) at only an hours ride which was much more cost and time efficient. We arrived into Gyegonju station at 10am and headed straight to the main tourist area. Gyeonju is a city of two halves. Whilst the train station and our air bnb were nestled in the modern downtown of the city, the tourist attractions are all a short walk away in the old town. On the way to the old town you won’t get lost with huge burial mounds surrounding you as you walk. These are dotted all over the city and are tombs of old kings and queens of the Silla dynasty. They are well preserved and are fascinating to learn about. Before the introduction of strict Buddhism into the Silla kingdom, once a King died, their servants were also buried with them in the tombs so they would continue to serve them in the next life! As soon as we got to the old town we stopped for a coffee and bite to each. Gyeongju is famous for it’s red bean bread (빵) and the café we stumbled across catered to just this. We gave it our first try and found it to be really nice but very heavy on the red bean! The old town is all low rise with traditional buildings and rooftops as far as the eye can see. The main street is full of cafes, street food stores, gift and clothes stores and photo booths. We enjoyed wondering along the street and trying various different foods. My favorite of that row was the Japchae Hotteok. Around the old town is a huge green area full of many attractions. These include Cheomseongdae, an ancient astrological observatory, flowers fields, Gyeongju History Museum and Ananpji Pond. We explored more of this the next day but did visit Cheomseongdae for some photos and wondered around the flower fields where the Muhly was starting to come out for Autumn. We chose to stay at Gyeongju Kitchen which is located a short walk away from the old town in the downtown area of Gyeongju. Our host greeted us and let us settle into our room before we started our Korean cooking class. The house was split between a kitchen, dining room downstairs and a bedroom upstairs. It was more than enough space for the four of us for two nights. I am so glad we did the cooking class as it was a lovely experience to do over Chuseok. Our host taught us many simple and veggie friendly dishes including various types of Jeon, royal tteokbeoki and gaerang mari. My personal favorite was making the Jeon as it is traditionally made for Chuseok and was declicious! Our host was so welcoming and insightful – we learnt a lot from her and are so glad we chose to stay where we did.  On our full day in Gyeongju we decided to hire bikes to cover more of the city. These were only 5,000won for three hours and we used the time to cycle to the National History Museum and visit. The museum covered the Silla dynasty in the area and it was fascinating to see how ancient and established this civilization was. The Silla dynasty started around the time of Christ and stayed until 935AD when the Three Kingdom period came to the region. The dynasty had well established villages with temples, palaces and a civilized way of life. The traditional dress from the time, Hanbok, changes throughout time but is still a well-loved traditional item from Korean history. When visiting areas of cultural signification in Korea it is popular for both Koreans and foreigners to wear Hanbok when they visit. We decided after seeing a few people dressed up so prettily that we wanted to join in the fun and booked Hanbok to wear for two hours. Hanbok rental stores were dotted around the high street and have so many colours and options to choose from. I went for a lighter colour style whilst my friends went for more royal reds, blues and blacks. When wearing Hanbok you start with a hoop skirt (so much fun) and then the main skirt. This goes up to your chest and wraps around. The final piece if the top portion which covers the arms and your midriff. The store also had various accessories to choose from and hair styling equipment as well. Walking around felt like being a princess for a few hours and we loved getting compliments from older Korean ladies! We walked around the main tourist complex and took photos in the flower fields, Woljeonggyo bridge and at the Joseon Dynasty cultural village. This was a fun aspect to our trip and allowed us to connect further with the culture. That evening we weren’t too hungry thanks to a coffee shop stop that included a huge cake each. We instead went to a bar we’d spotted during the day in the old town which was oddly Cuban beach themed. We sat outside on a beach bench style surrounded by surfboards and Cuban tourist images and videos playing on a large screen. It was an odd theme for sure but we enjoyed our Cuba Libre’s in the warm autumnal weather. On our final day which happened to also be Chuseok we woke up to rain. Rather than heading out of town to the famous Bulguksa temple we instead decided to just go to a coffee shop and explore some of the shopping on the main old town street. We found an adorable cloud themed coffee shop with great views out over the town. After the rain cleared a little, we did some shopping around the town and grabbed some lunch as well as presents to bring back to our schools from our little holiday. Three days was the perfect amount of time to explore Gyeongju but I wouldn’t hesitate to go back to check out more of the city as well as Bulguksa temple which we missed out on due to the weather. The city is small but is easy to navigate and has so much history to explore. Autumn was a great season as the flower fields were full of seasonal flowers and plants, but I’ve heard spring with the cherry blossoms is equally beautiful, I’ll have to go back then!
