Showing posts with label seoul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seoul. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Norangjin Fishmarket, Fun, even if you don't like Fish!

The first time I heard about a fish market I was like well I got to see this, cultural experience and all but I wasn’t really excited for it. Now I still won’t say I will go there every weekend but it is defiantly something you shouldn’t skip on your trip to Korea.

Don’t worry, there is no fish smell hanging around and you don’t even have to buy fish to go there. Just walk around and enjoy the atmosphere. Try to figure out if those things are really fish and make plans for a fish liberation campaign.

However if you do actually enjoy fish you can pick out your own fish -and see it killed in front of your eyes- and eat it at one of the many restaurants lining the fish market.  Although the fish is delicious it can be a bit pricy but it’s a great experience!

Also if you have been to the fish market in Busan, you should still go norangjing fish market in Seoul. The atmosphere is totally different and there aren’t as many foreigners as in Busan, which makes the experiences even more fun.

Directions: Take line one to Norangjin station. Exit at exit 1 and go straight, you will see stairs crossing the road but you have to go upstairs and cross the trainstation. At the end go left and then go downstairs.

Hongdae: Cats living - a cat heaven.

On a cold and windy afternoon my friend decided it would be a great idea to take me and my sisters to a cat cafe. Now I have been all over Seoul and I have done all sorts of things but I had never been to a cat cafe in my life. I have been to a dog cafe before but the experience was just so so. And not even because I am allergic for dogs. I just feel that it isn’t good for dogs to be locked inside all day as for cats, their favorite thing to do seems to be sleeping so there is no direct need for them to go outside.

So of we went to cats living – located in Hongdae right next to the Hello Kitty cafe. The moment we stepped inside it felt, clean, nice and cozy. We put away our shoes and jackets in one of the lockers and ordered a drink and then spend a good 2 hours petting and playing with the cats.

A great thing was that it wasn’t very busy, unlike the dog cafe where I went. I don’t know if it is because we were there around 7 P.M. or if it is because cat cafes aren’t as popular anymore but I didn’t mind. It gave us time to look in every nook and cranny, and discover more cats every minute.

Some were just sleeping, some were ready to play and others where a tad bit on the shy side. But for everyone there was a cat to like and I really enjoyed my time there.

I totally recommend this place, especially on cold winter nights. Either with friends or with your boyfriend, it doesn’t matter. The cats will make you feel loved and at home anyway!

Review: Lingua Express - Sookmyung Women's University

As you may or may not know I used to study at Sookmyung Women’s University  from January 2012 till July 2012. Actually, to be more acurate, I took only one class at the actual university, besides that I would go to the Lingua Express 4 hours a day 5 days a week
.
Sookmyung was founded on May 22nd, 1906 as Myeongshin Girls’ School, renamed to Sookmyung Women’s College on December 1st 1909 and re-established as a university on May 22nd 1948. According to Dong-A Ilbo it is ranked 10th place together with Inha University (located in Incheon) among Korean Universities.

In my opinion, the education level of Sookmyung no where near the level of education what I was used to in the Netherlands. It felt kind of as if I was back in High School but it might just as wel be the way they teach in Korea, which is following in the book precisely opposed to having more indepth discussions about the content.

The Lingua Express (language school) on the other hand was really good. The teachers are good at their job, they make you speak Korean and most important they make you feel comfortable while you speak it. The classes are not too big which is nice and although there are some rules about being in class, they are not too strict and if you are sick and can’t make it (even for the tests) it’s not that big of a deal.

However if you have full attendance or are at the top of your class you can actually get a discount for the next semester. Besides that the language classes are actually priced quite reasonalbly.
Lingua express also offers a few cultural experience classes (playing traditional korean games, taekwondo classes, or even sleighing). But you can also choose to go to the TOPIK classes they offer.

Even though I had my concerns about going to a women’s university, and the location of the university I ended up having an amazing time. I made great friends, and the neighbourhood feels like my home and I can totally recommend Lingua Express to anyone that is want to take language classes in Seoul.

X Wietske