Susan Perrone- Blog Abroad

Blog #1

Wearing Hanboks at Gyeongbokgung Palace (what to do as a foreign exchange student during Chuseok) 

Currently I am a study abroad student at Chung Ang University (CAU) in Seoul, South Korea. Last week we celebrated a major Korean Holiday called Chuseok (추석) which is also known as Korean Thanksgiving. Chuseok is a time that families come together to spend time with one another, honor their ancestors and celebrate the fall harvest.This creates a very unique situation for a study abroad/foreign exchange student. Many of us are far away from our families and are living in the dorm. I was not sure what to expect, but now that I have just been through my first Chuseok in Korea, I’ll let you know what to expect when studying abroad during the holidays.

1. Chuseok lasts for three days. The days differ year to year as it follows the lunar calendar and not the Gregorian calendar. This year Chuseok was September 16 through September 18. The actual holiday was on September 17.
   2. Most restaurants and businesses are closed. This is a very important holiday in Korean culture so many places will be closed during this time. Most convenience stores will be open as well as international food chains such as KFC or McDonald’s. CAU is in a more residential area so nearly everywhere was closed but places with heavy tourism such as Itaewon and Myeongdong will be livelier, and most places will be open. Also be aware that a holiday schedule may be implemented so the hours in which a business will be open are subject to change.
   3. Chuseok usually causes heavy traffic in Seoul. Many Koreans will be traveling across the country to meet with their families. Many tourists will be traveling to do things across the country as well. A lot of the other study abroad students went to Busan and Jeju for the holiday. So, expect heavy traffic especially a couple days before Chuseok begins and on the last day of Chuseok.
   4. All public transportation will continue running. Although many other things are closed don’t worry about public transportation. The buses, subways and trains will continue running regardless of the holiday and due to the holiday traffic may run later as a way to decongest traffic.
2. With this in mind, I tried to make the most of the holiday. September 16 I mostly rested, but did grab a bite to eat. I had the option of KFC or McDonald’s, and I chose KFC. The menu here in Korea is slightly different than in America. There are no mashed potatoes, but you can still get coleslaw. Some of the different menu items are cheese sticks, corn coleslaw, bulgogi burger and some new cool dipping sauces. I ordered chicken tenders and an egg tart which came out at 7,300 won or $5.50. Neither tasted that great as the tenders were hard and the tart was a bit soggy, but at least I can say I have tried Korean KFC.

September 17 a friend and I decided to go to a very popular mall in Gangnam called Starfield Coex Mall. We took the subway there and it wasn’t too crowded. When we arrived, there were many people there and everything was open. There were many pop ups as well as stores and restaurants to choose from. Also, the infamous Starfield Library is in the mall. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to check it out, but as a book lover I will definitely head back just for that. There is also Coex Aquarium within the mall. Another friend went and said it was an awesome experience. The aquarium is currently doing a collab with Animal Crossing and my friend said it was super cute. Overall, the mall was a good experience. They had many international clothing brands such as Nike, National Geographic and Uniqlo. I bought a skirt and shirt from Aland. Afterwards we checked out the Lotte Duty Free that was next door, but it was small and mostly designer brands. When we came back to CAU we made a quick stop at a noraebang (노래방) which is the Korean name for a karaoke place. We sang 8 songs for 6,000 won or $4.50.

On September 18, my friend invited me to go to Gyeonbokgung Palace (경복궁) with her and some friends. We took the bus and met at Paris Baguette which is a popular cafe and bakery. I had a peach iced tea and a cream and red bean bun which were great. We wanted to dress in hanbok (한복) which is Korean traditional clothing, so we went to a hanbok rental place to choose our hanboks. A cool tip is that if you wear a hanbok you get into the palace for free. Since it was Chuseok there was free entry into the palace, but otherwise you would have to pay for a ticket. The workers allowed us to pick our skirts then found the matching tops. They helped us get dressed and did our hair. There were free hairstyles and hairstyles for a little pricier. I chose the 5000 won hair choice which was a braid, but most of the others picked a free hairstyle. They also offered a free bag to match with the hanbok and a free locker to store our stuff in. We rented the hanbok for 2 hours and my total came out to be 29,000 won or $21.84. It was a lot of fun and the palace was very gorgeous. A lot of great photo opportunities. I will say though that September has been super hot and that day we had a heat wave, so wearing the hanbok was very hot and heavy for that weather. After we returned our hanbok, we ate at a chicken restaurant and went to Itaewon to shop. Both places had a lot of places and nearly everything was open. If I was to recommend only one of the things I did during the holiday I would say going to the palace was the most fun and unique.