Dean’s Fellow for International Initiatives Stacie Parillo traveled to Seoul, South Korea this month in preparation for the GSLIS travel course to Yonsei University this summer.
Bibimbap with sides
Dec 12
I spent the day flying to Seoul. The flight is really long, over 14 hours. At one point, after watching a movie and reading most of my book, I looked at the flight plan graphic expecting to see the illustrated plane halfway to Korea, but it was barely past the Great Lakes. It was defeating. I was eventually able to fall asleep, and the airline food was pretty tasty. They served bibimbap, which is a traditional Korean dish, so I was already getting a flavor for my visit.
When the plane landed, I waited outside of immigration for my Yonsei escort. After a small mix up Bruce, a graduate student in Yonsei University’s LIS program, met me. We then got on the 6011 bus to Yonsei University.
The bus ride to campus was about an hour, or at least that’s what Bruce told me – I fell asleep almost upon impact with my bus seat. When we got to campus, we entered through the main gate and started the 15 minute walk up a very steep hill to my hotel, Sangnam Hall at the Institute of Management. Claudia Morner had stayed here last summer and told me that the accommodations were nice, and she was right on target. My hotel room is quaint, cozy, and has a fabulously deep bath tub.
I left my house on Friday Dec 11 at 4:00am and arrived in my hotel room in Seoul, Saturday Dec 12 at 7:45pm. I went right from Thursday night to Sunday morning.
Dec 13
Gyeongbok Palace
Today Bruce met me at my hotel to show me around Seoul. We saw so much! We started the day by heading to Gyeongbok Palace, which was once a royal palace. it was really beautiful and serene. Next door is the National Folk Museum of Korea. We walked around there a bit, where I saw beautiful traditional Korean clothing, and home life.
After the Palace, we walked to Insadong, which is a really busy street market. There were lots of souvenirs to buy on the cheap, and lots of really fun street food. I had the chance to pound cooked sticky rice with a mallet into a rice cake, a sweet dessert.
Afterwards, we went for a sushi dinner. We sat at a bar and the sushi dishes traveled by on a conveyor belt. You would just grab a dish that looked tasty. It was SO GOOD. Words can not express. Bruce and I feasted!
Insadong
Riding the subway in Seoul was pretty manageable. Luckily, I had Bruce there to show me the way, but the subway lines are color coded, just like in Boston. There are more lines with more stops, but it definitely seems like something a visitor could figure out easily. There’s also a subway stop not too far from campus, making it probably the best way to get around.
Dec 14
This morning, I met with Jee Yeon Lee, the Dean of the Library Science Department. We had some great ideas about how our two library programs could collaborate. Since the Yonsei program focuses on data and information management, GSLIS students can find very different classes offered there. We discussed some details of the Summer Travel Course and the Dual Degree.
After our meeting, Na Young, another Yonsei LIS graduate student gave me a tour of the their library. The University Library was heavily funded by Samsung, and it has some amazing features for students.
Sinchon
Meaghan O’Connor who traveled to Yonsei last year wrote a fantastic entry of the library for this blog, as did Jaclyn Strycharz, who attended the travel course last summer.
Dec 17
Today is my last day in Seoul already! It went by really fast. Unfortunately, the weather has gotten really cold. It was cold before, but now it’s verging on frigid. The weather here seems to be a lot like Boston. Cold winters and humid summers. Despite the chilly temps, I really wanted to explore Sinchon, an area close to campus that has lots of places to eat and shop.
After having a quick meeting with Dr. Lee in the morning, I headed to Sinchon armed with a map Bruce drew for me of where to get really good bibimbap. It was fun to explore the stores, and see all the items lined up on the street for sale. Because of the weather, I planned my day by cafe-hopping, drinking lots of tea and enjoying some of the local delicious treats, such as a waffle with whipped cream and banana – yum!
I loved exploring around Seoul, and am really excited for my return trip with GSLIS students this summer for the travel course.