Noryangjin Fish Market

Since Korea is surrounded by ocean, much of Korean cuisine features fish and seafood. While Koreans love their barbeque, they actually eat a lot more seafood than meat. And when it comes to fresh seafood, you can't get it any fresher than at Noryangjin Fish Market, a traditional seafood market located right by a pier in Seoul.

Noryangjin has 2 levels. The first level is where all the vendors display their catch, and customers can come take their pick. Row after row of vendors are lined up in a large warehouse-like complex, with buckets full of shrimp, mussels, sea cucumbers, live octopus, and whatever else you could ever hope to find in the ocean. The second floor is filled with small restaurants that actually prepare your seafood purchase on the spot.

Overhead view of the fish market

One of the vendors' stalls

So many different kinds of seafood that I can't even begin to name them all

Lisa and I once watched a Youtube video of a girl eating a live octopus in Korea, and we wanted to try that experience for ourselves. Nearly every vendor had buckets filled with octopuses of every size swimming around in the water. For only 10,000 won ($10), we bought a foot-long octopus to take upstairs for some live sashimi. We also picked up a fresh mackerel before giving our purchase to a restaurant owner.

The cook took our bags of seafood and then came out with a plate full of chopped octopus legs. Unlike fish, octopuses don't immediately die right after being cut. The nerve endings in the legs are still active so the legs still move on the plate as you eat. It was unnerving to see your lunch move right in front of you, but we eventually picked up the courage to try it. It was pretty difficult to eat since the legs try to stick together as you pick them off the plate. Even after, the legs continue to squirm in your chopsticks and even in your mouth. Sometimes the tentacles would even stick to your lips as you try to put them in your mouth! One trick we learned is to dip the legs in soy sauce, since the salt helps to inactivate the nerve endings. When you first put a leg into the soy sauce, it starts wiggling more aggressively, but then it goes limp and becomes a lot easier to handle.

Live demo: how to eat live octopus

The consistency of live octopus is extremely rubbery and a bit slimy. It may sound really unappetizing, but the octopus itself doesn't really taste like anything. Instead, all you taste is the dipping sauce, which is usually soy sauce with wasabi or hot pepper paste with vinegar.

The cook also grilled our mackerel, which tasted great with kimchi and seaweed salad. If you're ever in Seoul and are looking for a uniquely Korean experience, I highly recommend visiting Noryangjin Fish Market. Even though you may be put off by some of the sights and smells, it's something you really can't find anywhere else.

The final result: our freshly cooked seafood meal!

Everland!!

To unwind after our first week of classes, Lisa and I took a trip to Everland, Korea's largest theme park. Located about 45 minutes away from Seoul, Everland is like the Korean Disneyland. The park has a Mickey Mouse-like mascot, different villages, and a theme song.

Lisa and I went to Everland with a friend we made at Ultra Korea. He works for Samsung, which owns Everland, so we were able to get discounted tickets. When we first walked into the theme park, we were greeted by singing workers dressed up as the Everland mascots. We stopped to take some pictures with them before going into the park for the main attractions.

Taking pictures with the Everland Masccots

Posing by the main gate

Everland offers a wide variety of shows ranging from K-Pop hologram concerts to animal demonstrations to circus performances. Everything in the park is covered by the entrance fee, but you have to sign up for a showtime in advance and get a ticket before you can attend a show. We signed up for the Big Bang hologram concert and “Madagascar Live,” a circus show. The performances were later in the evening so we decided to go on the rides first.

Everland is known for its T-Express ride, a huge wooden roller coaster that features a tall 76 degree drop. As we were waiting in line, Lisa and I were panicking pretty hard. As the roller coaster slowly crept up to the top of the first hill, we were the only ones on the train screaming our heads off in fear. But after the first drop, we really enjoyed the ride and wanted to go on it again at night. Unfortunately, the ride closed early so we didn't get to go on a second time, but we heard that the T-Express is even better when it's dark outside.

After going on the roller coaster, we stopped by a bird demonstration. Everland is located in a more rural part of Korea, so it's surrounded by forest. During the bird show, the animal keepers would play music, and huge falcons would swoop into the stage from the surrounding trees. At the end, around 50 wild chickens flew in from the forest; it was unlike anything I'd seen before.

The Big Bang hologram concert wasn't as good as I'd expected. The show was really short, and the holograms weren't very life like. Madagascar Live was much more exciting. There were a variety of fun performances including acrobatics, musical numbers, and dancing. At the end, the whole stadium got showered with confetti.

We ended our night at Everland by going on the carousel and watching fireworks. Our day at Everland was pretty magical. I think Disney has a fair competitor over here in South Korea.

All smiles after a fun day in Everland :)

Hitting the Books

After two weeks of fun in Seoul, it was hard to get my mind back into school mode. I signed up for two classes at Yonsei: Introductory Psychology and Genetics. Classes here meet every day Monday-Thursday for 100 minutes each. There's a lot of material to cover in only a month so I was a little surprised by how fast paced the classes are. Luckily, all my classes are taught in English by visiting professors from the States. However, the majority of students in my classes are native Koreans who are currently going to school in the States.

