Daily life
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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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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…
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Going all Korean in Hongdae
This Friday I did something I haven’t done in a loooong time. I went to an international language exchange meet-and-greet party in Hongdae. Alone! With my husband out with some friends, and my Korean best friend abroad on vacation, I was without my usual companions for a Friday night on the town. Since it had been…
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Class is in session
This morning I taught my very first class at Sogang University. I’ve been looking forward to this day for quite some time, and I’ve been preparing for ages. Usually, when I’m teaching a new class I’m always a bit nervous, but somehow today was different. I felt oddly at home in the tiny Korean classroom, and all…
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Cheer up, baby
This is the title of a K-pop song which, apart from the soundtrack to “Descendants of the sun”, is playing EVERYWHERE in Seoul this summer. It’s annoyingly catchy, although it can be debated if the girl group TWICE is really pronouncing the three-word English chorus correctly. This video is the epitome of Korean girly cuteness, a…
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Taking the good with the bad
My move to Korea continues to prove a quite challenging task indeed. Yesterday, I spent several hours at the, among foreigners much dreaded, Korean Office of Immigration. This is a necessary evil in order to receive my “alien registration card” (aww, doesn’t that word just make you feel welcome?) which is mandatory for all foreigners…
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Perks of living in Korea: Korean books
Korea is a nation of bookworms (fun fact, bookworm in Korean is 책벌레 – I guess some things are just universal). There are bookstores everywhere, and books are usually reasonably priced too. I’ve already purchased quite a few books here – hard not to when there’s a bookstore right in front of my building (yes,…
Sofie to Korea 