Happy Chuseok!

As I mentioned previously, Chuseok is known as the Korean Thanksgiving. This autumn festival is a time for family and friends to gather and celebrate. Even though this is a family oriented holiday, and I am nowhere near my family right now, the past 6 days have felt like a relaxing break. When American Thanksgiving comes around in November, this might be a different story. Honestly, I don't know how I'll survive without eating at least 5 pounds of mashed potatoes while celebrating with my family.

Haeundae Beach

In honor of the first official day of my Chuseok break, I headed back out to Haeundae Beach with some friends. The weather was absolutely beautiful, and I wish I had worn my bathing suit to take a nice dip in the ocean. The first stop was meeting up with a couple of friends from orientation; well, friends of my friend who I then got to know. After a quick lunch at a cafe, we headed on a little hike to see a famous lighthouse. Note to self, don't wear jeans if you are hiking uphill/ climbing lots of stairs. The views along the pathway were absolutely stunning, and I was able to Haeundae Beach from a different angle compared to a couple of weekends ago.

At the top of the hill where the lighthouse was, we noticed a large convention center, and desperately needing some AC, we went inside. Now I love a good random information moment, and this center did not disappoint. The building was home to the APEC Summit in 2005 (something I had never heard of before), and there were pictures of President Bush from when he attended, as well as various world leaders from surrounding Asian, North and South American countries. The building itself was gorgeous, and there were all sorts of mementos from the conference itself, like food and pens. The final stop on our adventure was dinner. I was carded for the first time since being here and had to show my FRC (Foreign Residence Card) to the waiter. Never mind the fact that I am 2 years older than the legal limit here or that I was dining with women who are between 26 and 28 years old. Besides this, dinner was great. My tteokbokki was delicious and I especially appreciated the random slice of Kraft cheese on top. That was quickly scraped out of the bowl and deposited onto a plate; I detest that type of cheese.

Cheongju

I was super excited to visit Cheongju for two reasons: 1) I would be seeing one of my roommates, Taylor, for the first time since orientation and 2) I would be traveling outside of Busan for the first time on my own (more on this later). A monumental occasion, I assure you. The bus ride from Busan to Cheongju was about 3 hours long, of which I spent most of it reading on my phone and looking at the scenery outside. Once I officially landed in Cheongju, I had to somehow meet up with Taylor, who was coming from Chungju. I just happened to run into her when I was heading to the restroom. Finally, it pays off to have a small bladder! Anyways, we headed out to Daiso, a store somewhat similar to Target, and shopped around for a bit. We then grabbed a bite to eat at a coffee shop and waited approximately 45 minutes for a VERY subpar, cold waffle. Not the end of the world by any means. After eating, we decided to head to a mall located nearby to do some more shopping. In case you could not tell, there was absolutely no plan we were following, just whatever came to our little hearts. Shopping until we dropped (I literally bought one pair of pants and decided that was enough money spent), we decided to visit a temple located nearby.

Yonghwasa Temple, established in 1902, has ties in the area all the way back to the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392). This temple is home to the Stone Buddhas of Yonghwasa Temple. The inside is decorated in ornate motifs reminiscent of early Korean culture. Vibrant colors and patterns surround all three temple buildings and draw your eye to every corner within the temple walls. Interestingly enough, one of the more popular K-dramas, The Glory, had scenes filmed at this particular temple. There were several signs located on the grounds that highlighted the scenes. Again, another random piece of information that I had merely stumbled upon. Highly recommend watching the show, and you can now identify one of scene locations!

After all was said and done, my time in Cheongju solidified my success as a solo traveler. Now I'm sure you all are saying to yourselves, "Emma, you've flown on a plane by yourself; moved to a foreign country by yourself. How are you not yet a solo traveler?". I will tell you, the only reason is because I had yet to conquer the dreaded bus by myself. Navigating airports are easy, and I have flown countless times by myself, even traveled abroad by myself (throwback to studying abroad in Greece last summer). With these, however, I was always with a group. Riding buses, not so much. Furthermore, trying to navigate bus terminals were English is not the first language can be quite complicated. Add into the mix a bus terminal that is essentially an oversized bus stop and you have quite the risk for failure. I will say though, the bus drive back to Busan was fan-freaking-tastic! The only bus available was premium, which meant my seat was able to fully recline and I had a privacy curtain and TV. No need to fly on first class when I can just take a first class bus everywhere at a fraction of the price!

The rest of Chuseok was a mixture of binge watching Extraordinary Attorney Woo (counld not recommend this enough!), finishing various chores around the apartment, and exploring more of the surrounding neighborhoods. I'm not quite ready to go back to work just yet, but I know soon enough I will have more opportunities to travel around.