The classes are pretty well organized and structured. I just wish I was able to experience more authentic Korean university life. Since this is the Yonsei International Summer School, it's run more like a Western school than a Korean one. Even though we live on campus, our dorms are located in their own secluded area known as the SK Global Village, separated from the main campus. It's quite nice and peaceful where we live, but the distance makes us feel a bit isolated from the rest of campus. The actual dorm is really nice though. Each room has its own bathroom and shower, along with an outdoor balcony. One big difference between Korean and American dorms is that in Korea, you have to take off your shoes as soon as you enter someone's house. So as soon as you enter your room, there's a little area with a shoe closet for you to take off your shoes before actually step in. I share a room with Lisa, and we both appreciate how this arrangement helps keeps our room clean from outside dirt.

Besides having nice living arrangements, SK Global Village is well-equipped with many facilities such as a 24 hour convenience store, cafes, and restaurants. There are also many local restaurants located just steps away from our dorm, where we can get dinner if we don't feel like going to the school cafeteria.

Yonsei has around 5 different student cafeterias that serve both Korean and Western style food. Instead of swiping your student ID card for a buffet style meal, Korean students have to line up and buy food tickets before entering the cafeteria. The menu of the day is posted on the wall so you can decide what you want to order. Once you tell the cashiers what you want to order, they'll hand you food tickets that you bring up to different stations in the cafeteria. The set up is kind of like a food court in a shopping mall, with different stands serving different style of food. There's usually a Korean food stand, a Western food stand, a noodle stand, and a snack food stand of some sort. First, you go to the side to grab a tray, utensils, and banchan (Korean side dishes). After, you line up at the stand, hand your ticket to the server, and receive your meal.

A typical Korean lunch

Students enjoying their food in the cafeteria

The system is pretty efficient, and I think a similar system in the States would help to ward off the dreaded Freshman 15. The meals are generally pretty healthy, since Koreans tend to eat a lot of vegetables with limited amounts of meat. The only thing that bothers me is getting water. Since a lot of Korean food is quite salty and spicy, I need to drink water while I eat. However, Koreans will just sip on soup or broth with their meals and drink water after they're done eating. In the cafeteria, there's no place to get water with your meal. The water station is located on your way out, after you've put away your tray and utensils. There's also napkins to wipe your mouth and mirrors to check for food in your teeth as you exit.

I'm nearly finished with my second week of classes at YISS, and I'm really enjoying school life in Korea. Time is going by a lot faster than I anticipated so I want to take full advantage of my time here.

Start off with a Bang

I've been to Korea once last summer on a two week vacation, but this trip has already topped the last. When Lisa and I first arrived in Seoul, it almost already felt like home. Since we were already somewhat familiar with the city, we were able to dive right into what Seoul has to offer.

Two days after we arrived, Lisa and I attended the Ultra Korea Music Festival. Over 100,000 people from all over the world gathered in the Olympic Stadium, dancing to music from sold out artists such as Steve Aoki, Nervo, Far East Movement, and M.I.A. The festival lasted two days, followed by a pool party on the third. Fueled by the energy of the crowd and the beat of the music, Lisa and I danced by the front of the main stage for 9 hours straight on the first day without eating, drinking, or using the restroom. We were on the verge of exhaustion by the end, but it was entirely worth it. We had a great view of the show and made friends from Russia, Korea, Singapore, America, Canada, and more.

After the festival, it was time to slow down and enjoy Korea before classes start. We made a friend named Bobby who also lived in our hostel. He's originally from Syracuse, but currently works as a math teacher in Hong Kong. He was only in Seoul for 3 days, but we really enjoyed taking him around Seoul. We tried tons of delicious Korean food, listened to indie musicians in Hongdae, and went shopping to give Bobby a Korean makeover. Before Bobby left for Hawaii, we bought him a goodbye cake at Paris Baguette and ate it in our hostel. 

Bobby turned Korean

Dak Galbi

Bobby's last night

Some of my friends from UM are also here in Seoul this summer so I spent the rest of my time meeting up with them. It's always interesting to meet your friends from home in a completely different country. Since they are Korean American, I enjoyed the perks of having a personal interpreter and guide. Most Koreans only speak limited English, and my Korean is very basic so it can be difficult to make myself understood. Sometimes it's just nice to hang out with a native and avoid worrying about not being able to read the menu or asking for directions on the street. 

Samgyeopsal with Yoolim

Korean style photo booth with Kiyoon

Lisa and I have just moved from our hostel in Hongdae to the dorms in Yonsei. Classes start on Tuesday, and I'm curious to see how classes differ in Korea. But up to this point, I've been completely blown away by everything Seoul has to offer.

Introduction

Hi everyone, my name is Angel Li. I'm currently a sophomore majoring in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan. This summer, I will be traveling to Seoul, South Korea to study at Yonsei University as part of the Yonsei International Summer School Program (YISS). This blog is meant to document my experiences throughout my trip. Hope you find my posts fun and informative!