서울 - Seoul
June 2 - 12, 2024
Seoul doesn’t introduce itself quietly. It arrives in a rush of neon and steel, towering high-rises and centuries-old palaces locked in a delicate waltz between the past and the future. As the plane descended, I caught my first glimpse of the Han River, its wide expanse carving through the city like an ancient artery, crossed by bridges that range from utilitarian to architectural marvels. The city unfolded beyond it—rising and falling with the land, seamlessly adapting to the hills and valleys of Gyeonggi-do Province.
The bus ride from the airport felt like watching Seoul flicker through a time machine. Tunnels swallowed us whole and spit us out into districts of sleek, modern skyscrapers. Then, just as quickly, we’d round a bend and find ourselves facing the curved eaves of a hanok, or a quiet park bursting with greenery. Seoul isn't just a city—it’s an ecosystem. Rooftop gardens spill over high-rises, trees reclaim spaces where concrete would normally dominate, and the city breathes in a way that American urban planning rarely allows. Korea doesn’t just embrace nature; it weaves it into the very fabric of its architecture.
I had traveled before—spent a month in Denmark after my undergraduate degree—but nothing quite prepares you for stepping into a place so deeply connected to its history while racing full speed ahead into the future. No matter how much research I did, how many books I read, or how many hours I spent on language apps, nothing truly prepared me for the culture shock of South Korea.
I came here as an anthropologist, ready to observe, take notes, and absorb as much as I could. And I did exactly that. But something unexpected happened along the way—I didn’t just learn about Korean culture, history, and people. I learned about myself. How I navigate new spaces, how I absorb knowledge, and how travel shifts my understanding of the world and my place in it.
Our first ten days in South Korea were spent in Seoul, where our mornings were filled with Korean language lessons, cultural studies, and lectures from scholars and expats who had spent years immersed in this place. We studied history, education, traditional food, and clothing, met experts who worked in both Korea and the U.S., and slowly pieced together an understanding of the country through its people. But beyond the classroom, the city itself became our teacher—through its national monuments, its bustling streets, and the quiet moments where we simply stood still and let Seoul show itself to us.
