Movement By Lydia

This is the backpack I carried in Korea In Korea I ALWAYS had either a backpack or purse with me, and there were certain items that I ALWAYS had in those bags. This is just going to be a short post of things I found necessary and/or helpful to have with me while going around Seoul or going to school during NSLI-Y. In My Backpack:   Books: Kind of a given, but I always had my books (on school days). We had four books from Sogang, and I also carried two small notebooks and a folder I used for class and notes!  Pencil Case: Korea has some super cute stationary and pens  Planner: I use this adorable little planner (can be found in Korean stores) to keep track of my daily schedule and week/month/year/etc... Program Phone: You get a program phone, which should be with you at all times Personal Phone: I brought my Galaxy to use off wifi and for a camera (many people did too); it didn't have any data T-Money Card: Subway card. Carried that everywhere and kept ...

I usually make posts that list of cafe or restaurants in a specific area, but those are honestly such a drag to write and format sometimes. So, different than my usual cafe posts, this post will be all about the wonderful cafe in Hongdae called Mobssie (몹시) . The place is very well-known to Koreans for their delicious chocolate cake. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My friends and I set out to Hongdae after class one day to eat chocolate cake, and it turned out to be quite an adventure. My friend, who is a big fan of sweets, had done research and found a cafe with delicious, well-known chocolate cake so we went to find it. After about an hour of searching in this area of Hongdae, we asked a worker at a cafe near this supposed cafe... only to find out they had moved. Quite a disappointing moment. We were craving chocolate cake at this point, so we sat in a cafe searching for other...

Whenever I told people I was going to South Korea, they were always saying things like "don't die!" or "be careful!" because they immediately thought of the situation with N.Korea. Depending on where you live, reports about North Korea can be really crazy and make the country seem like they're constantly at war with South Korea and that South Korea is super dangerous because of the threat North Korea poses. Well in South Korea, people aren't nearly as frantic and worked up over North Korea because they're used to it. So to be honest, problems with North Korea should NOT be your main  safety concern if you are going to South Korea. What I think is more important to talk about is personal safety in South Korea, specifically Seoul (where I lived). That's what this post is going to be about- personal safety and dangers! I'll talk about what I think is important to know/do to stay safe and my personal experience and thoughts on safety in Seoul,...

I know you are all excited to eat authentic Korean food in Korea, so this post will be all about restaurants I ate at during my time in Korea and loved! It can be kind of overwhelming seeing all the options of restaurants to eat at in Korea, so hopefully this post will help you! Okay, so I wrote this when I thought you'd be going to Sogang University in Sinchon this summer (like the previous years did), but you'll be going to a different school in a different area. You may or may not find yourself in Sinchon, but some of these places can be found all over Seoul anyway! Either way, I hope this post is helpful to y'all ^^  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 토마토김밥 (Tomato Kimbap) This is a restaurant many of us NSLI-Y summer kids found ourselves eating in at least a few times in the summer. It was right on the way to Sogang University (where we had classes) from the subway station, so it was convenient... and che...

I'm sure going to 남산타워 is on most of your bucket lists, and I was fortunate enough to have gone! I went one weekend with my host family, and it was a really cool day with them. Here is another post about a place I went in Korea that hopefully gives you an idea of a place to go as well! ^^ We took a taxi to the area of Namsan Tower then got off and took this outdoor elevator called the oreumi. "Namsan Oreumi is a free outdoor elevator that runs between the plaza in front of the Namsan Tunnel #3 Commemorative Plaza and the Namsan cable car platform. This inclined elevator covers a distance of 140m and can accommodate up to 20 passengers. With glass on all sides, the Namsan Oreumi offers a unique and convenient way to get to the cable car station." After we got off of the oreumi, we walked around up there and went to eat before going up to the tower. My family says you always eat bibimbap when you go to Namsan Tower (there is another food too but I forget what ...