Author: ekang6

Resturants

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You’ll notice the restaurant culture is very different here. Instead of a server coming to you every other second to meet your every need, its more independent. There are menus at the table and you can usually self seat yourself. They have one or two menus to share. When you are ready, you need to call the waiter yourself to tell them your order.

At the table there is either on the side or on top utensils and napkins to get yourself. There are also usually cups and a big water container too. This way you don’t need to ask your waiter for everything, and no one is bothering you during your meal. It also doesn’t feel like the waiter is your servant or there is some hierarchy, but he is just a worker.

After you finish your meal you take your own check to the counter and pay.

And the best part is you don’t tip at all in Korea!

NAMI ISLAND 남이섬

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The famous Nami Island, a must go for visitors!! It is a beautiful forest that you can walk around and take lots of pictures in. It is famously known for being shot in a drama called Winter Sonata. It is quite far away from Seoul and because it is an island you also need to ride a boat to get there. Entrance is 10,000. They also have Bungee Jumping (40,000) and a Zip Line you can do too, which is much cheaper than what you’d have to pay in the states!

It was so beautiful and worth going! Make sure to dress warmly. It looks completely different depending on the season; in the winter it is all white and covered in snow and the summer it turns green and the trees are filled with leaves.

School Cafeteria – 학생식당

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There is a couple school cafeterias on campus, but this one is the main one on the second floor of the Student Union Building.

Its called Love Room 사랑방!

There are usually 4-5 different options you can choose from that vary in price that change daily. You can go and look outside at what the menu is. They is 1-2 soup options (top row), 2 regular (typically Korean) food options (middle row, The Dish), and then 1 Noodle box. They give a lot of food and it is only around $3!!!

You can go inside and pay on a self service machine, at the counter, or with card right before you get your food. Then you get a tray and utensils and go down the line, school lunch style. This made me feel like a Korean student in a Korean drama!!

Here are a couple meals I had. This was rice cake dumpling soup (떡만두국). They always have a few side dishes to take too.

This one was Omerice (fried rice with sauce).

 

It is super fast, easy, and a cheap meal to get with friends or by yourself. (In Korea it is totally normal for people to eat alone too). I regret not going earlier, I only decided to visit towards the end of the semester and went a couple times.

banananananana

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If you are a fan of banana milk, you will go crazy over this banana milk cafe! Banana milk coffee, banana milk ice cream, and crazy ways to eat banana milk itself!

We chose the IV style of drinking milk, but there was also a spray bottle and heart straw. This was in the Hyundai Department Store in Dongdaemun.