Life in Korea
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Random things I’ve noticed while living in Korea
As I go about my daily routine in Seoul, I don’t always pay attention to these small things, but nonetheless I thought it was worth doing a post on utterly random things I’ve come to notice or realize while I’ve been living in Korea. Staircases wind counter-clockwise The number 4 is usually substituted with an…
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Taxi drivers in Seoul
While I usually rely on the subway for transportation around Seoul, I probably still get in a cab around once a week. If I’m alone, I usually use this as an opportunity to chat with the taxi driver, who in 99 out of 100 cases are men over 50. In most cases they also have…
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A trip to Suwon
Having been busy with work in Seoul over the past couple of months, I rarely had the chance to get out of the city. This changed last week, when I went to Suwon for the very first time. Part of my husband’s job while we’re here in Korea is to develop exchange programs between his…
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Two Danish girls in Seoul
Last week, my long-time best friend from Denmark finally came to visit me in here in Seoul. From the moment I picked her up at Incheon until we said goodbye a week later, we got busy exploring all that Seoul has to offer. Since she probably doesn’t remember the names of all the places we…
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A visit to the Shilla hotel
Another busy work week has almost come to an end. Next week is mid-term week, so no teaching for me for the next ten days. I’m still terribly busy though. Today was my deadline for submitting a report I had been working on for a Korean research institute, and I have been writing like crazy…
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Busy but happy in Seoul
This week is by far the busiest week I have experienced since moving to Seoul. One of my friends from Denmark is visiting this week, and that has been an excellent excuse to tour the city. She’s actually here on business, but nonetheless we’ve managed to spend two days together. I greatly enjoy sightseeing in Seoul,…
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Awesome Korean slang expressions
I’ve started to become a regular guest at the Playground café in Hongdae. (If you look through their facebook pics, you’ll see proof that I was there.) This café is an awesome place where Koreans and foreigners can get together and exchange languages. This week, I went there on Tuesday and met a couple of…
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The challenge of teaching economics in Korea
This has definitely proven to be more challenging than I had expected, but certainly not in a boring way. Teaching in Korea has also made me rethink which examples I use when I teach economics. It turns out that not all everyday examples work in the same way in a Danish/American or Korean classroom. Today I was…
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My first Chuseok
Although I actually celebrated my own little version of Chuseok last year, this year marked my first Chuseok in Korea. Chuseok is the Korean harvest festival, or Korean Thanksgiving, which is usually celebrated some time in either September or October. Since the date is determined by the lunar calendar, it varies from one year to the next.…
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Adapting to life in Seoul
I’ve almost been here six weeks now, and I’m happy to report that I’m adapting to life here more easily than I had imagined. Seoul definitely feels like home in a strange way, I can’t quite explain. While I’m doing the same kind of job as I did back home, I still feel that my everyday…
Sofie to Korea 