2015년 07월 24일
Friday was incredible.
Skipping past language classes...
Our culture class for the day was supposed to be a special lecture (from a Hongik University professor) about perceptions of Korean through an analysis of the country's advertising industry. Sounded interesting, but... I'd rather take a nap. After all, I was supposed to leave for Busan around 5:00 PM.
Luckily, the lecture was postponed until the following week!! So, I called Hyunwoo and joked about "if only I could catch an earlier train"... so, his mother booked me tickets and I caught an earlier train at 3:00 PM. I was immensely grateful and truly appreciate everything he and his family did for me that weekend!
I had to take the subway to Seoul station and then find the appropriate KTX train to take for my 3-hour journey to Busan. I was so nervous doing all of this by myself, but I did very well! I found everything without stopping to ask for directions and found my seat on the train twenty minutes before departure. I couldn't sleep because of my excitement, so I stared out of the window and watched at the city dissolved into countryside and then built back into a cityscape once again. It was amazing to see more of Korea, if only from behind a glass window. One day, I hope to travel the countryside as well.
I arrived at the 부산 (Busan) station and met Hyunwoo there, happy to see him again. The two of us walked towards the bus stop, took a bus for five minutes, thought we were going the wrong direction (only to find out we were, in fact, going in the right direction), and eventually decided to take a cab to what was to be my hotel in Haeundae.
해운대 (Haeundae), the most popular beach in Korea, is a huge site for both locals and tourists alike. The beach was crowded when we got there, around 6:00 PM on a Friday, but Hyunwoo told me it is often much busier. Haeundae also happens to be where Hyunwoo lives, right by the beach. It was absolutely beautiful there and I was entranced by the view. We grabbed some dinner at the hotel first and then made our way down the beach around 8:00, when the sun had set already and it had started to get dark. We walked the length of the boardwalk, watching some performers and magicians before stopping at a DJ performing on a stage. It was so much fun to listen and watch the spectacle with the wind of the beach and the sounds of the waves surrounding us.
At the end of the boardwalk, Hyunwoo led the way to a path which wrapped around part of the beach which made way to a steep incline and rocky cliff. The views from this area were absolutely breathtaking. Once we reached a popular spot, we could see the Haeundae coast on one side, water glistening with the city lights, and a beautiful bridge on the other side, illuminating up the ocean below. I can't even begin to describe how perfect the view was, but you'll just have to trust me on this. Sadly, because it was so windy and the phone camera kept shaking, Hyunwoo and I don't have many high-quality photographs from that night. But, we tried our best!
The moment was made even better as Hyunwoo pulled out his bluetooth speaker and played some music for us as we watched the ocean waves ebb and flow. After an hour or so, we walked around the coast some more and made our way towards Hyunwoo's house. Around this area, there is a famous cafe that we stopped by and bought some warm drinks at to help us fight the slight chill of the strong wind. Eventually, we started walking back around 12 or 1am (of course, we had to run onto the sand, write our names, and jump away from the freezing water) and I was finally able to have a decent night's sleep, relaxed from the wonderful night out.
Friday was incredible.
Skipping past language classes...
Our culture class for the day was supposed to be a special lecture (from a Hongik University professor) about perceptions of Korean through an analysis of the country's advertising industry. Sounded interesting, but... I'd rather take a nap. After all, I was supposed to leave for Busan around 5:00 PM.
Luckily, the lecture was postponed until the following week!! So, I called Hyunwoo and joked about "if only I could catch an earlier train"... so, his mother booked me tickets and I caught an earlier train at 3:00 PM. I was immensely grateful and truly appreciate everything he and his family did for me that weekend!
I had to take the subway to Seoul station and then find the appropriate KTX train to take for my 3-hour journey to Busan. I was so nervous doing all of this by myself, but I did very well! I found everything without stopping to ask for directions and found my seat on the train twenty minutes before departure. I couldn't sleep because of my excitement, so I stared out of the window and watched at the city dissolved into countryside and then built back into a cityscape once again. It was amazing to see more of Korea, if only from behind a glass window. One day, I hope to travel the countryside as well.
I arrived at the 부산 (Busan) station and met Hyunwoo there, happy to see him again. The two of us walked towards the bus stop, took a bus for five minutes, thought we were going the wrong direction (only to find out we were, in fact, going in the right direction), and eventually decided to take a cab to what was to be my hotel in Haeundae.
해운대 (Haeundae), the most popular beach in Korea, is a huge site for both locals and tourists alike. The beach was crowded when we got there, around 6:00 PM on a Friday, but Hyunwoo told me it is often much busier. Haeundae also happens to be where Hyunwoo lives, right by the beach. It was absolutely beautiful there and I was entranced by the view. We grabbed some dinner at the hotel first and then made our way down the beach around 8:00, when the sun had set already and it had started to get dark. We walked the length of the boardwalk, watching some performers and magicians before stopping at a DJ performing on a stage. It was so much fun to listen and watch the spectacle with the wind of the beach and the sounds of the waves surrounding us.
At the end of the boardwalk, Hyunwoo led the way to a path which wrapped around part of the beach which made way to a steep incline and rocky cliff. The views from this area were absolutely breathtaking. Once we reached a popular spot, we could see the Haeundae coast on one side, water glistening with the city lights, and a beautiful bridge on the other side, illuminating up the ocean below. I can't even begin to describe how perfect the view was, but you'll just have to trust me on this. Sadly, because it was so windy and the phone camera kept shaking, Hyunwoo and I don't have many high-quality photographs from that night. But, we tried our best!
The moment was made even better as Hyunwoo pulled out his bluetooth speaker and played some music for us as we watched the ocean waves ebb and flow. After an hour or so, we walked around the coast some more and made our way towards Hyunwoo's house. Around this area, there is a famous cafe that we stopped by and bought some warm drinks at to help us fight the slight chill of the strong wind. Eventually, we started walking back around 12 or 1am (of course, we had to run onto the sand, write our names, and jump away from the freezing water) and I was finally able to have a decent night's sleep, relaxed from the wonderful night out.