Culture in Seoul, Day 1

For months, each and every individual of the 30-strong group have been looking forward to this day. We were no exception. One thing that we really looked forward to was the Korean Culture.

The uniqueness of this culture can be first experienced on board the Asiana flight. The staff on board gave passengers a choice of either Bimbimbap (a Korean ‘rice and vegetable’ delicacy), or for the less adventurous – chicken with rice. An instruction sheet on the preparation of the rice bowl was also given to passengers who chose the local delicacy.

Our first stop was the Seoul World Cup Stadium. 

A korean volunteer guide at the football museum by Elyss Tai

Built especially for the World Cup in 2002, the FIFA World Cup Stadium has a sitting-capacity of more 66 thousand and 800. The grass, known as “Kentucky Blue Grass”, is evergreen and was specially imported. Seats from sections D to E are of a darker grey and are special in the sense that they can be converted into a stage, often used for after-parties.

Lunch was served shortly after that and it was held at the food court in the mall nearby. Every single set meal consists of one bowl of rice, and at times, complimented with another bowl of noodles.  This comes as no surprise, after all, it has been said, “rice is the backbone of every Korean meal.”

Every K-pop fan's needs in one shop  by Elyss Tai

When it comes to Korean culture, who can forget about K-pop? 

K-pop fan merchandise come in an array of items by Tiffany Chow

Numerous K-pop stars adorning the front covers of magazines - Tiffany Chow

We proceeded to the streets of Myeongdong, where we sighted many shops selling K-pop merchandise, which includes table calendars, posters, cups, posters and so much more! Some stall owners only had an arm’s length space of walking.

Videography and Editing by Charlyn Chua and Sabrina Poon

1 down. 9 days to go. So much of the Korean Culture that is left unexplored! Hope that the weather gets better.

An article by Abigail Lee and Jodenia Chan

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