Day 12 – Myeongdong Cathedral, Itaewon, and McDonald’s Delivery

Listening to: UV-Itaewon Freedom (ft. JYP)
Feeling: Calm

Myeongdong Cathedral

With everything that had happened so far and with me finally making it to Korea, I felt like it was important to take the time and pray before my journey went any farther.  I also wanted the time to collect my thoughts and think about the things I should do to make the most out of my trip here. With this in mind, I thought what a great opportunity this was to visit the Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul.  I had heard all about it weeks before I left the states when the Pope visited and the 800,000 people that gathered to see him…

Umm..can you say “Holy snikies”?!?!

Directions

Take line 4 until you reach Myeongdong, and then leave out of exit 10.  This map will also make things easier. The huge dark grey area  is the cathedral.

When you leave the subway walk straight until you come across the 삼일대로9길/Samil-daero street and take a left (you’ll see a Dominos pizza on the other side).  At this point just keep walking straight for a fair distance.

And FYI as you walk toward the cathedral you’ll see another huge church on your right.  I got confused and thought “Oh wow! That must be it!” But it’s not.  It’s the 영락교회 church you see on the map.  Think of it as a marker that you’re going the right way.

Then finally you’ll reach an intersection.  Stay left and walk into Myeongdong-gil street.  If you see a Starbucks it means you’re on the correct road.  It wont be long until you see the the cathedral. It’s huge!

 

They have service at these times: 7:00, 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00.  Whats more awesome is that the mass at 9:00AM is an English mass! The inside of the cathedral is beautiful.  They have TV’s in the back so everyone can see the service.

Catholicism is known for being the same no matter where in the world you are attending mass, and that held true to the service I went to.  The only noticeable differences I saw was:

• There was no knee rests on the floor, so there was no kneeling.  At any time during the service.
• Instead of shaking hands to show a sign of peace, they instead put their hands together (like how you do when you are praying), bowed, and said “peace”.  I guess this is a faster and less of a germ sharing method to doing things.

Afterwords I walked around the complex and took pictures, and a lady was nice enough to take the picture of me in front of the cathedral.  I also looked into the store next to the church to find a rosary for my mother, but I didn’t find one that I liked enough to buy (Working on it Ma!).  I then met up with another SEE student, EunHye, and she took me to see Itaewon.

Itaewon

Itaewon is one of the most diverse places in Seoul and is the foreigner hub of the city.  They have so many different types of bars, clubs, and shops (Mexican bar, transgender club, a bar for foreigners, an Islamic section of the area).  They even have a beautiful muslin temple that lights up at night.  It’s a place full of diversity and a mix of the random.  If you’re looking to meet people of the same or a different country this is the place to go.

I went with my friend EunHye as she showed me around and we ate the most delicious pizza I’ve ever had in my life at a popular place called Pizzarium.  Later we stopped and had coffee as we compared and contrasts each others culture.  We also made a list of the places and things I needed to do before I left Korea so I would have no regrets when I returned home.

I went back to Itaewon a few days later with my friends EunJi and Jee at night, and the atmosphere was totally different.  Things are much more lively at night.  We went to a foreigner bar where the girls laughed at me when I obnoxiously sang the English songs that came on (Three Doors Down’s “Here Without You” came on and I just couldn’t hold myself back), and just altogether caught up since we last saw each other in Maine.  The waiter and barmaid weren’t Korean, but spoke both Korean and English.

I have never looked more sophisticated in my life.

EunJi has this app on her phone that can create 3o sec videos that are like little montages of an event.  Her and Jee made these videos all the time back at Husson whenever they would do an activity such as bowling, lobster dinner, or their visit to Acadia park.  She made one for our little get together at Itaewon.

McDonald’s Delivery

It’s 10:00PM.  My roommate and I are starving and we really don’t feel like making the trip outside to go to the store or  find a restaurant.

Me: Hey. You know what me should do?
Roommate: What?
Me: Order McDonald’s delivery.
*Silence*
*Roommate gets up and grabs her computer*
Roommate: OMG we should! Let’s do this!

