Itchy Toes Adventures: Flying Seoul-o: Alone in Seoul and the First Congress of Hallyu Studies In Korea University (Part 1)

Prologue:

- My Korean language instructor from my college alma mater, Ateneo, invited me and two other Filipinos to participate in an academic conference solely dedicated to the "hallyu" phenomenon. "Hallyu," also known and literally means the "Korean Wave," is the sudden influx of Korean popular culture (i.e. K-Pop, K-Drama, etc.) via different media to other parts of the world. My instructor Ms. Sarah (I call her "sonsaengnim" since we all called her that in class; the word is usually used to refer to teachers in Korean, although it literally means "one who is born before [you/me.]") Sonsaengnim Sarah knew that I had my undergraduate thesis written on Filipino fans of hallyu, so she told me to summarize it in a short research paper if ever I wanted to join. The four of us would be forming the panel on "Hallyu in the Philippines." One of our original members had some personal and urgent problems, but we were fortunate to have quickly found a replacement who happened to be based in Korea since she studies there.

- The conference was organized by the World Association for Hallyu Studies (WAHS,) a young organization from the Korea University, and the conference was entitled "The First World Congress for Hallyu." When I told this to some my friends, they thought I was going to attend some grand K-Pop convention, but I had to repeat over and over again that it was an academic conference - and the first international one that I would be attending, and would have spoken/presented in. WAHS also promised to provide accommodations the night before the first day of the conference, until the night of the last day (so check out will be the day after the last day;) WAHS of course provided our meals during the conference as well.

- The conference was two days long, on the 18th and 19th, but I booked my plane to Seoul on the 16th, and back to Manila on the 22nd. Of course, it's because I wanted to see/get lost in Seoul, on my own, and make the most out of my visit there; I wouldn't have gone back to Seoul this soon if I wasn't going for this conference. Thank goodness Cebu Pacific had a bit of a promo fare for my target dates when I booked my flight. I was both nervous and excited for the trip, and although I could still vividly remember the places in some iconic parts of Seoul that we visited, making the maps of Seoul that I had easier to understand and visualize, this was the first trip that I would completely be on my own. Well, I would be with sonsaengnim and my other companions during the conference, but all the other days I would pretty much be on my own. The Seoul subway system also intimidated me, even during my first visit, because I am not used to having around 19 subway lines in a city, compared to Manila's mere three ~~subway~~ train main lines, excluding the PNR line.

This is It!! Flying Seoul-o:

- October 16-19, 2013, Wednesday to Saturday.

- I am glad I upgraded my luggage weight from 15 kilos to 20 kilos for my flight back home. My bag was already 13 kilos when I left for Korea, probably because of all the hanboks I brought for my "photoshoot" in the Joseon palaces of Seoul. My tripod also added some weight, and I'm still glad I bought a tripod, and compared to other tripods, it was a light one, good enough for my digicam.

- During my flight to Korea, the Cebu Pacific cabin crew at one point wore witch hats for their usual in-flight game. Since MasterCard was sponsoring them, in line with the "Wicked" musical to be shown in Manila next year, their bring-me game had something to do with Wicked (bring something black, green, and a MasterCard.) Before the plan took off, both to Seoul and the one back to Manila, also featured songs from Wicked.

Cabin crew with pointy witch hats.

Hello Seoul!!

- I arrived at Seoul around 8:30pm, and I immediately had to use all the stuff I learned from my basic Korean class with Sonsaengnim Sarah during college. I had to find where to buy the T Money card (in convenience stores or via the ticket machine,) and where to find the Airport Express (AREX) train that would take my directly to Seoul Station. The T Money card cannot be used for the AREX, and a separate ticket could be bought through a ticket machine near the entrance. After that, I also had to find the city subway lines in Seoul Station. My friends were right, Seoul is really a tourist friendly city, since there are plenty of signs every few steps or so, written in both Hangeul and English, and sometimes even in Japanese and Chinese. I acted so naturally that some Filipino-Chinese whom I've encountered in the AREX thought I was working in Seoul, or a frequent visitor to Seoul, since they felt I knew what I was doing, and that I knew my way around; this is probably because I'm a good actor, and I was good at hiding my nervousness inside. Besides, at least I knew the basics of the Korean language, which was a very big plus that made my life in Seoul somewhat easier even if I wasn't fluent in the language.

- I arrived at Insa Hostel at almost midnight after buying food from 7 Eleven in the subway station, as most restaurants would be closed at that time. Besides, I was so tired that I didn't want to go out of the hostel once I arrived. The how-to-get-here video posted by Insa Hostel in their website was also tremendously useful. It wasn't hard to remember the directions, because they were only a short distance away from Anguk Station. Upon arrival, the hostel's "guardian" Pei greeted me warmly. Pei is Malaysian-Chinese, and is currently studying the Korean language in Seoul. She showed me my room, and afterwards, I sat on the floor, tired, opened my bags, ate "dinner" (some kimbaps and sandwiches,) and celebrated my not-getting-lost-in-Seoul-during-the-first-night triumph. Insa Hostel was a nice hostel by the way, each room had private bathrooms, and amenities like towels, soap, shampoo, and a simple free breakfast of eggs, toast, and/or cereal. Snacks are also free, as well as wifi, or computer use.