We returned to Daegu well rested and ready for a day of rest at home before we headed back to work. Gyeongju was a great city to explore for a short break and is a must to add to your South Korean itinerary. After three weeks in Korea in quarantine and training orientation I was finally on my way to my new home in Daegu. Our first day in the city was an intense one as we were introduced to our co-teacher, our school and shown to our apartments.  First night in Downtown Daegu My co-teacher was really welcoming which was a great start and as we got closer to the school and I could see the famous Daegu tower close by I started to get more excited. I had my first taste of school lunches (so good!) straight away and was then taken to my office/classroom and to meet the other teachers and principal. I was given flowers as a welcoming gift which was so touching. I share my office with another NET which was a great surprise for me. My fellow NET has been at the school for a few years and I’m so grateful to have a sidekick to help with settling in and make desk warming in the holidays less boring! Our office is the English classroom which currently isn’t being used for teaching due to COVID. We have views of Apsan mountain out of our window which makes for a fab backdrop. After signing some paperwork, me and my co-teacher headed to my apartment. I live a short walk away from both my schools and a 10-minute walk from the metro. I live in a villa style apartment building which has three floors and around 10 apartments. My space is small but I’ve been falling a bit more in love with it every day. I have an entranceway, a main room, a ‘balcony/ laundry room, kitchen and bathroom. The fact that I can separate the kitchen from the main space is the biggest plus for me and I can’t wait to show it to you when I’m done decorating. Right now, it is still pretty sparse so needs a bit more work to it before I’ll be happy to show it off!  My neighbourhood From my apartment we went straight to Homeplus to pick up all the essentials as well as some food for the next few nights. The first night in was daunting but I made some dinner and prepared myself for my first day of teaching the next day. This was at my travelling school and I went straight into the deep-end with 6 classes. Luckily, my co-teacher here was really welcoming and my first few introduction lessons with the students went down well. The first week is definitely overwhelming as you try your hand at teaching for maybe the first time and consume all the information but if I can get through 6 classes on the first day unscathed so can anyone! With the first day under my belt, I celebrated it being Friday and our first weekend in Daegu by meeting some friends afterwork for our first taste of downtown. This is only two stops away on the metro for me. Downtown Daegu offers everything you need. We went to a cute pizza restaurant called Zione which had amazing authentic Italian pizza. It also has some amazing wine which was well needed after such a long and stressful three weeks. Our first weekend was spent exploring downtown Daegu and the nearby Duryu park. Duryu park surprised me in its size but it has loads of features to explore including the stunning Seongdang Lake. On my first Sunday I decided to spent the day on my own after figuring out the basics and went back downtown to do a bit of shopping. My first week at school was mainly introduction lessons and a lot of lesson planning. I was lucky to have my fellow NET to show me the ropes and how my co-teachers and school preferred co-teaching to work here. At my main school and my travelling school I co-teach 50/50 so we both take turns leading the class through activities. This works well and means I’m always in charge of planning a game or activity to end the class. At first, the amount of work seemed overwhelming but now a few weeks in, it seems a lot more manageable.  After work I made sure to meet with various friends for dinner and exploring which was a well needed break from the stress of the first week! The second weekend in Daegu arrived quickly and after spending Friday on the other side of the city to see a friends neighbourhood, our weekend was spent at Suseong Lake hiring Swan pedalos and eating bingsu at the airplane café there. Our third weekend here was spent on Apsan Mountain. This mountain looks over the city and has cable car access. We took the cable up and then chose to hike a round route to the peak of Apsan and other various viewing points. We chose a really hot day to do this in but it was worth it for the perfect views and sunset. The restaurant at the top of the cable car is really reasonably priced and had an outdoor viewing deck which is the perfect spot for a sunset view. Now that a few weeks have gone by, I feel a lot more settled and less overwhelmed. All the locals I’ve encountered so far have been nothing but friendly and welcoming. My listening skills when it comes to Korean have gotten better but I’m still too nervous most of the time to speak much. I’m hoping to start classes once again next month.