Yes. You read right.  McDonald’s delivers here.  This is the site we use:

McDelivery

It was a bit tricky at first because you have to put your entire address in Korean, and the entire ordering process is in Korean  (Note: Google translate is your best friend!).  You also need to give a Korean phone number they can call if there are an issues, and I was blessed enough to have a friend who translated and volunteered to be our “messenger” (ie use his phone number).

The McDonald’s menu is basically the same as it is in America. Big Mac, McNuggets, Happy Meals, snack wraps, etc.  The only thing I saw differently was:

• They have chicken drumsticks which have a slight bite to them.
• They only have 3 condiments: Sweet Chili, Cajun, Sweet and Sour sauce, and Ketchup.  No ranch, mustard, and, worst of all, no Mayo. Sad face.

You’ll get a window in your browser that shows the status of your order so you can be on the look out for the delivery guy.  You can pay with either cash or a debit/credit card.  They deliver the food on a yellow moped with the McDonald’s logo on the side.

And not just McDonalds.  Several other well known titles such as Pizza Hut and Chinese restaurants deliver as well

The fruit of our labor ladies and gentlemen:

Wooooooorth it!!

Music – UV

UV is a two man project band and are comprised of comedians Yoo Se Yoon and High Syde’s Muzi. I can’t think of a song more suitable for this post than their notorious “Itaewon Freedom” song!

This is one of the most random, crazy, ridiculous, and hilarious music videos I have ever seen, and is right up there with “Gangnam Style”.  It doesn’t help that its also so addictive and catchy! The entire time I was there I was going “Itaewon FREEEEEEeedom!”

I couldn’t find a English subtitled video for the song, but they are basically just singing about the diverse and awesomeness that is Itaewon!

English Translation

Day 7 – Alien Registration Card, CD Store, and WiFi in Korea

Feeling: Confident
Listening to : Ladies Code – Bad Girl (PLEASE READ)

Alien Registration Card

Having only one class on this rainy Wednesday in Seoul, I decided that it was time to work on my pending “to-do” list and go get my Alien Registration Card.  For foreigners staying in Korea for more than 90 days, you are required to register at the local immigration office within 90 day of your arrival.

To register, you have to go to the Sejongro Branch Office on the 2nd & 3rd floor in the Seoul Global Center.  I believe there are other places in Seoul you can go.  This is just the one my University recommended.

The Address:

Seoul Global Center
64-1 Seorin-dong, Jongno-guSeoul, Korea.

Directions:

Subway
Take Line #1 (The Dark Blue Line)
Get off at Jonggak Station, and then leave out of exit #6
As soon as you come out of the exit, the building is a straight shot in front of you.  You don’t have to cross any streets. Just keep looking to your left.

Bus
Take Bus #1020
Get off at Jongno-1-ga

For me, personally, the subway is more simplistic and I chose to get there that way than the bus.  I’m not sure how far away the bus drops you off from the building, but I’ve been told it’s pretty close.

When you enter the building and go to the 2nd floor, you immediatly enter the room with A LOOOOOT of people.  It’s like the DMV, except you are hearing about 10 different languages in the background.  I couldn’t recognize all the different nationalities, but to name a few: Chinese, Japanese, Russian, French, Italian, Mexican, and American.  There were even more countries there, but I just didn’t recognize them.

There will be a machine a few feet away from the entrance.  It will give you certain options like Resident, Student, etc.  I clicked “Student” since that’s what I’m here in this country for, and got a ticket.

My ticket number…

…4243

The number currently being served…

…4204

Well crap.  I’m gonna be here awhile.

Though the waiting took about 45 minutes to an hour, the process itself took less than 5 minutes.  What you need bring in order to register as an alien in Korea is:

• Alien Registration Application (You’re university might give you this, or you can grab one right there while you’re waiting)
• Passport
• A copy of your passport and visa (NOTE: You can do this right in the same room you are waiting in. Just make sure you do it WHILE you’re waiting rather than when your number is called.  I actually didn’t know about this, but luckily I made several copies of my passport and visa and put them in my backpack so I didn’t need to carry my passport around to school…YAY FOR BEING OVER PREPARED!!!)
• Certificate of Entry (Your school will give this to you)
• 1 Passport size photo
• 30,000Won (~$30.00USD)

I highly recommend you have all of these things ready to go when you get to the center, because you are going to save SO much time.  Someone told me that another exchange student at Kookmin came here and it took her 2 hours because she didn’t have all her information.