- I got up really early the following day, around 6:30am, to drag my big luggage to Centermark Hotel, and thankfully it was just 5 minutes away Insa Hostel. Centermark Hotel was the hotel that WAHS placed us in. I booked Insa Hostel around 2 days before WAHS told us about Centermark, so I was really thankful that the hotels were near each other. They were also near Insadong (therefore Insa Hostel,) my favorite shopping place in Seoul, because the street is known as the cultural street. The vendors there sell souvenirs and other [Korean] cultural items (stuff I usually buy in any country) at cheap prices compared to more mainstream shopping places like Dongdaemun or Namdaemun. Plus, the Insadong area is near many subway stations and tourist places that are accessible by walking.

- I hopped on to Changgyeonggung first, and apparently I was an-hour-and-a-half too early, so I had to stop by the Korea Cancer Center, located just across the street from Changgyeonggung, to have more breakfast. Good thing the coffee shop had free wifi, so I could kill some time without getting bored.

- I saw some school children with their teacher in front of the palace, so I rushed to the other side of the street and stood by the ticket booth. I noticed that the Korean and English sign boards were different. There were more pieces of info written on the Korean board compared to the English one, and it was because of the Korean sign board that I was able to verify what I've read in the tourism websites about the integrated palace ticket worth 10,000won (400php roughly.) This special ticket contains tickets for 4 palaces (Changgyeonggung, Changdeokgung including the Secret Garden (Huwon) tour, Gyeongbokgung, Deoksugung) and the Jongmyo Shrine; the integrated ticket is cheapter than buying a separate ticket in each of the five places. The ticket can also be used within a month after purchasing.

- I bought the integrated ticket, and rushed inside to have my first hanbok photo in the main hall of Changgyeonggung. This palace was built by King Sejong the Great for his father, King Taejong. The palace is located right beside the slightly larger Changdeokgung, and is accessible form the Changgyeonggung through a small gate near the green house. (Had I known about this small door, then I wouldn't have gone around the large corner to get to the other palace.)

Main hall.

European-like greenhouse.

Gate.

- I visited the Changgyeong palace (gung = palace) before, so it didn't take me long to finish my shoot there. I rushed to the Changdeok palace, and took my photo in the main hall. (My tripod and my camera timer were my two best friends in Seoul.) The Changdeok palace was the second Joseon-era palace to be made as a primary palace after Gyeongbeokgung. Changdeokggung was established by King Taejong. As with most Korean palaces, only a small part of the original palace remains, due to Japanese invasion in the late 1500s.

Front gate.

Main hall.

Inside the main hall; the king's throne.

Made from shells I think.

Korean architecture, from my perspective, is a mix of Chinese architecture and Tibetan colors/motifs.

Just woke up from my royal bedroom. Will just go down to get the morning paper. HAHA.

On my way to the palace restroom. HAHA.

Inside Naksonjae, the female residence area.

Outside Naksonjae.

- The Huwon (Secret Garden) was only accessible by purchasing another ticket, unless a person, like me, has bought the integrated palace ticket (Huwon ticket is included.) The palace website, as well as sign boards in the palace, also show the free guided tour times for Huwon. The guided tour, available in Chinese, Japanese, and English, is required, especially since the Huwon is a huge area. The Huwon was special because it was not touched during the Japanese occupation, and much, if not all the original buildings (and trees!!) in the Secret Garden, remain standing to this day.

Indonesian companions at the tour; they thought I was the tour guide because of my hanbok. Haha.

Passage way between 2 palaces.

Wall that separates Changgyeong from Changdeok.

King's library.

Lotus pavilion.

With the lotus pavilion.

Our Huwon guide and I in hanboks.

Made from a single slab of rock.

Autumn is coming. (Well, it was already autumn, but not yet the peak.)

Dragon and phoenix.

Pavilion dedicated to harvesting.

Pretty colorsssssss.

Leaf coered with wet soil.

Alternative recreation area for the kind and queen.

- After going around the palace, I rushed to Insadong again to buy some souvenirs, before I forget to buy them, and rush to the hotel to meet Sonsaengnim Sarah and our colleague, Mitzie. It has been a while since I last saw Sonsaengnim Sarah, as well as Mitzie; I met Mitzie inside Ateneo a year ago after a professor introduced us since we had the same research interests.