I have been loving my time so far exploring Daegu and will be sharing more on my life here as I settle in further in upcoming blogs. I also have some exciting trips planned around Korea which I'll be sharing on here soon! After a long two weeks in quarantine in Seoul – the day of freedom was finally here! We all packed our bags once again and waited for the phone call from reception saying we could finally leave our rooms. We were put on a bus straight away to head to orientation. The weather was wet and grey but that didn’t dampen our mood as we pulled our suitcases in the rain and watched a damp Seoul go by out of the bus windows. From a very small glance at the capital city I can’t wait to go back hopefully in the near future.  Our orientation was held at Jungwon University in Chongcheongbuk-do. The university was very rural with amazing views of the lush mountains. It was also huge, perfect for an orientation size of around 500 to congregate. Due to COVID regulations, we were each given our own room to stay in. These were dorms on the campus and I felt lucky I was in it alone. It seemed that it was usually occupied by 3 people and it seemed far too small a space for that! After settling into our new rooms – we took advantage of the outside space we had and went for an explore and walk. It was so amazing to get outside and breathe some fresh air, although with the rain clearing to sun – it quickly heated up which none of us loved with our masks on! We weren’t allowed full rein of the campus but we were able to walk around some of the grounds, use the convenience store onsite and explore the pond with a menagerie of statues including dinosaurs and Mickey and Minne. Day 1 was spent exploring and getting to finally meet people we’d only ever talked to online and a meeting in the afternoon. We met our homeroom teacher for the following few days and what was expected of us was outlined. Due to COVID we were placed into classrooms and did not move around for lectures. Our class was mainly teachers heading to Daegu and a few to Incheon. Our Daegu intake was fairly big so there was an entire other class of teachers who we couldn’t really interact with during the week. That evening we stayed up getting to know each other and preparing ourselves for the next day. Day 2 was intense as we had back to back classes up until the evening. Our morning was spent learning about EPIK life and life in Korea. After lunch we met with current NETS (Native English Teachers) and learnt more about the practice lessons we would be presenting in pairs two days later. One of our NETS was a teacher currently working in Daegu so it was great to get her perspective about the city. That evening we stayed after dinner to discuss our lesson plan. I found myself ending the evening at the pavilion playing cards and spending time with my peers who would be moving to Daegu.  Day 3 was another busy day. The morning was spent learning more about Korea whilst the afternoon was dedicated to lesson planning. We were placed into pairs and given a grade and class topic to prepare for. We were asked to prepare a detailed lesson plan for a 40-minute class and present 15 minutes of it. We were asked to prepare a class for 3rd Grade Elementary about the weather. This was an intense experience as we were all unsure of what was expected of us. Me and my partner prepared the best we could and submitted our lesson plan with only 30 minutes to go. Whilst others prepared late into the night, we chose to take a more relaxed approach and I spent the evening with others sampling the various ice creams on offer at the on-campus store. Day 4 was the big day of presentations. We were 4th to present and overall our presentation went pretty well but mainly it was just a massive relief to have it done. It wasn’t graded but we did get feedback from current teachers to help us in the future. The rest of the day was spent watching the rest of our class present their own lessons. To make it more authentic we all pretended to be the age of the grade which was quite entertaining. This was another long day and the evening was spent euphorically for everyone as we celebrated the biggest hurdle of orientation being over. After heading back to our rooms to sleep, we were informed that the area of Korea we were currently in was moving to Level 4 COVID restrictions due to a rise in cases and therefore tomorrow mornings classes would be virtual. We would also have to eat our meals in our rooms. Prior to this day we would eat our meals in our classrooms.  Day 5 therefore was a bit different. We first ate our breakfast in our rooms and then had our morning classes online. This included a class on more practical things in Korea such as how to use various navigation apps and food delivery services. For lunch, I met with a couple of friends to eat in the cafeteria by the campus store and we headed back to our classrooms to find out our placements. Due to the nature of this part of the schedule, it was agreed that it could be offline. Dressed to impress, we headed towards our classroom with increasing nerves. Before this point, although we knew that we would be placed in Daegu, we had no idea where in the city we would live or work. As we entered the classroom an envelope with our name and schools/school was waiting for us. Seeing the name of the schools meant nothing to me – although I could see I had two and both were elementary. This was the grade I was expecting to teach in so I was pleased to get my preferred grade level. As we sat down, we started to search for our schools online which determined where in the city we would be!  When my search came up I felt like I’d hit the jackpot. My schools were both a short walk from each other and both close to Duryu park and E-world, a major landmark in the city. I also found out that my subway stop was only two away from the main downtown area. As we compared locations we discovered that we were spread throughout the city but for the most part close to transport links to visit each other or meet up downtown. It was so exciting to finally know where we’d be living and made everything feel a lot more real. At this point we also met the DMOE (Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education) and signed our official contracts with the name of our workplace. Our DMOE representatives who look after us on a wider level were so friendly and helpful that we all felt at ease – it wasn’t a formal meeting at all! That evening we all got some early sleep and spent more time researching the areas we would be living in. More research showed me that there was a main road nearby, easy access to the rest of the city and the mountain, Apsan close by to explore.  The next day we got prepared to leave the safety of orientation and go our own ways. We once more packed our bags, loaded the buses and set off for Daegu. This was only a 2-hour drive and as we got closer to the city, the reality of everything started to hit us. Although finding out the day before where we would be placed was a huge weight off our shoulders, we still didn’t know our co-teachers, our apartment or what our schools actually looked like.
We met our co-teachers at an eastern point in Daegu and from here started our own journeys in Korea. |
Hi! I'm Holly, a twenty something traveller from the UK. Over the years I've been lucky enough to live and travel in many countries. I've studied in America and working holidayed in Australia and New Zealand! I currently live in South Korea. Learn more about me below!
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