I can’t really say how long your waiting time will be.  My room mate went, and she was there for 4 hours.  No joke.  I’m not sure if the fact she went on a sunny Friday and I went on a rainy Wednesday had anything to do with it.  But just be prepared to spend some time there regardless and make sure you don’t have anything on your schedule for the rest of the afternoon.

Also, bring a crossword puzzle.  Or a 3DS…some sort of entertainment.  It’ll make the time go by faster.

I now have to go back on the 24th to get my official Alien Registration Card.  This process is MUCH more simpler than the first one, because I’ll just have to bring my document in, they give me the card, and then I leave.  No lines.  With this card I can get a phone and, more importantly, open a bank account here in Korea. Hooray for money!!

Since I got out so early, I decided that I didn’t want to go back to the dorm just yet and window shopped in the Subway.  One of the coolest things about Seoul’s subways is that it’s like a mini shopping mall.  You never gonna know what kind of shops and food you’ll find underground.

I found a book store.  About 90% of the books were Korean, but it was still fun to walk around and see the different genres and sections they had available.

Also to note no matter where you go in Seoul, there usually (like 90% of the time) will be an English translation to any menus, signs, or directions you are looking at.  You don’t have to worry about not finding what you need or worried that you won’t be able to get around because you can’t read or speak Korean.  For example in the book store underneath the Korean word for the book genre section there is an English translation.  Like I said before, English is a vital skill to have because it is like that middle ground of communicating with the rest of the world.  So they will use that middle ground to make sure that a majority of their foreigners can get around and proceed through everyday life and simple as possible.

They had a Cartoon Network section, and were playing Power Puff Girls in the background [English version of course].

I LIKE CEREAL!!!!

Then I came across…

The CD Store

Okay.  I know I’ve lost most of you at this point.  But bare with me, alright? I promise I won’t go into full KPOP fan girl mode!!

This was the highlight of my day to see KPOP CD’s in person! After years of only listening to digital copies I could get up close and personal with these albums.  I love how in Korean the albums are huge. It’s double the size of a regular CD case you’d find in Korea.  They are also very creative, too. For example f(x)’s “Pink Tape” album is LITERALLY a pick VCR tape.

From what I could tell the CDs weren’t categorized alphabetically, but by the entertainment labels (YG, SM, JYP, Cube, etc.)

     

They have a lot of diversity as well.  I was surprised to find a JPOP section (I’m just now just seeing the Namie Amuro CD in the picture and I’m kicking myself for not buying it!).  And of course they have an English section.  Ed Sheeran was on the top hits.  Hellz yeah.  That’s my fiancé!

WiFi

If there is one set of information you take away from my blog PLEASE let it be this: In every store that offers WiFi, on the receipt will be the WiFi ID and password. This is extremely helpful when you are coming to a country with no cell service.  I’m getting around just fine with no data plan because WiFi is everywhere.  It is usually password protected, so if you are in a bind just go into a store, by something cheap, and look at the receipt for the WiFi password.  And if the employee doesn’t give you the receipt just say “WiFi?”.  That word is universal, so everyone knows what you’re asking.

Music

Ladies Code is 5 member girl group that debuted in 2013.  They are fairly new, but they are an up and rising rookie group that have received a lot of attention for their powerful vocals.

I would like to take a moment and honor the life of member EunBi, who passed away yesterday due to a car accident (The girl at 1:33 of the video).  She was only 22.

As I said, it was raining hard yesterday.  The van’s wheel fell off, and due to the wet roads the van spun several times and hit a guard rail.  2 members are in critical condition, and EunBi passed away at the scene.  One of the 2 members in critical condition has been in a coma for over 3 days.

This isn’t about liking KPOP, and this isn’t about a singer never taking the stage again, this is about a young life tragically ending.

If you could, I would like to ask to who ever is reading this take their own personal moment of silence to honor her, and send your thoughts and prayers to the other 2 members for a full recovery.

Thank you.