- We met in the hotel and went to a coffee shop in Insadong to discuss some things for our panel in the conference, before going back to the hotel to freshen up, have some more time to explore Insadong (and have my photo taken in a studio,) go back to the hotel, and meet the other foreign participants and the organizers of the conference, headed by Prof. Park Gil Sung and Prof. Oh In Gyu. We had dinner in the hotel. Just by that small dinner, I felt a bit intimidated since most of them as either PhDs, or are about to finish their PhD degrees. The Philippine panel, us, was the youngest, and I was most likely the youngest participant in the whole conference.

The iconic large brush statue of Insadong.

With Sonsaengnim Sarah, and Mitzie.

Visited Ssamziegil (Ssam Ji Gil,) the artsy mall in Insadong.

Palace soldier.

The free sticker-photo that came with my photo package.

Interesting ice cream.

On top of Ssamziegil.

Lovers' area.

Ssamziegilllll.

- At night, I went to visit the Cheonggyecheon man-made stream, sometimes dubbed as the "most romantic place in Seoul." It is around 8 kilometeres and its development to its current state was headed by Former President Lee Myeong Bak, who was the mayor of Seoul when he did restored the stream. The stream runs east-west, from its iconic spiral statue near the statue of Admiral Yi Sunshin at the Gwanghuwamun Square, until Dongdaemun Market. It was surreal being back in Cheonggyecheon, because it looked the same as it did when I last visited it in 2011 during my study-tour/delegation trip. It was a short walk, but seeing it again, and standing on the same bridge as I did before, brought back a lot of good memories.

Cheonggyecheon wth photobomber bazaar tents.

Selfie by the stream.

Under one of the bridges.

Jongno Tower.

Artsy car I found outside the Seoul Art Center.

- The following morning, we all went to Korea University to attend the opening ceremonies and attend different round table discussions and panels. Ms. Sarah, Mitzie, and I, met our Korea-based panel member Katherine that morning. It was interesting to know the different views of academics and cultures on hallyu, as well as their very varied impacts on different groups of people. As for Korea University (Goryeo Daehakkyo,) people say that it is one of schools with the most beautiful campuses in Korea, because of its castle-like buildings that looked like they were taken out from the movie El Cid. There are plenty of plants and trees around the campus, and the wooden outdoor stairs complemented by the hilly campus reminded me of the Philippines' Baguio. Korea University is also the oldest institution of higher education in Korea, almost as old as the University of the Philippines, Diliman.

Prof Park Gil Sung.

Samsung Hall.

Clock Tower.

Katherine and Mitzie.

Castle-like structures.

With Professor Park Gil Sung.

The fly is not real, it is painted. A good way to practice our "aim." Hahahaha.

- After eating dinner in the university, we went back to the hotel. Since our evening panel meeting got cancelled, Mitzie and I decided to walk around nearby places. Mitzie and I bought some really spicy rice cakes (tteokbeokgi) right across our hotel, and walked to the Jogye Temple (Jogyesa,) built in the 1300s, and the center of the Jogye order of Korean Buddhism. People can also go there to apply for a temple-stay program, where they will live and work like the Buddhist monks for a short period of time. The temple is open 24 hours. Since there was also some flower festival celebrated by the temple these days, there were many flower motifs inside the temple, like flower-covered Buddhas, and flower-covered trees.

With Mitzie!! :D:D:D:D

Jogyesa at night.

- The following morning, our panel arrived at Korea University bright and early, so we could rehearse our presentations, and set up the laptop to be used. My Korean friend, former OJT-mate in Instituto Cervantes Manila, and former La Sallian Yunji "Tina" Jang, went to see me, and support our panel. She is now taking her second bachelor's degree in Korea University. Tina hasn't changed a bit, except for her now short and red hair. Overall, our panel was successful in relaying information on hallyu in the Philippines, and it also made me realize that there were many things that the Philippines had that other countries did not, such as the rise of "P-Pop" (Pinoy Pop) as a response to the popularity of K-Pop in the country; Filipino idol groups are formed, and fashioned like K-Pop idols, only they are not Korean, and that they sing in Taglish (Tagalog + English.)

Tina!! We meet again after 3 years!! :D:D:D:D

My first international lecture.

Photos by Mitzie.

Mitzie's lecture on Korean dramas and older-women fandom.

Katherine's lecture on hallyu and people's perception of Korean products.

Sonsaengnim's integrative lecture on hallyu as an academic field in the Philippines.

With Prof. Philip Epstein, our panel moderator.

Katherine and her supportive professor from Gangam University.

GO PHILIPPINES!!

- We attended some more panels in the afternoon, and had a Korean dinner that officially marked the end of the conference. Back at the hotel, many had said their goodbyes, since we might not meet anymore in the morning. As for me, I "celebrated" by going to Dongdaemun alone. I wasn't able to shop for anything at the night market since most things that were sold were the usual non-cultural things. I just took a photo of the gate, bought some street food, and went back to the hotel to rest. I became more excited because the rest of the days I have left in Korea would be spent by me exploring more of Seoul on my own.