Any worries I had about 'losing touch' during my year abroad in Southeast Asia were quickly shattered one July night while I lay in a hostel bunk-bed in Taiwan. I opened my iPad to find an adorable yet slightly chubby Korean man decked out in hip glasses, a funky suit and an irresistible smirk busy bombarding every one of my bookmarked websites. That moment and many more in the following days and months reassured me that my move to Korea would not hinder my mission to stay relevantly informed about all things social.
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Tags:
Korean pop music,
Korean pop artists,
Gangnam Style,
Teach English in Korea,
teaching in Korea,
seoul,
2012,
music in Korea,
Gangnam,
PSY,
perks of korea
I don't really know since when, but I started becoming more and more interested in the fashion world. I may not come off very stylish (my wardrobe definitely doesn't), but it's been a secret hobby of mine for a while now. Since the fashion industry in America seems to be more centralized in the big cities (NY/LA), I was pretty much limited to just following fashion blogs. However, now that I am teaching English in Korea I finally have the chance to feel like Mary-Kate or Ashley Olsen, wearing my big sunglasses and staring at the super tall models strutting down the catwalk.
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Tags:
fashion in Korea,
events in Korea,
2012,
seoul fashion week,
seoul city hall
Let's face it, Halloween when teaching English in South Korea is nothing like Halloween back at home in America. Kids don't dress up, there are no trick-or-treaters, nor are there carved pumpkins in front of homes.
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Tags:
a year in Korea,
2012,
halloween,
western culture in korea,
working in korea,
teaching at Chungdahm,
Holidays in South Korea
Whenever people come to teach English in Korea, they notice and comment on how skinny Korean girls are. You do see some "healthy" girls here and there, but for the most part you see super slim Korean girls walking on extra tall heels with teeny skirts on. You start wondering whether it's their diet or some secret that the rest of the world doesn't know about.
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Tags:
losing weight in korea,
korean girls,
obesity clinics in korea,
365mc,
liposuction,
2012,
diet in korea,
Beauty Products in Korea
I live for live music. A perfect night for me consists of a few friends, an awesome outfit, a cold beer and front row standing room at a concert, preferably one with a performer who doles out dance-worthy beats. As soon as I started teaching English in Korea I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Seoul is a hub of fantastic music venues. I snatched up Lady Gaga tickets for the first show of her Born This Way Ball in late April, I aced 'KPOP 101' when my friend brought me to an exclusive taping of Inkigayo in Seoul, I ventured out to Nami Island to dance with Korean hippies and listen to Jason Mraz sing sweet nothings in June and I jumped for joy when I realized I could attend Seoul's Super!Sonic show in August. I originally thought I would have to miss the two day music festival because it was scheduled for mid-week (Tuesday and Wednesday) in Seoul, but I soon realized the Wednesday was not just any Wednesday, it was Korean Liberation Day, so I had the day off and attended my first mid-week music festival at Seoul Olympic Park.
Super!Sonic is the sister festival of Japan's famous Summer Sonic. I missed the festival's first day line-up (due to work) which included The Smashing Pumpkins, Gym Class Heroes, Idiotape, Soulwax and more. As much as I wanted to see The Smashing Pumpkins, Wednesday's line-up impressed me with New Order, Gotye, The Vaccines, Tears For Fears and Foster The People. What was supposed to be another rainy and humid summer day in Seoul turned out to be surprisingly sunny and comfortable. My friend and I spent the day shuffling in an orderly fashion (that's how it's done in Korea) between two stages where bands performed back-to-back sets.
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Tags:
a year in Korea,
things to do in Korea,
seoul,
Korea,
free time,
events in Korea,
Concerts,
2012,
music,
having fun in korea,
Activities to do in Korea,
Olympic Park,
Super!Sonic,
Foster The People,
dance,
Gotye
