Day 10
After another hearty breakfast at the hotel, my friend and I headed to Hyehwa to hike in the park around Naksan and explore the Ihwa mural village. I always really liked the area around Naksan but don’t always have the time to enjoy it when I’m in Seoul.
The hike uphill is always challenging since it’s so steep but the heat made it ten times worse this time, and we were both drenched in sweat when we reached the top. The view from the top was a fair reward for our efforts though. After having enjoyed the view of Seoul we headed toward Ihwa mural village. This area is full of fun small houses with interesting wall paintings and I love introducing this to people visiting Korea for the first time. It also didn’t disappoint this time around. Back down at street level, we decided to stop at the historic Hakrim Dabang café for a little pick-me-up.
In the afternoon I had booked a makeup appointment for my friend who wanted to try having a professional Korean makeup application. A quick facial and full makeup application took around an hour and she looked gorgeous. She took pictures of the products the makeup artist used and headed straight to an Olive Young to buy whatever she would need to replicate the look. Even though I was just there to translate between my friend and the makeup artist it was such a fun experience.
We then went back to our hotel to relax a bit before going out in the evening. That evening I had made plans with my fellow alumni from last year’s translation workshop in Norwich to meet up. We also had the wonderful company of author Sang Young Park and author/translator Anton Hur. A fun evening in Hapjeong with lots of laughs.
Day 11
This was our last full day in Seoul before going home and that was probably a good thing because that morning we both felt a bit under the weather. My friend didn’t feel like going anywhere and even though I felt bone tired, I ventured out to find us some lunch. I was supposed to meet Geonha’s brother for dinner in the evening but felt tired and achy and didn’t have the energy, so I texted him that I was sorry but that I would have to cancel. He insisted that we meet – however briefly – and promised to come to my hotel after work.
I spent most of the afternoon resting a packing and then met up with him in the evening. He had a couple of presents for me to remind me of my time at Sogang. A jacket and a travel mug. It was really sweet of him and we did manage to sit for an hour in a park behind the hotel and chat before I had to go back to rest.
Day 12
Our vacation had come to an end and since we were both feeling a bit off, we were not too sad to go home. Only the long flight of 14 hours seemed a bit daunting but at least we were both able to sleep on the flight.
As soon as I got home I started feeling sick and bit feverish and a home test quickly confirmed what I had started to suspect: covid. It took a few days to feel like myself again, but thankfully I’m over it now and hope that I have not passed it on to anyone.
Thank you for reading along on my latest Korea adventure ❤️
Sofie to Korea 
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